Happy 20th Chapter!

I'm gonna try to buckle down and upload more often now in the next two weeks though, because in two weeks my parents will be putting on a 'fiddle camp' that I am supposed to come and help out with, but in the location that it's at, there's no internet connection….soooo that means I can't update for a week :/ I will try to get as many chapters put down until then :)

Also thank yall for all of the reviews :)

Wellllll here ya go, I shall meet you all down at the bottom of the page :)

Erik POV

Christine was backstage getting fitted for her costume so I went to my box and watched the rest of the cast rehearse. I found that I couldn't concentrate on what was happening on the stage below me due to the fact that I was consumed in thoughts that I couldn't push out of my head.

I felt desperate for Christine and I hated myself for it. I felt trapped. That blasted Vicomte knew now that I was no angel, no ghost, but a man and so did Christine. This morning she seemed so distant from me. She didn't even say much to me or eat when I asked if she was hungry; and while I led her up to the top of the opera, there was an awkward energy that surrounded us and made me uncomfortable.

I knew Raoul would use that to his advantage. He was most likely angry with me for nearly taking his life last night and would seek revenge. I couldn't allow him to take it out on Christine in some way so I asked her to come straight back to the chapel after rehearsals. I couldn't risk him taking her from me. I had to do something more though since Raoul now knew where I lived, perhaps he followed us last night and that is how he managed to escape my traps and figure out I was a disfigured man. No doubt since I foolishly spared his life he would tell people what he saw. I had to keep Christine oblivious to any rumors he may start and I had to keep her in a safe place where Raoul couldn't get to her since he now knew the way to my home.

I decided to wait a few days until I did anything drastic. I had come up with a plan early this morning while I drank some whiskey and decided to act on it if Raoul did cause any trouble. I would have Nadir to help me if I needed, so until then, the only thing I needed to worry about was stitching up the small bond Christine and I shared had before my mask came off.

Christine. How I so badly wanted things to go back to normal between us. I couldn't help but think how lovely she looked this morning. I had felt her presence enter the dining room while I slept in the chair and it caused me to wake up. I stayed still and watched her, realizing she thought I was still asleep. I didn't want to say anything for a minute, simply because I wanted to admire her beauty and actions without her knowing I was aware of her being in the room. She picked up the rose I had lying on the dining table. I had been looking at it because it reminded me of her beauty and uniqueness. Roses were different than all other flowers, more elegant in a modest way and don't need but one red color to look bewitching.

It was a mesmerizing sight to watch her hold the rose. It complemented her nicely and I wanted to simply gaze at the scene in front of me forever. I watched as she then began to pick off its petals and it confused me. She was obviously deep in thought while she did that and I could see she had a reason. I noticed how her blue eyes followed the path way of the petals to the floor and a couple of them landed on my outstretched feet.

As I looked at her fingers plucking the delicate petals from its bud, I noticed the rose ring that I had given her was still on her finger. Had she seen it yet? Surely she has…but she hasn't taken it off. I suddenly felt excited. Did that mean she forgave me? All I wanted then was to talk to her and be in her presence, with the idea that she didn't care if I was a disfigured man, swimming around in my head.

"Yes Christine?" I said so she would know I was awake. Was she hungry? Is that why she came in here? She was probably expecting breakfast like normal and I foolishly slept in late. Normally I was up way before her. I blamed the Whiskey for that.

She whipped her head up in surprise and I could see that she was searching for words. "I-um…" She stammered. That was when I knew things were not back to normal. It was clear that she was uncomfortable around me now and it made me sick. It was evident that she no longer believed me to be an angel. Just the way she looked at me now showed it, and what angel would have a face like mine? I would just have to act normal and show her nothing was different about me now that I was just a man in her eyes. I had to show her that I was not someone to fear just because of my face.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. I slowly walked in the direction of the kitchen, I figured she would say yes. I couldn't remember when the last time was that she had eaten. Probably not since breakfast yesterday.

