Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.
Summary: ErikRaoul slash.
Warning(s): homosexuality (that's what slash is people), strong language
Pairing(s): ErikRaoul
Story Note: Erik-Raoul centric chapter.
o.o.o.o
Imaginary Friends
Chapter 13 – Truth or Lies
o.o.o.o
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt
o.o.o.o
Last time: Erik betrays Raoul by kissing him when Raoul's unconscious. Raoul betrays Erik in his dream. The managers and Carlotta team up to betray Raoul by trying to kick him out as the patron. Oh, and imaginary!Erik is missing. That about covers it.
o.o.o
It was moments before she would have to be on stage and Christine grabbed Meg's arm as the other girl was passing.
"I cannot find Raoul anywhere," Christine commented. She had been searching the audience for any sign of the Vicomte and his fiancé, but she found neither.
She did not know that she had not been the only person searching for Raoul. In the midst of his own search for the pair, Erik had come to the conclusion that Christine was much too excited to see Raoul's fiancé. It was difficult to not think of the boy when Christine spent a lot of her energy on him. Erik in turn had spent much energy on him too in the time that he had given up on following, speaking, and looking at him. Both Erik and Christine knew that Raoul and his fiancé were supposed to be sitting in the managers' box, but they were noticeably absent.
Meg looked shocked. "You haven't heard."
Christine looked at her impatiently. They did not have time for guessing games.
Erik looked at her with interest. How could there be something she knew that he did not? Of course, there was the fact that he had barely left Christine's side in the past two weeks in an effort to not accidentally run into the Vicomte or not be tempted to 'accidentally' run into him.
"Carlotta visited the managers' box and she heard them speaking. It seems that the Vicomte wants to leave the Opera Populaire," she paused, "He no longer wants to be the patron. I think they said he doesn't want to deal with the opera ghost any longer."
"What?" Christine could not believe it. Raoul had not said anything to her, but then again, he rarely spoke about anything but his fiancé.
Erik was just as shocked as Christine was. Raoul was leaving? He looked at the other performers on the stage. They were whispering amongst themselves. He had not found it odd since there was always some rumour or another that went around. Now, he watched them with more interest knowing what their whispers were about. He glared at them.
'Not want to deal with the opera ghost!'
He could not believe that he had not realized it sooner. Raoul thought of him as nothing but a nuisance. Was that what he was going to tell him before he fainted? He had wanted to talk about the demands and how unreasonable they had been. Maybe Raoul was going to use that as a segue into the fact that he was going to leave the opera house. He was going to find a new patron.
A new patron?
Erik could not grasp it. Raoul wanted to leave.
"The Vicomte has suggested some Comte to be the new patron!" Meg exclaimed which earned her a look from her mother. Mme. Giry walked over, straightened both girls' costumes, and ushered them to their positions.
Christine was still reeling from the news. It made sense though. Raoul was getting married. He probably wanted to start a family and the opera house took too much of his time. The opera ghost was a constant threat and Raoul had to focus more on his safety now. He had more to worry about. Christine would have to congratulate him later although she would first have to yell at him for not watching the opera.
She temporarily pushed thoughts about Raoul aside. She needed to concentrate. She needed to make her angel proud of her and her voice. She was certain he was watching.
Erik watched as Christine moved to her mark. He glanced around as though he expected to see Raoul any moment. He knew he should be concentrating on Christine, but he had been doing that for two weeks without fail. Now, this happened. He had been blindsided by this news. Apparently, not following Raoul meant having something as big as this surprise him. He had not only been not following Raoul though, he had been pointedly ignoring his presence. If he had been less stubborn, less weak when it came to Raoul, could he have avoided this surprise? Could he have maybe somehow talked him out of this decision?
A part of him was inclined to disbelieve the rumour since the news came from Carlotta, but unfortunately, opera gossip was surprisingly accurate. At least, they held a large grain of truth in them.
The orchestra came to life and the curtains were drawn. Erik watched with a fair amount of detachment. He moved from his place in the rafters to Box 5. He would have a better view of the whole opera house from there.
Upon arriving, he once again found himself searching the crowd for any sign of Raoul. Perhaps they had been wrong in assuming he was not here. Perhaps he had stepped out for a bit. Long moments passed and Erik's theory was proved false. Raoul was still noticeably absent. The managers did not look any worse for wear, so he wondered if they had even argued about the Vicomte's change of heart.
Erik looked closer into their box. Apparently, they had gotten over whatever shock it must have been since two women took the seats that should have been occupied by Raoul and his fiancé.
