Hello there! This is my new Christine/Erik story. I have been writing it for a year or so now and although it's not completely finished, it's close, and I am ready to start sharing it. This is going to be over 30 chapters long so although it starts out kind of slow, please bear with me.

This story is completely in Christine's POV. I wanted her to be the sole narrator which keeps Erik's mysteries secret until they're revealed; along with other character secrets.

There will be two parts to this story, which is why it is so long. The first will be getting to know Erik to a certain extent and set us up for the second half. Then it gets a little crazy.

I am inspired by the webtoon A Ghost on the Roof by Klaus Scrimshaw, Quiet2885's phics, and my first apartment I rented above a man who I saw literally two times in the whole year I lived there.

I will update when I can, please keep patience with me.

"Alright!" A middle aged blonde woman spoke over a stack of papers. "Now that you've signed the lease, this is now yours." A small golden key was handed to Christine as they sat across a wooden desk in the renters office of La Rue Apartments. "Your mailbox key will have to be ordered but I should have it for you by next week."

The light weight of the key in Christine's palm made butterflies take flight in her stomach. She had been saving up for months for this: an apartment of her own. She had burdened her friend Meg Giry and her mother for over four years and so it was a relief to be independent at long last.

"I don't mind," she told the woman, closing her fist around the key and dropping it to her lap. "It'll take a little bit for my mail to be redirected here anyway."

"Then you're all set!" There was a pause when the woman's smile faltered into a sudden wary look, putting Christine on edge. "Well, I suppose I'll let you know a little bit about your neighbors. Currently, there isn't anyone renting out the one next to you, so you'll have quite a bit of privacy for now. We're planning on getting it cleaned up and rented out here shortly. Underneath you, in A1, is a man who's rarely seen. You won't have to worry about him bothering you. Very quiet too. He has lived here for years, even before I came, and hasn't ever been a problem. Next to him is a security guard at the prison. He's always working so I doubt you'll see much of him. He's got a dog but I've never heard any complaints about barking."

"Sounds perfect." Christine wasn't an overly social person and the idea of having nosy, or meddling neighbors was a small fear of hers. She'd had her fair share of terrible neighbors during her childhood.

She was reminded to call the electric company to switch it into her name and then that was it. She was given the green light to move in immediately.

Meg was waiting for her outside, all long limbs and dark hair pulled up into a high ponytail, grinning brightly when Christine approached. "Got the key?"

Christine held the key up with one hand and her copy of the lease in the other, as if they were awards she'd just won, beaming ear to ear. "Yep!"

"Yay!" Meg cheered, then threw a pointed long finger in Christine's face. "But you better keep your promise."

Christine rolled her eyes, pushing the finger away, and walked over to the truck where Meg's boyfriend, Sam, stood waiting with Christine's belongings in the bed. He was a tall and tan, wiry man with a kind smile.

"I wouldn't dream of breaking it, Meg. Who else will spoil all the endings of movies for me?" She flashed a teasing grin over her shoulder as Meg followed. She guffawed as if offended. Christine gave her a cheeky smile.

They spent the rest of the afternoon moving her things into the apartment, cursing that they'd have to walk up and down the stairs so many times, but it was all in good fun. She didn't have that many belongings anyway, as she'd been living with Meg in her mother's small house for the past four years. Besides, the only struggle they had was the old brown couch Meg's mother had forced her to take out of the garage.

La Rue Apartments consisted of two long, two story buildings with a parking lot between them. They were quite old, possibly built in the seventies but had been kept up rather well. On the ground floor was A1 and A3, with a stairwell that took her up to A2, her apartment, and A4 - the vacant one.

The apartment itself was very small, about 600 sq feet in total. It entailed only a living room, a kitchen with a small area for a tiny dining table, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The floors of the living room and bedroom were a shaggy, brown carpet and the linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom was a marble gray and brown. The walls were a dirty white color, but the trim was a nice orange wood that gave it a little character. There was one big window in the living room and one small window in the bedroom, causing the apartment to feel musty. She had immediately opened the windows to let some fresh air in. It wasn't much, and she'd lived in much worse growing up, but it was hers.

Christine offered to treat her friends to dinner as a thank you and got a pizza delivered. Sam, an electrician by trade, hooked her box television up upon the floor and advised that she should get a table to set it on. Christine wasn't bothered by the lack of furnishings. The fact that she even had a space to call her own - that was her own, meant more to her than any sort of furniture. Perhaps later on she could slowly accumulate more pieces, like a dining set or a coffee table. Or a bookshelf. As it was, she stacked the novels up against the far wall in four high piles. She kind of liked it.

