Chapter 18

Ashley walked up to the mirror and reached out to touch the cold glass. She stared into the eyes of her reflection and saw only a stranger looking back. She pulled the wig she was wearing from her head and let her light brown hair show; all braided and clipped up. But she still didn't recognize herself. She only saw half the person she was supposed to be.

"Look at me." She began singing almost unconsciously. "They might think they see who I really am… But they'll never know me. Everyday it's as if I play a part…" She pushed away from the glass and started walking across the room to the opposite wall. "Now I see that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart." She turned back around to stare at herself in the mirror.

"Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside…"

Ashley was completely unaware of the stares she was receiving for suddenly belting out in the middle of the hallway. In fact, she was not even aware she was singing in the middle of the hallway.

"How I pray that a time will come
I can free myself from their expectations
On that day I'll discover someway to be myself
And be loved for who I am"

To be loved for who she is. To be able to still be childish while also acting grown up. To be able to be a little spontaneous at random moments but also being calm and quiet at others.

"They want a docile lamb;
no one knows who I am
Why is my reflection someone
I don't know?

"Somehow I cannot hide
who I am though I've tried
When will my reflection show
who I am inside?"

She felt her heart continue its desperate plea for freedom and acceptance. All those years of silence have started catching up to her and want to break free.

"Why must I keep concealed
What I think, how I feel
Must there me a secret me
I'm forced to hide

"Must I pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside…"

She looked towards the ceiling and felt her heart spending the last of her emotions to finish what it started.

"When will my reflection show who I am inside…" She felt her legs give out and fell to her knees, ignoring the feel of the hard carpet rubbing against her bare legs. She hung her head and felt a tear escape her eye. The sound of clapping broke her from her trance and she looked up to see everyone on the small area applauding her. She felt her cheeks burn up and quickly got to her feet, stumbling a bit, and running to the far wall next to the doors to the ball room where she slid down again and buried her face in her hands.

"How the hell did that happen?"

Christine, Darren, and Erik exited the train and found themselves in what appeared to be a large shopping mall. They decided it to be easier to just take the train into the city instead of driving around for God knows how long to find a garage to park in, especially since Con weekends were very busy.

"Now, the convention center should be around here somewhere." Christine said tapping her hammer on her shoulder. Christine was dressed as Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim, and boy did she look the part. Darren was dressed as Scott and even brought along a fake guitar with him.

"Is it necessary for you to be dressed like that?"

"Well, when we get there, you'll see why we are." And they began their trek to find the convention center. They passed many different shops along the way from clothing and jewelry stores to toy stores and candy shops. But what they were really looking for was right in front of them. They started finding more people dressed in costumes from either various anime or video games. While arriving at the food court, they found the entrance to the Hynes Convention center and the Sheraton just across the way. But, as they faced the threshold of both the convention center and the adjacent hotel, Erik was beginning to have his doubts.

"How are we going to find her in all this?" He shouted gesturing to the crowd of cosplayers around them.

"Just relax." Christine said swinging her hammer before resting it back on her shoulder. "We'll find her."

Erik began feeling self conscious with so many people around and nearly regretting his decision to come here. He felt someone tap his shoulder and he whipped around to find a group of girls dressed from various anime smiling up at him.

"Sick Phantom costume." One of them said. "Hey, do you mind if we take a picture with you?" He looked to Christine and she smiled and nodded.

"I… suppose." He answered and the girls giggled with delight.

"I'll hold the camera for you." Christine offered and handed her hammer to Darren. She took the camera from the girls and they all gathered around Erik moving so close that he felt unsure about their contact. When the camera flashed he started seeing spots before his eyes. "Okay, I got it."

"Thanks. We'll see you later." The girls took back their camera and walked off into the crowd.

"They seemed very… nice." Erik said slightly confused.

"It's an anime convention. A lot of these people are the nicest you'll ever find." Christine took Erik's arm and began leading him towards the Sheraton. "We have to get our badges before we can walk around otherwise we'll get in trouble. And we have to get you registered."

Christine had gone off in search of the Phoenix Ball tickets while Darren helped Erik with registration. When she found the place they were being sold, she didn't hesitate to buy one. She wasn't planning on going herself, but she knew Erik would need this to get in. Otherwise, he would probably find another way in…

"…Hey, were you here earlier when that girl was singing?" She heard a group talking a ways away.

"Yeah. She just randomly started singing in the middle of the hallway. It was kind of weird."

