I See You Chapter 11: Nighttime's Kiss, a phantom of the opera fanfic

Oh my god, I made a deadline. Holy shit. That's amazing. At first, I was afraid that I wasn't going to make it, but then the moment I got home today I was like fuck this I'm writing the rest of this NOW. So I did. Whoop whoop!

THANK YOU for all of the reviews, guys! I LOVE YOU ALL. Keep them coming! Give me ideas. I don't know what to do with this story after a certain point that I created in my head, so if you give me ideas, that means I can make the story longer.

SammiRichGurl: I laughed when I read you laughed. Haha! And thank you for loving this story! I promise I have not been stealing your ideas if my Erik seems similar, I don't really have time to read other people's stories now lol.

13sapphire13: Thank you! Basically, they're trying to make the other one conform to their own ideas, haha.

PanicAtTheExpress: Yes. I am evil. Quite evil, actually; you can ask anyone who knows me. I have quite the death stare :D. And yeah, I pretty much ignored Doug this chapter (lol spoiler) because I want to get a big part on him next chapter. He is quite depressed, and he deserves more than a small notion at the beginning/end. Ahhh! Read the chapter, and then like, everything you said in your review is mentioned haha.

Plague's Vengeance: Hurr is da update :D You hopeless romantic you.

PhantomFan01: I know right :D :D

Xxnikkigirl123xX: Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney movies like, ever. And Aladdin. And Mulan.

RedDeathLvr: Nice profile pic! :P

TheRabidWriter: You made me smile so much :D I pinky promise I'm not copying you! I guess our minds are just infused together o.O And yes, I got like, five emails from one person and I was like, what the fuck? Haha, but I don't mind! And I laughed at Erik giving you a tissue box. Haha

Poeko: I expect to see you here for every chapter then. -stares down-

Erik: Thank you so much. To be honest, I am actually thinking of majoring in English and writing kids books later on... I'm practicing writing with this story; its the first one I have written in like, a LONG time. I'm glad that my writing has not suffered that horribly!

"And one two three, one two three, one two three, up…. And down!"

Aimee charged into the studio, burst through the door into the practice room, and kneeled over with both hands on her knees.

"I… I'm… Here…" she gasped.

All movement stopped. Aimee looked up, still panting, to see the entire dance room filled with every actor and actress that would be in the play. She recognized a few faces. All of them, however, were staring directly at her. Aimee looked down at herself and realized she forgot to change in her mad dash over here. She noticed Doug's blood stood out quite frighteningly on her black top, her hair was a mess, and she forgot to take off her combat boots before leaving a trail of dirt on the wooden floors.

"Well." Said the dance instructor, looking Aimee up and down with a glare, "It appears that our Christine decided to show up today."

A couple of whispers broke out. The woman glanced over at them, all dressed in dancing clothes and shoes. The instructor appeared to be around thirty years old; she had long blonde hair and was about as thin as Aimee's wrist. She was quite tall, however, standing almost 5'8. The woman's bright red lipstick and black dancing clothes stood out nicely on her pale skin.

Aimee stood up slowly, feeling quite intimidated, "I'm extremely sorry, Ma'am, I only just got the message that I was in the play around ten minutes ago-"

"Messages were sent out two days ago." The instructor said with an annoyed click of her tongue, "Should you be late to another one of my lessons, you will not enjoy the consequences. Be lucky it is not my decision to remove you from your role."

Aimee gulped. Who was this lady?

"Go and make yourself presentable." She snapped, shoving a finger to the restroom across the floor. Aimee nodded quickly and shuffled through the large room. All across the walls were bars and mirrors. She tried not to look into them; all she saw was a reflection of about twenty faces staring at her.

Opening the door labeled "Women", she quickly shut it behind her. Aimee walked up to the small mirror and groaned at the sight before her. Sweat stuck to her forehead, her hair was a tangled mop, and a couple of cuts were drawn across her chin. Aimee scrubbed her face down and soaked her hair in the sink. She quickly dried it with a few paper towels and threw it into a bun. She took off her boots, rolled up her pants the best she could, and simply shrugged at her bloody shirt. Aimee was not about to take it off.

People watched at her as she exited the bathroom.

"Hurry up!" the instructor snapped, pointing to her spot in the warm up block. Aimee darted up to her, noticing her spot was front and center. She felt eyes staring at the back of her head, watching her, judging her.

"You will have to follow along with our warm up dance, Miss…?"

