A/N: A fluffy little E/C Halloween-themed story. Set in the same universe as my other modern stories, but can be read on its own. Enjoy!
"Are you finished with the pizza, Erik?" Christine asked as she moved to get up from the couch. "I'll take it to the kitchen before we start the next movie." When he told her that he was, she picked the box up and took it to the other room. Erik felt a little guilty letting her clean up, but the chance to get another glance at her in the black leggings that were part of the cat costume she had worn that evening to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters was too much of a temptation.
And the most unbelievable thing about the whole situation was that Christine actually wanted him to look at her. The fact that she had been his girlfriend for nearly four months now never ceased to amaze him, especially when he thought back on all those months of loving her from afar. The possibility that she would ever see him as anything other than her somewhat older and incredibly socially awkward voice teacher had never crossed his mind, but here she was returning to his side to snuggle up against him.
When she started whatever movie she had deemed scary enough to watch next on Halloween, Erik took the opportunity to lean in and start kissing her neck, but to his confusion Christine giggled and pulled away. "No! I actually really want to watch the movie, Erik," although she didn't seem too put out with him.
"But I thought that watching movies together didn't actually mean watching the movie," Erik countered, proud that he had remembered something she had taught him about dating, but Christine just laughed again and gave him a quick kiss.
"Well, you're right, but I like to watch scary movies on Halloween." In a flirty tone, she added, "Besides, there'll be plenty of time for kissing later."
With a promise like that, Erik was content to just hold her while she watched the ridiculous movie, but when her phone buzzed and she reached for it, he couldn't resist the chance to tease her. "Hey, I thought watching this movie was really important. Now you're looking at your phone?"
Christine playfully rolled her eyes as she tapped out an answer and set her phone back down. "It was Meg, it would have been rude not to answer her."
"Oh, I suppose it would be. What did she want?" he asked absently as he wrapped an arm back around her.
"She just wanted to make sure we didn't want to come out tonight. She's going to a bar for a costume contest, and then probably a party later." Although Christine said it casually, Erik knew her so well he could detect a hint of tension as the subject of Meg arose. He had the sense that things had been a little strained between the two best friends and roommates lately, and he unfortunately had a suspicion as to why.
Although going to a bar was the last thing he wanted to do, he had a feeling that doing so might make Christine's best friend like him a little more. At least the fact that it was Halloween would make one thing easier. "I'm probably far too old to be going to a college party, but we could go to the bar for a while, if you'd like."
Christine gave him a surprised look, but Erik thought she looked a little hopeful as well. "Oh! I wouldn't mind, but I didn't think you'd want to?"
No need to answer that directly. "You should have asked me sooner. You know I just want you to be happy, Christine."
"Oh, Erik, you're so sweet." The loving look she was giving him gave him a moment's hope that she was reconsidering going out, but then she continued. "Well, I won't win any contests, but at least I have my cat outfit. What will you wear, though?"
When Erik merely gave her a long look before picking his mask up from where it was sitting on the end table, he saw Christine stifle a giggle as she suddenly realized what he was thinking. "Oh, yeah, I guess you have kind of a built-in costume, don't you?"
xxxxx
"Did you ever text Meg back to tell her we'll be there after all?" At Erik's question, Christine glanced sidelong at him as he drove, admiring how mysterious he looked in his black mask.
"No, I thought it would be more fun to surprise her by just showing up."
The fact that Erik was doing this for her was so sweet, and it just made her love him even more, if that was possible. Meg hadn't exactly been overly welcoming to him, even though she had never been outright unfriendly as far as Christine knew.
It was just so confusing, the way Meg had been keeping her distance ever since they started dating. Meg had never seemed to particularly even like Raoul in the past, but when she had arrived home after a week away with her family last summer to the news that he and Christine had broken up and Christine was already in a new relationship with her voice teacher, Meg had acted like Christine breaking up with him was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.
Christine supposed that maybe to someone who didn't know her, picking Erik over Raoul probably would seem like a strange choice, but Meg knew that Christine had had feelings for Erik long before she started dating Raoul. Considering what a supportive friend Meg had always been, her lukewarm response to Christine's new relationship was confusing and a little hurtful.
But Meg had asked her several times if she was going out tonight, so Christine took that to mean that she really wanted her there. Maybe it was a sign that Meg wanted to put this awkwardness between them in the past.
xxxxx
When they got to the packed bar, Erik felt a moment's panic, but it subsided somewhat when Christine slipped her hand in his. This still wasn't something he would choose to do for himself, but if it made Christine happy it was worth it. And he had to admit, it was nice to be in a crowd and for once having no one give his mask a second look. Although Christine had never given him the slightest indication that she was ever embarrassed to be seen with him, it was still nice to be able to hold her hand and be out with her as if he were any normal man.
