From Angel's Eyes
Chapter Thirteen
Christine spent Sunday bustling around the house, tidying rooms that were already perfectly clean and resisting the temptation to call Erik.
It should have been simple. She wanted to be with him. She loved him and he loved her. Surely that was all that there should have been to it.
But obviously, that wasn't going to be enough. And the most obvious problem in her mind was Max. She liked Max, she really did. And she didn't want to hurt him. But when everyone found out about her and Erik, which shouldn't be for some time, someone was going to get hurt and Christine knew that it would be Max.
There was also the age difference. At least ten years, she guessed. It didn't seem so important, what was ten years really? Hardly any time at all. That was no reason to assume that it wouldn't work out.
But something that was worrying Christine was the reason that she had been with Erik last night. She had even admitted it to Erik.
I don't want to be alone anymore.
Had she just taken advantage of him? He had been there, she could tell that he wanted her, had she simply used him as comfort, something to take her mind off of the worry in her life? She had taken his mask off, taken away his only defence.
His face had shocked her. She hadn't shown it, but she had been surprised. And yet, looking back, she found that what she had said was true. She didn't care that his face was different. That wasn't why she loved him.
Christine sighed and sat down on the sofa, her head in her hands. Was this all just some horrible mistake? And what did Erik think about all of this? What if he thought that it had been the wrong thing, that they shouldn't see each other again?
No… he wouldn't say that. He wouldn't. But it was all happening so fast. Hadn't she insisted to Meg just before saying Erik that this wasn't a date? And by the end of the evening she'd been in bed with him. What sort of person did that make her?
She wanted to talk to him. Wanted to know what he thought about everything, if he was doubting it as well. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. But they had agreed not to talk to each other, to spend time apart, thinking things through.
Christine thought that if she spent any more time alone she might just go insane.
Erik paced the living room, glancing occasionally at the phone. It would be so easy just to call her… but they had agreed. They needed to think this through.
Erik did not regret for one moment what had happened between them. That much was clear to him. What he did regret was that it had happened so quickly. She was so much younger than him. What did she think about all of this? What if she decided that she didn't want to go any further, that the night they had spent together was a mistake?
He wouldn't be able to do it. He could not go to that theatre, see her everyday, to have her within his reach but be forbidden to touch her again. It would kill him, knowing that he could have had her, that she could have been his but never would be.
But that wouldn't happen, would it? She was the one who had told him that she wanted to be with him. Why would she have said that if she hadn't meant it? And she hadn't even flinched when she took away the mask.
God, he wanted to see her. More than that. He wanted to touch her again, to assure himself that what they had shared had been real. But he couldn't. They had agreed.
He was going to go insane before he made it to the theatre.
Christine caught the bus on Monday morning and arrived at theatre at ten to nine. To her surprise, she heard voices in the theatre. That was odd, it was usually only Max and Tom, but she definitely heard several other people. Perhaps some of them had come in early to practise. Christine was too preoccupied with what she was going to say to Erik when she saw him.
She went in and took her jacket off, her mind still on Erik. What if he had changed his mind? She prayed desperately that he hadn't. Just that one day that they had spent apart had been torturous. Then she realised there was a deathly silence in the room. Christine looked around and saw most of the cast were already here, as well as Tom, Max and Dr Carter. They were all staring at her. She looked back, puzzled.
"What's going on? How come everyone's here this early?" She asked, panicking slightly. Had they been told to come early and she'd forgotten?
"I knew you were lying!" Rebecca called out. Christine stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"She's talking about this, Christine." Max said coldly, moving forward and shoving a newspaper at her. Christine took and it looked down. It was the Sunday evening paper and there was an extra magazine inside about the reopening of the Opera House. The page Max had thrust at her held two photographs. One of herself and Erik on the red carpet, smiling for the cameras, hands clasped, with an article about Erik's works. The second picture…
Christine stared in horror at the photograph. She had forgotten about the photographer who had jumped on them as they had kissed for that first time outside the theatre. The picture was lit by the lights coming from the theatre and showed Christine and Erik locked in a passionate kiss, Christine's hands in his hair, him pulling her to him. The caption read Erik Destler and his leading lady.
Christine didn't bother to read the rest of the article. She looked up at the waiting crowd and Max asked quietly,
"Is it true? Are you really going out with him?" Christine didn't reply. She was staring in horror at the photograph, her heart beating painfully in her chest. She put a hand to her forehead in disbelief, the blood pounding in her brain.
