Night with the Phantom
Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue. Going to college and can't afford it.
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Chapter 2
Beth was so excited as she watched the actors move around, playing their parts in the script. She had always loved Phantom of the Opera, and to see it again was exciting for her. She hadn't seen it live in many years and knew that if they had the same songs as the movie that came out a few years ago, she would be helpless to stop herself from singing along.
As the first song started, she couldn't help but be brought into the story of the young girl who was an extremely talented opera singer, helped along by a mysterious teacher. She couldn't help herself and she started to sing softly the words as the song continued.
"We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea - but if you can still remember stop and think of me. Think of all the things we've shared and seen - don't think about the things which might have been…"
Mick had to admit that it was a surprise when Beth started to sing along with the lyrics. He didn't know that she had seen the play before. He had to admit that he then became a bit more relaxed, knowing that she probably wouldn't put anything together. So, when a song he knew played, he allowed himself to sing along with her.
"Sing once again with me ," he smiled when he saw her head snap over to him. "Our strange duet. My power over you grows stronger yet. And though you turn from me to glance behind. The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside your mind."
Beth smiled and took up the next part of the song. "Those who have seen your face, draw back in fear. I am the mask you wear."
"It's me they hear..."
She sang, "Your spirit and my voice in one combined. The Phantom of the Opera is there. Inside my mind." As she sang, Mick supplied the opposites of her verse.
They both smiled at each other, Beth in awe that Mick knew the lyrics and that he could sing. His voice had a beautiful tone to it and she wondered if he would sing the next song, one of her favorites, The Music of the Night. They both turned to watch as the Phantom took Christine into his lair and brought her out of the boat. When the song started, she couldn't help but glance slightly at Mick, wondering if he would sing.
He saw her glance and decided at last minute to sing along. He pulled her close and sang softly into her ear. He felt Beth shiver impulsively as he sang, which made Mick smile.
"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation, darkness stirs and wakes imagination, silently the senses abandon their defenses…"
Beth couldn't deny that she was reacting to Mick being so close and singing to her as if he was the Phantom and she was Christine. She smiled and bit her lip, closing her eyes she took in everything at once. She tried to engrave his voice into her mind so that she would remember this moment forever.
She had to admit that she was enjoying this night more than she ever thought she would. With Mick knowing the play as well as she did, they took on the persona of Christine and the Phantom, singing and saying the words together and both enjoying themselves.
Finally there was an intermission before the Masquerade Ball. Smiling to Mick, Beth suggested they get up and stretch. Mick nodded in agreement and they got up and walked into the lobby.
"I didn't know that you knew the play?!" she accused him.
Mick smirked. "Well, I didn't know that you knew it either," he said in his own defense.
Beth laughed. "Well, I'm having lots of fun tonight! More than what I thought I'd have," she told him.
She saw the laughter dance in Mick's eyes and she knew that he was enjoying the night too. He looked over at the counter where people where getting food to hold them over during the second part of the play. "You want something to eat?" he asked, motioning to the counter.
Beth shook her head. "I'm good, I ate before you came." She thought a moment before deciding that she was brave enough to ask, "What about you?"
Mick quickly looked at Beth, to see her smiling playfully at him. "I had something too." Beth's smile slid off her face quickly, thinking she had gone too far, and Mick instantly felt guilty, so he smiled and said, "But thanks for asking."
She smiled back at him and said, "Ok, I'm going to go to the restroom quickly before heading back in. If you want you can go back and I'll meet you."
Mick nodded and said, "Alright." Beth nodded and quickly found the nearest bathroom.
Excited for the second half of the play, she made her way back the theater and to her seat as quickly as she could. When she got back she tapped Mick's shoulder and he moved to let her in. Soon after, the play began again, and they watched as Carlotta took the lead in Il Muto. Mick looked over to see Beth enraptured with the play. He was glad that he came instead of backing out like he wanted to. If he had, he never would have been able to banter back and forth with the play with Beth, and he now knew he couldn't have passed it up.
Once Il Muto went horribly wrong, and Christine and Raul went for an escape, Beth looked lovingly at the couple on the stage, so in love. Another of her favorite songs started, All I Ask of You. She loved how Raul wanted to protect Christine, even in the shadow of the Phantom.
"Say you love me every waking moment, turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you need me with you now and always. Promise me that all you say is true - that's all I ask of you," she sang softly.
"Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. You're safe: No one will find you - your fears are far behind you," Mick answered.
