Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

Why Do I Keep Getting Into These Situations?

Christine got up from the computer she was using and went over to the printer. She was not happy that she was there this late into the night, but she knew she should be grateful that such a thing was offered at the school.

She had been up late as it is, trying to complete another assignment for one of her classes. When she had finished and started to get ready to go to bed, she had suddenly realized that she hadn't printed out an assignment for another class that was due tomorrow morning. Though technically by that time, it was that morning. Christine had rushed to get the bare items that she needed and practically sprinted to the 24hr computer center on campus. She was super grateful that her dorm was close by and had made it within a few minutes.

The boy behind the counter had given her a look as she had pushed the door open and panted in place a few moments.

She ignored him and went over to one of the rooms that held a printer. Christine felt gross because she had broken out in sweat from her sprint but the weather had been freezing. Not a good combination, but she tried to not think about it.

As she walked inside the room, she briefly saw one person in the room, but didn't notice who it was. Too focused on the task at hand. There were two rows of computers that shared a set of tables back to back. Christine went to the side that held the printer against its wall and sat down.

She brought her USB drive out and quickly signed onto the computer to get her file. Opening it up, Christine set it to print and gave it the okay to do so. She made it to the printer and took out her ID, sliding it through the computer to get her file. Her account opened up and she tapped the file that she needed and gave the okay to print it.

The printer came to life and she leaned against the table that the printer was on to wait. Yawning, she covered her mouth with her hand before shaking her head to wake herself up.

Suddenly, about halfway through her printout, the printer made a noise that didn't at all sound very good to Christine. Her fears were confirmed when the printer stopped working.

Christine let out a soft groan but wondered if she could fix it. She didn't know much about printers, especially the monster size ones on campus but she knew how to check paper. She opened up all the draws of the printer but no luck with that. All of them were filled. She glanced at the screen but it wasn't out of ink either. Not wanting to go out and get the boy at the front desk, she began to panic. She needed her assignment!

"Miss Daae?" A deep voice like velvet spoke behind her.

She turned around and was right in her guess that it was Erik. He was standing a few feet away from her and when he had her attention, he gestured towards the printer.

"Need help?" he asked.

Christine nodded gratefully. "If you can get this thing to work, I'll owe you one."

She saw the twitch of Erik's lips as he fought back a smile. "That will not be necessary. I'll consider it my good deed of the day."

Christine watched as Erik began to mess with the printer and couldn't help but remember what had happened a few days ago. Erik had apparently been the one to cause a fire in their dorm kitchen and Raoul had confronted him about it. However, when Raoul had made a move that got too close to the older, Erik had recoiled almost violently. She thought about that moment, how impossibly wide Erik's eyes had gotten, and how he looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

She didn't know much about panic attacks but she certainly knew that what Raoul did caused Erik to react like that.

After Raoul had taken Christine back inside that night, she had given him a scolding for his actions. She wasn't just upset about Erik's reaction, though that was a big part of it, she was also mad that Raoul would do such a thing in the first place. Raoul had been quiet through her lecture making her believe that he had been taken off guard by Erik's reaction as well. With that in mind, Christine had felt that he regretted what he did and had kissed him goodnight.

They hadn't talked about it since and while Raoul had class with Erik once since the incident, Christine had not heard or seen the older man since. Now he was a few feet away from her and she was glad that it didn't feel awkward. She was sure that Erik wanted to forget about the incident and she was curious, but she would let it go.

"There!" Erik suddenly announced, bringing Christine out of her thoughts. The printer whirled back to life and started to print again.

"What did you do?!" Christine demanded in excitement.

Erik shrugged and lifted up something that was in his hand. Christine saw that it was a torn up paper.

"Simple enough, it was jammed." Erik explained. He tossed the paper towards the recycle bin and it landed inside.

Christine felt relief make her shoulders sag and she sighed. "Thank you."

Erik glanced at her. "What are you doing up this late anyway?"

Christine felt the heat come onto her cheeks at being the focus of Erik's gaze. She really needed to start getting use to that if she was to ever be able to be around him. But the golden eyes were intense, even if their owner wasn't doing anything.

"I was up anyway, had to finish an assignment. Then I realized that I had this thing due tomorrow and hadn't printed it out."

"Why didn't you do it in the morning?" Erik asked sounding genuinely confused, his head tilting to the side.

Oh my gosh, that's adorable! Christine thought and turned her gaze away to hide her blush.

"It's my first class, right at 8am." Christine answered. "I would rather stay up later than get up earlier."

"Ah, I can understand that." Erik's voice replied.

Christine heard movement and Erik walked passed her. He made his way back to one of the computers on the other side and picked up a bag. She realized that he had been in the room the whole time.

Now she felt like an idiot.

"Since that is done, I have to get going." Erik stated as he headed towards the door. When he got there, he turned his head back and sent her a grin. "Goodnight, Miss Daae."

"I think it's technically morning." Christine countered with a grin.

"Then good morning it is." Erik replied easily and walked out of the room.

When he was gone, Christine let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She placed her hand on her chest where her heart was and felt it pounding inside.

I do not have a crush on Erik! I don't know him enough for that! Christine thought to herself.

But she knew that wasn't true. She has had crushes on people before that she knew about less than Erik. Those never came to anything because she had been with Raoul and most of them were before the two of them had decided to be polyamorous. After that, they both had to be open to their potential third partner. They had done it before a few times in high school, luckily, no hearts were ever broken which would have made things extremely awkward for everyone involved.

The end of their senior year was their last partner, a girl that wasn't happy when they had broken up with her. She was too much of a drama queen and they both felt that she wasn't serious. Raoul and Christine were towards each other, however, they were looking for a partner that would complete them. They wanted something more permanent.

There had been a couple people, but they both needed to agree and one of them wouldn't. Then came Erik.

Christine hadn't felt like this towards anyone in a while, and that's before she knows him. She knew that a part of her feelings could be coming from the fact that she was a fan of his musical, but she didn't think that's all it was. She knew it didn't matter though, nothing would come of it. Raoul didn't like Erik therefore the crush would only remain one.

Damnit Raoul! Why did he have to think Erik was a jerk?! He doesn't seem like it, and she knew for a fact that if it wasn't for that, Raoul would be into Erik, at least in the physical aspect.

Raoul had a type, and Erik had the legs to match his type perfectly. She was more of a hand/shoulder person herself, but to each their own.

The room was abruptly silent, and Christine realized that the printer had stopped.

She quickly turned towards the machine, worried that there was another jam, but she saw the first page she needed for her assignment and grinned. She quickly grabbed up the papers and went back to her computer. She signed out of it and took out her USB. She placed everything together and began to walk out of the room.

Christine paused in the doorway and glanced back at the room for a reason she didn't know. She scanned the room and at first didn't see anything. However, her eyes landed on something sticking out of one of the computer towers and recognized it as a USB.

It was at the computer Erik had been using.

She went over to the computer and pulled the drive out. She made her way out of the room and started to head towards the front desk to turn in the USB to the boy working the desk. As she got closer, she slowed down her pace as an idea came to her. Christine stared down at the drive in her hand for a moment and then clenched it. This might be a bad idea, but she had a way to talk to Erik again. With that in mind, Christine picked up her pace again.

She walked right pass the front desk and went outside, the USB in her pocket.

And got another one done! I'm in a great mood because it's October and Halloween is my favorite holiday! I'm looking forward to all the Halloween themes around. Hmmm….anyway, hope the read was a good one. If it was be sure to leave a review! Next chapter will be in Erik's POV. See ya next time!