I walked quickly back to my apartment, my mind still reeling over everything that had just happened.
First of all, I had actually met Erik in person, which was an experience all by itself. Of course, then I had yelled at him. I looked down at the sidewalk and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration; My angel had finally revealed himself to me, and I had acted like some sort of crazed lunatic.
I couldn't help it when I was talking with him… All the feelings I had repressed so as not to worry Raoul and Meg had just coming welling out of me like a tidal wave. Not that Raoul probably would have listened even if I had told him everything I was feeling; Although he heard everything I said, he never truly listened.
I shook my head as I entered the lobby of my building banishing those thoughts. Raoul was a kind, loving man who adored me… Plus, he was the only thing I had left of my father and my childhood. I had nearly loved him then, surely I could learn to love him now.
But as I entered my apartment, it wasn't Raoul on my mind, no, it was the words Erik had spoken to me as I left the theatre.
"In terms of what you said earlier, I am here to stay; I could never teach anybody else, they would pale in comparison to you. Also, someone as unique and magnificent as you could never fade into oblivion. You are a star in every sense, and anyone worth caring about will stay beside you to see you realize your destiny, and change the world."
In that simple phrase, he had managed to appease all the insecurity I had been feeling. I had never gotten such profound praise from everyone, especially my incredibly critical angel. The pure sincerity and strength in his eyes had been enough to make me forget all my fears, even if it would turn out to only be temporary.
He was there when I needed him, strong, protective and consoling. I giggled as I thought about the basic self defense moves he had shown me. I wasn't very good at reading him yet, but despite the calm mask he put on, he seemed a little frantic and unsure. I guess the onslaught of womanly emotion would be too much for any man to handle…
I stopped, my hand just inches from my doorknob startled at that thought. It was the first time I had ever thought of Erik as a man, instead of the angel he obviously was. I shook my head again and pushed the door open; I had enough on my mind without doubting something I already knew to be true.
"Christine!" Meg yelled as I walked through the door. "Where were you?! I was worried sick! You didn't answer your phone, so I called Raoul in case you were with him, but he said he dropped you off here…" She ranted, pulling me gently to sit on the couch.
"I was just at singing lessons Meg," I sighed, "Just like I am almost every night."
"You should bring someone with you." She stated firmly, her arms crossed.
"I can handle walking to singing lessons." I retorted.
"After what happened today …" she started.
"I know what happened today!" I exclaimed in frustration, "That doesn't mean you have to treat me like some incapable five year old!"
Meg was silent, looking at her with pure hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," I sighed, pulling her into a hug. "My emotions are running rampant right now."
"It's okay sweetie," She said with understanding, patting my shoulder as she stood up. "What do you want to do?"
"How about a movie?" I asked, wanting to do something to take my mind off the mess inside my head. Erik's face haunted my thoughts; his eyes, his tenderness, his power, the strength that radiated off him…
"Sounds good." She said cheerfully. "Do you want some tea?"
"I'd love some," I smiled.
"You can pick the movie," She called over from the small kitchen. I walked over and pulled my favourite Disney movie off the shelf and put it in our DVD player.
"So what are we watching?" She asked, sitting down and passing me a mug of green tea.
"Beauty and the Beast." I smiled.
"In a Disney kind of mood?" She laughed.
"Always." I laughed back, curling up on the couch with my steaming mug of tea.
I awoke early the next morning, still lying on the couch next to Meg.
"I really need to stop falling asleep in movies." I muttered, plodding over to the kitchen and starting our ancient coffee maker.
"Christine?" Meg mumbled from over on the couch.
"Just making coffee Meg," I called softly, "You can just stay there and I'll bring it to you."
"Thanks sweetie!" She yelled, flipping on the TV and flipping through channels.
I waited for the ridiculously slow coffee maker to finish, and had just begun cutting Meg and I some fruit for breakfast when there was a knock at the door.
"One second!" I yelled, wiping the sticky fruit just off my hand and opening the door.
"Surprise!" Raoul said, balancing a drink tray with coffee and a plate of breakfast pastries from the café. "I asked Sophie what you guys usually got and brought you breakfast."
"Thanks Raoul," I smiled, taking the drink tray from him. "Meg! Raoul brought us breakfast from the café!"
"Yay!" She squealed, and jumped off the couch to come meet us.
