Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

The Things You Do For Friends

Erik looked up at the large house in front of him and sighed. He did not want to be there, it was a place where people went to get drunk and have affairs. Not exactly his idea of having a good time. Already, he was hearing the yells inside that let him know that people were getting drunk.

He looked back down and saw a number of students waiting to get inside the house of the popular fraternity. He slowed down his pace but was grabbed by his arm. He turned and glared at Antoinette, who had his arm.

"What am I doing here again?" Erik asked with distaste. He heard a crash and looked up to see several boys tossing items at the crowd below. Erik spotted one of them throwing eggs.

How childish.

"You're here as a favor to me." Antoinette reminded him. Her grip on his arm tightened for a moment, she had seen what was happening above them. "I didn't want to come here by myself."

"What I don't understand is why you wanted to come here in the first place." Nadir remarked from his spot on Erik's other side.

Antoinette shrugged. "I guess I wanted to be able to say I went to at least one of these things, besides, one of my classmates in dance invited me. I didn't want to decline. It's not like we're here to do what everyone else is."

"I don't want to know what everyone else is here for." Nadir grumbled, shivering in his jacket. The January air was cold and crisp this late into the night. He grabbed the jacket collar and pulled it closer to his face. "Can we go inside now? I'm losing feeling in my toes!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Antoinette huffed but led the way inside the house.

The music was loud outside the house, but when they got inside, Erik cringed at the volume. It was practically blaring in his ears and the music itself would not be something he normally listened too. They were greeted by a lot of people everywhere, either standing by the wall or snack table or dancing in the large living room. 90% of the people held red solo cups in their hands, its contents obvious.

Erik could see a number of furniture upturned and his nose wrinkled underneath his mask. The smell was overwhelmed by sweat and alcohol.

"This is unpleasant." Erik remarked firmly, not wanting to go inside any further. If anything, he wanted to turn right around and leave.

It was a shame that Antoinette had a firm hold on his arm.

"You are not leaving me." Antoinette hissed under her breath with a hint of warning as if reading his thoughts. To be honest, Erik sometimes wondered.

"We're not leaving you." Nadir confirmed. He took another look around the place. "But you have to admit this isn't our thing."

"I know." Antoinette conceded. "We won't be here long, I promise. But I, at least, want to make sure that my friend knows I came."

Erik snorted. "Friend, huh? You are not talking about Daniel, are you?"

He spotted the blush that bloomed on his friends cheeks and grinned. He had gotten it correct.

Nadir groaned next to him. "Really? We are here to say hi to your boyfriend?"

"He is not my boyfriend!" Antoinette protested, but her tone was weak.

"But you want him to be." Erik countered, then yelped when Antoinette pinched his arm. He sent her a glare, which she returned. Her face was a bright red and as a result, Erik relented. He let out a sigh. "Fine, let's go find him."

Antoinette beamed at him, making Erik sigh again internally. The things he does for his friends.

Luckily, it did not take them long to find the man they wanted. Erik was happy to note that the older man was one of the few that did not have one of those red cups glued to his hand but was sitting on the couch comfortably eating snacks. Antoinette made them promise to not leave her line of sight, which they promised easy enough, before heading over to sit down next to the man.

"She looks completely besotted." Nadir remarked a few minutes later as him and Nadir watched Antoinette talk with the senior called Daniel. "What do you think?"

"Absolutely." Erik approved when Antoinette laughed. "Though I would say it makes her appear radiant as well."

Nadir shook his head. "I remain amazed by the fact that you two never ended up together. Not even a phase."

"As I have told you in the past, dating her would be like dating you." Erik deadpanned. He turned to his friend. "You want to date me?"

That earned him a punch in his shoulder. It hurt for a moment then dulled.

"Whatever." Nadir rolled his eyes.

Erik smirked then caught sight of something in the corner of his eye.

He glanced towards where he saw the movement then froze. "Oh crap."

"What?" Nadir frowned, turning to look at what had thrown Erik, then also froze. "Oh crap!"

Across the room from them, near the entrance to the kitchen from living room, Meg was cheerfully talking to a girl.

"What in the world is she doing here?!" Nadir hissed, his eyes wide from panic.

"I don't know but I do not plan on allowing Antoinette to see her." Erik stated. "She would kill Meg."

"Don't I know it." Nadir agreed. He jerked his thumb in Antoinette's direction, who thankfully had her back towards Meg. "I'll make sure she doesn't get suspicious while you're gone. Be quick."

Erik nodded before making his way towards Meg. He came up behind her and the girl she was talking with went quiet and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Please do not tell me you are here alone." Erik whispered.

Meg jumped and turned around with startled eyes. Said eyes got bigger when she realized who it was. "Erik—"

Erik held up his hand to stop her. He gestured for her to follow him, which she did sheepishly after saying bye to the girl. He took her to the den room where there were not many people before turning back. He gave her a disapproving frown. "What are you doing here?"

Meg would not meet his eyes. "Ah, enjoying a party."

The answer sounded more like a question. Erik closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath before letting it out slowly. "I hope that does not relate to anything illegal for your age—"

Meg's head jerked upwards as she looked at him in shock. "Of course not! I came because I was invited and wanted to hang out with some friends before school started. How could you think that I would?!"