"But she was pretty good. I actually almost started crying."

"I did cry."

"Who was she anyway?"

"Not sure. All I know was she was wearing a blue dress and was holding a blond wig in her hand."

Christine felt herself freeze at that last sentence. A blond wig and a blue dress.

Could it have been…?

After the formal dance class, Ashley was feeling exhausted. She needed this class to brush up on her moves, since over a year she tends to forget this stuff. The waltz was no problem for her but she still had problems with the turns. Foxtrot was just as easy since it was like the waltz, only with an extra step. Tango was a lot of fun even though with her partner she kept running into other people. Rumba was another fun one since it was also like waltz but with more movement. Now she was sitting at the Dunkin' Donuts outside the Hynes eating a Texas Toast grilled cheese with hash browns as a little something since she had yet to eat lunch and it was well past 3 in the afternoon. For most of the day she was fine since she was running on the adrenaline from the day's activities, but now she slowed down a bit and her stomach began growling at her. She had plenty of time before the ball so she felt she could use a bite to eat.

She looked down at her green bag that she brought with her. In it she had a bottle of water, her video and digital cameras, her wallet, and her ball dress and shoes. Since she brought so much stuff with her the bag was heavy and really hurt her shoulders. It felt good not carrying the heavy thing at the moment. She decided that after she ate she would head to the restroom and begin preparing for the ball, since she couldn't think of anything else to do. Suddenly, she saw someone sitting in the seat across from her and she cautiously looked up from her grilled cheese to see a man in a black business suit smiling at her.

"Hi there." He said in a friendly tone. Ashley slowly lowered her sandwich.

"Um, hi?" She replied.

"You're the girl who was singing back in the Sheraton, weren't you?" The sandwich fell from her hands and onto the napkin resting on the table. Her face turned red and the man started laughing. "I thought you were."

"What do you want?" She asked sounding a bit annoyed.

"I just wanted to say you were really good." She raised an eyebrow. "I mean it. I was passing through then I heard you singing. To tell the truth, I thought my ears had been graced by the glorious sound of an angel."

"If you're trying to flirt with me, I'm taken." She said raising her left hand showing him her ring.

"No, no my dear. I swear my business with you is on a strictly professional basis." He said a little flustered. "I was hoping you could do me a little favor." She eyed him suspiciously.

"What kind of favor is this?" She queried.

"You see, tomorrow night I was to be holding a special benefit concert here at the Sheraton. But one of the singers I booked cancelled on me at the last minute and left an empty slot. So, I wanted to ask you if, tomorrow night, you would grace the stage with your angelic voice." Ashley wasn't sure whether to feel elated or wary. She didn't like the idea that a complete stranger just came up to her and asked her to sing at a concert that was taking place the night after. But, then again, the thought of singing again was a hard offer to refuse.

"Hmm, as tempting as your offer is, it also sounds…" She still felt uncomfortable with someone just coming up to her and asking her to sing at a concert, no matter how nice it sounded. "Can I have some time?"

"Absolutely." He said and took out a blank card and a pen and began scribbling down his name and number. "Here, contact me when you make up your mind." She took the card then thanked him before he made to leave. She looked down at the card for a moment before stuffing it into her wallet.

Christine cursed as she fumbled about for the ticket. She knew she had it a second ago but now it was missing.

"How could you just lose it?" Darren asked.

"I don't know! But I did have it!" She said checking her bag for the tenth time. "Great. Now how is Erik going to get in?"

"I don't know. But one thing's for sure, ticket or not, he'll find a way inside." It was at that moment they realized their masked charge was nowhere to be seen. Christine cursed again.

"That man is impossible." Darren just laughed.

"Love makes people crazy Chris." She had no choice but to smile at that.

Ashley emerged from the restroom in her ball dress and her green bag stuffed with her old costume. Because of the extra clothing the bag was just as heavy since she was wearing some black shorts underneath her dress. She also adorned a crystal four-leaf clover charm around her neck, a flower bracelet, a pair of clip on earrings, and three rings that came together to form a four-leaf clover on her right hand. She didn't bother to fix her face since she preferred removing the makeup that had already run on her face.

Now she stood in line to enter the ballroom with her ticket in hand. She liked going to the ball because they usually played some very nice music. If someone did ask her to dance she would. But if she just sat and listened to the music that was fine too.

