Thank you for those of you who reviewed and thank you for everyone's continued support. Here's the next chapter :) Sorry for the delay.
"So how did your audition go?" Meg asked excitedly at breakfast the next morning
"I think it went good... I thought I would be super nervous and mess it up, and I was nervous, but I think I still did well. Of course, there were a lot of good singers there, so there's no guarantee I will get a spot" Christine recounted
"Don't sell yourself short, you did great and you know it" Meg assured
"I hope so... Oh! You'll never guess who I saw after the audition!" Christine exclaimed
"Who?" Meg asked curiously
"Raoul, remember I told you about him once. We were best friends as kids before Dad and I moved away" Christine blushed slightly
Meg noticed Christine's cheeks turning pink. She raised her eyebrows at Christine "Soooo... what happened? Did he talk to you?"
Christine nodded "He runs his fathers' business now, he says he is trying to do charity work with the money. And we exchanged numbers, and he asked me out! We are going out Wednesday night!" Christine related excitedly
"Christine Daaé! I'm disappointed, I thought we were friends, how could you have not told me about this right away" Meg scolded humorously
"I did" Christine protested, "It only happened last night and I'm telling you now"
"I'm just messing with you, and you know it" teased Meg.
"I know" Christine assured her and they passed the rest of the morning in happy conversation.
Nadir came and visited Erik that same day, only to find that he was in a more sour mood than usual. Of course, he never expected Erik to be in a good mood but there were times when he was especially bitter, and today was one of them. Before today, Erik's mood had been better in general. Ever since he took on his student, he seemed much happier. Of course, he hardly ever showed it but there was a definite upswing in his mood.
"How did Miss Daaé's audition go" Nadir asked
"I wouldn't know... we have a lesson tomorrow. I'll be sure to fill you in first thing." Erik replied coldly
This surprised Nadir for he was sure, knowing Erik, that he would have gone to the audition "You didn't talk to her after the audition yesterday? Or didn't you go?" asked Nadir, confused.
"I don't see how that is any of your business Daroga" Erik responded shortly
Over the course of the next hour, Nair tried to get more out of Erik over tea but he remained unrelenting. He was not too discouraged, however, he knew Erik would tell him when he was ready to. Nadir was often the recipient of Erik's problems when they became too much for him to internalize. So, he left Erik's house confused and concerned about his friend's behavior.
Later that night Erik reflected on the events of the audition. True, he was angry at the boy for taking away Christine's time from him after the audition but he was coming to realize that he only had himself to blame. He was the one who allowed himself to get close to someone, knowing what he was. That was what had really caused all this because if he had just been Christine's teacher like he said he would be from the start, none of this would have happened.
Erik opened the door to the closet where he kept a mirror. He tore his mask off and forced himself to look at his hideous reflection. This is what he was. He had allowed himself to forget that in Christine's presence, but no longer. He promised himself that. Somehow he thought if he closed himself off it would hurt less when she decided she never wanted to see him again. Because surely there had to be an end to all this. She would leave for bigger and better things.
The next day Erik opened the door to a smiling Christine "Hey Erik, how are you?" she greeted pleasantly
"I've been fine, how was your audition?" he asked
"It went good... I think, I actually ran into an old friend there" she said, a slight blush coloring her face
"Oh?" Erik responded, trying to sound uninterested before he changed the subject "We should get to work, we will just work on some of the music we already have that's not you're audition for now. Until you get accepted and have music from the choir to practice, unless you have any personal pieces in mind?"
Christin frowned at the sudden change of subject, she and Erik usually talked a little before they started lessons "Um, no I don't have anything in mind, I was too focused on auditions to think about beyond them"
"That is no problem, I have several pieces that would be good practice for you" Erik replied as they moved into his music room. They ran through their usual warm-up exercises before moving into the new pieces. About an hour later, the lesson was over when Christine's phone started ringing, it was a number that wasn't in her phone but she answered anyway, figuring it might be about the audition.
