"She's what?" Natalie screeched. "No, no, no! You don't realize the severity of the situation! If Christine sings that opera, bad things will happen! Very, very bad things! Erik, well you know how he is! He's extremely jealous of Raoul and will stop at nothing until he has Christine!"
"I know," Madame Giry sighed. "But the Vicomte de Chagny thinks they can trap and capture him if she sings."
"Vicomte thinks my ass!" Natalie shouted. Then something else occurred to her. "And you're letting them do this? You aren't going to stop them?" Madame Giry shook her head. "For Christ's sake! Whose side are you on? I thought you were his friend! I thought you helped him!"
"That was before!" Madame Giry protested.
"Before what?"
"Before all this madness! Besides, I could say the exact same thing about you."
"No," Natalie whispered angrily. She raised her voice to a shout. "No you can't! Because unlike you, I haven't given up on him. There's still time. I can try and talk him out of this. I can try and stop him!"
"Why do you care so much? Why does it matter to you?"
Natalie stared at her for a moment, tears glistening in her eyes. "Because I love him." She turned and ran towards the door.
"Where are you going?" the ballet mistress demanded.
"To the Opera Populaire. I'm going to put a stop to the madness. And I'll be damned if you try and stop me."
"Raoul de Chagny stop right there!"
"Natalie? You came back?" The Vicomte smiled at her. "It's good to see you again. What changed your mind?"
"You!"
Raoul seemed a little flustered at that. "Wha…What do you mean?"
Natalie rolled her eyes. He could be so stupid sometimes. "It means that your ludicrous plan will probably get you, Christine, and everyone else here killed! You know nobody messes with the Phantom and lives! I cannot let you be a total moron and get yourself murdered because you were dumb enough to try and beat the Opera Ghost."
"Natalie, I can personally assure you that I have everything under control. There are officers stationed at every door, one in Box Five, in the manager's box, in the pit, there is no way he can escape."
"Dammit! That's not my point! He's not going to try and leave, he's going to kidnap Christine, just like she tried to tell you. You can't let her sing. Trust me; I'm trying to help you."
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about. We have thought of all scenarios and how to counter them. What can possibly go wrong?"
Natalie slapped herself in the face. If he was going to be this damn stubborn and go through with this, there was one thing she could stop. She dropped her voice low in case Erik was nearby. "What about the chandelier?"
"Beg your pardon?"
"The chandelier!" Natalie hissed. . "If his plan doesn't work out for him, he's going to need an escape plan. What's the best way to do that? Biggest distraction possible. The chandelier would cause mass chaos, destruction, and probably several deaths."
"I understand your concern, but Natalie, don't worry. Nothing can go wrong."
She growled in frustration. "You stupid, arrogant asshole. You are going to get somebody killed. And at the rate you're going, that somebody is going to be you. I'm trying to help you but instead you're putting your precious ego ahead of the girl you love. I ought to smack you right here, right now. Actually I ought to let this blow up in your face. Instead, I'm going to try and find someone who will listen."
"Christine!"
"Natalie!" Christine wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so glad to see you! Are you okay? Where have you been? Why did you leave?"
"Look, what matters is the fact I'm back. And I'm back to warn you, you can't sing tonight. You know how dangerous the Phantom is."
"Raoul says…"
"Damn what Raoul says!" Natalie shouted. "You're absolutely terrified, I can see it in your eyes! You don't want to go through with this. And I'm telling you, you shouldn't. The Opera Populaire is the Phantom's domain, no one knows it like he does. Raoul means well, but so much of his plan can backfire. What if something goes wrong?"
Christine's face was very white. "I don't know. But Raoul says I'm perfectly safe. The entire police force is here. They won't let anything happen to me."
"But what if…"
"Natalie!" Christine interrupted. "This is my one chance to escape him. He's always there, haunting me. This is my one chance for peace of mind. My chance to truly be happy with Raoul. I have to believe this will work."
The pleading in Christine's eyes silenced any further arguments Natalie had. Erik may love Christine, but it was obvious to Natalie that Christine's heart belonged fully to Raoul. "Alright," Natalie sighed. "But be careful."
Christine nodded. "If there was another way, I'd do it."