"Christine, answer me! Is this true?" Max said loudly. Everyone waited in silence for her reply.
But she never got a chance because Nadir and Erik entered, talking quietly. They must have gotten out of their meeting early, she realised. They stopped as they saw them all standing there. Nadir said calmly,
"What's going on? You're all very early."
"We had a few questions we hoped you could clear up." Rebecca sneered. Erik looked calmly from her to the rest of the people. Then his eyes settled on Christine. She couldn't meet his gaze and Max ripped the magazine from her hands and waved it at Erik. He took it silently and his eyes flicked over the picture. His eyes widened briefly and he looked up at Christine. She watched him fearfully.
"The photographer… we forgot about him…" She said shakily.
"You're freaking kidding me." Max said flatly. Christine took a shuddering breath and looked at Erik, not knowing what to do. Erik, to his credit, calmly folded the magazine in half and tossed it onto a chair.
"Since most of you are here anyway, we may as well start on Prima Donna." He said.
"Wait a minute!" Rebecca said and Erik turned an ice cold glare on her.
"We are here to put on a performance, Miss Griffins, not to satisfy your need for idle gossip. Either start rehearsing or leave. Your choice. Phantom, Christine and Raoul, warm up." He strode off, leaving Nadir to look at the magazine. Nadir glanced at Christine.
"How long have you been here?"
"About two minutes before you arrived." She whispered.
"What did they say?"
"They just wanted to know if it was true. I didn't have a chance to say anything."
"You don't have to. This does not concern the show and they can't make you admit to anything. If you want my advice, just keep quiet."
"OK." Christine nodded, sounding surer than she actually was. Nadir nodded and slipped the magazine into his briefcase.
"I'll be having harsh words with the reporters for this one." He said darkly. "I suggest you warm up."
Christine moved silently down the hall to the piano. Tom and Max were talking quietly but fell silent as she approached. Erik sat at the piano and began to play the warm ups without speaking. They sang perfectly, none of them meeting the others eyes. Christine fixed her gaze firmly on the cover of her scorebook. Erik opened his own copy and said,
"Mr Sutherland, go and do Prima Donna. You two, go to the small studio and you can do The Point of No Return. I'll join you in a moment.
He went to speak with Dr Carter. Christine picked up her score and walked silently to the door, Max just behind her. When they were in the studio, Christine glanced at him nervously. He looked at her and said quietly,
"Tom told me that you two had a conversation. You said there was no one else. And when I asked you out you told me that you couldn't feel that way about anyone."
"Max, I wasn't… when I said that there was no one else, it was the truth and I didn't think that I could feel like that."
"Don't play stupid, Christine, I know you're not. Just tell me, did you like him when I asked you out? All those times we went for coffee, were you even interested in me, even for a moment?"
Christine felt like crying. She bit her lip and said,
"Max, I am so sorry. You think I didn't try to feel more for you? Because I tried, I really did, but I couldn't. That's why I stopped going out with you, because I didn't want to lead you on."
"And when did you start with him?" Max asked bitterly. Christine frowned.
"Frankly, Max, I don't think that's any of your business. My highest priority is and always has been the show. So I'm hoping we can both push all of this aside and concentrate on what's important."
The door opened and Erik entered. He paused when he saw them glaring at each other but then went to the CD player and put the soundtrack on.
"Get into your places." He said calmly, and they did so.
The anger that both of them were feeling showed clearly in their song. Rather than being passionate, Max moved roughly, practically spitting the words at her and she in return glared at him most of the way through. Erik stopped the music and looked at them both irritably.
"That was terrible. Will you both please calm down a little and stop behaving like children? This is a passionate scene, not something from a playground. Do it again."
They moved back into position. Christine took a deep breath as she sank onto the step where she would be on the stage.
OK, calm down. Acting, remember? Nothing has changed. Just act.
Max began to sing, and she noticed the change in his voice. He was definitely putting more effort into it this time. Almost a little too much effort, Christine thought. She soon figured out what he was doing. His hands ran over her intimately and he sang so passionately, Christine almost laughed as she sang back.
He was trying to make Erik jealous. Christine risked a glance at her lover and noticed that he was watching carefully. But she was almost certain that she saw amusement in his eyes as she and Max moved apart, pretending to climb the twisting staircases that would lead them up onto the raised platform. They joined in the middle again and finished the song.
