Chapter 14: Anger management

As the auditions for the musical began, people were really surprised at how Christine was perfect for the leading female role. She knew how to walk, talk, sing, and act like well… Her old self. The surprising part was because she still made it no secret that she hated this musical. However, she used it as a way to get Erik angry.

That was the only reason why she auditioned for the part of her old self, just to be with Erik one final time before she let go of the past forever since he so easily got the leading male role. So until then, Christine enjoyed to make Erik so incredibly furious that he would have that old flicker in his eyes, which inevitably led to the two of them engaging in rough, angry, passionate sex. Christine considered it a bad habit, and only did it on a few occasions. She didn't particularly like going out of her way to make him angry, but she craved that spark in his eyes.

As rehearsals began, Christine got paler, sicker. In fact, during the final lair scene, she nearly fainted. She was starting to realize what a bad, bad idea this was. Erik rushed to her side and she jumped when she was shaken from reality into the past, staring at him in his evening garb and her eyes slowly tracing the false deformities they'd made for him.

"Christine? Are you alright?" He placed her head in his lap. "Someone get her some water!"

"Mm hi…" she sighed and cupped his cheeks. "You look sexy."

"Christine, what happened?" he frowned in worry.

"Hmm? Oh the thought of me going off with Raoul really made me sick to my stomach," she said deliriously.

One of the stagehands piped up as he handed her a bottle of water, "I think she's just dehydrated."

Erik picked her up and sat her down in a chair. He brushed her hair back. "You need to stay hydrated," he scolded gently.

She frowned slightly and looked around, reality was leaking back through. "Y-yeah… I think it didn't help that last night, we went out with Meg and Nadir for drinks. S-sorry, Erik," Christine murmured.

"Stay here, okay? We'll just rehearse another scene."

"N-no, no I'm okay. We should just keep practicing so I can get back on my feet," she muttered.

He frowned in worry, "Are you sure? You look pale…"

"Yeah I'm sure, babe." She stood up shakily with Erik's help and took another drink of water, wishing it was alcohol.

"Okay," Erik didn't sound so sure.

She graced him with a reassuring kiss and wrapped her arms around him "I just… That last scene… It's just hard for me and I'm not going to curse the musical and argue about it, I'm going to be straight forward." She took a deep breath and looked down. "When Christine leaves Erik… And he let's out that heartbreaking scream… It destroys me because you love me as much as Erik loved Christine, right? It makes me feel like scum."

"Yes," Erik trailed off. "I understand that, but you need to remember this is just acting. Don't let it consume you that much."

"Hmm? Oh no, I'm sure I was just dehydrated." she tried to play it off nonchalantly.

"Alright well… Let's take it from the top!" he ordered and got back into place.

"Great," Christine grumbled and closed her eyes. She remembered all those old feelings… Of anger and fear and they started the final scene together.

People were absolutely mesmerized by Christine's performance. She sang with a great passion and anger because her old feelings were being bared. She could see her old Erik there with her as he sang. Erik was just as wild and passionate as he had been back then. Her jaw clenched and she threw the veil to the side even though that wasn't part of the script. She jabbed a finger at Erik and she vaguely heard herself sing out: fallen idol… False friend… Christine felt her heart rate go up again and her hands shook. People just thought it was good acting though.

Erik stormed up to her and towered over her as she fell to the ground. His face was an inch from hers as he roared, "YOU TRY MY PATIENCE!" He breathed heavily, his eyes burning with rage. They widened like a frightened animal's and he stumbled back, turning away from her and dropping his head in defeat. "Make your choice."

Christine's bottom lip quivered and she slowly stood up. "Pitiful creature of darkness… What kind of life have you known?" She felt her feet moving towards him, her eyes saw the real lair and her old Erik. "God give me courage to show you. You are not alone!" She whipped him around and kissed him passionately. However, Erik didn't kiss her back, he wasn't supposed to. His eyes closed and his hands fell to his sides as she kissed him. Christine pulled back like she was supposed to and hugged him tightly before kissing him again.

Right as Erik was scripted to accept the kiss, Professor Firmin shouted, "Alright kids, that's a wrap! Class dismissed. Wash up and head out of here, we'll pick back up from here on Wednesday!"

Erik pulled back slightly and grinned at her. "I'll meet you out front."

"Just umm… Hang on a second," Christine sighed and grabbed his face, kissing him deeply again. As they kissed, he tried to kiss her back eagerly, but the prosthetic was making it hard. She pulled back again and whispered, "You make me so happy, you know that?" That was the last thing she said before going into her dressing room, which made Erik smirk as he went off to change.

Christine texted Meg as she got changed, "This past thing has gone too far and too ridiculous. I'm letting go of it, all of it. I'm done with letting it affect my relationship."

"Are you sure? You just want to forget about the past?"

"Yes, I'm done," she texted back quickly. "It's just going to make me look crazy if Erik finds out and besides that if I keep doing this back and forth shit, it'll just hurt our relationship."

"Did something happen today?"

"Rehearsal was horrible. I fainted and I gave this whole speech to Erik. I feel so stupid."

"I'm sure he didn't even notice."

"He'll catch on someday, which is why I need to let go."

"Just do what's best for you Chrissy. Can you pick up a Pizza or something?"

"Yeah sure, Meggles. I'll see you when I get home." Christine threw her phone into her bag and went to meet Erik.

Erik was waiting for her in the front lobby. He still had a little makeup on, which Christine found absolutely adorably. She walked up to him and linked their arms together. "Hey, phantom," she chuckled. "The Megster requested a pizza."

"Ah, well. We can't deny her hm?"

"Hell no, we'd never hear the end of it," she agreed and they walked to their favorite pizza place to get a large cheese pizza for Meg, a pepperoni and sausage for Nadir, and green pepper and chicken for Christine. Erik ordered a large salad for himself. He had become quite the health nut thanks to Nadir.

They headed home and had a pizza party, but Nadir and Meg kept giving Christine worried looks as she attempted to move on that night. She didn't talk about the musical or any of her usual topics that related to the past. She was quiet and listened to Erik rave about how much he hated business classes. To everyone's surprise, she didn't ask him to quit like she always did, nor did she call his dad a: "Cock sucking low life," which always cheered Erik up.

"Alright kids, I have a shit ton of homework to do." He got up and brought his utensils to the kitchen before going to their room to do his work.

"Agreed, I've got a shit ton of math homework that I need to Google the answers to," Christine commented as she got up.

Erik slipped into sweats and sat at his desk, putting on his reading glasses and his headphones. He always listened to classical music while he studied. Christine just curled up with her laptop and coincidentally did the same, but for different reasons. Even though she was trying to forget the past, the music from 1880 made her feel at home and seeing her like that made Meg and Nadir all the more worried. It didn't faze Erik since he had no recollection of the past. It grew very late, well after midnight and Erik was still working.

When Christine was well finished with her homework and Erik hadn't called her to bed, she stared out the window, gazing at the high penthouse view. She drank in the planes that crossed the sky, the cars that lit up the night below, as well as the towering buildings that made her feel so small. "If this is how God intended it… For us to be here together in this time and place, then I won't go back," she promised. She got up and went into her bedroom, coaxing Erik to come to bed as she laid down. It was the start of a new life for Christine, a life she didn't want to be ruined by the past. However, certain aspects of this life would make that impossible for her.