Author's Note: Again, sorry for the wait. Thanks for putting up with all my irregular updates. I finally wrote a chapter that was over 1,000 words, and so I hope that makes up for it. And a big thank you to users Kitkat and Not A Ghost3 for your lovely reviews!
I woke up in a bed that wasn't my own. Déjà vu swept over me as I realized this wasn't the first time I had woke up here, down below the opera house. I wondered what time it was. I had stayed up all night with Erik, listening to his beautiful music, and the time I went to bed at was the same time most people were waking up.
I stood up and walked to Erik's room. I lightly knocked on the door, and when I heard no answer, I pushed the door open. I expected him to still be asleep, but I found him hunched over a piece of paper, writing what I knew had to be music. He was so engrossed in his work he didn't hear me call his name and didn't look up until I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Christine!" He said, jumping. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that. You just scared me…do you want something?"
"Umm…..," I said, realizing I had no real reason to walk in on Erik. "I was just wondering if you could give me a lesson." I hoped he couldn't tell I was improvising.
The edges of his mouth turned into almost a smile. "Of course Christine,"
We began our lesson, and every time he praised my voice, I felt a small flutter of happiness in my stomach. His compliments meant more to me than the ever had. I lost count of how long the lesson went on, but before I knew it Erik stood up and announced we were done.
"Do you want something to eat?" Erik asked.
I nodded, and he led me out of his room and into a room which I assumed was a kitchen. "I'll warn you," Erik said. "I'm not what you'd consider a top-notch chef."
I laughed. "It's okay, Angel. Whatever you choose to serve is okay with me."
He stiffened when he heard me call him that. "Christine, I told you, I'm not your Angel. I'm just a man. You don't have to call me that."
"But I want to," I said looking him in the eye. "You're my Angel, and I want to call you that."
He immediately changed the subject. "Is tea okay? I can make you tea, if you want." He reached for the kettle in started heating up the water for it.
"Thank you, Erik." I said smiling. I decided to sit in one of the chairs while I waited for him.
After the tea was ready, he brought over two steaming cups. He took the seat opposite of me, and handed me my cup. "Would you like any sugar?" Erik asked.
After adding sugar to my tea, we fell deep into conversation. Erik told me stories about his life, some that made me want to cry and some that made me smile. I realized that I had no stories to tell him about me, because he knew all of them already. He was there for everything I had experienced most of my childhood, and the things he hadn't seen I told him about.
I blushed when I realized that me and Erik were almost on a date. The blush deepened when my heart fluttered thinking about dating Erik.
We talked longer, and eventually Erik and I walked back to the boat. He helped me in, and rowed me back to the shore. He was about to open the entrance trough the mirror, when I grabbed his arm.
"Shhh!" I said, shushing him. "Do you hear that?"
Erik looked at me oddly, but he listened. There was a loud banging noise coming from inside of my dressing room. It sounded as if someone were kicking the wall.
"Christine! Christine!" I heard my name angrily being yelled from inside my room. I realized at once it was Raoul yelling my name and knocking on my door. I looked at Erik, eyes wide with panic. I couldn't go back inside my room now; Raoul would ask why I hadn't answered the first times he had knocked.
"What do I do?!" I whispered in quiet panic.
"Go into the room and answer the door," Erik replied. "If he asks why you didn't answer, say you were asleep."
I must've looked unsure, because he opened the door and gave me a slight push into my room. I made sure Erik was hidden in the mirror, and went to open the door. I did my best to act like someone who had just woken up.
"Raoul?" I said in mock surprise as I pulled the door open.
"Christine!" He yelled angrily. "I've been knocking for ten minutes! Where were you?! You were supposed to come to supper with me and my father a hour ago!"
It was already supper time? I realized that Erik had no way of keeping time in his lair, and that's how I didn't realize I was running late. I mentally kicked myself and stumbled for a reply.
"I'm sorry, Raoul," I stammered. "I just, uh, fell asleep. Your knocking woke me up."
"Did it really take ten minutes for you to wake up?! Christine, don't lie to me. I know you weren't asleep. Now tell me where you were. Now!"
I hated the way Raoul got when he was angry. "I-I'm sorry," I said, "I was in here, a-"
"Stop lying to me!" He slammed his fist into the wall, causing part of the wall to crumble. "You're cheating on me, aren't you? Aren't you?!"
"Raoul, I'm not cheating on you!" I said, my voice shaking in fear.
"You already embarrassed me in front of my family, Christine. The least you could do is tell me the truth and apologize." Raoul said in a dangerously calm tone.
"Raoul," I choked, as tears began to form at my eyes. "I love you. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Please, please forgive me."
Raoul shook his head and stepped closer to me. "No Christine. No. I'm sorry, but I can't be in a relationship that's built on lies. Good-bye." He started to walk away.
"Raoul! No! Wait!" I screamed as he left. He ignored me and slammed the door shut, leaving me alone in my dressing room.
I collapsed onto the floor, shaking with sobs. Raoul had left me. Raoul had left me. It seemed to horrible to be true, but yet it was. I was still crying when I felt a comforting hand on my back.
I looked up and saw Erik's masked face. He looked down at me sympathetically, and began to lift me up. "Shhh, Christine," He said, soothing me. "It's going to be okay. I promise. It's not the end of the world."
He set me on the edge of my bed, and then sat down next to me. He wiped away my tears with his thumb, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into him. He rocked me back and forth, murmuring words of comfort in my ear. When I was out of tears, I pulled away from him. "Th-thank you." I said shakily.
He nodded in reply. "Anytime, Christine."
I felt to depressed to do anything but sleep, so I crawled under the blankets of my bed. Erik stood up, and went to blow out the candles illuminating the room. When the room was in total darkness, he returned to my side. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay with you?"
"You can go. But before you do, will you sing me a song?" I asked hopefully.
"Of course." He whispered. He began to softly sing me a lullaby. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was thinking how beautiful his voice was.