"No, not really." She spoke her words slowly and she looked skeptical of me. Did she think I would poison her? I wasn't sure exactly what was running through her mind but I feared she was becoming like everyone else -scared of me and my face.

"Well is there anything you need?" I questioned, hoping she would want something so things would go back to normal.

"No…I'm fine." She seemed guarded like she was expecting something bad to happen. I started to just walk off to clear my head since she didn't need anything, but as I was leaving I remembered I never once told her she sang good yesterday and I had let that totally slip by me in all the anger. I felt remorse for not even acknowledging her bravery, but instead giving her a reason to loath me.

"By the way Christine, You sang great for the managers yesterday. I'm very proud of you." That was all I was going to say but I found myself trapped in her eyes and walking towards her. My eyes then ventured across the rest of her body and for the first time since yesterday morning, I realized that Christine was still in her ballet costume. It was rather revealing and I was glad she wouldn't have to wear it on stage anymore.

But then my eyes came to rest on something I would regret for eternity, and it was now permanently burned into my mind. I felt like a rogue; the monster I was. No wonder she was being so standoffish.

"You were the true angel yesterday, and I'm sorry for everything last night. My words cannot express the guilt I feel for what I did to you." I told her while my hand hovered over the bruises on her arm. I wanted nothing more than to just take everything back, and for Christine to love me even with my face. Now, though, I knew that would never happen. I couldn't blame her. I gave her more than enough reasons to want to stay away from me, but I knew I had to show her I could love her and give her anything. I wouldn't even ask her to love me in return.

Raoul POV

I could hear my heart pounding heavily in my ears. My throat was burning and all I could think about was that this ugly excuse for a man had Christine. I wouldn't lose to this gargoyle, I had to get Christine from him; God only knows what he was going to do with her.

I felt my breaths become shallower and my throat was closing up. Darkness started to surround me and everything went numb. I began to relax and then before I could register what was going on, I felt my body hit a hard surface. My senses started to come back and I could smell lake water. I opened my eyes and saw the man that took Christine looming over me. He opened his mouth to yell something but I felt myself jolt violently awake. It was a dream. I felt a sense of relief wash over me. There was no angel of music, or any man that taught Christine how to sing.

I was breathing hard and Sweat had soaked my sheets. I ran my hand through my wet hair and sat up. Thank God I was home, and none of that ever happened.

I slowly stood up, but felt dizzy as soon as my feet hit the floor and my head began to throb. I steadied myself by putting my hand on the wall next to my bed and just stood there for a minute. When I felt sturdy enough, I languidly made my way towards the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face hoping it would make me more alert, but I still felt groggy. I grabbed a towel and dried my face off, and as I put down the towel I noticed my reflection in the mirror.

My hands immediately shot up to my neck. I felt my body go numb and my heart stopped. It was real. I bolted out of the bathroom and got dressed as fast as I could, careful to cover up the sore red mark around my neck.

"Philippe?" I called as I made my way into the living room. I needed to tell him about that monster at the opera house. I needed to do something like get the managers involved, or the police, and I knew no one would believe just me.

"Do you know where my brother is?" I frantically asked a maid that was walking by me with some folded towels.

"He's at the opera house." I stared at her in confusion. Why would he leave so early and go without me?

"Did he say why he left so early?"

"It's not early. It's two in the afternoon. In fact, he should be coming back any minute." I walked away from her immediately and grabbed my cloak. It was late, and I had to get to Christine before that blasted madman took her down underground again. I had to get her to come back to my house where it would be safe. I had to take her away from the opera house whether she wanted to or not. I would give her a room all her own and make sure she was happy, while I would try to get her to realize this angel of hers is only a man, one that is dangerous and could kill her.

When I got to the opera house I plowed my way to the stage. There was hardly anyone around except for a few stage hands. Damn! Rehearsals were obviously over and Christine was probably gone. I slumped down into one of the first row chairs in the house and rested my head in my hand. I needed to figure out what to do next.

Christine POV

During rehearsals, I found that I was having trouble concentrating on learning my new role. The whole morning so far had been a blur. All I could do was think about how my Angel lied to me…he was only a man and I didn't know how to feel about it yet.

