Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except for the characters of Rose and Caity. The prominent newsie characters, such as Kid Blink, Jack Kelly & Medda, are copyrighted to Disney, while the story is loosely based on Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera

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POINT OF NO RETURN

Love. Lies. Murder.
Nothing more than a tragic tale of a disfigured newsboy, a wealthy young man and the vaudeville star they both loved.

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Chapter Three
The Mirror

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He stood on the other side of the mirror, almost frozen to his spot. Cowboy had returned and what was the first thing he tried to do? He tried to steal Rose away. After all these years he had devoted to her, he wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers that easily. He reset the plaster mask against his face and turned to head down the passage between the rooms. He would propose himself as her proper suitor before Jack Kelly came back to woo the young starlet. He just needed to retrieve something from his abode first.

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Almost in a daze Rose watched as Jack exited her small room. She tried not to swoon slightly as she brought her hand to her chest. Her heart rate had quickened when the man awarded her with his handsome grin. It seemed so scandalous that he had been left alone with her in her sleeping quarters but the charm he exuded told her that she was safe with him. The mischievous glint in his eye as he tipped his hat and took his leave told her that she was safe only for now.

She sat down on her bed, aware that a girlish smile was spread across her face. It was almost as if she couldn't help it. Something about Jack Kelly just did that to her. I don't know what Rae was talking about. Jack Kelly seems practically perfect. For a moment, Rose wondered if she was letting his attention go to her head.

She shook her head then and decided that she would worry about all that tomorrow. It seemed that so much time has passed since she was on the stage, performing the closing number, but, in reality, it had only been a few hours. Yet she was exhausted.

Slowly she changed out of her dress and reached for her nightgown. She had left the silky white dress resting on the seat off her dresser; it was still there. She dropped her dress onto the floor of her room, too tired to fold it and put it away. I'll do it tomorrow, she said and climbed into her bed.

The only light in her room was due to the candle that was flickering on her dresser. She sighed and got out of her bed. She slipped over to the dresser, smiled at her reflection in the mirror once before blowing out the candle. Then she got back into her bed, eager to get some sleep.

She was just about to fall asleep when she heard a brief whisper come from behind her. Her hazel eyes remained shut but she turned her head slightly to better hear the sound. It started softly but, with her attention focused on it, she could hear the words.

I feel I'm killing time, my life is slipping by
There has to be someone who feels the same as I
I long to find a love that's deep and strong and true
There has to be someone who wants the same things too
As soon as I find her
My world will start turning
But real love is elusive
That's something I'm learning…

Whoever it was, they were singing and Rose had never heard such a lovely voice before in her life. She was surrounded by vaudeville performers every night but, for the first time, she heard someone sing a classic piece – the male voice was singing a piece of the Romeo and Juliet libretto; a piece that she, herself, would have loved to been able to perform. But vaudeville dancers don't sing opera. But, just because it wasn't something she was supposed to do, it didn't mean that it wasn't her passion – or that she didn't know the following part.

She slowly drew herself up from her bed and, despite being in her nightdress, she lit the candle that was on the table next to her bed and looked around the small room. She was alone but couldn't shake the feeling that the owner of the voice was waiting for her to assume Juliet's part.

So she did.

They say I'm very young, I'm going through a phase
And I must learn to curb my adolescent ways
There must be more to life than what my eyes have seen
But every yesterday becomes a might-have-been
I am longing
For someone to hold me
And tell me while we're dancing
What no one has told me…

Her voice started out as soft as his was and shaking. She couldn't help but realize that, as silly as it sounded, she was in her nightdress, singing to a voice she wasn't altogether sure existed. As she recited the familiar lyrics, her voice growing clearer and stronger with each line, she disregarded the strange sense. She lost herself in the melody instead. And, when she sang the last word, she waited, peering out into the darkness. Would her Romeo sing again?

All she heard, at first, was heavy breathing. She strained her ears to see if she could tell where the sound was coming from. She could hear it faintly the longer she listened but could not pinpoint the source of the noise. She was standing now and she knew was alone but she could still hear the man. Where is he?

And that's when he began to sing again. He was following the opera and sang the next two lines of the song.

All days are the same without love
Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays…

He finished the last word of his part almost on a lilt; it was as if he was daring her to continue. She could hear the heavy breathing again and thought that maybe the voice originated somewhere around her dresser. She turned to face her dresser and, even with the limited amount of light awarded from the single flame, she could make out her reflection. From her brief rest on her bed, her curls were hanging loose around her shoulders, slightly mussed. Her face was flushed at the moment; the excitement of the midnight serenade bringing a shine to her hazel eyes. She watched as her own plump lips parted. Her own sweet voice followed.

Strange how nothing ever changes
Summers, springs and winters drift by…

She waited a moment and, when she heard his voice begin to sing the duet portion of the song, she joined in. The sound of their voices combined was pure and the feeling she experienced at this was even stronger than the giddiness that overwhelmed her at Jack's attention.

All days are the same without love
When no one's beside you
Who cares if the moon seems closer
Or the stars seem brighter
All days are the same without love
But with love the days grow
Each one's an adventure
Anything can happen
No heart ever ages
Each day's been created
For you…

Rose paused in her singing for a second; as the last words were sung it seemed as if his voice was getting louder. Was he getting closer? She continued to sing, hoping that maybe he would appear. Her curiosity couldn't take this teasing much longer.

All days are the same without love
But with love the days grow
Each one's an adventure
Anything can happen
No heart ever ages
Each day's been created
For you…

At the end of the next part, she paused before the last line of the duet. The voice had gotten much louder then; it seemed to be coming from right in front of her. When she stopped in her singing, she glanced forward at the mirror. What sort of reflection would she see now?

But the mirror was no longer there. Some time during the last few lines of the song, the mirror had, amazingly, been removed. Where the reflective glass had been, all there was was a pitch dark hole leading outwards. She remained at her dresser, leaning away from the passage, though still within distance of the hole. She was in such shock at the disappearance of her mirror that when the last line of the song was sung, the man sang it alone.

All days are the same without love…

There was no way to question it now. Without her voice drowning out his, Rose knew immediately where his voice was coming from. Whoever it was, he was waiting outside the hole, somewhere in the dark.

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Author's Note: I definitely forgot all about this little piece. I remember starting it when my obsession with Phantom emerged but, after I took a break from writing any sort of fiction, I gave this fic up. However, when I started to take up my older stories, I guess I forgot to give this one a go again. Well, here we go. Let's see if this works. Oh, and the lyrics are taken straight from "All days are the same without love", a song from the opera, Romeo and Juliet