Thank you so much for the support! It truly makes my day reading every single one of them. I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! Next chapter we meet a familiar face! ;)
(also I have no idea how Juilliard scouting works, so I made it all up haha! I hope you don't mind)
The ballet at the extraordinary Garnier Theater had finally come and Christine had taken an Uber, after dressing up in a pretty, knee-length lavender chiffon dress and some white kitten heels. She'd visited the theater multiple times during the years she'd lived with the Giry's and had been looking forward to returning.
The Garnier Theater was an outstanding building for such a small city that they lived in, almost to a fault; the other buildings around it were lacking in comparison. It had gold and intricate architecture on the outside, but it was the inside that truly astounded her. It was just so beautiful. Almost like walking into a theater from the past, all gold and marble, statues and beautiful stairways. People came from all over to visit the marvelous performances and she didn't blame them.
Christine had been given a ticket, free of charge from Meg, and so she quickly found her seat toward the middle of the auditorium. She smiled, watching all the people take their seats and the orchestra warm up. The electricity of the upcoming performance was singing through her and she looked up at the enormous chandelier above her. It was truly enchanting.
She closed her eyes, listening to the familiar sound of the instruments. At one time in her life, she had dreamed of performing on stage. Her father had often filled her head with his hopes and wishes for her, praising her natural talent and insisting she share it with the world. What would it be like to perform in a theater such as this one? It would probably be amazing. But there were just so many people...
She opened her eyes, a nervous jolt in her stomach making her slightly queasy at the idea. She didn't think she'd ever have the confidence to actually stand up on a stage like that and sing for so many people. That would be - no, that was impossible.
Sam joined her with a bouquet of flowers in hand, planning on giving them to Meg after the performance. And then the ballet began. Christine watched with rapt attention, enjoying the graceful movements of the ballerinas and the captivating music of the orchestra. She knew Meg was out of her mind with anxiety, knowing there were scouts there that night, but her friend didn't look worried at all. She floated across the stage effortlessly and Christine felt tears well up in her eyes, incredibly proud of Meg for all of the hard work and passion.
After the performance, both Sam and Christine met with Meg and Antionette backstage after being cleared by security. Sam immediately pulled Meg in for a hug and kiss to her cheek, showering her with his praise. Christine felt the small tug of envy at the display. What might it feel like to be adored like that by someone?
"Oh Meg you did so wonderful! I'm so proud of you!" Christine breathed happily into the girl's ear as they embraced awkwardly, for Meg was holding the bouquet of flowers from Sam in one arm. He had excused himself to bring the car around as it would take quite a long time to venture through the crowds.
"Thank you Christine! I was so nervous, I thought I might faint!" Meg admitted with a laugh.
Christine shook her head as they pulled back to look at each other, both adorning smiles. "No one would have been able to tell! Have you been—" she cut herself off when she saw Antionette speak to a familiar looking foreign man over by the corner of the hall. "Meg!" She whispered suddenly, grabbing her arm and pulling her close.
"What's wrong?" Meg asked in alarm.
"Who is that?" She discreetly pointed in the man's direction.
Meg looked over her shoulder and then softened. "Oh! That's just Karim. He runs the theater. Handsome, right? Well, for an older guy, at least."
He didn't look that old, but he was older than they were. Probably around Antionette's age. He was wearing a fancier brown suit this time, tailored to his form, and was smiling warmly as he spoke.
"Christine?" Meg placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving her a worried look.
Christine shook her head, dismissing her concern. "I've just seen him before. Once. I think he knows my downstairs neighbor."
"The one with the mask?"
"Yes," Christine affirmed and to her surprise, caught eyes with the man as he glanced over. Her heart jumped wildly in her chest. Would he recognize her?
"Meg, dear. Where did Sam go?" Antionette asked as she approached them as Karim followed cautiously behind.
Meg's grin reappeared. "To bring the car around. He wants to take us all out to dinner to celebrate."
Antionette smiled and placed a soft hand on her daughter's shoulder. "How sweet, dear. Christine, you look lovely. Did you enjoy the show?"