Erik considered them for a moment and then nodded.
"Much better. Good work, Mr Hodges." He turned to the CD player and Christine bit her tongue to stop herself laughing at the expression on Max's face.
They returned to the hall at the end of the session and Dr Carter dismissed them. Christine hovered out of the way until everyone had left and then Erik turned to her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah… just freaked out a bit." She admitted. Erik smiled slightly.
"So I see. What were you and Max Hodges arguing about?"
"Oh, it was stupid. He was just asking a load of questions and I told him it was none of his business."
"I see. Do you want a lift home?"
"Actually, I was going to do some food shopping on the way home, so I'll walk." Christine said, putting the strap of her bag over her head to rest it on her shoulder.
"Very well."
Erik made sure that Dr Carter was elsewhere occupied before kissing her. Obviously the teacher knew about the relationship, but Erik wasn't about to go running about declaring it to the world. Christine smiled and hugged him. He breathed in the scent of her and said,
"Would you like to come for dinner tonight? We need to talk things through."
"That'd be nice." She smiled.
"I'll come for you at seven."
"Seven it is. I'll see you later." She said, and he kissed her again.
She headed for the door and called goodbye to Nadir as she went. Erik couldn't help smiling slightly as he watched her go.
Christine walked down the steps outside the theatre and walked along the brightly lit street. The hot summer sunshine warmed her face and despite the bad start to the morning, she couldn't help smiling to herself.
It was then that she noticed the group at the end of the street. Rebecca was among them, and the rest were members of the cast or dancers. Christine kept walking and paused to cross the street. She'd been planning to cross further down but would rather avoid the confrontation if possible.
Too late. They'd seen her and had started down the road towards her. Christine swore under her breath as the traffic grew heavier, forcing her to keep back on the pavement. She'd have to wait for the cars to move before she could cross.
"Hey, Christine." One of the girls said in a falsely nice voice. Christine smiled faintly.
"Hi."
"Where are you going? I thought you stayed behind for… help." One of the girls tittered. Christine said calmly,
"I'm going shopping."
"What sort of shopping?"
"Food shopping." She said simply, peering at the traffic. But the group had pretty much surrounded her. For the first time Christine felt a little afraid, but hid it as best she could.
"How comes? Why don't you just send a servant out for it? I figure, a guy that rich has got to have a couple of servants."
"Maybe he does have servants. I don't." Christine said pointedly. Rebecca smirked.
"Can I just ask, how does he kiss? You looked like you were having a lot of fun in that picture."
"That's really none of your business, Rebecca." Christine said, feeling hope as the traffic slowed. She checked the other side and said,
"I've got to go. Bye."
But to her horror, they began to cross with her. She picked up her pace, walking swiftly down the pavement. It was about fifteen minutes to the shop and another twenty home. Hopefully she could lose them somewhere along the way.
"So, when are you getting your car back?" one of the guys asked. Christine answered,
"Sometime this week."
"It's a pretty nice car. Did you buy it yourself?"
"Who else would buy it for me?" Christine asked coldly, stopping to glare at the girl who had said it. She smirked back.
"Your parents? Why, who were you thinking of, Christine?" They all burst out laughing. Christine waited for the laughter to die before saying calmly.
"No. I bought it for myself. It would be quite interesting to see how my parents bought it, seeing as how they're both dead."
The girl stared at her in horror and lifted her hand to her mouth.
"Oh God… Christine, I didn't-"
"Would you like details about it? You all seem intent on gossiping about me, so shall I tell you how it happened? All the juicy details about how they died?" Christine said savagely. None of them replied and she said, "Stop following me. I have nothing to say to any of you."
She turned and walked away, wrapping her arms around herself to stop herself bursting into tears. The group stared after her but didn't follow.
From the theatre doorway, Nadir watched as Christine walked down the road. He saw her hesitate and turn to cross the road. He frowned, wondering what had made her change course. He moved forward slightly and saw the group of students heading for her. She kept her eyes on the traffic as they surrounded her, talking. Nadir wondered if he should interrupt but paused as she crossed the road. But they followed her and she tried to move ahead down the road. One of the students said something and Christine stopped in her tracks, spinning around. Even at this distance, Nadir could see the anger emanating from her and certainly whatever she said caused the students to stop following her.
Nadir smiled. That girl could certainly handle herself well.
