Second chapter is up! How are you all enjoying it so far? Let me know by dropping a review! Thanks! Happy reading!

~~Chapter Two: "Resurfacing"~~

It had been two weeks since that fateful night, and Raoul still had not returned to the Opera House. He didn't know how to deal with everything that had happened to him. He didn't like change as it made him feel disorientated and uncomfortable, and it wasn't like he could talk to anyone about it either. He couldn't tell Philippe because he just wouldn't understand, and he didn't want to trouble his brother with his problems anyway. Philippe had enough of his own.

He only had his own mind, and for the last fortnight, he had to sort through the pain and confusion on his own. The wounds were still very fresh, but he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to give up Christine for good and move on. He no longer wanted to cling to the past, to Little Lotte. He still cared deeply for Christine and he always would, even though she had wounded him deeply, but it would take a while for him to forgive her and he thought that everything that had happened had happened for the best. He wanted to be happy, and despite everything, he wanted her to be happy as well.

It had taken a lot of thinking, and at times, his thoughts had tried to convince him to leave the Opera Populaire, but he just couldn't. Raoul had always been strong and determined. He loved music, and despite what many may think, he loved the Opera too. No, he would not give up on it, which was why today; he was going to return to his duties at the Opera Populaire.

When he arrived at the opera, Andre and Firmin were quick to greet him. "Ah Viscount, it's so good to see you return. We need you to review the rehearsal for the upcoming opera of Romeo and Juliet. We have some new cast, and all are waiting to see their patron" Andre explained in excitement, while Firmin nodded vigorously in agreement beside him.

Raoul raised an eyebrow in amusement, then gave a short laugh. "Alright gentleman. I have been away for a while and I apologise. I have not been in good health for the past two weeks…" Andre and Firmin exchanged a quick look, and Raoul knew they knew the reason why. "However I feel better now and I look forward to the upcoming performance. This show should be very successful indeed. Let us go and inspect it shall we. After you gentleman." He inclined his head politely, and followed shortly behind them.

The rehearsal had gone rather well and Raoul was pleased with the quality of the performance. The new chorus girls giggled and blushed when they saw him enter and he smiled at them in welcome. They were all rather talented girls, and they sang together harmoniously. There were a couple of new tenors as well, three of them were decently talented, but the last one of them, a young man from Spain, had a superb voice. Carlotta had chosen to take a vacation with her husband in Italy so she was not present. The ballet was good, a few minor flaws, but none that couldn't be remedied with practice and with an outstanding teacher like Madame Giry. Meg too, was still as stunning as ever.

Madame Giry and Meg had given him sad smiles when he had entered, and he knew they were trying o offer their condolences. He simply smiled at them in return, giving them a cheeky grin as if to tell them that he was alright, and they both responded with slightly brighter, happier smiles.

The only thing that was difficult was seeing Christine again. She was of coarse cast as the main role of Juliet, and many faces turned to see how he would react after their engagement had been dissolved. Raoul kept calm and professional when it came to Christine, the part of him that wanted to feel was locked tightly away in a crevice in his heart.

Christine acknowledged him with a wary nod. Her eyes were shining anxiously and they were trying to figure out his state after she had seen him a two weeks ago. He acknowledged her by giving her a quick nod, then looking away, letting his mind be occupied by his job. When it was his time to comment on her performance, he gave quick, clipped comments. They were straight to the point and as professional as he could muster.

Many people seemed to relax as they hadn't known what to expect between their patron and their lead singer. Raoul knew that they probably assumed that everything was alright now, but it was far from that, he still felt hurt and betrayed when he looked at her, and he felt awkward. However, he had prepared himself for this when he had came. That didn't mean it was easy though.

After the rehearsal, Madame Giry and Meg came up to him. They constantly fussed over his health and mental wellbeing and he had to reassure them about a dozen times that he was finally alright. Though, he doubted that Madame Giry fully believed him. He was grateful for their concern, it felt good to have someone worry about him after being alone for such a long time, and he embraced his two friends graciously and thanked them for their concern, before leaving to take a walk around the Opera House by himself. It had been a while and he needed to carry out his weekly inspection to see if anything needed to be done, and he also wanted some time to take in air.

He walked along the corridor that led to the steps to the roof top and thought about the Opera Ghost, now known to him as Erik. He hadn't seen him since two weeks ago, band as much as his thoughts had been preoccupied with Christine, Erik had taken up a good portion of them also. He had tried to make sense of what had happened that night on the rooftop, but found that he could not entirely. He wondered if Erik was courting Christine now, and if the two now had everything they wanted.

A pang of pain stabbed at his heart, but Raoul forced it down. He felt resentment rise. Why should they be happy and he miserable? But then it died down when he thought how Erik had comforted him. He had made himself accept the possibility of Erik and Christine's finally being in a relationship at some point during the two weeks after his discovery of Erik's humanity. He no longer harbored antipathy towards Erik and he would not stand in the way of his or Christine's happiness any longer. Erik could have been a monster to him that night! He could have taunted him, broken him. Yet he had comforted him, shared in his pain. His enemy had showed him compassion and he had not once showed nor had he thought of showing Erik any when he had been with Christine. This he felt guilty for. How had he failed to recognize him as a human being, a person with a dreadfully painful and lonely past? He was a person so much more like himself than he had realized. All of these revelations is what had finally allowed to accept him. He sighed, maybe in a different world, a different time, Erik and he could have been friends.