Erik nodded, letting her know he believed her. He should not have thought that Meg would drink but he had wanted to be sure. College was a place where people changed. Antoinette hated people who drink with a passion. Well, it was people who drank irresponsibly and those who did that the most were college students. Drinking had been the cause of death of her and Meg's father when they had been children. He had been driving late at night when he had gotten hit by a vehicle that had ran a red light. The person that had done it had been a drunk college student. "Does that mean that you're not alone?"

"No, I came with a couple others." Meg suddenly was looking at everything except Erik, like she was trying to hide something.

Erik frowned at that. "Okay well, I need you to either leave with them right now or I can give you a ride back."

Meg glanced at him with confusion. "Why?"

Erik gave her a look. "Why do you think? Here's a hint, do you think I would come to one of these things by myself?"

Erik could tell the exact moment Meg realized who else was here at the party. Her jaw dropped in disbelief and she went pale. When Erik nodded again, she cursed under her breath.

"She's going to kill me." Meg groaned, placing her hands to her temples.

"Only if you get caught." Erik acknowledged.

"Where is she?" Meg asked.

"In the living room, the front door will not be for you." Erik informed her.

Meg nodded, placing her hands down. "Okay. Okay! There's a back door, I can go through that easily."

"Do you want a ride or will your friends leave with you?" Erik questioned. They made their way out of the den room and headed towards the kitchen that had the back door.

Meg visibly hesitated in answering, causing Erik confusion when the answer revealed itself.

"Meg! Where are you going?" a familiar voice called out.

Erik slowed down his pace at the voice and Meg shot Erik a guilty look. If he did not have his mask on, she would have been able to see the eyebrow raise, but he did have his mask. He was pretty sure Meg saw his disbelief.

They were in the kitchen, a large one that had a decent amount of people in it but not enough for it to be uncomfortable. Most of them were drinking and talking, away from the music booming in the living room.

Erik paid none of that mind but instead turned around.

Two pairs of eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Hello Miss Daae, Mr. de Chagny. What a surprise to find you here." Erik remarked causally, crossing his arms over his chest. He sent a glance to Meg, who was fidgeting in the place she was standing before turning back to the couple in front of him. "I take it you two are the friends Meg came with?"

Meg was the one who answered with a confirmation.

Erik hummed and tapped his fingers on his arm a few times, staring at the couple, who looked increasingly uncomfortable.

He had to say that he was a little disappointed with the couple in front of him. He had not seen them since December when the fall semester had ended but he had kept in contact with them through the vacation. They had gotten close enough that Erik would consider them friends, but what a disappointing encounter for them after the break. He had not taken either of them as a person to go to these types of parties. The more you know.

"Meg." Erik stated, catching her attention even though his eyes did not leave the couple in front of him. "I suggest you take your friends and leave before any of you get caught."

The couple flinched at the title 'your friends.' Christine, who was biting her lip, opened her mouth.

"We weren't drinking Erik."

Ah, so she knew the reason behind Erik's sudden coldness. Maybe he had judged them a little too quickly, he could admit that he had a habit of doing that when it came to alcohol, especially at these kinds of parties.

Erik shook his head. "Forgive me for being hasty then, but I do recommend leaving anyway." He dropped his arms and made his way towards the door that led to the living room. He caught sight of Antoinette sitting on the couch talking to Daniel and spotted Nadir in the same spot where he had left him, leaning against the wall. He turned back to Meg. "Antoinette will not be pleased if she catches sight of you."

Meg straightened at the reminder of this whole thing. She went to Christine and started to pull her towards the door. "Come on, Anton will kill me if she sees me and may or may not do bodily harm to the two of you."

"We haven't done anything!" Raoul protested.

"Doesn't matter." Meg countered, going to pull at him.

"It really doesn't." Erik added when the younger man glanced at him. He went up and placed his hands on the couple's shoulders. "Meg will explain things to you. I will see you around."

At his touch, the couple blushed but Erik paid that no mind. Christine nodded and grabbed Raoul's hand to help Meg pull him. Which he did not fight back.

"Thanks Erik." Meg thanked, giving him a quick peck on his cheek below the mask before leaving the house with Christine and Raoul.

Erik let out a sigh of relief, his shoulder's dropping down. He went to the entrance to the living room and saw Antoinette had not moved but remained on the couch talking with Daniel. Erik made his way back to Nadir who gave him a questioning stare. Erik nodded in reply and Nadir's shoulders dropped a little. Apparently he had not been the only one tense.

"How much longer do you think we will be here?" Erik asked his friend, leaning against the wall next to him.

"I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's more than how long I want it to be." Nadir answered.

Erik shrugged. "At least one of us is having a good time."

"Don't even start." Nadir huffed, but Erik saw the small grin on his face.

Feeling satisfied, Erik gained a small grin of his own.

And there we go. Another chapter in. Hope everyone enjoyed it. If you did, be sure to leave a review! Next chapter is in Raoul's POV. Nothing serious happens, just a little cute in between. ;) See ya next time!