A/N: Phoenix does not want to do it, but Erik and I have discussed it and wish to leave you with a cliffhanger. Please enjoy this chapter. I hope that the title of the chapter is a little more clear now.

The curtain rises…the stage is yours.

With much love,

Angelina

PS…The songs in this part are credited to the wonderful musical 'Jekyll & Hyde' and once again to Monsieur Josh Groban. Thank you once again.

Chapter 50 – There was a Priest, a Girl, & a Boy…: Part II

The stage looked like a large church. A large cross hung along the back of the stage as pews lined up to the front of the stage.

The orchestra began its crescendo as Angelina appeared at the back of the stage. Her head was bowed as she slowly looked up.

The entire house is packed! Her nerves were now completely gone. One last breath before her part began; she began to walk forward, not looking out at the audience.

"I peek through windows, watch life go by. Dream of tomorrow and wonder why…The past is holding me, keeping life at bay. I wander lost in yesterday…Wanting to fly…but scared to try."

She looked out into the audience. Angelina imagined Erik sitting in the front row and she slowly began to smile.

"But if someone like you found someone like me…Then suddenly…nothing would ever be the same!"

Her arms outstretched and her eyes closed as the smile grew in intensity.

"My heart would take wing…and I'd feel so alive! If someone like you, found me…"

Angelina's eyes slowly opened as she began to pace around the stage. A confessional booth was just in front of her. She paused in front of it, looking at it as if her life depended on it.

"So many secrets I long to share…All I have needed…is someone there? To help me see a world, I've never seen before. A love to open every door…To set me free…so I can soar!"

Her hand gently touched the confessional box.

Rene watched as Angelina's eyes closed. She lived the part. The part consumed her and became a part of her. Angelina had no idea how good she was. There was only one man who did – Erik.

Raoul watched his daughter closely. Christine's hand was grasping his so tightly the blood flow had stopped. Angelina was absolutely amazing. But her performance could not deter him from the task at hand. His eyes were watching for any signs of the Phantom. This time, he would not get away.

"If someone like you, found someone like me…Then suddenly nothing would ever be the same! There'd be a new way to live! A new life to love…if someone like you found me!"

Angelina turned and began toward the cross. She listened to the music grow in intensity. Monsieur Laurent conducted his orchestra with passion and life. He made sure this piece was no different.

"Oh, if someone like you…found someone like me…Then suddenly! Nothing would ever be the same!"

Although she was often told by her mother never to face her back to the audience, she took a risk. Risk is something that you often have to take. Erik had told her that repeatedly. This was the time and place to do it. Her arms outstretched and she looked at the cross in front of her.

"My heart would take wing…and I'd feel so alive!"

Her voice echoed and the audience was silent. A few jumped but others were awed by how powerful she had become.

"If someone like you…loved me…"

She slowly fell to her knees and continued to look at the cross in front of her.

"…loved me…loved me…"

Angelina's voice slowly drifted off into the night. The audience continued to be silent as the candlelight slowly began to dim.

Rene watched a figure toward the back of the stage talking to the young tenor that would play the priest. He watched the young man walk away and another take his place.

Erik…what are you doing?

The figure's face looked at Rene and seemed to stare right through him. No words were needed. Erik longed to be near Angelina during her performance. The only way he could was by being on the stage with her.

But something was different. There was something missing. Rene's eyes widened as he noticed what it was.

His mask is gone. He is not wearing his mask!

Before he could even comprehend what he was seeing, Rene watched Erik begin into the back entrance of the confessional booth. There was no stopping anything now. Rene only hoped that the Phantom knew what he was doing.

Angelina knelt in front of the cross. Her heart was pounding and would not stop. She barely registered the light dimming. The sound of her heart pounding filled her head. But the change in tempo and song drowned out the pounding.

The young tenor was good – Angelina heard him several times before actually rehearsing with him. But he was no match for Erik. She longed to be with him on stage and not just imagining he was there with her.