The only part of the day so far that I could remember clearly was when I was getting fitted for my costumes. The lady that was taking my measurements had noticed the bruises on my arms and when she asked me about them I had no idea what to say so I just looked down at my feet and kept quiet. I couldn't think of a lie, not when I had them on both arms and they were the size of a large man's hands. She told me that if I needed anything I could always come to her so I thanked her for her kindness and tried to push it out of my head.

When rehearsals were over with, I started to walk swiftly to the chapel. I kept my pace quick, and took a different path to avoid bumping into Raoul. I didn't want to see him. I was too afraid of what Erik might do, I didn't want to anger him again by going against his word. Part of me however did wish that Raoul would come steel me away so I wouldn't have to go back underground with a man who was now a stranger to me. If he took me, then Erik wouldn't be able to get mad at me since it would be Raoul's fault. But I knew I never really would let Raoul take me. If Erik had bruised me in his anger, who knew what he would do to Raoul.

"Christine!" I heard Meg's voice call after me on my way to the chapel. I wasn't allowed to even talk to her, so I tried to act like I didn't hear her and sped up my pace, but Meg was relentless.

"Christine! Are you angry with me? Why are ignoring me?" She asked as she jogged to catch up to me. I never stopped walking and kept my head facing forward as I hastily made my way down the hallway.

"I'm not mad at you Meg, I'm just in a big hurry is all." I told her as she matched my quick pace and walked next to me.

"Where too?"

"I'm going to the chapel to talk to my father. I really miss him right now." I lied. I hated being dishonest with my dearest friend, but I knew it was foolish to say anything more about Erik.

"Oh. Well can I walk with you until you get there?" I knew I probably shouldn't let her since I wasn't supposed to see anyone but I didn't care. I loved Meg, and if I had to lie to her for Erik, I would at least let her walk with me.

"Sure." I replied and slowed my steps.

Meg was silent for a few seconds until she quickly found something to say.

"Well did you realize the Masquerade ball is tomorrow?" She questioned in an excited tone.

"Oh really? That soon? I guess time got away from me. Raoul only asked me yesterday you know."

"Well you're never around anymore. You disappear everyday around six."

"I guess that's why I hardly heard anyone talk about it then."

"Do you have what you are going to wear picked out?"

"Meg, I don't even know if I'm going. I have so much I need to do…" I wanted to go but I knew Erik would most likely never let me; not if he wants me back with him immediately after rehearsals every day.

"But what about Raoul? You said you'd go with him."

"I didn't say any such thing. You agreed that I would go with him for me." I said with a hint of a smile to let her know I wasn't angry.

"Well he is still expecting you to go with him, and so is everybody else. The whole opera house has noticed you two being around each other and people are beginning to talk you know."

"I've barley been around him. People like to gossip, they see two people talking and they assume the craziest of things."

"Mhhm. Well I saw the both of you cuddling on the roof yesterday." She grinned as she nudged my arm.

"We were not!" I defended. I was relieved when we finally came to the chapel door. My cheeks were red from embarrassment over this conversation and I was glad it would finally be over.

"Well I'll see you whenever you decide to show up next. You've been gone and on you own a lot lately and you should really come spend some time with me and the other ballerinas today." She said while she pulled me into a hug before I entered thru the Chapel door.

Erik was leaning on the wall by the alter with his arms crossed across his chest. He held such an omnipotent vibe I felt like leaving to go with Meg instead, but I stood my ground in front of the door and just stared at him.

"Your rehearsal lacked emotion today Christine, we will have to work on that in our lessons." He said in a professional tone.

"I had trouble focusing." He didn't say anything to my response, instead he quit leaning on the wall and reached out his hand for me to take.

"Come, let's go." He spoke, and I took his hand. He took me down a longer way that didn't include the normal boat ride through the lake, and I would have been more concerned but I found my brain was more interested in being engrossed with its thoughts than what way we were taking to Erik's house.