"Aimee... My name is Aimee." She said quickly.

"Yes. Aimee. We learned our warm up dance while you were gone. Simply follow along, if you would." The blonde instructor said, turning on the music. Aimee instantly recognized the song.

"Sing along if you know the words! Get those vocal cords warmed up too!" the instructor called out, standing in front of the group, whipping her hair away from her face before the words began.

Been there done that, messed around

I'm having fun, don't put me down

I'll never let you sweep me off my feet.

Aimee struggled to keep up with the whirling bodies and swooping motions. She herself was not the best dancer, but she was decent. Aimee managed to catch up when the group all jumped at once in a backwards motion on 'sweep me off my feet'.

I won't let you in again

The messages I tried to send

My information's just not going in.

Burning bridges shore to shore

I break away from something more

I'm not turned on to love until it's cheap.

There were a lot of spinning involved in this dance, Aimee noticed. Spin, spin, jump, roll, flourish, extend, point, jump, twirl, whirl, and throw. It was exhausting.

Been there, done that, messed around

I'm having fun don't put me down

I'll never let you sweep me off my feet.

This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof

I won't let you turn around

And tell me now, I'm much too proud

To walk away from something when it's dead.

Everyone slammed on the ground on the word dead, and threw their heads back up, slowly rising through the next verse as they stared intently at their reflection.

Do, do, do your dirty words

Come out to play when you're hurt?

There's certain things that should be left unsaid.

They began dancing again, moving in sharp, sudden movements.

Tick, tick, tick, tick on the watch

And life's to short for me to stop

Oh baby, your time is running out.

I won't let you turn around

And tell me now, I'm much too proud

All you do is fill me up with doubt.

Everyone stopped, paused, and began to fouetté* continuously through the rest of the song.

This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof

This time I'll be bullet proof

This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof

They all ended sliding down from their turns into a collapsed position on the floor. Gasps echoed off of the walls, everyone wiped out from the routine. The dance was insane, Aimee realized. And it was only the warm up?

"That was alright for having done it for the first time." The instructor said to the class, "Everyone needs to work on their fouettés, especially the dancers in the play." She said, eying the group of girls near the back all dressed in white. There was about ten of them. They all quickly nodded to her, heads to the ground.

"Now." Said the woman, "I will teach you all the opening dance. Everyone must learn it, except for you, Aimee. You are backstage at this point…"

Two and a half hours later, their dance class ended, and the group was instructed to proceed upstairs to the second floor of the studio. Aimee gathered her boots and followed the group as they all tried to use the small staircase at the same time. Waiting patiently at the bottom, a couple girls walked up to Aimee.

"Hello!" said one. She had short, straight jet black hair and stood around 5'5, "My name is Amanda. You are Aimee, yes?"

Aimee nodded to her, "Yes."

Amanda grinned to her, "Ah, you made quite the entrance today! Madame Fiona looked ready to murder you where you stood!"

"Ah, so that's the devil's name?" Aimee laughed.

"Yes, yes." Amanda said laughing. She pointed to the two girls standing behind her, "This is April and May, by the way. They're twins, and we are all dancers in the play."

April and May both waved as she said their name. They both were the same height as Amanda, both of them had curly brown hair down to the middle of their backs, and both had bright blue eyes. Aimee smiled and waved at them. She was happy that someone made the effort to speak with her.

"Nice to meet you." She said to the twins.

"You too!" they said in unison.

The four of them began to shuffle up the stairs along with the rest of the crowd.

"So," Amanda said as they climbed, "Everyone wants to know why you came so late and why on earth you are covered in blood!"

"Oh." Aimee said with a sigh, "Well, I was a little… busy before this and I didn't get the text that I was in the play until like, ten minutes before practice started. It was a mess. I had to speed over here and didn't have time for anything. I feel horrible about it."

"But why do you have blood on you?"

"My friend had a bit of an accident. I was in the hospital with him all weekend."

"Oh, that's horrible! What happened?"

Aimee's acting skills came in handy as she lied to them, "Oh, he was skateboarding down the road and he was too cocky to look where he was going. The idiot went right off the stairs near the park, and I had to save his ass."

"Is he okay?" May asked.

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine now." Aimee said, unsure herself as they walked into a carpeted room filled with chairs, "Just not able to like, move for now. I guess."

"Well, I hope he gets better!" April cried as the four of them took seats near the middle. Others began to fill in around them. Songs books were passed out.

