Guys! I'm sorry! I'm not dead! I was just SUPER SUPER busy past few weeks. At one point, I wasn't able to update if I wanted to. And I did. Sigh. Well, I'm back though. And everything will, hopefully, go back to normal. Please accept my apologies and read the newest edition to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

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Well, That Was Awkward…And Humiliating

It took another three hours before the trio were done with the history homework. Christine yawned as she typed in her last answer and submitted it online. She glanced up and saw Meg rubbing her eyes and Raoul appearing about to fall asleep in his seat.

Christine grinned at them. "Come on. Let's call it a night. We'll meet up tomorrow to get the rest of it done."

Raoul groaned as he straightened up and stretched his arms above him. "It's a crime to be doing homework this late on a Friday night and have to still do more on a Saturday."

"It is not crime." Meg replied with a small grinned.

Raoul shrugged and stood up. "Well it should be. I swear, professors think we have no lives except to cater to their classes, as if we don't have any other ones."

"I'll agree to that." Christine nodded. "But at least the worse part of it is over…for this week at least."

"Do you purposely say these things to torture me?" Raoul replied as he placed the last of his things in his backpack and swung it over his shoulder.

"Only when it's funny." Christine replied easily and laughed when Raoul sent her a scowl.

"Obviously what you need is some food. We can go to the dining hall, I think they're open for another hour." Meg suggested.

The three of them made their way out of the library when Christine replied.

"Don't you feel bad going so close to closing?" she began. "I mean, the people there working are probably trying to relax after the chaos the dinner shift brings yet there are still a few stragglers that come in last minute. I know it would annoy me."

"Maybe." Meg conceded. "But I want a meal! Not just some fast food place that's open on campus. I got a meal plan and I plan on using it!"

Christine laughed but agreed to go to the dining hall. The three of them joked and talked about nothing at all until they got to the hall where Christine spotted a trio coming out of the large building. She almost stumbled at catching sight of the white mask that was adorned on the man in the middle's face. It covered his face almost completely, except for his eyes and below where his cheekbones would be. She would recognize the well-dressed man anywhere.

Said man with a mask also must have seen them as he walked out with Raoul's roommate Nadir and a woman with long braided hair that resembled Meg, because his golden eyes lit up and he began to make his way over.

"Meg! How's my pearl?" Erik called out to get the other girl's attention.

Meg glanced up and smiled.

"Not bad. Just got out of doing a session for our history homework." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Three hours to do it!"

"It is history," Nadir replied in his deep voice as him and the woman, who Christine could only guess as being Antoinette, came to them as well. "You shouldn't be surprise by the work load."

"I didn't think it would be this much for a beginner class!" Meg argued. "I thought I wouldn't get into this much reading unless I was a history major!"

"That's college for you." Antoinette answered with a grin. "I told you it's harder than you think."

"My dear, be kind. I remember a certain someone also having difficulty in the beginning." Erik replied with a smirk and Antoinette rolled her eyes but had a grin on her lips.

Christine watched the four interact without saying anything. She knew that Raoul didn't feel very comfortable as he stood next to her, because he didn't like Erik and was tense around Nadir. However, it was interesting to see how Meg acted around her sibling and her friends. The older three was all standing close to each other in front of Meg, and when one made a gesture, one of the other two would also move as if they were connected somehow. Christine didn't think she ever met people who were obviously as close the three in front of her.

Abruptly, Erik's eyes glanced to the side and met hers for a moment. The intensity of those eyes almost made her breathless but was able to not have a visible reaction.

"Ah, I don't believe we've met before." Erik turned to her fully and stepped forward from between Antoinette and Nadir. He held out his hand. "I'm Erik."

Christine was mentally horrified as she felt her cheeks heat up from getting the attention of the man who created one of her favorite musicals. She knew that her horror probably only increased the red that was probably on her cheeks but silently hoped that Erik wouldn't pay it much mind.

"I'm Christine." She replied as she took his hand.

"Miss Daae then." Erik remarked simply. Christine's eyes widen and he chuckled. "My pearl has already told me about you. However, I wanted to make sure that I had the correct person."

Christine sent a scowl towards Meg who was standing behind Erik but she gave an innocent shrug.

"All things she's said are good things, I assure you." Erik continued with an amused spark in his eye. "She has told me that you sing quite beautifully."

Christine felt like she would never turn a normal shade again, she would forever had a pink tint to her cheeks.

"I'm okay." She mumbled.

Erik shook his head.

"If Meg gives a compliment to someone they have truly earned it." He let go of her hand and nodded towards Raoul. "Mr. de Chagny."

Christine felt Raoul twitch behind her as if he was startled that Erik directly addressed him.

"Erik." Raoul greeted with a grumble in his tone. It made Christine want to elbow him but didn't want the others to see it.

Erik blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but Antoinette came up to stand by him.

"Don't keep Meg's friends to yourself, introduce me." She told him.

