(A/N: I'm glad that the general reaction for this one has been good! Yay! Okay, well, here's the next chapter, anyway…

In the last chapter, I think I forgot the disclaimer. Anyway, this story does NOT belong to me! Nothing in this story does… besides a few of Erik's servants, and a few of the college students. Everything else belongs to Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Susan Kay.)


Chapter Two: Erik's Decision

Erik watched the girl from up on the balcony of the second level of the church, entranced. He blended right in with the shadows, as he was wearing all black. The only thing that stuck out was the white mask on the right side of his face, making him even more mysterious than he already was. Erik moved with a catlike grace as he made his way further back into the dimness to make sure the girl would not see him. His house was actually nearby, hidden from view by a wall covered in ivy. It was entirely secluded, and that was how he liked it.

He had happened to be at the church that night because he was going through its records, trying to find a way to close it and take it down. The church brought a lot of people too close to his home for comfort.

He had heard this college girl come in, and had been seriously annoyed. Erik had been about to do something to scare her off, when she began to sing. Now he stood in the shadows, staring at her with rapt attention.

Her voice wasn't perfect, of course—far from it! But the pitch…the quality! There was so much potential… He was sorely tempted to go down there and tell her what she was doing wrong—but he couldn't.

The more he listened to her, the more enthralled he became. Her voice was clear and pure, sweet and tempting. When she finally finished, he nearly stood and clapped. At the last instant, he stopped himself.

This young women had affected him so profoundly…and she was a mere college student! She could bring the world to its knees if she had the proper tutor…

As she began the song for the second time, Erik crept unnoticed out of the church. The girl's car was parked off to the side, and he silently crossed to it. He stopped in front of it, smiling slightly at the girl's carelessness. She had left the window open.

Perhaps because she was at a church she thought that no one would rob her, but you could never tell in New York, especially this close to the city.

Erik reached through the window and unlocked the door. Quietly he slid inside and began rummaging through her things, looking for her wallet. At last, he found it. Quickly he opened it up and pulled out her student ID, glancing upwards as he did so. No, she was still in the church, not even aware he was there.

Erik looked back down at the student ID, scanning the information. Her name was Christine Daae, and she lived in a small apartment on the west side of New York. She 19 years old, was 5'4" and weighed 115 lbs. It also listed her school name, as well as some other useful information about her. He memorized all of the information on the card, then stuck it back into her wallet, careful to place it exactly where he had found it.

Erik then slipped out of her car, shutting the door noiselessly behind him. He hid himself, and then watched as she came back out of the church and started up her car.

He would have to keep an eye on her.

xxxxx

Christine had the strangest feeling that her privacy had been invaded as she drove back home. That, however, made no sense, and she brushed it aside.

When she pulled back up to her apartment, Meg ran outside. "Christine! Guess what?"

Christine got out of the car, fighting back a smile. With Meg, you never got bored. "What now, Meg?"

"You have a visitor!"

Christine raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Do I know them?"

"Yes, you know him. As a matter of fact—"

"We were old friends." A new voice cut in. Christine looked up to see a face she'd never thought to see again.

She gasped. "Raoul!"

The young man smiled widely as she ran up and embraced him. They had been friends when they were younger, and Christine had always had a secret crush on him. "Oh, Raoul, it's so nice to see you!"

"I thought I'd drop in and say hi. I just found out yesterday, after I applied, that we're attending the same school."

"We are?"

"Of course, you're in the music and performing arts classes, and I'm in business classes—but yes, we are attending the same school."

"That's…that's fantastic! Are you staying somewhere nearby?"

Raoul looked hesitant. "My parents bought a home for me just out of the city. I asked for something small, though, so it's nothing much."

"Still, it must have cost a fortune!" Meg exclaimed.

Raoul shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I…"

"We'll have to visit sometime." Christine interrupted quickly. She knew how much Raoul hated to discuss his wealthy family. He smiled gratefully at her.