He tried not to think about Raoul's fiancé. He tried not to care, but Raoul had obviously lied about the woman. He had lied to Erik's face and said there was no such woman. Initially, Erik had been reticent to think of Raoul as a liar, but when he saw Raoul promise to Christine that he would bring his fiancé to the opening night of Il Muto – not only promised though, but confidently promised – he doubted everything he ever thought he knew about Raoul. Erik knew that he had to be lying to one of them. Since Raoul thought so highly of Christine, Erik knew Raoul must have been lying to him.
Erik could not remain seated. He needed to think, and he thought better when he was walking. Christine was even singing, but the stage held no interest for him at this moment. He wanted to find out what the truth of the matter was. He needed to think of a way to approach this new situation.
He left feeling no hint of remorse that he would not see Christine's performance. He had seen their rehearsals and doubted anything bad would happen, especially since he would not be there to cause any trouble. Christine would sing beautifully, and besides, he had other things in his mind.
Did Raoul intend to leave the opera house?
He was appalled that Raoul would be so underhanded to hide the truth from him, but maybe he should have seen it coming. Maybe he had been blinded by the past. Who knew what kind of man Raoul had grown up to become? Erik could not assume that he knew him.
Raoul not only lied, but he was trying to run away from him. Against his better judgment, he decided to find Raoul. It was not as if he could enjoy the opera until this situation was straightened out.
He half-suspected that Raoul was in fact in the opera house. He was simply engaging in less than public acts with his fiancé.
The laughter of the audience echoed in the empty hallways and as Erik searched through every hallway and room of the theatre, he began to wonder if this was the best approach. Staying away from Raoul had been the initial plan because Erik had betrayed Raoul. He had kissed him then. Who knew what he would do now that he was actually angry with him? If he could betray him with a kiss, then physically harming him seemed possible.
Erik had to wonder though. Did that promise between them mean anything now? So many years had passed and Raoul did not even remember it, but Erik had to keep that promise. It was the only promise in his life that he would keep, and it did not matter that he had slipped once. He would keep what little honour he had managed to maintain and try to keep Raoul safe, even when it meant safe from himself.
Erik stopped in his search. He stood uncertainly. Where was that resolve he had had earlier this week? He needed to be strong, yet his body seemed to not listen to him. His feet strode through the hallways; his eyes searched all the shadows; his ears listened to any and every sound. He stopped trying to fight it. He was looking for Raoul. He was throwing away the past weeks' effort to refocus his attention not to mention Christine's efforts in her singing for a rumour.
A rumour that Raoul was leaving.
He was throwing everything away because Raoul was leaving him… again.
The fruitless search was simply another thing to add to the list of events that were frustrating Erik at the moment. For a second, he considered the fact that Raoul might not be in the theatre, but instead of giving that thought credence, he pushed ahead thinking that their roles had been reversed. Raoul was simply avoiding him now. Raoul was hiding from him.
Erik was not one to be avoided. It only delayed the inevitable confrontation, and Erik knew once he found Raoul that there would be one hell of a confrontation. He had a lot he wanted to 'discuss' with Raoul, and by discuss, Erik meant insult, scream, yell, and possibly threaten.
He was about to once again search the entrance when he overheard two attendants speaking to each other.
"Did you hear about the Vicomte?" One asked discretely.
"No," the other replied.
"I heard that he told the managers he wanted to relinquish his position as patron. Then when the managers became angry, he stormed out of the box and refused to sit with them."
"Oh," it looked as though something had dawned on him, "I saw the commotion outside. The Vicomte was trying to look for another seat but we're sold out tonight." He looked around suspiciously, "He did not look very pleased. If I were you, I'd stay out of the Vicomte's way tonight." He looked down the hallway that Erik had just been through. "The balcony's a good place to avoid tonight."
The balcony.
Erik did not wait to hear anything else. He had not checked outside. He had been stalking the hallways expecting Raoul to be in plain sight. Instead, Raoul was outside, which was mildly surprising since it was snowing, but he only realized Raoul's genius in the act too. He knew that Erik would not check the outside, so it was the perfect place to hide with his fiancé. Not only that though, the balcony overlooking the entrance of the opera house only had one entrance and exit.
Erik would have to go through the hallways and through the door in order to see outside. There was the roof approach, but that was too dangerous even for Erik. It would also take too much time. He wanted to speak with Raoul right now. He looked down the hallways and was glad that it was empty. He hesitated in front of the doorway.
