Author´s note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I´ve never got so many for one chapter - it made my day. I love Gerry: In general my stories are a mixture of about 90 ALW (musical, not movie), 9 Leroux and 1 Kay. And honestly I didn´t pay that much attention to Meg´s breasts while watching the movie... Mysweetphantom: That was very decent. I´m not the kind of writer who lets her characters rape each other in one chapter, and in the next they´re all happy again. I always try to make clear why they do what they do. I can understand you were worried about Meg, but I hope it´s better now. I´m glad you kept reading.

19) ... was ever made for heaven´s light

Meg avoided Erik´s eye, clearly uneasy. She knew that she´d have to tell him sometime. How much longer would she be able to hold back her confession? But now was not the right moment. "Do you still love Christine?", she asked. Her diversion worked very well; merely mentioning this name made Erik forget that she hadn´t answered.

What a question! Of course he loved Christine. He had loved her from the first moment he had seen her. There were so many memories in which she played the leading role: The first time he spoke to her. ´Are you the Angel of Music?´, she called anxiously. Having overheard her talking to another girl about the protector her father would send her he simply gave the answer she longed for: ´Yes, I am.. It was so easy. – The dozens of singing lesson they had together. Her eyes shone with tears the first time she reached the high C, and he had known she would soar higher than any singer before her. And maybe she would take him with her. – The performance of ´Hannibal´, in which she sang Elissa after the unfortunate accident of La Carlotta. He sat in Box Five, prouder of his student than he had ever been. She was indeed his angel.

He looked into Meg´s expectant face. Even in the candlelight it was obvious how very pretty she was. Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were this lovely shade of pink. He hated to wipe the smile of her lips, but he wanted to be honest with her. "Yes, I still love her.", he replied quietly, watching how during this few words her face turned into a grimace as the girl struggled to maintain her composure. He wondered why his heart grew so heavy. Shouldn´t he be relieved that he was sure of his emotions at last?

"I don´t understand it.", Meg said in a flat voice. "If you love Christine, what do you need me for? I mean, why don´t you think of her in that way?" The reason couldn´t be that he hadn´t seen her naked. The tight costumes the chorus girls wore didn´t leave much to the imagination. There had to be something else. When Erik didn´t react right away she suggested: "Try to imagine her in one of the situations you spoke of earlier!". She knew she was tormenting both him and her, but she simply had to hear a satisfying answer. Otherwise this question would probably follow her like a shadow for the rest of her life.

Obediently he closed his eyes and started: He stood behind the mirror. But this time it was Christine he watched undressing. Slowly she opened button after button of the dark blue dress he loved her wearing so much, revealing more and more of the corset, which hugged her body like a second skin. The dress fell to the floor. Her gaze wandered from the piece of clothing at her feet over her perfectly shaped legs and came to a halt at the mirror. She smiled seductively and winked at him. Her hands glided over her cleavage to the laces of the corset. She began undoing it, never breaking the eye contact. She was finished so quickly that he asked himself whether she had rehearsed this little performance especially for him. Her corset was about to join the dress on the floor…

Erik shook his head firmly, and the pictures dissolved. There had been not a trace of this pleasant warmth in his stomach he had every time he thought of Meg, only a strong feeling of indecency. It was not right to have such fantasies of Christine, that much was certain. But why? He opened his eyes. "It didn´t work.", he told Meg, who had waited patiently. "I… I don´t feel good about it, not at all."

"And… and what about me?", the girl asked suddenly. She didn´t dare become more direct, but Erik was sensitive enough to understand it. She wanted to know if he loved her. Since love had been their topic for the last minutes it didn´t come as a surprise. This, however, did not mean Erik knew an answer. To gain a little more time he took her hand and pressed it against his right cheek. Her smooth skin and his rough flesh were a peculiar combination, and for a second or two he simply revelled in the feeling, wishing it could stay like that.

"I love Christine. I´ve always loved Christine. But now… I´m not sure anymore.", he finished in a pitiable voice, grabbing Meg´s hand more tightly. "Why can´t I comprehend my own emotions? Help me, please!", he begged. Looking at Erik an idea began to form in her head, a strange, maybe even crazy idea. Yet it was probably their only chance. "There is something we can do.", she told him, suddenly watching the flames of the candles with an unusual fascination. "Afterwards you´ll know if you were only interested in my body or not." "What are you talking about?", Erik wanted to know, curiosity momentarily superseding his despair. "We´ll make love."

Author´s note: I bet you guys are all very keen on getting to know what´s happening to Christine at the moment. Maybe I should write the next few chapters about her... Just kidding!