A/N: Hello again! Okay, pretty cool twist in this one. Well, at least I think so. May not be as cool as I make it out to be. Anyway, enjoy!!! I made it extra long for ya'll so you better review. All good relationships have a 50/50 deal: I give you an extra long story with a twist and you give me lots of reviews ;-)
Chapter Five
Christine finally reached Erik's door after what seemed like five miles even though it only took her about a few yards. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to knock.
After just the first contact with the wood, a loud screech could be heard from the other side. Christine jumped out of her skin when a loud impact rattled the door. She heard a slight whimper, but then barking started.
She laughed at the sound wishing she had been on the other side of the door to see the dog slide right into the door.
"Caesar, no!" Her smile grew even more at the sound of Erik's voice inside. Immediately, Caesar commenced his battle warning and there was some ruffling.
When Erik heard Caesar bark, he cursed himself for not putting him outside sooner. Suddenly, he realized who was at the door. He had to stall.
"Caesar no!" Realizing she might have just heard him, he clamped his mouth shut with one hand and covered his eye with the other.
"Erik? Are you there?" she said from the other side.
"Yes, sorry."
Once he gained enough composure, he got the courage to finally open the door.
"Hi!" Her cheerful smile could knock him off his feet.
"Hi," was all he could manage to say while starring at her.
Her hair was still damp from her shower and he could smell the roses from where he stood. Looking down, he saw her T-shirt and not-too-short jean skirt. Erik was glad she wasn't one of those flirty girls who wore skirts past finger tip length. Even though her outfit was meant to be modest, it still didn't do much to calm him down.
She's bloody seventeen, you wanker!
"Are you going to invite me in or are we going to have the lesson on your porch," she joked with a slight chuckle.
Coming back to reality, Erik stepped aside. "Pardon me, please, come in."
As Christine walked through the forum she saw Caesar healing obediently behind his master. "Hello," she smiled at the dog. Caesar replied with a deep groan as to say the same. This surprised Erik most, because whenever anyone greeted Caesar, it took everything Erik was, just to hold him down. He was glad he was becoming such a gentleman to Christine.
"What's his name?" she asked as she started to rub her hands behind the dog's sensitive ears. Caesar groaned in satisfaction.
"Caesar," replied Erik as he gave his 'loyal' friend death glares. What he would give to be the animal right now…
"Hello, Caesar!" Then she stood up straight and faced Erik with a determined look. Spreading her arms out to her sides she ordered, "Okay, Erik, mold me!"
It took about thirty seconds for him to realize what she just said wasn't at all physical. You perv! She's talking about the music! You insufferable pig!
"Oh, yes!" He tried desperately to gain composure. "The music room is down the hall."
Holding out his arm for her to take, Christine felt like royalty. Usually she would think something like this was far too old fashioned and strange, but for some reason, with Erik, it just felt normal.
"Lead me there," she said as she grasped his arm with both hands.
Under her fingers his muscles felt very well endowed and they were extremely tense, as if he was flexing. She silently laughed at the image of Erik pretending to point to show off his biceps.
She's holding my arm.
It's not like she's snogging you or anything.
But she's still holding my arm.
You're 26, you would think you would have gained some sort of backbone at this point.
Bugger off!
As they reached the black double doors at the end of the dark hall, Christine let go of him so that he could allow them entrance.
To say the room was magnificent would be the biggest understatement of the year. Christine's jaw dropped at the sight before her. Off to the right was an entire wall covered in books. It was like something she saw in an estate catalogue, the library even came with one of those sliding ladders. At the base sat a deep crimson love seat and a black psychiatrist couch. She wondered if he knew anything about psychology. To the left was a big mahogany desk and next to it, a professional drawing table for his architecture, all in front of a wall window covered my crimson drapes. The wood floors shone with refined brilliance and the Persian rugs looked soft enough to sleep on. In the center of the room was a classic Steinway opened in greeting. Nothing, however, compared to the focus of this work of genius. Straight ahead, where she would have guessed a fireplace would be, erected one of the most magnificent organs she had ever seen. Its silver pipes glistened in their direction and the keys looked like marble. The only times she had ever seen an organ was at her friend's Catholic masses and that one looked like trash compared to Erik's. All in all, Christine was beyond impressed.
"Wow." That's all she could say to a place like this.
"Thank you," Erik said with pure pride in his voice. If he couldn't dazzle anyone with his looks, then maybe his study could.
