"I'm going to kill her."

Erik watched as Christine marched angrily off to the side of the stage where Meg and several other dancers were awaiting their turn to rehearse, the directors currently working with some of the actors on their blocking.

Meg continued to stretch her legs out, barely sparing her friend a glance. "Stop that. No you're not."

"Death. Slow and painful."

"Chris, you are freakishly compassionate to all living things."

"Maybe something involving fire… Or acid…"

"You won't even let people squish bugs in your presence."

"Or maybe that whole anthill and honey thing… Can ants be fatal if enough of them bite you?"

"Talk all you want, but I know you're not going to commit homicide on a classmate," Meg declared confidently.

Christine crossed her arms with a huff, her face morphing into that adorable pout that always made Erik want to gather her into his arms. "You don't know that. I have a dark side. I just might surprise you."

"Oh, please, Chris. A dark side? Nothing about you could be considered dark! You don't smoke, you barely drink, you're nice to everyone you meet, you're always happy, you're freakishly optimistic and always try to see the best in people, you can't stay mad at anyone, even if you try-"

"Untrue!" Christine interrupted vehemently. "I'm furious right now, and I'm not even trying."

"Okay, fine, but it took Carlotta trying to trip you three times, calling you a toad repeatedly, and making that comment over whether your idiocy was because you were a natural blonde, or whether the peroxide just seeped into your skull and killed off brain cells. And still you haven't actually said a word to her about it. Ever considered just standing up for yourself, honey?"

Christine shifted guiltily. "Why bother talking when I could just push her into oncoming traffic?" she asked, but her voice was meek instead of full of her previous bluster.

"You really will do anything to avoid conflict, won't you?" Meg asked, shaking her head in disappointment. When Christine's only response was to bite her lip and glance down, she continued more sympathetically. "You do know Carlotta's only being like this because she's threatened by you, right?"

"Threatened?" Christine scoffed. "She got cast as the lead, and I'm just a measly understudy. What could she possibly have to be threatened about?"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe the fact that you're a much better actress? Or that everyone seems to like you and no one plots executions for you involving honey and anthills?"

Christine giggled weakly. "Really, she brings that upon herself…"

"Or maybe it's because you've always been a damn good singer, and now all of the sudden your voice seems to be getting even better every day. I mean, I'm no vocal major, but even I've noticed the difference. Whatever superior abilities Carlotta may have had over you to land her the lead, you seem to be bridging the gap between the two of you really quickly. You should see how people stare at you whenever you get to sing during rehearsals!"

"That's all thanks to Erik," Christine explained with a shy, though very pleased, smile. Her words brought a swelling of pride to Erik's chest. "He's been giving me vocal lessons ever since we had auditions."

"Ah, I should have guessed… Honestly, Chris, is there anything this man of yours can't do?"

Christine cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "He can't whistle. Or eat shellfish. Apparently it makes his throat swell up or something… His friend told me about a rather unfortunate incident involving lobster bisque at a formal dinner with some foreign dignitaries…" Christine trailed off for a moment, as if trying to think of more items to list, before a smirk tugged up the corners of her full lips. "And he can't say no to a pair of big blue eyes begging him for something. I swear, Ayesha and I both have become quite spoiled since he moved in," she remarked, shooting a playful wink up to the rafters where she knew Erik to be.

He grinned broadly despite himself, unable to be offended when he knew her words to be true.

"As if the two of you weren't already… Oh, speaking of Mr. Multitalented," Meg segued, standing from her stretching and rising up and down on her toes a few times experimentally, "Should I send him his own invitation to the wedding, or should I just go ahead and count him as your plus one?"

"That depends. Had you already planned on sending one to my dad? Really, he and Erik are the only two I can think of to take."

"Jeez, Chris, that's just sad!"

"Thanks, Meg. Making me feel wonderful about myself over here," Christine remarked sarcastically.

Meg grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant… You're so popular and well-liked around campus, but the only close friends you actually have are Erik and me? That's a bit weird…"

"Don't forget Danny Boy! You can't claim him all to yourself. And Daddy and I have always acted more like best friends than father and child."

