Disclaimer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I DON'T OWN PotO! sob

A/N: Gratuities ya'll! Hahaha, hahahahahahaha, hahahahahahaha—loser.

ShadownFairy101: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! You completely made my day! I'll explain everything (well, almost. Can't be giving TOO much away, eh?) In this chapter, okay? I had purposely left a plot hole, so you guys would be wondering about it! No lie! Christine will be musing at Annalee's house and they get all phan crazed and stuff. Hahaha, nah. It'll be like a flashback thing. And her name isn't a coincidence, either!

bobmcbobbob1: You are too awesome! Thank you so very, very much for the lyrics! You like Queen? SO DO I! I have their Greatest Hits CD—well, it was my Dad's, but, meh. I like them anyway. Especially the "Bicycle" song, teehee.

-Alianne

Musing…New Orleans at Night…

Last time:

"Of course, dear. I'll let you go see the…'Phantom of the Opera'. And I think it's safe to say that you can sleep over at Annalee's house that night, too. Do you want us to pick you up Saturday morning, or will you be able to walk home?" she asked.

"Yes! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Mom!" Christine jumped up and down gleefully. She glared at her father before hugging her mom and running out the door of the large Victorian city house.

"I'm, going over to Annalee's house, Mom! Don't worry, I'll be back later!" she cried, already halfway down the street as the sun slowly began its descent.

Christine's mind was in turmoil.

Annalee had finished listening to Christine's recount of what had happened at her house, and they were watching the Phantom of the Opera DVD once more. Well, Annalee was; her brown eyes were glued to the television screen. Christine just stared, her eyes unfocused, a surge of thoughts raced through her head as the actress playing Christine sang to her lover le Viscount Raoul de Chagny on the rooftop of the Opera Populaire.

There it is again! Chagny!

My name…Christine…Chagny…My family came to the States almost two hundred years ago…that was the time that…no. That's impossible! A part of her said.

No it's not, came another voice.

I don't actually think that…I'm related to THE Christine Daae, do I? The first voice questioned.

There's always a chance, the other voice whispered again.

Maybe…

"Christine! Hellloooo? Christine! CHRISTINE!" Annalee tore her gaze from the Erik on screen, wiping a bit of drool off with her shirt sleeve.

"What?" Christine asked, immensely annoyed when her thoughts vanished and focused on her best friend.

"You weren't saying anything! You were just sitting there like a vegetable! You got me worried for a sec!" Annalee looked genuinely concerned for her best friend.

Christine's annoyance vanished suddenly as she saw her friend's worried face. Annalee's dark brown curls were starting to come out of their bun, chocolate brown eyes wide, her pretty face smattered with freckles.

"I was just thinking…nothing big…"

"'Nothing big'? Don't tell me it's 'nothing big'! YOUR LAST NAME IS CHAGNY! IT'S HUUUGE! AND YOUR NAME IS CHRISTINE! AND YOU LOVE THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!" Annalee cried, waving her long arms about.

"Anna, it's probably all a coincidence, you know that! The Phantom of the Opera isn't real…isn't it? It's just a story made up by some French guy, which in turn was publicized and made into a multi-million dollar franchise, and the musical and all the movies are just part of it all, aren't they?" Christine nibbled on her lower lip as she thought about the tragic story concerning Christine Daae and the infamous Opera Ghost.

"I happen to think it's NOT just a coincidence! I tell ya Christine, it's FATE!" the brunette twirled around, going to her closet mirror.

"Oh really? Fate, huh?" Christine replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she brought her gaze back to the heartbroken phantom on the roof of the Opera Populaire.

"Christine, what has gotten into you?" Annalee whirled to face her friend. "Aren't you the LEAST bit curious?"

"Anna, of COURSE I AM! You think that I'm thick enough to NOT notice my last name is the same as that-that- FOP'S! I've known something was up the first time I watched the movie… everyone looked at me so strangely…I didn't know what to think…and I couldn't tell Daddy, because it was about music…" Christine's voice trailed off as she remembered what had happened that day, almost four months ago, back when she was still in sunny California.

It was at her going away party at her best friend Caitlin's house. They had had so much fun, reminiscing about the past two school years.

Seventh grade had been hell at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy- Christine was the new girl, and nobody seemed to want to come near her. She was slightly overweight, and had black plastic glasses and braces. One day in the middle of October, her now-best friends Cait, Bri, and Katelyn came over to her desk where Christine sat and they started talking about random things, like their favorite classes, music, actors, and Harry Potter. Needless to say, the four clicked, and they were inseparable for the rest of the year. They formed their own group at the cafeteria tables, and more and more girls sat with them everyday. Soon, more than half of the female 7th graders owned the table, their laughs being the loudest and happiest in the whole lunchroom. A tall girl named Lauren with brown hair and small wire glasses and braces joined soon after Bri, Katelyn, and Cait did, along with a quirky girl named Amanda.

Spring break that year was a huge turnaround for Christine. She decided to change everything about her—she was tired of looking so plain, even though she knew she wasn't. Since January that year, she had started running four miles every weekend without fail, and she wanted to show everyone that she was indeed feminine! So, Christine begged her mother to let her get contacts, and her hair cut short. Her braces came off, and her normally auburn hair was strewn with a few light blonde highlights, making it look like a vibrant copper color. Not artificial looking coloring, either. Since then, her hair stayed a dark copper, even without the highlights. She simply didn't need them anymore.

It was like a whole transformation, a literal Cinderella.

