I'm back! Man, this semester has killed me! Literally! Plus, I don't think I'll be going back next year, so there's that. What happened, you might ask? (Well, I don't know if you asked! I don't know if you even read these little messages!) Well, it was the typical accusation of plagiarism against me because it looked 'too professional'...why, thank you. That is what I want to be: a writer! I was so proud of that paper...ahem, anyways, on to the shoutouts! Thank you to SailorSedna052, Irena Devereau AKA dramaqueen, and all of my reviewers! Your comments make my day! Thank you for reading and I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 44

The tinkling voice of Meg filtered through the room as she lay on the floor. Though both Antoinette and I were thoroughly startled, her shock quickly turned to anger. "Marguerite…"

Meg shrugged as she moved to her knees. "I'm sorry, maman, I couldn't help it. Also, I was sent to let you know that Andre and Firmin have a few errands that they would like for you to run."

Antoinette slowly stood up. "I am terribly sorry to cut this conversation short, Mandy, but it is, by no means, over. And you, Marguerite. I expect you to be ready for an extra run through of Swan Lake when I get back – costume and everything."

"But maman-"

"No buts!" Antoinette said firmly. "This should teach you to listen in on my conversations. Au revoir!"

Meg took Antoinette's seat as she left the room. "She always does that, and it never works. So, tell me, who is this Erik you speak so reverently about?"

A heavy sigh escaped me. Here we go again… "Um, Erik is...he's my…beau, I guess you could say."
Meg was silent for a few seconds, then squealed so loud I knew Erik had to have heard her down in his lair. "Mandy! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You know, this is kind of the same reaction I got from Christine when she found out, too."

Meg looked offended, teasing me. "Oh, so maman and Christine are more important than me, now?"

I wasn't going to take the bait. I had done this myself too many times. "Hey, like I say, third time's a charm. I mean, look at me. I'm a third time and I think I turned out pretty okay."

"What do you mean, you're a third time?"

I shook my head. "Another story for another time. The point is, I like things in threes. So please, please, please don't tell anyone. I'll never hear the end of it."

"Oh, don't worry about me! It's Christine you have to keep an eye on. I never would have guessed she would tell Raoul everything. Even I'm not that bad!"

I had to laugh at that. "I believe you, Meg. Truly, I do. I just don't want this public yet."

"Why?"

Before I got a chance to answer, the wall right behind me opened. "Mandy, are you alright? I heard a scream-"

Cue another 'Meg squeal.'

It took a bit before we could calm Meg down enough to explain everything. She was going crazy! "Mandywhydoesthephantomknowyournameandwhyishecheckingonyouandwhyisheinmymother'sroomandwhyhasn'thekilledusyetandohmygoodnessthephantomisinmymother'sroom!"

I shall translate: "Mandy, why does the Phantom know your name? Why is he checking on you? Why is he in my mother's room? Why hasn't he killed us? Oh my goodness, the Phantom is in my mother's room!"

I rolled my eyes. "Way to go. Nice one."

He shrugged. "Excuse me if I was blinded by concern for you and needed to make sure you were okay after I heard a squeal of, what sounded to me, pain or fear."

"When have you ever known me to scream that high pitched?"

"Well, there was that one time…"

"A cold drop of water went down my back! And it wasn't that high-pitched!"

"Is anyone ever going to answer my questions?!" Meg cut in. The poor girl. I felt for her, I really did. It not every day that your friend finds out that you're dating an Opera Ghost…

"Okay, Meg. You're probably going to want to sit down for this. It will take a while to explain…"

And that, ladies and gents, is how Little Meg Giry found out everything, albeit rather quickly, from the knowledge of being a fictional character to my relationship with Erik. Let's just say that she could barely take everything in one go.

"Is she dead?"

"Erik!" I scolded. "She is not dead, she only fainted. Which, really, is quite easy to do with these darned corsets. No wonder men thought women were weak. They just couldn't breathe!"

He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Can we please get back to the subject at hand?"

I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "Ah, yes…right…Antoinette?"

"Yes?" came an answer from the doorway. We hadn't realized that she had made it back yet.

Once I got my heart back to normal, I cleared my throat. "Um, hi. So, we are in a little predicament."

"I see that." Antoinette said as she glided to where her daughter was laid out on the floor. "What happened?"

"Well, I may have told her too much at one time."

"You told her everything? That is very brave."

I scoffed. "Well, it's not as if she's going to tell everyone like Christine. Especially when she might wake up and not even remember anything I told her."

"I wouldn't put it past her, but you never know. Hello, Erik." She finally acknowledged the other individual in the room.

He nodded in response as Meg was finally coming to. "What happened?"

Before she could see him, I hid him behind Antoinette's dressing screen. I didn't want a repeat of the 'squeal-and-faint.' "You fainted."

"But why..? Wait…The Phantom! Where did he go?"

Antoinette looked nervous, for some reason. "Meg…"

I, along with Meg, was very confused. I had never seen Antoinette at a loss for words. "Um…should I leave?"

"No, Mandy. I think we will need you here for support." Antoinette said defeatedly. "You can come out, now."

I felt his presence behind me as he emerged from behind the changing screen. He held his head down as I looked back at him. He looked as if he were…ashamed?

"Erik, what's wrong?" I whispered to him. "What's going on?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he started towards Meg and Antoinette. I saw Meg try to back away, but Antoinette held her in place. Erik knelt down a few feet away from the two women, a look of remorse on his masked face. I backed up to the far wall, not wanting to intrude on the moment.

"Meg," Antoinette began. "I don't know how to say this so you can understand, but-"

"Is he the Phantom?" Meg blurted.

"Yes, he is." Antoinette answered.

Erik stood up. "I am the Phantom of the Opera. But my real name is Erik. I am sorry to have scared you."

Meg looked from him to me, then back to him. "Mandy, is this…your Erik?"

I had to turn my face from her. The phrase 'my Erik' made me go red and grin like an idiot all at the same time.

"Um, I don't know about him being mine, per say-"

"Yes, I am."

I looked up at him, surprised that he would say something like that. Look at you, taking me by surprise around every turn…

Meg's face turned red, as well. "Oh, okay…wait…Mandy..?"

"Yes?"

"Your beau is the Phantom of the Opera?"

"Yeah, about that…"

Before she could squeal again, Antoinette put her hand over the poor girl's mouth. "Not again, Marguerite. Please. I don't think the opera house can stand another one."

Meg's eyes went wide and she nodded. Once her mother moved her hand, questions came pouring out of her. We tried our best to answer her for the next hour or so, not knowing what to say to a few questions.

"Do you know about Mandy being from the future?" she asked Erik.

"Nice, Meg. Very subtle. If he didn't already, he would now." I deadpanned.

Erik chuckled as Meg went red again. "Yes, Meg. I know."

"Then do you know what will happen if she has to go back?"

This sort of shocked us. "Um, we hadn't really discussed it yet. I, for one, hope that either I'm stuck here for the rest of my life or get to choose whether to go back or not."

"Well, if you are stuck here, will you two get married?"

Did you see that ball? Well, it just dropped…

"Uh…" we said in shocked unison.

"Again, we have never thought about it." Erik finally said after a few moments.

I mentally scoffed. Speak for yourself, gringo…