Yippie! Reviews! I love reviews! Okay, sorry its taken me awhile to update but now that summer vacation is over, I won't be able to update as fast as I used to. :( Sorry. I am in the middle of chapter forty-five right now, that one may take a while too. Okay, here is chapter forty-four:

A Late Ceremony

Christine knew Meg and she knew that when Meg said it would be a small wedding it would be a lie. After all, they were to do the reception at the Hotel Plaza.

They were to have the ceremony at a large cathedral in Manhattan where presently, Meg, Christine and the bridesmaids (cousins of Meg's that Christine had never heard of) waited in the room in the back. The ring bearer and flower girl were beginning to loose their patience, Meg was pacing back and forth, her freshly manicured nails in her mouth.

Christine slapped her hand away. "What is wrong with you? Don't ruin your nails on your wedding day!"

Meg looked at her with a flushed face. "There won't be a wedding without a groom!"

Christine looked at her sympathetically. "Philippe is probably in traffic. You never know. You want me to go outside and check?"

Meg nodded and took a deep breath.

"Good," Christine praised. "Breathe. That's it, you're doing well."

Meg looked at her with rage. "When you find him will you tell him that my fist wants to greet him?"

Christine shook her head and left her friend in hands of her bridesmaids, Suzie and Carrie.

Once Christine left the small room, she glanced into the cathedral. When she had first arrived, she loved everything in there. There were tulips and orchids all around the altar, the pews and candle sticks. The orchestra played to entertain the elegantly dressed guests in the pews. The large stained glass windows depicted different scenes from the bible, complete with angels, saints and the small children.

Everything at the wedding had gold accents, even what they were wearing. Meg had dyed her hair back to one color, blond. They had straightened it out and now it hung to the middle of her back under her white veil. The dress was breathtaking, with a princess cut bodice and large dress, she had found it exquisite. Meg looked like a princess with her large skirt that seemed to sway like a bell every time she walked.

The bridesmaid's dresses were gold, like Christine's. They were silk and simple with not many trimmings. They were long sleeved with a see-through material at the arms.

Christine's dress was just as simple as theirs. It was two parts like Meg's. The bottom part of the bodice had no sleeves but over it was the same see-though material the bridesmaids had, covering her bare shoulders. The dress was simple and soft against her legs, covering her gold shoes.

The hair of all three was up in an elegant bun, letting some curls loose. There were even some small synthetic roses in their hair. All four had spent the whole morning at the salon for the wedding.

She cursed Philippe for not being there. How dare he be late!

She passed the large double doors and went out to the entrance where an old man waited to greet the guests as they entered.

Christine went up to him. "Is he here yet?"

The small man shook his head. "No, sorry, miss."

Christine bit back a curse, not wanting to say anything foul in front of the House of God. She turned back inside quickly. The only people missing were the de Chagny's. This included the groom, the best man and the groom's father. Christine didn't know what to do.

She stood in front of one of the stained glass windows trying to calm herself. She had to think of something. She put her freshly manicured nails to her mouth just like Meg had done earlier, trying to decide what she was going to say to stressed-out Meg. She paced in front of the sunlight as it streamed in from the stained glass window.

She didn't stop pacing until she saw someone staring at her.

He looked at her as if he were frozen in place, his face an expression of awe. She thought the same of him, she loved the way he looked in a tuxedo. His hair was slicked back making his blue eyes bright.

She greeted him with a smile. "Erik." She ran to him and gave him a small kiss. "You made it!"

He seemed snapped out of the trance he was in. "You are a vision, Christine."

"Thank you," Christine said smiling at his compliment. Then she sighed as she placed her head on his chest. "I'm going to kill Philippe."

"Why?" he asked chuckling.

She started patting his tuxedo as if it had dust or dirt but was actually impeccably clean. "He's not here yet. He's late."

"Christine, I though it was at five," he told her.

She started smoothing out the non-existent creases. "Yes, but the groom should be early, don't you think?" She sighed. "I mean, Meg's a mess, she thinks he left her stranded. What am I going to tell her he's not here yet? What if he did leave her? She's going to be so distraught! He's going to be so dead if I ever find him-"

He laughed and placed his hands on her cheeks. "Angel, they arrived just after I did. The limousine was right behind as I pulled in."

Christine let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

Just as they were about to kiss, Christine could hear someone yelling. "I'm here, I'm here. No need to fret. Move people, groom coming though!"

