Well, so I read my story back from the beginning yesterday and I noticed a mistake. I wrote that the masquerade is supposed to be held on the same night as Faust's first production….so I'm going to try to fix things in this chapter because I think I should go back and change things. I hope you find everything believable.

Enjoy:)

*Don't own Phantom of the Opera*

Raoul POV

I decided on what needed to be done. Christine could not keep disappearing with this unseen man and I knew what I had to do. I wouldn't dare go down in his lair again, not where he had every advantage. I wasn't going to risk my life like before. No, I would take action above ground, in front of many people. The Opera Ghost as he posed to be would never show himself in public, not with his hideous face.

I would make Christine come with me after the masquerade ball. I would tell her while we're there who exactly this angel was so she would feel more compelled never to return to him. In the middle of the crowd that the ball would bring, her angel would never be able to swoop down and take her from me, only to fill her head with more lies. I had the upper hand. My looks held the ace. All I had to do was stay in public with Christine, and the ugly beast would never show up. He most likely lived underground because of his appearance, and I wondered how Christine could even think he was an angel with his face.

But then I remembered, was Christine even going with me to the ball? After all, Meg had said yes for her. I needed to confirm this now since the event would be taking place tomorrow. I had to find Christine, hopefully she wasn't with that crazed man.

As I went down hallways in search of her, I saw Meg standing outside the ballerina's, room about to enter and thought maybe she would know where Christine was, if she was even above ground.

"Meg!" I called to her in a voice that showed excitement.

"Raoul?" She looked back at me before she got a chance to open the door and started to walk towards me. She looked confused like she questioned that fact that I was actually talking to her. But something else about her expression showed something more…did she perhaps find me attractive? I remembered how she blushed when Christine introduced me to her, but I figured she would be over such feelings by now. Especially since she encouraged the idea of me being with Christine. But I couldn't blame her if my gorgeous looks still taunted her.

"Meg, do you know where Christine is? I need to talk to her." Her facial expression dropped slightly at the mention of Christine's name.

"She went to the chapel a few hours ago. That's the last I've seen of her all day. She has been very good at disappearing lately." I felt my body go cold and twist into worry. So she was with that madman.

"Then when you see her next, could you please tell her to meet me by the stairs of the lobby when the Masquerade starts?"

"Yes, I will do that."

"Thank you." With that, I left to go make preparations for the ball. I still needed something to wear, and I needed to prepare my guest bedroom for Christine.

Madam Giry POV

"Mother, have you seen Christine?"

"I'm afraid not dear. " I told my Daughter as I was walking towards the manager's office.

"Well, I need to tell her something before the Masquerade ball tomorrow."

"You'll probably just have to wait and tell her during rehearsals tomorrow. What is it you need to tell her? Maybe if I see her I could give her the message."

"Well Raoul told me to tell Christine to meet him by the stairs in the lobby when the masquerade starts." I stopped walking when she said this.

"So they are going together? I have heard rumors but I'm not much of one to believe unless I see it."

"Well…maybe. You see she never really said yes, I might have said it for her." What did she mean? How could you say yes for someone else? It made entirely no sense to me.

I shot Meg a confused look and she began to explain. "Well when Raoul asked Christine, I was there. Christine just looked very shocked, and I couldn't let her ruin her golden opportunity. I told Raoul that she would love to go and pulled her away from the scene before she could protest." Meg gave me a guilty smile. I believe I would have scolded her for getting into someone else's business, but I wanted Christine to go with Raoul myself. It wasn't healthy for her to be alone all the time…or with him and I figured the ball would be good for her. Besides, Christine could use the support of a man as rich as the Vicomte. I found I much rather liked the idea of them together and decided to make sure myself, that she would go with Raoul. Perhaps she'd fall for him.

"Have you considered the possibility that she didn't want to go?" As much as I wanted Christine to go, I knew I should probably discipline Meg a little so she would learn to keep out of other people's business. "I know you're not much of one to remember dates, but the opening of Faust is also the day of the ball. Perhaps she has been alone so frequently to rehears her voice and hasn't had the time to get something to wear." I saw my words hit Meg like cold water. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open.

"Oh! All this talk about a ball and that slipped my mind completely! Time really went by fast mother! I must go practice!" She completely missed the point. But I had no time to tell her since she then ran off in a frantic rush.

I continued my path to the manager's office and when I got there I noticed their drapes were pulled to keep anyone from seeing in. When I knocked on the door, Andre opened it in a rush and pulled me inside.

"Madam Giry! We are in a state of panic! Have you seen Miss Daae?" Firmin asked from the desk he was sitting at while he rubbed his forehead with both hands.

"No, monsieur she has disappeared." I knew she was most likely with Erik, and I cursed him for it. It seemed as though everyone wanted Christine today!

"Well the show is tomorrow and she has only had two rehearsals! My god, please help us! Make sure she's practicing, or…just do something! We're considering offering Carlotta money to come back and sing for us instead!"

