I got really good reviews on the last chapter, even though it was really short. Thanks guys! As promised, here is the next chapter, and it's a little longer than the last one. I do hope you guys like this chapter. I'm diving deeper into Erik's past. Thank again to all my loyal reviewers! Without you, I wouldn't even continue writing. Thanks for all the positive feedback.

Summary: See Chapter One

Disclaimer: Okay, if I actually owned POTO, then my fiancé wouldn't have had to get a loan so we could get a new car. I would have bought him two new cars! I don't own em!

From Chapter Six:

"This isn't over Destler. I'll see to it that Christine never sees you again."

Chapter Seven: Discovery

Christine sat in her room, working on her English paper. She had only gotten one sentence down on the computer screen. Although her body was physically in her room, her mind was a million miles away. She couldn't help but think about what Raoul had said earlier. Was he right? Did she jump into this thing with Erik too soon?

Finally she gave up on her paper and brought up the Internet. Opening up a search engine, she typed Erik's name into the search field and clicked search. Many different pages came up and Christine scanned them to see if she could find anything. She clicked on one at random, hoping that something would come to light.

"Opera Opens On Sour Note," she read. The article was dated for three years ago. Intrigued, she read further.

Don Juan Triumphant, an opera written by Erik Destler, opened this past Friday on a sour note. Minutes before the performance was to begin, Claire Ramsey, the lead soprano mysteriously vanished. Destler was said to be the last one in Miss Ramsey's dressing room before she was scheduled to be on stage. Authorities have no leads at this time as to Miss Ramsey's whereabouts and have not taken anyone into custody. The performance was unable to begin without Miss Ramsey and there was not an understudy to take over the role.

Her eyes widened as she read the article. Was he hiding something? She thought. It took her only a minute to bring up her instant messaging program.

MusicGirl22: Meg? It's me. You there?

BalletRat63: Yeah Chrissy. I'm here. Trying to work on my English paper. What're you up to?

MusicGirl22: I can't work on my paper, too many thoughts going through my head.

BalletRat63: Thoughts? What about?

MusicGirl22: I was thinking about what Raoul said about Erik earlier this evening.

BalletRat63: Forget him Chrissy. He was just trying to bring you down.

MusicGirl22: I know Meg, I know. But I just can't stop thinking about it. Maybe Raoul's right. Maybe I rushed into this whole thing with Erik too fast. I haven't even given myself time to get over Dad's death!

BalletRat63: Christine, I don't think that you are going to get over him anytime soon. You father meant the world to you. He loved you so much and I know how much you loved him. I think that Raoul is just jealous anyways.

MusicGirl22: Well, look at what I found Meg. I did a search on Erik and found this article. Here, take a look.

Christine highlighted the link and sent it to her. Then she waited patiently for her reply. A few minutes later, a message popped up on her screen.

DeChagny44: Christine?

MusicGirl22: Who's this?

DeChagny44: It's Raoul. Are you okay? I didn't mean to yell at you earlier. I'm just worried about you that's all.

MusicGirl22: I appreciate your concern Raoul. But I'm almost eighteen. I think I can take care of myself.

(break)

BalletRat63: Christine, what are you going to do? Do you think that Erik had something to do with this girl's disappearance?

MusicGirl22: Hang on a sec Meg. Raoul just IM'ed me.

(break)

DeChagny44: I know that Christine. It's just…

MusicGirl22: It's just what Raoul? Speaking of which, how did you get my screen name?

DeChagny44: Meg gave it to me.

MusicGirl22: Oh. Okay.

DeChagny44: Look Christine, there's no use in skirting around the issue so I'll just come out and say it. I really like you and I wanted to know if I could take you out sometime.

Her eyes widened. She had an inkling that he liked her but she didn't think that he was actually going to come out and say it. She switched windows and went back to talking to Meg.

MusicGirl22: I don't know what I'm going to do Meg. But I think that I'll ask Erik about it when I go over there for a lesson tomorrow. But hey, guess what just happened?

