Here is the next chapter following on from Masquerade! I hope you all enjoy it! :) Thank you to those who have reviewed again. I always say it I know, but they truly are greatly appreciated and gives me so much inspiration to carry on so thank you again. :)

SapphireBlueSea: Thanks for reviewing. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter too. :)

Erik's Guest: Yes, I think so too hehe. :) Yeah, I think there has to be some sort of reasonable explanation for her being there otherwise there would be no point. I have got a few ideas so far so I'm gonna have a long think about how to do this one as differently as I can whilst still making it believable for you, the reader. :) If you're wondering why certain events happened the way they do in this chapter, I wanted Charlotte's resistance to be believable given how close she is to both Meg and Christine and I wanted the reader to sort of...understand why she might still see her feelings as a failing of her friendship to Christine if that makes sense? :) Anyway, rambling again. Hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks for another great review! :)

Superstitions

It was beautiful on the roof tonight. The stars glistened on a dusky background and the air was still. Even the dreary tiles were covered in a blanket of white as I stepped outside.

I moved towards the edge of the roof, wanting to be alone. I wasn't certain on how long Christine and Meg would remain at the party but I hadn't wanted to face them yet.

The thought of Christine caused my tears to fall again and I placed my face back into my hands, wanting to disappear. I truly felt like a despicable friend. How could I have done that to her when she was still engaged to him? Even if they did break up one day, I should have never allowed him to be that close to me. It was the Vicomte for goodness sake! I should hate him. I did hate him, I know I did. I had to. It would make this wretched guilt go away.

"I believe I owe you more gratitude for sparing me a few moments with Christine."

I sighed at the sound of his voice, having hoped he wouldn't have been here.

I continued to hide my face, feeling mortified that he had to be the one to find me when I was crying. Then again, I'd rather he find me than the Vicomte…

"It's fine."

I heard the soft crunch of his shoes against the snow as he moved a little closer. "What, no witty remark to share?"

I huffed. "I guess I don't have any to give tonight."

There was a few moments of silence and I prayed that it meant that he had left, despite knowing that he had not moved away yet.

"Perhaps I could somehow return the favors you've been bestowing me in your help with Christine."

I finally rubbed the tears from my eyes and reluctantly lifted my head. I turned back slowly to see that he was stood a few feet away from me, his black cloak wrapped around him. Even in his mask, I could see that he looked a little taken aback by the redness of my eyes though he must have realized already that I had been crying.

"You are actually allowing me to see your presence tonight. Why the sudden change?" I asked him skeptically.

He shrugged, still watching me closely. "Well you have now seen the Phantom for yourself; I see no harm in continuing this given that you have given me enough reason to trust you. Christine has agreed to return to me as my pupil."

I nodded. "Then that is good."

"Yes, it is indeed." He agreed vaguely. "It is a dreadful sort of grief, is it not?"

I gave him a strange look, turning back to the edge of the roof with a heavy sigh. "What is?" I asked reluctantly.

"To know that the one you love is unlikely to ever love you back."

Now I was confused. "Wait, what on earth are you talking-"

I stopped mid-sentence as I turned to see that I was suddenly alone. What on earth did he mean by that? Christine loved him already, I was certain about that and I was just…well I couldn't possibly be in love with…him. No, I refused to believe it.

Reluctantly, I slowly trailed back to the dormitories. The night was still young and all I wished to do was go to sleep as quickly as I could. My brain ached. But I was surprised to see that Meg was already home from the party.

"Where's Christine?"

I stepped into the dormitories as I asked, shutting the door behind me.

Meg was sat at the dressing table, in her costume still. She was fiddling with the hairgrips, taking them out one by one.

"Still celebrating the night away with the Vicomte, I expect."

I dropped my gaze at the mention of him, ignoring how she was staring at me in the mirror. I trailed over to my bed, offering a slight nod in response.

"But I found myself unexpectedly weary."

I snorted, glancing back to her. "Meg Giry becoming weary before midnight; this is a shock!" I teased.

She smiled but didn't comment further as she continued to release her curls from its strict structure.

I sat on my bed, suddenly feeling quite tired as I let my eyes droop. I was just glad the evening was over if I was honest.

"How was your spontaneous stroll with the Vicomte?"

My eyes shot open, glancing towards Meg again. My heart suddenly began to race, my skin flushing as I wondered if she had seen anything. She was still turned away, fiddling with her hair. She seemed fine but then how did she know I had been with the Vicomte?

"Well I had to use his help actually as I thought I saw the Phantom in-"

"Don't lie to me!" She suddenly snapped angrily, turning round in the chair to face me fully. She was watching me closely, her eyes narrowed.

My eyes widened, realizing she must have seen something for her to suddenly become that angry with me.

I blinked away the tears threatening to spill over, not wanting to cry again. I glanced towards the bed, pursing my lips and ignoring her until I was certain I was able to talk without completely breaking down.

"I don't know what happened! The only reason I lead him away was so that the Phantom could talk to Christine at the masquerade."

"What are you talking about?"

I chewed on my lip, wondering if I should tell her about what I had been planning. But then I realized that I needed to tell her, especially if she really was that angry with me. It was Meg after all, I couldn't lie to her.

So I told her everything. From visiting the Phantom in his lair and the plan to get the two of them alone tonight and I believed her when she promised me that she wouldn't tell anyone about this. She could obviously see how distant Christine had been lately too so she must have realized why I had done it for.

"Okay fine, I believe you when you say that it was all for Christine's happiness, because we both know that she has not been the same lately but you still need to explain something else."

"What?"

She frowned as she came over to sit with me on the bed, sharing a look a disappointed Mother might give to their child.

"I saw you and the Vicomte outside the dormitories talking to one another. I couldn't find either of you when I came back so I went upstairs to search for you and I saw for myself the way the two of you were looking at each other."

"I was simply angry with him! I had to distract him so that the Phantom could reach Christine and he had spoken to me horrifically once again!"

"Don't lie to me Charlotte," she insisted softly. "That wasn't the sort of angered look shared between two enemies."

"I don't know what you are accusing me of but I have done nothing wrong!" I quickly insisted, feeling as though she was definitely trying to insinuate that I had.

I might not have fully believed myself at this point but I was not completely lying. Nothing had actually happened between us. And the disgust I felt for allowing him in such close proximities with me tonight would certainly be enough to make certain that nothing ever would happen between us.

"There is nothing between me and the Vicomte, especially when he is engaged to one of my best friends and there never will be anything between us!" I hurriedly assured her as much as I could.

She nodded. "I was just asking. Because if you did have feelings for him, then perhaps you should at least wait until Christine has ended things completely-"

"Drop it, please Meg!" I demanded.

She sighed before nodding again. "Okay fine, as long as you're certain."

"Yes I said so, didn't I? Goodness sake!" I complained before heading over to the shared restroom so that I was able to get changed and away from her accusations.

I didn't slip back into the dormitories again until I was certain that she was asleep. And then I finally allowed my emotions to once again spill over, wishing more than anything that my heart wasn't disagreeing with both my head and the promise I had made Meg as much as it did.