Christine pulled away from Erik and walked to Philippe, giving him a sound smack on his shoulder. "What is wrong with you? How could you be late at your own wedding?"

"Hey!" he said in protest to the slap he had just received. "It wasn't my fault. There was traffic, not to mention the twenty car procession following that hearse and Raoul forgot his tie."

Christine turned her deadly gaze at the blond standing next to Philippe but her threatening eyes turned soft once she saw him. The way he was dressed reminded her so much of their senior prom. He had a suit on, his blond hair groomed back, freshly shaved and dressed to impress.

Christine remembered how she felt that night. She had been so happy that she was going to the prom with her boyfriend. She swallowed trying to be rid of the lump in her throat.

"I suppose you'll blame that poor man in the hearse for your tardiness?"

"What?" Raoul asked indignant. "Why would I do that?"

Christine rolled her eyes and turned to Philippe. "If Meg doesn't kill you, I will."

"Uh," Philippe said obviously threatened. "You look really nice?"

Christine turned and walked back to where she was previously standing. "Complimenting me won't get you on my good side."

When she looked up at Erik, she saw he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Raoul.

Christine swallowed again. Hard. She hadn't stopped to think what would have happened if Raoul and Erik were in the same room again. They hated each other with passion. She knew this of Raoul but not Erik. She found out at that precise momentbecause Erik just glared at him.

Christine stared at them. Erik's calm figure, Raoul's seething form. If it were at all possible, she could see steam coming out of his ears.

She remembered the last time they were all together in the same room.

She blinked and saw Raoul tied around the neck at the gate. She could see him screaming at her but no sound escaped his lips. There was a ringing in her ears and it seemed to intensify with ever passing second until…

She snapped back to reality when she heard someone yelling. She recognized it almost immediately. The fierce yelling of a bride gone mad. "Where is he?"

Everyone in the room except Erik visibly flinched.

Raoul and Philippe's father looked up at them from his wheelchair. "Your mother was just like that, God rest her soul."

The flower girl ran to them yelling, "Here comes Bridezilla!" Then hid behind Raoul, her little hands grabbing his pant's leg like a security blanket.

The flower girl, Rachel, was not kidding. Meg looked as if she could open beer bottles with her teeth, the way she was acting. The bouquet in one hand and a fist in the other, she practically flew down the hallway to where they were standing.

Philippe hid behind Raoul too. "Hide me!"

Christine felt like slapping him. "Coward."

Meg was speaking so fast that Christine could hardly keep up but all her words fell silent when she saw Philippe. All of her raging fury completely changed and she started crying.

Christine stared at her friend as she started sniffling.

Philippe looked at her as if under a spell he walked to her slowly and took her hand, kissing the palm of her hand. "You look beautiful, Meggies."

One of the bridesmaids, Suzie, spoke up. "Oh! Happy tears! Wait, isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?"

Christine blanched. "You're right!" She stood between Philippe and Meg. "Come on, kids, let's go." She took Meg by the shoulders and led her back to the room she was previously in, calling over her shoulder she asked for the flower girl. "Rachel?"

She was succeeding as far as getting Meg and the flower girl into the room, the bridesmaids were a different story.

Carrie looked at Suzie. "Isn't that Erik Destler?"

Christine grabbed a fistful of the bridesmaids' dresses. "Come on, you too."

When she finished rounding up everyone, she went back to Erik who patiently waited for her at the double doors. "Sorry about that."

Erik smiled. "You're a busy, busy girl."

She sighed against his chest as if tired. "I am." She looked up at him. "Thank you for coming."

"There's nothing you can ask that I could refuse."

Christine smiled as he leaned down for a kiss.

They were cut short by Mr. de Chagny as he wheeled in between them. "Come on you two, we're in a church."

Christine laughed sheepishly and took Erik's hand. "Let me show you where you sit. We're about to start."

They went inside the church, and Christine turned to meet Raoul's piercing gaze. Sighing, she softly said, "This is going to be a very long day."

Wedding isn't over yet, readers:) I promise I will update as soon as I can. I'm also in the middle of chapter three in Twist of Fate. I'm in a little jam and in denial...i dont want to start my senior year...I'll stay with Erik. :) O...k... Back to business. expect the update sometime this week if not tonight. Don't forget to leave reviews! I love reviews! Tootles!
Chapter Forty-Five: A "Small" Soiree