Beth smiled as she turned to Mick and continued the song. "All I want is freedom, a world with no more night...and you, always beside me, to hold me and to hide me."
"Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime...let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me with you here, beside you, anywhere you go, let me go too - Christine, that's all I ask of you."
Beth was about to sing when she got caught in the moment and smiled, wishing that her next words were true. "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime, say the word and I will follow you."
They both sang, "Share each day with me, each night, each morning..."
Trying to convey what she was feeling to Mick with only her eyes she sang, "Say you love me."
But Mick saw the look she gave him and he broke the eye contact, looking down. Her heart broke as he did so.
Turing back to the stage she watched as the Phantom came out of hiding and she could see his heart breaking as Christine left with Raul. Something clicked in her mind, but she wasn't sure what it was. Watching the Masquerade Ball, she tried to figure out what it was that she was trying to put together. Deciding to try and figure it out later she hummed along with the music for the masquerade. She smiled as the Phantom surprised the Ball guests and as he spoke about Christine.
Then, when Christine and the Phantom looked at each other, the way that they acted, a memory was pulled from the recesses of Beth's mind of when she found out that Mick had been her "guardian angel" all those years; making sure she was safe from harm. She had the same look that Christine did, realizing that this man, this phantom, was her own angel; an angel of music.
Her eyes wide, she realized what clicked in her mind earlier. This story was close to the one about herself and Mick. She re-watched the entire play from start to finish in her head, noting the similarities, as well as the differences in the story. Her mind was brought back when the play continued after the Ball. Looking for the distinct similarities as she watched.
Finally, nearing the end, the play of Don Juan started. Admiring the voice of Christine, she smiled as the Phantom became Don Juan.
"You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish, which till now has been silent, silent…" As he sang, another memory came to her. She watched as she remembered herself taking the Black Crystal, and what happened after she walked to Mick's. She blushed as she remembered how forcefully she came on to him. She had told him her wish, her secret that until that night, she hadn't told him. She wanted Mick, even though she might not have wanted Mick to turn her, she still wanted him, even before she felt the powers of the drug overcome her reservations.
She watched as the Phantom circled Christine, telling her exactly what she wanted to hear. As he told her, she realized that she and Mick had reached a point of no return of their own. The fight with Josh coming back to her, she looked over at Mick, who was tense and staring determined at the stage. She knew that she couldn't turn away from Mick. If Josh wanted her to chose between the two men, she knew she couldn't give up Mick.
Continuing to look at Mick, wanting him to look at her, willing him to turn and see her but after a while, she knew that he wasn't going to. She had to make him see that she wasn't going anywhere and that she did, indeed care for him, if not love him on some level. At that realization, she knew that she would be breaking up with Josh soon. It wasn't fair to him for her to continue in their relationship if she didn't love him wholeheartedly. She turned her full attention to Mick, and deciding, leaned in close to him and sang quietly in his ear.
"You have brought me, to that moment when words run dry. To that moment when speech disappears into silence, silence. I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why. In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent. Now I am here with you. No second thoughts. I've decided," she took her hand and turned his face toward hers and sang, "Decided."
She smiled as she saw realization flood his eyes. "Past the point of no return, no going back now, our passion-play has now at last begun. Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question, how long should we two wait before we're one? When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom. When will the flames at last consume us?"
She waited for him to continue, but he didn't. He just stared at her and soon the realization became sorrow. She was about to question him when the scene turned to the Phantom taking Christine back down to his lair, this time forcefully. She looked over at Mick and sensed a trepidation around him. She saw him tense up and watch the scene in front of him unfold.
"Why you asked, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place? Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face. Hounded out by everyone, met with hatred everywhere, no kind words from anyone, no compassion anywhere…" Beth watched as the lyrics were turned into something new for her. Mick was bound by his curse, one that he couldn't share because he would be "hounded out by everyone, met with hatred everywhere, no kind words from anyone, no compassion anywhere." But she knew that she would always be there for Mick, whether he wanted her or not, she would always be there in his life, like he was in hers.
"Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood? Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?" Christine sang.
The Phantom replied, "That fate, which condemns me to wallow in blood, has also denied me the joys of the flesh."
As she watched she felt Mick tense again next to her. "Pity comes too late, turn around and face your fate, an eternity of this before your eyes."