Maybe this was a trap.
Raoul wanted him gone and this was his plan to do so. He started the rumour that he was leaving to draw him out. Once out, he would take Erik out of the picture completely. Erik stared at the doors that led to the balcony. He could see snow drift downward through the glass panes, but it was too dark to see much of anything else. His mind was filled with the possibilities that might be through that door.
More than just his paranoia though. He had to wonder not the first time this evening.
What was he doing here?
It always came back down to that question.
More elaborately though the question should be 'What was he doing here when he knew Raoul would eventually leave him again, when he knew that they could be nothing more than patron and ghost and even not that for very much longer, when he knew that this long forgotten hope that he had buried within him would only cause him more pain that joy?'
What was he doing here?
Hadn't he had enough pain in his life? Hadn't he spent the past fifteen years building up a different future for himself – one that did not include Raoul but Christine?
He was a different person when it came to Raoul. With Raoul, he acted differently. He thought differently. He spoke differently. Fifteen years of solitude seemed to disappear when Raoul was around. Every fiber of his being seemed to reach out to him. Erik wanted to fight against this feeling. He knew what he should be doing and walking out onto that balcony was not it.
He was supposed to be watching Christine. He was supposed to be glad that Raoul would be leaving. He was not idiotic enough to believe that he had gotten over Raoul since thoughts of the sexual sort were often plaguing his mind. Even nonsexual thoughts about Raoul were a constant, but he had been strong. He had held to his reserve and stayed away even when Raoul had tried calling out to him, even when his voice carried through every hallway, room, vent, and crack just to get to Erik's ears. He had stayed by Christine's side.
Now, he had willingly left her. He had willingly left her alone on that stage when he should be watching her. He was going to not only take the chance of being seen but also maybe walking into a trap.
But when the statement that Raoul wanted to leave had left the Giry girl's mouth, a strong emotion settled in his chest. He thought it only to be betrayal and though he was certain betrayal was a part of that emotion, that was not it.
It was also part fear and longing. It was one thing to ignore Raoul as he walked through the theatre looking for him and another to know Raoul would never step foot in his opera house again. Logically, Erik knew this was exactly what he needed to concentrate on Christine, but to not see Raoul ever again after this unbelievably fated meeting seemed too horrible an outcome for Erik to even think about.
This was Raoul and no matter what turmoil Erik felt within himself about his reactions to him, Raoul would always be Raoul. He would always be the first person Erik thought of. He would be the little boy who promised him the world; he had promised him freedom with him.
But, no. No. This was wrong. He would ignore that part of the feeling. This was not the same Raoul. Raoul had grown up and Erik had to grow out of that frame of mind.
He let the larger part of the emotion in him take over, a feeling Erik was well acquainted with, anger. He was angry at Raoul for ever coming back, for throwing him in this loop of confusion, for lying to him, for changing, and more importantly for wanting to leave him again.
o.o.o
It was cold.
Raoul tried to focus on that simple fact, on simple facts in general.
It was cold. He was cold. It was snowing.
He had quickly gotten over the amusement of thinking of bad things happening to the managers. It did not make him feel better. It only made him wish he could make them happen. He had a lot of time on his hands before the opera ended, and thinking was the last thing he wanted to do. He was still fuming with anger. The cold was helping though. The fire he felt burning in him, the desire to pace, his overall restlessness was cooled by the weather, and as long as he did not think about that, he would not get angry.
He felt he was making good progress. Simple facts did not let him think about what had just happened. Simple facts did not make him so mad he felt like he was going to burst if he did not hit something. Simple facts were not quite calming him down, but they were helping somewhat.
He was cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.
Snowing. Ice crystals.
Stupid managers who wanted to oust him from his position as the patron of the opera house.
Raoul took a deep breath and realized his blunder.
It was snowing.
God, he wished Erik were here with him so that he could have someone to talk to. Honestly, Raoul just really wanted someone to yell at and at least, Erik would understand that he did not mean everything that he would have said.
Let's try this again.
It was cold and he was standing.
He was standing outside the opera house when he was still the patron on the opening night of the most talked about opera. No matter what the managers wanted, Raoul was still the patron and he should be warm, inside, and listening to the opera.
A new patron! A new patron!
These past weeks had not been going very well for Raoul, and this was merely the icing on the worst cake of his entire life. He sighed. Logically he would not mind being ousted. He needed a vacation from this opera house and all the insanity it brought. He needed to get away from overbearing managers, obnoxious prima donnas, snooping childhood friends, and the opera ghost. It was starting to make him hate music and that was never good. While a vacation sounded good, a permanent vacation sounded even better.