"Come." He held his hand out pointing to the piano. "Let's begin our lesson."
Over the next couple of minutes, Erik and Christine warmed up with some scales and laughed when she accidentally cracked at a particularly high note.
"Don't worry, Christine, your voice sounds very pure and easy to work with. By the end of our lessons, you'll be auditioning for operas rather than high school musicals." At his compliment, color splashed to her cheeks and she murmured her thanks. Erik really meant it though, her voice sounded beautiful and they hadn't even started.
"Speaking of the musical, which work will you be performing?" It was funny how they had set up music lessons, yet not once did he hear of the actual musical.
"The Phantom of the Opera."
Damn it all to bloody hell!
Of course it was the Phantom of the Opera! Erik with his Christine. His mask with her beauty. The age difference. The stalking. The music lessons. All the signs poured into his head all at once creating a maelstrom of anxiety that would soon drive him over the edge. Was this another bloody, sick joke? The chances of this kind of situation happening were inconceivable.
Erik loved the Phantom of the Opera, he could definitely compare himself to the character and relate with his pain, but the ending always kept him from obsessing. He knew the ending was true; there was no love for monsters.
Now he was in an actual Phantom situation. Were they reincarnations? Next lives? Or was this just coincidence? Should he bring this out to the open? Did Christine already see this coming? What if she didn't and then he would sound like a loony man living a fantasy. You must ignore it!
"We'll be needing the organ then." What was he supposed to say? Oh! Did you realize we fit the characters? Maybe you'll fall in love with me and not go running to someone else. Oh and you could also accept me under the mask. Like that ending would really happen. Erik had to focus on the reason, not the fantasy.
As they walked to the organ, similar thoughts flew through Christine. Of course, the second she heard his name and saw his mask, she knew something like this would happen.
Christine had never been into music, not once tried out for anything in fact. When she heard the school was putting on the Phantom of the Opera, something compelled her to write her name down for auditions. Ever since 2004, when the movie came out, she fell in love with the production. She especially loved the fact that her name was Christine and she was a brunette with curls; she fit the description pretty head on.
It was frustrating though, because she was the only girl in her group that liked Gerard Butler over Patrick Wilson. She could still remember her friends mocking her, "Eww, he's so old! Patrick Wilson is way cuter!" Her only come back was always something lame like, "But did you see his hair? He looked like a girl!" Who wouldn't think Patrick Wilson was cute, but for some reason she just preferred Gerry. That's when the obsession began.
Of course, it started with Gerard Butler, looking him up on the internet and hiding the evidence out of humiliation that someone would find out. She even got on in the early hours of the morning so her father wouldn't see his daughter pinning over a man twice her age. It would always be just a guilty pleasure, another thing to hide.
But as she Googled his pictures one day, she came across the crying Phantom holding the monkey music box. The sorrow and betrayal in his eyes made Christine think of the actual character of the Phantom rather than just Gerry.
That night she rented the movie and listened to the lyrics of the songs. She heard his past and present, his pain and suffering, and every one of the ten times she watched it that night, Christine cried. Not even his mother could accept him. The Phantom was left completely alone to wallow and drown in his own misery. And at the end when the compassion of a simple kiss led him to releasing Christine and Raoul, she wanted to kill Christine for leaving him. How could she break his already destroyed heart?
She both hated and loved the story. The bittersweet ending always left her feeling empty rather than happy that Christine was whisked away by prince charming. Yes, she hated the ending, Raoul too; she loathed them with ever part of her body.
When Christine moved into her new house and invited her next door neighbor to a greeting barbeque, a reincarnated Phantom was something she had never expected. It was incredible at all the similarities with his music, architecture, name, and even mask. Was he really disfigured, or was he just a really big fan? Whatever the case, she was curious to see how this whole condition would turn out.
Another question: Did he already pick up on the similarities? If he did, Erik sure knew how to hide it. Christine swore that she wouldn't risk embarrassing herself. From this moment on, they were two human beings in the present practicing for a school production. That was all, and there was nothing to say about it. Let's get on with the show.
"Now, what are you planning to perform for the auditions?" Erik had a little trouble keeping his voice steady and calm.
"Well, they want us to sing two songs, so I thought one soft and another kind of…" Christine looked up trying to think of the word.
"Yes, I know what you mean." He wouldn't dare say passionate out loud.
