Chapter 20

Though he was alone, Erik enjoyed himself by watching Christine dance, usually silly moves to make the girls laugh but sometimes becoming quite graceful. Eventually, she pried herself away from her girlfriends and returned to him.

"I am so tired now…", she yawned, then smiled.

"No wonder. It's past midnight."¸he nodded, standing up and taking her hand.

"I can't find Meg or Nadir to get the car keys, so I found somewhere else for you", he said, leading her to the beach.

"Thank you..I really don't know how I thought I could stand to survive another few hours…"she said, then yawned again. He stopped and looked at her with concern.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

"No, no it's okay, I'm fine.", she said. He raised an eyebrow quizzically, and she smiled. "Alright, if you really want to…don't hurt yourself though."

Erik scoffed and picked her up easily. For his frail, thin frame, he was remarkably strong. Eyes widening in surprise, Christine held onto him for more security. He began walking again, with her cradled sleepily in his arms as they escaped the crowd. Finally, she spotted where he planned on putting her—a small boat landed near a beach house.

"Much nicer than sleeping on the sand, I'm sure", she said as he carefully lay her down. There were a few towels and thin jackets inside, padding the boat. Christine closed her eyes and sighed in relaxation, then tensed suddenly.

"Wait—where are you going to sleep?"

He leaned on the outside of the boat and rested an arm on its side.

"I'll stay out here. Tomorrow I'll sleep all day. I tend to be nocturnal anyway."

"You don't have to keep guard…"

He looked down at her as if she were an amusing yet endearing little child.

"Of course I do. It might surprise you what people will do—that is if there isn't a big scary thug like me guarding you", he teased, emphasizing his lack of muscle by flexing his pale toothpick arm. Christine quietly laughed and her eyes grew heavy again.

"Well, good night."

"'night."

After debating with himself for a while, Nadir finally called Chagny. Just when he thought the boy wouldn't pick up, he heard a groggy "Hello?"

"Mr. de Chagny? I think I have a pretty good suspect."

Raoul immediately sounded more alert.

"So soon? Who is it, what is he like? Is Christine interested in him? Oh God, please tell me she's not…"

"Slow down…he's only a suspect, I don't KNOW that he did it. Anyway, his name is Erik, I don't know his surname, and he's even told me that he likes your ex-girlfriend. And she um…she appears to be returning those feelings."Nadir said carefully. Of course, Raoul panicked.

"WHAT?! It's only been three days and she's found someone else? Who IS this guy?"

"If you mean his description, well…he's eccentric."

"What do you mean, he's eccentric?",demanded Chagny.

"He works as a street performer. He sings incredibly well and is apparently teaching Christine how to sing too. They did a duet at Meg's party tonight."

"He's got her to sing again…", Raoul repeated dully, then groaned. "And she invited him to the party, correct?"

"I believe so. I'm sorry, Mr. de Chagny."

"What does he look like?", asked Raoul, desperate to see what Christine apparently saw.

"Like I said, he's eccentric. He's extremely tall, pale, and thin—I mean, really skinny. Black hair, mismatched eyes…and um… he has a mask."

There was a pause.

"Wait, what?"

"A mask. Half of one on the right side of his face."

"Is he in some sort of weird cult or something?"

"No actually. At least, it's not likely. All I have are theories.", explained Khan.

Raoul sighed, "What's your theory on why Christine likes him?"

"Mainly he's gotten through to her with music—the lessons, his voice—and from what I've seen, he's really nice to her. And a bit shy."

"Should I have hope?"

"I'm an investigator, not a love adviser, but I think you have plenty of hope of winning Miss Daae back.", Khan encouraged him.. "Now, like I said, I don't KNOW Erik did it by any means, but I highly suspect he did. I will continue to gather information. If he indeed called and set up you up, what do you plan on doing?"

"I'll kill him."

Erik had entertained himself all night by watching Christine dream and staring out at the stars over the ocean. Finally, dawn broke, but no one at the party was awake. At least, that's what he thought.

"Good morning Erik. It seems everyone but us is still unconscious.", Nadir's voice greeted from afar. Erik turned to see the Persian approach the landed boat.

"Yeah I had to keep watch all night", he yawned in reply, glancing at the still sleeping Christine.

"How considerate of you. Meg and I nodded off in the sand, like most people did. Quite uncomfortable once we woke", joked Khan. Erik smiled and nodded, then yet again looked at Christine. Nadir took the hint and spoke softer.

"So…did you have a good time?"

Erik sighed happily, still watching his girl. "Mmhm. I did."

"Well good. I'll go get Meg up then.", said Khan, who then walked away, disappearing over a sand dune. At this point, a flock of seagulls noisily flew over, and Christine woke up slowly, squinting at the sun. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it'd be", she said, looking up at Erik upside-down. "You actually stayed up all night long?"

"Yep.", he replied proudly. He helped her out of the makeshift bed. "Nadir and Meg are just getting up. Let's go catch them before they drive off without us."

They raced back to the car, dodging piles of passed out drunk lovers in the sand and laughing. Christine, being more experienced in running, beat him to the Lexus and whooped in victory. He acknowledged his defeat in a mock bow and soon enough, a slightly disheveled Meg and Nadir showed up, unlocking the car. Everyone got in and had a very chatty ride back to Christine's apartment.

"Where should we drop you off Erik?", asked Meg. He paused.

"Um…here. I'll walk home, thanks."

The other two drove off with a wave and he turned to Christine.

"You have to sing in the park with me sometime. You'll get more tips than waiting tables—and much more fun.", he suggested, smiling. She nodded.

"Alright…tomorrow then. At three."

They both seemed to agree with this and they parted ways with a shy wave, both knowing that their friendship had changed to more than just that for good. Also, they both knew that Erik REALLY needed a nap.

AN: please please please review. My hands hurt XD