After she brought Trister back from his evening walk, Christine debated over what to wear for dinner. She didn't know what sort of dinner Erik had in mind and this made it a bit hard for her to decide but she settled on a knee length black skirt with a sky blue blouse. She pinned her hair up and decided that she looked casual enough, but not too casual.
Trister lay on her bed, watching her get ready. She smiled and kissed his head.
"You're still my favourite guy, Trister. No one could ever take your place." He simply rolled onto his back, hoping to have his stomach rubbed. Christine did so laughing and then jumped as the doorbell rang. She hurried downstairs, Trister on her heels and opened the door. Erik looked surprised as Trister jumped up at him excitedly, but patted the dog's ears. He smiled at Christine.
"You look lovely."
"Thank you." She blushed and pushed Trister back inside, closing the door. Erik held out his arm and she took it.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously and he lifted an eyebrow.
"That's a surprise."
He drove the car that evening and as they drove to wherever they were going, Christine asked,
"Was Dr Carter angry?"
"Not particularly. Apparently for the amount of money I've putting into the show, I can do what I want." Erik said, lifting an eyebrow. Christine smiled.
"Sounds about right for Dr Carter."
"I heard you had some trouble outside the theatre." Erik said calmly. Christine glanced at him quickly.
"How did you know?"
"Nadir saw you."
"Oh… yeah, it was just some people saying some stupid stuff. I got rid of them pretty quickly."
The tone of her voice made it quite clear that she didn't want to talk about it any further, so Erik didn't ask anything more about it. Eventually he stopped the car. Christine peered out of the dark windows.
"Erik, where are we?"
"If you'll follow me, you'll find out." He said secretively. Christine smiled and he took her hand, leading her through a narrow alleyway. They rounded a corner and Christine blinked in surprise as a small restaurant came into view.
They went inside and Erik said,
"A reservation for two. Under Destler."
"Of course, Mr Destler. If you'd like to come this way." The waiter said, leading them to a small corner table. They sat down and Erik ordered wine for them before looking at the menu. Christine asked,
"How on earth did you find this place?"
"Nadir mentioned it." Erik said vaguely. Christine smiled and glanced down at the menu.
Once they had ordered, Erik looked across at Christine.
"I think we need to talk." She looked at him, almost warily and he sighed. "After what happened today… I will understand if you'd prefer not to carry on this relationship. It won't be easy, especially for you and-"
"May I ask you to do something for me?" Christine asked. He nodded, surprised.
"Of course."
"Stop talking. Yes, it'll be difficult, but we knew that from the start. I'm not about to give up on this before it even starts properly." She said stubbornly.
Erik gazed at her, half admiring and half apprehensive. She looked at him solemnly.
"Erik… I haven't been with anyone for a very long time. I never met anyone who struck me as being someone I could spend any amount of time with. I only ever had one long term boyfriend, and that was when I was fifteen. I just couldn't connect to people after my parents died. Until I met you."
Christine looked down at her wineglass and said quietly,
"I just don't understand why you could possibly want me."
"Because you're a strong, extraordinary, wonderful young woman." Erik said simply and she smiled.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Christine, I have admired you since I first heard you sing, at the auditions. I was thrilled that I would be able to work with you, just so I could hear you sing again. I never meant to fall in love."
"Does anyone?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow. Erik agreed and said,
"Friday night was the best night of my life. I'm sorry that sounds like something out of a badly scripted film, but it's true. If you think that we can make this work, then we should definitely try."
"I do think we can." Christine said strongly.
Their soup arrived and Erik said,
"I never intended for this to happen."
"Neither did I."
"It's not going to be easy. I think we figured that out today. It's not so much of a problem for me, but it will be hard for you. They're your peers after all."
"Erik, I don't care. I've never really felt that close to any of them. I hardly know most of them." Christine pointed out. She smiled. "Let's just get through the show in one piece."
"That will be quite an achievement in itself, especially after the show Max Hodges was putting on today." Erik raised an eyebrow and Christine laughed.
"Oh, that was so funny! He was just trying to make you jealous. The look on his face was priceless, when you didn't react to it."
They spent sometime discussing the show at length until they had finished their main meals. Christine leant back in her chair and considered him.
"OK, I have to ask. Your name is Erik, you have Box 5, you wear a mask and dress in black a lot. When exactly did you become obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera?" Erik smirked.
