Author's notes: New chapter up, as you see. I think this story might be drawing to an end soon, but I won't promise anything. My head doesn't always work the way I want it to. But, in writing moment, and with the story I've planned this far, I have about three, maybe four chapters left. But it can very well be more.

And as always, I'd like to thank my lovely Eruliss, who once again sent me a lovely review. Thank you so much, honey. And also a big thank you to EriksIngenue. Your review really made me happy. Thank you so much. And, as for one of your questions:I have oneone chapter planned (and written too) that is very M, but it's in the end of the story. I just thought I should rate M from the beginning, to be on the safe side.

And as for the rest of you. If you don't review and tell me what you think, I won't know what's good and what's bad, so please, review. It keeps me going lol

Enjoy!

Part VII

Raoul stood in the doorway along with his parents, watching the last carriage disappear down the road. The evening had been nice, far better than he'd thought, but he hadn't seen much of Meg. She hadn't been sitting next to him at the dinner, and afterwards, when the dancing began and he'd hoped to get one or two with her, she'd immediately been seized by someone else, and hadn't been free for the rest of the evening. This bothered Raoul more than he thought it would. More than it should.

When the carriage was out of sight, him and his parents went inside his father's study.

"Did you have a nice evening, Raoul?" his mother asked and sank down in an armchair with far less grace then suitable for a vicomtesse.

Raoul nodded and lent against the wall. "Yes, very much so. I must admit though, it was much more pleasant than I thought it would be."

His mother smiled. "I saw that Meg danced the night away. It seems at least the men approved of her."

Raoul heared a roaring laughter from his father. "Such an angel as she? They would not dare disapprove, my dear!"

The vicomtesse laughed too, and suddenly they heared a knock on the door. Meg entered and curtsied.

"I hope I am not interrupting?" she smiled.

"Of course not, my dear." Raoul's father was at his feet in an instant. "Please, have a seat."

Meg shoke her head. "No, thank you, Monsieur. I just came here to bid you a good night and to thank you for the lovely evening."

"It was our pleasure, dear." The vicomtesse rose and walked over to Meg and took her hand. "A good night to you too, and I hope I will see you at breakfast?"

Meg nodded and kissed the vicomtesse's cheeks.

Raoul cleared his throat. "Sleep seems very tempting now, yes. I will escort Meg to her room, and then I, too, will retire. Goodnight Mother." He kissed her cheek. "Father."

The vicmote had sat down again and had his head in a book. He simply waved a hand at Raoul to show he'd heared.

Meg took Raoul's arm, and they left the room.

"What do you think of it all now?" Raoul asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

Meg squeezed his arm. "I had a very nice evening, thank you so much for inviting me."

"So you will perhaps...join me again, sometime?" Raoul hesitantly asked and led her up the stairs.

Meg nodded eagerly. "Yes, I would like that very much." She, too, hesitated. "But where were you all evening? I was hoping to dance with you." She immediately slapped her free hand over her mouth. "That was really not suitable to say, I am so sorry!"

Raoul laughed. "Never appologize for being yourself in my company, Meg. Very few people are, you know. The only one who ever was was Christine," he added after a while, then fell silent.

Meg was also silent, which surprised Raoul. He'd thought she'd come with some witty coment to make him laugh, or say something that would bring him back to happiness again. But she just walked silently beside him, and after what seemed like an awkward eternity, they reached the door of her room for the night. Meg let go off his arm, but hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, which reminded him of another time when she'd done just that. In the Opera, that day when she'd found him crying on the roof. Raoul couldn't believe that was only two weeks ago.

"Well, goodnight, then." Meg's voice pulled him back to the present.

"Yes...yes, goodnight, Meg."

Should I kiss her cheek, like I do with Mother? I can't believe I am even thinking about doing it, I should just do it. Raoul bent forward, but Meg had already went inside her room and closed the door. A few words that were not suitable for sensitive ears escaped his mouth as he walked over to his own room, across the hall.

