Chapter 13

It was 6:50 in the morning as Christine trudged along the sidewalk of Ballad Conservatory. The rain was coming down in sheets. Thank goodness for umbrellas.

She yawned as she walked into the music building and folded up her umbrella. The only other person in the building was the janitor… or so she thought.

Erik was already on the other side of the mirror waiting for her. The change in lesson times made no difference him. Anytime was a good time to see Christine.

"Angel?" came Christine's voice as she stepped into room number seven.

"Good morning, Christine," came Erik's silky greeting.

"Oh, good. You're here. I just.. I didn't know if you'd figure it out."

"I will always find you, Christine."

The words, for some reason, held deep meaning to her.

"Now, let us begin. Warm-ups. It may take longer than usual with the sleep coating your voice."

Forty minutes later found Christine singing the song she would be performing at the recital while Erik played his violin. When it ended, Erik found he couldn't help but compliment.

"You sang that beautifully, Christine."

He complimented me, she thought with excitement. "Thank you," she replied, a blush on her cheeks.

"You are prepared for the recital," he announced. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.

"You really think so?" Christine asked hopefully.

"I would not have said it otherwise."

His words suddenly puzzled her. She'd recently heard Derik say the exact same thing. How strange...

Erik stared at her without speaking and unconsciously touched the glass that separated them tracing the outline of her precious face. Then, realizing what he was doing, he dropped his hand to his side and quietly said, "I believe our lesson is over now. You have a class soon."

"Yeah, I hope theory goes ok today." Christine lightly tapped a little melody on the piano while forgetting her previous puzzled feeling and instead thinking about classes.

"I am sure it will." Why must life be so unfair? If only she knew the truth... He shook his head, the thought too dreadful to linger on.

That brought a smile to her face. Anything her angel said had to be true. "Well, I guess I'll see you- I mean.. not really see you.. I'll be back in the morning."

"Have a good day, Christine."

She left the room, Erik's eyes never leaving her form. Then, his eyes lingered on the place she had been moments before. He sighed and angrily hit the wall. Really, why must life be so difficult? It was a question he'd asked himself every day for as long as he could remember.

–

Christine headed to the cafeteria to meet Meg for lunch. The rain had stopped but looked like it would start up again any minute. Right when she made it to the entrance, her cell phone rang.

She got it out of her purse and saw that it was Raoul. Oh, what could he want, she thought with a sigh. Why can't he just leave me alone? It should be pretty obvious by now that I'm not interested. "Hey, Raoul," she dully said into the phone.

"Hey, Chris! How are you?" He was sitting in his own school cafeteria with some fraternity friends. They were all listening intently to his conversation.

"Could be better," she replied while looking at her watch.

"I know what you mean. The rain sucks."

That's not what I mean..

"Anyway, I was just calling to see if you wanted to go to a party with me on Friday. I'm giving you two days' notice, so I thought you might be free." He grinned at his friends.

"I don't know, Raoul.."

"Aw, come on. Please? Your school work can wait, can't it? And, if you want to bring any other friends, you're welcome to."

Well, I could bring Meg and hang out with her.. "Let me talk to some friends and I'll call you back, ok?"

"That's cool. I'll talk to you soon." They hung up, and Raoul turned to his friends. "I'm telling you guys, she's hot. I'm sure her friends are, too."

–

Christine headed to the table Meg and some other friends were at. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Christine."

"Anything good to eat up there?" she asked looking towards the food area.

A girl named Chelsea replied, "No, not really. Just pizza."

"Great." Christine moaned and headed to get a plate.

When she sat down with her food, Meg and her other friends were talking about something. Christine sat down and listened in.

"Yeah, Chuck invited me," Miranda explained. "He says it'll be fun."

"What will be fun?" Christine asked wanting to know more.

"There's going to be this party over at Harlow."

Meg added, "I heard your Raoul's throwing it, Chris."

"You've been invited to the same party? Wow, small world. Yeah, he just invited me to it a few minutes ago. So, are we all going?"

"I think it would be fun," Meg said excitedly.

"Well, let me call him back then." Christine reached for her cell phone.

They made the arrangements of arriving at the party at 8:00 pm. All of the girls were really excited, including Christine. She was surprised to actually be happy to see Raoul again. But, it was only friendship she felt, so it was ok to be happy, she inwardly decided.

–

The next day, Thursday, came quickly. Christine's voice lesson that morning had been so successful that she truly did feel ready for her coming recital. Christine and her angel were becoming more comfortable around each other, even laughing occasionally. She could tell her voice was rising to new heights. Dr. Gratsia could even notice. There was no denying it. Christine's voice was quickly becoming better than any other freshman's.

Everything seemed to be perfect. A conversation with Phantom she'd had the previous night went well, too. They were really getting to know each other.. Well, at least he was getting to know her better. The only problem with their conversations was that Christine was practically dying to meet him. But, it seemed impossible. Oh well, she always forced herself to think. Chatting online would have to be enough.

Finally, it came time to meet Derik at the park. Christine still couldn't thank him enough for protecting her the other night.

She walked towards the bench where he was waiting and smiled when he noticed her and stood like a gentleman. "Hey, Derik."