"Wow… Four people. How impressive, Boo Radley," Meg deadpanned.

Christine shrugged unconcernedly. "For the longest time it was only three, and you never saw fit to lecture me. Why start worrying now that I've added another person to my inner circle?"

"Touché… But, back to the subject of wedding invitations, have you considered bringing a date?"

Erik clenched his fists at those words, his breath baited as he waited to hear Christine's response.

"And have to risk him getting drunk and making a pass at me? Remember what happened with that Roger guy at your aunt's wedding?"

"How could I forget… Didn't he call you the next day when he'd sobered up and try to demand that you pay to have his tux dry-cleaned to get the wine stains out of it?"

Christine grinned wickedly. "It was rather clever of me to go for his glass of Bordeaux, rather than my own ice water, wasn't it?"

"It was certainly far more entertaining to watch… But, you know, Nick is going to be Danny's best man, and as much as I love the guy, you know he tends to get a bit wild when there's an open bar available. Having a date with you might keep him from getting drunk and making a pass at you."

"I'll have Erik to do that," Christine confidently replied. "And I'd much rather spend the evening talking to him than some random guy, anyway."

Erik felt a grin breaking across his face so big that it was almost painful, considering his facial muscles were unaccustomed to such an expression.

"And what if Erik wanted to take a date?" Meg quietly suggested, studying Christine closely for her reaction.

Christine instantly stilled in the simple dance steps she had been practicing, an indecipherable expression crossing her face. "Oh. I… I hadn't even thought of that…"

"Why not?"

She shifted uncomfortably, trying very hard to make her face appear neutral. Erik was almost tempted to think that she looked jealous at the idea, but he knew that to be merely wishful thinking and quickly pushed the thought away.

"Well, Erik's always with me," Christine finally justified. "It's not like he's had much of an opportunity to meet anyone since he's been guarding me. I mean… Whenever I go out in public he… well… hides. He doesn't really like people."

"Or maybe he's just too quick to assume that people don't like him, and cutting himself off from society is his way of dealing with it," Meg countered. "You told me how reluctant he was to spend time with you when he first moved in, but you forced him into it, and now the two of you seem to love being around each other."

Erik was unsure how to react to Meg's surprisingly insightful postulations, though he was rather pleased that, to Meg's eyes, Christine seemed to enjoy his presence in her life almost as much as he enjoyed her presence in his.

"Are you sure about this whole dance career? Because I think you would make an excellent shrink," Christine joked evasively.

Meg rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but continued on as if Christine hadn't spoken. "I just think that you should try to get Erik out more. Maybe see if there are any places he likes to visit or things he does for fun when he's not working."

"You know, you're absolutely right… I've been taking him for granted ever since he moved in. I never even thought about the fact that he's essentially put his own life on hold while he follows me around and guards mine…"

Put my life on hold? Foolish girl, you are my life… Erik thought, though he found himself touched by her concern.

"And this way, he can meet new people and realize that a mask is not a good enough reason to deter people from getting to know such a charming, fascinating man. Who knows, he may even meet a woman he'd like to invite to the wedding."

Christine actually stumbled in the midst of the dance sequence she was practicing, causing Meg to smirk knowingly.

"Unless, of course, you have some objection to this?" she asked innocently.

Christine glared daggers at her prying friend, but before she could respond and assuage Erik's highly piqued curiosity, one of the stage-hands came over and announced that she was needed to review some changes in the blocking of one of Carmen's songs.

Christine eagerly took the escape she was granted from Meg's inquisition, though her eagerness faded quite quickly as she once more found herself in the presence of Carlotta, who seemed to be in a particularly vicious mood that day.