"This haunted face holds no horror for me now. It's in your soul that the true distortion lies." Beth realized that this was how he felt about himself. He thought himself a monster, someone who "wallowed in blood". She knew she would have to talk to him after this, now understanding why he was hesitant about coming, thinking that she would put the pieces of the story together and chose the "obvious choice" of Josh at the end, just like Christine had to.
They watched as Christine chose the Phantom to save her love, but was then given the opportunity to go back to Raul. When she did, she felt Mick try to rise, but she placed her arm on his and he sat back down without looking at her. They both watched as she rescued her love left, crushing the Phantom. After Christine and Raul left, the Phantom left his lair and soon after, the mob that had been trying to track him down entered. They looked around, not finding the Phantom but found his white mask and gloves in his chair, ending the play.
As the cast came out to bow, everyone started to stand. Beth started to, but quickly fell back into her seat, her knees weak. But to his credit, Mick quickly caught her, helping her stand again, looking at her for the first time in many minutes, he asked her, "Are you alright?"
She smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."
They both clapped as each actor came forward for their bow. After the bows, people started to leave the theater. Mick offered his hand and she took it gratefully, meandering past all the slow walking people, they made their way to Mick's car.
The entire way to the car, Beth was desperately trying to think of how to broach the topic with Mick. She knew that if she left him, he would think that she would act like Christine and go back to her "perfect and handsome lover". But she had a surprise for Mick, and as they got into the car and left the parking lot, she said, "Take me to your place."
Mick gave her a confused look. "Why?"
Beth looked at him seriously and said, "We need to talk."
Mick sighed, knowing what was coming. He tried to brace himself as he drove for the rejection that he knew was coming.
"No, Beth, it's late, and you have work tomorrow," he tried.
He watched as Beth shook her head. "I'm fine; it won't bother me to skip a few hours of sleep tonight."
Mick sighed, knowing that no excuse would deter her, he said, "I'm taking you home," in an "I mean business" tone of voice.
But as soon as he said that, he knew that he would be getting it. "Mick St. John, you are NOT taking me home because we need to talk about this."
"About what?" he asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he hew he shouldn't have said it, because it would only spur her on even more.
"About your self loathing and not wanting to let anyone into your life."
Mick was shocked at her statement. He thought she would say that they needed to talk because she was tired of pretending to like him, like Christine did the Phantom, and wanted to break ties with him. But looking back, he wondered if that was only what he had conditioned himself to think, not what Beth actually felt.
"There's nothing to talk about," he said, knowing he was lying through his teeth. Beth's words came back to him from a few months ago after running into each other at the morgue after the desert: "Wow. Vampires make really bad liars!"
He saw Beth send him a glare through his peripheral vision. "If you can look me in the eye and tell me that the play didn't hit some nerves with you, then you can take me home."
Wondering if he should try, he paused. But after a moment's thought, he didn't think he could without basically telling her that something was bothering him. So he kept silent and as they drove by her place, she held her chin a little higher, as if she won a battle, which he knew that she did, sort of.
Pulling into his parking spot, he got out and led Beth upstairs. Stepping out of the elevator he made his way to his door and clicked the button on his keychain to unlock his door. Opening it up he had to smile at the welcome distraction.
"Josef."
Josef smiled at Mick, then at Beth when she walked in. "How are my favorite human and vamp doing?" he asked.
Beth couldn't help but chuckle slightly. But she wondered internally, Since when have I become his favorite human?
Apparently Mick thought the same thing and asked him. Josef smiled and said, "Since you two are involved."
The air was sucked out of Beth's lungs when he said that. Josef noticed as sorrow filled her eyes and asked her with his eyes what happened. She shook her head but he couldn't help but notice how her eyes flicked over to Mick, probably against her will.
He was surprised that he felt annoyance and a hint of anger toward Mick. He never thought that he would be fond of a human that wasn't his freshie, especially after Sarah, but Beth had done what Josef thought was impossible. Not that he was interested in her, he just wasn't sure when he started to feel protective of the young woman, but just like Mick, he couldn't help but feel that there was something special about her. The fact that she had allowed Mick to feed off her gave him the sense of security that she was totally and completely dedicated to keeping their secret.
Now he had to figure out what had happened in only the few hours after the couple had left. Deciding to take the safe route he asked, "How did the night go?"
When he saw the look that Mick gave him, he knew that something happened. "Ah," he said, deciding what to do. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to talk it out." He stood and walked to the door, turning around he said, "I'll talk to you later, Mick. Beth," he inclined his head toward her in goodbye, and walked out the door.
