Chapter 10

It was a sunny Sunday, but Christine couldn't go outside to enjoy the weather. She sat in a practice room reading through her pieces and studying for a music theory quiz. What a life, she thought while playing through the melody of a song by Schubert.

But she loved this life. She really did.

Except… I wonder if I could go enjoy the sun for just a few minutes… I'm so pale… I could sit out there and study… I need to practice, though… Darn…

Erik watched from behind the practice room mirror. He watched as she twirled a curl of hair with her finger, he watched as she briefly studied for music theory, he watched as she quickly went over her songs, and he watched as she sat on the piano bench obviously thinking hard about something.

Then, he watched as she packed up and left the room. She was barely here for fifteen minutes.. He couldn't help but be disappointed.

Once outside, Christine decided there would be no regrets and lay on the fresh grass beside the music building.

Just as she was getting her music theory book back out to continue studying, her cell phone rang. The caller ID read that it was Raoul. She groaned and decided not to answer. But, at the same time, not answering would make her feel guilty.

At the last second, she answered. "Hello?"

"Hey there, stranger! How are you?"

She couldn't help but smile slightly at his happy, carefree tone. It was refreshing. "Sorry for being a stranger. I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm great! I couldn't let you stay a stranger forever, you know."

"I've been really busy lately."

"Yeah, that's what I figured." Without even asking about her life, he continued, "So, I was wondering.. Do you want to come to a party with me tonight?"

She'd just told him that she had been really busy lately, but he didn't inquire as to why? Christine frowned and immediately felt like saying 'no'. "When is the party?"

"Starts at 10."

That's when my voice lesson ends, so I could actually go… But.. "I'm sorry, Raoul, but I can't. I have other plans," she lied.

"Oh.." He sounded disappointed. "Well, that's ok. I'll call you back tomorrow. Maybe we can hang out then." His tone was confident, as if there was no way she'd say no.

"Yeah, maybe." She definitely wasn't going to commit to it, though.

"Ok, well, I'll talk to you later."

Christine closed her eyes not looking forward to 'later'. "Ok, yeah. Bye."

"Bye."

She closed her phone and lay staring up at the beautiful sky for several minutes. I wish Raoul could be more like Phantom. That'd be nice. But that obviously wasn't possible, so she sat up and began studying again.

9:00 pm came quickly that night. Christine walked to her usual practice room with apparent nerves. She hadn't eaten dinner over being so worried about her lesson. So much depended on her voice being acceptable for her angel.

If it was anything other than perfect, she was afraid he would leave her forever.

She sat at the piano bench and played through a little melody while waiting.

Erik turned the corner and made his way behind her mirror. "Good evening, Christine."

She stood a little shakily. "Hi, Angel."

"How are you this evening?"

"Fine," she squeaked.

Erik wasn't going to accept that tonight. He knew otherwise. "You look tired."

"Oh, well, you know how college can be." It was the same lie she'd been telling everyone else to avoid talking about the problem.

"Christine, you look weak. Are you sure you are alright? You can tell me..." He tried to sound persuasive hoping she would give in.

She wasn't going to comply. "Really, Angel, I'm fine."

"Christine, I know you are not. I am your angel, after all. You are not eating. You are nervous. Why do I make you nervous?" He'd really discovered all of this through their Internet connection, but he needed it to be out in the open now.

Then, without a hint of warning, Christine broke down in tears and collapsed onto the piano bench. "I- I don't know! It's just, I've wanted an angel for so long, I'm afraid you'll disappear. But, it's not just these lessons. I- it's my dad, too. He's-"

"Suffering," he continued for her cautiously. Erik was extremely surprised by her sudden actions and found, yet again, that he could not bear to see her cry. "Please do not cry, Christine. I am sorry I cause such nerves. You should not be scared of your angel. I will never disappear from your life."

She forced herself to stop crying and began breathing heavily to calm down. Then, her face took on a horrified look. "I'm really sorry. Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to be so weak."

