A/N #1: For lack of a better title, this chaper is called 'Genius's Mistake, Act One'.
Disclaimer: Since Genius's Mistake is a bunch of songs thrown together, I don't own the following songs: Somebody To Love (by Queen), This Is How A Heart Breaks (by Rob Thomas), and All My Life (by America). I also don't own the names Satine and Christian (from Moulin Rouge!), which are the names of the head male, played by Cameron, and female, played by Marie.
A/N #2: Since Cameron and Marie (the girl who plays the lead female role) both sing for the first, second, and fourth songs, this is how we'll do it - Marie is in italics, Cameron is in bold, and both are in bold and italics.
A/N #3: Since I'm so lazy, I'm not typing all of This Is How... so Christine cut it off.
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Later that night, the Opera was filled with crowds of people dressed in their finest, prepared to watch a performance of a new opera, Genius's Mistake, written by some mysterious young genius, that was said to be "a tale of romance, hatred, and lust".
Christine watched through a window that was in the room that held the chain that held up the chandelier as policemen marched outside the Opera, waiting to enter and take their positions. "Fools!" she muttered, unhooking the chandelier chain - just in case. Then she walked back down to her lair.
A few minutes later, the operagoers had filed into the auditorium and had sat down in their seats. They looked around, talking to each other, excited about the coming performance.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice announced, "please put your hands together for Genius's Mstake!"
The audience went crazy. Underneath the stage, Christine smiled to herself. She was getting such a positive reaction already, and the show hadn't even started yet!
She took a deep breath as she heard the starting music to the first song start to play. She heard the footsteps of Cameron and Marie, Emilie's sister and the leading role, above her onstage.
Can anybody find me
Somebody to love?
Each morning, I get up;
I die a little -
Can barely stand up on my feet,
Take a look in the mirror and cry...
Lord, what you're doing to me -
I have spent all my years
Believing you,
But I just can't get no relief, Lord!
Somebody, somebody,
Can anybody find me
Somebody to love?
I work hard every day of my life
I work till I ache my bones
At the end, I take home
My hard - earned pay all on my own;
I get down on my knees
And I start to pray
Till the tears run down from my eyes...
Lord, somebody, somebody,
Can anybody find me
Somebody to love?
Everyday, I try and I try and I try,
But everybody wants to put me down
They say I'm goin' crazy,
They say I got of water in my brain
Got no common sense,
I got nobody left to believe
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
Oh, Lord,
Somebody, somebody,
Can anybody find me
Somebody to love?
Got no feel, I got no rhythm -
I just keep losing my beat
I'm okay, I'm alright
Ain't gonna face no defeat
I just gotta get out of this prison cell;
Someday, I'm gonna be free, Lord!
Find me somebody to love...
Can anybody find me...
Somebody to love?
The audience applauded, and she could see Cameron's and Marie's charactrers accidentially running into each other. The audience laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Marie, alias Satine, exclaimed, and Christine could picture her bending down to pick up her fallen staff paper. "I didn't see you... I was deep in thought."
"It was my fault," Cameron, or Christian, said, and she could see him helping her pick up the rest of her fallen papers. "I'm always deep in thought, too... what's your excuse?"
'Satine' held up her staff paper. "I'm a writer, you see - I write music. I came up here to look for inspiration."
"Well, that's interesting," 'Christian' said, smiling. "Listen... maybe I'd be bothering your inspiration time to ask, but... would you like to come to my house with me? It's heaven."
"Oh, I'm sure it's a nice place, but no, thank you."
'Christian' laughed and shook his head. "No, I don't think you understand... I live in Heaven. I'm an angel, you see."
Christine could see 'Satine' start to look uncomfortable. "Oh, I see. Well, then I'd definitely better not come. I'm not on very good terms with God, you see. I'll see you around." Then she hurried offstage.
"Wait -!" 'Christian' said, stepping forward and holding out his hand to her in a supplicative gesture as she walked offstage. He looked after her for a moment, then sighed and turned to the audience. "Women sometimes," he sighed, shaking his head. "You never know about them..." The music started to the next song. "There was this one girl that I loved once. She was one of God's angels - literally." The audience laughed. "But... she was just messing with my head, and she hurt me. I hope that that girl" - he pointed to where 'Satine' had gone offstage - "isn't the same way."
Don't you wanna go for a ride,
Just keep your hands inside
And make the most out of life?
Now don't you take it for granted...
Life is like a mean machine -
It made a mess outta me
It left me caught between
Like an angry dream, I was stranded
I was stranded...
And I'm steady, but I'm starting to shake
And I don't know how much more I can take..
This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks
You take a hit,
Now you feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks
Don't you wanna go for a ride
Down to the other side
Feels so good, you could cry?
Now won't you do what I told you...
I remember when you used to be shy
Yeah, once we were so fine, you and I
Why you gotta make it so hard on me?
Yeah, it's hard on me...
And I'm sorry, but it's not a mistake
And I'm running but you're getting away...
This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks
You take a hit,
Now you feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks...
You're not the best thing that I knew
Never was never cared too much
For all this hanging around
It's just the same thing all the time
Never get what I want
Never get too close to the end of the line
You're just the same thing that I knew back before the time
When I was only for you...
Then, suddenly, girls dressed in white came to him, and he started dancing with each of them as the music played. The audience went wild.
As the music ended, a line of fire lit up right on the sides of the stage. The audience applauded and went wild again.
The girls that had been dancing with 'Christian' ran offstage, but 'Christian' remained. The lights suddenly got dimmer, and everyone in the audience watched as 'Satine' came out of a trapdoor on the stage and closed it when she got out.
"You!" gasped 'Christian', pointing at 'Satine'. "You just came from... from... well, uh, Hell."
'Satine' nodded slowly. "Yes, I live in Hell," she replied. "And... you live in Heaven. Oh, dear..."
"What?"
"Well, I, uh... I think I've started to like you... maybe even love you?" she said uncertainly. "But it was a mistake... you see, in case you don't know the rule about love, people who live in Heaven aren't supposed to fall in love with people in Hell. It just makes the world stop. I - I'm sorry." Then she started to walk off stage again.
He grabbed her wrist. "Wait! Stay here... I have something to say." He took a deep breath. "I think I love you, too. But I hardly know you... oh, but, I don't care... just stay." The music for the next song started. He gazed at her intently for a moment, then started singing.
All my life, without a doubt I give you
All my life, now and forever till the
Day I die, you and I will share
All the things this changing world can offer
So I sing, I'd be happy just to
Stay this way, spend each day, with you
There was a time, that I just thought
That I would lose my mind
You came along and then the sun did shine
We started on our way
I do recall that every moment spent
Was wasted time but then I chose to lay it on the line
I put the past away
I put the past away
I put the past away
All my life, I will carry you through
All my life, between each hour of the passing days
I will stay with you
There was a time, that I just thought
That I would lose my mind
You came along and then the sun did shine
We started on our way
I do recall that every moment spent
Was wasted time then I chose to lay it on the line
I want this all my life
I want this all my life
I want this all my life
I want this all my life
I want this all my life
I wanted this all my life...
As the music ended, the two looked at each other for a moment, then started kissing. The audience applauded as the curtain fell. Then the audience left for the intermission while everyone backstage prepared for Act Two.
Christine took a deep breath. Only one more act, and then Act Three - the ending.