"Welcome," came a dreamy voice from the doorway, "To your singing class."

A man dressed in a black shirt and pants stepped from the doorway and into sight. His blonde hair was slicked back, and a bright white tie flowed over his chest. His Italian shoes snapped against the ground as he walked over to the front of the room.

"It's Jacob Andrews." Amanda whispered to Aimee quickly, "Famous for acting and singing. He was in like, all of the plays back when he was young. Not that he's not young now; he's like, late thirties I want to say?"

Aimee nodded to her, eyes never leaving Jacob's form. He was quite the looker. While not quite so tough-guy looking, he gave off a sexy appeal through words rather than muscle.

"Now. I'm sure you are all dying to get started, yes? Well, warm up on your own then! For now, let me see our Christine and Phantom!"

Aimee got up, as well as a man from across the room. The two walked up to Jacob, each one looking at the other. The man was quite tall; about a foot taller than Aimee. He had short black hair, was quite muscular, and had a bit of facial hair around his square jaw to give him a manly edge. His brown eyes gave off a mysterious vibe. The man gave her a dashing smile, and Aimee blushed.

"Ah, hello, hello!" Jacob cried with a smile. He clapped his hands together, looking from one to the other, "Aimee, yes? And Drew?" Both nodded, "Well, first of all, excellent work getting your roles! You two will need to be working together constantly over the next few months or our entire show will fail miserably, yes? Yes. Now, I want you two to go into that room over there," he said pointing to a small practice room off to the left, "And go practice Think of Me, and Music of the Night. Off you go! I shall stay with everyone else to practice songs that the chorus sings!"

Aimee and Drew walked off into the practice room, shutting the glass door behind them. They could see everything going on in the other room, and everyone could see what they were doing as well.

"Uhm, hi." Aimee said awkwardly, turning to face Drew. He was already seated, flipping through his music book.

"Hey." He said casually, not even looking up, "I'll critique you first."

Aimee nodded quickly, sensing he was all business. She was glad; Aimee did not want to make small talk. Today had been stressful enough. She wouldn't be able to think of what to say.

After going over both of their songs several times, each one making adjustments, they had a few spare moments before they would be signaled back into the main room.

"So, you're the one who came in late." Drew said with a sly grin. Aimee covered her face with a hand, embarrassed.

"Yes, yes. Guilty as charged." She huffed.

Drew laughed. It was almost musical, and yet a little dark. Aimee could hardly believe it.

"Oh, don't worry about Madame Fiona. She has had something stuck up her ass for a good five years now." Drew said with a wave, shutting his music book with a snap, "You are a wonderful singer, and a fine dancer. I was watching you during the dance lesson."

Aimee felt embarrassed; for some reason, Drew watching her at any time made her nervous. Probably because she knew she would be kissing him in the future. Would that be weird? They seemed to be getting along. Maybe they could be friends? But would that be a bit odd, two friends kissing in a play?

A tap came at the door; Amanda was peering inside their small room, motioning for them to rejoin the group.

A couple hours of practicing later, the performers were finally released after a few compliments from Jacob.

Aimee sighed as she stepped out into the chilly night. She quickly rolled her pants back down and shivered her way to her car.

"See you, Aimee!" called April and May

"Bye!" she called back with a wave.

"Aimee."

Aimee jumped as she heard Drew's voice behind her, "Oh! Hey Drew, what's up?" she said, turning around to face him.

"I just wanted to know when you were free so we can practice. The director gave me the script," he said, waving a packet in his hand, "early so the two of us can start going over our important scenes."

"Oh!" Aimee said with a blink, thinking when they could meet. Suddenly, Doug came back into existence in her mind, "Well… I don't know. A lot of my free time will be spent with my friend, Doug, who got into that accident…"

"Oh." Drew said a little dejected, "Well how about you save weekends, just for me?" and gave a winning smile, "You can just stay over my house Saturday and Sunday, and I'll drive you to practice and back home on Monday. You'll have the whole week to spend time with… What was his name? Doug?"

Aimee considered it. Staying over his house? She just met this guy…

"Alright, sounds good!" she said, offering him a small smile.

"Awesome. I'll see you Wednesday then. Night!"

Drew walked off into the night. Aimee stood there, wondering why she agreed to spend all of her weekend with a man she just met. What was she thinking?

Aimee walked over to her car, jumped in, and blasted the heat.

