Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the Gaston Leroux estate, nor do I pretend to be. Please don't sue me.

Author's Note: This chapter (or indeed, the rest of this phic) is dedicated to the wonderful BlueBeauty, without whom this chapter would not even exist. She gave me the inspiration to continue with my idea of Meg meeting the Phantom and expand it to having the other girls meet him as well. It's shaping out so far to be a series of vignettes rather than an actual story with a solid plot, even though I guess it possesses one particular underlying theme and I may end up tying it all together in the last chapter. I've yet to decide. So for now, please read, review, and, if it's not too much trouble, enjoy.

Lisette et Marie

It had been three days since Meg Giry had told the other girls her tale of the horrors in Box Five. With a new story of terror so fresh in their minds, the girls had been virtually inseparable from La Sorelli, who found herself permanently surrounded by flocks of ballet girls wherever she went. The girls refused to go further than to the next dressing room alone, and they had taken to traveling in threes and fours if they were not with La Sorelli's large group.

On this particular day, the girls were in their dressing room lounging about before rehearsal. Lisette and Marie were off in a corner gossiping about Michelle, who had recently been seen in the company of a rather well to do patron. As such, they were not quite ready to get to rehearsal when the callboy rang his bell and the other girls trotted off in one large, frightened clump to go to practice.

"Hurry up or you'll be late, you two!" Janette called back to them as she exited the room.

"We'll be right there!" Marie hollered back, before bending down to tie on her satin slippers. Janette gave them one last glance and then closed the door.

Lisette was straightening her hair and gazing at herself in her peer glass, but was otherwise ready to go. She walked to the door and opened it, then glanced down the hall at the retreating backs of the other dancers. Nervous about being left behind to navigate the corridors alone, she hurried back over to Marie to make her get going.

"Hurry up, little sloth! The rest of the girls have already disappeared around the corner! I don't want to be left alone!" She began to tug on Marie's wrist.

"I'm hurrying! Stop being a fool. You won't be left alone, you little mouse. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"Yes, well, I'd rather be with a large group than a single sloth."

"If you carry on like that then you can just walk right out the door and catch up with the rest of them!" Marie said indignantly.

"Oh, don't be silly, I don't mean it. Just hurry up, will you? I don't want to be scolded for being late." Lisette began to wring her hands and glance nervously at the open door.

"We won't be late, don't worry. Look, I'm ready to go now," Marie said, straightening up and smoothing her gauzy skirt.

"At long last," Lisette added, rolling her eyes.

The two girls walked to the door and peered out, both apprehensive about walking down the dimly lit corridor with nothing but each other to keep one another safe. Though one didn't know it of the other, they had each begun to think about Meg's recent ghoulish tale about the Ghost, and about how they were going to be just two small girls, pitted against the terrible tricks of the eerie Phantom. Giving each other a look, they silently decided that there was nothing to worry about, and that it wouldn't be long before they caught up with the rest of the group.

Bravely, with their chins up, the two small girls started walking down the corridor. Lisette tried not to look at the dark shadows cast upon the walls whenever they passed a gaslight. Marie attempted not to think about the whispers from the walls that Meg had described in her story. Together, they tried to put thoughts of the Ghost out of their minds.

Simultaneously, the jumped and squeaked when they heard the rustle of a cloak and heavy footsteps behind them.

Clutching onto each other, the two girls gasped and swirled to look behind themselves with frantic, darting eyes. They saw nothing. Only the dark shadows on the walls and the absence of other people. They stood frozen, their breath coming in short gasps, listening for the footsteps. They heard nothing. Lisette let go of Marie, and turned to look at her with a scornful eye.

"You little wretch! You've gotten me all nervous!"

"Me? What have I done? It was you who screamed first!"

"That's not what I mean! If you had been ready on time, then we wouldn't be walking around all alone and we wouldn't be this jittery!"

Marie huffed. "Well, as I seem to recall, you weren't exactly ready to go yourself, you little--"

"Ssshh!" Lisette interrupted her, placing her finger to her lips. She was looking about herself again, her eyes wide in the dim light. "I think I heard something."

Forgetting that they were angry with each other, the girls clutched hands.