"I have been blind…unwilling to see. The true love you're giving, I have ignored every blessing….I'm on my knees – confessing."

Her eyes slowly opened as she heard the door to the confessional booth open. That voice! Can it be?

"That I feel myself surrender each time I see your face…I am staggered by your beauty…your unassuming grace…"

Angelina's head slowly turned and watched the figure walk out of the confessional and begin around the stage. He was shrouded in darkness. But his presence was felt. It sent a shiver down Angelina's spine and willed her to slowly stand.

Erik watched his angel slowly stand in front of the cross. He knew she felt his presence. But she still did not know it truly was him. He smiled at the thought of surprising her but also surprising everyone else.

"And I feel my heart is turning…falling into place! I can't hide…now hear…my confession."

He stopped in the shadows and watched her look at him. God how he longed to be with her for all eternity. To feel her touch and listen to her voice would give him the life that he had longed for.

Both Christine and Raoul knew who was on the stage with Angelina. The voice did not help him.

"Raoul, you need to save her."

"I already am."

Christine looked at Raoul, puzzled by his statement.

"What have you done?"

"You will see, my love." He kissed the back of her hand to assure her everything would be alright. His plan was already in motion. His daughter's safety was assured.

"I have been wrong about you. Thought I was strong without you."

She was weak without Erik. Angelina knew this. His voice was haunting her. This could not be him. It cannot be. He would have told me.

"For so long nothing could move me…For so long nothing could change me!"

The voice resonated all around her. It echoed not only through the opera house but in her mind as well. Angelina watched as the figure began toward her again. She slowly began to walk away and into the light. Angelina was unsure of who it was. It is my mind playing tricks on me again.

"Now I feel myself surrender…each time I see your face. I am captured by your beauty…your unassuming grace!"

The figure's hand outstretched toward her. Every instinct within her body screamed not to reach for it. But her heart told her otherwise. Before she could grasp it, the figure moved back into the darkness, circling her once again.

Erik watched her try to reach for him. It was not time yet. He knew just when he needed her touch and this was not the moment. Slowly beginning to circle her again, he ignored everyone and everything around him. The audience did not matter any more. It was Angelina and only her.

"And I feel my heart is turning…falling into place. I can't hide! Now hear my confession."

He stepped half way into the light. The unmarred part of his face showed within the light. He watched Angelina's face light up at the sight of him. Erik was dressed in clerical clothes. The white collar on his neck was perfect and neat as was the rest of his costume. He spared no expense on how he looked.

"You are the air I breathe. You're the ground beneath my feet…When did I stop believing!"

He stepped into the light and ignored the gasps from all around. Erik slowly began toward Angelina – his angel.

Angelina watched Erik step into the light. Her mind silenced the gasped that surrounded her. He was beautiful.

He is not wearing his mask.

A smile slowly crept over her face. Erik had come to her as she had always wanted him to – as himself.

"Cause I feel myself surrender, each time I see your face. I am staggered by your beauty…your unassuming grace!"

He dared not touch her but walked around her – like a lion stalking its prey. Her petite figure seemed bigger somehow. Something possessed her and made her seem alive. Erik heard the audience talking amongst themselves, discussing his deformity. It did not matter any more. Angelina did not think him a monster. That was all that mattered to him.

"And I feel my heart…falling into place! I can't hide…now hear my confession!"

Stopping behind her, her scent captured him. Warm vanilla. It nearly drove him to the brink of insanity but he stopped, realizing that he was near the end of his song.

"I can't hide…now hear my confession…"

His hands slowly rose and lingered near her neck. They did not touch but he watched Angelina's eyes glaze over at just the thought of his touch.

"…hear my confession…"

The orchestra slowly ended the song. Silence hung in the air but it did not haunt him as it usually did. It filled him. The next song would join them. He longed for it to start and instead of filling him, the silence now held him back from his future.