Erik stood from his seat and walked over to a cabinet filled with over stuffed files. Pulling out a score, he made his way back to Christine.
"I think we should start working on the softer score first. Think of Me is the perfect piece. All the other… stronger songs are duets so we'll find a piece from another source. We'll move to the piano again for this song."
"Sounds good," she replied.
Once they got settled, Erik at the piano, Christine at his side, he instructed her to start the first few stanzas.
"Stop!" Erik abruptly stopped playing which caused Christine to discontinue singing.
"You're singing through your throat," he said in a voice that told her she should know what he was talking about.
"Isn't that how you sing?"
"No, you have to sing with your diaphragm."
"Okay," she said skeptically.
"Sing another stanza." She complied, but it sounded the same to him.
"No, no, no. The diaphragm."
"Erik, I still don't know what you mean."
Without breaking eye contact, Erik rose from his seat and walked right up to her.
"What are you doing?" Erik was awfully close and she had no idea what he was planning to do at this distance.
"Turn around." His voice was like an involuntary command sent from her brain to her muscles.
When her back faced him, Erik brought his hand to lie flat onto her stomach. The contact caused Christine to jump back a little right into his chest. The closeness made Erik sweat and he prayed for his sanity.
He was touching her. She wasn't recoiling. This was definitely a new experience. He had to make this lesson quick or else he might faint.
"Let your voice be pushed by the air in your lungs. Use your diaphragm to push it out." His mouth was right by her ear, she could feel the heat of his hand through her shirt, and his chest against her back felt foreign, yet welcomed. It was all making Christine feel rather dizzy, and the heat pooling in her belly was not helping.
"Alright," was all she could manage.
"Sing the first three stanzas for me. This time, concentrate on pushing my hand with your stomach."
Sing?! How was she even able to speak with him so close? Trying to push all the unfamiliar feelings away, she granted his command with much focus and difficulty.
"Much better." Pulling himself away, rather reluctantly, Erik sat himself down on the bench and crossed his legs as a means to hide his excited side.
"Now, sing the first two pages pushing your own hand." He didn't dare use his own hand. No telling where it would wander.
The rest of the lesson ran smoothly and Christine was already improving. Erik could tell she would be a fast and easy learner.Erik looked down at his watch and almost jumped when he realized they had gone over their time a whole hour. He told Christine and offered to escort her home.
"So, Erik, how long have you been in the music business?" She asked with a brilliant smile as he closed the front door behind her.
"I'm not. Music was just something I entertained myself with at school. I've never really focused on it that much."
"Really? Then how did you know that I should use my diaphragm and not my throat?"
"Just simple anatomy." How much did this man know?
"Maybe you could help me with that too," Christine suggested.
Almost choking on his own voice Erik muttered, "Pardon me?!"
"Well, next year I'm taking Anatomy and Physiology as my science class." She had absolutely no idea about her sexual undertone.
"I'd be more than happy to." Shut up, perv!
Once they got to her door, Christine turned to say goodbye.
"Well, thank you so much, Erik. I don't know if you think so, but I feel a lot better about my singing."
"Trust me, Christine, you sound like an angel." The sound of her name on his tongue made it sound like a prayer.
"Thank you again, Erik." Tiptoeing to reach his height, Christine leaned forward and gave Erik a soft kiss on the cheek.
To say Erik was surprised would be a lie. Not only did he not reply, he didn't even move, he just gasped, but almost inaudibly. He was completely, totally stunned.
The sound of her front door closing sent him out of his memorized state. As he lifted his hand to his cheek, he began to replay the scene over and over in his head.
Erik was no virgin to kissing, but none had ever felt like that one. None had ever given him the electric shock that could stun a 6' 5" man. No, none had ever felt like that.
With a smile plastered on his face, Erik walked back to his home ready for a good night's rest.
A/N: K, Hope ya'll like it. Tell me what you think! Review… pretty please (Puppy dog face). I think I'm going to change a few things in my bio later, but now all it has is my picture and a lame excuse of a profile. Remember the 50/50 deal... REVIEW!
Erik: I got a kiss! Whohoo!!
Christine: Ya, on the cheek.
Erik: It was still a big deal!
Christine: And if you're a good boy, I may just give you a bigger one.
Erik: …… I am your slave!
A/N: okay, who wouldn't want a Gerik slave?!?!?!