I thought a lot about Raoul. I hadn't given much thought to what my emotions were towards him lately, and I could tell he was interested in me since the first day I had seen him at the Opera house when he took me on a walk. I knew the smartest and most logical thing to do was to be associated with him and allow him to court me, but I didn't know if I could bring myself to do that if I didn't love him. But then, maybe I shouldn't even waste my time contemplating that option since Erik forbid me to have anything to do with Raoul.

When we at last entered the threshold of Erik's home, the aroma of some type of food hit my nose. I couldn't tell what it was, but it smelled very enticing.

"Christine, I have a surprise for you." Erik said while he let go of my hand and started to head towards the kitchen.

"Stay right there, I shall be right back." His words held enthusiasm as he took graceful strides into the kitchen.

When He returned he held a basket and whatever was in it was covered in a cloth. Laying on top of the cloth were three red roses with black satin ties. Where did he get all of these roses?

Without saying a word he went and held opened the front door for me and gestured for me to walk through.

"After you Mademoiselle." His voice sounded very proper, it was very elegant and I found myself enthralled in its smooth tones.

I slowly walked through the door, never taking my eyes off of Erik. I felt my eyebrows hold a crease caused by confusion and curiosity. Why were we leaving?

He followed me out the door then led me to the gondola at the edge of the lake. I didn't have the slightest idea what was going to happened but I didn't feel nervous like I thought I should have.

He helped me into small boat and I sat on the red plush seat. I watched him steadily as he rowed us out to the middle of the lake. He made every paddle look effortless and…bewitching. His facial expression showed a faint smile that caused the corners of his mask to rise every time he looked down and saw I was gazing at him. I should have looked away whenever he looked at me, but I couldn't help myself, I liked staring into his miss matched eyes, and for some strange reason they were very comforting and soft. I didn't need to feel suspicious of the fact this man was taking me out to the middle of a cold deep lake. His eyes spoke words of trust, I knew I could believe them.

Erik slowly brought the gondola to a stop and he just let it drift with the calm motion of the water. He sat down next to me and put the basket in between us.

"I thought we could eat lunch out here this afternoon." He said with a smile. I liked the way he looked when he smiled. Even though I couldn't see most of it due to the mask, it made his eyes soft and his energy light. It provoked an odd feeling in me to want to scoot closer to him and wrap myself up in his arms, but I resisted that urge. Instead I felt myself smile back at him.

With a steady hand, Erik poured some wine and handed me a glass. Then he put the roses beside me and removed the cloth covering the basket. To my delight he revealed croissants and cheese. I felt my tummy rumble at the sight of it and I realized just how long it'd been since I'd eaten.

"It looks great, Erik." I'm sure the tone of my words gave away how excited I was to fill my mouth with the taste of the food he brought.

He lightly chuckled in response and handed me some of the wonderful looking cookery. His laugh was so mesmerizing and it reminded me of when we danced together. I was almost tempted to ask him to dance myself and was somewhat disappointed that we couldn't because of the fact we were in this small boat.

But I liked the setting that surrounded us, it was calm and serine. The sound of water lapping gently against the boat was very relaxing, and it was dimly lit since we were underground. I'm sure though that it would have been pitch black if it weren't for the lantern Erik had at the end of the boat and the other lanterns that lined some places of the shore.

As I took a bite my eyes closed and I became lost in the simple flavor that engulfed my tongue. It was splendid.

"Christine." Erik spoke, and I savored the sound of my name coming from his lips. "I'm very proud of you, you were very brave when the managers asked you to sing yesterday."

I let out a small laugh, then began to reply. "I was very nervous. Who knew the managers would ask me, a new ballerina to sing when I don't think they even really knew I could let out a single note. If I didn't know any better, I would probably say Raoul had something to do with persuading the Managers to hear me." I jested. However, I saw that he cringed when I spoke Raoul's name, but he quickly recovered.

"Well you did very well and-" He stopped talking when he saw that I gave a slight shiver.

