Hello, I have posted another chapter, as you can see. Thank you to all who reviewed, and I hope this chapter is to your liking. I am very busy these days and I havent had a whole lot of time to just sit down and write, but summer is coming up and I will have alot of updates then! Once again, this is for MacKenzie, for keeping me sane enough to survive. I dont have much else to say, so here's the new chapter!

I do not own POTO

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Surely all of Paris heard the gasps of shock and astonishment that came from within the Palais Garnier.

Viscount Raoul de Chagny, however, heard nothing. He saw nothing. He understood nothing. He was in a state of shock, and nothing made sense. What had she said? She could not have said no! It was impossible. They were in love, and they were getting married. But she had said no! He could not untangle his thoughts, and he did not see that Christine was nowhere to be found.

As soon as she had uttered those two words, Christine had fled the stage. She had gone up and up, all the way to the roof, where no one could find her. She felt sick, as though she had been poisoned by her own words. Why was this happening to her? She had done nothing in her life to deserve this! Hadnt the death of her father been enough to punish her for all of her sins? But she had to do what she did, or else she would have made the single most terrible choice in her life. She would not bind herself to a man she was not fully in love with, and that meant that she could not marry Raoul. Why did she have to do such a horrid thing to such a good man? Tears flowed freely down Christine's face and she wept bitterly.

Meanwhile, Erik stood, shocked, among the frenzied aristocrats. Most everyone was crowded around the Viscount, offering pity and consoling him. It seemed as though the Viscount didnt know what was happening, as though he were in a daze. Erik could not have been happier. Christine had said no! She was not going to wed the Viscount! She was not leaving him! Erik could not move. He was in a different state of shock. He was overcome with happiness, and he had not ever been so happy in his life. It was too much to take in at once. Erik suddenly felt the urge to run, to jump, to laugh, to display his happiness. But mostly he wanted to go to Christine. She had run off the stage, and Erik had to find her. Erik was the picture of composure as he left the theatre from where he had entered.

He immediately went to Christine's dressing room. As had multiple people from her audience. They stood in a crowd around the door to Christines dressing room, shaking their heads and muttering to one another. Erik looked past the assembled aristocrats and to the door to her dressing room. It was open, and Christine was not inside. Seeing no more reason to be there, Erik turned on his heel and made his way back to the stage. He knew exactly where Christine had gone.

Christine stood, looking out over the city. A warm breeze swept across her face, ruffling her dress and hair. Tears streaked her face, but she no longer cried. She had done what was necessary. There was no going back, and it was behind her. She was not ready to be married. It was almost a releif to not be married. She was free, unbound, she could be Christine Daae. She was her own person, and she was very happy as such. Marriage was permanent, and she vowed not to marry anyone until she was prepared to make such a commitment. She also promised herself not to put herself in any situations like this one. She would have feelings only for her betrothed, no one else. She would not put anyone else or herself through this again.

Erik stood on the roof, quite a way off from Christine. He admired the way her hair reflected the sun's rays and how it rippled in the wind. He longed to run his fingers through it. He longed to give her everything, everything she could ever want or would ever need. But was that what she wanted? What did she want exactly? Why had she suddenly changed her mind about marrying the Viscount? Perhaps it had nothing to do with Erik at all. Perhaps she was just not prepared to do such a sacred thing in front of an audience. Perhaps she had no thought at all for Erik, and had done it for her own reasons. Erik wanted desperately to know what was going on inside her head, to know what she was feeling. But he could not, and he would have to act based on his own judgement. He emotionally braced himself for whatever would happen next, and started toward Christine.

Christine lifted a hand to her face and wiped away the wetness on her cheeks. She sniffed and blinked, keeping any stray tears inside her eyes. She took a shuddering breath to calm herself. She felt egxausted, and she could tell she was shaking all over. There was a feeling like a hole in the pit of her stomach, a void. She wished it would grow and devour her from the inside out. She knew what a horrible person she was, and guilt was building inside of her. But she would have been more horrible if she had lied to Raoul, to everyone. She tried to convince herself that she was in the right, but she could not. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes again and she blinked furiously to try to hold them back. Suddenly, Christine felt something touch her shoulder very lightly, and she turned to see who it was. It was Erik.

Erik felt adrenaline course throughout his body. He was so near to her. He was touching her. He was breathing the same air that she was. He was looking into her tear brimmed eyes. He wanted to pull her in, to reassure her, to let her know that he would never stop loving her. But he could not. He pulled his hand away from her shoulder to try and calm the sensation within him, the desire. It did not help, only succeeding in making him crave contact with her again. He tried to focus on what he would say to her, how he would make all of her pain go away. But he was still aware of his own feelings, and it was maddening. He gazed deeply into Christines eyes. He dove into the deep blue lakes and lost himself. Nothing existed when he was lost in her eyes, not even his feelings.