Christine swallowed nervously as she glanced at Karim and then to Antionette, giving her a wobbly smile. "Oh, yes! It was absolutely wonderful. I loved it. Everyone did a fantastic job." Antionette was pleased by the praise, obviously relieved that the relentless rehearsing was over for now.
"Who might this beautiful young lady be?" Karim asked, his eyes falling to Christine in friendly interest.
Antionette saved her from answering in an embarrassing stammer. "This is Christine Daaé. Her father was a close friend of mine before he passed away a few years ago, bless his soul. She is like a daughter to me."
"Oh, yes. I believe I have seen you here once or twice in the past. You lived with the Giry's for quite some time, correct?" Karim asked, his accent, although thick, was charming.
Christine's nerves settled in the pit of her stomach. "Yes. I recently moved into an apartment of my own, sir." But of course he already knew that.
"Please call me, Karim."
"Miss Giry!" A man from behind them called out and Christine didn't recognize him. "Might I have a word with you?"
Meg gasped aloud and put a hand on her mouth, eyes wide in Christine's direction. "That's the scout from Julliard. Oh God Christine what if—"
"Go! Go, now. Don't make him wait!" Christine insisted and gave her arm a push. Meg grinned anxiously at her before departing and Antionette quickly followed.
Alone with Karim, Christine caught his eyes and felt her cheeks warm. "Um, I'm sorry if I'm mistaken but I did see you the other night at the La Rue Apartments, didn't I?"
Karim smiled with a raise of his dark eyebrows, as if surprised she remembered seeing him. "Yes, you did. I was visiting with a friend."
"The man in A1, correct? Erik?"
Karim's smile faltered at the name and he visibly tensed. "Yes," he answered hesitantly. "Have you spoken to him?"
Christine nodded. "Yes, a couple of times now. We seem to run into each other. He also helped me up to my apartment once after I twisted my ankle."
Karim blinked. "Did he now?" A hand went to his chin, rubbing at the light stubble upon it, musing over her words.
Christine wondered why he was so surprised. Erik had been nothing but kind to her. He, of course, was a bit strange but overall incredibly polite.
Before she could say any more, Karim straightened and cleared his throat, eyes going above her head distractedly. "Well, I must return to the theater. Pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Daaé."
Christine closed her mouth and gave him a wane smile. "You as well." She watched him go, wondering if the shadow that shifted behind the wall was a trick of light. How odd. She shivered.
Meg had mentioned that the theater was believed to be haunted. She quickly turned away from it and waited for her friend to return with goosebumps on her arms.
When Meg and Antionette reappeared, it was with amazing news. Juilliard had been impressed with Meg's performance and had offered her a scholarship to their school, starting in the fall.
Beyond excited, they all went to dinner that night at a nice restaurant to celebrate. Happiness was swirling in the air and Christine had to stop herself from falling into anguish with the knowledge of her best friend leaving for school in a few months. There was time to wallow in self pity later.
At the moment she just wanted to be happy for Meg.
"Lance was pretty into you, Christine," Sam told her casually over his steak, unintentionally dampening her mood.
She really didn't want to talk about how much she needed to be with someone that evening.
Christine schooled her features. "Oh, well, he was pretty nice."
Antionette sat her fork down and smiled over at her. "We have had Lance over at the house a couple of times. He's a really fine young man. Just got out of university for physical therapy. He has worked very hard to get where he is."
Christine suddenly felt like she was being pressured to date him. Is this a dinner or an intervention? She took her glass of water awkwardly into her hand. "He is... nice," she repeated lamely.
Meg grinned, her hair still up in a tight bun on top of her head, wisps of dark strands escaping. "They exchanged numbers. Did he text you yet?"
Christine shook her head and took a gulp of water, hoping they'd drop the conversation.
"He's probably nervous," Sam laughed on his friend's behalf. "He's not very good around girls. Especially ones he thinks are pretty, or out of his league."
Christine clutched the napkin in her lap tightly. Lance had been rather anxious the last she saw him. Perhaps he was too nervous to text her and it could disappear on its own without her looking like the bad guy. "Does he not go out with girls often then?" She asked Sam, attempting to hide the hope in her voice.
