Author's Note: After a very long wait (I know it was a very long wait... I'm deeply, deeply sorry!) Chapter Six is up! It wasn't exactly... writer's block or anything. I just didn't have an initiative to write, until I read all of your wonderful reviews! I hope you like this chapter... I hope you really, really do.

Personal thanks, as always to those who review!-sad face-I understand Chapter Five was not the most interesting, but your reviews keep me going:)

atheshar: You, as always, my friend, make me smile. Your review helped me write this chapter. If you review each and every chapter, there should be no doubt that I won't update faster. You always have so many questions, and I love that. Our dear Phantom's note was the main point of that particular chapter. Laughing out loud is permitted, you know. Who will Katherine turn to, you ask? I think you may have guessed it again (to an extent). -hands you just another, yetnot so ordinary rose with a white ribbon- Chapter Six is posted. Enjoy it!

MiChEllE: You don't have much patience, do you, Michelle? Don't worry, I don't mind at all. The chapter's up, so as soon as you read it, you can pester me about the next one.

Swiech: Don't talk about the other fic -presses her hand to your mouth-. That thing was a disaster, something that I never should have thought of, don't say a word about it. It must not be mentioned! XD Thanks for the interesting conversation there, it made me laugh. I did almost get in trouble because of it! x) Fan Girls, you say? Oh my, I don't think I can stand it.
-bows

♥

And now, Readers, I present to you -extends hands- Chapter Six.

REHEARSALS WERE…

still ongoing as Katherine began her next scene. It was to be a quiet corner of a forest near a pond. She smiled, for, as she had her day out of the city, she had spent quite a few hours simply roaming; her imagination had been, one could say, opened up to such an extent that she had no problem visualizing the scene.

As she looked at the canvas, she could almost smell the drying bark with the sun shining through the trees onto the small pond. She could almost hear the squawk of geese from the faraway bank.

The sudden sound of the orchestra tuning up brought her back to her senses, where she still stood in front of the canvas. She noticed that the laughing corps de ballet, who, as they began to prepare, gawked at Katherine, replaced the squawking geese Katherine had been imagining. They whispered to one another as they stretched, making Katherine uncomfortable. She decided to paint on the other side of the hanging canvas.

As she did so, she noticed that the dancers were working on a rather complicated series of steps, with an enormously catchy beat. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, she could not ignore the fact her foot was bouncing up and down, matching with the almost silent beat of the orchestra drum. She peeked out from behind the canvas and surveyed the steps, suddenly determined.

Biting on her inner cheek, looking in all directions as to make sure no one was watching, Katherine began to mirror the moves of the dancers, thumping and stepping from one foot to the other. She struggled to watch her feet, but, slowly, as if hypnotized, she started to move to the far end of the canvas and toward the large velvet curtain which surrounded the stage. Her steps and thumps were becoming louder and louder as she caught on… a bit too loud, in fact.

She did not seem to notice exactly how much noise she was making. The orchestra had ceased their playing, the dancers stopped dancing, and all became quiet except for the unusual and eerily loud noise coming from behind "the artist girl's" canvas.

Through the holes in the floor, the Opera ghost, with his hands over his ears, and an already aching head surveyed Katherine thumping about like an extremely intoxicated hobbit. It did not make any sense to him how exactly the woman was making so much noise with her small feet.

Jumping up through a nearby trap door, the Ghost hid within the curtain as Katherine approached, still thumping away. He waited, silently, and, just as he had suspected, the young woman thumped one last time on her right leg (author coughs), lost her footing, and fell, into the curtain, where the Ghost managed to catch her.

As Katherine inhaled deeply, the Ghost fought to somewhat delicately put his hand over her mouth. No doubt had she been frightened again, but screaming would not help out in her current situation.

Making sure she said no more, he whispered into her ear hastily, "Mademoiselle, what you were doing was not dancing, though it did sound much like an impersonation of an African safari!"

They sat there as the corps de ballet rounded the corner of the canvas, looking around with confused looks on their faces. It must have been quite a scene to them, to hear this mysterious noise and suddenly find that the "artist girl" had disappeared. They were all sure Katherine had just been there.

If she hadn't managed to fall and hide in the curtain, she would have been humiliated at the moment, the corps de ballet would never let her live down the little jig she had just performed.

Eventually, the noise died down and the bewildered maestro decided that rehearsals be finished early for fear of the sorts of things that were said to happen at time when things got mysterious. As the last person exited the auditorium, the Ghost took his hand off of Katherine's mouth and helped her up.

Turning to him, without a hint of fright in her voice though his porcelain mask glowed somewhat threateningly, she asked, "Who are you?"

Her eyes stared back at him, full of mystery and curiosity. The Ghost could not help but wonder what else could be found behind those eyes. He squeezed her hand, not noticing he was still holding it, and looked down.

Letting go, he laughed and said, "Simply a shadow, and nothing more."

Now Katherine laughed, and asked, "Are you sure? A shadow isn't usually so," she poked him slightly,

"solid."

"Hm," said the Ghost, thinking, "well then, I suppose I'm not a shadow."

Katherine put her hand on her hip, and said, "So who are you, and why do I keep falling into you?"

"I don't know…" was his reply.

The Ghost silently took Katherine's hand again, and brought it up to his lips, delicately kissing it.

Suddenly, a noise came from what seemed to be very away, and she heard the already familiar voice of Madame Giry calling her name.

Katherine jumped, and pulled her hand out of the Phantom's. She peeked out from behind the curtain, and yelled, "I'm coming!"

When she turned back to look into the Masked Man's face, she found herself standing alone behind the velvet curtain.

Second Author's Note: -grin- Evil cliffy-hanger. Evil, evil. Can you stand the fact that Chapter Seven is yet to come? You must review, whether you can or whether you can't. -bows and runs off- Cheers.