Christine looked into the golden eyes that were locked on hers. She silently pleaded for forgivness, searched for it, prayed that he would grant it. She conveyed every emotion she was feeling through her eyes, hoping that he could somehow accept that she had made a mistake, and that she regretted it wholeheartedly. He did not speak, he did not touch her. The only thing that signified his presence at all was his powerful gaze. Christine was captivated by his eyes almost as much as she was captivated by his voice. They were gentle, but strong. Flaming, but icy. Terrifying, but wonderful. They burned into her, the feeling of it both painful and relaxing to Christine. It was like an addiction, and she never wanted to let this go.

"Christine," Erik whispered, adding to her pleasure. His voice mingled with his eyes in a haze. Christine felt lightheaded, as though she would faint. But she did not allow herself to. She would not ruin this.

Erik's head was swimming. He saw all the sadness, longing and uncertainty in Chiristine's eyes, and his heart ached for all the pain she was feeling. He wanted to stroke her hair, to ease her pain. But it would be overwhelming, and he would want more, more of her. He could not let himself hurt her. This had to end before it tore his gaze away from Christine's eyes with a quick jerk of his head.

Christine felt as though she had fallen from a great height. She had been flying, but then she had fallen. She felt reality set back in, and she remembered that all was not well. Erik had turned his back to her, and a rush of panic overcame Christine; he was angry with her. He would not forgive her. Christine was on the verge of tears once again, and she had to at least plead with him, or apologize.

"Erik," Christine stammered, her voice frail and wavering. "I'm so sorry."

Erik spun back around, and Christine flinched. He was undoubtably angry with her, and she deserved whatever would come next, and braced herself for it.

Erik felt immeasurable pain when he saw Christine shrink away from him. He would never harm her! How on earth did she even have the illusion that he could ever hurt her? He had turned to face her because of her sudden apology. What was she apologizing for? She had just made him the happiest man in the world, and she was apologizing? It made no sense.

"Sorry?" Erik managed. "Whatever for, dear Christine?"

"Oh Erik!" a tear rolled down her face. "Please dont toy with me like a child! You know very well what for!"

Christine was reduced to sobs, and Erik was quite confused.

"But Christine," Erik spoke earnestly. "You have just refused to marry the Viscount. I do not understand why you are apologizing to me."

"No! Not that!" Christine choked through her tears. "For asking you to give me away. For putting you through all this. Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry!"

Erik was now at ease. He thought it quite silly of her to be apologizing to him for that now, for she had already made it up to him.

"It is forgotten, Christine." he whispered, wiping her tears away with his hankercheif.

But Christine shook her head."No, no! I was dreadful to you Erik, and all you have ever done is love me! I am so selfish Erik! Why do you love me at all? I dont deserve the love of someone like you! I've done nothing to earn it."

"Love is not something that must be earned, Christine," Erik was shocked at his own words. He did not understand what love was, but he had just said this, and he felt that it was true. Christine had not done anything in particular to make him love her, he simply loved her. It was natural. It made his feelings for her even stronger.

Christine felt that Erik's wise words had freed her of a heavy load. It was true. Love could not be earned, you either loved someone or you didnt. But how did one realise what was love and what was a strong companionship? Though Erik had unlocked this secret to her, Christine felt that love was still very alien to her. However, a warmth had spread through her when Erik had said that his love did not need to be earned. It had made her feel secure and...loved.

"No," Christine whispered. "It isnt."

Christine took a step toward Erik, not a big step, just an inch or so. She wanted to be closer to him, and she felt her heart flutter when he inched closer to her in response. She rested her hand against his chest lightly, and felt it raise and lower slightly as he breathed. It reminded her that he was human. That he was a man.

Erik struggled to keep his breathing even, to remain calm. She was touching him. Her hand was on his chest, moving whenever he breathed. She was not pressing it against him, just lightly resting her hand there. The warm, tingling sensation that ran through every fiber of his being was intoxicating. She was intoxicating. He wondered how it would feel to stroke her cheek, to run his fingers over her lips...No! He was going too far. He would not do anything to her.

"Christine," his voice was calm and collected in contrast to how panicky and scattered he felt. "Would you like to come down to my house?"

Christine blinked. It would be very odd to return to that place. But she was willing to go down there for Erik, if that was where he wished to speak with her. She nodded and followed as he turned and led the way back down into the cellars of the opera house.