Erik watched throughout the rehearsal, growing increasingly more furious as Christine was forced to endure Carlotta's endless stream of catty remarks and the condescending giggles they received from her friends. He was torn between admiring Christine's strength of will for enduring it all silently and being frustrated with her inability to stand up for herself. It was all he could do to keep himself from stepping in and doing something, anything, to shut the dreadful girl up, but he didn't want to risk angering Christine with his intervention. When Carlotta stooped to making cruel comments about Christine's family, however, and Erik saw tears beginning to glint in her sapphire eyes, he found he could restrain himself no longer.

"Have you noticed they never mention her mother in any of the news reports? Poor woman probably couldn't deal with having such a spoiled, vapid little Barbie doll for a daughter and ran off when she was little. I bet her father wishes he could, too. He probably wouldn't mind if some of those mobsters actually kidnapped her like they've threatened to do before," Carlotta declared to the group of girls clustered around her, her voice easily loud enough to be heard by Christine.

Christine stubbornly refused to acknowledge her, though, keeping her eyes glued to the choreographer as she was taught the blocking for one of Carmen's songs while the director was reviewing dialogue with some of the other actors. The sudden sound of screams instantly drew her attention, and she turned around just in time to see a heavy backdrop fall from the rafters, crashing barely inches away from Carlotta.

Everyone stared in stunned silence for a moment, before it was broken by Carlotta suddenly dissolving into tears.

"What the hell is going on up there?" she screamed, glaring up at the ceiling. "Aren't you stagehands supposed to know what the hell you're doing? You almost killed me!"

The student who had been appointed stage manager narrowed his eyes angrily at her accusation. "No one's even up in the flies today! We're still working on painting all the scenery for this show. That's an old backdrop that almost killed you," the boy declared, pitching his voice into a melodramatic falsetto on the last three words in a mockery of her accusation and eliciting a round of laughter.

Carlotta's face flushed red from her rage and embarrassment. "Well if it's not one of you lot screwing around that dropped it, how did it fall? Clearly it wasn't secured properly after the last production!"

"Or maybe it's a ghost who got sick of hearing you gossip," Meg remarked innocently, giving Carlotta a falsely-sweet smile.

Christine's mouth dropped open slightly at Meg's suggestion, and her eyes instantly flew to the rafters. Erik carefully hid himself from her view, rather anxious over how she would react to his stunt, but unable to make himself regret it. It had taken all of his strength of will to drop the set piece where he knew it wouldn't actually hit Carlotta, as opposed to dropping it on her head, as had been his first impulse.

"Oh, this is ridiculous! I can't possibly be expected to focus when I'm terrified that something else is going to fall on my head at any minute! I'm going home, and by tomorrow's rehearsal I fully expect you stage hands to have checked everything in the flies to make sure it's actually safe to stand on this stage!" Carlotta ordered, whirling around and marching angrily out of the auditorium.

"Good riddance," the stage manager murmured to the cast members standing around him, once again drawing a number of laughs. "It's a shame that ghost didn't have better aim…"

"Is everyone alright?" the director, Dr. Woods, inquired, seeming rather flustered by Carlotta's storm-out but trying to regain control of the situation. Calming when he was assured that no one was injured by the incident, he continued, "Henry? Would you mind taking some of the crew into the flies and double-checking that anything else that's hanging up there is secure?"

The stage manager, Henry, nodded easily and began gathering some of his classmates together for the task.

"Everyone else, please return to your places for rehearsal. Christine, I guess this will be a good opportunity to get some uninterrupted practice in," Dr. Woods remarked, smiling weakly at her. He was fully aware of the ridicule Carlotta always subjected her to in rehearsal, but since Christine seemed content to completely ignore it, he had decided it wasn't his place to intervene.

Christine, recognizing the unspoken apology in his statement, returned his smile easily and wordlessly made her way back on stage. The remainder of rehearsal passed without event, and while Christine was grateful for the peace provided by Carlotta's absence, she was anxious for practice to be over so she could confront Erik.

When Dr. Woods finally decided to call it a night, Christine eagerly exited the auditorium, waiting until she was alone on the streets to speak to the seemingly empty night air. "Nice stunt, Phantom."