"I thought she did very well this morning during rehearsals. Almost as if she's known how to sing the pieces for a while now." No doubt Erik has worked with her on them before he even sent the letter to the managers asking her to sing. That was the one thing I was grateful to him for, however we wouldn't be in this frantic mess if it wasn't for him. "It isn't my fault you two employed such a young girl to carry a job like this, and with hardly any time before the performance." I shook my head at them.

"We are holding this to your responsibility Madam. We asked you to do something about the note the opera ghost sent and you didn't."

"I talked to him. But he refused to change his mind and I wasn't going press him further." I protested. I would not let them put this on me. "This Opera house is your responsibility, I'm sorry if you can't handle the ghost that comes with it." I didn't like arguing with my employers but I felt like I needed to defend myself.

"Then just what do you propose we do?!" Andre practically shouted.

"I suppose maybe I could do as you wished and talk to Christine, but I trust her abilities, monsieur." I knew Erik would have her ready to sing, he was a perfectionist and I'm sure he wouldn't be able to even consider the thought of Christine singing one wrong note on stage.

The managers both looked at each other confirming what their decision would be.

"I can't let her give us a bad reputation tomorrow simply because she got nervous or didn't know her lines." Firmin said after exhaling a deep breath. "Please just go talk to her and see if she'll be able to do it, then let us know by the end of today whether we need to beg Carlotta to come back or not."

"I can do that monsieur."

"Good. Now, go on, we have lots to do in preparation for the show tomorrow and the Masquerade ball." Andre said while shooing me out the door with his hand.

After I left, and started down a hallway, I realized I didn't know how I was possibly going to talk to Christine by the end of today if she never showed up. I had an eerie feeling about going down to Erik's lair in order to find her, especially after the last visit when he seemed rather angry.

I decided to just go to my room and think things out for a moment. When I got there, I shut my door and plopped down on my bed. As I closed my eyes I heard my door knob click and when I looked up, I saw that it was locked. However I wasn't scared. I knew it was one of Erik's tricks.

"Madam Giry." I heard Erik call and it sounded like his voice was coming from the walls around me.

"Yes Erik?" I looked up trying to pin point the exact direction in where his voice was coming from.

"You are to inform the managers that Christine is more than ready to perform tomorrow."

"But the managers told me to talk to her, not the opera ghost." I said bluntly. I was angry at him just for causing this stressful situation.

"I have been preparing her for this. I can assure you, she will outshine any Prima Donna in all of France." Had no doubt in my mind that his words were true, but I couldn't help thinking of how Christine might have felt about this. She was very nervous when singing for the managers, and as a mother, I worried for how she would do in an actual performance.

"Erik, why are you doing this? Why couldn't you just leave her alone? I can only imagine how stressed out she is right now; the lead role is a huge burden for someone so young," I wasn't happy with how I dealt with things the last time I saw Erik, and built up the backbone to try and bring him to his senses. "And I don't think you realize that you're keeping her away from people that care for her like Meg in the process." I stated.

"I'm doing her a favor. Her voice is soaring higher than ever before." He justified in a harsh tone.

"Has she even seen your face?" I asked, and immediately I wished that I had never spoke. I covered my mouth and waited for his wrath but none never came.

"Erik, what if she becomes ungrateful for your favors once she sees your face?"

It was silent. No answer came from the walls around me. I must have sat there for an hour waiting for him to speak, but no words ever came. He was gone.

Erik POV

The lunch me and Christine had shared out on the gondola had left me fluttery and love sick. Everything went perfect. So many things had happened on the small boat and I remembered every detail, simply because it was shared with Christine.

She was such an angel. The words she had spoken in the gondola were like a light in the far distance, and for the first time it almost seemed reachable. "You're no monster. You're a kind man who I'm very grateful to have in my life." She spoke those words so smoothly, never once did her voice waver in her proclamation. She sounded entirely truthful, but I knew somewhere deep inside of me, I questioned her statement's validity.

How could she say that to the same man who left bruises on her arm and forced her to look upon something so hideous and distorted…my face. How could she be grateful to have a beast in her life?

I shook my head as I walked down my catacombs to check on my opera house. No, I wouldn't dwell on such thoughts, instead I would savor the beautiful words Christine had blessed me with. I would hold onto them forever…even after she would come to her senses and take them back once she realized what she was actually getting into.

Then, my mind wondered to the memory of a kiss. One that came from Christine. It was that action that had caused tears to stream down my cheeks, and words to choke up in the back of my throat. Not even my mother had given me such a precious gift, and I felt my love grow all the more for the angel that was at my home right now. Not only had she blessed me with her words but she had bestowed me with my first kiss. It was strange to think something so simple, that I have seen strangers do casually before, could hold such emotion and…love. When Christine's soft lips touched my cheek, a shiver went down my spine. I would have never imagined how good it could feel, and I wanted Christine to never pull away.

But she did. However, as soon as she rested her head on my shoulder; and I put the rose in her hair and felt her soft luscious curls between my fingers, I found that I liked that type affection just as well. That was the first time in my life I had ever thanked God. I was slowly starting to believe that such a creator did exist, for how else would it to even be possible for a corpse such as myself to ever cuddle up with a beauty like Christine.