I put the coffee and pastries onto the counter, putting the pastries onto plates. Raoul came up behind me and put his arm around my waist, placing a gentle kiss on the top of my hair; I stiffened for a moment at the contact, and then relaxed into his arms.
"How are you doing?" He asked kindly.
"Alright," I smiled.
"That's good." He smiled, kissing my cheek.
A thought immediately assaulted my mind.
I had kissed Erik on the cheek yesterday… That didn't count as cheating, did it?
No, I argued with myself, That was just an innocent cheek-kiss between friends; A thank you to him for being there for him…
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, breaking my internal argument.
"Just how delicious these pastries look." I smiled, walking toward the living room as he released my waist.
Meg, Raoul and I all crowded on the couch, Meg and I eagerly stuffing our faces with the warm, fresh pastries.
"So Christine…" Raoul started, "I have something to ask you."
"Oh?" I responded in between bites. "What is that?"
"Well, my brother just got back from Monte Carlo, and my parents and I are meeting him at Daniel to celebrate. They would love to see you, and I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me." He smiled.
"Ummmm," I thought for a moment. I was emotionally exhausted from the day before, and from what I could remember, Raoul's parents could be very hard to get along with.
"I don't know Raoul," I answered a few moments later. "I'm pretty tired."
"Please Christine!" He begged like a little boy. "My parents loved you when we were children, and they really want to see you again! My brother is a super nice guy, and I'm sure you two will get along great…"
"Raoul!" Meg cut him off sharply. "Christine is tired, and probably just doesn't want to go out today, so get over yourself and let her have what she wants!"
My heart filled with gratitude for Meg; she could always be stern when I couldn't.
That is, until I saw Raoul's face.
Sadness and hurt were obvious on his usually smiling features. "I'm sorry Christine," He said with remorse. "I should have realized that you wouldn't want to go anywhere today. I can be so insensitive sometimes…"
"It's okay Raoul," I sighed. "I'll go."
His face lit up. "Are you sure? Because if you're too tired…"
"It's fine," I put on the brightest smile I could muster. "I'd love to see your parents and meet your brother."
"Great!" He exclaimed. "I can buy if you a new dress for tonight, there's this great little boutique that my mom goes to all the time… You're welcome to come too Meg."
"Sounds fun!" I said as enthusiastically as I could, "Just give me a few minutes to get ready."
"Me too," Meg smiled and pulled me into our bathroom.
I had barely brushed one strand of my hair when Meg rounded on me.
"Christine," She said firmly, putting her hands on my shoulders. "You do not have to do something you're not feeling up to just to make Raoul happy."
"I'm not!" I protested. "I do want to see his parents and brother, I'm just tired, that's all."
"You and I both know that's not true." She said softly, but firmly.
"I'm going to go Meg." I sighed, not even trying to argue with her reasons; we both knew she was correct.
"Okay," She gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Just make sure that you put yourself first sometimes sweetie… Even the most selfless people have to take care of themselves from time to time."
"Okay Meg," I smiled, struggling to pull the brush through my hair again as she went to her room to get changed.
Nearly half an hour later, Meg and I were both ready to leave. I wore a pair of comfortable skinny jeans and a white, lace top that was easy to slip in and out of if I was trying things on. She wore a similar pair of jeans with a blue sweater.
"Ready to go?" Raoul asked, jumping up from the couch.
"Yes," I smiled, following him to his car.
The car parked at the curb wasn't Raoul's F-type though, a silver four-door BMW sat at the curb instead.
"Where's the Jaguar?" I asked curiously.
"I borrowed this from my parents," He stated simply, holding the back door open for Meg to climb in. "The Jag only has two seats."
"Oh," I blushed, feeling stupid. "That makes sense."
He laughed, holding the door open for me. Once I was in the car, he closed the door and hopped into the driver's seat.
"So where are we going?" Meg questioned from the back.
"You'll see." He said mysteriously.
We drove for nearly an hour, Raoul weaving expertly through the streets of New York until we reached a small boutique right on the main drag.
He pulled into a parkade and led us down the street and into the boutique.
"Mr. de Chagny!" An middle-aged woman at the counter exclaimed as we walked in. "It has been so long since I've seen you! Your mother was here just yesterday."
"It's nice to see you Elizabeth." He smiled charmingly. He reached over and put his hand on my back, pulling me to his side. "This is my girlfriend, Christine. We need a cocktail dress for her for dinner tonight."
After a second of thought, he turned to Meg. "Do you want a dress too Meg?"
