Disclaimer: Same as in previous chapters.
The next morning, Christine woke up extra early. She wanted to have plenty of time to get ready for her first singing lesson with Erik.
As she stepped into the shower, she smiled to herself, remembering the lovely night before. Erik had been such a gentleman.
After 45 minutes of scrubbing down and washing her matted curls, she stepped out of the steaming shower, tying the towel around her chest. As she began brushing her hair, Meg stepped into the bathroom and looked groggily at her reflection.
"Why are you up so early? It's a Saturday!" Meg cried out, watching as Christine pulled out a hairdryer.
"…Meg! My singing lessons are today, you idiot!"
Meg's eyebrows furrowed, looking deep in thought. Her head then shot up and she smiled wide. "Oh! That's great!"
Christine rolled her eyes and continued to apply make-up, after already finishing her hair. "Can you go grab my dress?" she asked.
"Sure thing." Meg ran out of the bathroom to the closet where the dress had been hung up the night before.
Christine applied her lip gloss and looked at herself in the mirror once more before she'd put on the dress. She then grabbed the dress from Meg and shut the door, pulling the dress on.
She stepped out and Meg jumped with delight. "You look beautiful, Christine!"
"Really?" she asked, looking down. "Can you button up the back?"
Meg quickly fastened the four buttons and beckoned her out of the room. "Alright, I'll just grab the keys and-."
Christine cut her off. "Erik arranged for someone to pick me up."
"Wow… ok. Can you do me a favor, Christine?"
"Sure. What?"
"Can you find out if he has a brother?" Meg teased.
Christine rolled her eyes and walked out the front door, Meg following close behind.
"I'm really nervous," Christine admitted, looking down at the black heels she was wearing.
"You should be," Meg shrugged.
Christine shot her a look and Meg only smiled. "I'm just saying that if you walked in there with total confidence, Erik might not appreciate that. The very little I do know about him, it doesn't seem to me like he wants anyone that's full of themselves. Know what I mean?"
Christine nodded and gave her friend a hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Meg patted her back and they pulled away as a black car pulled up beside them. "Are either of you, Mademoiselle Daae?"
Christine stepped forward. "I take it you're the person Erik sent to pick me up?"
The man nodded. "My name is Nadir, mademoiselle. Yes, Erik has sent me to retrieve you."
Nadir got out of the car and went around the back of the car, opening the back door for her and bowing slightly.
Christine raised an eyebrow and glanced at Meg, she looked just as shocked. Christine smiled and curtsied, giggling slightly.
Meg grabbed her friend into another hug and smiled. "Have fun!"
"I'm sure I will," Christine replied and climbed into the back, Nadir taking her hand to help her.
He then shut the door and got back into the driver's seat. Christine rolled down the window quickly before they drove away and Meg put her thumbs up. Christine held in the urge the squeal.
Soon after Meg's figure was out of sight, Christine began to feel the queasy feeling she'd had that morning. Her hands had begun to shake slightly.
It wasn't that she was scared of Erik; he'd proven to be incredibly nice the night before. He just made her feel some-what nervous around him. Like, she completely inferior to him. Which all in all, she pretty much was.
Also, the mask was really no help to make her feel welcome to be in his presence. As handsome and gentle the right side of his face was, the design of the mask just gave off a persona that he was an angry person.
She could tell already he was a sad person, learning he didn't have a very good relationship with his mother when he was a child. Christine hardly had any relationship with her mother since she'd died when she was only 4.
The thought of the loss of her mother usually made her cry every time she thought about it, but she wouldn't right now. She had to be happy right now or else Erik might decide he didn't want to give lessons to a little cry baby.
Christine only sighed and sat back in the seat, still utterly nervous.
About 10 minutes later, Nadir began to slow down.
Christine quickly looked out the window to take her first look of Erik's home.
'Oh my God, it's HUGE!' was her first impression as she thought to herself.
Nadir pulled up into the long driveway, leading up to the ivy covered Victorian mansion. For such and eerie man, his house – mansion looked extremely welcoming.
"This is it?" Christine asked Nadir. He nodded slowly as they came to a stopped at the front.
Nadir quickly jumped out of the car to open the door for Christine. He grabbed her hand yet again and helped her out.
She smiled at him and he bowed. He got back into the car and then she frowned. "Aren't you going to take me up there?"
Nadir could tell since he'd first seen the girl that she was nervous. He felt bad for her but shook his head. "I must go pick a few things for Er- I mean, Monsieur Beecher."