"What did you hear?" Marie asked, her voice nearly trembling.

"I-it sounded like footsteps again... only closer."

"How much closer?" Marie whispered.

"Like they were right... behind... us." Lisette risked a glance at Marie, who looked just as frightened as she felt. Marie took a deep breath, before ever so slowly starting to turn her head. Lisette followed suit, feeling her heart begin to beat erratically.

Slowly, inch by inch, the girls turned their heads to see what was behind them.

They turned.

They blinked.

They frowned in confusion.

There was nothing there. Not a ghost, not a singer, not another dancer, not a patron or even a manager. Just the same shadows that had been there twenty seconds ago. Just the same dark emptiness. The girls released pent up breath.

"Idiot," Marie said, letting go of Lisette's hand. "There's absolutely nothing there. You're getting yourself worked up over nothing."

"But I heard footsteps! I swear to you, someone was there, right behind us!"

"You're letting your imagination run away with you. Footsteps, indeed. You were probably only hearing your own footsteps echoing off of the walls!"

"But they were too heavy to be my own!" Lisette was getting frustrated. She was telling the truth, she knew she was!

Marie simply rolled her eyes at her. "Come along, you little coward, let's get to rehearsal or it'll be our necks."

But as both girls turned to carry on along their way, they almost immediately stopped dead.

In front of them, a tall, silent, looming figure stood, clothed all in black. The girls stared blankly at the figure, their gazes going from his black shoes up to his thin, black-clad legs, up to his swallow tailed coat, his opera cloak, and finally, his masked face. Both girls' eyes widened considerably when they realized that all of the stories about the Opera Ghost's appearance had been wrong. He didn't possess a death's-head, or a head of fire, nor was he invisible. He wore a black silk mask, the better for him to blend in with the shadows.

As Marie and Lisette blinked in fear, the Ghost walked closer to them. Rooted to the spot by abject terror, the girls could only stand there and gape as the object of their every fear approached them. They clasped hands once again.

Lisette was the first one to notice how the Ghost's eyes seemed to glow with a deep fire; the very fires of Hell, she imagined. As he walked even closer to the frightened girls, both of their shimmering eyes seemed to be glued to his own burning ones.

So distracted were they by the Ghost's appearance that they almost didn't catch the words he spoke to them.

"It seems that you two sheep have wandered away from your shepherd. How unfortunate."

Marie quivered and Lisette whimpered. They clutched each other's hands harder and took a step back. To their horror, the Ghost advanced.

"Monsieur," Lisette pleaded, "w-we mean to cause no trouble. I-it's just that we're late for rehearsal, and we really must be going. So, if you please...?"

As Lisette trailed off in her plea, the girls started to walk around the tall, brooding figure of the Ghost, and to their utter relief, he let them. He turned to watch them as they started down the hall again, and to their complete shock, he uttered a deep laugh.

"Very well then, little rats. I shall allow you to take your leave this time. However, do not expect to get away so easily the next time I catch you attempting to arrive late to rehearsal." The Ghost laughed once more, only this time it was darker, and even more frightening.

They vigorously nodded to show they understood. Then Marie clutched Lisette's hand in a vice-like grip, and together they raced off down the hallway, not daring to spare a glance back in the direction they had come.

As the Ghost watched them flee down the hallway, he laughed darkly to himself and shook his head.

'They should know better than to be late for rehearsals,' he thought. 'Well, at least this will give them something to talk about in the dancer's lounge.'

When Lisette and Marie reached the stage, breathless and ashen-faced, they were scolded severely by the director for being late and then sent off to join their rows. The lecture had bounced right off of them, the reprimanding words not sinking in at all. White-faced and still panting, the girls had obeyed the director and joined their rows, where they were at once pierced with the questioning gazes of their peers.

Sharing a brief glance, the girls finally realized what had just happened to them.

It hadn't happened to Meg or Jammes this time; it had happened to them!

With a silent understanding, Marie and Lisette turned back to the inquisitive glances of the other girls.

Then, with a simple look that spoke volumes, the girls explained their terrifying ordeal.

It was the Ghost!

They were certainly going to be the most popular girls in the dressing room tonight.

Finis

Author's Note: Like it? Hate it? Tell me. :)