Erik felt his heart rate soar, and he allowed it to. This was too much for him. He knew his boundaries very well, and he was very near to exceeding them. He shouldnt be taking her to his house, he would go too far and she would get hurt and likely never come near him again. He would have to tell her that it was best they keep their distance, for her sake. That was what must be done, and he had to do it to protect her. He simply could not allow himself to give in to temptation.

Christine followed Erik closely, somewhat afraid of what would happen if he were to leave her. She had no way of finding the way to his house, or back to the stage. She would be lost. Then again, she was afraid of what would happen when they were alone in his house. She felt so oddly toward him. She was enticed by his voice and his eyes, but she feared him, just as she would fear any other man. It would be all too easy for him to take advantage of her, and though she did not think he would do something like that, it was a risk with every man. And Erik was, indeed, a man.

Erik was aware of this too. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her away, so he would keep his distance. He would be a perfect gentleman, making no move to approach her or touch her at all. He would have to be very careful and disciplined.

They finally made it to the lake. Erik helped Christine into the boat, the got into it himself and rowed across the lake. Upon reaching the opposite shore, Erik got out of the boat, tied it down and helped Christine onto land. He opened the door to his house and allowed Christine to enter it before he went in. He reluctantly closed the door. Now they were fully, completley and utterly alone.

Christine had taken a seat on a sofa in the living room. Erik decided it best to sit in the chair opposite her. They faced each other for a while before Erik spoke.

"Christine," he said in a calm, matter of fact tone. "You know that I love you. But I do not want to pressure you into accepting me. I think I made a poor decision by trying to force you to love me. It cannot be done. I think we should both continue living our lives as we did before all of this."

Christine frowned. She could not go back to the way she had been living after all of this. Mama Valerius would surely welcome her back, but how would she expalin it to her? But Christine realised that Erik was making yet another sacrifice for her, and it was all she could do to nod her head.

"May I have permission to call on you sometime?" Erik asked, slightly embarassed.

"Of course," Christine siad, as though it was obvious that was the answer.

"Would you like to stay here until the evening, so that your guests will have time to clear out?" Erik offered.

"Yes, thank you," Christine accepted. She did not need to face the aristocrats who would be very angry with her for leaving Raoul. Or very grateful. Either way, she did not want to deal with either types of comments, and she especially did not want to have a confrontation with Raoul. No one would stay in the opera house until late in the evening, they likely had things to attend to, people to have tea with.

"Good," Erik rapped his fingers against the arm of the chair. He glanced into the Louis Phillipe room and saw the dress he had bought for Christine. He stood up, excited. "Christine, there is something for you in your bedroom."

Christine blinked in surprise. Her bedroom? She rememered that Erik had given the room to her exclusively, and she felt happy that he had maintained that possesion for her. She stood up and walked into the Louis Phillipe room, Erik following close behind. The room was the same as it had always been, but she gasped as soon as she saw something out of the ordinary. A beautiful dress was laid out on the bed, and a pair of gloves rested on top of it. The dress and gloves coordinated perfectly, as though they had been made to compliment one another.

"Erik, they're wonderful!" Christine beamed up at him. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at his shoes. "Thank you so much...what are they for?"

"For you, of course!" Erik chuckled.

"I was referring to the occasion," Christine corrected herself.

"You can wear it whenever you like," Erik shrugged. "I do not need a specific reason to want to dote upon you, Christine."

Christine blushed and shooed Erik out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Erik was very amused. Christine was obviously eager to try on her new dress, and he was thrrilled that she liked it. he had imagined her in that dress and those gloves for too long. He was finally going to see the actual person in the clothes. Now that solid wood seperated him from Chrisine, he did not feel the raw longing. He was at ease around her once more. Perhaps the sensation came and went occasionally. He hoped that was the case.

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Thanks for reading, please review! Oh, and my friend Hope wrote this and I had to put it up, here it is;

Broken Hearts Do Bleed....
In other words, a broken heart is just like an open cut. The more you let it bleed, the longer it takes to heal...but, with the love and kindness of your friends and family it will heal. They are just like your Band-Aids!

Broken Hearts Do Heal.....
Just like cuts, the broken hearted heal. They are supported by their friends and families who in this case are like expert surgons who stich the wound up perfectly....well almost. You see, most broken hearts are like deep cuts that require stiching....they heal with time, care, and love...but they also leave a scar as a memory of what happened. But believe me, It sure does feel much better when its all said and done with and your all stiched up!

I love each and everyone of you...Whether it be as a friend, family or something in between.
-Hope

Ummmm, well, she directed this to me...so she probably dosent love each and every one of YOU. But that was awesome and I wanted to show and tell, so...there!