A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter includes 2 exciting parts of the story. Introduction of the much hated Raoul character, and we find out where his lair will be. Hope you enjoy. Thanks again for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Christine

Later that same week, Christine stood on the stage, practicing with her small theater group. Her good friend, Meg, had talked her into dancing with her. They had both taken dance classes together when they were younger.

"No, no, no, NO!" Richard stood angrily in the third row of the audience. Richard stomped up the stairs to the stage. "Daniel if you drop her once more, I'll kill you before she has the chance to. If you can't grasp the concept of grabbing her hips before she hits the ground there are others backstage that can. Now start the number again, please."

Meg giggled softly next to Christine. Christine had to shush her before she started laughing with her. Red-faced Daniel earned quite a glare from girl he'd been dancing with. Richard returned to his seat next to his brother Andre. They were the managers/directors of the small theater troupe. They spoke quietly for a moment.

"Go on then, from the beginning of the number please." Andre instructed less harshly. Two different brothers Christine had never seen. Richard was loud and demanding, while Andre was more soft-spoken and praising. Christine enjoyed working for them.

At the end of the practice Christine noticed a third body sitting in the third row next to Richard.

"Just a moment everyone, we have an announcement to make." Richard nodded to one of the stage workers and all of the house lights came on. The three men scooted out into the aisle then up to the stage. Christine could help but feel she knew the new guy. He was taller than both of the managers, blonde hair that looked meticulously styled and bright blue eyes.

"Our new producer and patron, Mr. Ryan Changy." Christine's eyes went wide for a moment. It was her former neighbor and playmate. Before the death of her mother, and before she and her father had moved to New York. She recalled that his father was some sort of software guru now. Ryan gave the group a few words, and then was off, brushing right by Christine. She offered him a smile, but his attention was focused elsewhere.

Christine shrugged and remembered that it had been about 13 years since they'd last seen each other, and he would hardly recognize her. Meg joined her a moment later.

"Wow, is that guy hot or what?" Christine merely smiled. Ryan? Hot? She could hardly see him as anything but the boy who used to push her on the swings. To appease Meg, Christine merely nodded.

The house looked so empty and lifeless even from the outside. No lights shone, not even a small porch light. Christine sighed and pulled into the empty driveway. Her father had died the previous year, harshly so from the cancer that ravaged his body. Now Christine was alone with not even a cat to keep her company. Her stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning and she pulled out a low calorie frozen entrée. The light on the answering machine did not blink. She had no messages. The mail had bills and little else in it. Her head leaned against her palm as she sat at her kitchen table and watched her meal cook.

Erik

In between classes one day, Erik saw an open door. He went to investigate and found a large room, which obviously served as janitor storage. Carts with garbage bags, brooms, and cleaning supplies filled the room. Another door was in the back corner of the room. The door stuck slightly when Erik pushed on it, but gave eventually. He flicked the light on inside the room. Beyond the door was darkness. The weak light from the room barely penetrated it. Erik looked about the room for a few moments before he found what he was looking for. He flicked the flashlight on, and moved into the darkness.

At the end of a short hallway, he found a set of stairs. Shrugging he started down them. Another door was found at the bottom of the stairs, and gave much easier than the first one. A second hallway was on the other side of the door. A long hallway. Erik headed left first. It appeared the school had used this section of the building before. The doors that lined the hallway had specific classes named on them.

Erik pushed the door, which he assumed had once said VOICE on it. He swept the light beam across the room. A few chairs were scattered about the room. A cobweb covered organ sat against one wall. Erik's eye widened in surprise. He pushed the cobwebs away and set the flashlight down. His fingers ran over the keys and gasped when the sound rang beautifully through the dark room. The acoustics in the room must have been amazing. He pushed more of the cobwebs away and began to play one of his compositions on the instrument. He nearly wept with joy. A piano was nothing compared to this instrument.

He pulled a flimsy chair over and sat at the organ to play more comfortably. His fingers flew over the dusty and ill-kept keys. When his watch beeped on the hour he nearly didn't hear it. He let out an aggravated sigh and grabbed the flashlight. The door to the janitor room was closed now. He peeked his head out and saw no one so he stepped out.

When Erik looked down he noticed his hands were filthy, and he had streaks of dirt elsewhere on his dress shirt. He stepped into the restroom and noticed he had cobwebs clinging to his hair and back. He quickly cleaned himself up and made it back to his classroom only a few minutes late.

Christine

"Where have you been?" Christine's head shot up from the book she was glancing at. Meg was glaring at her. "Well? Where were you? We were supposed to meet for lunch a half hour ago." Christine looked down at her watch. It was a little after one o'clock.

"I'm sorry Meg. I guess I just got lost in this book." She shoved it back into her bag. "Shall we go now?" Christine pacified Meg by offering to pay for lunch. They headed toward Christine's car. A familiar large figure headed toward them. Christine felt her lips curve into a smile. His white mask gleamed in the still bright sunlight. She saw his lips quirk too. There was a long line of dirt lining the sleeve of Erik's upper arm and smudge on his visible cheek as well.

"Good afternoon Ms. Daae, Ms. Giry." He nodded toward them.

"Hello Erik." Christine beamed at him, wondering what he could have been up to. "See you tomorrow."

"Yes, until then." He gave a curt wave and moved past them. Christine looked over her shoulder just in time to see Erik doing the same thing. He froze momentarily, then whipped his head back around.

"Wow, who was that, how do you know him, why does he know my name, and why is he wearing a mask?" Meg demanded.

"That's Erik Grenier. He teaches my music theory class. I assume he knows your mother since she does work here, perhaps she mentioned you were her daughter. And I have no idea why he wears a mask." Though she'd like to find out.

"Odd." That's all that non-stop talking Meg had to say.

"Odd?"

"That he wears a mask. I mean no one wears a mask. It's just not done."

"I'm sure he has a reason for it."

"Yes, probably so. Else he'd be much more odd. From what I could see though, he's quite nice looking." Meg's face split into a grin. "And it looks like you're quite taken with him." Christine's face flushed.

"You're crazy. He's my teacher."

"So? The mask adds a bit of mystery, don't ya think?"

Christine nodded unconsciously. "What do you mean 'I'm quite taken with him'?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "Come on, Chris, you were practically drooling all over yourself. So where are we eating?"

"Drooling? Did you just 'drooling'? That's ridiculous. I was not drooling. I do not drool."

"Okay. Whatever. You weren't nearly drooling then. Happy? Let's go. I'm hungry."