"Many years ago. I had seen it for the first time and was mesmerised. I had been wearing… covers, hoods until then. But after that I sent for this mask." He gestured at the white piece adorning his face. "I collected records, CD's, books, programmes, anything about it I could get my hands on. I never had a chance to work on it, during my time in the theatres. So when I heard that it was the show at the university, I insisted that I be the sponsor." He said, sipping his wine.
Christine smiled.
"And no one batted an eyelid at the fact that you wore a mask?"
"The people of theatres are very odd, Christine. I've been to New York, Paris, Australia and many more and you could walk around the Opera Houses wearing things a thousand times stranger than a mask and no one would care." Erik replied. Christine tilted her head to one side and asked,
"OK… what's your favourite film?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's just occurring me how little I actually know about you. What sort of films you like, if you like sports, your favourite food and drink. The little things. I mean, I don't even know how old you are!" Christine said, drinking her wine. Erik smiled.
"I'm thirty-one. My favourite film? I'm not sure. I don't spend a lot of time watching films."
"But you must have seen some."
"I have. Mostly recommended by Nadir though and his favourite film is 'Singing in the Rain'. I've seen it at least a dozen times."
"I love that film!" Christine laughed. Erik smiled.
"No, I don't care for sports, although I do try to keep in shape. My favourite drink is difficult as I am partial to many fine wines. And my favourite food is roasted duck with lemon or orange sauce."
"Duck? Really?"
"Yes, why?" he said, worried about the frown she'd developed.
"Nothing, it's… it's just that ducks are cute."
He stared at her and smirked. She flushed slightly.
"Don't laugh! But if you tell me that you've eaten veal, I'm going home." Erik didn't reply and her eyes widened.
"Erik!" He arched an eyebrow as he drank some wine and she rolled her eyes.
After dinner, Erik drove her back to her house.
"Shall I pick you up in the morning?"
"Might as well. It's not as if we have anything to hide anymore." Christine said. They reached the door and she turned to him and said, before she knew what she was doing she had said, "Do you want to come in?"
He smiled slightly.
"We have rehearsals in the morning. We need to sleep."
"Oh. OK." Christine said. She took a deep breath and then said quickly, "Do you want to come in?"
Erik stared at her and then kissed her, his hands curling into her hair as her arms slipped around his neck. And then he whispered,
"Not tonight. We have rehearsals."
"OK." She said, flushing slightly. He kissed her once more and then returned to the car. Christine closed the door behind her and grinned dopily down at Trister, who had come to meet her.
"Hey boy." She said, sinking to the floor to hug him. He wagged his tail, rubbing his head against her cheek. She smiled and hugged him tightly.
"Yeah, you're definitely my favourite guy. Just don't tell Erik, OK? I'll have to break that to him gently."
The next morning in the theatre, Christine sat by herself on the stage, making notes in her score whilst Erik and Nadir met with Dr Carter in the office. She looked up as someone came in. It was Max. She looked back down at her score and wrote something down. Max came up to the stage and glanced at her without speaking. She met his eyes briefly and then whispered,
"Good morning."
"Morning." He replied quietly, sipping a coffee. Christine hesitated and then swallowed.
"Max, come on. I don't want to fight with you, you're my friend."
"I know, Christine, I just… I know everybody was saying that there was something going on but I never thought for one moment that there actually was."
"Well, most of the time there wasn't. That magazine article… that was the first time we kissed. We'd never done anything before then." Christine said, trying to defend herself. Max looked at her.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"But… but you liked him before that."
Christine looked down at her score and shrugged.
"I… well, I thought I had a crush on him. I thought that was all it was, and I figured he'd never like me like that. So I never did anything about it. And then, he asked me to go to that reopening, as a friend. I said yes, because I've always wanted to go to the Opera House and the musical line up was incredible."
"And it just ended differently?" Max said dryly. Christine nodded and met his eyes.
"Neither of us meant for it to happen, it just sort of… did."
"Do you love him?"
She was surprised at the audacity of the question but couldn't help smiling as she said,
"Yes, I do. And he loves me. Max, I never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all you." He smiled sadly and nodded.
"I know. I guess it was just the shock. I mean… I still like you, Christine. But I'm not going to get insanely jealous and go on a rampage or anything."
"No, you'd rather just intensely overact during The Point of No Return." She teased. Max blushed and grinned.
"Can't blame a guy for trying. Was Mr Destler annoyed?"
"No, he thought it was entertaining. We'd better warm up."
She climbed off the stage and then hugged him tightly.
