Most of you have been wondering if the video Christine and Erik is like the Steve Harley and Sarah Brightman video. I saw it last night and all I have to say is: No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Not that i don't like it (cough) liar (cough) but the video isn't like that at all. You'll see later. As for the angst you guys want me to write. Be patient. There is a reason that Erik is TOO DAMN PERFECT! After all, Erik would do anything to woo, Christine, right? Here is chapter thirty-one:

Filming a Music Video

Christine gasped in pain as the garment around her became tighter and tighter.

She could see Lucy's reflection in the mirror and Christine noticed a smile spread across the redhead's feature, it was as if she were enjoying that Christine was in pain.

She was about to tell her off but Christine bit her tongue.

Christine gasped out again and bit back a curse as Antoinette continued to tighten her lacings.

"Can you breathe?" Lucy asked her, not looking up from the palm pilot in her hands.

"Yes," she gasped out.

"Antoinette, it's not tight enough," Lucy said.

Antoinette looked at her as if she were nuts. "Ma'am any tighter and I think she will faint." Antoinette was French but didn't have a heavy accent like Jacques.

Lucy sighed. "Very well."

Christine noticed that Antoinette loosened the corset a bit and Christine took a big gulp of air. "How could these women do this?"

Lucy left the trailer and left Antoinette and Christine alone.

"Beauty hurts," Antoinette replied as she tied the lacings, the outfit complete.

Christine touched the velvet corset and rubbed her stomach. "I think I might have broken a rib or two."

Antoinette only smiled. "Come, let me take out those rollers."

Christine sat in the chair in front of the mirror as Antoinette took out the curling pins out of her hair.

Christine sighed and looked at the clock, she had been in make up for two and a half hours, her hair the reason she was in there for so long. She had told Antoinette and her assistants that her hair couldn't curl but they had stubbornly tried.

With success, she thought as she tried to bite into a muffin Antoinette had given her. They had been with curling irons all morning with massive hairspray then came the rollers in her hair which had been in there as she dressed and did her make-up.

It was nothing like the day before it was much darker and provocative. The corset was black with white stitched designs along the seams, which was over a wine colored linen shirt. The skirt fell to her ankles and clung to her every move. There was a slit that rose up one side all the way up to the middle of her thigh. Antoinette had given her boots that reached to her knees but strapped around her leg, exposing almost her whole leg.

At least there wasn't slit on the other side giving her some modesty. The make up was much more extreme than the day before, it wasn't a soft tone anymore, there was either black or red or sometimes both colors.

The black eye shadow was applied all round her eyes making her eyes seem lighter than they actually were. There were fake eyelashes that made her look exotic reached her hairline, not to mention the red lipstick. When Antoinette finished her hair, the curls hung loose at her shoulders.

"You're a genius," Christine complimented

Antoinette smiled. "Thank you. Now let me get the door so your nails don't get ruined."

The French manicure was gone, now her nails were slightly longer and black. There were gloves that reached her elbows, but it tied around her middle finger, exposing her fingers which she liked. Christine was the complete opposite of what she was wearing the day before. She wasn't an angel anymore, she was a seductress.

Once she was out of the trailer, she could hear the song being played somewhere in the studio.

"Erik's filming?" Christine asked Antoinette, knowing that she had an itinerary with everything that was going on.

She nodded and held her arms in front of her so she wouldn't step on Christine's see-through black coat that went with the clothes she was wearing. Christine went to the set that was supposed to be her dressing room. It looked like the ones at the Opera House with it's huge space and rich decoration. The set was so put to detail that Christine felt as if they were filming a movie, not a music video. She looked at the flowers all arranged around the room and saw they were all real.

"It's so pretty," Christine said to no one in particular.

She was distracted by the garbling on Antoinette's radio. She talked back to the radio, "Yes, I'll go get it. She's here at the dressing room set." Then she left her alone in the set to fetch something.

After more garbling on the radio, there was a deafening silence. All that could be heard was some people on the other side of the set talking and people moving about to the set she was in.

It was while she was looking at her dark eyed reflection in the mirror that she heard even more people coming in, all commenting how Erik was dressed. Christine thought nothing of it as she placed a curl away from her face.

It wasn't until she turned back that she saw finally saw him. If the corset hadn't made her loose her breath before, she certainly had in that moment. He looked just like the Phantom of the Auditorium.

He wore all black with silk and velvets, a wine colored cravat tucked at his collar and a long black cloak which billowed as he walked. His boots made the cement floor beneath him thunder with each step. She watched him as he walked, each step echoing around him, each step bringing back unwanted memories.

And the mask. He had it with him all along. The white half mask that mocked her before then haunted her dreams. He had donned it on the right side of his face leaving his unmarred left side exposed, just like before. The only thing that didn't resemble him was the fedora and epee that he had in his black gloved hands.

Christine turned from him and looked at the mirror, seeing the reflection of her sixteen-year-old self. She couldn't see the young woman she was now, she could only see the teenager, eyes full of worry, her hair curly at the ends and straight at the roots.