What if he was some kind of freak? Would she be sleeping on the couch in a sea of filth? Or maybe he was a neat freak, and would beat her if she dropped something on the floor.

Aimee pulled out of the parking lot, and began to drive home.

Whatever it was, for some reason beyond her comprehension, Aimee liked Drew. He gave off a trusting, and not so trusting vibe all at the same time. It intrigued her. She wanted to get to know him.

Aimee pushed the subject out of her head; she shouldn't be worrying about that right now. She had to focus on Doug. When she left him, he didn't look very well. Would he be alright? Why was she worrying so much about Doug now? It wasn't like she was his mother or something. No, she was his friend. Maybe even best friend.

Aimee pulled up into her driveway, climbed out of the car, and unlocked her front door. She sighed, kicking off her boots and began to casually undress herself as she made her way over to the shower. Aimee flipped on the hot water and jumped in, not even waiting for it to heat up. She cried out as the small icy bullets shot at her, but welcomed them all the same. It would get warm soon enough; she would have to endure the pain for now.

Aimee's mind began to wander as she began to wash herself.

Her life had gone from slow and anxious to hectic and frightening all in a weekend. How did all of it happen? Her thoughts turned to Abigail and the Phantom. It had not been more than two days, and Aimee already had plans to return to the Opera House after the Phantom had told her exactly what he would do should they go back. She shuddered at the thought. Maybe he wouldn't count it as returning if she wasn't looking for Abigail?

What if he didn't care and simply killed her anyway? What would happen if she died, now that she was in the play? Who would play Christine? Who would look after Doug?

Why did she have so many unanswered questions?

Aimee needed to get some sleep. Life was taking far too much of a toll on her.

Aimee slowly got out of the shower, changed, and walked into her room. She didn't even bother turning on the light; Aimee simply fell onto her bed and passed out without another thought.

"Abigail, our lesson is to begin shortly." Erik called.

Abigail ignored him, unmoving. She heard Erik's footsteps walk over to her spot in front of the large mirror.

"What is wrong, Abigail?" Erik asked. Abigail reached up, touching the mirror's cool surface. She let out a small, curious sigh.

"Erik… What do I look like?" she asked casually. She heard Erik laugh softly behind her.

"Oh, what an odd question, my little pianist." He laughed, brushing back a piece of her hair from his position behind her, "You are…"

A moment passed.

"You are… Beautiful." Erik declared, "You have gorgeous dark brown curly hair. Your curls fall across your face perfectly; your skin is slightly pale, but it gives off a splendid contrast to your hair. You are a bit short, my apologies, but it is an adorable height. Your features are flawless, and while not disgustingly thin, you are the perfect size. And your eyes… Abigail, your eyes are the best thing about you."

Abigail turned around to face him, shocked. She always imagined her eyes frightened people.

"They are exactly like a stormy sea. You cannot see through them, but you know that there is something beyond the fog. And it is a beautiful fog, Abigail. I could stare into your mysterious little eyes for hours."

Abigail blushed, "How do you even know what the sea looks like?" Abigail teased, giving him a small shove.

"I do not wish to leave the comforts of the Opera House." Erik replied sharply, breaking the moment.

"Why not?"

"Why would I? The world is a cruel place, Abigail. I'm starting to feel like a broken record around you. Must I repeat this every day?"

Abigail put a hand on his arm, "But Erik, I simply don't understand how you can think that the world has not changed in the slightest since you have been outside. I mean, you went out when you got me all of these things," she said, waving a hand over her black tank top and jeans, "you saw how different everything was. Why don't you give the world a shot?"

"The world never gave me a shot." Erik growled, moving away from the mirror. She heard him pace back and forth for a moment before pausing in front of her, "Abigail. You must understand… You… Are living in some sort of thought that people are all good. This is not the case! Humans are evil by nature. There is no stopping the greed and hate that is consuming our race."

"But-"

"Listen to me, Abigail." Erik said, walking back over to her and taking her hands. Abigail froze as he spoke, "It is so much safer down here than up in the world. And what are you possibly missing up there that you cannot find down here?" Erik struggled for a moment in thought, "Abigail, close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Close your eyes."

She closed them.

"What do you see?"

"Nothing of course."

"Now open them."

She did.

"What do you see?" he repeated.

"Nothing!" Abigail yelled, growing slightly frustrated. What purpose did this serve?

"Then what is so special about the world beyond our little niche, Abigail? There are no distractions down here, we can live how we wish. Why must you consume yourself in dreams of a bright, happy world, when that is simply not the case?"

