A/N This chapter is in my opinion an interesting one. There are some revelations and twists that I don't think some people saw coming. But trust me, its going to get good!

Also, I love Leroux's phantom and Webber's phantom. So I am sort of mixing different elements from the movie and the book. I think you will be able to see that, but just so people don't freak out, I wanted every one to know, it is a mixture of both.

Ch. 5

The carriage ride to Erik's flat had been unbearably quiet. Erik silently prayed that lunch would not be so dull. He knew that they were both nervous and that words were a bit hard to come by.

He looked over to see her gazing out the window. Erik could defiantly see that she had aged a tiny bit, but she was still that striking beauty he had left behind in Paris. When she turned to look at him, his breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were filled with such sorrow and pain and although she was only twenty one, her eyes contained more pain and tragedy than a woman her age ought to.

Christine could see that Erik was thinking about something so she turned her head back to glance outside the window. As silly as it sounded, she was so happy to be sitting with her angel once more. She had really missed him in the last five years, she had missed his guidance, his love, and most of all she had missed his voice. Christine thought back to the day that she told Raoul the Secret of Erik atop Apollo's Lyre.

She remembered the golden eyes hanging above her, so she ran. How naive she had been at the time. But Raoul was right; her love for Erik was exactly as Raoul had described it. Love of the most exquisite kind.

They reached Erik's flat and he showed her to a small study filled with hundreds of books.

"I hope you do not mind dining in here." He told her. "I don't really prefer to dine in the dining room. This is much cozier." He replied as he took her jacket from her body.

Christine made her way to see exactly what type of material Erik was reading. "No, it is not a problem."

"Very well then."

A few minuets later, their food had arrived.

"So enlighten me Erik. Tell me how you have achieved so much in such a short time. How you have gotten this opportunity to manage your own opera!" Christine asked him enthusiastically, she had been dying to know the man's secret.

Erik quickly thought back on the last five years, they had certainly gone by in a rush. "I suppose it was in the cards for me after all." Erik began.

"It certainly was Erik, so tell me. How did you achieve so much in such a short amount of time?" Christine asked.

Erik's heart smiled at her interest. "Well, after I decided to leave the opera, I didn't know where to go exactly. I wanted to leave the pain and loneliness behind and start over." He said sadly as he thought back on that morning after his performance as Don Juan.

He had managed to get back up on top of the theater's roof, it was not damaged by the fire and at the time, if it had crumbled Erik wouldn't have cared. He watched the sun rise and decided that he had to start over; he knew if he didn't that he would die of heart ache.

Erik felt horrible at saying some of this, he saw Christine cringe as he had spoken of his pain. But he continued.

"I knew that I no longer cared to remain in Paris and I couldn't help but feel like staying in Europe all together was a bad idea also. I had already traveled more than one does in a lifetime, so I decided to venture where I had never been." He told her. "It seemed like the natural thing to do, start over in a completely new place. No one knows me here you see."

"How did Nadir end up coming with you?" Christine asked curiously.

"I had gone to tell him of my departure and that I let you go. I told him how much I was in pain, and about how I had to leave. He told me that he would come with me and help me start over. He had said that love had changed me. I was a better man for loving you." Erik answered her question in a dream like state.

Memories were suddenly over taking Erik.

"I arrived here and quickly found work in an architectural office. Six months after that, I became a partner. About a year of my working, I had grown such a reputation that I decided to go into business for myself. It was then that I came to the realization that I still wanted to run my own opera. I was itching to be in that world again." Erik said as he sipped his tea.

"I started designs and came up with some ideas, which was when Nadir said he would be my partner in this risky but smart endeavor. That was three years ago, it really has moved along quiet fast I suppose." Erik said dazed.

"You have done well for yourself Erik, I am so proud." Christine said beaming with joy. Erik felt himself blush at her words. He heard her chuckle softly. "I still cannot believe that we have met up again in such a way." She confessed.

Erik smirked. "Yes, it is an amusing thing; fate defiantly has an interesting way of making certain things happen." Erik told her, his eyes were boring into hers and she didn't dare look away.

"I suppose it does." She remarked.

Christine felt a blush go over her face. "I also wanted to tell you the opera looks beautiful." She said softly.

"Thank you my dear. That means more coming from you than from anyone else." Erik said. "You should know that Christine." Erik began to smile when she began to blush.

"I have told my interesting story, are you ever going to tell me yours?" He asked her. She set her glass down a bit abruptly; she was not expecting that question, but then again she never got was she expected when it came to Erik. "How did you come to America Christine?"

"By boat of course." She replied, making Erik's annoyance with her grow.

"Don't play cute with me, Christine." Erik said, showing he wasn't playing around.

"Fine, I shall tell you." Christine replied coolly. "I came about three years after the opera closed down with Meg and Madam Giry. You already know that. I tried to find work singing and dancing and one day I stumbled upon Clark. It was an uneventful two years if you ask me." Christine said looking around the room; she knew if she were to look over at Erik he would probably scare her into telling him the truth.

Then she would go running into his arms for comfort. She didn't want to do that, she didn't want to be the same girl she had been five years ago.

Erik smirked, this damn girl was had become more witty and humorous it seemed over the last five years. She had also gotten bolder. The old Christine would have not kept anything Erik had wished to know.

"Interesting." He replied. "But I want to know how you came to be in that bordello Christine." Erik told her commandingly.

"I can't tell you that Erik." Christine whispered as she looked down at her hands. She couldn't help the tears that were falling from her face. She hated Erik not knowing the truth, but if he knew the truth he would never look at her again.

"Christine, why can you not tell me? Why do you deem me unworthy of knowing your secret? My dear, you know far too many of mine. I care about you, I only want to help." Erik said reassuringly.

Christine smiled at the thought that Erik did still care for her. "I know you care for me Erik, I know that you always will, but I can see it every time you look at me. You don't love me like you used to." She told him, her tone taking on a bittersweet tone.

Erik couldn't think to say anything. He knew she was right; he would always care for her no matter what. But somewhere he had fallen out of love with his angel. He always thought about her, but the love he felt for her had changed. He looked at her chocolate colored eyes and almost melted, he didn't want to break her heart. She was just so beautiful.

"I don't blame you Erik. It's just that when you were in love with me, you saw no wrong in me. You saw me as a flawless creature, a beautiful creature. Now in your eyes, I would be more flawed than your face." She told him sadly.

He knew that she was right about that. Even after all her betrayal, he saw her as the victim, as the innocent in the whole mess.

"It seems that you are an observant girl." Erik managed to say, at the moment he was finding it difficult to speak.

"I learned it from you. I learned everything from you." Christine replied.

At that moment, Erik suddenly felt something snap. He looked back at Christine and felt chills go down his spine. When he looked at her again, his heart melted.

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