BalletRat63: What?

MusicGirl22: Raoul just asked me out.

BalletRat63: OMG! He did? That's great!

MusicGirl22: You sure? I know that you've got this big, huge crush on him.

BalletRat63: Oh come on Chrissy! You know as well as I do that Raoul wouldn't give me the time of day. He and I are just friends. If you want to go out with Raoul then go. Have fun!

MusicGirl22: Okay.

(break)

MusicGirl22: Raoul? You still there?

DeChagny44: Yeah, I'm still here Christine. So what do you say? Can I take you to dinner and a movie sometime?

MusicGirl22: Sure…I guess.

DeChagny44: Great! So I'll see you in school tomorrow and we'll make plans okay?

MusicGirl22: Okay. Sounds good. Well, I have to go try and work on my English paper now. I'll see you tomorrow.

DeChagny44: Okay. Bye.

(break)

BalletRat63: Well? Do you have a date?

MusicGirl22: Yeah, I do. But hey, I've got to take care of some things. I'll see you tomorrow okay?

BalletRat63: Okay. Bye!

She closed both windows and tried to work on her paper again. But the news article on the Internet plagued her mind. Opening her phone, she dialed Erik's number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Erik?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"It's Christine."

"Oh, Christine! Hello! I'm sorry; I didn't recognize your voice. How are you tonight?"

She sighed. "I'm alright. But I need to talk to you. Is there a chance you could stop by here?"

"Of course. I'll be right over."

"Okay, see you soon." They said their goodbyes and hung up.

It only took Erik ten minutes to arrive at the Daae house. Walking up to the front door, he paused a moment before ringing the doorbell. Christine bounded out to the living room and peeked out the front window and saw that it was indeed Erik at the door. "Come in!"

He opened the door and stepped into the room. "Hello Christine. How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine. Just taking a break from my English paper. But that's not why I asked you here. I needed to talk to you. Hang on a minute."

She ran back to her room and quickly printed out the article off of the computer. Running back to the living room, she sat down on the couch next to Erik. "I was searching around on the Internet earlier and I found this article," she said, handing the article to him.

Taking the article from Christine, he read it quickly. She watched his expression as he read, searching it for any sign that he knew what was going on. Once he was done, he set the article down on the table.

"Claire had a beautiful voice. She sang like an angel. That night was supposed to be her big debut. I got the word that she was missing ten minutes before the performance was scheduled to start. The whole cast and crew searched the whole theatre from top to bottom. But we couldn't find her," he said. "The night that my opera was scheduled to debut was ruined. I decided that night that I would never compose again."

"Were…were you in love with her?"

He shook his head. "No, I wasn't. She was engaged to one of the other actors. I only tutored her, made her voice better. Why all the questions Christine?"

"Raoul and I got into an argument earlier. It was over you."

"Ah yes. Mr. De Chagny came to visit me earlier."

"He did?"

"Yes. He seems to think that all I am interested in is getting you into bed. He told me to stop giving you lessons or I would live to regret it."

Her eyes widened in shock. "He actually said that? Oh my god! Erik, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it Christine. I'm not worried about what Raoul thinks. Do you still want to take lessons from me?"

She nodded. "More than anything. I've always dreamed of being a singer."

Erik smiled. "Wonderful. I'm very happy to hear that."

Christine scooted closer to him. "Thank you for everything that you've done for me Erik. I appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it Christine. It's my pleasure to help you achieve your dream."

She moved to stand up and suddenly fell forward, falling in his lap. "I'm sorry Erik. I guess my balance isn't very good tonight. I've been staring at the computer screen for a while."

He looked down at her, smiling. "It's okay. I understand. I've been like that before." He laughed slightly.

There was a moment of silence. Christine looked into his eyes and blushed slightly. She had never noticed what beautiful eyes he had. He never realized how beautiful she was until now. Slowly, he leaned down towards her and his lips met hers in a tender, sweet kiss.

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I remain your obedient authoress,

Phantomfan1911