Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Point of No Return.
Here I am on New Year's Day ending this story. It seems fitting. Happy 2006!
"FIVE…FOUR…THREE…TWO…ONE!"
One could hardly hear the bell of Cabot High ringing one last time due to all the weary students screaming with delight at the arrival of summer vacation. The halls were filled with shouts of goodbye, laughter, and even tears from the parting seniors who would never again enter the building as students. Teachers looked on the mass of teenagers with contempt as they gave each other piggy back rides, signed last minute yearbooks, and general chaos reigned as they ran to the sunny glass doors, eager to throw down their backpacks and embrace the traditional summer pastimes.
A few students lingered, however, waiting to meet up with friends and calmly, yet quickly exit the school.
One of them was Christine.
'Where is that Meg!' she thought impatiently in the theater lobby as she watched a group of what looked like freshmen celebrating the fact that they made it through their first year of high school still in one piece. Much skipping was involved in this age old tradition.
"High school is finally over! Can you believe it!"
Christine removed her gaze from the enthusiastic freshmen and turned to find her best friend standing beside her.
"I know!" she answered, smiling happily, "It took long enough!"
Meg nodded her head in agreement and grabbed Christine's arm.
"Come on let's get out of here!" She said, leading Christine towards the nearest door, "I've had enough of this hell hole to last a lifetime!"
Christine laughed and squinted against the bright sun as they left the building.
"Couldn't have said it better myself!"
And with that, she triumphantly raised her left hand in the air and made a rather rude gesture over her shoulder in the direction of the front office.
After a while of dancing in the parking lot to My Chemical Romance, of course, blasting loudly from Meg's mom's car, the two friends decided it was time to call it quits and head home.
"What are you doing tonight?" Meg asked Christine who was picking up her rather worn and very empty messenger bag from the pavement.
"Meh…nothing," she answered, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder, "you?"
The brunette bit her bottom lip momentarily and answered, suddenly nervous.
"Well…Andre told me about this concert tonight over at Rafter's, sounded pretty interesting. Want to go?"
"Sure," Christine shrugged, taking her car keys out of her pocket, not noticing Meg's sudden change of behavior, "want me to drive?"
Meg nodded slowly and turned away from Christine, fumbling with her own keys.
"How about 8:15?"
"Right-o!" Christine said in a cheerful voice and walked briskly in the direction of her car.
Meg turned to watch her leave and sighed. She opened the door to the car and climbed in, fastening her seat belt and turning the ignition.
As she put the car in drive and exited the parking lot, she turned up the radio and glanced in her rear view mirror. In it she saw Christine, not in the cheerful manner that she was moments before, in one of obvious sadness as leaned against her car scanning the parking lot. It didn't take a genius to realize who she was looking for.
Meg shook her head and turned her attention once more to the road in front of her.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Andre…"
Christine immediately logged on to her laptop as soon as she got home and flopped onto her bed, eager to catch up on all her favorite websites and, of course, fan fiction.
The hours of sunlight dwindled rapidly as she lost herself in all of her favorite stories. She signed with contentment as she finished reading an update and had just finished writing a short review as she absentmindly glanced in the direction of the little clock at the bottom of the screen. This earned a double take as she realized what time it was.
7:45!
Christine swore loudly as she quickly turned off her laptop and ran to her closet, wrenching the door open and flicking the light switch.
'Just perfect!'
She remembered angrily that she had not done laundry in quite a while, which was the explanation for the slightly too big "CATS" t-shirt and ripped jeans she currently wore. Well, that was all good for the last day of school, but a concert?
Heck no!
She left the house fifteen minutes later, after a quick stammer of explanation to her mother as she grabbed her car keys and cell phone from the kitchen table. A long, flowy burgundy skirt trailed behind her as rushed to the green Honda which was parked in the drive way. Paired with a lacey, ivory peasant top with a built in, or rather on, black corset like top and sequined black sandals, she did not look at all like she was on her way to a rock concert, but it would do.
Arriving at Meg's a few minutes late, she stopped to the side of the street and finished applying her makeup as Meg opened the passenger's side door laughing.
"And what, pray tell, is so funny?" Christine asked sharply as she flicked her mascara wand on her eyelashes a few times in the rear view mirror.
"Nothing, nothing," Meg answered lightly, smiling at Christine, "It's just that I knew you would be late."
Christine laughed and rolled her eyes at Meg.
"Whatever!" she retorted, starting the car again and turning in the direction that would take them to Rafter's.
A feeling of uneasiness settled on Christine as she pulled into a vacant space in the Rafter's parking lot near the building. This would have been a remarkably lucky find if it wasn't for the fact that the entire parking lot was deserted.
"Meg," Christine said slowly turning in her seat to face her friend, "I thought we were going to a concert, not an empty parking lot."
Meg simply looked forward at the dark brick building, averting Christine's puzzled expression. She was clearly hiding something.
"We are…in a way," she said, hardly concealing her excitement, "well, I guess I am. You, on the other hand…"
Before Christine could phrase another question, Meg had leapt out of the car and skipped across to Christine's side, opening the door and pulling her insistently from her seat.
"Alright, alright!" Christine panted, struggling to keep her flimsy sandals on her feet, "let me at least lock the car so we have a car to come back to!"
The raven haired teenager managed to lock the car with a reassuring "honk" to ensure that it would be safe as Meg pulled her into the building and shut the doors behind them, plunging the two girls in a still darkness.