As they circulated, they stopped and talked to several people Christine knew - or more accurately, she talked, and Erik stood there - but they still hadn't seen Meg. Just as Christine was about to give up and message her to find out where she was, Erik spotted her in a group of people. As they wove their way over to her, he could tell Christine was excited to surprise her friend, and he hoped this would help them get their close relationship back. While he couldn't exactly blame Meg for thinking Christine could do better, he hated the thought that he was causing any tension between Christine and her best friend, and he hoped that them making the effort of seeking her out tonight would help.
Christine clung to Erik's hand as they got closer to where he had seen Meg, although she still couldn't see her herself - having a tall boyfriend definitely had its advantages, she mused. As they came up to the group surrounding her friend, though, Christine paused. Strangely enough, the people she was with seemed to be made up of Raoul's group of friends. Although they had always been nice enough to Christine when she was dating Raoul, they didn't seem like the type of people Meg would be interested in hanging out with, so why was she? A few seconds later, though, that answer became obvious.
When Christine gasped, and squeezed his hand tight, Erik looked at her to see what was the matter, but she was staring straight ahead. Glancing back at Meg, he didn't see anything amiss as he tried to decipher what her costume was. Just as he realized she was dressed as a mermaid, a guy dressed in an old-fashioned sailor costume who had just joined the group handed Meg a drink and kissed her cheek as he put an arm around her.
Was Christine upset that Meg had a date and hadn't told her about it? He supposed that could hurt her feelings, but as far as he had observed, Meg had lots of dates, and didn't seem to take any of them too seriously. When the sailor looked up and locked eyes with Christine, though, Erik's stomach dropped when he finally realized who Meg's date was.
Christine felt frozen to the spot as Raoul locked eyes with her. Any hope that this was innocent between her ex and her best friend died at the guilty look on his face, but when he leaned down and whispered something to Meg, Christine pulled Erik's hand to lead him toward the exit, but not before she saw the panic in Meg's eyes as she whirled around.
As they drove back to Erik's place, Meg was blowing her phone up, but Christine couldn't bring herself to answer. She felt dazed. How long had this been going on? She could barely believe that this had started while she and Raoul were still a couple, but if not, why would they keep it a secret from her?
Finally she messaged Meg back that she needed some time to think, and they could talk tomorrow, putting her phone on silent as they got back to Erik's place. As she got ready for bed, she still felt a sense of shock over what she had seen, but when they lay down and Erik wrapped his arms around her, Christine started crying.
Hating that Christine was hurting, Erik wished there was something more he could do to comfort her. Trying to remember that this was about Christine and not his own insecurities, he nevertheless couldn't help but wonder if the way she was crying meant she was wishing Raoul was holding her instead. Trying to put an end to that line of thought, he pressed a kiss to her brown curls and simply held her until she drifted off to sleep.
xxxxx
The next morning, Christine woke up alone. After brushing her teeth, she went looking for Erik, finding him in the kitchen. When he saw her in the doorway, the caring way he was looking at her nearly sent her into tears again.
"Good morning, my love. Breakfast is almost ready."
Not trusting her voice, she went to him and wrapped her arms around him, loving how he hugged her back and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
xxxxx
Although she still had a lot of questions about what she had seen last night, Christine was feeling better after eating the delicious breakfast Erik had made for her. After thanking him again, she decided to take a shower before saying anything to Meg.
As Erik was finishing cleaning up in the kitchen, his doorbell rang. He considered ignoring it, sure that whoever it was had the wrong apartment, as the only person who ever came to his was currently in it, but when it rang again he went to see what they wanted.
Quickly putting his mask on, he opened the door only to find Meg there. Although he was a little put out at her for upsetting Christine, he greeted her politely.
"Hi, Erik. Is Christine still here? I really need to talk to her." The sorrowful look on her face softened him a little toward her - it was obvious that whatever else might be going on, she still cared about Christine.
Erik stepped aside to let her enter the apartment. "She is taking a shower. I'll see if she's done yet and let her know you're here." After he showed Meg to the living room, he turned to go find Christine, but saw that she was standing in the doorway, eyes wide.
When Christine saw Meg sitting on Erik's couch, she froze for a second, undecided as to what she wanted to do, but then Erik looked up and saw her. He crossed the room to her, reaching out to tenderly stroke her cheek. "I'll be in my office, all right? Unless you want me to stay."