Eighth grade proved to be by far the best school year she'd ever had. She still worked hard in school, but music became more prominent; her secret Bulgarian voice coach at school encouraged her to sing more and more! She taught herself to play the piano on her own in the third grade, and improved vastly over the years, her talent for music increasing steadily. She found an excellent piano teacher in the city, so Cait's mom agreed to take her every Thursday after school, instead of the regular 'study meetings', to learn even more in secret. She couldn't very well tell her parents she was taking music lessons, could she? He sent her to the university when he could no longer teach her, and so she studied under the professors of piano theory and performance every Thursday, soaking everything up like a sponge. And the best thing was, it was all free! The professors recognized her talent, and understood her need for secrecy.

In November of 8th grade, Christine befriended a tall boy with black hair and warm brown eyes named Stephen, and they grew closer throughout the rest of the school year. She started to think of him as more than a friend, and so did he. They never told each other how they felt towards each other, but they knew the other knew.

But then Christine had to move to Louisiana because of her father's job in the Air Force, and the two lost touch for a month or so. One day, Christine had IMmed him and told him exactly how she felt about him, and they once more became a twosome. But after two more months of true happiness, he completely disappeared, never coming online again, never calling—but he couldn't do that anyway, as their relationship was a secret.

Christine was saddened; she knew they were breaking apart, slowly. She knew that her adolescent feelings of love were naive, and so were his, but she still wanted to hold on to the promises of summertime, forget that it could never last.

She didn't want to let go. How could she? What if he still felt the same way about her? She couldn't break his heart, could she? But what if he had already found someone else? They were, after all, freshmen in high school. Christine didn't want to become the fool, pining after someone who had already forgotten about her and run off with someone better.

When she realized that she had gotten off the subject, Christine sighed and returned to the television just in time to see the red rose fall silently to the snow, the sobs of a broken man filling the room.

It was a stormy night, thunder booming and lightning flashing as Cait popped the newly released Phantom of the Opera DVD into the VCR.

It was the perfect atmosphere.

Christine's eyes widened as the scene shifted from the decrepit building of the 1900's to the brilliance of L'Opera Populaire in its prime in the 1880's. The Overture blasted, and she and her friends quivered in anticipation of what would happen next.

It came to the Hannibal rehearsal scene, where the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny first appeared.

Upon hearing his name, her friends turned sharply to look at their bewildered friend. Cait paused the movie, and said, "Christine? What is all that about? Your last name is Chagny. Your name is CHRISTINE! You could be related!"

Lauren and Amanda nodded their heads fervently, agreeing with Caitlin.

"I…no way! Must be just some freaky coincidence," Christine replied distractedly, wanting to watch the rest of the movie that had so enchanted her.

Cait pressed the play button, and when the movie finally finished there was complete silence. Tears rolled down Christine's cheeks, and there was not a dry eye in the room.

"How could Christine be so cruel?" Christine cried.

"I know! She broke his heart! TWICE! And she left because of a pretty boy! A dim pretty boy, too!" Bri wailed.

"But…now that I think of it, Christine was better off in the end. It was her choice, you know. She had her reasons…she couldn't belong to Erik completely like he wanted her to, because a part of her belonged solely to Raoul. Erik needed the chance to find someone who would be part of himself and him a part of her…I don't think we can really hate her for not choosing him…" Christine said, thinking aloud. Then her face brightened, "but we can definitely hate Raoul!" and they all cracked up.

"But for what reason, Christine? What has he done wrong?" Lauren asked sarcastically.

They all pretended to ponder over that statement, and Amanda cried, "BECAUSE HE'S THE FOP!"

Amanda grabbed her pillow and swung it at an imaginary person, shrieking, "DIE, FOP, DIIEE!" at the top of her lungs.

The offending pillow accidentally hit Bri, and it escalated into a whole pillow war. After a good fifteen minutes they plopped to the floor, exhausted.

More giggles followed, until one by one the girls fell asleep…except for one.

Christine lay awake long after her friends went to bed, her heart still racing from the movie. Could a movie ever bring her to feel like that again? She could identify with Christine Daae, and she found herself falling hopelessly in love with the fictional Phantom of the Opera just as the young French soprano did.

The last thing Christine heard was the strains of a violin playing in her ear…

(A/N: No, it wasn't Erik then. Well, it was, but she was thinking about the violins playing in the movie. Erik won't show up 'til later, okie day? Good!)

By that time, the movie was already over, and Annalee was snoring loudly next to a large bowl of Cheetos.

Christine snorted and stood up. She looked at her wristwatch and yelped. It was already 9:26! Her parents were definitely going to kill her for being out so late!

"Bye Christine, dear!" Annalee's mother called as Christine ran down the stairs. The redhead skidded into the kitchen.

"Thanks Mrs. Howell! Could you call my mom and dad and tell them I'm coming home right now? And no, you don't have to drive me; it's just a few blocks over anyway! Thanks for letting me come over! Bye!" Christine ran out the door and down the dark street.

She ran by the nightclubs, the music booming from the loud speakers. Christine passed by restaurants, and the street performers, tourists and locals. It seemed that the night was only just beginning, the creatures of the dark finally starting to emerge from their holes.

She crossed an intersection and slowed down, out of breath. Maybe I should have taken up Mrs. Howell's offer…

She looked around her and didn't regret not being driven home. She was in the middle of all the excitement! She would have never been able to do something like this if her father had anything to say about it!

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Christine whirled around, but saw nothing except the crowds hurrying by. She resumed her walking and came upon a deserted alleyway. She remembered that it was a shortcut Anna had showed her, just in case the crowds got too big for Christine to get home quickly.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise again, and before she could register what was going on, she was slammed into the brick wall by a strong pair of hands wrapped around her throat.

AH-HAH! A CLIFFHANGER! I. Am. So. EVIIILLLL! I just HAD to do that!

Do the hands belong to a certain masked Phantom?

Maybe…

Maybe not…

You'll have to review review review if you want me to update soon!

Thanks again for the two reviews I've gotten so far!

Alianne