A/N: Hello there! I hope you all had a great week. I've managed to write a little more of this story, so here goes nothing. Honestly, Slightly Broken isn't moving along as fast as My Little Rose did, so I'm wondering if I'm doing anything wrong/different with this story. Please do give me your honest comments so that I can improve! (:

Guest: Thank you! I do hope you enjoy this chapter about the Premiere! (:

box5: hehehe (:

Masked Man: Mirelle is a character who I will (presumably) go deeper in-depth about in upcoming chapters! I'm keeping things mysterious by dropping only small hints about her as the story goes, hehe!

emeraldphan: I agree! I think friendships are very important; no man is an island. I prefer to write Erik as a more humane person compared to the actual Phantom, in that he appreciates and values friendship! (:

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Chapter 10

Finally, the car stopped, and Nadir turned slightly to glance at Christine. "Are you ready for this?"

Christine gulped. "I think so?"

"It will be fine," Erik said quietly from beside her, his tone low yet reassuring. "Let me do the talking. Don't say anything more than you absolutely need to."

With that, he opened the door and stepped out, before walking over to the other side of the car to help Christine out.

She placed a foot on the pavement and lifted herself out of the car as nimbly as she could, clutching onto Erik's hand tightly.

There was a murmur, and then a volley of flashing lights. Christine found herself blinking to clear her eyes of the dark spots dancing across her vision.

"Who's that, Mr Chanteur?" One reporter shouted. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Catch a photo of that woman, quick!"

"Mr Chanteur, Mr Chanteur! Look this way, please!"

"Who's that woman with you?"

"Can we have an interview later on?"

"Mr Chanteur! Is it true that you have stopped composing recently and have taken on the role of a mentor?"

"Mr Chanteur! Mr Chanteur!"

Christine let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding in. "Wow," she murmured.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Are we good to go?"

"Yeah," she said, looking incredulously at the mass of reporters shouting questions at them, prevented from coming too close by the barricades. "I think we're good to go."

He smirked, as though he were saying 'I told you so', reminding her of when he had cynically shot down her idea of a movie premiere being something rather enjoyable. Then he held out his arm to her, and breathing in deeply, she took it.

He stopped before the media wall, where another crowd of ravenous photographers waited, with their black cameras gleaming like stainless steel cutlery.

"Five seconds," he told them curtly, and another volley of flashing lights and clicks momentarily blinded Christine again. Then he was tugging on her arm again, indicating that they should move, and she mutely followed him into the foyer of the large theatre.

It was darker inside the building, and Christine had to wait as her eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting. The lights in the foyer were dim, with metal sconces on the wall casting a soft electric glow around the place. Tall, thin tables had been set up around the place, and crowds of people were currently milling about greeting the other guests, or gathered around the tables holding their flutes of champagne.

"Erik Chanteur, in the flesh!" A voice boomed from behind them, and they turned to see a strikingly handsome man striding toward them with a blonde woman on his arm.

"Ah, Nathaniel," Erik said dryly. "It should not be such a surprise that I am here. Hello, Miss de Lecie."

The couple had neared them, and it was for the first time that Christine saw Nathaniel Griffin and Tess de Lecie up close. They made a devastatingly good-looking pair. Nathaniel Griffin was tall and debonair in his slate grey pinstriped suit and black bowtie, with his dark hair combed back neatly, and Tess de Lecie held onto his arm elegantly, her lithe figure encased in a sheath of pure white and her blond hair swept into an elaborate up-do.

"How is it that you manage to make me feel like an old librarian every single time?" Tess de Lecie grumbled. "'Miss de Lecie', indeed! I have lost count of the number of times I have asked you to call me 'Tess'."

"Ah, Erik's like that, Tess," Nathaniel Griffin said, his eyes twinkling. "It will take much more than that to make him drop his formalities. And who is this charming lady right here?"

He shifted his gaze to Christine, who flushed a bright red.

"I am a fan!" She blurted out. "I love both of your movies, Mr Griffin, Miss de Lecie!"

She heard Erik snort from beside her and she gulped in embarrassment. "I mean… ah…"

"She's one of my new students at the Academy," Erik cut in smoothly. "Her name is Christine."

"Christine," Tess de Lecie said, smiling brilliantly and holding out a hand. "Thank you for your praise, indeed."

It was with a very flustered voice and rapidly beating heart that Christine shook hands with both Nathaniel Griffin and Tess de Lecie, feeling a little faint indeed. She took a photograph with them on her mobile phone, thinking that Meg would be insanely jealous when she saw the photo. After thanking them, she made her way back to where Erik waited. He nodded at the pair of actors, before they went off to greet other guests.

"I'm just curious," Christine asked, "But how do you know Nathaniel Griffin?"

"We met at the Academy," Erik said shortly, as way of explanation. "He was one year my junior, and we had a class together."

"Ah," Christine began to say, but she was cut off by a loud voice calling Erik's name from behind. She turned to see a portly man rushing toward them, his hands clutching a camera.

Erik tensed.