I began to think of what she was doing right now…I had reminded her that the production was tomorrow before I left to go make my rounds through the opera house, and she had started practicing before I even walked out of the front door. I almost wished that she would have waited until after I left because her voice was like a prison shackle I would gladly wear. It was difficult to bring myself to leave knowing I could be falling under the spell of her voice instead, but I knew I had to check on things above ground, and I feared she would never truly get anywhere in her practice knowing that I would be listening. She was always a little afraid to mess up in front of me…almost like she was trying to please me.

I stopped to check on the managers first, as always, and make sure things were running smoothly. I could see them through a mirror hanging on the wall.

I saw them pull Madam Giry through the door after she knocked and they began to fuss at her. I went numb when I heard what they said. They didn't have faith In Christine. I however believed Christine would shine on stage. I had given her all the material during our lessons to learn when she was still in the ballet. We had worked at perfecting each piece and filling them with emotion.

Even though the girl has only had two rehearsals with her new part, I knew she could do it. Even this morning during rehearsals when she couldn't focus, she did outstanding. I think I was the only one that noticed she wasn't at her best, only because I had heard her sing the lines in the past with much more power.

"Please just talk to her and see if she'll be able to do it, then let us know by the end of today whether we need to beg Carlotta to come back or not." I heard Firmin practically beg of Madam Giry. Under no circumstances was I going to let Carlotta come back. I'd have to be dead first! But I knew Christine was down in my lair and I couldn't just bring her back up to simply talk to Madam Giry, I had to just go tell the woman what to do myself.

I followed her through my different tunnels and passageways to her bedroom, and locked the door so she wouldn't leave.

"Madam Giry." I called to her in a firm voice.

"Yes Erik?" She seemed tired and stressed.

"You are to inform the managers that Christine is more than ready to perform tomorrow." I commanded, leaving no room for argument. But to my surprise, she did still talk back.

"But the managers told me to talk to her, not the opera ghost." That foolish statement of hers pulled at my nerves and caused my fists to clench.

"I have been preparing her for this. I can assure you, she will outshine any Prima Donna in all of France." I said in a calm voice, trying to become enraged at the women.

"Erik, why are you doing this? Why couldn't you just leave her alone? I can only imagine how stressed out she is right now, the lead role is a huge burden for someone so young, and I don't think you realize that you're keeping her away from people that care for her like Meg in the process." I felt rage rise to my head as she said this. All her words were bitterly true and I loathed every single syllable they held. I cared for her, did that not count?

"I'm doing her a favor. Her voice is soaring higher than ever before." I argued back, this time my voice was filled with a hint of anger.

"Has she even seen your face?" She asked calmly. It was those words though, that stopped me cold. All the hatred drained out of me and I only felt forlorn sadness. She has seen my face and the memory of how still haunted me.

With that, I walked away before I could hear any more from the woman. I didn't want to face such matters and tried to squeeze it out of my head. I knew Madam Giry would do as I said, she was just being stubborn and didn't know when she pushed too far.

I decided it would be best to go and give Christine a lesson before her big day tomorrow so we could perfect last minute issues. It would be a good distraction after this situation.

Christine POV

I couldn't sleep. For the first time, the thought of singing in the lead role tomorrow haunted me. What if I messed up? I could already feel butterflies swarm around in my stomach.

I closed my eyes tight and tried to think of something else. My mind filled with the images of a gondola, the sound of water swishing softly, and...Erik. That lunch we shared was the most wonderful thing I had ever experienced! I smiled. I had never returned his cloak to him. Instead when we went back inside after the lunch, I rushed to my room immediately and hung it up in my dresser, hoping that he would forget about it. I loved the way it smelt and I wanted to keep it to snuggle with whenever I wanted.

In fact, I decided I wanted it now. I quickly scurried over to my dresser and grabbed the soft black material. I held it up to my nose for a second and breathed in the intoxicating scent of parchment and cinnamon, then took it to my bed with me. I wrapped my arms around the material like a teddy bear and leaned my face against it.

Then a thought came to me…was this at all close to what it would be like if Erik was sleeping next to me? My cheeks began to burn up at the thought. I knew it was probably wrong of me to do but I couldn't help myself, I pretended it was him, and I closed my eyes and hugged the cloak tighter to my body.

I quickly fell asleep, dreaming of the boat ride I had spent with my angel…yes, he was still an angel to me even though in reality I knew he was only a man.

Well I'm sorry if this chapter was kind of short, but to me it just seemed like it should end there, all nice and wrapped up :) Anyways, the next chapters coming up will hold big events like the production of Faust and the Masquerade ball, so I'm hoping that you're excited to read them? And please let me know what you think of this chapter by reviewing :D

PS: While doing the laundry yesterday, I came up with an idea for a new story that I think yall will like :) I wrote the first chapter already but I'm not going to put anything up yet until I'm at least a good 15 chapters ahead and maybe even done with this story. So be sure to hit the 'follow author' button if you want so you can see when I put it out. Thank you!