He would want to come back here as simply another person in the seats with no responsibility but to be entertained. He should just leave the opera and find another form of arts to support. Maybe he could go into art. He was sure there had never been an art gallery ghost.
While all that was still true, Raoul's pride would not stand for it. If he were going to leave, it would be on his terms not on some underhanded tactics of managers. If he could not make it seem like it was under his terms that he was leaving, at least he would give them an incredibly hard time to get rid of him. Raoul would and could make them regret ever doing this to him. He was not by nature a vindictive man, but he felt as though he had been pushed into this inevitable position of returning the favour.
He was surprised though. He had not thought that the managers would be able to pull something off like this. It was his mistake for underestimating them. They were evil men that needed to be destroyed.
As much as he tried to talk himself out of his anger, he just could not do that. It was his pride, his ego that they had injured. He was too angry right now to be logical. He needed some time away from the opera house, but he still wanted to make his point. He still wanted to defy the managers by being present to congratulate Christine at the end of the opera.
Just the mere thought of the mangers was enough to set him off again. He wanted to scream. At least if he screamed, some of the bottled up emotions would have a way to escape, but as much as he thought he was alone, he did not want to make a further spectacle of himself.
This was all the managers' fault. They were the root of this new problem. If only the ghost would teach them a lesson...
Maybe he was thinking about this the wrong way though. Maybe it was the ghost's fault. If the ghost had not kidnapped Christine then Raoul would not have needed to be so involved with the opera business. It must be the ghost's fault. What respectable person hid behind a mask? Raoul thought bitterly that the ghost probably was not deformed at all. The mask was for dramatic effect to spook everyone.
The ghost may have been generous when he was around, but that did not mean he was not a duplicitous man.
Raoul turned around when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. Glancing over his shoulders, he did not see anything. Raoul figured that it was probably the wind.
o.o.o
Erik had made his decision. He walked through the door as quietly as he could and slipped outside. He easily saw Raoul standing at the railing. He slid into the shadows just in time as Raoul turned around. He was certain he had been quiet, so he wondered why Raoul had turned around.
Erik wondered where the fiancé was. He was certain Raoul would not have been alone, but here he was. There was no point now that he had made it out here to not speak with Raoul. Erik had a lot on his mind that he wanted to discuss.
"What are you doing here?" Erik decided to gauge the Vicomte's reactions first.
Raoul spun around quickly. At first glance, he was standing on the balcony alone, but he knew better. He focused his eyes in the darkness by the wall. There a shadow, just another shadow but something more, someone.
Raoul frowned at the intrusion. He did not need any company right now, did not want any, and having the ghost, the individual who seemed to be the core of his problems was even worse.
He glared into the darkness but stayed where he was by the railing. "What are you doing here would be the better question?" Raoul replied. He was trying to keep his anger in check. There was no use in angering a known murderer. Murderer? Raoul had not once thought that about the ghost. Raoul continued bitterly, "You've gotten what you wanted. Christine is the lead, and yet you are here. Why, Monsieur?"
Erik did not like the tone of his voice. It sounded wrong coming from Raoul, but maybe Raoul was finally showing his true character. "The patron," Erik scoffed, "was missing. Of course, I had to investigate."
Raoul did not like his scoff at the mention of his position. The ghost probably knew. What was Raoul thinking? Of course, the ghost knew. The ghost knew everything that occurred in the opera house, and evidently, the ghost had no problems with what the managers had planned. He frostily replied, "There were no seats."
"Box 5 was open," Erik goaded.
"Ha!" Raoul laughed. "I'm sure you'd have liked quicker means to be rid of me."
Erik frowned at that response. He ignored his confusion, "Where's your fiancé?"
"What do you want?" Raoul replied pithily ignoring the question. Fiancé... Raoul thought they had gone over this already. The ghost did not believe a word out of his mouth, so why did he have to constantly answer these inane questions. The ghost thought him a liar when it was Raoul who should not have believed any word from the masked man.
Erik was surprised and annoyed with the tone of voice Raoul used with him. No one spoke to the infamous opera ghost with disdain. No one who was living any more that was.
Upon receiving no response, Raoul found he could not help but see this as an opportunity to clear his mind. He forgot his earlier thought of not angering a murderer. He was too mad to care right now, "Did I miss the note that said we were speaking again?" He mocked.