"Thanks Max. You're the best."
"I know, I know."
"Modest too." She noted.
"Definitely." Max laughed, hugging her back. Someone cleared their throat and they both looked up. Tom was watching with an amused grin.
"Aw, you guys made up."
"Sure did." Max said, draping an arm over Christine's shoulders. She elbowed him in the ribs.
"Watch it, Hodges. Don't get too comfy."
"OK. Come on, let's warm up before your boyfriend throws an artistic tantrum." Max smirked. Christine ground her teeth.
"That's it. I'm not letting you feel me up in The Music of the Night anymore."
"Aw, Christine, don't be mean."
"Nope, you lost your chance."
"I'll be nice!"
She shook her head and smirked.
"Too late. Warm ups." She went to the piano. Max sighed and caught Tom grinning.
"What's so funny?"
"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?"
"I've been told that before." Max admitted.
The rehearsal went rather well that day. They concentrated mostly on The Point of No Return and Down Once More. Max seemed to have lightened up slightly and his movements were a little less provocative during The Point of No Return. When they finished their parts, Christine was summoned to the make-up room to try on her Don Jun Triumphant costume.
Once it was on, she sat down for make up and June smirked.
"OK, we're gonna want to do something about those." She gestured at the love bites on Christine's neck. Christine gasped and covered them with her hand but June just laughed and reached for some powder.
"Give over, Christine. It's not like I've never seen them before."
"I… it's…" Christine stammered and flushed as June laughed again.
"God, you crack me up! I suppose this is a certain Mr Destler's handiwork?" Christine flushed an even darker shade and June grinned, lifting an eyebrow as she powered over the marks.
"Just make sure he doesn't do anymore before the performance. Otherwise he'll have me to face, for wasting make-up supplies."
"Who's wasting supplies?" said a voice from the door. Christine looked at the reflection in her mirror and smiled. June waved a make-up brush at Erik.
"You are, Mr Destler."
"And how am I doing that?" Erik asked, folding his arms. June pulled back Christine's hair to reveal the marks and Erik couldn't help giving a smirk.
"Very well, June. I'll be more careful in future."
"Please do be. You're done, Christine." June said, brushing over the last mark. Christine got up and frowned down at the revealing corset.
"June…"
"Don't blame me for that one. That's Mr Khan's work."
"I must congratulate him." Erik said and Christine glared at him, rearranging the sleeves, which had slipped down.
"OK, these sleeves don't stay up."
"I don't think they're supposed to. Anyway, get going, I want Max in here." June said pushing her out.
She and Erik returned to the theatre, passing Max as they went. He grinned.
"Love the outfit. What's wrong with the sleeves?" She glared at him and he hurried on. Erik smirked,
"Christine…"
"Don't. I'll be good." She promised as they entered the theatre. She went to sit down by her bag with her score and was joined by Kirstie, the new Meg Giry. Christine smiled.
"Hi Kirstie."
"I love your costume, Christine." Kirstie said, sitting down. Christine pulled a face.
"I'm beginning to think that all the costumes were designed by perverts. First the lingerie and now this." She made an irritated noise as the sleeves slipped again. Kirstie laughed,
"You look great!"
"Thanks. Happy about getting the new part?"
"I can't believe it! I was so happy. I feel a bit sorry for Terri though. Why did she leave? I mean, there are a load of rumours going around but…" Christine hesitated and then said,
"She was… well, she sent me a threatening note and these stupid pictures and then she wrecked my car."
"That was her?"
"Yeah. Anyway, Mr Destler told her to leave and Mr Khan said that you would make a good Meg."
Kirstie flushed and grinned. Christine pushed the sleeves up again and said,
"These are going to drive me insane. How am I supposed to act and sing when I'm worrying about my sleeves?"
"You'll manage. You're a really good singer."
"So are you. And you dance incredibly."
"Christine, The Point of No Return onstage." Nadir called as Max returned wearing his costume. Christine smiled at Kirstie.
"We'll talk later, OK?"
"Sure."
Christine joined Max on stage and he rolled his eyes behind the black mask.
"How sexy do I look in this?"
"I refuse to answer that." She said, pulling the sleeves up. "I swear, I'm just going to staple these things to my shoulders!"
"Nah, they're OK." Max said dismissively, moving to the other side of the stage. Christine sat on the step, brushing her hair out of her face as the music began to play. She looked up slowly as Max began to sing, putting on a face of confusion and amazement as 'Christine' realised that it was the Phantom.