"It's fine," She laughed, "It's not like I'm ever going to wear a fancy cocktail dress anyways."
"I have the perfect thing for you my dear," Elizabeth snapped her fingers and walked purposefully over to one of the racks. She pulled down a black, short bandage dress that made me shudder just looking it. I hated black, and there was no way I was going to wear a dress that short and tight.
"No black," I said immediately, "The colour is too sad."
She looked at me quizzically. "Every girl needs a little black dress darling!"
"Not me," I said stubbornly.
"Alright," The lady sighed, walking over to another corner of the store and pulling several dresses.
Meg laughed behind me. "You didn't like the black hooker dress?" She whispered.
"Not even a little bit." I giggled.
"This way darling!" She called, carrying a stack of dresses to a change room at the back of the store. "Try this one first." She instructed, passing me an orange dress and shoving me into the change room.
The orange dress had a sweetheart neckline that hugged my body tightly until it hit my hips. The tulle skirt gathered at my hips and went out, stopping a couple inches above my knee. It was flashy, ostentatious and couture…
I hated it.
I didn't like the way it clung to my body, tightly extenuating ever curve, and it made me feel like some type of dress-up doll.
I hesitantly walked out of the change room, feeling incredibly stupid. "I don't like this at all." I said, before Elizabeth could even open her mouth.
"Why not?" Cried Elizabeth, walking up to me and smoothing the skirt down. "You look incredibly hot."
I looked to Meg for support, shrugging. "I don't like how it fits so tightly," I started, pinching the fabric at my waist to make my point. "And I don't like how over the top the skirt is."
Raoul smirked at me. "Well, I think you look incredibly sexy."
I blushed, looking at the ground as he chuckled. "It's just not me."
"Okay," Elizabeth clucked, handing me another dress and shoving me back into the change room.
I tried on about ten dresses, all of them the same, flashy style. It was obvious that Elizabeth was getting frustrated that I kept turning down everything that she picked. She couldn't quite get it through her head that I wasn't going to wear a short, tight, ridiculously gaudy dress.
"Try this one!" She exclaimed, pushing me back into the dressing room yet again. "It's different!"
I stood there in the dressing room for a moment, holding up the scrap of fabric she had given me to wear. It was a white and gold, strapless bandage dress that may me blush just looking at it. I sighed, pulling the stretchy fabric up over my body until it sat on my chest where it was supposed to. I turned around slowly, looking in the mirror.
It was different alright.
I cringed, feeling more uncomfortable than I had ever felt in a dress before, and I had thought the first ten were tight! The white ruching pulled tight across every inch of my body, the gold stripes up the sides extenuating my petite curves. The hemline barely sat two inched below my butt, putting in danger of flashing someone if I bent over at all. I felt naked.
"Are you coming out?" Elizabeth yelled impatiently.
"I'd rather not!" I yelled back, wanting nothing more than to get out of the horrible dress.
"Oh come on!" Meg yelled at me, "It can't be that bad!"
"I'm sure you look beautiful!" Raoul chimed in.
I sighed, loudly and slowly pushed open the door.
Silence greeted me as I stepped onto the platform, blushing furiously as I tried to pull the hem of the dress farther down.
Meg finally broke the silence. "Damn Chris!" She exclaimed. "You look hot!"
Elizabeth clapped. "Darling, your body is flawless! You look sophisticated, mature and absolutely stunning!"
"Wow," Raoul breathed, standing up and walking up to me. He stood so close that our bodies were almost touching, and placed his hands so low on my back that they were almost on my butt. "You are so sexy."
"Raoul," I muttered, grabbing his arms and pulling his hands up so they sat on my waist instead.
"Sorry," He smirked, still looking me straight in the eyes.
"Go sit down," I said, jokingly pushing him away.
I had never, ever felt that uncomfortable around Raoul before, and I didn't like it. I didn't like being looked at with lust in his eyes, instead of his usual bright smile. Memories of the day before came flooding back… The lust in Buquet's eyes, his lips pressing painfully on mine, his meaty hands pressing into my waist…
I shuddered.
"Are you okay Chris?" Meg asked immediately, concern obvious on her face.
"Just cold," I smiled, "This dress doesn't cover enough to keep me warm… And I'm not getting it by the way; If I wanted to wear a scrap of fabric I'd just wrap a towel around myself."
"But darling…" Elizabeth began to protest.