Christine felt a burst of love for him. Erik was so sweet to be so supportive of her, when she knew the last thing he would want to do was to be part of an emotional conversation between her and Meg. Squeezing his hand, she said "No, that's okay. Thank you, Erik."
Slowly, Christine crossed to the sofa as Erik left them alone, deciding to let Meg speak first. She didn't know what to say, anyway.
Meg lifted her red eyes to Christine's, and she could tell that she had been crying. "Christine, I'm so sorry. I - it wasn't what it looked like last night, not exactly."
Christine arched a brow at that. "Really? It looked like you and Raoul were out on a date. You're telling me that isn't the case?"
Now Meg looked even more upset. "Alright, maybe it was what it looked like. I'm so sorry," she said again. "I've been wanting to tell you, I have. I just...didn't know how. I never meant for this to happen, I swear."
Christine asked the question that had truly been bothering her the most about this entire situation. "How long has this been going on? Were you guys...cheating behind my back?"
At that question, Meg gasped, and Christine didn't think the look of shock and hurt in her eyes was feigned. "No! Never, Christine, I promise. I would never do that to you, and Raoul wouldn't have either. I saw him by chance not long after you guys broke up, and we started talking, and the rest...just happened."
Although Christine believed her, she still had a major question. "But, then, why wouldn't you tell me about it? Why did you hide it from me? It really looked bad when I saw you two together last night."
Meg looked embarrassed. "I've almost told you so many times, but I've just kept putting it off. I was afraid you wouldn't understand. And I know you've been upset at Raoul since he was so rude to Erik on the Fourth of July."
"I am still upset about that, Meg. It was really uncalled for."
"I know! I'm not defending him for that or anything, and I know he feels bad about it," Meg said earnestly.
"Well, he owes Erik an apology for it," Christine said, although she wasn't sure exactly how much Erik would welcome that - he wasn't exactly Raoul's biggest fan. But that didn't change the fact that Raoul had been very unpleasant to him the last time they had seen him.
Meg nodded in agreement. "He does! And I know he feels bad about it, he's just been too embarrassed to say anything. I think maybe he was waiting until I told you about us, not that that's any excuse." Her eyes filling up with tears, she continued, "And Christine, if you can't accept this, I'll...tell him I can't see him anymore."
As Meg stifled a sob at her words, Christine knew she could never ask that of her friend, and she didn't really even want to. It wasn't like she had romantic feelings for Raoul anymore. Compared to what she felt for Erik, she knew now that even when they were together, she had truly felt more of a friendship with him than anything else. "Meg, I won't ask that of you. It wouldn't be fair. But I do want to know, how do you feel about him? Is this just a fling, or is it something more?"
Meg raised her eyes to hers, and Christine could see the naked feeling there. "I haven't told him or anything, but Christine...I think I might be in love with him."
While Christine knew she couldn't completely forgive Raoul until he apologized to Erik, she also knew that he wasn't a bad person at heart, and that he had probably been hurting from her breaking up with him when he had been so unkind to Erik. Although she still couldn't say that she had seen this coming at all, she couldn't help but be happy for her friend. Holding her arms out, she smiled as she returned Meg's fierce hug. "Then I'm really happy for you, Meg."
xxxxx
After Meg had left, Christine sought out Erik in his office. Going over to him, she climbed straight into his lap and laid her head on his chest, loving the feeling of his arms wrapping around her.
He gently kissed the top of her head. "Hey. How did it go?"
"It went...good actually. There was nothing going on behind my back while Raoul and I were together, which was the main thing that was bothering me. Although, I have to admit, the idea of the two of them together is a little strange, but I think I can get used to it."
Erik gave a noncommittal hum in answer, privately thinking that he had thought Meg had better taste than that. However, he had learned enough in four months of dating Christine to know that that thought was probably better left unsaid. He was mostly just glad that Christine didn't seem to be upset anymore, and that she didn't seem to be regretting the fact that he was now her boyfriend and not Raoul.
As though she had read his thoughts, she nuzzled her face into his chest. "It just feels like it would be really petty of me not to try to accept this for Meg's sake, not when I'm so happy with you."
Erik closed his eyes for a moment as her words washed over him. Sometimes it was still unbelievable to him that this was his reality now. Squeezing her a little tighter, he whispered, "I'll never get tired of hearing you say that, Christine. I love you so much."
A/N: I started this fic and posted it in about 24 hours, which is really quick for me, but once I got the idea I wanted to get it up before Halloween is over. As always, reviews are appreciated, and thank you for reading!