(A/N: You're all going to hate me… I took a potentially pluffy chapter and completely ruined it Whoops… Lol, oh well. By the way, you'd be surprised how many of you offered to take the Punjab lasso and kill Raoul for Erik. It was actually pretty funny… All most every review said something along the lines of, "Don't worry, Erik, I'll do it for you!" ((takes the Punjab lasso and snaps Raoul's neck)) … Wow. We're so violent…)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Prima Donna

Christine jumped as there was a sound from behind her. For a moment she stared at her reflection, and then Erik was in the room with her.

It took her a moment to register this, and then her face lit up with a smile. "Erik! I thought you'd left me, I…" she trailed off when she met his gaze. He was angry… terribly angry.

The color slowly drained from Christine's face. "Erik? What—"

"Why did you except that boy's invitation to dinner?" he hissed at her.

Christine took a stumbling step backwards. "He's just a friend…I thought it was a nice request…"

"He obviously doesn't view you as 'just a friend'." Erik crossed the distance between them and moved to grab her arms roughly, then realized what he was doing and jerked back.

They stared at each other for a moment, and the anger slowly melted out of Erik's eyes. He turned away, already regretting he had come in. "Christine… I'm sorry… I meant to leave you alone…"

He was about to continue, but Christine placed a hand on his shoulder and gently turned him to face her.

"I'm glad that you didn't." she said softly. She only hesitated a moment before reaching up and removing his mask. Erik immediately wrenched himself from her grasp and tried to cover his face, but she stopped him.

Standing up on her tiptoes, she gently kissed his deformed cheek. It was only a small, chaste, friendly gesture, but it was still more than Erik was used to.

He immediately turned his face away, shocked and amazed that she had dared to do what even his mother had been afraid of. Christine stepped closer, but Erik took his mask from her hands and turned away.

"Very well, Christine… go with the Vicomte. Forget I was ever here. I shall try not to upset you further by coming again."

"Erik…no…wait, don't go—" but she was too late, and Erik had already disappeared beyond the mirror.

xxxxx

"'ow dare you! Geeving my part 'oo zat leetle—leetle…" Apparently Carlotta couldn't find a word bad enough for Christine, so she wrung her hands and screamed, "Zat leetle toad!"

"La Carlotta, please try to understand…we had no leading lady! What were we supposed to do?" Andre pleaded.

"'Oo were zepposed to cancel ze show!"

"But we had a full house!" Firmin exclaimed, "We couldn't cancel!"

"Yes, 'oo could." Carlotta turned on her heel and began to march out of the door. Firmin and Andre exchanged glances, before hurrying to catch up with her.

"But you are our Prima Donna! You cannot leave again!" Firmin exclaimed.

"Vatch me!" As the managers looked on, Carlotta made to leave through the door, but her hoop skirt was too wide for the frame. After moments of struggling, she managed to turn the hoop sideways, and fell through with a muffled thud.

Carlotta got up and brushed herself off, then glared at the managers as if it was their fault. "You're doors should bee vider." she informed them huffily. After brushing the wrinkles out their clothes, she straightened up and crossed her arms. There was a moment of silence, and then Carlotta said, "Vell?"

"Well what?" Andre asked, but was only met with a glare.

"Vell, vhat are 'oo goeeng to do?"

Andre blinked. "We'll bring someone in to fix the doorway right away." he assured her.

Carlotta seethed. "I didn't meen zat! I meen about me."

Andre speculated for a moment before saying, "Well, you could go on a diet—" Firmin hit his partner over the head with a bundle of letters.

"Just shut up." he moved over to Carlotta. "Prima Donna…what would we do without you? We need you…your public needs you!"

"Vat about ze toad?" Carlotta demanded.

"No one wants her… she'll go back to being a chorus girl, as she should be. She just doesn't have the voice to be Prima Donna."

Carlotta smiled, and was about to say something, when a suddenly Andre let out a loud moan. Firmin and Carlotta both turned and glared at him, expecting another inappropriate comment.

"What is it?" Firmin asked impatiently.

"Another letter."

Firmin paled considerably. "Let me see it!" He snatched the letter from his partner's hands, ripping it open.

His eyes scanned the note, and then he let out a derisive snort. "It's nothing. Just nonsense." With that, he tore the letter in half and dropped it into a basket of old mail beside their desk. Then he turned back to Carlotta.

"Please my lady, be our Prima Donna once more! We are nothing without you."

"Vell…" Carlotta seemed to consider for a moment, then announced, "Zince 'oo obfiouslee need mee… af course I vill!"

Firmin looked relieved. "Brilliant! Now, let's talk about your new role…" as they headed down the hallway and out of sight, Andre peered over into the mail basket. He could just make out the blood red handwriting…

If these demands are not met, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur!

Andre went white, and hurried after the other two. In his haste and distractedness, he ran straight into the door frame. Andre cursed and rubbed his nose, then glared at the offending piece of wood.

"You know, they really do need to make the doors bigger." He sidestepped, and then ran down the hallway to catch up with his colleague.

xxxxx

Erik collapsed in the darkness, his head in his hands. Why did he always have to ruin everything? He remembered Christine's hurt expression as he vanished into the darkness, and sighed. It was better this way, anyway.

"Erik?" Christine's voice echoed through the passageway, and Erik sat up with a curse. Why couldn't she just let him let her go?

He got up and stealthily moved through the shadows. When Christine didn't find him, she'd turn back, he was sure. As he began to walk down the shadowy hallway, he suddenly heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Carlotta…

xxxxx

Christine felt her way through the darkness, trying to find where Erik had gone. She knew she didn't have much chance of finding him… It was impossible to see in the complete blackness, and she didn't know where she was going. She couldn't go too far, or she would get lost.

As she stumbled through the darkness, she nearly ran straight into him. She could see his golden eyes narrowed to almost slits, and he was holding something in his hands. Christine crept closer, accidentally knocking a stone loose from the passageway. She looked up quickly, but Erik hadn't noticed. He was staring in the opposite direction, concentrating.

"Erik..." she felt the color in her face leave as the light from a small vent in the wall shed light on the object in Erik's hands. She stepped closer, hoping that she was wrong...but she quickly realized she wasn't. In his hands, he held some kind of noose...

(A/N: Yeah, I know, kind of short again, but I'm at school and I have to leave in a few seconds…)

—Hilary