Christine turned around and walked slowly up to the large doors as Nadir pulled out. She could feel her legs about to give way as they shook furiously.
She searched for the doorbell but was unable to find one. Looking over the door she found a head of a gargoyle with a ring placed in its mouth.
Christine took hold of the ring and tapped it lightly on the door a few times, quickly pulling her hand back.
After a little while she started to hear footsteps on the other side of the door. She looked down at her feet, her whole body completely trembling now.
The door swung open quickly and Erik stood in the doorway. He looked at the young girl standing in his doorway looking as if she might faint.
He smiled weakly and stood aside so she could enter. Christine then looked up at Erik and she forgot her nervousness. The thought of him had made her uneasy but when she was actually with him, she felt calm.
Christine smiled and walked in. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she looked around. It was completely amazing inside.
There was lavish furniture all around house, all antique and in perfect condition. Large paintings hung everywhere, mainly of angels and roses.
Everything actually went well with Erik's personality. Erik had always seemed very old-timey.
"I see you like home." Erik said softly as he watched her wander around, looking at every little thing that decorated entrance hall and then into the living space.
Christine spun around to face Erik, her eyes still wide. "I love it! This has to be the most beautiful home ever."
Erik smiled and walked over to a window that almost took up the whole wall. Her attention was then directed to what he was looking at.
Christine stood next to him and gasped as she looked out to a gorgeous, blooming rose garden filled with every shade of red imaginable.
"That's definitely the icing on the cake. Can I move in?" Christine laughed.
Erik turned his head to look at her, his eyes wide. He'd apparently not gotten the joke.
Christine looked at him and then backed up a bit waving her hands frantically. "Oh! You thought I was being serious? No, no. I was just kidding."
Erik breathed a sigh of relief and looked back out of the window. "When would you like to start your lesson for today?"
"Can we start right now? I'm really anxious to get back into singing and I'm kind of an impatient person."
"Aren't all teenagers?"
Christine folded her arms across her chest. "Hey, I find that offending. Besides, I'm 20. Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"
"I am 29 and turning 30 this September," Erik said as he made his way up a huge staircase that had a split-off on each side of the room.
"I thought you were much older," she teased.
Erik stopped in front of a door and looked at Christine, her lips lifting into a smile. He smiled back and pushed the door open.
Christine looked inside a large room full of almost every instrument made. A large, black Grand Piano sat in the middle of the room.
Christine's face lit up, this had to be Heaven for any music lover. It definitely was for Christine.
She walked over to the piano, lightly brushing her fingers over the polished, ivory keys. She pressed a key and it echoed through the whole room, engulfing her in a beautiful tone until the room was silent again.
Christine stood to the left of the piano as Erik took a seat on the stool, his gloved hands reaching for the keys. "We'll start with scales."
Christine nodded and she continued to sing up and down with the chords he played. It was quite fun as he changed it up a bit.
After a while he stopped and began to rummage through some sheet music. He looked for a sheet music copy for certain song.
He finally found one and Christine took it from his hand. She read the title 'Think of Me'. She looked over the lyrics quickly and tears filled her eyes.
"This is beautiful. Did you write this?"
He only nodded and began to run his fingers along the keys, almost mechanically. His fingers were moving so fast and so perfect that it looked as if the tune was playing on its own.
Christine listened intently, the music was absolutely amazing. The sound was angelic and she wondered how any man could make such sweet sounds.
Christine looked at Erik. 'This masked man is no man,' she thought to herself.
She then realized he had stopped playing and was now looking at her. "You missed your cue."
"What?"
"You know, the part where you're supposed to come in…" Erik said, looking frustrated.
Christine looked down at the music and blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"That much is obvious." He rolled his eyes and started again. This time Christine watched the music.
The time came and her uneasiness was starting again. She began to sing, her voice was shaking rapidly but she still tried.
Think of me, think of me fondly,
When we've said goodbye.
Remember me once in a while
Please promise me you'll try.
Erik stopped playing suddenly and looked at her. Tears of embarrassment filled her eyes; she knew she'd just sounded awful.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous."
"Here, I'll show you a little trick." He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her towards the large window. "Look out this window as you sing and don't think of anything else. Sing to anything out there, just keep your mind clear."
Erik walked back over to the piano and started again. Christine looked for something to sing to and found a flower budding from a tall tree next to the window.
She closed her eyes and cleared as much stuff out of her head as possible and smiled. When it was her time to start again she opened her eyes and began to sing, this time much more clear. She was even surprised at the wonderful sound coming from her mouth.