When Erik did not speak to refute her claim, Christine knew her suspicions had been valid. "What the hell were you thinking, Erik? You could have seriously hurt her!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Erik's voice murmured back to her.

"Erik! That's not funny. Carlotta may be a bitch, but she doesn't deserve to have her neck broken."

A slight sigh met her reprimand, but Christine couldn't tell the emotion that had inspired it. "I assure you that Carlotta was in no actual harm. Contrary to your stage manager's belief, I have impeccable aim."

Christine crossed her arms angrily, not willing to let him off the hook so easily. "What if she had stepped in the way at the last minute?"

"I had full control of the rope the backdrop was hung from the entire time. I made sure it fell slowly enough that everyone had time to get out of the way, and had that idiotic girl not been able to process quickly enough, I could have stopped its descent at the last second. Though how I would have explained that away without revealing my presence I'm not entirely sure…"

Christine glared into the shadows beside her where she assumed Erik would be hiding, although she had no idea where he actually was, as per usual.

Erik, hating the idea that he had displeased her in any way, quickly let the smirk fade from his face and voice. "She was in no danger tonight, Christine, I promise you," he declared penitently. "I apologize for alarming you with my actions. I just… I couldn't bear to sit by idly while she said such hateful things about you."

Christine softened instantly, her anger being replaced by gratitude at his admission. Slowly, her reproachful expression shifted into a playful, slightly wicked grin. "Her reaction was pretty hilarious…"

Relief flooded through Erik as he realized that he was forgiven, and any of the remorse he had been feeling was replaced with dark amusement. "Dreadfully so. For her to be so fond of calling you a toad, she certainly resembled one with her eyes bulging out of her head like that!"

Christine pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. "You're awful, V!" she declared, although her voice made it sound like the greatest of compliments.

"A villain, through and through," Erik agreed teasingly.

"Ah, but how can that be when your wicked actions are all in order to save the heroine?" Christine refuted. "No, you may seem like the villain of the tale at first glance, but really you are my dark knight. A pure, valorous heart that has been trapped beneath a cold, uncaring exterior by the cruelties of the world."

Erik stared at her in disbelief. "Is that really how you see me?" he asked softly.

Christine didn't respond, but Erik could see the shy smile and blush that spread across her face before she ducked her head down to hide it.

As the silence grew between them, Christine felt a shiver of anxiety race through her as she actually took in her surroundings and realized exactly what part of town she was walking through, seemingly unaccompanied, at night. Usually rehearsals let out before sunset, but the Carlotta incident had set them behind schedule, and they had held late to make up for it.

"Are you alright?" Erik inquired, picking up on her unease instantly.

Christine shrugged and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "I'm fine. I just… I don't really like walking through these streets at night. I've been a bit paranoid ever since those creeps broke into my bedroom."

"I'm right here, ange," Erik assured her gently. "No harm will come to you."

"I know that. Logically, anyway. I guess I would just feel better if I could actually see you…"

Erik was slightly taken aback by that, so unaccustomed to the idea that his appearance could actually instill comfort in anyone. "By remaining hidden, I have the element of surprise on the very slight chance that someone does decide to attack you."

"Yeah, but it seems to me that people would be way less likely to attack me if they actually saw you with me," Christine argued.

"Not neccesarily. Especially if your attackers are hired criminals linked to your father, not just common street scum."

"Please, V?" Christine pleaded softly. "It would make me feel better."

Erik appeared beside her almost instantly. Christine smiled happily and quickly reached out to lace her fingers securely through his.

"So you don't try to slip back into hiding," she explained simply at the startled look he shot her.

As they strolled on together in silence, Erik reveled in the moment that so many others would surely take for granted, but which he cherished down to his very core. To walk down the street hand in hand with the woman he loved was such an overwhelmingly normal occurrence, made all the more extraordinary by its sheer normalcy, that he had never hoped to experience in his accursed life.

He was struck suddenly by the irony of Christine's earlier concerns about hindering his life, considering he had lived more in the months that he had known her than he ever had in the previous three decades of his existence.