He stopped when he reached the rooftop and he gazed out into the city, many memories flashing through his mind of this site. The usual busy city was pulsing with life, and Raoul felt slow and out of sync in comparison. He felt tired and more distanced from it, and he didn't know what to make of it. However, another sigh escaped his lips and he sat down, dangling his legs off the edge.

He closed his eyes and started to meditate, thinking of all the peaceful and happy things his weary mind could produce. He felt contentment swirl within him and he didn't notice someone sit down next to him, until he felt a light brush against his shoulder. Raoul jumped back in shock, before realizing who it was, and exhaling in relief.

"Erik…" he stated in revelation, the man's name sounding strange on his tongue, and even stranger to his mind. Erik gazed at him, and analysed him, his eyes running over his face and his frame. "You haven't been sleeping well nor have you been eating." He observed frankly.

Raoul eyes widened and he was momentarily unable to respond. "How do you know that?" he finally asked, stunned that he was able to notice, when no one else had. He had just started eating properly this morning when he had finally felt mentally better.

"You have lost weight, and if one looks closely enough, there a faint violet lines under your eyes which is a symptom of insomnia. Also you look tired in general" Erik stated truthfully.

Raoul looked away; a bit unnerved and embarrassed that Erik was watching him 'so closely' as he put it. The thought caused the tiniest pink tinge to stain his cheeks. He then pushed the thought away, and decided to respond to Erik's observation.

"It's true, I haven't been able to get much sleep, nor did I feel like eating much the past couple of weeks, but I am over it now…" he began seriously." My servants cooked me a nice sausage, bacon, egg and pancake breakfast this morning, and you should have seen how much I ate" he replied cheekily, and winked, trying to lighten the mood.

Erik nodded and gazed out towards the city, before turning back to Raoul and gazing at him again. Raoul shifted under his gaze. Why must he insist on looking at me like that? Do I look like some sort of interesting insect? He asked himself unnerved. Probably his mind retorted humorously, and disappearing before Raoul could reprimand it.

Erik's voice finally broke him out of his reverie. "I didn't know if you would come back after what happened." Erik confessed quietly. Raoul turned quickly, eyes wide met by Erik's intense, honest gaze.

Erik then smiled and looked back at the city. "But I'm glad you did!" he finished for Raoul. "Otherwise we would have had to find another patron, whom probably would have ended up being more idiotic than you." Erik chuckled humorously.

Raoul chuckled also. "Thanks." He muttered in mock hurt and giving Erik his best offended look.

Erik smiled at that before Raoul turned the conversation into something more serious. Can I ask you something?" he asked the slightest hesitation present in his voice.

Of Course" he replied kindly, turning and giving his full attention to Raoul.

Raoul found it difficult to start, as he didn't know quite how to word his question. "Before two weeks ago, you and I were fighting for the woman we were both in love with. This competition made us enemies. Since there is no more competition, what does that make us now?" He asked, hoping it had come out the way he thought it had, and feeling a little tense for reasons unknown.

Erik took a couple of moments to think, before finally looking back at Raoul with a serious gaze. "There is no more animosity between us anymore Raoul. I no longer harbor resentment towards you. I understand everything you are going through, and I know it is hard. I do not wish to make it harder for you. I suppose what I am saying is that we can be friends, if you want to be that is". Erik explained, softly.

Raoul stared back with open eyes, surprise evident on his face. He had just been thinking that only moments ago and here Erik was willing to offer him friendship. Before he made a comment on that however, he had to know something first. "You and Christine…? Do you plan to pursue a relationship with her?" he asked carefully.

Erik thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, I do." He replied honestly, seeing no point in lying to Raoul now.

Something in Raoul's heart stung, but he forced it down. "I see." Raoul stated slowly. He looked at his feet, before looking back up and giving Erik a bright smile. "That's the way it should be. After all this time. I'm happy for both of you." He answered as convincingly as he could.

"Raoul…" Erik started. "It's okay." Raoul reassured him. "I want Christine to be happy. And she is most happy when she is with you." He said, trying to use whatever truth in this statement as to sound convincing. "I am grateful for what you did for me last week. I never expected it, but I am still grateful that you were there. I've had a lot of time to think over the past week, and I have already accepted this. I don't want you or Christine to worry about me. Tell her that for me when you next see her." Raoul asked insistently.

"I will." Erik replied, suddenly looking away regretfully. Somehow he felt bad, like he was doing something wrong, but he couldn't tell what. He knew that this hurt Raoul, and he no longer wanted to hurt this young and vulnerable boy in front of him. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what else he could do or say to make it hurt any less or make it easier.

"And yes, I would like it very much if we could start a friendship" Raoul added honestly, genuine happiness surging through him as he looked at Erik cheerfully.

Erik was surprised by the genuine happiness he saw in the young boy's eyes. He hadn't seen that sort of interest in his friendship since the old days of Mazenderan. This brought back a lot of memories, some which were still tender after all these years. He would never forget his first true friend. So lost in his thoughts, Erik didn't notice that Raoul had stood up.

Raoul smiled meekly and rubbed the back of his head with his hands shyly. "I guess I will see you later then" he said kindly. "I have some matters I need to attend to. Especially, since I had a two week holiday. Have fun doing whatever Opera Ghost's do!" He replied cheekily with a grin, before winking and walking towards the exit. He paused, just before he exited the door, turned and gave Erik another wide grin. "Oh, and I shall tell the managers that Monsieur O.G. shall receive his salary of 20,000 franks this month" he added thoughtfully, before giving one last smile, and zooming out the door.

Erik looked after him in wonder as he continued to gaze at the spot where Raoul had vanished.