"I would like to actually pick something out." I said stubbornly, walking towards the racks.
I looked through several dresses, all of them short and tight. I was about to just give up, and tell Raoul I'd wear my purple dress again when I saw a glimpse of white way in the back corner of the store.
I pulled out the white dress, instantly in love with it. Without a word to Elizabeth I took it into the dressing room, and put it on. As I turned to look in the mirror, I grinned.
The dress was stunning. It was white chiffon, and flowed delicately to just above my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline, and pulled tight across my chest with a single silver strap that wound through the fabric and around to my back. I felt like I was wearing air.
I confidently strode out of the dressing room and stood on the podium, deciding to give a little twirl.
"I would like to get this one." I smiled at Raoul, and he grinned back at me.
"I still like the last one…" Elizabeth muttered, but one look from Meg shut her up. Elizabeth plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. "If you just want to get changed darling I'll ring that up for you."
I changed quickly, and Elizabeth took the dress and put it in a fancy dress box. Within ten minutes, Meg and I were back in Raoul's car and heading back to our apartment.
"I have a couple things I need to do." Raoul smiled, reaching over me to open the door. "I'll be back at six to pick you up."
"Okay," I smiled and grabbed the dress box, waving at him from the sidewalk as he drove away.
"That dress is stunning Chris," Meg gushed as we walked up to our room. "Much better than that white scrap of fabric Elizabeth picked."
"I have never felt more awkward in my life!" I exclaimed, putting my key in the lock and fumbling to get it open. "I might as well have been standing on that podium naked."
"Well Raoul sure liked it." She teased, and I elbowed her.
"Shut up," I mumbled, flopping down onto our couch. "What time is it?"
"4:00," She called from the kitchen.
"Shit," I mumbled, "I'd better start showering and getting ready."
It took me the full two hours to get ready, since I wanted to look absolutely perfect for meeting Raoul's parents. My hair was smoothed in gentle waves that cascaded down my back, accenting the neckline of the dress beautifully. I smiled at the mirror, happy that I had been able to completely cover the faint remnants of the scrapes on my face with make-up. I put on one final swipe of mascara, and left the bathroom to grab my shoes.
"You look absolutely stunning!" Meg gushed as I pulled on a pair of silver strappy heels.
"Thanks," I smiled, as a knock sounded on the door.
I glanced at the clock, exactly 6:00.
"By Meg," I called as I opened the door where Raoul was waiting. He looked absolutely fantastic in a classic black tuxedo.
"You are absolutely gorgeous." He smiled as I took my arm. When we got downstairs I saw that he had his Jaguar back, and eagerly climbed into the passenger side.
"So, I have a quick warning for you…" I said as we drove away.
"Oh?" I questioned.
"Well, my brother can be a little bit, ummm, tricky to get along with sometimes." He smiled impishly, "So don't get offended by anything he says."
"You said I'd like him!" I accused, pointing a finger at him.
"Well I might have stretched the truth a little bit…" He muttered, "But you're amazing, so I'm sure he and my parents will love you."
"Your parents already know me." I pointed out.
"But not as my girlfriend," He argued, "And they haven't seen you in years."
We rode in silence until we pulled up outside Daniel. My stomach was twisted with nervousness and my palms were clammy, but I didn't want to wipe them on my beautiful dress.
"Christine." Raoul spoke once the car had stopped, placing a hand on my cheek. "Calm down, you don't need to be nervous."
"That's easy for you to say!" I exclaimed. "You're the one who told me your brother was difficult to get along with, and I really want your parents to like me, and I really don't want to mess this up…"
I was cut off when his lips touched mine.
It was a gentle kiss, tender and quick, but it calmed my nerves immediately. In that kiss, saw the Raoul I had known for my whole life. I smiled as he climbed out of the car and opened my door for me.
"Let's do this." I grinned, taking his hand and giving him another quick kiss. He beamed down at me as he led me into the restaurant; and at that moment, with Raoul's hand in mine and his kiss fresh on my lips, I felt like I could take on the world.
AN: So sorry for the delay! But I have an extra-long chapter to make up for it Thanks to everybody for the reviews, especially "A Reader" since I can't private message you! I loved your review, it made my day!
So the next chapter will have some stuff with Erik, and then the chapter after that will go back to Christine at the dinner. I may or may not be able to do previews this week, depending on how quickly I can finish the next chapter
Thanks so much! Please review!