"What would he know about music! He only follows what suits him! He is sharing your glory, the one that is meant for me… You see my true nature and you cower in fear… My dear Christine, I do not wish to harm you although I did at one point… Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me, or will you kill your sweetheart? His blood is on your hands!"

His cold, angry voice echoed through her memory. She didn't even notice that her breathing had become labored, and her hands were beginning to shake. She looked around desperately trying to look for an escape. She glanced up at the rafters of the studio saw Joseph hanging from the studio's ceiling.

His limp body held by the neck on a noose like a common criminal in the old days. His open, dead eyes looked at her accusingly, a crooked pale finger pointing in her direction, his mouth open as if to speak-

A cold hand brought her back to reality and she turned to see Antoinette's smiling gaze. Christine blinked a couple of times to rid herself of the memory, only then did she notice that Antoinette had been saying her name.

"Christine, are you all right?"

Christine nodded and licked the roof of her dry mouth. "Fine," she said trying to smile. "Just a little lightheaded."

"Would you like for me to loosen the lacings for you?"

Christine shook her head. "No, no, I'll be fine, thank you."

"Follow me so I can finish arranging your curls," Antoinette said.

Christine nodded and followed her, determined that she wouldn't look up at him. But it failed when she felt a gloved hand take her own.

She didn't turn but she heard him breathe her name.

It was as if he was stunned by her or even breathtaken. She willed herself not to look at him but it was futile, for his gloved fingers touched her chin and made her look at his face.

That face, she hadn't seen him like that since Don Juan Triumphant. He was looking at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. His eyes were so full of longing that she almost looked away.

His fingers grazed her jaw line as his azure eyes scanned her face. "You look magnificent, my dear."

Christine tried to hide her blushing cheeks but couldn't because of his fingers below her chin. She felt him draw her nearer and she was lost in his spell. She closed her eyes ready to receive the kiss when Antoinette's voice broke his hold on her.

"Christine?"

Christine turned to the feeble woman and followed her, not knowing of the yearning look in Erik's eyes.

There was something about that mask that made her act like she was sixteen again. She wasn't as confident as she was the other day and it seemed oblivious to everyone around her but she continued anyway. There were a couple of times when Christine would have to firmly tell herself that the Phantom and Erik were not the same person.

The Phantom was the man who abused her trust, used her and killed her friends. Erik was the man she had grown to love, the one that had danced with her on the pier.

Everyone on the set was commenting how their chemistry was impeccable, that they were perfect. But Christine didn't take that into consideration, she was being as stubborn then as she had been when she was sixteen.

She would tear her gaze away from Erik when he looked at her while he was singing to her or when he touched her hand.

But the director didn't seem to mind, it was as if that was the exact thing he was looking for. But not Erik, he seemed hurt in a way, Christine noticed this by the way he looked at her and acted toward her. He didn't do anything that would offend her in any way. That was why he only took her hands.

And she had felt so bad after that, he was only being nice to her, he had always been nice to her. Erik and the Phantom were two different people. She wanted to apologize but never got the chance because between takes, the director would ask them what they wanted to do. It seemed as if Erik was taking over, that he was the director.

Maybe he is, Christine thought. She knew he didn't like getting bossed around and that he oversaw every aspect of his music, he had always been like that.

It was finally during the time before a take that Christine got the courage to do what she had meaning to do.

"Look, Erik I'm sorry I'm being cold."

Erik gave a small smile. "Don't worry, Christine. I should have known better than to-"

Christine put her finger on his lips and smiled. "Don't. I'm the one that should be sorry. You're not that man anymore."

He smiled too and everything from then on went a lot smoother. Even Antoinette noticed who told her every other take she had to do some retouches to her make-up.

The next scene was going to be in one of the catacombs. The walls were stone and seemed to have mildew. The lighting had gone down and gave the effect that it really was a dank and dark.

"Ooh, spooky," she said to no one in particular.

"That's the idea," Erik had said behind her.

Christine yelped and turned to him, her heart in her throat. "I forgot you were there. You know, this whole creeping in the shadows thing is getting old."

"But it's a classic," he said with a smile.

That smile was what did it, she was finally convinced of who he was. All her memories she had of him he had never smiled and now the man behind the mask did.

Christine smiled in turn, instantly reminded of how much she loved him. Her heart ached for him when he would smile at her and when he wasn't with her in the same room. How she wanted to tell him how she felt!

She could vaguely hear Richard giving the directions and was snapped back when the track played again. Erik didn't miss a beat and he started singing right on cue. "In all your fantasies, you always knew that man and mystery-"

"Lay both in you."

His hands grazed her arms and rested above her skin not exactly touching even though she very much wanted him to. By the look in his eyes, she could see that he wanted to also.

As they sang, his fingers lightly touched her chin and jaw, his lips almost on her's. "And in this labyrinth, where night is blind, the Phantom of the Opera is there, inside your/my mind."