"No, Christine," Erik reassured gently. "Do not apologize. It is because you are so frail. I must insist you eat something. It will not do to train you when you have no energy." Continuing to be reassuring, he said, "I will change some of my teaching habits. Actually, even before this lesson I had plans to do so. I am sorry for being so hard on you. I have never trained anyone before."

Christine felt horrible for having caused such a mess. "You're telling me not to apologize, but I feel awful. I really am sorry."

It was time to put his plan in motion. "Christine, perhaps we should not continue this lesson tonight." Before she could say anything against it, he continued, "Do not feel bad for it. I only wish for you to eat. Perhaps you could relax somewhere... Somewhere away from campus."

That puzzled her. She'd never even considered something like that. "It'd be great to get away, but where would I go?"

Erik grinned. "A park?" he suggested. "I know there is one nearby."

Christine's face brightened more than it had in weeks. "Yeah, I know where it is."

"I know it is late, but I will be watching over you. Enjoy the fresh air, my dear. And I must insist that you eat. Take food with you."

"Ok. Thank you so much, Angel. I'll see you tomorrow night." She left the room.

Erik quickly traveled down to his lair in order to change into some suitable clothing, which consisted of another black suit. Then, he practiced using a slightly different speaking voice than usual before leaving for Sunny Springs Park.

Christine drove to a local fast-food restaurant, got a salad, and headed for the park. Her angel certainly had a great idea. I really shouldn't be so nervous around him. He's my angel, after all.

She still felt bad about the lesson.. or the lack of one.. but he had said something interesting. What changes would he make for their future lessons?

Christine walked through the park and couldn't help but be a bit frightened. Even though Erik said He would watch over her, she still couldn't help but feel like she was all alone.

This was the second time since the semester began that she'd walked alone at night. She definitely recalled the first time, when she had a cell phone conversation with Raoul, and how she'd sworn she wouldn't do it again... But here she was. How many stories had she heard of girls being kidnapped or assaulted in these types of situations? Oh well, Erik will make sure nothing happens to me.

Deciding she needed to sit down to eat, she found a park bench. On that bench sat a man. She was about to walk past it and find another when, suddenly, she saw his face.. Or, well, the mask covering his face.

It was the man- the man from the restaurant! Christine stopped in her tracks and turned towards him. He was reading, and there was the same mask as before covering the majority of his face. He didn't seem to notice her at all.

She tried to walk past so as not to disturb him, but it seemed some force was keeping her there. She wanted to talk to him. Hesitantly, she said, "Hi."

He slowly looked up from his book, and their eyes met. "Why, hello."

"Can I sit here?"

He made a smooth motion with his hand and Christine sat on the other end of the bench with her bag of food. "Um, do you remember me?" Such an awkward question..

He turned his head towards her and his lips curled upward. "I do. You are the kind young woman who tried to pick up my napkin."

"Yeah, that was me," she said with light laughter. She opened her bag and got her salad ready to eat. Then, she realized she was being a bit rude. "I'm Christine." She held out a hand.

"I am Derik," he returned without hesitation while shaking her hand.

"Uh, is it ok if I eat?" Why do I feel the need to ask? I'm ridiculous..

"By all means, go right ahead."

Christine began to eat her salad, but she also continued to watch Derik out of the corner of her eye.

Erik, or Derik, continued pretending to read his book. He felt Christine's gaze, and he couldn't help but love the feeling. Finally, he decided he had to talk to her.

"I must ask, do you always come to the park at this time of night?"

Christine swallowed her bite of food and blushed. She supposed it did look odd for a college student to be sitting and eating on a park bench at 9:45 at night. "Well, no, this is the first time. Actually, this is the first time I've been off campus in a while, except for going home."

"You attend college?" Of course Erik already knew all of this, but making conversation was necessary.

"Yeah, I attend Ballad Conservatory." So as not to be rude, not to mention the fact that she was curious, she returned the same sort of question. "Do you have a job, or are you still in school?"

