Raoul strode into the room with confidence that I tried desperately to match. Despite the kiss and feeling of happiness that was flooding through me, it was taking all of my acting skills to not betray the nervousness I felt in the pit of my stomach.
I took a deep breath, smiling up at Raoul as he told Edward to take us to the table. He could get me through this. He wasn't nervous, so I shouldn't be either.
"Raoul!" His mother stood up as we approached the table. "I'm so happy you could make it!"
"Me too mother," He smiled, then placed a hand on the small of my back and brought me forward. "This is Christine."
"Christine Daae!" His mother pulled me into a hug. "It has been so long since I've seen you! It's so nice that my son has found you again… Thank you for joining us."
"The pleasure is mine." I smiled, sitting down after Raoul pulled out my chair for me. I was sitting between him and his brother, Raoul on my right and Phillip on my left.
"It's good to see you Christine." His father's voice echoed with sincerity, and a genuine smile danced across his face. I recalled how much I had liked him back in Florida, and I was happy to see that he still seemed to be the kind man I remembered him to be.
"You too Mr. De Chagny." I smiled back.
"Please, call me John." He grinned. "Mr. De Chagny was my father."
"And call me Anita." His mother chimed in with a brilliant, white smile, but it somehow seemed to lack the sincerity that John's did.
"Well," Phillip spoke finally, leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. He was a direct contrast to Raoul; where Raoul was light and cheerful, Phillip was dark and brooding. Even their hair was opposite, Raoul's being blond and wavy and Phillip's being black and straight.
"This one is certainly different than the girls you usually choose baby brother." He nodded at me, his eyes never leaving Raoul's. "Her hemline is about four inches longer."
I stared at him in shock, completely caught off guard by the blunt rudeness. Everyone seemed stunned into silence. I looked over at Raoul, who was sitting there with his jaw clenched. Wasn't he going to say anything?!
"Phillip!" John spoke first, "You will be polite to our guest."
He snorted. "Sure I will be."
Irritation welled up in my stomach. Not only was Phillip incredibly rude, but Raoul hadn't said anything to defend himself, or me.
"So Christine," Anita spoke overly cheerfully, trying to break the tension. "Raoul tells us you work at the Opera Populaire?"
"Yes," I nodded, grateful to have something to talk about. "I'm one of the chorus girls."
"That must be lovely, I always wanted to be a dancer when I was a little girl." She spoke happily.
"I prefer singing to dancing," I responded thoughtfully, "But my friend Meg is a spectacular dancer."
"That's lovely, I should like to see her dance sometime!" She exclaimed. Her voice was quickly getting on my nerves. Every word she spoke was falsely cheerful, and incredibly polite; it made everything she said sound fake and insincere.
"If you attend Hannibal you'll see her." I answered politely.
"We're going to the premier." John smiled.
"So dad," Raoul said, changing the subject to something he was more knowledgeable about. "How's business?"
"Excellent as usual." His dad chuckled. "How's the hospital?"
"Fantastic." Raoul beamed. "If I didn't work there, I never would have been reunited with Christine." He looked at me, and I grinned at the compliment.
Phillip snorted, once again leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
"Do you have anything you would like to add?" John spoke harshly at him.
"No," Phillip smirked, "Raoul knows what I'm thinking."
Raoul's usual charming smile vanished, and his jaw tensed up as he glared at Phillip with every fibre of his being.
It reminded me of Erik's menacing glare as he threw Buquet to the floor, although Raoul's glare held none of the menace or intensity that Erik's did… I mentally shook myself, forcing my mind to come back to the present.
"It's okay Raoul," I whispered as his parents began talking. I placed my hand gently on his arm, and looked into his eyes. "If you just ignore him he'll just sit and brood."
He nodded tightly, but his jaw didn't slacken.
"So as I was saying dad," Raoul cut into his parents conversation a little rudely, but I was at least happy that he seemed to be relaxing. "I actually ran into Christine on a call; she saved this old lady from a mugger… Tackled this humongous man right to the ground! She managed to bruise her ribs and sprained her wrist, but did pretty well considering this man was twice her size!"
"That's astounding!" Anita exclaimed.
"Sounds like you two are lucky to have found each other." John smiled
Phillip chuckled darkly again, smirking at Raoul. Raoul tensed up all over again, anger burning in his usually cheerful eyes.
I don't know if it was still stress and exhaustion left over from the day before, but something inside me snapped. I was not going to take shit from anyone right now, even if it was my boyfriend's asshole of a brother. I was sick of seeing people picked on who were either to weak, or too scared to stick up for themselves.