With Josef gone, Mick knew he couldn't ignore the situation any longer. He motioned for Beth to sit, and he sat across from her. But, for all her raving that they needed to talk, she didn't say anything. It took her a few minutes to look up at him.
When she did, she started speaking. "Mick, I can't help but feel that the play told a bit of our story." She smiled. "But, I have to say that I enjoyed myself tonight." Then she bit her lip and looked down for a moment before looking back up. "Why did you get start to leave at the end?" she asked.
Mick couldn't hold her stare, and stood, pacing. Why did he try? Because he hated the ending. He hated that it was so eerily similar to his own life. And he didn't want to watch Beth link the pieces and realize that she too wanted to leave him for her own "Raul", Josh.
Deciding on a safe answer he said, "I just don't like the ending."
Unfortunately, there are no "safe answers" where Beth Turner is concerned. When he saw the look on her face he thought, Damn.
"Why not, Mick? It's a great ending, sad I'll give you that, but it's a nice ending," he told him. But when he didn't answer, he saw the answer in her eyes. "Because you think that you're the Phantom and I'm Christine," she paused looking for affirmation. Again, when he didn't say anything, she knew the answer without having to hear it from him. "You do, don't you?" She sighed and thought for a moment, wondering how to make Mick understand that he didn't have to live in the shadows all the time.
"Mick," she said, standing up. "Listen, I know that your life hasn't been a bed of roses, and that things have happened to you that have made you close yourself off from the world. But, Mick, please, look at me," she asked, reaching out to touch his arm, effectively stopping his pacing. Only when he looked at her did she continue. "I need you to tell me why you hated the ending so much."
Mick sighed, and still holding her gaze with a hint of defeat in his eyes he said, "Because Christine acts like you and the Phantom acts like me. " He looked down for a few moments before looking up at her again. "I'm a vampire, Beth. I have to live off of people's blood to survive. How could you want to be with me after all you've found out and all that you know?"
Beth sighed. "Mick, you've got it all wrong," she said, sitting him down and sitting next to him. "Mick, you're an amazing man. You're not like the Phantom. You may think that you're like him, but there's only a parallel to how you think. You both think that you're monsters, which you aren't. You both watched over a young girl for years and," she paused, shook her head and continued. "You both like to work in the darkness. You both hate what you have become, but want to be in the light and not in the shadows anymore." She caressed Mick's face and said, "But you were both wrong."
"In a way, the Phantom was a monster. But that was only because he killed people and didn't regret it. He didn't need to kill Piangi at the end, and he didn't need to kill the theater worker in the middle of the play with Christine and Carlotta. He wasn't a monster because of what he looked like, but because of how he decided to handle situations.
"You're not a monster at all, Mick. You may be a vampire, but that doesn't make you a monster. For instance, you helped a four year old girl escape her captor when she was kidnapped, then watched over her for more than twenty years to make sure she was always safe. You help people for a living, Mick. You get the bad guys that the cops can't get, and you know things that the cops don't because you're a vampire. You may not think so, but you're no monster.
"It doesn't bother me that you drink blood to survive. It doesn't bother me when you have ice-blue eyes and fangs. It's still you, Mick, whether or not you want to admit it," she told him, holding his face to keep him from turning away from her.
Mick closed his eyes and opened them again to see Beth with tears in her eyes.
"How can I make you understand?" Beth asked.
"I could ask you the same question."
Beth smiled. "Mick, please. I'm not going to leave you for Josh, in fact," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm breaking up with Josh."
Mick was so stunned that he moved back and Beth's hand fell to her side. "What? Why?" he asked.
Beth shook her head. "If he wants to give me an ultimatum, I'm dropping him like a hot potato. If someone says that they'll leave me if I keep seeing someone then they don't deserve to be in my life. I love Josh, but I'm not in love with him anymore. And it's not fair to him. So, I'll be talking to Josh tomorrow."
"But, you two were so close," Mick said, still not believing that she would leave Josh.
"Yes, we were. 'Were' being the key word. Besides," she said, standing and not looking at Mick. "There's someone else."
Mick's breath caught in his throat. He had a feeling that he knew who the "other man" was.
"Really?" he asked, trying to sound curious. "And who might that be?"
Beth didn't turn around when she said, "No one. I don't want to say anything before I find out how he feels about me."
Mick closed his eyes and tried to find the strength to press her on the subject. If it was indeed him whom she wanted, he didn't have an answer for her. He wanted her, yes, but he knew the dangers involved and didn't want to risk it. He shook himself mentally. He didn't even know if she was talking about him.