When he lay in his bed a few minutes later, he let his mind wander freely, excpecting thoughts of Christine to rush into his head, but none did, to his surprise. Instead he saw Meg's face in his mind, and a feeling of guilt came to him. Why? he thought. Why do I care so much for this girl? Why do I want people to approve of her, and why do I want her to approve of me? He rememebered when Meg had taken care of him when Christine had left with the Phantom. And when she'd found him crying on the roof. And when they'd been down in the lair together. Why does she do all these things for me? She doesn't have to, she doesn't own me anything. But instead of feeling grateful towards her, Raoul just became angry. I don't want her help, I can manage on my own. I'm a grown-up man, I don't need the help of girl. He angrily pushed Meg's picture out of his mind and forced himself to remember Christine. She, on the other hand, owns me a great deal. I was prepared to marry her, a singer, a nobody, and she left me. But he couldn't remember Christine all that clealy anymore. He couldn't remember her voice, or the way she moved. All he saw was the picture on his mantlepiece. To hell with it all, he thought angrily. It's just because I haven't seen her for a while.

Sleep slowly crept into Raoul's mind, making him stop thinking at all. He let it happen, feeling emotionally drained. When he finally drifted away, his last thought was not of Christine.

The snare was around his neck, cutting off his breathing. That voice, that horrible voice that she had once called wonderful, was filling the air, making everybody else fall silent, forcing everybody to listen. This was the end, he knew it, and they knew it. The snare was tightening, the darkness lowering itself over his mind. It shouldn't be like this, he knew it. The ending was suppose to be another. But there was nowhere out of this. The curtain was falling.

Meg slept light that night, and that was fortunate, or else she wouldn't have heard the muffled noises from the room on the other side of the hall. But as it was now, they woke her from her light slumber.

At first she thought the sounds reminded her of those she'd heared through the walls of the Opera some evenings, but she immediately shoke off that thought. Who would, in that case, be making the noises? The vicomte and his wife had their rooms on the other side of the house, and the servants would by all means be more discreet then to do it in a corridor outside occupied bedrooms. And in this corridor, Meg new, there were two occupied ones. Her's and Raoul's. The thought of Raoul having someone in his room made Meg feel almost sick, but her mind at once started thinking about the matter. Who could be in his room? A lady from the dinner, who had come back and sneaked in when everybody else had gone to sleep? Or, God forbid, Christine? But no, that was a ridiculous thought. Christine was with The Phantom, and Heavens knew where.

Meg didn't like to eavesdrop, but she realized she wouldn't be able to sleep untill she found out what those sounds were. Reluctantly she slid out of her bed and threw a shawl over her shoulders.

The hall was dark and silent now that the sounds had stopped. Meg hadn't realized up untill now how big this hall was. How would she ever be able to find Raoul's room? But then the sounds started again, only more silent this time. They seemed to come from a room across the hall, a bit down. Meg rushed over to the door and opened it a little.

Raoul was alone on his bed, tossing and turning, hitting his hand against the walls and moaning. He is having a nightmare, Meg realized, and closed the door and ran over to his bed. She had forgotten everything about what was proper and what her mother might say.

She climbed into the bed and laid down next to Raoul. She pulled him close to her and caressed his hair.

"Sch, it's just a nightmare, Raoul. Wake up." She could feel him calm down a little. His body became more relaxed and his breathing calmer. She continued whispering calming words and caressing his hair, and after a while his breathing was back to normal.

When Meg was sure the nightmare was gone, she gently began loosing her grip around him, preparing to go back to her own bed. But to her surprise she felt Raoul's arms wind their way around her waist.

"Please, don't go," he whispered in her ear. "I feel much safer with you lying next to me."

Meg nodded and turned and kissed his cheek. "Of course I'll stay if you want me to."

But Raoul didn't hear her, he'd already gone back to sleep.

Author's notes: REVIEW!