"Oh my goodness how rude of me!" I said with false politeness, looking straight into Phillip's eyes. "I didn't realize you had something to contribute to the conversation Phillip… Please share."
Phillip looked at me with surprise for a moment, and John and Raoul choked back a laugh. However, Phillip's cool composure returned almost immediately. Anita smiled too, but her eyes looked angry.
"I was merely thinking about all the other times I've heard Raoul talk about meeting a beautiful girl." He leaned forward, leaning on one arm.
Raoul's laughter stopped immediately, and I saw anxiety flood onto his face out of the corner of my eye, but I refused to be phased by Phillip's obvious jibes at his younger brother.
"And I bet you would know a lot about meeting lots of beautiful girls, wouldn't you Phillip?" I kept my tone overly polite and cheerful, but anybody could detect the barely concealed sarcasm.
"I would actually." He smirked, leaning farther forward on the table.
"How ironic then, that your 'baby brother' would have a date here tonight, and you would be without one…" I smirked right back at him as his mouth drew into a hard line.
"Maybe I just didn't want to bring someone." He said tightly, but it was obviously a lie.
"Or maybe nobody wanted to come with you." He glared at me, but I simply smiled, refusing to cower under his cold eyes. I was sick of backing down to assholes like this.
Raoul and John were both laughing by now, struggling to keep it under control. Finally, Phillip broke eye contact and leaned back in his chair again, mumbling something to himself.
I turned to face John. "You were saying?"
He beamed at me, his eyes twinkling. "Just that my son is incredibly lucky to have found you."
We continued chatting for a while, Phillip not making any more snide comments or at all contributing to the conversation. Obviously he wasn't used to someone not accepting his rudeness, and I was supremely satisfied that I had managed to humble him, even if it was only for a short while.
The small-talk continued until our food got there, when everyone fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the delicious meal.
"You are literally my hero right now." Raoul whispered in my ear, glancing toward his gloomy brother.
"Thank you." I whispered back with a giggle.
"It's great to see Phillip put into his place like that." He grinned, but my face turned solemn.
"You could have said something just as easily Raoul," I whispered, "You don't have to let him shove you around."
"Christine…" He started.
"Christine!" Anita spoke loudly, obviously trying to break up our conversation. "I just had a quick question for you."
"Of course," I smiled charmingly at her, trying not to show how much her voice was beginning to grate on me.
"I was just talking to John, and I was wondering how much money you made as a chorus girl?" She smiled sweetly, but it was such a stuck-up smile that anyone could have seen the jab behind the question.
"Anita…" John started, but she caught him off.
"I'm just curious John," She said sharply, "It's just a question."
John rolled his eyes and said no more.
I was silent for a moment, calculating my answer against the obvious rudeness. As much as I wanted her to like me, I wasn't going to lie about how much money I made.
"Certainly not a fortune," I joked, "But what can a young girl starting off in New York be expected to make?"
"Of course," She smiled with little conviction. "Of course, you must be used to living a modest life; if I recall correctly, your father never made that much either."
"Anita!" John choked on his water, but I stayed stone-faced, resolved not to let this woman get to me.
"When you share the bond that my dad and I had, money does not determine your happiness." I said civilly, struggling not to break down. How dare that woman insult my father in front of me? How heartless could someone be?!
"Ah, the old 'money can't buy happiness' quote." She smirked, "I always thought that was just what people…"
"Anita!" John thundered, placing a hand on her arm. "That is quite enough!"
Anita turned and glared at him, but said no more.
"So Christine," John attempted to break the tension and salvage the conversation. "You obviously enjoy music… What is your favourite type?"
I eagerly leapt into the conversation, grateful to John for steering it into safer waters, even as frustration, exhaustion and sorrow clouded my heart.
About two hours later, we were finally getting ready to leave. Luckily, Anita hadn't made any more jibes about my father or lack of money, but she had barely been superficially civil to me for the entire evening. I was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to go home.
"I just have to use the washroom Raoul," I excused myself, ducking into the restroom.
I emerged a few minutes later, and looked around the lobby, unable to spot Raoul's wavy blonde hair.
"He's outside waiting for you at his car." A voice spoke beside me, and I jumped, whirling around to face whoever it was. Phillip stood there, leaning against a wall.
"And he sent you in to tell me?" I asked, starting to walk toward the door.