Think of me, think of me fondly,
When we've said goodbye.
Remember me once in a while,
Please promise me you'll try.
It had definitely proven to be a very good trick. She sang to the little flower, her mind kept on the music.
Erik looked up a few times to look at Christine, her face shining from the sunlight pouring in from the window. Her brown eyes looked cheerful as she continued to sing, her lips always curled up into a smile.
The song began to end and she reached new heights in her voice as a wonderful sound filled the air with Erik playing the piano and Christine singing.
When the song ended, the sounds once again engulfed them, this time much more beautiful. Her body was shaking slightly, not realizing her voice could reach such heights.
She closed her eyes and leaned against the window, still smiling to herself. She felt Erik rest a hand on her back and she opened her eyes to look at him.
"Was I alright?" she asked nervously, scared to know what he'd thought.
He only stood there staring at the magnificent girl. Never had his ears heard such a sweet voice - a voice of an angel.
"Erik?" she questioned again. "Was I alright?"
He looked into the girl's eyes and smiled. "Yes, that was very good."
Christine grinned and gave him a quick, light hug. "Well, I couldn't have done it if it weren't for your little trick."
He shrugged and smirked. "It works every time."
Later on they'd made their way down to the kitchen.
They'd talked for a while about the song 'Think of Me' and a couple of other things.
She'd seemed really interested to know about his operas he'd composed after she'd sung his first song, and he was glad to share it with someone who actually appreciated it.
Christine looked into the fridge and found hardly anything. "Well, there's stuff for sandwiches."
She pulled out some meat and cheese, Erik only shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me."
"How long has it been since you've been to get some food in this house?" she teased, as she continued to rummage through the fridge.
"Nadir is the one who goes to get my food. I don't ask him to go often since I'm the only one living here."
"I'll start to pick you up some stuff from now on, OK?" she said, and put everything back into the fridge.
"I thought we were going to have sandwiches." He sat down at the little table inside the kitchen.
"I have a better idea," she smiled.
After about 30 minutes the doorbell rang and Christine scattered up off the floor and ran to the door.
She flung the door open and grabbed the bag from the man standing in the doorway and paid him.
Shutting the door again, she ran back to where Erik still sat. She smiled and set the bag in front of him.
"What did you get?" he asked, curiously.
"Sushi. I told you we could try something different. Plus, you said you like seafood."
"Alright, I'll give it a try," he said as he picked a little up with chopsticks and settled it on his tongue.
Christine watched him smiling as she at the sushi hungrily. "Like it?"
"It's actually not too bad." He took some more and Christine smiled at him again.
After they'd eaten up the last bit of sushi Christine had begged Erik to take her around the rose garden.
Christine took her time to smell each type of rose as they walked along the paths.
"How do you keep your garden in such good shape if you're so busy?"
"I have a married couple come around once a week to tend to it. They had told me how much they loved gardening and they were glad to take the job."
Christine took a seat on a bench, her legs now tired, Erik soon taking a seat on the other side of the bench.
Christine looked around and sighed. "My mother would have thought this was the most beautiful place in the world. She used to love roses."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Erik said softly.
"She died when I was 4 and I can hardly remember anything about her." Tears filled her eyes but she wouldn't allow them to fall.
"I also lost at a young age; I know what you're going through Christine. I've been there too."
Christine's tears fell involuntarily as she sobbed into her hands. She once again felt Erik's gloved hand on her back as she continued to cry.
"It's just not fair. They were both supposed to stay alive and watch me grow up," she said between sobs.
Erik stroked her back trying hard to calm her down. "It'll be OK, Christine. You'll get through this all. Here, I think our lesson is over for today. Go to your friend Meg and have fun. Get your mind off everything."
Christine nodded and stood up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I'm really sorry about that."
Erik shook his head. "It's alright. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
"OK," she smiled and he took her to the door. "Thank you Erik for our first lesson."
He smiled and Christine made her way to where Nadir sat in the car.
"Christine?"
Before climbing into the back seat she looked at him and he smiled again. "You look lovely in that dress."
Christine grinned and closed the door.
Author's Note: YAY! A little more ECness. I thought this chapter was also cute. I hope y'all liked it! It was a bit longer than my past ones. I also hope I cleared up the whole thing about the age difference.
And thank you guys SOO much for reviewing. I'm up to 30 reviews! I never thought I'd even get up to 10! XD Keep reviewing and I promise to keep bringing in more chapters.
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