Erik wanted to storm over there and smack the insolence out of Raoul, consequences be damned, but that would mean having to move into the open where he had a higher probability of being seen. As it were, Erik was isolated to the area adjacent to the wall. It offered the most cover. However, meters away from him, out of his reach, lounge Raoul against the railing with a smug grin in place.
Erik ignored the comment. "I'm surprised you're alone."
"How else would I be?" Raoul replied defensively.
Erik could not believe Raoul was still trying to lie to him. It was already too late for him to believe in such lies. He knew the truth. He knew Raoul only thought of him as a problem and therefore wanted to pass him on to the next patron and move on with his life. The truth stung.
"Your fiancé." Erik replied through gritted teeth.
Raoul belatedly realized why they were arguing from such a distance. The ghost would not move into the open. A part of him said what he was about to do was reckless, but he wanted to have a real argument, and an argument over several meters was not going to calm him down. He quickly crossed the distance and did the admittedly most reckless, stupid thing he had ever done in his life. He shoved the ghost.
He shoved him and answered vehemently, "I have no fiancé."
Erik hit the wall hard. He had not expected Raoul to push him. With a snarl, Erik shoved Raoul away. Raoul stumbled backwards but kept his balance. The back of Erik's head hurt from the impact, but that only fueled the anger inside him.
"You don't need to lie anymore. I can see right through them. I know what you really are."
"Oh really," Raoul stood his ground. This was better. They were an arm's distance apart - close enough to properly glare at but far enough to avoid another shoving match. "And what would that be?"
"A liar," Erik spoke with all certainty.
"Ha!" Raoul barked out, "I'm the liar? Who's the one that hides in a cloak of mystery? I haven't seen your face, which I don't particularly care about, but who trusts a man in a mask? Who trusts a man who kidnaps people? Huh?"
Erik glared. He had expected many things in confronting Raoul, but he had not actually thought that Raoul would get mad at him. Raoul had no right to be mad at him. "It's quite easy to cast the stones. Right, Vicomte? At least I'm not an imbecile."
"Imbecile?" Raoul took a threatening step closer, but Erik was not intimidated.
"Almost as bad as those managers..."
Raoul glared harder at the mere mention of the managers. He knew that the ghost probably had something to do with his replacement. It could be the only reason why he was here now and talking to him. The ghost probably wanted to gloat when Raoul was still reeling from the news.
Erik did not notice the subtle change in Raoul. He continued, "You get lost in my tunnels searching for trouble."
"I wasn't lost. I very well knew the way out." Raoul retorted.
"And the second time? Did you just feel like taking a swim?" Erik quipped.
Raoul knew he could not defend himself against that. He had gotten lost, but that would not stop the indignation and anger.
Erik continued in a tirade, "I save your life, give you clothes and a blanket, give you a fire, and this - this is how you repay me?"
"This?" Raoul wondered what the man was talking about. He did not have much time to think about it though since the ghost continued yelling.
"You're nothing but a selfish brat, an elitist ingrate." Erik's voice had risen with each word so that he was practically yelling.
"Me? I'm the ingrate?" Raoul scoffed, "That's a joke. I give you everything you wanted, everything you requested."
"Like what?" Erik yelled.
"I've kept your inane half hour rule when speaking to Christine." Raoul rolled his eyes and listed off his fingers.
"Barely." Erik smacked Raoul's hand down.
Raoul lifted his hand up again holding two fingers up defiantly. "I've kept your stupid secret hidden and your home."
"I would've killed you if you didn't." Erik once again smacked the hand down and this time Raoul was quick enough to slap Erik's hand away.
Raoul scoffed. He was too angry and filled with adrenaline to be scared of death threats, and Erik was too angry to care who he was threatening.
"Wait," Raoul paused, "what's that sound?"
Erik looked around not having heard anything.
"Oh," Raoul said sarcastically, "Is that Christine singing the lead in Il Muto? I think it is."
Erik glared at Raoul. "Why don't you act your age?"
"Act my age? Who's the one that has been ignoring me for the past two weeks?"
"Did you have something important to say?" Erik mocked, "Maybe you should've left me a note!"
Raoul could not believe he had actually thought that the ghost could have been Erik. What little he knew of his past, he knew that Erik would not be like this.
"Why don't you just leave with your fiancé right now?" Erik goaded.
Raoul did not know how to respond. The ghost had practically confirmed in his mind that he had a hand in this coup d'etat. He had admitted that he wanted him gone.