"Yes, you'll have to! I heard you had a recital coming up?"
Christine blushed. "Two weeks… and I've hardly practiced. I tried to get some time in tonight, but I hate staying up too late."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Raoul reassured her. "Anyway, I have to get going. I just wanted to let you know I was around, and maybe we can get together sometime?"

Christine's heart skipped a beat, even though she knew he didn't mean it as a date. "Of course!" she responded immediately. Raoul grinned and nodded, then waved to both of them and walked away down the street to where his car was parked.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Meg smiled at Christine. "He's so cute! I'm so happy for you!"

"Happy for me? Oh, Meg, it's not like we're going out. After all, I haven't seen him for so long…"

"But Christine, he's a total hottie! And it's obvious he likes you!" Meg whined.

Christine smiled hopefully. "Do you think so?"

"No… I know so. Come on, why else would he go this much out of his way just to see you for a grand total of five minutes? I mean, he could easily have just found you at college sometime tomorrow to let you know he was here."

Christine had to admit, she had a point. Still, she couldn't get her hopes up. Raoul might have just gotten bored, and decided to stop by for a chat. …But maybe not, right?

She could always hope…

xxxxx

Erik returned to his home without looking for anymore records in the church. He could have easily found something that would have shut the place down—but that would mean that Christine couldn't go there either, and he wished to hear her sing again. As a result, he decided to put off closing the church down… for the moment.

Usually, he just sent one of his servants for this kind of thing. Finding records was a job meant for one of them, not him. Tonight, however, he had been feeling out of sorts, and had needed something to do. He was glad he had gone.

If he closed his eyes, he imagined he could still hear her voice…

Erik was met at the door by his head servant and organizer, Jacques. The man was only a few years younger than he was—24, to be precise. He was tall (though not quite as tall as Erik) with neat brown hair and sharp brown eyes. He looked at Erik inquisitively as he entered.

"I've decided not to shut the church down for now." he told Jacques passively as he went by. This servant in particular knew just about everything Erik was involved in. Jacques frowned in thought and looked interested, but said nothing. He knew better than to question Erik.

Erik stopped at the edge of the room, turning back to face his servant. "By the way, see what all you can find out about a young woman by the name of Christine Daae."

Jacques tried to hide his curiosity as he nodded, then moved off in the other direction, getting to work at once.

Erik had almost made it up to his room when suddenly his head maid rounded the corner. Mariette was almost fifty now, and had worked for his family ever since Erik had been a small child. When his parents died, it had been her that had brought him up. She was usually kind, (though strict), but right now she had a cross look on her face as she planted herself in his way. "What's this?" She demanded.

Erik glanced down. She was holding a newspaper. "What's what?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about! This." Mariette tapped on the headline at the bottom of the page. It read, "Broadway Singer Threatened."

"What about it?" Erik asked, feigning disinterest.
"Just because I'm getting old, Erik, doesn't mean I'm senile! I know very well who's been sending those threatening messages."

Damn. He'd thought he was getting away with that one.

"I should turn you into the police! Honestly, hacking into her social security? I raised you to be better than that, Erik!"

Hacking into social security? Is that all the papers had found out? They didn't know the half of it…"You wouldn't turn me in." Erik smiled slightly. He knew an empty threat when he heard one.

"No, I won't. But I should. What else have you been up to? Where were you tonight?"

"I took a nice little walk down to the old church on the other side of my orchard."

"Oh? What are you scheming now? You were never a religious man, Erik, so don't pretend you went to confess sins—though you have many—or to pray. What are you up to?"

"Nothing. I'm leaving the church alone."

Mariette's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He could get nothing passed this woman! "Why would I do anything to it?" he asked, side-stepping her question. "I'm tired, Mariette, and I plan on retiring for the night. Now, if you would kindly get out of my way…"

Mariette gave him one last scathing look before turning and striding away, shouting back, "You haven't heard the last of this, Erik, so don't even think you've gotten away with it!"

Erik sighed, shaking his head at the old woman's stubbornness. And yet, she still didn't know even a third of what he was up to…


(A/N: Hmm, not sure if I liked this chapter or not… ((Shrugs)) oh well, let's see what you guys think. Please review!)

Hilary