Unfortunately, a few bars later, as Max pulled Christine towards him, his foot caught on the long skirt of her costume. So, as she moved away, she tripped over, taking Max with her. The music stopped as the pair crashed to the stage. Max sat up, rubbing his head and Erik moved towards them.
"What happened?" he demanded, helping them up. Christine winced.
"My fault. The skirt got in the way, it's too long."
"I'll have June turn it up a couple of inches." Erik said. Christine looked at Max and frowned.
"Max, you're bleeding."
"Huh?"
She touched his forehead and he jerked away as her fingers met the wound.
"It's only a cut." He said. Erik frowned.
"There's a medical kit in the office. Christine, could you fetch it? It's under the desk." She nodded and went to find it. When she returned Erik wiped the cut clean and fastened a sticking plaster over the cut. Max grinned.
"Good as new."
"Christine, go and ask June to turn up the skirt. Mr Hodges, sit down for a few minutes to recover whilst Mr Khan sorts out the sounding."
Christine disappeared to the costume room and relayed the message to June who grumbled but stood her on a stool, pinning the skirt into place.
"This production is going to drive me up the wall." June muttered. "Take the costume off, I'll run it through the sewing machine." Christine quickly dressed in her normal clothes and handed the dress to June, who went over to the sewing machine and began to work on the outfit.
"We've got you through all of your costumes now, right?" June said absently. Christine nodded.
"I've tried them all on."
"Good. You, Tom and Max are all sorted. I just need to alter Rebecca's dress slightly and she'll be done. And I need to change all of Terri's clothes to fit Kirstie now. I hate it when people spring extra work on me. Here, that should be right."
Christine hung the dress up with her other costumes. The rehearsal was only for another quarter of an hour, there didn't seem to be much point in changing back again. Max was chatting with Tom when she returned. She looked at his cut.
"Is it OK?"
"If I can't remember my name in the morning, I'll let you know." Max grinned. Christine smiled and sat down. Dr Carter clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
"That's it for today people. Two weeks and four days until Opening Night. Let's keep that in mind. I want a run-through of all the major scenes tomorrow. I'll see you then." He disappeared into the office. Christine looked around for her things and Max tapped her arm.
"See you tomorrow Christine."
"Bye Max."
He disappeared and Christine began to put her things away. Nadir sat down and scratched his head.
"This show is going to drive me to an early retirement." He sighed. Christine smiled.
"That bad?"
"Half of the soundtrack just got chewed up. Once we get the orchestra in it won't be so much of a problem, but they're not arriving until next Friday so now I've got to get hold of another copy until the orchestra gets here."
"I've got a blank soundtrack at home. I'll make you a copy, if you want." Christine said. Nadir stared at her.
"You have?"
"Yes."
"That'd be brilliant. You're an angel, Christine." She laughed at that, sitting down beside him.
"I do my best."
She glanced at him sideways and a smile spread across her face. He looked at her suspiciously.
"What's so amusing?"
"I have to know. Is Singing in the Rain really your favourite film?"
"Well… yes." He admitted. Christine smiled.
"A man with taste."
"Try telling Erik that." Nadir grumbled as he came out of the office. Erik put some papers into a case and then turned to them.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah."
They all headed outside and Erik asked,
"Did June fix the costume?"
"Hmm, she turned it up a couple of inches. The costumes for me, Max and Tom are all done now."
"That's a relief. And the orchestra arrive on Friday. We need to make sure the microphones are fixed up." Erik said thoughtfully. "It's all very well singing with a soundtrack, but the orchestra are going to be considerably louder."
"Plus the backdrops aren't finished." Nadir commented.
"Most of the props are done though." Christine pointed out. "It's going to be fine."
"I'm glad you're so optimistic about this. Let's hope it's an infectious attitude." Erik said with a brief smile. Christine returned it.
"Everyone is doing their best. How could it be anything less than perfect if everyone does that?"
Erik lifted his eyebrow and said,
"You're very confident."
"Well, I sound it at least." Christine said with a smile.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I had to put in the bit about the sleeves. I couldn't stop laughing all the way through that scene, with her sleeves falling down all the time.
Time
for a little gloating - I'M GOING TO LIVE 8 IN HYDE PARK! My brother
won tickets and he's taking me! I love my brother!
Lotsa luv 'n' huggles
Katie