Sam laughed again. "No! Never. The poor guy has such low self esteem. He had a rough upbringing and he was too focused on school for girls. His father died a few years ago and his mom is pretty crazy. At this point he doesn't think he's good enough for anyone, but he's trying. I think he really does like you."
Christine went home that night, half wondering if by having a boyfriend it would help ease the pain of eventually losing her best friend.
oO0Oo
Me:
Hi, it's Christine from the other night. Meg's friend. Anyway, I was just thinking that maybe we could go out for coffee and get to know each other better. Maybe tell me more about what you do? Let me know!
Christine hit send before she could back out and threw the phone to the other side of the couch in a panic. Putting her face in her hands, she tried to calm herself down.
"I'm ridiculous!" She groaned, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. "I'm an adult. Texting guys shouldn't be this terrifying!" She did not admit aloud to her empty apartment that she'd never texted a guy in this manner before.
She had spent the rest of the weekend after the night of the ballet going back and forth on if she should even entertain the idea of asking him out. Her thumb had hovered over the send button for a ridiculous amount of time before she finally had forced herself to press it.
After a prolonged moment of waiting for her phone to vibrate with his response, she chose to preoccupy herself and check the mail.
She honestly hadn't expected to see him again so soon, but he appeared from the tree line in pure shadow. She paused near the mailboxes, the street lamp above decorating her with light, her heart quickening. She knew it was him, simply because of his glowing eyes.
She was surprised to not feel so unsettled by them this time around. Was she getting used to him already?
Erik noticed her immediately and she smiled, putting up a friendly wave. He didn't respond in kind, but didn't walk away from her when she approached. His hand self consciously went to his mask, as if to make sure it was still there. Again, she wondered why he wore it.
"Good evening, Erik," she greeted, fiddling with the couple of envelopes in her hands. "How are you?"
"I am well," he said, his rich voice creating goosebumps on her arms despite the warm evening. "And you, Christine? How are you fairing?"
Fairing? Christine stifled a giggle. Meg was right. He was practically straight out of a Jane Austen novel, despite his odd appearance.
"I'm great, actually. I went to the Garnier Theater the other night to see my friend perform. She's a ballerina there. Have you ever been? To the theater, I mean."
Erik hesitated for an extended amount of time, then replied calmly, "A few times. It was the production for Pharaoh's Daughter, correct?"
Christine's eyes widened in surprise. "It was! Did you go as well?"
"No, but I heard that they would be performing it."
Christine nodded. "I was able to get a free ticket. It really was wonderful. She did a fantastic job. Well... all of them did. And the orchestra was incredible."
When he just stared at her silently with a thin straight mouth under his black mask, she realized she had been rambling. He probably thought she was a crazy person.
"Oh, um, I met a friend of yours there. Karim was his name. He runs the theater?"
He visibly tensed and Christine recognized the reaction as the same that Karim had given when speaking of Erik. How odd.
"Yes, Karim is... a friend," he agreed mysteriously, almost in amusement, although it left Christine wondering if it was a true statement.
"He's nice."
Erik did not agree, staying silent on the matter, and Christine lowered her eyes awkwardly. She pushed a stray curl behind her ear and glanced up at him, finding his eyes still on her.
"Um, well, see you later then. Have a good night."
"You as well," he said softly, as she moved past him and toward the stairwell. It seemed like Erik was even more secretive than his mask and it left her horribly invested in wanting to learn more. Her father had always found her incessant curiosity and need for answers amusing.
Her phone buzzed upon arriving back to her apartment and the reminder she had asked a man out came flooding back to her. Heart beating quicker, she cautiously picked it up and read the message.
Lance:
Hey Christine! Wow I wasn't expecting you to text me, haha! I'm glad you did. We can definitely get coffee. How about tomorrow after work?
She tightened her fingers around her phone and briefly shut her eyes. She could do this. It was just coffee. No big deal. He was pleasant and friendly. It would be fine.
Christine frowned at herself when she climbed into bed that night. Why couldn't she feel even a little excited about a potential boyfriend? All she felt was dread.
Maybe it was because she didn't know him well enough. Tomorrow would tell, she supposed.
She sighed in strange relief when beautiful piano music lulled her to sleep.