I am so sorry this took so long. School and college stuff does nothing for the writer's block. But I tried to make it up and post a longer chapter this time, and I swear I will try to update more often. Shoutouts go out to Stormsong of ThunderClan, SapphireBlueSea, Jessfairy88, Lylex96, lorxy, Ayzmara, NIGHTANGEL21, Lucky D, ToxicFireStarter, Rosalie2096, Reedy-Girl, pinkyndx, redhouseclan, kmc2250, Lazuli73, FallenSoul62, SayianWarrior075, Sephira1, , and TheCrimsonPen. Thank you for sticking with me thus far. Now, onto the awaited chapter!

Chapter 19

The next day seemed to fly by. My head was so far up in the clouds nothing could bring me down. I felt everything short of defying gravity. A picnic with Erik under the stars…what could possibly be better than that?

You know what would be better that… a little voice in my head said. I shook my head. Whoa, where did that come from?

I made my way through the day without anyone bothering me, as today was their day off and they were out on the town. Meg and Christine had asked me to go with them, but I respectfully declined, not wanting to be too worn out during dinner with Erik. Of course, I wasn't going to tell them that. Nah, I think I'm gonna hang back. I have a date with the Phantom of the Opera tonight and I wanna be fully awake and aware… Yeah, that would totally go over well.

Wait…was it a date? I mean, he didn't really like me like that, that was for Christine. Was it just a dinner in between student and teacher or a friend just wanting to do something nice for another friend? Hey, I was never good with guy stuff. Even if there was someone falling at my feet for affection, someone would have to slap me to get me to realize that they liked me.

I tried distracting myself from myself with songs, like Every Time We Touch by Cascada, and making up crazy little dances to go with them, of which none of them I would actually perform on stage. It was finally time to start getting ready for the rooftop picnic. I decided I would dress up, but not too much. And you have to understand my version of dressing up. It's not going all out and primping and getting a manicure. It was just wearing a top that wasn't a T-shirt and leaving my hair (partially) down. I didn't have any nice tops from my 21st century closet, so I had to make to with a blouse usually worn with a skirt in this time. I kept my jeans, though.

I went over to the mirror and checked myself over. Overall, I really liked the look. I began to do different poses in the mirror, at first just to see the outfit from every angle, then just to goof off. Okay, on the shopping list when I get back to my time: Victorian-style tops. These things are kind of cute. But definitely a cloak like the ones they have here. I may even get a corset top or two-

My thoughts were interrupted by a certain mirror opening to reveal a certain lurking Phantom. On his face was a smirk I could tell he was trying to conceal and in his hand was a blood red rose with a black ribbon tied in a neat bow around the stem. "Feeling a little vain, are we?"

"Excuse me?"

"All the time you spend in front of the mirror, one would say you have fallen in love with your reflection." He chuckled.

I snorted. "Fall in love with this ugly mug? There's no chance for that. Even less of a chance than falling into a fictional world where opera ghosts kidnap poor, defenseless damsels and whisk them away to a dinner under the stars."

"A poor and defenseless damsel? Now I believe you are being overdramatic." He said with a smirk.

I matched his gaze. "Well, we are in an opera house, aren't we? Home of drama and all."

"You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"I try my best." I said with a peppy-like excitement.

I was rewarded with a laugh from the man still in the mirror. That melodious laugh that could make me melt like an ice cream cone on a hot Texas day….

"Hello?" the subject of my thoughts said, accompanied by a hand waving in my face. "Are you alright?"

"Huh, what?" I snapped out of my stupor. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just zoned out for a bit. What did you say?"

Another musical laugh rang through the room. "I asked if you were ready to go. I guess you are, because you're drooling a bit."

"I'm…wait, WHAT?!" I ran over to the dresser mirror and looked at myself, only to find he was right. In my musings about Erik, I had to go and actually drool. And right in front of him too!

I quickly recovered, wiping my chin dry with a little handkerchief that apparently all women were supposed to carry around with them. "It happens sometimes. Now let's get up there. I'm sure you don't wanna be late for whatever you have planned after this."

As he offered me his arm – which I absolutely took – he pinned me with a contemplative look, his brows furrowed. "What makes you think I have something planned after our dinner?"

"Hmm, let's see…" I began to count them off with my fingers. "You're the Phantom of the Opera, you're Christine's Angel of Music, you teach Christine as said Angel of Music, you terrorize the opera house. Need I go on?"

"No, you need not to." He said with a sigh, leading me through the mirror and closing it behind us. "I know you might think that being what I am is awful, but-"

I interrupted him. "No one's saying that you're awful or that the position you're in is awful.

I personally don't think that. I may be the only one in this time to think that, but I hope that it makes a difference."

"Trust me, it does make a difference." He stopped us and turned to face me. "You make a difference."

Cue heavy blush now. I was just thankful that it was mostly dark in that tunnel that he couldn't see me.

But wait, that little voice in my head said, speaking up in the most inopportune time yet again. Doesn't he have, like, serious night vision…?

His next statement proved that little voice right. "Is that a blush I see, mon cherie?"

Dang it…

When we reached the roof, the air around me had chilled. I was used to the warmth of the opera house, but the chill was a refreshing change. It made me want to go crazy and run all over the roof like a madman. I guess this was how my horse back home felt like when it was this perfect temperature; he would do the exact same thing I felt like doing.