Instantly, Erik turned towards her with a grin. "Fine, though I know you are more than capable of doing it yourself. Miss Daae. Mr. de Chagny. This is Antoinette."

"I'm Meg's older sister." Antoinette continued with a mischievous smirk. "Let me know if you want any embarrassing stories of her, I got plenty."

"Now, now." Nadir came up when Meg began to protest. "If you share any stories of her, I'll make sure to do the same to you."

Antoinette gained a betrayed look and Meg made a triumphant sound.

"Come on." Erik declared before Antoinette could argue, taking her hand and wrapping it around the crease of his arm. "They have to get inside before the hall closes. Let's leave them to it."

Antoinette didn't protest and Erik turned back to them.

"It was nice meeting you Miss Daae. Mr. de Chagny, I'll see you on Monday. Goodnight Meg."

With that, Erik began to lead Antoinette away and Nadir followed after them. Christine watched them for a few moments and then turned to Meg.

"Are you sure your sister isn't dating Erik? They sure act like a couple." She asked, though a part of her didn't want the answer in case it was a confirmation.

Meg shrugged and started towards the dining hall again. "They've always acted like that. Trust me, they do not like each other that way."

"I can see how people think they are together though." Raoul stated. They got inside and the cashier gave them a grumpy look but took their IDs to swipe.

"Nadir would be a more likely factor." Meg snorted, taking her card back and waited for them.

Christine raised one of her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Heck no! Nadir would castrate Erik before that." Meg laughed. "The three of them are more like…I don't really know how to describe them. I would say siblings but I don't think that's a strong enough word."

"Yeah, okay, I'm done talking about them. Let's eat already!" Raoul exclaimed and practically ran to one of the stations for food.

Christine laughed and Meg and she followed after him.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you don't like Erik." Christine stated as she and Raoul made their way towards their history class on Monday.

It had been a long weekend of getting her assignments done but Christine pulled through it and even got a little ahead of one of her classes. Not that it meant much in the end because the professor for that class ended up changing the material for their next section. As a result, what made her get ahead for that short period of time was useless now.

Raoul rolled his eyes. "You know why. The man is arrogant, you don't see it though because you're his fan."

"But he was nice yesterday." Christine huffed. "And don't bring me liking his musical into this. Your opinion of him seems childish, you don't know the real him."

"Neither do you." Raoul countered.

Christine had to admit that he had a point and remained quiet for a couple minutes.

When they were close to the building that they needed, Christine saw a motion in the corner of her eye and looked up. To her surprise it was Erik across the street and he was waving his hand above his head towards them. Startled and a little bit happy that he noticed her, Christine paused on the sidewalk and gave a small wave back.

Erik's grin widened and he placed his arm down. However, his eyes moved away from Christine. That was when she spotted Antoinette heading towards Erik a few yards away from where Christine was standing. Antoinette hurried across the street and Erik greeted her with the same grin.

Christine felt embarrassment flood her cheeks with its heat and redness and quickly looked away. She saw Raoul watching her with an amused smirk and she glared back.

"Don't say a word." She hissed at him.

"That's not fair, you always tease me when I do something embarrassing." Raoul teased, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That wasn't embarrassing, that was humiliating." Christine replied. She placed her hand over her face, trying to will away the redness she probably had.

"Well, I think he saw you anyway. Look." Raoul told her.

Reluctantly, Christine turned towards where Erik and Antoinette had been and saw that they were still there. Erik was again waving his hand. Christine looked around first but when she saw that there was no one waving back or heading towards them, she turned back.

Erik gave her a look that said, "yes, I'm waving at you." Christine quickly waved back again and Erik stopped when she did. He sent her a grin before turning away and he and Antoinette walked away.

"I think that was worse because now I know that he saw me making such a bad mistake." Christine remarked. She began to walk again and Raoul followed after her for a bit then came to walk by her side.

"True. Now he probably thinks you're weird." Raoul agreed.

Christine groaned and placed her head in her hands. She was not worried about bumping into anything since Raoul would move or stop her if there was something.

"You know, if we weren't already polyamorous, I think I would feel jealous." Raoul announced thoughtfully. "You're acting like how you did when you liked that boy our freshman year. It looks like someone has a crush on a certain genius."

Christine shook her head. "I don't know him enough to have a crush. Besides, we both agree on who we want to bring in. I know you don't like him, so he's not an option."

"While I appreciate the thought, that doesn't stop your thoughts does it?" Raoul asked with a leer. "Even I will admit that he's nice to look at. I just don't like his attitude."

Christine glanced away, placing her hands back by her sides. She tried to keep her expression neutral when she answered. "I refuse to answer that."

Raoul let out a laugh. "That's basically saying yes!"

Christine pushed him and he laughed harder.

There! I hope that was an enjoyable read! If it was, be sure to leave a review! I'll try to get the next chapter as I planned. It'll be in Raoul's POV! Review! :)