Firstly, I want to thank my anonymous reviewer who corrected my Italian. I'll be sure to go back and fix that, and go get Italian lessons. Lol. And thanks to all of my other reviewers! I feel much loved!

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I don't really know why I woke, but for some unknown reason I was jerked out of my sleep, my face stuck to the floor in a small pool of…

"Oh ew, I drool!" I yelled, wiping my cheek.

I sat all the way up, still wiping my face off of the nasty liquid, and looked around. The entire place was pitch black.

"Oh great, I'm probably going to fall into the pit and die." I said, squinting in the complete darkness. I got on my knees and started feeling along the ground, trying to determine where the stage ended and the pit began. My ballet skirt kept riding up, against my infinite shoves down between my legs, and finally I gave up, remembering that I was the only one in the dark auditorium.

THUNK

"Ahhhhowman! Name of God!" I cried out. "Kill…lamp…thingy….stupid…" I muttered darkly to the iron stage lamps that signified the end of the stage. I stood up somewhat stiffly and squinted first to my left, then to my right, trying to find the little bridge that led to the seats. It would have been faster getting back to the dormitories if I went backstage, but I figured that going backstage where random costumes and bits of scenery were flung at random would be more likely to break my neck than going the long way back.

"I'm going to go blind after tonight, I bet…" I said, catching sight of the little bridge. I rubbed my already sore eyes. I felt as if I had been staring at the sun for too long.

I grabbed the railing, and crossed tentatively. True the bridge was pretty safe, seeing as people crossed it on a daily basis, but I was still a little scared. I suppose it's always a little scary when you're being supported by cheap lumber over a ten foot drop.

I hopped off the rickety bridge onto the blood red carpet, and ran past the hundreds of rows of white sheets that covered the soft, crushed velvet seats. I looked up to the magnificent crystal chandelier, and a sad feeling came over me. I had never really thought about how amazing the chandelier was, and how that when it falls, it's the end of the Opera Populare.

"Unless… unless it falls at the end of act one like in the Broadway show!" I thoughts, remembering that in the show it had fallen after the 'All I ask of you' bit.

I came out into the foyer, praying that I wasn't met by the bright morning sun. I let out a sigh of relief that there was still pale moonlight streaming through the glass.

I crossed the shiny marble floors to the windows to see if the moon was low or high in the sky.

"High, thank God." I whispered to myself seeing waning crescent of the moon was in the middle of the sky.

"And what, pray tell, is high?" A silky voice said from behind me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as I gasped loudly; gulping in air in case he decided to choke me again. I backed up until my back was pressed against the cool glass.

Erik was back again.

"The…the moon." I stuttered out.

"I should think that a ballet rat like you wouldn't be out prowling the hallways when, heaven forbid, you might meet that 'Phantom'." He said sarcasm behind every word.

I gave a weak little smile. "I do believe you mean yourself?" I said, trying to sound un-afraid, and was sort of successful.

"I could." Erik said, returning my smile with a sinister one of his own.

"And what do you mean by coming up behind me, twice today, and frightening me out of my wits?" I asked coyly. I bit my lip, I sounded exactly as I had when I was flirting with Jacob, one of my friends who I sorta-kinda-don't-ok-maybe have a crush on.

"I mean, mademoiselle, that you know something that I would like to know about." He said, not noticing my tone.

I raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore the stabbing fear that he would try to Punjab me and said, "And what would that be?" with as little flintiness as possible. Years of always

flirting with all the boys I talk to was still haunting me.

"The very same as on the stage a while ago."

"You mean when you were trying to kill me?"

"Very keen observation, but you are mistaken. I only kill when it is convenient, and if I killed you, then I wouldn't know what I need to know. And that isn't very convenient."

I opened my mouth to say, 'oh, like how you killed Buquet!' but I remembered at the last second that he hadn't killed him…yet. Instead I said, "Well, I don't know what you think I do."

"Oh, I believe you do. About the Vicomte de Chagny."

"The new patron? Monsieur, I don't know anything about him except that he is very rich." I said, my face feeling a little hot as I lied. 'Stupid little habit thing.' I thought, cursing how lying so big made my stomach curl in anticipation if he would believe me.

"I think you are lying."

"And may I ask the reason behind this?"

"Because of the scene I witnessed not an hour ago."

I paled. I had forgotten that Raoul came to Christine's dressing room and pretty much confessed his love for her.

"Ah, I see you do know something." He said softly.

I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted blood. "N-no." I said, trying to have the casual confidence I had not a minute before.

"You know what will happen if you…" he trailed off and cocked his head to the side, looking towards the sound. He had heard what I thought was in my imagination.

Footsteps.

I quaked in fear and my breathing became quicker. At the sound of my ragged breathing Erik looked from where the sound was coming from and looked back to me. I felt cold and clammy, and felt like I was going to faint.

'That would be twice today…' I thought dimly.

With every step that echoed in the hallway above the sweeping staircases that led to the auditorium and the backstage area where the Prima Donna dressing room was my blood coursed coldly and waves of fear over took me.

Memories of what happened before to me when I heard those steps pounded in my brain and flashed in front of my eyes as if I was watching some kind of sick movie.

"Stop it…" I cried weakly, trying to bat away the sound, but this seemed to draw all of the strength from me, and I crumpled to the ground for the second time that night right as the figure came down the steps, and Erik vanished into the darkness.