"There is no fiancé!" Raoul yelled. This ghost was trying to fool him. He was pretending to be gracious and kind when in truth he was just waiting for the right moment to trap him. And fall into his trap Raoul did.
Erik laughed in his face, "You still expect me to believe your lies? Which charade am I meant to believe?"
"The only charade between us is you." Raoul pointed in his face.
Erik swatted Raoul's hand away again. "At least you can see my mask; you see my charade for what it is. What mask should I believe to be the real one on you?"
"I have no masks," Raoul declared.
"True," Erik reached out and lightly shoved his shoulder, "Only lies. You are quite the deceiver."
Raoul stared at the shoulder that just had been pushed. "What is that," Raoul reached out and pushed Erik's shoulder just a little harder, "supposed to mean?"
Erik stepped menacingly closer to Raoul, but Raoul stood his ground. "Your fiancé," Erik punctuated his statement using one hand to push his shoulder again, "your trespassing," a harder push, "and," Erik raised both hands and shoved Raoul as hard as he could, "your desire to leave this place."
Raoul stumbled backwards not having expected that last shove to be so strong. He fell onto his back and rolled head over feet until he skidded to a stop. That had hurt, and he knew that there would be several cuts and bruises tomorrow. He felt none of them right now. He could barely think his anger was so strong. He had hardly listened to what the ghost had been saying.
Each push had been pushing him closer and closer to doing something worse than a simple shoving match. Forget words, Raoul was going to teach the ghost just how well a Chagny could fight.
"I don't know," Raoul stood up as though he was not injured at all when dimly his mind registered that everything ached. He brushed off some of the snow that had accumulated on his clothing from the fall, "what I was thinking," Raoul walked purposefully towards the ghost, "treating you like a gentleman."
Erik glared at him expecting to be pushed, but he had not expected the fist that came flying at his face. His head whipped to the side upon contact, but he recovered quickly enough to punch Raoul in the stomach. Raoul bent over and barely dodged the next punch aiming for his head.
He staggered left and backed up.
"I should have realized," Raoul quickly, more quickly than Erik thought it possible for him to do, feinted right and swung as hard as he could with his left hand. It connected solidly and Erik had to spit blood out of his mouth before facing him again.
Raoul began again, "I should have realized that a person who must hide behind a mask, behind a ghost story, behind threats..."
Erik tackled Raoul. He could not stand to listen to him any longer. They rolled in the snow throwing punches along the way to stomach, arm, leg, anything they could hit while trying to find purchase to subdue the other.
Raoul's hand hit something and he realized what it was. He wrenched his wrist to free it long enough to grab the mask off the ghost. Erik screamed enraged. Before Raoul could see his face, the ghost had gone clear across the balcony and was hiding in the shadows.
He should have known that Raoul would have done that. He should have known that he would be betrayed again.
Raoul held the mask in his hand and stared at it. His anger had somewhat abated now. He felt detached as he commented, "Any man who must hide behind a mask is a monster."
Raoul stalked out of the balcony and headed straight home, the mask still in his hand.
Erik stepped out of the shadows long enough to watch Raoul leave in a carriage. This was an act of war. This would be the last time that Raoul walked out of his life even if it meant death.
o.o.o.o
End Chapter
Word count: 5,561
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o.o.o.o
A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
Whatever will happen next?
Chapter review: They're fighting again! Writing this I kept thinking they should just kiss in the heat of the moment, but that wouldn't have gone over very well since they're actually really pissed at each other and not in the UST (unresolved sexual tension) sort of way. They do seem to be drifting further and further apart!
Thanks to you awesome reviewers!
Sakurafox666 – Poor Raoul indeed, but he held his own!
Akaiba – Erik is way too stubborn for his own good. Erik and Raoul are having communication problems (to put it lightly), I doubt the truth would be believed right now.
Kytten – thanks, let's hope I can keep it up.
whatevergirl – damsel!Raoul is much too fun. It's hard to work a story without it.
trueblood – oh, strange looks… I know what you mean. I write in public sometimes and when I write I sometimes have to read aloud scenes to hear how it sounds… now that gets a lot of strange looks.
PuppetofDreams – Oh, I promise Erik and Raoul will get together by the end of this story. As for dark and insane… we're all a little insane. At least that's what the voices in my head say. :oP
courageouscoward – I've had my fill of evil!Philippe. We'll find out more about this OC Comte. I'm not fond of OC's but I couldn't hope the managers alone would be able to handle Raoul. Erik can barely handle Raoul. :o)