Ashley saw as a man stepped out from behind the closed doors and began talking to one of the people at the door. He seemed a bit shaken about something but they immediately dismissed him and announced that they were letting people in. Ashley began feeling a fluttering in her stomach as she got closer to the door. She could already hear the distant sound of anime music being played and people laughing and dancing along to the beautiful songs. When she finally reached the door, she handed over her ticket and stepped into the dimly lit room. She adjusted her wig a bit before moving towards the closest open table she could grab.

"Well, I'm here." She said to herself and sat down. She watched as the people began to dance and smiled. After a few minutes, a boy dressed as Tamaki from Ouran Highschool Host Club came up to her and asked for a dance. And she just couldn't say no to him since he was holding out a fake rose to her while he asked. The current song was a waltz so she was on safe ground so far. She also made sure to warn him that she might step on him and he just laughed. She didn't mind dancing with some complete strangers at these things because it was usually a lot of fun. When the song ended, she curtsied to him and he bowed to her and she went to return to her seat.

"Damn, this thing is getting itchy." She pulled her wig off once again and adjusted her hair that was still held together with some braids and a clip. She tied her wig up with some hair ties then placed it on the table. She stole another glance to her engagement ring and felt a wave of gloom wash over her.

Erik had been watching as the people filed into the room, keeping a close eye out for Ashley. He kept his eyes on the door as everyone came in but couldn't seem to point her out. He didn't know what she would look like. Soon the ball had begun and the music began to play while people began taking the dance floor. His eye seemed to catch a young lady with long blond hair and wearing a peculiar ball gown was being led to the dance floor by a young man with blond hair and was wearing a blue suit. He kept his eye on the girl as they danced and knew there was something familiar about her. When the song ended she curtsied and he bowed and she returned to her table. Then he watched as she removed the wig she wore and revealed her darker hair.

I found her. He thought happily. He wished that he could just burst out and take her in his arms at that moment but wanted to take care in this. He melted away into the shadows allowing the plan in his head to take place.

Ashley had somehow found herself humming Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again as she waited for the next dance. It almost seemed almost ironic how things were going.

The lights suddenly went out and the music stopped. The room began filling with nervous chatter and some gasps from a few girls. Ashley was having a sense of déjà vu at that moment and kept her eyes scanning the darkness for a hint of a white mask or a black cape. But the lights came back on after a while and her hopes were squashed in that instant. That is until an all too familiar melody began to play from the speakers around the room.

"Wandering child, so lost so helpless, yearning for my guidance…" A voice came from the speakers and she felt every hair on her body stand on end. She would know that voice anywhere. It was his voice. He came for her!

Alright Ashley, time to face the Angel of Music. She thought and slowly rose from her seat as she began to sing.

"Angel I hear you, speak I listen, I know you're there staring!" She began to sing and everyone turned and just watched her. She felt everyone's eyes on her as she continued to sing. "Angel, oh speak, what endless longings, echo in this whisper!"

"Too long you've wondered in winter, far from my fathering gaze…" The voice sang and Ashley felt her pulse race and her palms sweat preparing herself for anything.

"Wildly my mind beats against you…"
"You resist"
"Yet my/your soul obeys!"

Her heart was overjoyed at the sound of her angel. She felt as if his voice alone was leading her back to the time when she was younger and she never actually left his world all those years ago. She began walking across the dance floor towards the stage as she continued singing to her mysterious angel.

"Angel of music, guide and guardian
Grant to me your glory!
Angel of music hide no longer
Come to me strange angel!"

The music then changed to the Angel of Music just before The Phantom of the Opera begins and Ashley could feel something was definitely beginning.

"I am your Angel of Music
Come to me Angel of Music…"

She saw a figure appear on the stage in all Phantom garb and drew closer to him as he held his hand out for her.

"I am your Angel of Music
Come to me Angel of Music…"

The music for the song The Phantom of the Opera began to play. Erik leapt from the stage and landed right before her. God, he had missed her and was relieved to see her alive and well. And now that he had her, he wasn't letting her go. And before any other thoughts could enter his mind, Ashley began to sing.

The songs in this chapter were Reflection (a mix of the original and the pop song) from Disney's Mulan and Wandering Child/Angel of Music from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.

So, this chapter has a bit of a change to it. Now instead of having the concert at the school like in the first version, I'm having it at the convention center. And it will start getting a little Love Never Dies in the next few chapters as well; just warning you.