"I should have told you to put something warmer on, it can get very cold down here in the winter. Here take this." He said as he wrapped his cloak around my shoulders. I would have protested and told him I was fine but as soon as the fabric touched my skin I felt the remnants of his warmth and it was very soothing. I pulled the black cloak around me even tighter, cocooning myself in its smell that made my stomach flip flop. Its aroma was that of parchment and cinnamon and I couldn't make myself stop secretly smelling it in in between breaths. It was like a drug and I couldn't have enough of it.

I'm not sure how long we spent out there on the lake but it all went by so fast with laughter and food. We talked of books we've read and which composers we favored and why. But eventually the conversation took a turn towards a topic I think took Erik by surprise. I couldn't help myself, but I had to ask the question that caused this change of topic. I was itching to know and I felt like now would be the time to ask while the mood was light.

"Erik." I spoke after the conversation had come to a pause. "Did you mean to give me this ring?" I asked as I showed him my left hand that held the beautiful rose ring.

"Yes. It's yours." His voice was now serious and he wouldn't make eye contact with me.

"Are you sure? It's a really nice ring and-"

"I gave it to you Christine, because a monster like me doesn't deserve to possess something so beautiful. It belongs on the finger of someone as breathtaking as you." He interrupted me. I had to replay his words in my mind to truly register them. He called me breathtaking? I felt my lips beg to curve into a giant smile, but I repressed them from doing so since the mood Erik was now giving off seemed very serious. But then I realized, he called himself a monster. Did he say that because of his face?

"Erik." I put my hand on top of his which was resting on the seat beside him. "You're no monster. You're a kind man who I'm very grateful to have in my life." My words were all very true. I was glad I knew him, He inspired feelings in me I have never felt before, and though he has scared me in the past, I found it impossible to remain in fear of him. Also, He has helped my voice so much, and I doubt I would have ever sung one note for the managers if I hadn't have thought only of Erik while I sang.

He was silent for a long moment until he looked me in the eyes and grabbed my left hand, he kept his gaze locked on the ring that was placed on my finger.

"Please forgive me, for everything. The lie, my temper, everything. I am not worthy to be in your presence and I hope that you can keep this ring, and forgive my many faults every time you look at it." I watched his lips as he spoke, then looked down at the ring. The thought of wearing a piece of jewelry that came from him sounded too good to be true.

"When you look at it, please think of how I love you and would never harm you. Please think of the man inside of this corpse that has been awakened by you, Christine." His voice sounded somewhat desperate for me to understand, and I felt my blood begin to race at the thought of his words.

Love.

Surely my young imagination was just making things up for him to say. Surely I only heard what I wanted to hear. He loved me? Was I really worth those emotions? I never really ever pictured a man other than my papa saying that to me before. Not many men even glanced in my direction when I was the daughter of a broke violin player, or the outcast ballerina. Yes, Raoul has given me some attention but that was because he knew me since we were only children, and now suddenly I couldn't even picture him saying those words.

Love. I liked the way it sounded when it came from Erik's lips.

I looked up to see his eyes scanning me with emotions filled with sadness and admiration. I locked my gaze with him and instinctively, before I even knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him on his flawless cheek. I was so filled with emotions I couldn't identify, that I couldn't find words.

On the side of his face with no mask, I saw a small glistening tear that slipped from his eye and down his smooth cheek. It looked like a rare diamond and I wanted to catch it, and keep it from ever returning to my Erik's eyes. I had never seen him cry before and the sight provoked tears of my own.

Instead of saying anything, I just rested my head on his shoulder and cuddled up next to him. I watched as he grabbed one of the roses that he brought and stuck it in my hair. I closed my eyes and reveled in the comfort his fingers brought when he touched my brown curls.

"You are an Angel, Christine." He spoke softly.

That was the last thing that was spoken for several hours. We just floated across the lake cuddled up together until we lost track of time and slipped into our own world.

I hope yall enjoyed that :D please Let me know if ya didn't, or did by leaving me a review. I hope that you found everything realistic and in character for everyone :)

Thanks