As Christine paused momentarily, allowing herself to become accustom to the black void which lay before her, she realized with a sudden jolt of fear that Meg was no longer guiding her. Hesitantly, she glided her arm in the air around her, hoping that she would bump into Meg. After a few moments of this, however, she realized that she was quite alone.
'Just perfect,' she thought, turning her head every which way, 'now I can't even find the way out!'
Deciding that her best bet was to just continue forward in search of light and to find out where the hell Meg had disappeared too, she began a painfully slow creep, her arms before her like a zombie's, feeling more and more idiotic which each passing moment.
Christine continued in this manner for what seemed like hours until the only sound she could hear was her own rapid heart beat pounding in her ears, increasing from nervousness with each step she took.
'Maybe singing something will help calm me down,' she thought, shivering slightly as she swore something had just brushed past her.
Her mind reeled with lyrics as she tried to decide upon the most appropriate song for this situation. Unfortunately, there aren't many songs that came to her mind which involved walking alone in the dark, scared half to death. Before she realized what she was doing, a hesitant voice, barely above a whisper escaped her lips.
No thoughts were in her head
But thoughts of joy,
No dreams within her heart
But dreams of love!
The soft lyrics had no sooner ended in a delicate echo as four very soft lights appeared just before her. Christine's arms dropped immediately to her side as she let her eyes dart curiously around her. She had journeyed down the long hallway which connected the outside world to the moderately sized stage area of Rafter's. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she peered ahead and noticed the instruments set upon the stage ready for a concert. It wasn't until she had moved closer did she realize that those instruments were those of "Mask and Black Rose".
Even more confused that she was before, Christine instinctively turned her back on the stage, eager to retreat into the darkness which she had feared only moments before. She had taken only a few steps, however, when a beautifully familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
You have come here
In pursuit of
Your deepest urge,
In pursuit of
That wish,
Which till now
Has been silent,
Silent . . .
Christine turned slowly, a truly unbelievable sight meeting her gaze. There just in front of the stage stood Erik dressed from head to toe in black, a long cloak stirring gently in the cool draft which whipped throughout the empty building. It seemed that they were the only two people in the world as he began to sing once again.
I have brought you,
That our passions
May fuse and merge -
In your mind
You've already
Succumbed to me
Dropped all defenses
Completely succumbed to me -
Now you are here with me:
No second thoughts,
You've decided,
Decided . . .
Erik seemed to glide as he moved closer and closer to Christine. All of her thoughts became engrossed with watching his graceful progress towards her and she didn't realize that his voice was no longer the only sound in the room. The other members of "Mask and Black Rose" had begun the soft, seductive melody to which Erik's incomparable voice harmonized with.
Past the point
Of no return -
No backward glances:
The games we've played
Till now are at
An end . . .
Past all thought
Of "if" or "when" -
No use resisting:
Abandon thought,
And let the dream
Descend . . .
He now stood behind her, holding her in his firm but loving embrace, his voice ringing in her ears.
What raging fire
Shall flood the soul?
What rich desire
Unlocks its door?
What sweet seduction
Lies before
Us . . .?
Past the point
Of no return,
The final threshold -
What warm,
Unspoken secrets
Will we learn?
Beyond the point
Of no return . . .
Christine smiled to herself as he pulled away, tracing the curves of her arm to her hand, ending in a kiss. She abruptly turned from him and adjusted the sleeves of her blouse which had fallen bellow her shoulder. Running from this moment was the last thing on her mind, but if he wants to play, she thought wickedly, let's play…
You have brought me
To that moment
Where words run dry,
To that moment
Where speech
Disappears
Into silence,
Silence . ..
I have come here,
Hardly knowing
The reason why . . .
In my mind,
I've already
Imagined our
Bodies entwining
Defenseless and silent -
And now I am
Here with you:
No second thoughts,
I've decided,
Decided . . .
She paused momentarily to grin with delight to herself at the effect her words were clearly having on him. Her sleeves had once again fallen, but she paid them no heed.
Past the point
Of no return -
No going back now:
Our passion-play
Has now, at last,
Begun . . .
Past all thought
Of right or wrong -
One final question:
How long should we
Two wait, before
We're one . . .?
She had begun to move coyly towards him, allowing her fingers to lightly skim the fabric of his cloak across his back. Erik watched her as she twirled around, her burgundy skirt billowing for a moment before it clung around her form as she began to sing once more.
When will the blood
Begin to race
The sleeping bud
Burst into bloom?
When will the flames,
At last, consume
Us . . .?
Their voices met in a fierce, almost elemental clash, soared and swooped together as they reached the final, passionate duet.
Past the point
Of no return
The final threshold -
The bridge
Is crossed, so stand
And watch it burn . . .
We've passed the point
Of no return . . .
No longer apart, the two singers now held each other in a tight embrace, never wanting to let the other go. Erik gently tilted her head up, his eyes like golden fire as he whispered a new song to her.
Say you'll share with
Me one
Love, one lifetime . . .
Lead me, save me
From my solitude . . .
Christine's eyes began to fill with tears as she realized what he was saying. She smiled up at him as a tear fell down her cheek. There was only one thing she could do.
For once, The Phantom will have Christine's love…
Say you want me
With you,
Here beside you . . .
Anywhere you go
Let me go too -
Christine
That's all I ask of . . .
But Erik never reached the "you". For Christine interrupted him, not by rudely tearing off his mask, but with a kiss.
Ok…I lied…there is going to be one more chapter! It won't be a very long one, but just so everything will be nicely wrapped up. Expect it up pretty soon! Please review! Love and Peace! Kupo!