After they left, Meg reminding her on the way out that they'd get together soon, Christine was completely alone for the first time in her life. She locked the door and began unpacking boxes, not quite ready to go to sleep yet. She began in the bedroom and fished her bedding out, putting the twin size mattress on the floor. Then she moved on to the surprisingly large closet to put away her tiny wardrobe.

Finally she got tired and took a nice long shower, washing the move off of her. She checked the locks on her door once more, just to be safe, and then finally laid down.

Everything was so silent. New. Scary.

It took her a very long time to fall asleep that night but when she did, it was with the knowledge that she was finally moving forward in her life. It was a welcoming thought, despite the creeping feeling of being alone.

oO0Oo

"Christine, how's your new apartment?" Lucy, a younger girl who worked with her, asked as she hosed down a wiggly Yorkshire terrier in the small tub of the bathing room.

Christine glanced up from the golden retriever that she was massaging shampoo onto and smiled at her. "Oh, it's great. It is so nice to have a place of my own."

Lucy returned the smile, grabbing a bottle of shampoo. "I'm happy for you. I know you've been looking for one for a while."

Christine sighed at the reminder and picked up the hose to rinse. "The right one just didn't come along. I'm glad it's this one though. It's smaller than the other apartments I was looking at but it's mine," she explained, pleased. "Besides, it beats living in a bedroom."

Lucy chuckled. "I can imagine. Well, let me know if you need anything. My mother-in-law keeps giving us things even after we told her we already have them. We now have two sets of pots and pans," she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Christine laughed at the idea. "I'm sure she's just excited about her son finally getting married." She'd been hearing all sorts of horrid stories about Lucy's mother-in-law for months. The woman was overly protective of her only child and didn't think any woman was good enough for him.

Lucy snorted as she rinsed the yorkie. "Excited is an understatement."

Christine grabbed a towel, running it over the fluffy girl in her tub. "Well, if there's anything you can part with, I don't mind the gift. I don't have much right now, so thank you for the thought."

Lucy threw her a grin over her shoulder. "Anything to declutter my house. By the way, Christine, when are you gonna finally snag a man? I saw the way Max's dad looked at you the other day. He's pretty handsome."

Christine wrinkled her nose at the idea. "I'm not looking for anyone right now. I don't think I will be for a while, to be honest. I just got my own place and I guess I need to just focus on myself for right now." Besides, she highly doubted men truly took notice of her. They hadn't before.

Lucy grabbed a towel and scooped the yorkie up with it, balancing him in her arms as he squirmed to be let free. "Yeah, but you haven't been with anyone, have you? Maybe just getting yourself out there a little will help. Everyone needs someone, right?"

Christine didn't say anything as Lucy walked out to finish her dog. She ran her towel over the Golden's face and squatted to give her a small smile. "Be lucky you're a dog, Ruby. You don't have to deal with all this pressure about romance."

Ruby blinked, looking extra pathetic drenched and dripping with water. Christine sighed and stood up. "All right, let's get you all dried off and pretty looking so your momma's all happy when she picks you up."

oO0Oo

Christine quickly settled into a new routine. She was finally unpacked and her apartment began to feel slightly less empty. After living in a bedroom for years, even a tiny apartment felt like a ton of space.

She didn't drive, she had sold her dad's old Honda Civic to pay for hospital bills and hadn't been able to afford a new one since, but was lucky enough to only have to walk ten minutes into town to work or get anything she needed. Meg had offered to drive if she ever needed anything, like a car full of groceries, but she'd yet to take her up on the offer. No, she was enjoying the independence very much.

She had finally got her mailbox key and was glad that she was already receiving mail, even if it was just advertisements for fast food restaurants. There was a small laundry room next to A3 below and she was able to do her laundry with a few coins every week. She made sure to do it in the early mornings to avoid any small talk with the other tenants but it was for naught.

She hadn't seen either of her neighbors since she'd moved in and it had already been a month. Of course she had seen the other tenants in the B building across from her, but if it wasn't for the cars parked in front of her side she would have assumed no one lived in the apartments below her.

The shiny black BMW parked right outside had her pause in admiration every once in a while, it just seemed out of place for the cheap apartments she lived in, and she wondered who owned it. The landlord had not been joking when she had said that they really were scarce.

The grooming salon kept her busy. It was toward the end of March and so the slightly warmer weather was bringing dogs in to shed them of their winter styles. She was pleasantly impressed by the amount of tips she was receiving on a daily basis. So much that she had bought herself a little house plant for her living room by the window. It made her space that much more lively.