Abigail sputtered, searching for a response. Erik took her face in his hand, stroking her cheek. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling.

"Oh, my little pianist." Erik sighed, "Listen to me, Abigail... Let no one else whisper things into your head. Not even yourself."

And he sang.

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

Silently the senses abandon their defenses

Erik drew Abigail close to him. Her breathing picked up; she didn't know what she should do. Abigail simply let him tilt her head up to him as he continued to sing,

Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor

Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender

Abigail bowed her head, trying to push a little away from Erik. She needed a clear head, not one filled with song. However, Erik only pulled her closer, and drew her head back up to him.

Turn your face away from the garish light of day

Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light

Erik snaked his arm around her waist as he slide the hand holding her chin down to her neck, stroking her jaw slowly.

And listen to the music of the night.

Abigail shut her eyes and listened. It was so easy, so carefree. She did not need to see Erik; she could feel him.

Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams

Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before

Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar

And live as you've never lived before

Erik spun Abigail around and began to slowly dance the two of them around the lair. She could feel his eyes staring at her, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around him and let the nighttime carry her away.

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you

Hear it, feel it secretly possess you

Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind

In this darkness that you know you cannot fight

The darkness of the music of the night.

Perhaps living down below the Opera House for all eternity wasn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe never feeling the heat of the sun, or the chill of the wind was a fair exchange for the defense that this everlasting twilight would bring to Abigail.

Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world

Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before

Let your soul take you where you long to be

Erik bent her over slowly as he drew out the next line,

Only then you can belong to me.

Abigail opened her eyes to the darkness. Belong to him? She didn't really like the sound of that. Freedom, if anything, was priceless to her. Even with her sight chaining her down, Abigail considered her ability to do as she wished key to survival.

This thought vanished the moment that Erik kissed her neck. Abigail sighed deeply, letting him carry her off towards the swan bed.

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication

Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation

Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in

To the power of the music that I write

The power of the music of the night

Erik walked closer to the swan bed, slowly moving his hands up to Abigail's face as he almost forced her to back up to the edge of the bed. They paused for a moment, both waiting for the other.

You alone can make my song take flight

Help me make the music of the night…

Erik's thumb caresses her bottom lip. Abigail could hardly breathe. She felt numb. Her mind had shut down. Nothing but the two of them existed. Abigail wrapped her arms around his chest, seeking his warmth, wanting to be closer to his protection. She suddenly felt so safe in this darkness, this comforting knowledge that there was nothing down here but them. There was nothing to be afraid of for there was nothing else to see or hear or touch.

And oh, Erik just felt so… Alive. So… vibrant. He reacted to her clutch, moving himself closer to Abigail. She let him close the distance between their bodies. She let him pull her chin closer to his face.

She let him press his lips against hers.

She let him stay there for a moment, petrified. But she also let him slowly relax, and then she let him pull back slowly.

It was her first kiss.

Abigail reached up and touched her tingling lips. She giggled, a bit drunk with this new feeling.

"Do not leave me in the darkness, Abigail… Stay with me in this blanket of night. We are safe here. No one will harm us. "

Suddenly, it felt wrong. No, no, no! Abigail did not want this, any of this. But she was lying to herself… She wanted Erik. Abigail knew this now; Erik and her were so different, and yet, so similar. She did feel safe around him. But safety was not the only feeling anymore. Perhaps love began to sprout; when, exactly, was an excellent question.

But Abigail, while living in the darkness, was a creature of the light. She needed to feel the sun on her skin and know it was there to brighten the world around her. She desperately wanted to smell sweet flowers and imagine their bright colors. Abigail wanted to listen to the buzz of a crowded street and fantasize about a passing stranger's appearance.

And, oh, how desperately she wanted to see Aimee and Doug again.

Abigail closed her eyes; she wanted both worlds. She wanted to be with this creature of darkness, and yet, she did not want to extinguish the light within her.

But Abigail was forgetting something. Hope was not yet lost; Abigail still had a chance to convince Erik to come out of his twilight, and step into the light. She had to make him believe in the world.

Erik was blind.

Abigail would make Erik see.

WELL? HOW DO YOU LIKE ITTTTTTT? :D

We are approaching a part in the story I have had planned for like, EVER. I want to write it so badly, but I must not rush it... Must not rush it... o.o

The more you review, the faster the next chapter gets out! Yay for new chapters!

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