(A/N: So… who's going to be the first one to try and Punjab me for making you wait so long? ((gulps and holds hand at level of eyes...(up against my face, not two feet away like Raoul does...))) I'm surprised I haven't gotten any death-threats… Anyway, I'm SO sorry for making you guys wait! You know how the end of the school year is… I've been smothered with project upon project -- Thank you for being understanding! Also, WELCOME to all of the people who are just joining me now. (Don't worry, I do like long reviews, Dreamer…I was absolutely thrilled when I got yours! ) Anyway, now for the update…)

Chapter Twenty-Six: More Secrets

"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...

"Erik! Erik, what are you doing?" Christine ran up and touched his arm, and he turned to look at her, as if he had noticed her for the first time. His eyes burned with emotions that scared her, and she backed away slightly.

"Erik?"

His eyes closed for a moment, then reopened. The rage that had been in them a moment ago had vanished completely, as if it had never been there in the first place. When she looked down at his hands, she noticed that the noose was gone as well. Perhaps that had never been there either?

She brought her eyes up to meet his, and then asked the question that she knew she might regret. "What was that?"

xxxxx

Erik hadn't even seen Christine, he was so lost in his rage. In fact, he hadn't even realized that he had brought the Punjab lasso out from its hiding place. What had possessed him? His eyes darkened slightly as he remembered Carlotta. The nerve she had to return!

"Erik? What was that?"

Erik frowned, before realizing that Christine wanted to know what the Punjab lasso was. He couldn't tell her the truth. When he looked back up at her, however, he realized he couldn't lie. To compromise, he decided to say nothing.

Christine was persistent though, and wouldn't let it drop. "Erik…Erik, look at me. What were you doing? What was that?" She stepped closer and gently took his arm, turning him back to face her when he tried to pull away.

"It was nothing, Christine. Forget about it." he finally said softly.

"But Erik—"

"Go back to your room. Meg will be worried if she comes back during lunch to check on you, and finds you missing. Go back."

"Erik…" Christine reached up and touched his unmasked cheek. "If I do, promise me that you'll come back."

"Seemingly, I cannot stay away."

That brought a smile to her face. Gently, almost shyly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face closer to hers.

Erik's eyes closed, and he let her get closer. Finally, her lips met his. They just barely brushed, like the wings of a butterfly. Then she got bolder, and pressed them harder against his.

To his amazement, he let her. He couldn't seem to pull away. It was as if he had suddenly lost his ability to move.

Christine took advantage of his helplessness, and closed all space between them, so that her body was resting against his. Her fingers entwined in his hair as she kept his lips down to hers.

To Erik, it was bliss and agony. He knew that he should stop her, that he should push her away, but he couldn't. He tried at the very least not to react to the kiss, but found himself kissing her back.

Moving as if in a dream, he carefully placed his arms around Christine and held her to him. She was so soft… Erik moaned quietly as he kissed her, and this seemed to encourage her.

When he felt her tongue meet the seam of his lips, he panicked. His mind shouted, 'What are you doing? Leave now, while you still can!' But his body wouldn't listen. Instead of pushing her away, as he should have, he found himself parting his lips for her.

Her tongue explored his mouth, and he was powerless to stop her. Almost against his will, he felt the fingers of one hand fumble with the laces on her dress, the other buried deeply in her hair.

xxxxx

Christine didn't think twice about what she was doing. If she did, she might stop, and she didn't want to. She was vaguely surprised that Erik hadn't shoved her away by now, and yet thrilled that he hadn't.

Her heart skipped a beat when she felt him undo the ties on the back of her dress. His arms clutched her against him, and she didn't protest. Instead she dove deeper into his mouth with her tongue, urging him on.

"Christine?" Raoul's voice echoed from her dressing room.

For a moment, Christine paused and listened to it, but she couldn't identify it. She brushed it out of her mind.

"CHRISTINE!"

xxxxx

Erik gasped and jerked away, stumbling back into the darkness. What had come over him? He looked back at Christine, who was now gazing in the opposite direction. Her eyes were wide in fear and panic.

"Erik! Oh, Erik, it's Raoul! What will he think? He'll call the police this time for sure…"

Erik held a finger to her lips, then delicately took her hand and led her down a side passageway. When they reached the end, he opened the trap door, and let Christine out into the hallway not a hundred feet away from her room. "Go back. Tell him you had just taken a walk, and that there's nothing to worry about."

Christine smiled in relief. "Thank you, Erik…" he turned to go, but she continued, "Will you still come for my voice lesson this evening?"

He looked away. "You have other…engagements." His voice was sour as he spoke of her dinner with Raoul.

She paused, and then said softly. "I'm suddenly not feeling well, and will be unable to make it."

He was glad that his face was turned away, so that she couldn't see the small smile that graced it. "Then I will be there." He closed the trapdoor behind him.

xxxxx

Christine hurried down the hallway to her room, hoping and praying that she would catch Raoul in time. As she ran, her thoughts wandered back to when she had first run into Erik in the tunnel. Whatever he was holding, she reassured herself, it couldn't have been a noose. I must have been imagining things.

She nearly ran straight into Raoul as he left her room, a frantic look on his face. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Raoul ran and embraced her, a cry of relief escaping his lips.

"Christine! I didn't know what happened to you! Where did you go?"

Christine gently pushed him away. "I was just out for a walk, Raoul. There really isn't much to do in my dressing room."

He smiled and brushed a disheveled brown curl away from her face, then suddenly frowned.

"The laces to your dress are undone."

Christine could feel a hot blush forming on her cheeks. "Oh, I…well I must have…I must have forgotten to tie them." she stuttered, not meeting his eyes. Her cheeks were getting hotter by the second. "I hope no one saw that on my walk, at least it was short." She hated lying to him.

Raoul chuckled amusedly. "I'm glad that I'm the one who noticed, then. Here, let me tie them for you."
Christine hesitated, then obligingly turned and lifted her hair out of the way. In a matter of seconds, Raoul had it tied back up, and she turned around to face him again.

His eyes were twinkling merrily, and there was a smile on his face. "I can't wait until dinner tonight. Did you pick out what you're going to wear?"

Christine's heart sank. She hadn't been looking forward to this. "Oh, Raoul… I'm sorry, I can't."

His face fell. "But why not?"
"I'm not feeling well after the trip. After all, I did only get back early this morning. I was hoping I would start to feel better during the day, but it's only gotten worse. That's why I was heading back to my room. I'm so sorry, Raoul."

Raoul looked heartbroken. She could tell he had been really looking forward to this dinner.
He looked so upset that she couldn't stop herself from saying, "Perhaps tomorrow night?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Erik had been upset that she had been going to dinner with Raoul tonight…simply moving it to tomorrow night wouldn't make anything better.

Raoul, however, looked as if Christmas had come early. "Of course! I should have been more understanding, Christine." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Tomorrow night, then."

Christine could only nod, and he backed up. "I have a meeting to go to with my brother. I'll see you soon!" Raoul quickly kissed her lips, and then left.

Christine walked back into her dressing room, and shut the door. Perhaps Erik hadn't heard the arrangement for tomorrow night. She could find out if he had or not this evening.

If he hadn't heard… well, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

(A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for how long it took me to get this chapter up. I hope that it was… semi-enjoyable. Lol, it was okay for a little while there… ((Sighs)) and then Raoul ruined everything. PLEASE REVIEW :)

Hilary