"You can tell me, I won't tell anyone," he said, making up his mind. If it was indeed himself, it would be best to get all of the talking done and out of the way.
She still hadn't turned around and he heard the desperation in her voice when she said, "I can't risk that."
"That I'll tell someone?" he asked, confused.
"No, I know you won't tell, but," she paused. "I can't risk telling you until I know where you stand."
"Stand where?"
"With me."
I knew it.
She was talking about him. He felt the fear and apprehension roll off of her. She was afraid that he would tell her to leave and that he didn't care about her.
He started to say something, but thought better on it. After a moment he decided to try. "Beth," he said, standing up and walking around her so he could look at her. He was surprised and shocked to see tears running down her face.
"Never mind, I have to go," she said, quickly walking around him and toward the door.
Mick didn't waste any time before bolting to the door with his vamp speed and locking the door. "Beth," he tried, but she shook her head.
"I know, I know. It's too dangerous, and you'll hurt me. Oh, and you don't like me like that. Hell I'm over fifty years younger than you, why would you want to be with me?" she asked, trying to get around him without looking at him.
Mick grabbed her and pulled her into his chest. "Beth, that's not it at all."
Beth continued to struggle and said, "Mick, let me go! You don't want me, that's fine, just leave me be!"
Mick was too strong for her and said, "Beth, you're just going to wear yourself out. Please, we need to talk about this."
"Oh, now you want to talk."
"No, I don't, but we need to," he said, steering her toward the couch again.
"If you don't want to, then don't, just let me go home," she told him.
"No, we need to talk. Don't you know I care about you?" he asked. He may have been uncomfortable with the discussion, but he knew it had to be said. "I do, Beth. I may not show it often, but I do care."
He sat down next to her before saying, "You asked why I didn't like the ending to the play. I don't like it because that's what I'm afraid of happening to me. I'm afraid that you'll figure out that I'm a monster and that you will want to be with someone who's human, who can give you things that I can't.
"And it's not that I don't want you, it's just that I know the dangers and risks involved and I don't want to risk hurting you," he tied to explain.
"But what risks? Besides you turning me, or draining me, what are the dangers?" she asked.
"Those are the dangers, Beth!"
"But they aren't for me! Can't you understand that?! You won't drain me, and you won't turn me, unless I decide to be turned and then it will be with mutual consent. But listen to me, Mick," she said when Mick started to interrupt. "You won't drain me because I know you care, and you don't want to do it, so you'll make sure that you don't. But I don't want you to be so afraid that you push me away, whether we're in a relationship or not."
Mick knew he couldn't deny that he wanted to push her away at some level. But on the other hand he wanted her in his life forever, even if she didn't become a vampire he wanted her to be with him as long as she could be there. She had brought of up the topic of turning, and he knew that she would want to be able to make the choice, but he didn't want that life for her.
"Mick? Please understand that I'm not going to leave. I've seen you 'at your worst' and I've seen you at your best. If I haven't left by now, I'm not going to," she said, touching his face, trying to make him understand.
He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. He knew that she was right, he just hadn't wanted to see it. He was so afraid of being hurt that he had forgotten to live. Opening his eyes he held her gaze as he asked, "Where do you stand?"
She smiled. "Right here," she said, closing the gap and capturing his lips in an electrifying kiss.
Mick finally felt the barriers that he had erected around his heart break apart. He finally relaxed and allowed himself to deepen the kiss.
Mick sighed with contentment. Beth had chosen him over Josh. She chose her phantom over her Raul. A part of him wanted her to chose Josh and live a normal life without the threat of himself. But the other part of him was filled with joy at the idea that she didn't think that he was the monster that he felt himself to be. He knew that they would have to talk more, make sure that she understood everything; but that could wait. He was happy to just have his Christine in his arms and for him to be her Phantom for the rest of the night.
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I hope you all liked it!
This is the end. I don't see that there's anything else that I could do with it, so unless something else comes to me, which I very much doubt, this is it.
I hope you enjoyed it and I must thank Vampire Reader, Penina, for helping me with this story. I hadn't seen the play, only the movie, so I had a few facts wrong and she set me straight with those and with my grammer. Thanks!!
So, if you like it, please let me know! There's a nice button down there waiting for you to press it and let me know what you think! Anonymous reviews are welcome as well, so there's no excuse to just send me a little something!! Thanks to everyone who has already reviewed, I really really appreciate it!!