Disclaimer/Note: I don't own any Phantom characters or songs, I do own all Matteo Ricci high characters.

I walked past Herr Knarth's room the following afternoon and heard singing. Not wanting to disturb anyone, I waited outside the closed door until the song was finished. I could tell that the singer, a very deep bass, was somewhere in the middle of 'Music of the Night'. I listened to the beautiful words fall around me.

"Softly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you
Open up your mind,

Let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness which you know you cannot fight,
The darkness of the music of the night"

Whoever he is, he's perfect, I thought. Just the right mixture of sadness and sensuality to play the Phantom. I couldn't wait until the end of the song so I could see who he was-- but at the same time I wanted the song to go on forever.

"Close your eyes -
Start a journey through a strange new world

Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before,

Close you eyes and let music set you free,

only then can you belong to me."

Maybe when I go in there we can practice one of the duets together, I thought. Phantom of the Opera or The Point of No Return…

"Floating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation
Let the dream begin,

Let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write,
The power of the music of the night"

And then the song was almost over, only the last two lines to go. I hoped they would not disappoint me.

"You alone can make my song take flight,

Help me make the music of the night."

Yes, I thought. I opened the door a crack so I could squeeze through. "Liam, you're a genius," I said. "You found the right guy."

At the back of the room I heard Lourdes Yucatan laughing.

"What?" a voice asked-- the same voice that had been singing. The same voice that had been haunting me for months now.

I whipped around. "You?" I asked. "Liam, how could you?"

"You seemed to like him enough a minute ago," he said.

"That was before I realized-- you picked Dave Savarnich?"

"Hey, I'm right here," Dave said. Dave, the maniac, that crazy stalker who I had hated and feared for months, was to play the Phantom. And he was good at it. He could sing. Why could he sing? This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. In those teen movies, crazy stalkers are never singers. They always do less appealing things in their free time, like collecting action figures or playing chess or other dorky things.

"Yeah, he is," Sam said. "And so are you, Nelia… hey! The Phantom and Christine, right here… we can finally have you guys sing 'The Phantom of the Opera!' Like you wanted to do yesterday, remember, Nelia?"

Dave shrugged. "I'm up to it," he said, with a slight grin. "You, Nelia?"

"Fine," I said, gritting my teeth.

Liam started the music and I began, all the while cursing him.

"In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me
And speaks my name
And do I dream again?
For now I find
The phantom of the opera is there,
Inside my mind"

How perfect, I thought. What apt words for the one who has haunted every nightmare I have had since I met him five months ago.

Dave continued: "Sing once again with me
Our strange duet
My power over you
Grows stronger yet
And though you turn from me
to glance behind
The phantom of the opera is there
Inside your mind"

I shuddered. This is not what I want him thinking, I thought. I continued: "Those who have seen your face
Draw back in fear
I am the mask you wear"

"It's me they hear" he sang. Damn, why did he have to have such a good voice? And now it was time for the duet. If it sounded good at all, I'd have Lourdes at me for weeks saying what a good couple we'd make, saying we'd end up married someday for sure-- but what could I do? I had to prove to him that I was actually a good soprano, that Liam hadn't made a mistake giving Christine to me, and untrained sophomore. And Lucy was there, too, scowling whenever I sang. Lourdes had told me earlier that she was unhappy being Carlotta and would rather be Christine. I had to show everybody.

So we sang, together.

"Your/my spirit and my/your voice
In one combined
The phantom of the opera is there
inside my/your mind"

Lourdes, and Lucy sang the next few lines together as our default chorus.

"He's there
the phantom of the opera
Beware the phantom of the opera"

And then I awaited my cues from Dave to sing the highest notes I have ever been faced with.

"Sing, my angel of music!" Dave sang.

"Aaaaa, ah ah ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Sing…"

I went higher. "Aaaaa, ah ah ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Sing, my angel…"

Still higher. "Aaaaa, ah ah ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Sing for me!"

And now here they were, the toughest of them all: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Sing my angel of music!"

And again: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Sing for me!"

The note I had never been able to hit. I swallowed, and opened my mouth yet again, just hoping I would make it: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

I did it. I did it, and then I collapsed onto Herr Knarth's desk. Dave rushed over to me. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked, touching my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I said. "You don't have to be so worried."

"Of course I'm worried," he said. "Geez, it was me telling you to sing."

"Don't ever get under the illusion that you have any power over me, Dave," I said. I stood up. "Well?" I asked Liam. "What do you want me to do now? Tony's here, we could do 'All I Ask of You', or I could do 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again'."

"You need to rest, Nelia," Sam said gently.

"No I don't," I said.

"Liam, Lucy, and I need to run through 'Prima Donna' anyway," he said as an excuse. "You just go home now."

"Fine," I said. I walked out the same way I had come in, but only then did I realize that I didn't have a ride. I usually carpool with one of the other girls from my neighbourhood, but if she didn't see me by three than she probably figured I had a band practice she didn't know about, and I was stuck until at least four-thirty, when my mother would finish all of her obligations to my baby sister and then realize I was missing.

I guess that's it then, I thought. Stuck here until four-thirty. I started down the stairs, but then heard running feet behind me.

There was Dave Savarnich. With car keys.