We all know that nobody here owns "Phantom". So why bother saying it? Oh well, I'll do it anyways. I own nothing. nada, zero, zilch. You get the point. Well, here's chapter five. Enjoy.

Chapter 5 Her Secret

When they were eating, an attractive young man watched them, but mostly April. She had just stopped laughing when she looked over and saw him staring at her. A light shade of pink appeared on her cheeks. Meg noticed what had happened and smiled before saying, "April is he looking at you?" She started giggling. "Quit acting so silly, Meg!" she said playfully.

Dessert finally arrived. While she was eating, April would glance in the guy's direction. Ever since Meg noticed him, the girls were so giggle. When they were about to leave he walked over to her. He took her hand and kissed it, then said, "My name is Phillipe." She smiled shyly. "And mine is April."

"This is how Erik and I met…" She thought. "Hope to see you around more, April," Phillipe said smiling charmingly at her. She smiled again. As they left, she took one last glance at him.

After she closed the door to her room, April leaned against it and sighed dreamily. Erik had been waiting for her to arrive. Smiling, she walked over to her drawers and got out her nightgown and robe. He wondered why she was so happy. Then he remembered seeing that same look in Christine's eyes when she saw that fop, Raoul.

"No…She can't…Not again..." Tears swelled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He imagined seeing her with some guy that resembled the fop. His hands balled up into fists from that vision. Looking back up, he saw that April had changed.

Unable to control himself, his voice boomed through her walls. "Who is he?" he asked forcefully. She looked up and around, alarmed. But then she recognized his voice. "Erik," she said softly. His heart softened a little seeing how frightened she was. She walked over to her mirror and stared at her reflection with pitiful eyes. He saw her and knew that she was looking for him.

Standing up, he slid open the mirror and just stood there. April walked towards him, cautiously. "I can tell," he said unsteadily. "That look in your eyes…" She got tearful just from seeing him so heartbroken. Stepping up through the doorway, she put her arms around his waist.

"It's nothing, Erik," she said looking up at him.

"Promise me."

"I promise nothing will happen."

April kissed him tenderly on the lips. His blue eyes closed in relief. She wouldn't do what Christine had done. When they pulled away from each other Erik said, "You should go to bed now, April." She nodded and turned back to her room "Sweet dreams, my angel," he whispered. After closing the mirror, e went back to his home.

The next morning she seemed a bit low. Meg had talked about Phillipe almost the entire time before dance rehearsal. April ignored her and the other giggling ballerinas. But during the practice, she seemed to be distracted. She kept on getting off beat. Madame Giry noticed of course. After it was over, she talked to her.

"Is something wrong? You've never made your messing up so noticeable."

"I know," she replied. "I guess it was just a late night…"

Madame Giry looked at her carefully, then nodded and left her to be alone. Today, she just didn't feel like dancing. After a while, April heard something out in the audience; Erik. He was walking down an aisle coming towards her. Once he climbed the steps she looked over at him with unreadable eyes. They were usually so bright and happy, but now they were vacant and inexpressive.

Sitting next to her, he said, "What's wrong? You weren't yourself up here." She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. "I know. It's just that there's been too many things on my mind this morning," she replied then rested her head on his shoulder. Erik put his arm around her. "Tell me." When she looked up at him, he saw that her eyes were glassy. She climbed into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her.

"There's something that I haven't told you." He was afraid of what it might be. But then he was relieved to hear her start, "My mother had always told me to come to the Opera Populaire." She drew a shaky breath. "I didn't want to leave and kept on taking dance lessons in out town. I took them until I was eighteen, when my mother became ill. I quit my lessons to take care of her. And she died when I was nineteen." April's eyes became more watery than before, but she held the tears in.

"So," she sighed. "I finally came here because I thought that's what she would want me to do. But now I feel like I'm trying to run away from my feelings. Like I'm some sort of coward, trying to run away from my past. I mean, I left my father and brother." Finally her tears fell. Erik kissed her cheek before hugging her. She sobbed into his chest. He finally realized that her life wasn't as perfect as it seemed.

"And then," she said kindly. "I met you." He looked down at her.

"Meg told me about what happened to you, and I felt terrible." Trying to get away from that subject, he said, "Well, life's not fair."

"But you didn't deserve what you got," she replied instantly.

"And neither did you," he told her.

She fell silent at what he said. Ending their conversation, she leaned back into him. He held her tighter, protectively. She turned around so she was facing him. Her hands were on his chest. Right as they were about to kiss, Erik looked away. She then kissed his neck accidentally. Looking up at him, wondering why he pulled away, she saw that he was staring at something. Curious, April looked in the direction he was. She squinted into the darkness, but saw nothing.

"Erik, what-?" his finger touched her lip, silencing her. Less than a minute later, he whispered, "Someone's outside the door. Meet me in the deserted practice room tomorrow at seven o'clock." He got up and disappeared into the shadows, very phantom-like. She stood up and left the auditorium. Then she realized that the next day was her twenty-first birthday.

The next day she didn't see Erik at all. He wasn't there after the rehearsal, and she never sensed that someone was watching her.

That evening a little after six, Meg knocked on April's door. When she came in she was grinning.

"Hi!"

"Hi…" April said looking at her friend suspiciously. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much. Come here!"

April got up and walked over to Meg. "What's this all about?" she asked. Meg placed a blindfold over her eyes. "Hey!" They walked through the open door and she heard giggling. After walking a while, she realized that they were now outside. April had given up trying to ask them questions. When she did, they would just snicker. What seemed like forever walking outside, blindfolded, made her angry.

"Okay, this is enough!" Then her blindfold came off and she was standing in front of her favorite café. She looked at her friends and they all cried, "Happy Birthday, April!" She smiled and said, "Oh, thanks you guys! I didn't know that you knew when it was!"

"We have our ways…" Meg said trying to sound mysterious, but failed because she started laughing. April rolled her eyes, smiling, and they walked into the café. Once she got inside, she froze. Who should be sitting at one of the tables, but Phillipe. The other girls burst out laughing, and April couldn't help thinking that they had something to do with it.

She walked over to a table, and a waiter took their orders. "I'll be right back," said one of her friends. She walked over to Phillipe and talked to him. After a while he came over and sat at their table, beside April. The girls had a never ending giggle fit. She stared at him when he wasn't looking. When his hazel eyes glanced at her, she looked away.

He was so cute. His hair was the color of honey, and his eyes were an unfathomable hazel. When he smiled, it showed his stunning white teeth. She wondered how old he was. He looked around twenty-four.

"So," Phillipe said turning towards her. April's stomach leapt when he spoke to her. "I heard it was your birthday." She nodded as her cheeks turned pink. "My twenty-first," she said, noticing the awkward silence. He smiled an adorable smile showing his pearly whites.

When a waiter walked by, Phillipe asked him for two red wines. After their drinks arrived, April seemed to relax a bit. They talked for around half an hour. She looked out the window, and noticed that it had started raining. "I love rain," he said, seeing that she was staring out the window. "Me too. It's so relaxing." she smiled. "And romantic," he added.

A little while later, he friends said that they needed to go. "We'll just leave you two alone," one said, winking. When they all let, April just realized that she was supposed to meet Erik at seven!

"What time is it?" she asked hurriedly.

"Oh, it's about seven forty-five." She put her head in her hands. "Damn it." Phillipe looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Here, let me walk you." She smiled at him.

"Thanks.

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