"Hello, is this Christine Daaé?" the voice on the other end asked
"Yes, this is she" Christine responded nervously
"We are calling in reference to you're audition Sunday, and we wanted to know if you would be interested in joining our chorus?" the voice said
"Oh, yes! Definitely, I would love that!" Christine exclaimed
"Perfect, we will send you an email with the details"
"That sounds great, thank you" Christine said, smiling.
"Yes, well thank you, Miss Daaé," the speaker said before hanging up.
"I got it!" Christine exclaimed to Erik, practically jumping with excitement
"That's amazing, I always knew you could do it" Erik smiled
"This is all thanks to you" Christine insisted "I would never have gotten hear without your help"
"You always had what it takes, I hardly helped at all" Erik argued
Christine shook her head "I would never have done this without you, I can't thank you enough" and with that, she wrapped her arms around him to hug him.
Erik started, shocked at the top of her head and the feeling of her arms around him. The logical voice inside of him told him that he should protest, that he was leading himself to pain and disappointment. But a much larger part of him didn't care about later, and only focused on the pleasant feeling in his chest.
Christine woke late the next morning, after a refreshing sleep. She had a shorter shift at work and she was happy that she would have some time to relax before her date that evening. It was around six in the evening when she started getting ready for her date. She showered and blow-dried her hair before brushing it and letting it hang around her shoulders. She applied some make-up, although not excessively. She rarely wore any, she didn't see the reason to at work or with Meg, but this was a special occasion.
She flipped through her clothes, anxiously looking for something she wanted to wear. She decided on a simple blue dress, that flowed out near the bottom. She fastened a string of pearl necklace, one of the pieces she had left from her mother, around her neck. She was ready, and Raoul was due to arrive in 10 minutes.
Right as the clock ticked to seven, Christine heard a knock on the door. She smiled at Raoul's punctual arrival. She answered the door and smiled brilliantly at her "You look beautiful, Christine"
Christine blushed and walked out the door with him "Thank you, you look very nice as well" she returned. He did look dashing, he wore black formal pants with a nice sweater. He escorted her to his car opening the passenger door for her. He drove, and when they parked Christine noticed the restaurant he chose. It was a very nice place, one she had never been to for concern over its price.
Christine had a very nice dinner with Raoul. The food was amazing, but she also enjoyed her company. She felt like they had talked all night, so much had happened to both of them since they had parted. She was amazed to find that Raoul could be both her childhood friend and her charming date. She told him about how she came to be a nurse, about Erik and her audition, and how excited she was to be accepted. He seemed genuinely happy for her, and he told her about his family business and how happy he was to be through school and be working it now. She felt like no time at all had passed since they had been friends.
After dinner, Raoul drove her home and walked her up to her apartment "I had a really great time tonight" he said when the reached her door.
"So did I" Christine smiled "Thank you for dinner"
"It was my pleasure" Raoul assured her, leaning slightly closer to her "Maybe we can do this again sometime"
She nodded, suddenly noticing how close they were to each other "I would like that"
And then, he leaned down and closed the gap between them, kissing her softly on the lips. She kissed him back, lightly, and when he pulled away they were both blushing.
"Goodnight Christine" Raoul said before walking away, back to his car.
Christine opened the door to her apartment and went inside. She felt a strange mixture of feelings as undressed from the evening and got ready for bed. She had enjoyed the evening and was smiling to herself as she moved around her bedroom. She thought about Raoul and his kiss, it had felt nice, but beyond that, she didn't know what to feel. She felt both happy and confused as she fell asleep that night. Although what she was confused about, she didn't know.
End of Chapter. So what do you think? I know some of you are unhappy with Raoul's place in the story, and who doesn't just want Christine and Erik to be happy together. Especially poor Erik, who I think we can all agree needs some happiness in his life. Anyway, I won't give anything away but I promise I have a plan. Please review, it really helps by self-doubt that I'm doing a terrible job. Also, I can take constructive criticism, if that's what you have in mind. I love to hear your thought's either way. Also any questions you have about the story. Please leave a review or PM me.