The door to the secret passage on the roof closed, drawing my attention to Erik, but only for a moment. The fresh air was too distracting and the urge to go crazy was too strong. Just as soon as I was about to draw up to spin, my elbow was taken by Erik. "Shall we?" he asked.

I nodded. "Just one sec…" I said as I freed my elbow and spun around our little section of the roof, arms spread…and apparently en pointe. I marveled at this when I stopped. Well, that's a new development. I've never been able to do that…

Erik must have seen the confusion on my face. "Is everything alright, Mandy?"

"What? Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I just…spun en pointe."

It was his turn to be confused. "Yes, and quite good, I might say. But what's wrong with that?"

I looked up at him. "Nothing's wrong. It's just that I've never been able to do that before. It shocked me." It makes me wonder what else I can do…

Understanding shown on Erik's face, then stuck his arm out for me to take. Needing no more encouragement, I took it. He led me to one of the statues on the roof, everything already set and ready beside it. There were candles, flowers, and even a violin resting on the ground next to a basket, which I could only guess was the food.

"Wow…" was all I could say. It was a very romantic setting, in my opinion. But was it meant to be that way?

"I hope you like the selection of food. I have no idea what you actually like." Erik said sheepishly.

I giggled. "Well you could've just asked me, ghostie. I would've told you. But whatever you picked I'm sure will be just fine."

We sat across from each other, the candles and the flowers in between us. Erik reached into the basket and pulled out a loaf of French bread, a knife, and a plate to cut the bread on. Once the bread was sliced, he pulled out of his magical basket of deliciousness a small wheel of cheese and something that looked like a summer sausage. He sliced these as well, and handed me a slice of all three before taking some for himself. Taking a bite, I reveled in the flavors. "What is this?" I asked.

"French bread, brie cheese, and summer sausage." He simply said.

"Well, this is unlike any other summer sausage I've ever had. This is amazing!"

He looked away. "I now it's not much-"

My hand on his arm stopped him. "Erik, this is perfect. Thank you."

He smiled, and we spent the next five minutes finishing off everything. When the last crumb was consumed, I leaned back, holding my stomach. "It amazes me how filling French food is."

Erik chuckled. "So have you found a song to sing yet?"

My face fell. "No, I haven't. I know no songs from this time except the ones from the musical, and all of the songs that are from my time wouldn't be received well by the audience. If only I had Webber or Sondheim here. They would write the perfect song for me, those musical geniuses." I started, sitting ramrod straight, startling Erik in the process. "That's it…"

"What's it?" Erik asked.

"Musicals." I was rewarded with a confused look from the man in front of me. "In my time, there are plenty of musicals that take place in this time period. There was your story, Les Miserables, Dracula, and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, although that's about 1905, but close enough. There are dozens more, but I can't name them right now. But it's a perfect idea!" I said in one breath.

"Okay, slow down Mandy. Take a breath." He said, obviously concerned by my heavy breathing from my little rant. "So what you're saying is that you could possibly have an idea for a song?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Well, it sure wasn't cuz I like to waste my breath on trivial things like this." I paused. "Well, maybe I do, but that's not the point. The point is that I think I know what to do. I just need some help…"

Erik escorted me back down to my room then went to his lair, but not before wishing me luck and kissing my hand. It's like he enjoys making me almost swoon…

After I was sure he left, I went over to where I kept my 21st century possessions and grabbed my tablet. As always here, it showed full Wifi signal and full battery. I pulled up my music and went to my Broadway playlist. There were so many to choose from, but I knew the perfect one. It was perfect in range, but also perfect in feeling. It defined how I felt towards Erik ever since we first met. I played it, getting lost in the melody and the words. By the end, I was so into it that I was dancing and hadn't realized it. When the music ended, I was en pointe for the second time that night, but this time, my leg was by my head. I was in a proper ballet move and I wasn't even struggling.

I quickly returned to a natural posture, both feet flat on the ground. What was going on with me? I had never been able to do that before. Heck, I had never even been able to walk straight without tripping over my own two feet. Maybe being in this timeline made me more coordinated. It make me wonder, though, what else I could do perfectly that I couldn't before.

It was late, but not that late. Besides, Erik would still be up. What's a little midnight visit to the Opera Ghost's lair gonna hurt?

Oh yeah, it could hurt me…

Rather than just barging down there, I decided to knock on the mirror and call Erik's name, possibly saving my life from the traps that I was about 97.452% sure were set to end my life if I even breathed on them. After a few minutes of calling and knocking, Erik finally came through the mirror, looking rather annoyed. "I'm here, woman. There's no more need cause this infernal racket." He snapped.

I backed off. "Mental note, don't call ghostie when you're on the brink of a possibly awesome discovery."

He sighed. "What is it?"

I took an excited breath. "I can dance."

He looked at me blankly. I rolled my eyes then went into the pose I was in a few minutes ago. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "How...?"

"Told ya." I said, a smirk on my face. I relaxed and walked over to the mirror. "I was wondering if I could take a little field trip down to your lair and maybe mess around and see what else I can do."

His visible eyebrow raised. "Such as?"

I bit my lip. "Instruments. I want to see if I can play the organ and the violin."