Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

Who the Heck Set Off the Fire Alarm?

Raoul groaned, reaching out to shut his alarm off but when he hit the button and the alarm continued, he opened his eyes. Outside was dark, he turned to his clock and saw that it was 3am. The alarm continued and Raoul finally realized that it was the fire alarm.

With another groan, Raoul stood up and put his jacket on and pocketed his ID and room key. He sent a look over to Nadir's side but didn't see the older man. Raoul shrugged made his way out, covering his ears to keep out the piercing alarm as he did.

As soon as he got outside, Raoul felt a gush of cold wind and shivered. He pulled his coat closer to himself and made his way down the stairs. A lot of the dorm was already outside, he spotted a couple looking like they had to rush out of the shower with their wet hair and robes. Raoul felt pity for them, though who the heck took a shower at 3 in the morning? He soon spotted Christine and Meg and headed towards them.

Meg was the one to see him first, no surprise since Christine was looking down, slouching as she tried to keep herself warm. Meg waved at him and nudged Christine. Christine tilted her head up and grinned weakly.

"Nice night we're having." Christine stuttered from the cold.

Raoul sighed and pulled Christine into his arms to warm her up. He flinched slightly at how cold Christine already was but tightened his hold and placed his chin on top of her head.

"Do they know if it's a drill or real thing yet?" He asked.

Meg shook her head. "They would never have a drill this late, especially when it's this cold out. I think it had to do with the kitchen."

"Great, just great. I have a damn quiz tomorrow! Right in the morning!" Raoul complained. "Who the hell would be this stupid?!"

Meg gained a sheepish look but didn't say anything. It was about 20 minutes before the firefighters showed up. At which point, Raoul had also began to shiver from the cold. Meg had been one of the few smart ones and had grabbed her jacket and blanket when she left her room.

"This is ridiculous!" Raoul hissed to Christine and Meg. "This is making me hate October even more!"

"I hear that." Christine whispered, Raoul felt her breath against his neck. "Though I would say the cold weather. I wouldn't blame the month, Raoul."

More and more people started to complain about the fact that everything was taking forever, Raoul being one of them. He was cold, tired, and had a quiz that morning. That was not a good combination for his mood.

Finally, after an hour of waiting outside, the firefighters came out and there was a group of students behind them, along with the RA, Resident Advisor, for the top floor with the kitchen. Raoul almost choked in disbelief at the people who had caused this.

"Raoul." He hear Meg say in warning.

"What is it?" Christine asked upon noticing Meg's tone and how Raoul stiffened. She looked up and caught sight of a certain trio. "Oh, crap. Raoul don't say anything."

Raoul didn't hear what either of them said. All he focus was on the fact that he had to wait outside in the cold at 3 in the frickin morning because of a certain masked man. It had been a few weeks since Christine had met him, and Raoul still didn't like Erik as much as before. If anything, his feelings towards the older man had probably gotten worse.

Erik was currently being escorted away from the building with Nadir and Antoinette close behind him. The RA's came and announced that the incident was taken care of and that everyone was allowed back inside. Raoul could hear the sighs of relief and shortly after the sounds of people walking back inside. He could feel Christine tugging on his arm to get him to move but he ignored her.

Instead, Raoul made his way to where the firefighters were talking to the trio. He heard Christine and Meg call his name but he didn't turn around and he soon heard the sound of their footsteps behind him.

By the time Raoul got to the trio, the firefighters had gone away. He stopped a few feet from Erik, who glanced up startled at someone in front of him.

"You idiot!" Raoul exclaimed fiercely. "What the hell did you do to the kitchen? And why in the world would you be using the kitchen in the frickin first place this late at night?!"

Erik stared at him with shocked eyes, the golden shade almost glowing under the light. If Raoul wasn't so mad, he probably would've found it enchanting. Erik opened his mouth to speak, but Raoul stopped him by pointing his finger at him.

What happened next caught Raoul off guard.

When Raoul reached forward to point his finger, he had gotten closer to Erik than he thought, only a few inches away. However, as he did, Erik flinched back violently. It was hard enough that Erik stumbled back and collided into Nadir who grabbed him to keep him upright. Erik's eyes were impossibly wide and he was suddenly panting in quick breaths.

Dumbfounded, Raoul's anger disappeared as he watched Nadir tightened his hold on Erik's arms to keep him from moving while Antoinette rushed in front of him and took Erik's face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the bottom rim of the mask.

"Shh…Erik, he wasn't going to do that." Antoinette hushed smoothly.

"I know." Erik answered weakly, his breathing calming down slightly. "It took me by surprise, that's all."

"I think you should leave."

Raoul turned his head and saw Meg with a serious expression.

"What the hell just…?" he began to ask but Meg quickly shook her head.

"Leave." Meg repeated more firmly.

Raoul felt his hand being taken and glanced at Christine, who was biting her lip in nerves. He wanted to demand answers as towards what happened but knew that he wasn't going to get any. He squeezed Christine's hand and began to pull her away from the others to go back inside.

However, Raoul couldn't help but take one last glance at the group. Erik was no longer being held by his two friends and they were all talking calmly to one another. Raoul saw to it that Christine made it to her room before going back to his.

He laid down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. The rest of the night, Raoul had trouble sleeping, not being able to get rid of the sight of a shaken Erik out of his mind.

"Why in the world didn't you say anything?" Antoinette asked when Raoul and Christine had gone back inside.