"So would I," Natalie murmured as she left Christine. "So would I."
Natalie walked away, deep in thought. "What does he see in her?" she wondered. "I mean, yes she's pretty and a wonderful singer, but it's always Raoul says this, Raoul wants that. And before that it was Angel wants this, Angel says that. Doesn't she have a personality of her own?" Natalie sighed. "Oh who am I kidding? He loves her. Maybe if I were more like Christine, he'd love me instead." She shook her head. "What on earth am I saying? Have years of idolizing Pink and Avril Lavigne taught me nothing? Christine's just another average girl. I'm at least one in a million."
"Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back
Porno Paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blond hair back
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl"
"I don't need to be like that!" Natalie declared.
"So raise your glass if you are wrong
In all the right ways, all my underdogs
We will never be, never be anything but loud
And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks"
She sighed again. "Oh who am I kidding? I'd be a cat if that's what it took for him to love me."
"Because somewhere the one
I wanna be with's
with somebody else
Oh god, I wanna be that
someone that you're with
I wanna be that
someone that you're with
And I can talk about it all day long
'til I run out of breath
But I still wanna be that
someone that you're with
I've got to be that
someone that you're with
And I'm pacing by the phone
'Cause I hate to be alone
And if you're out there with him
somewhere and just about to kiss
God, I wanna be that
someone that you're with"
Natalie pulled her head out of the clouds. She was on a mission, she could daydream later, but for now she needed to save Erik. She ran throughout the opera house, calling his name, praying that he would answer.
Finally outside the costume storage closet, a hand fell on her shoulder. Natalie whirled around and saw him. He was dressed up in his usual black, but his signature white mask had been replaced by a black one that covered the upper half of his face. "Erik," Natalie breathed.
Sparks of fury flew from his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "I thought you were hiding out at Madame Giry's."
Natalie's jaw dropped. "How did…?"
"I saw you. I saw you there. I saw you at the Masquerade with Meg. So why don't you run away again? Because I don't need or want you here anymore."
"Erik, listen to me, I'm here to help you. You can't go through with this. There has got to be another way! You know that if you take Christine, Raoul will follow you to the ends of the earth. Kidnapping her isn't how you win her love!"
Erik scowled at her. "I don't need your advice! Go bother somebody who gives a shit." He pushed past her and made his way towards the stage.
His words struck a nerve. Natalie felt like he had hit her. "Please! Listen to me, this will not work out well. Raoul is trying to kill you!"
"You think I don't know that?"
"I can't let you purposely put yourself in harm's way. I won't let you."
Erik grabbed her upper arm and threw her into the costume closet. "I'm not giving you a choice." He slammed the door shut and the lock clicked before Natalie could stop him. "Oh, and thanks for the chandelier idea. I hadn't thought of that."
"You bastard!" she screamed while slamming on the door, tears springing to her eyes. "You were my friend! I trusted you!" She could hear him walking away, so she desperately tried playing her last card.
"It's nice to know that you were there
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one
It's nice to know we had it all
Thanks for watching as I fall
And letting me know we were done"
Nothing. He was gone. Natalie curled up on the floor and began to sob. She lost him. He was going to kidnap Christine. There was nothing she could do.
"You were everything, everything that I wanted
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it
And all of the memories, so close to me, just fade away
All this time you were pretending
So much for my happy ending"
Erik felt incredibly guilty. He couldn't believe what just did. He was so tempted to go back and hold her and beg for forgiveness. To go back and tell her everything. But Erik stopped himself. Christine. He loved Christine now. Well, he was going to. He had done it before and could to it again.
DUN DUN DUUUUN! So if you haven't figured it out, I did cut the cemetery scene. I wasn't quite sure how to work it in with Natalie, and besides, I didn't want to follow the movie/play 100% anyway. Thanks to everyone again for reviewing, it helps my narcassistic ego XD Extra-brownie points for to Phan3145 for suggesting that I use the song "Someone that You're With." I was looking for a good Nickelback song to mix in and had forgotten bout that one. Anywhoo, I appreciate all of you for sticking round with me this long. We're almost done, just a handful of chapters left. Read and Review as always
~nibblesfan