"Yes actually," He said, easily keeping pace with me. "Despite what you may think, I'm not actually a horrible human being."
"I only judge by actions."
"Christine," He leapt in front of me, blocking my way. "I don't appreciate how you spoke to me earlier."
"I don't care whether or not you appreciated it." I spat. "You were rude, and you deserved it… If you hadn't been so rude to Raoul I wouldn't have been rude to you."
"Ha!" He chuckled, but it was a joyless laugh. "So you were defending my brother were you?"
"Yes." I put my hands on my hips and stared him down, then stepped around him and kept walking.
"I was trying to protect you Christine!" He protested mockingly. "I just didn't want you to end up falling into bed with my brother, and being discarded like all those other girls! However, if you really are desperate to 'fall' into bed with someone, mine is always open…" He smirked.
I hadn't even realized I slapped him until I felt the stinging in my hand as he looked at me with shock.
"Shut up." I growled, "I have to deal with a lot of shit in my life, but I do not have to take it from you… you self-centered bastard."
And I whirled around and stomped out of the door, leaving Phillip standing there in shock.
As Phillip had said, Raoul was right out front waiting for me, but I didn't even look at him before I flung the door open and practically leapt into the car, slamming it closed behind me.
I was so done with this shit.
He got into the driver's side, confusion etched onto his face. "Is something wrong…?"
"How could you do that to me?!" I screeched at him, turning to face him and leaning over the console. "How could you leave your pig of a brother to tell me where you were? Why did you even lie to me about him in the first place?"
"Phillip isn't that bad…"
"He practically asked me to sleep with him Raoul!" I screeched, shoving my hand onto his chest. People outside the car were starting to look, but I didn't care. "And your mother openly insulted my DEAD father! I'm emotionally exhausted Raoul!"
"I'm sorry, I…" He started, but I wasn't anywhere near finished.
"I can't even describe how much pain I'm in after yesterday." I yelled, holding back the tears welling into my eyes. "I needed somebody to help me today Raoul, not be dragged to that horrid dress salon and have to put up with your judgemental mom and bastard of a brother."
"If you're so exhausted then why did you even come?" He argued, cutting me off. "You could have said no!"
"To make you happy!" I yelled back. "I tried to tell you I couldn't come, but you looked so upset that I couldn't bear to say no! And you certainly wouldn't listen to me!"
"Well, I'm sorry for being such a horrible boyfriend!" He spat back, and I started to cry.
"Screw this," I muttered, opening the door and climbing out of the car. "I'm going to find another way home."
"Christine…" He started to protest.
"No Raoul," I stopped him, wiping the tears from my face. "Just leave."
"Fine," He muttered, pulling the door closed, and stomping on the gas pedal.
I just stood there crying as he drove away; hating him for leaving, and hating myself for making him go.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me jump.
"It's okay." A soft voice spoke behind me. I turned to look at him, and saw an older looking, middle-Eastern man standing there.
"I'm sorry if I startled you," He smiled warmly and genuinely. "I just thought you looked as if you needed a ride."
I looked at him for a moment, studying his features. His eyes were kind and genuine, and he had wrinkles that made it obvious that he smiled all the time. After a moment, I nodded quietly, still trying to stop the tears from falling. "Thank you."
"My car is right over here." He spoke quickly, leading me over to a black Mercedes. He opened the door and I climbed in, quietly doing up my seatbelt as he closed the door and got into the driver's side.
"Here you go." He passed me and old-fashioned handkerchief just before he hit the gas and we pulled away.
I knew I should be scared to be getting into a car with a strange man, no matter how kind his eyes looked, but at this point I was too numb to care. It was like the outpouring of emotions at Raoul had drained me of any feelings I had.
"Where am I taking you Miss?" He asked kindly.
"The Opera Populaire." I whispered dully.
"Alright." He answered cheerfully, and quickly turned onto another road.
We had driven in silence for what felt like millennia before he finally pulled up to the curb outside the Opera house.
"Thank you," I whispered, stepping out of the car.
"May I ask your name miss?" He asked just as I was about to close the door.
"Christine," I spoke softly, trying to pretend I didn't notice the shock that crossed his face when I spoke my name. "And yours?"
"Nadir," He smiled happily. "Nadir Khan."
AN: And the Persian enters the story! Sorry everybody for the late update, but updates are going to be slower for the next little bit… I can't even describe to you how busy I am right now! Thanks to everybody who sent me a message or review, I apologise for not having time to respond to you all!
Thanks for reading! And please review!