Erik could have laughed at her thinking he was a student in college or someone's employee, but he refrained from doing so. "No, I am not in college. I play piano for a living," he lied. It wasn't a lie to say that he played piano, but it was a lie to pretend like he made money playing.

"Oh, cool. We have that in common. I'm into music, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm a vocal performance major at Ballad."

He knew this, as well, but he had to keep playing the role of Derik, unknowing of everything. "From the sound of your voice, I would have to guess you are a soprano. Am I correct?"

"Yes," she nodded in awe of the fact that he knew. Remembering that she needed to eat, she finished her salad and then turned a bit towards Derik. "What are you reading?"

"I'm re-reading Crime and Punishment. This is actually the fourth time I've read it." He put the book down. Not wishing to discuss something so trivial, he changed subjects. "I remember seeing you with another person at the restaurant. Is he your boyfriend?" He forced himself to sound nonchalant, although it would have been all too easy to display a jealous tone. In truth, Erik didn't know the answer to his question, so he was very curious.

Christine shook her head and couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "No, not Raoul. He's just a friend. I don't think I could ever date someone like him."

"Why not?" Apparently the boy wasn't her type. Derik was even more curious now than he had been before.

"Well, for one thing, I don't have time to date. For another, he's not my type at all. And, well, I think I like somebody else." Whoa, did I really just say that? I don't even know this guy! What is wrong with me?

"Someone else? Does he attend Ballad?" She will start to become suspicious of such personal questions… I must stop… But, I cannot…

She chuckled with embarrassment. "No." Their eyes met. "You would think I'm weird if I told you." Why do I feel like I can tell him anything?

"Rest assured, I do not have any right to judge you, Christine." Would she tell him? He waited anxiously.

"Well, I don't really know him. I mean, I've never talked to him in person before." She paused. "Now you must be thinking I'm crazy."

"No, not at all. If you do not mind me asking, how exactly do you know this person then?" He knew he was asking far too many questions, but he just had to know.

"Well.. the Internet. I know it's ridiculous. It's not even safe. Not really. He could be some 70-year-old woman for all I know. But, it just seems like he's the type of guy I'm looking for.."

Erik couldn't help but smile at this new revelation. How very interesting. "I do not think you are weird, or crazy, or ridiculous. It is not unusual for people to meet through the Internet."

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll ever meet him. That's what's crazy about it."

"Have you ever asked to meet him?" How could I ask that? I am a crazed idiot!

Now that was something she hadn't gained the courage to do yet. "No. Maybe I should…"

Feeling himself sweat underneath his mask, Erik suddenly knew he had to leave. If he didn't leave now, he might ask another foolish question, or… well, he was definitely beginning to feel something strange for this girl. "Well, I must take my leave. It was very nice meeting you, Christine. I hope we will meet again someday."

Christine frantically thought, No, he can't just leave! I may never see him again! "Wait!" Wow, did I really just yell that? "Would you like to meet here again sometime?" At that moment, she felt incredibly vulnerable.

Erik was so startled by her question that he was about to ask, 'Are you serious?', but instead said, "Yes."

"Maybe.. Tuesday evening at 6 or 7?"

"How about 6:30?" He watched with a smile as she nodded with bright eyes. Then, he blinked. "Well, again, it was nice meeting you." Without another word, he left.

Christine continued to sit there for a few more minutes. What she'd just done was totally out of character for her. To ask to see him again was being so forward... But, there was just something very familiar, yet extremely unknown about him. It intrigued her. Tuesday, she thought with excitement. She could hardly wait.

Standing near the bench where she couldn't see him, Erik watched her. He was making sure she was safe, just as he'd promised he would. He could not believe everything that had just occurred.

She wants to see me again! It was a dream come true. No doubt, he wanted to see her just as badly.. probably more so. To think, though, that she had initiated their next meeting. He was very happy.

It couldn't be denied. His feelings for Christine were changing... He would just have to wait to see where they led.