Author´s notes: Continuation, people! And the worst cliffhanger you can ever imagine!
unseengenius – the story is mostly centered around Christine and Meg, but I am thinking of putting in a conversation with Madame Giry later on
mrs. malfoy – thank you, I have been thinking of that idea for some time, since getting round the ring stuff was hard
Phantom'sJediBandieGirl – yes it was! I have the instrumental version of most songs, and it's LTBL!
Nota Lone – (shrugs) I thought it was a nice touch. I love the smell of irony in the morning... (Well, that was random:-P
AngelOfMusic387 – well, I... I... I CAN´T TELL! AAAHHH! I would really, really like to answer the question, but I simply can't.
X X X
Chapter 13 – Don Juan vs. Soap Operas
X X X X
After the success at the masquerade, Christine wasn't in a bad mood… but she wasn't in a good one, either. Perhaps it was too much exhibitionism, what she had done. Hopefully it wouldn't jeopardize anything… well, people would be terrified of upsetting her now. That was the one good thing about it.
Finally, she entered the office. The managers´ office was one of the very few places in the Opera Christine didn't have the chance to visit that often, so she was quite happy to get there. It was a nice room, not at all as regal as an office should perhaps be, but at the same time, different from the rest of the building – you could see that it had an administrative function.
With the prized package in her hands, she walked to one of the two desks there and laid the score of Don Juan on it and turned to walk away. She stopped a moment later. Curiosity got the better of her, so she carefully opened the score and began to read it. The music was even wilder, darker and more passionate than she had expected, which was saying something.
She was more concerned, however, once she saw the first lines of her role. Really, she couldn't think of harder phrases. High tones, then low, then high again, switching at the most impossible times. And the lyrics… although she was a 21st century girl, she almost turned bright scarlet. "PonR" wasn't by far all of the, um, passionate part of the role… and she saw only a few lines.
"Too extravagant for your taste, my dear?" a voice softer than silk spoke from behind her suddenly.
Christine would have instinctively slammed the score shut and turned around in surprise, but some part of her remembered the last time she did something like that and the damage it caused her precious foot. Only her head turned to follow the voice to its source, to the red figure standing among the curtains of the panoramic window of the office.
Momentarily, there was a silence, then Christine looked down on the ground. "A bit." She paused, "I didn't mean to leave… Raoul…"
"…proved too eager or too lucky for you to resist in the chaos after the incident." Erik finished, unsmiling, from what Christine could see. "Perfectly understandable." The fact that he continued watching her (she could see the two gleaming eyes perfectly well when black paint surrounded them) as if hoping to catch her at a lie or something that would betray her brought her some unease.
Christine closed the score and put it neatly on the desk. She hated awkward silences like this. Moreover, this wasn't planned! He was supposed to vanish after the "Why o silent?" bit! Fin! End! Nothing else!
"When should I prepare myself for the first rehearsal?" she found herself asking, remembering the insanely difficult songs.
"Are you so certain the Vicomte will voice no protests?"
As if a bomb exploded in Christine, she spat: "I am my own person, not his servant. If you must know, I slapped him so hard he should be red even now. And…" she smiled triumphantly. "I didn't think the Red Death costume goes well with the green."
It was perfectly clear to what she was referring… but another thing seemed to catch Erik´s attention. "How do you know the costume´s name?"
Christine shrugged. "For a red costume with a death´s head as a mask can you only use certain names." She paused for a moment once more. "But I really apologize."
"You cannot to be punished with the sins of another, Christine." For the first time, his voice softened. Seemingly out of nowhere, he whipped out the pink rose she had given him. "This is yours, I believe."
"It was a gift – keep it, if you will."
"Now, now – handing out roses is my job, is it not?" Erik asked idly, and Christine smiled at the mischief in his voice.
Finally stepping out of the near-shadows, he almost seemed to glide towards her, and proceeded to return the rose to its original place. Christine watched, most pleased, that he seemed to have great difficulty even breathing when they were about ten inches between them and he was glancing down upon her figure as he stuck the rose behind her belt.
Once that was done, his hand closed in around hers (it had hung limply at her side – she was also a bit overexcited due to their proximity) and with the utmost gentleness, he brought it to his lips, clearly savoring each moment of contact. Christine felt her face might stay the way it was if she didn't stop smiling, since she wiped the flush/wide-eyes/Danielle Steel´s female character and any other sappy romantic thing from her face and managed a very surprised but kind smile.
A large part of Christine´s mind was screaming at her that the situation was ideal for a kiss. Here. Now. Right NOW! Keeping her head when they were in a dark room, alone, together, was very hard.
Christine moved slightly forward, and satisfied herself with an embrace, laying her head on his chest and gripping his hand tightly. She could feel Erik´s shallow breaths on her hair and the rapid beating of his heart, as if he had run the marathon thrice in a row. Closing her eyes for a moment, she savored the moment of triumph.
"I´ve missed you, Erik." she whispered into his chest.
The triumph was even greater when she felt an arm snake its way around her waist, so shyly that it ought to have been punishable by law and a hand entwining itself with her curly hair.
"I´ve been dead without you…Christine."
X X X
Meg Giry was surrounded by ballet rats.
Each wanted to know about Christine – how come the Phantom claimed to be her teacher? How did they know each other? Did she know about this? Where had Christine gone? What did the rose mean? Why was the Phantom angry with Christine? What does he think now? Is this why Christine became the Prima Donna for a short time? And all the rest of the nonsense the average phangirl crowd would ask.
After bellowing NO! into their faces and giving Gaston a brief apology, Meg slipped away from the crowd and began her search for Christine. She wanted to try to find her mother. Well, she didn't need to guess where she and Raoul were now. Her irritation was intensified by the fact that she missed her chance to push Raoul into the pit. She could only hope that she would get the chance to do something like that later on.
She went to check the ballet dorms and Christine´s dressing room – perhaps she had retired there after delivering the script. But she wasn't there. Meg frowned. What kept her? Was she still in the manager´s office? Maybe she was keener to avoid the ballet rats than Meg was… with certainty, she moved to find the managers´ office.
The corridors seemed unnaturally quiet. She heard nothing as she found the room, but then, it was almost as if she heard Christine´s voice… singing? Well, maybe. She couldn't distinguish the words. Nevertheless, she confidently opened the door to the manager´s office.
"I´ve been looking all over for you, Chris-" she trailed off immediately at the sight in front of her and spoke the last syllable in somewhat of a trance. "-tine…"
In front of her, hastily raising her head, Christine paled a bit and her companion swiftly released her from his embrace.
A very awkward silence followed.