"He did not exactly give me time to tell him." Erik replied with a shrugged. He felt a lot calmer now that Mr. de Chagny was out of sight. He was embarrassed by his reaction as it was, he did not want to add to his shame by having to deal with the boy longer than necessary.

"Yeah, well, you could've made time." Antoinette huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You were not the one who caused the fire."

"Maybe not, but he probably would have blamed me no matter what. He does not like me." Erik told her coolly. "Besides, I took the blame for it with the school, I do not think it matters if the students think this too. I will not have you get into any trouble, my dear, not when there is something I can do about it."

Antoinette smirked in defeat. "If it's you, the school would let it go, however, me and Nadir are regular students and will take the regular consequences."

"At least it was not a true fire." Nadir pointed out. "There was no damage, they have no reason to punish any of us. It was the smoke that set the alarm off."

"I would not say that we are completely without punishment." Erik remarked thoughtfully. "I'm banned from using the kitchen for the rest of the semester because of it."

"That and Mr. de Chagny gave you quite the scolding." Antoinette stated with a frown.

"Yes, why exactly is that?" Nadir questioned with a frown.

Erik shrugged. "I have not the faintest idea. Since the beginning, I do not think he has liked me very much. Why? I do not know."

And he truly did not. Erik sees the younger boy three times a week and had gotten from him that he was not liked by the younger almost from the first day of class. Shame too because he thought the boy was smart. Certainly smarter than some of the other students that were in the class. Erik knew that Mr. de Chagny was not a music major, but appreciated the effort he put into the class even though it was only a requirement class for him. Considering the fact that he was also Meg's friend, made Erik want to get along with him, but the other seemed determined to not have that happen

Speaking of Meg, Erik turned his head and saw Meg standing a little ways from them. He held out his hand for her to take which she did.

"And how's my pearl doing? You are certainly one of the cleverer students to have thought of bringing a blanket out with you." Erik stated.

"I knew that Anton was going to try cooking tonight and was prepared." Meg remarked with a causal tone but with a grin on her lips.

Erik chuckled at hearing that and Antoinette's protest behind him. Meg squeezed his hand.

"You feeling better?" she inquired with a tone that left no room for lying.

Erik nodded. "Perfectly alright now, Mr. de Chagny took me by surprise that is all. Come on, let us head back inside. You need your rest."

Meg frowned but let the subject go. To make sure she does not change her mind, Erik quickly pulled for Meg to follow him and led her back to her room. The others followed and Erik gave Meg a kiss on her forehead in goodnight. After that, the trio went to Antoinette's floor and spoke their goodnights to each other.

"I wish I could find out why the boy does not like you." Nadir told Erik as they headed to their floor.

Erik shook his head. "It is fine. If you push, that might make him more hostile towards me. Plus it could ruin your own relationship."

Nadir snorted. "What relationship? We hardly ever see each other as it is. Heck, you probably see him more than I do every week with that class of yours alone."

"Well, when you put it like that…" Erik trailed off. He felt Nadir place his hand on his shoulder and gave him a side glance.

"That boy made a mistake today. He was angry and did not know what his actions would do. That much I know about him. He was not trying to remove your mask, Erik." Nadir declared firmly.

Erik gave his friend a small grin. "I know. Still, it is hard to stop a reflex that was the result of one's childhood."

Nadir let out a sigh and removed his hand. "Yes, I suppose so."

"Now I cannot help but think he does not like me even more." Erik remarked as they got to his room. "At least Meg's other friend appears to not feel the same."

"Miss Daae? I guess. She's certainly more polite than the boy in any case." Nadir stated.

Erik snorted. "Can you stop calling him 'boy'? He's only a couple years younger than us."

"Every male who is fresh out of high school is a boy. They have no idea what the real world is like yet." Nadir deadpanned.

This time, Erik let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Goodnight Nadir."

"Goodnight." Nadir replied with a single nod before heading towards his room.

With a sigh, Erik unlocked his door and stepped inside. Because he was on scholarship, the school had given him his own room. Usually that is only for RA's but Erik was grateful that the school made an exception. Though he knew that it was only because of his…fame, Erik supposed, that he was allowed such a things.

However, he would take what he could get. He was grateful that his first class did not start until mid-morning and, as a result, could sleep in to make up for tonight's incident.

Erik quickly changed and when he did, he made to move to take his mask off but paused. His mind went back to Mr. de Chagny suddenly reaching out and how he had flinched back. He knew the next second that it had not been the other's intention to remove the mask, but he had still recoiled.

Erik had too many bad memories of people's reactions to his face to ever want someone to ever see it again. His dear Antoinette, his pearl Meg, and his best friend Nadir did not count towards that. They had seen him and accepted him for who he was, face and all. However, Erik could never ask for any more people to be accepting.

Sure he had hoped when he was younger, but that long ago stopped. Too many people have seen and became disgusted and/or terrified. Then he had gotten his mask and people suddenly became curious. They told him they liked him and he would reveal himself, only to have the illusion of such feelings broken in those people. Therefore, he developed the reflex of withdrawing when someone got too close to his mask.

Still, Erik wished that he no longer had such a reaction and to have such a weakness revealed to Meg's friends was disgraceful in his opinion. Hopefully, they would never bring the subject up. Maybe then, he could pretend…

With a sigh, Erik took off his mask and placed it by his bed. He went to sleep shortly after.

There we go! Another chapter up! Hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to leave a review! They make me extremely happy! Next POV will be in Christine's. See ya next time!