What happened next, Christine couldn't explain. Maybe it was the situation she was in, or the feel of his fingers on her skin, but in the next moment, she had made up the distance between them and pressed her lips against his.

Giddy joy spread through as he rewarded that kiss with his own. It was intoxicating and she felt so at ease against him. His arms pushed her gently against the wall then wrapped around her form as she felt his tongue enter her mouth.

He pressed her against the wall and the kiss deepened, it was as if they were both letting go. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and gasped slightly as he pulled away to kiss her neck.

His hand went to her hair as her's roamed over the velvet vest under his cloak, feeling his sculpted chest. Then he pulled away and took her hand, kissing it and letting it graze his left cheek. Then his lips crashed on her own again desperately as if he thought the moment wouldn't last and she would tear away from him.

But it wasn't so, she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

The kiss wasn't as innocent as it started out to be. She could feel the want on his lips. He was almost crushing her against the wall now, as if he were afraid she would flee from him. She could feel his lips trembling beneath her own and she noticed that she too was shaking. Not from fear or from the cold of the studio but from the fact that she was in Erik's strong embrace, kissing Erik.

He drew back panting from the passion of the moment. He pressed his porcelain mask against her cheek as if he were leaning against her for support. Then her name escaped his lips as if he couldn't believe she was in his arms.

Then she heard it, something that made her freeze.

Someone was clearing their throat.

When Christine looked to her left, she saw the whole crew of the video looking at them. Some were snickering, others whispering, some like Antoinette were smiling, and Richard was by himself looking amused.

A blush rose to Christine's cheeks and she turned away to hide it. She took Erik's cloak (because he was still leaning against her) and used it as a curtain to hide her face.

"Oh, shit." The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. She had never been so embarrassed in her life! She could still feel the blush in her cheeks as Erik stepped back from her, but she still held on to his cloak as if she were a child with her security blanket.

He, himself cleared his throat and said to them, "Could we have a moment?"

"Sure," Richard's voice said. She still wouldn't look up to see if they were leaving but she could hear the feet shuffling away and the giggling lessen.

She was about to look up when she heard Antoinette's voice, "Now don't mess up her make-up anymore, it took forever to put it on."

Christine stomped her boot in anger for Antoinette's comment. Could she be any more obvious!

Even after she didn't hear anyone, she wouldn't look up. Not until Erik's chuckling voice told her, "They're gone, my dear."

Christine peeked with one of her eyes over the cloak to confirm. They were indeed gone. She still wouldn't let the cloak go, but she put her forehead against Erik's vest.

"Oh, God that was so embarrassing," she said more to herself than to him.

"What was?" he asked still chuckling.

"They were just staring at us-"

"Doing this?" he asked taking her chin in his hand and tilting her face towards his. He kissed her gently and Christine smiled.

He pulled away and whispered softly in her ear. "What's so funny?"

Christine sighed contently as he tenderly kissed her cheek and temple. "This is…nice."

"What inspired the change, Miss Daaé?"

Christine smiled ready to tell him how she felt. "Because I-" She sighed, she had only said those words to one person before and meant them, now she wanted to tell him how she felt. "I love you."

He refrained from what he was doing, which was running his fingers through her curly hair (Antoinette was so going to kill him) and looked at her straight in her eyes.

She looked straight at him, the mask not scaring her anymore. His lovely azure eyes scanned hers in confusion as he stepped back.

Christine looked at her hands awkwardly. "I-It has nothing to do with everything you have done for me. Which I am grateful for, you know all the presents and stuff. This time I got to know the real you, not the man who tormented me before." She nodded towards the mask. "Him." She looked down at her hands again. "It has nothing to do with the fact that you're a rock star or anything. I mean, we went out a-and well, I got to know you, Erik. I fell in love with you."

She put her hands behind her back and looked at her boots stupidly. Wondering why he wasn't doing anything. She was prepared for anything, from I love you, too to I'm in love with someone else. She wanted him to react, tell her something, but the silence that followed was deafening and Christine felt stupid for declaring herself.

He took her in his arms and spun her around as if in joy. Christine giggled as he put her down and he kissed her forehead then her lips. "Oh, Christine."

Christine smiled when he said her name with such happiness. "D-do you feel the same way?"

She never got her answer because between him kissing her and Richard asking if they could continue, there wasn't an opportunity.

Yes, I know finally. It took the long enough, right? But I wanted her to kiss him with the mask on. I don't know it felt as if she were accepting the Phantom somehow. Anywho, more to come. Angst is still to come and as for Nadir knowing something about Erik...you'll just have to read and find out. It seems that every time that Nadir and Erik talk all Erik does is scream at him. Remember the Gala? Whatever,I know I'm dragging this story out but i think it's necessary. Send me reviews and I will update faster, ergo, you will find out why Erik is the way he is. (wink, wink)
Coming up, Chapter Thirty-Two: Opera Night