"Erik Chanteur!" The man smiled saccharinely. "What a surprise. Who's that with you?"

"Reporters aren't allowed in the foyer, Trevner." Erik said acidly, frowning at the man and ignoring his question. "What are you doing here?"

"My dear Mr Chanteur," Trevner said, beaming again, though his smile did not quite reach his eyes, "I have some connections. They can't exactly deny entrance to a reporter from The Scoop, you know. Our newspaper is widely read…"

"I highly doubt so," Erik spat, rolling his eyes. "A gossip rag, 'widely read'? Nice try, Trevner."

"That's not what the readers were saying a couple of years ago when those articles came out, Mr Chanteur." The reporter's smile hardened a little at the corners. "You remember them, don't you?"

"The drivel you write is of no concern to me," Erik said coldly.

"Really?" Trevner smiled a wide smile. "Then, who is this young lady here?"

Erik looked most displeased with the situation, as though he had been hoping that the reporter would forget Christine's presence. He turned to leave, but Trevner cut in between Erik and Christine, smiling at her in a rather disarming manner.

"Fabien Trevner, top reporter at The Scoop," the man said pompously, sticking his hand out toward her. "And who are you, miss?"

Christine stared at his outstretched hand, unsure of whether she should take it, but before she could respond, Erik had grasped her shoulders and guided her away.

"She's nobody The Snoop should be reporting about, Trevner," Erik warned over his shoulder.

"It's The Scoop!" Trevner snarled as they walked away. "It was good to see you, Mr Chanteur."

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After the premiere, Christine found herself safely ensconced within the car, listening to Erik's blistering comments about the reporter they had met earlier.

"You would do well to stay away from him, Erik," Nadir observed wisely. "The last time he reported something about you…"

"Do not remind me about that," Erik snarled. "That lowlife excuse for a reporter should not even have been let into the venue. 'The Scoop', indeed. That newspaper is an utter rag and everyone knows it."

"Yes," Nadir agreed patiently, "but the problem is that people still read it. You know how entertainment news is like, Erik. And honestly, it's not you I'm worried about, it's Christine…"

"Me?" Christine wrinkled her nose in concern. "Why?"

"You're not used to being in the public eye," Nadir said, catching her gaze in the reflection of the windscreen mirror. "And the media rags can be hurtful with their words. Perhaps bringing you to a movie premiere has not been Erik's best decision…"

"No," she cut in, hoping to defend him a little. "I do not regret going to this premiere at all. Regardless of what the newspapers can report."

Nadir sighed.

Christine looked sideways toward Erik, but he looked contemplative, and remained silent, staring out of the window at the passing buildings with a stony gaze.

When they reached her house, Erik made to open his door to help her out, but she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you for the invite today. I did enjoy myself."

The ghost of a smile drifted across his face, but he merely nodded. Christine thanked Nadir for the ride, and stepped out of the car.

As she entered her house, she could not stop a niggling thought at the back of her head. She wondered what Trevnor had reported about Erik, to warrant a warning from Nadir to stay away from him. As far as she knew, there were very few articles about Erik Chanteur – Meg had tried to search for information about him, but had come up with not much – which made it even stranger. Christine sighed; she would have to find out what it was, or risk having the same questions clamouring to be answered at the back of her head.

She booted up her laptop, and opened a Web browser, before typing in the name of Trevner's newspaper. She did a quick search for Erik's name. She stared at the blank screen as it loaded slowly, biting her lip with apprehension, wondering why exactly she was nervous about doing this. It felt wrong to be searching for information about him, and perhaps, just perhaps, she was worried that the articles she were about to read would tarnish her image of him.

As the page loaded, Christine's eyes widened. Meg must not have been very thorough in her search, for there on the page right before her, were two articles with Erik's name in them.

'Genius composer having secret affair with student.'

'Possible case of coercion in composer's relationship?'

Christine clenched and unclenched her fists nervously before clicking on the first link. She read through the article with a furrowed brow, the crease between her brows deepening as she scrolled down the page and read. With a sinking feeling in her heart, she pressed the 'back' button, and clicked on the second link.

In the ten minutes she had taken to read the long, malicious articles, she had found out much more about Erik Chanteur, much more than she had ever expected to know.

According to the first article, Erik Chanteur, genius composer of the century, had been found to be in a secret relationship with his student, after she was photographed leaving his apartment in the early hours of the morning, though the couple had declined to comment. The second article was more shocking; it painted him as a vile, perverse creature who had forced his student to be in a relationship with him despite her reluctance.

Christine closed the browser, feeling sick.

It had not been a coincidence after all, the way the reporter had leered at her. He must have thought – Christine groaned, dropping her head into her palms.

There was nothing queer about their relationship; Christine was fairly sure that Erik saw her only as a student, and she in turn respected him as her teacher. And yet—and yet, now that she had read the articles, she could not stop the ugly doubts from invading her mind.

They made her feel sick.

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A/N: Uh-oh! Wonder what's coming next? Anyway, do read/fav/follow/leave a review to let me know what you think! It would be much appreciated! xx hazel