By Hikaru Hayashi

I'm back with the next chapter. I wonder how this story is coming off to other people? I'm curious. Is it not good enough to review? If you read, please review! Thank you.

Good news for E/C fans, Erik will be in this chapter::Erik fangirls scream their heads off: How pathetic. (I'm kidding! Dang…Besides, I'd be a hypocrite anyway…) Ehem…anyway…!

A note about Erik: His face is not messed up yet! That doesn't come into play until later in the story. So for now, his face is normal (which, I'm sure, will be a scream for some of you "fangirls" out there).

Kagome1514: Once again, my first reviewer! There must be a trend or something. Oh, don't worry. There is going to be plenty of tension between Erik and Raoul later on in the story. I think you'll enjoy that. :winks: I don't mind short reviews either. All the reviews I get are fairly short anyway, so don't worry about it!

pearheart: As you now know, Daae is Christine's last name and Giry is Meg's. I hope that clears everything up for you. Continue to enjoy the story!

shamaho: You don't like R/C, and yet you're reading my story? Wow! I'm flattered! I hope you continue to read. Don't worry. There's gonna be plenty of E/C in later chapters.

Countess Alana: Yay! You came back! I love your reviews. They're so funny. Yeah, I guess Raoul was kind of just being Raoul, huh? I've never seen Van Helsing, but if you'd still like me to read your story, I will most definitely try. Erik using the prison bars as a xylophone…lol! That was funny.

Also, another shout-out to Kagome1514 for being my beta-reader. Thanks a lot! (EVERYBODY READ HER STORIES! And make sure to leave her a nice review or I will hunt you down!)

Disclaimer note: Nope, I don't own it. Not at all.

Chapter 3: The End of the Darkness

Christine officially wanted to clobber Meg. She purposely set this up so she could be alone with Raoul. What is Meg thinking? She knows Erik is my boyfriend! What is she trying to do? She sighed. "Oh, great…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, Miss Daae…" came Raoul's voice. Christine looked at him as he picked up his sketchbook and his backpack. "My friends…they can be a bit…weird…sometimes…I'm so sorry…I…I know you don't want to talk to me, so I'll leave…" He turned to leave.

"Wait, Raoul…" Christine called.

He stopped and turned around.

Christine smiled. Might as well make the most of this… she thought as she offered, "Hey, you wanna go get a frappaccino?"

Raoul smiled bashfully. "Uh…o-okay," he stammered as Christine grabbed his arm and they walked off.

Meg, who was watching from behind some bushes, smiled and snickered. Hee hee…perfect! she thought slyly.

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A prison guard mumbled as he patrolled down the hallways of the county prison, making sure that the prisoners were in line and not causing trouble. The poor man hated his job. Nothing to do all day but watch these hooligans and let them get on my nerves… he thought as he reached the last cell in the row.

"Number 4883, Erik Mulheim, the warden wants to see you."

The young man in the cell looked up; his normally blue eyes shone a tint of light green. It was pretty dark, but he liked the dark, and he could tell it was just another prison guard here to harass him. But, the warden wanted to see him? What had he done? It's bad enough that he hadn't done anything wrong to get in jail in the first place. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Erik stood up. The warden wants to see me? he thought, confused. I haven't done anything! Still, as the prison guard opened the door to his cell, he followed obediently. This had been the first time he had been let out for anything other than meals; they usually kept him locked up.

So many thoughts rushed through his head. He thought back to the night when he was caught with a gun he didn't own and the body of a man he didn't kill. He remembered the police dragging him away as he tried to say it wasn't him. He remembered the questions, the accusations, the trial…

Ah…yes, the trial…the last time he wore a decent suit…the last time he saw daylight…normal people…the last time he saw his precious Christine's face…"Oh, Christine…" he sighed in despair, wondering if he'd ever see her again. I miss her so much… Yes, he had learned the life of a loner…he had learned to make the most of being alone…but he couldn't help the constantly reappearing image of his darling Christine. It almost made him want to cry at the thought of never seeing her again.

The prison guard led him to the lobby of the warden's office. "Now, you just wait here," he said warily as he walked into the warden's office. "God, I hate my job," he complained silently as he walked in.

Erik looked around. He had never been anywhere near the warden's office. He had no idea what it looked like until now, and this was just the lobby. The sunlight that poured through the huge windows blinded him. He'd almost forgotten what sunlight looked like.

When he had gained his sight back, he looked around, able to see clearly without darkness shrouding everything for the first time in six months. He was standing on a red rug lined with a pattern of gold. He couldn't make out what the pattern was, but it was very beautiful. There was a water cooler, a snack machine, and a soda machine in one corner of the room. What an interesting set up, he thought.

But the thing that caught his attention the most was a grand piano situated by one of the huge windows in the south wall. It was as if a magical force pulled him towards it, because he began walking towards the grand piano, without even realizing it. He'd completely forgotten that he was a prisoner as soon as he sat down. He hadn't seen a piano in months and felt compelled to play a familiar melody that just jumped into his head. Without even thinking, his hands took control of him as he played the melody in his head.

As he finished the song, he heard clapping. Startled, he swirled around to see the warden and the prison guard from before.

"Bravo, Mulheim!" The warden cheered as he clapped madly. "I knew you were good! After all, that's the reason I called you here."

Erik stood up as he realized what was going on. The warden wanted him to play. For what reason was beyond him.

"I've heard stories. I had heard of your exceptional skills, and your record says you're a music major, but I never thought you'd be that good! Why, you're practically a musical genius!"

"Well, I've been playing since I was very little," Erik answered a bit shyly.

"Wow!" The warden squealed like a woman. "Excellent! You must be a prodigy!"

"No, I'm not. Really. I just practiced a lot, that's all…"

"Oh NO! Don't be so modest. I'll tell you what, Mulheim. If you'll play for me on request for a few weeks, I might consider your release. I need a good source of entertainment."

Erik jumped up. He had always known that he loved his music. This request just reinforced this love. "A-alright! I will!" he replied.

"YAY!" The warden squealed as he jumped up and down. "I'll let you know when I want you to play for me, alright, Mulheim?"

"Okay…" he said, looking at the warden warily, as the prison guard took him out of the warden's lobby. He couldn't help but think that the man was half crazy.

Erik beamed as he was being led back to his cell, back to the darkness. It didn't matter anymore. If he played for the warden a few times, he would be let out. He could continue his music and his education, and most importantly, he could be with his Christine once more.

"Oh, Christine!" he sighed, not in despair this time, but in happy relief. He would get out soon and none of this would matter anymore.

As the guard locked him in his dark cell once more (once again grumbling about how much he hated his job), Erik walked to the makeshift iron bar window that didn't let in much sun. He looked out at what appeared to be the sky. It didn't look so far away anymore. With every ounce of happiness in him ready to explode, he shouted "I'm coming, Christine!"

He knew the prisoners were staring at him. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered to him now was getting out and seeing Christine again.

Wow…that poor guy… the prison guard thought as he walked away. This Christine must mean a lot to him… He thought about his wife back home. Understanding Erik's feelings, for the first time all day, the guard smiled.

End Chapter Three

Not much to say here except end of the chapter and please, Please, PLEASE review!