"Hello, Christine." They both sat down.

Erik couldn't help but stare at her. These were his favorite moments, after all. Speaking to her in person was something he never thought would be possible. It almost made him feel like a normal man… almost. Coming out of the trance her beauty and personality seemed to put him in, he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I want to thank you again for what you did the other night. I mean, really, thank you."

Erik could only think of the hug she gave him that night and closed his eyes peacefully. Then, he whispered, "You are welcome."

"How are you? How's your life?"

Life? Let's see.. my 'lives' are difficult and confusing, to say the least. "Life is going well. I play piano and eat, basically." Basically.. Sure..

"At least it is filled with music. The best kind of life, I do believe." A cute smile lit up her features.

Erik admired that smile for a second before saying something completely off topic. "You look well."

Christine laughed, a bit confused by the change in topics. "Thank you."

"I am only referring to how you looked when I first met you. It seemed you were paler then."

She laughed, understanding. "Yeah, that's what everybody said. I am feeling better. Everything in my life seems to be going well."

"That is good to hear. How are classes?"

"They're good. I really think I'm getting the hang of this music theory thing. Memorization of scales and the small compositions we make are becoming easier. Ear training is the only thing I'm having trouble with. I think my ears have problems.. or something."

"I am sure your ears are just fine. You will get the hang of it."

"I hope so."

There was some silence that followed, and Erik just continued to study her features. Being this close to her felt so good. "How is the rest of your life? We never talk much about what happens outside of school."

Refraining from telling him about her mom, for it was always hard to bring up that subject, Christine said, "Well, I guess the only other thing in my life is my dad. He's doing ok... I hope." She could tell Derik was curious as to what she meant. "He's been struggling lately.. But, he's getting help for it, so I guess everything's fine."

"I see. Well, if he says everything is fine, then I'm sure it is."

Christine couldn't remember telling him that her father said that, but she shrugged it off guessing Derik had assumed it. "Yeah."

"Is there anything else going on in your busy life?" She was just so fascinating.

"Well, the recital is tomorrow." She wondered if he remembered. She also wondered if he would come.

Erik had already planned ahead of time what he would say about her recital. He couldn't very well go... He would be seen in public if he went, which he didn't want. And, he would rather be her angel, which meant hiding behind walls and being only a voice to her. He couldn't be both Derik and Erik at the same time. "Yes, I remember you telling me about your recital. Christine, I am sorry, but I won't be able to attend... Something important came up." He only hoped she wouldn't ask him what that 'important something' was.

Christine couldn't deny that she was disappointed, but she had to be understanding. If he couldn't back out of whatever else he was doing, then that was that. "Oh, don't worry, I understand," she reassured with a smile.

"I do regret it, for I would love to hear your voice..."

"You will another time, I'm sure." She did consider the fact that she could just sing for him right then and there at the park, but she was too shy to do it. Luckily, Derik seemed to understand that.

"I want to wish you luck, though. I know you will be great."

"I really hope so.."

"Be confident, Christine. You will be superb." He smiled so that she could see it, and she smiled back. Erik found that he wanted to meet with her again, and soon. "Can we meet tomorrow night?" he asked making the first move for once.

Christine was about to say 'yes', but she then remembered the party. "I wish I could, but I'm going to a party. I'm really sorry."

Erik's good mood ended momentarily. A party? What kind of party? "Oh?"

"Yeah, and guess what? It's actually a party Raoul, that guy you met at Ben and Jerry's, is throwing."

"Oh." That made Erik both sad and angry.

Christine could sense the frown in his voice. "Yeah, but I'm only going with some friends of mine. I feel more comfortable that way. Raoul's just a friend, after all. I wouldn't want him to think anything different."

Well, that was promising. But, he could not trust this Raoul. "That is wise. You will be careful, won't you? I would not want to have to come to your rescue again." They stared at one another for a moment before Erik chuckled.

"Yes, I'll be very careful." She laughed, as well.

"What time is the party?"

"8:00."

"So, if Raoul is throwing it, I am sure it is at Harlow University?"

Christine couldn't remember ever telling him which college Raoul attended, but she shrugged it off, just as she'd done earlier. "Yeah, I think it's at a frat house."

That made Erik nervous. "You must be careful. I hear they are not always the safest places.."

"I'll be careful, I promise. You don't have to worry. But, it is really considerate of you."

"I am just looking out for my friend." My love..

Christine looked at her watch and found it to be 7:00 pm. She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I need to go do some homework. I want to get plenty of rest for my recital tomorrow."

"May I walk you to your dorm?" He would never let her walk alone at night again.

His thoughtfulness caused Christine to smile, and she suddenly felt like hugging the masked man again. Actually, what is underneath that mask?... Well, I don't have time to ponder over that. "Yeah, that'd be great."

So, Erik dropped her off at her dorm and they said their goodbye's, but not before planning another visit for that Sunday night.

Now, there were only two things on Erik's mind. One was Christine's recital. Their lesson the following morning would be important. But, the other thing on his mind was the party she was going to. He would have to find where it was located, plain and simple, for he wanted to be sure his love had a good time, not to mention the fact that he didn't trust Raoul for a second.