Once, since moving in, Meg had spent the night and watched a cheesy romance movie with her. It wasn't until that moment that Christine realized how lonely she had become. The freedom and space was so nice, but after years of being around others, the silence was incredibly loud. She briefly wondered if she should get a pet. Maybe then it'd break up the quiet when she was home by herself, but quickly dismissed the thought. She was barely home and when she was, it was to eat and sleep.

She was at the salon when it happened. When her life would pivot and send her on a path that she couldn't have expected in her wildest dreams.

She was expecting a new customer that day with a little Bichon and when the little old lady walked in, Christine couldn't believe her eyes.

"Mrs. Valerius?" Christine came around the corner, a disbelieving smile breaking over her face. The lady's brown eyes widened behind her silver spectacles.

"Christine Daaé, is that you?"

Christine grinned and nodded enthusiastically, hardly able to curb her excitement at seeing her high school choir teacher. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Four years, hasn't it? Or is it five now? My... come here child!"

Christine let the woman hug her, for a moment reverting back to when she was in high school, nervous about singing a solo in a competition. She always had been a comforting presence in her life. During those days, Mrs. Valerius had been like a mother to her. After Christine graduated and her whole life went downhill, they'd lost touch.

"How are you doing these days?" Mrs. Valerius asked her when they pulled back, the little white dog sniffing around their legs and about the room curiously.

"I'm doing good actually! I just got my own apartment about a month ago."

Mrs. Valerius smiled gently at her, squeezing her shoulder affectionately. "That's wonderful news! Were you still living with the Giry's?"

Christine nodded, mood sobering. "Yes. They've been so welcoming of me since... well, you know. I'll always appreciate it but I just felt like it was time."

Mrs. Valerius nodded knowingly, eyes twinkling. "Of course, child. Well, I suppose you're not a child anymore are you? Twenty-two?"

"Almost. Goodness! I can't believe it's you and you have such a little sweetheart with you!" Finally, she gave her attention to the little fluff ball that dearly needed a haircut and a bath. His little paws were all dirty and he had dark crusties around his eyes.

"Ah yes, little Leonard. He was a gift from my daughter. He's been a handful, but I've enjoyed having someone to dote on."

Christine laughed as Leonard got up on his hind legs to stretch upon her knees and look up at her with a loll of his tongue. "Well you will have nothing to worry about. I'll get him all clean and handsome again for you."

They went over details of how Mrs. Valerius wanted Leonard's cut to be and as Christine held him in her arms, giggling at the tiny licks she got and getting ready to take him back, she was stopped by a sudden question.

"Do you not sing anymore, dear?"

It was an innocent question all the same but Christine's happy mood changed to a pang of utter loss. "Oh… no. Not anymore. Not since high school."

Mrs. Valerius frowned deeply. "Oh, that's a shame. You have such a beautiful voice. I was always so proud to take you to competitions to show you off. Our school was so lucky."

Christine smiled sadly, not really wanting to think about that time of her life. It was always so painful when she did. "Yes, they were fond memories."

"Have you thought about singing again? Now that you're older? I actually no longer work at the school, I retired a couple years ago, but I do offer lessons at Marlers Music Company on the other side of town if you'd be interested."

Christine felt her throat close up at the offer and she tried to school her features. The idea of singing again after all those years made her heart hurt and every bone in her body protested. "Oh, I don't know about that. I don't think..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say to be polite. "I appreciate the offer."

Mrs. Valerius seemed to be able to read the discomfort on Christine's face and she thankfully dropped the subject to let her get started on Leonard's haircut.

After a couple of hours of cleaning, drying, and trimming, he looked like a brand new dog and when Mrs. Valerius came to pick him up, she was thrilled enough to hand Christine over a ten dollar bill.

"Thank you sweetheart. He looks so dashing, especially with that little bow tie you clipped on him," she praised, holding the squirming little guy in her arms.

Christine beamed and slid the bill into the pocket of her smock. "I'm glad you like it! I just thought with a name like Leonard, he must wear a distinguished bow tie. He'll probably find a way to get it off but it looks cute for a little bit!"

Mrs. Valerius gave her a fond smile and before she left, handed a card over to Christine. "If you change your mind, call this number. If not, I'll see you in four weeks for Leonard's next trim. Take care, Christine."

After she exited the lobby, Christine looked down at the card and realized it was the music company's business card with Mrs. Valerius's information. She slid her thumb over the treble clef in the right corner and swallowed.

There was no way she could sing again. Not when he wouldn't be there to cheer her on... or to help her practice like he always had. She closed her eyes tightly to stop herself from falling back into the pool of despair when she thought of him. No.

She tucked the card into her pocket and went off to clean the kennels for the day before she went home. No, music wasn't a part of her life anymore. Because when he had died, it had died with him.