Okay, here it is, what I believe is a big chapter!!! ENJOY!!
Christine glanced at herself in the mirror. It was the night of the ball and she had just gotten done getting dressed. The last thing she needed was her mask and she would be ready.
Christine carefully picked up the mask and placed it on her face, tying the bow in the back securely. She had to say, she did look like the Angel of Music.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was Meg.
"Are you ready?" Meg asked.
Christine nodded, so she and Meg walked to the ballroom at the front of the Opera house. There were so many people, Christine was astounded.
After finding Madame Giry, Meg went off to dance, while Madame Giry went over to the buffet to get a drink, leaving Christine alone.
After about an hour, Christine was beginning to feel bored. A couple of young men had asked her to dance but she felt guilty dancing with anyone except for Erik, so she said no.
Now, after drinking three glasses of punch and one plateful of goodies, she was beginning to grow tired of the ball.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. "You look very lovely this evening Mademoiselle, or do you prefer Madame?"
Christine spun around to find Erik standing behind her. He was wearing all black, with his white masked replaced by a black, leather one.
Christine had to admit he looked very handsome in his outfit, but before she could speak, Erik spoke again. "I noticed that you were all alone over here, Mademoiselle, so I thought that I would come over here and ask you if you would like to dance."
Christine smiled. Erik was obviously trying to blend in, and pretending to be a complete stranger did just that. So, Christine said. "Well, Monsieur, I would love to dance with you, but I am afraid that my husband would get very upset."
Erik glared at her slightly, knowing exactly what she was doing. "Well, Madame, I suppose that your husband will just not have to find out, won't he?"
Christine pretended to be innocent. "Oh, but Monsieur, my husband would be extremely angry with me and that is something that I would not want to happen."
Erik held out his hand. "Well, what if I told you that your husband actually gave me permission to dance with you since that Phantom cannot be seen in public?"
Christine smiled at Erik again and accepted his hand. "Well then, I guess that would make this all right, wouldn't it?"
Erik escorted Christine out to the dance floor, where they began to waltz. They kept dancing for a long time, occasionally taking a break so Christine could rest, but they always immediately went back to dancing as soon as she was better.
As they danced, the world around them seemed to drown out. All the people disappearing, only them being left. Slowly, without noticing, they grew closer and closer, until they were only a breath away from each other.
Christine's heart was beating a million miles an hour. She felt so funny being this close to Erik. But, at the same time, it felt right, like this was supposed to be.
As they danced, Erik's mind also began to spin.
Neither of them could think, they just danced, staring into each others eyes, until they felt like they were looking into each others souls.
At midnight, everyone gathered around the clock to count it down. Erik and Christine finally stopped, but they continued to stare into each others eyes.
Christine suddenly remembered something. At midnight, everyone took their masks off. She worried about Erik, they were in the middle of a crowded room, how would he escape?
But, just as the clock hit midnight, the lights went out, and Christine found herself falling through the floor, with Erik holding her tight.
They landed on some straw, with Erik still tightly holding onto Christine.
As they stood up, Erik asked. "Are you all right?"
Christine nodded. "Yes, but how did you do that?"
Erik grinned. "I know all about the mask custom for midnight, so I made certain that we stopped on the trap door in the ballroom. Then I set up all the lights to go out at midnight so we would be able to escape unseen."
Erik then led Christine through the corridors until they arrived at the lake.
Erik turned to Christine. "I'll take you up to your bedroom now, Madame Giry might be looking for you."
"No!" Christine said suddenly. Erik turned to her. "I mean, not yet. I am not tired at all, and I would like to spent the first part of the new year with you."
Erik watched her for a second, then led her to the boat, where he rowed them both to his home.
Christine walked up to the fireplace as Erik tied the boat. When he was finished, he turned to Christine, who was watching him.
When he caught her, she blushed and looked down. Erik grinned then walked up to her. "You should probably take your mask off now, you don't want to get it dirty."
Christine looked up at him. "Only if you take yours off too."
Erik hesitated, but then slowly reached up to take his mask off, while Christine untied hers. When they were done, they stared at each other for a long time, just looking.
Suddenly, on impulse, they both reached over and kissed each other.
Then, the kiss slowly grew in passion, and, before they both knew it, Erik swept Christine up in his arms and carried her, still kissing each other, to his bedroom.
WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, I guess you can all figure out what happened next, but I'm not given any details. I hope you all did enjoy this chapter, and I apologize ahead of time if any of you feel that this all happened to fast, but thats how I work. Oh, and by the way, PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks!!!! Until I (hopefully soon) write again, Li Li