Thank you for all your reviews on the last chapter and thank you to all my continued readers. Your reviews mean so much to me. A special thank you to lks358 who gave me some really helpful advice on this chapter. She has also agreed to beta for me and has been incredibly helpful. Now, without further ado, on with the story.
Christine had gone through her music and highlighted her part to separate it from the chorus. She practiced the chorus parts in chorus practice and she practiced the solo with her partner after practice. What Christine had originally thought she would be singing alone she was in actuality singing with a partner. New singers performing solo parts were paired with a partner, so their voices could support each other. It was also as a precaution in case one of the singers couldn't sing the part. Luckily Christine's partner, Ida, was very pleasant. Many of the other soloists were not as kind. Chelsey had the coveted spot as the star soloist, and she wasn't friendly to those she thought might take it from her. The entire environment was much more competitive than what Christine was used to, and if it weren't for Erik she would feel completely unsure about her abilities. At first, Christine disliked the competition, but she had learned to use it to improve.
While Christine got a lot of practice on both the chorus and her solo part, she never got much practice with them together. She was worried that when the time came to perform she would flounder. Unsurprisingly this came up during her time with Erik, as many of her concerns often did.
"I just worry that I'll mess something up if I never practice it all together. I'm not used to singing it and then having others join me," she fretted.
Erik was glancing over her music, but most of his attention was focused on Christine. "We could sing this together. You sing the whole song, your solo and the chorus parts, and I'll sing as the chorus with you. It's not a whole group of people but it should help you adjust."
"Oh! That's great, thank you. I never thought of that, I was just too involved worrying," Christine exclaimed, relieved beyond belief. "Shows how smart I am," she added self-depreciatively.
Erik couldn't understand how a being that was so perfect could possibly find any faults in herself. "You are too hard on yourself, Christine. You are stressed about this, it's natural that you can't think of a solution."
"Thanks, Erik," Christine said with a smile.
Erik found a music stand and placed the music on it, between him and Christine. "You start, so whenever you're ready," he prompted. Christine took a deep breath and began her part.
"I can read your mind
And I know your story
I see what you're going through
It's an uphill climb
And I'm feeling sorry
But I know it will come to you
Don't surrender
Cause you can win
In this thing called love"
Christine's voice flowed like a river, naturally rising where it was high and falling beautifully to the lower parts. She continued through the chorus of the song and Erik joined was reminded of the unearthly experience singing with Erik was. His voice rang magnificently in her ears, filling her with life. She felt as if she could listen to him forever, and never grow tired of it, and if she didn't have to focus on singing herself she just might have.
"When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is"
Love was the one thing Erik wanted above all else, and the one thing he thought he could never have. He wished it was as simple as believing, but he didn't think it was. The chorus section finished and Christine continued the next part alone in her sweet soprano voice.
"When you question me
For a simple answer
I don't know what to say
But it's plain to see
If you stick together
You're gonna find the way
So don't surrender
Cause you can win
In this thing called love"
As Christine sang it occurred to her, not for the first time, that she wasn't sure she'd ever really felt true love, or not the type the song was talking about anyway. She loved her parents dearly, of course, but had she ever felt a romantic love towards anyone? She'd had feelings for boys before, and she had had her share of boyfriends, but if she was honest with herself, she couldn't say she really loved any of them. Maybe not even Raoul, although the thought sat uncomfortably with her, and she forced her attention back to the music. Soon Erik's voice joined hers again.
"When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is"
Was that just the way it was? Was earning love as simple as believing? Erik had complete faith in his love for Christine. There was not a doubt in his mind that he loved her. Could his love be enough to earn hers in return?
"That's the way it is"
Christine sang alone, reiterating the last line of the chorus like an anthem.
"When life is empty
With no tomorrow
And loneliness starts to call"
Erik echoed the last line of the chorus. He felt lonely most of the time, he had been lonely most of his life. Even when he was around people, even when he was talking to Nadir—someone he considered a friend—he felt lonely. But he had never felt that way around Christine, even from the beginning. Some part of him, however small, had always felt like they were meant to be.
"Baby don't worry
Forget your sorrow
Cause love's gonna conquer it all"
Christine sang as if she was promising such to Erik. They finished the song together.
"When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it"
Both Christine and Erik were silent for a moment after they finished. Erik was letting himself wonder, for the first time, if he actually had a chance with Christine. Christine was wondering why she was in a relationship with a man she didn't love, after five months of dating. She also was wondering why she didn't love Raoul after five months of dating. They had been best of friends as kids and he was perfectly nice. Christine thought back to their last date.
The two of them had just caught an afternoon movie and were walking down the street, hand in hand. Christine was leaning her head on Raoul's shoulder. They passed an ice cream parlor and Raoul suggested they stop for ice cream, which Christine agreed to. They were both sitting down to ice cream when Christine decided to voice something that had been weighing on her mind lately.
"You know, I've been thinking about going back to school sometime. Like seriously thinking about it. Not this upcoming semester but the next year, or the year after that. I could go part-time and still work. I've always wanted to, but I've never thought of it seriously before. What do you think?" Christine usually told stuff like this to Raoul first. Partly because he was her boyfriend and she felt like she should, and partly because when they were kids he was always the first person she wanted to tell about everything.
"What would you study if you went back to school? Theater?" Raoul had asked.
"Yeah, that's always what I wanted to do before my dad passed. Now that I have more financial stability, I could actually do it. It's all far away now, but it's something I actually am thinking about doing."
"Well, if that's what you want, it's definitely worth thinking about; but you know theater isn't the most stable field of work. And wouldn't you have to move away to do more school? I kind of like the idea of you staying near me," Raoul had said, adding charm to an otherwise hard-to-swallow line of thoughts.
Christine had smiled thinly. "Well, it's far off from now anyways. It's just something I was thinking about."
Erik's voice broke Christine from her thoughts. "That was good. You did well singing even though I was joining it too. You didn't get distracted. Let's go back to measures 50-58 and rework that part," he said, his tone now business-like. The rest of the lesson went smoothly as Erik and Christine continued working on her solo song.
"That was really helpful," Christine thanked Erik after their lesson.
"That's what I'm here for," Erik responded.
Christine hesitated before leaving. Part of her wanted to talk to Erik about going back to school, but another part of her was too afraid of what he might say. It was one thing for Raoul to express his doubt; he was not an expert on music. At least, that's the reason she told herself. She tried not to think too much about the fact that she valued Erik's opinion above any other. After mentally oscillating Christine blurted out a question "Do you think I could ever make it performing? Like for real?"
"Absolutely," Erik said without hesitation. "You are the most talented and dedicated person I know, and if you wanted to, you would do amazing performing."
Christine didn't even have to ask him to confirm it. She could see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his tone. "Thank you, Erik. That means a lot to me," she said softly before leaving.
After Christine left Erik poured himself a drink and sat down heavily in his chair. He thought of Christine and conflicting emotions swirled inside of him. Singing with her again had been exhilarating, but Erik couldn't help but feel he was deceiving her. There was so much of him that she didn't know. His hands were stained with blood she did not see. If she knew, surely she would want nothing to do with him. But as long as she was in the dark, Erik could have the benefit of her companionship, and that was not something he was ready to let go of. Troubled, he ran his hand over his scarred face, knowing that he could not keep his past from her forever.
End of chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. The song is That's the way it is by Céline Dion for those of you who want to listen to it. Please review, and feel free to PM me.