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Chapter 12-Unmasked
"No he doesn't want me to see his face," Christine replied weakly as she began to twiddle with here fingers to avoid eye contact.
"I can understand. I mean why would he want to show you something so horrendous?" Audrey told her.
Christine turned to look at the woman. "Horrendous?" Christine repeated the word. "What does he hide behind that mask?" she questioned. This Audrey had grasped her interest.
"A thing so bad no mortal should have to see it," Audrey answered.
"What could be so bad?" Christine continued.
"I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this," Audrey replied acting like she didn't want to give a full-length description of Erik's face. Really she would do anything to get this brat away from the man she wanted, but she had to act nice.
"Please tell me," Christine pleaded.
The sound in the girl's voice made Audrey smile. "Look." Audrey turned to face Christine. "If you wanna know what's behind his mask then remove it and find out yourself," Audrey suggested.
"I don't want to betray him," Christine confessed.
Audrey got this look on her face as if she had eaten something sour. "Oh come on he's betraying you by not showing you what he looks like," Audrey explained to her.
"I guess you're right," Christine said reluctantly.
"I know I'm right. If you're going to have relationship you need to see his face…by any means necessary." She stood up. "And now if you don't mind I've got to leave. It was nice talking to you Christine Daae. Please remember what I said," Audrey put in. "Oh and your friend and you might want to get out of here," she suggested pointing to Meg who was making out with the man.
"Oh my," Christine laughed as she stood up as well. "It was nice talking to you too Audrey," Christine said before going to her friend's aid.
"It was my pleasure," Audrey said to herself with the biggest and most devilish grin she'd ever had.
"Meg we need to get out of here," Christine demanded of her friend.
"I could take her home," the man suggested. Christine could tell the man meant his home.
"Yes Chrissy! Hea could take me home!" Meg pleaded.
"No Meg you're going home with me right now! You can barely stand!"
"Soooooooo!"
"Come on!" Christine grabbed her friend's hand and practically dragged her out of the bar. Meg wasn't making it easy, and she fainted when they got outside. "ERRR!" Christine yelled.
"You need help Chris?" Christine turned around to see Erik standing there.
"Erik!" she exclaimed regretfully. She really didn't want to see him right now after the talk with Audrey even if she was desperately in need of someone who could carry Meg.
"You don't seem so happy to see me," Erik noticed coming to stand beside her.
"Nonsense it's just I'm having trouble with Meg," Christine lied. She was avoiding eye contact.
Erik eyed her suspiciously. Being a vampire, he could always tell when someone was lying, and Christine almost had I'm lying written across her face. "Well let me help." He knelt down and picked up Meg who was out cold.
"Ah…thanks Erik," Christine replied as she started walking.
"Why are you acting so strange around me?" Erik inquired as he tried to look Christine in the eye, but she once again avoided his eye contact.
"I'm acting strange?" Christine lied.
"Yeah you are. You won't even look at me?" Erik explained to her.
"I hadn't noticed," Christine answered.
"Christine…"
"Ugh! My gosh what's with the third degree!" Christine scolded.
"Ok I'm sorry," Erik said.
They finished the walk in silence.
Erik put Meg gently in her bed as she groaned. "She's going to have a rough morning," Erik commented.
"Probably."
"So…uh…do you still want to have the lesson tonight?" Erik asked.
"The what?"
"Your singing lesson Christine. You know what ones I've been giving you for two months now," Erik told her.
"Oh!" Christine exclaimed scratching her forehead stupidly. "Those."
Sighing, Erik pulled her out into the dark hallway. "See there you go again. You're acting strange Christine and I don't like it!" Erik explained.
"You're the one acting weird! Not me!" Christine defended herself with.
"Deny all you want, but you're acting strange!"
"Whatever Erik!"
"So are we going to have that lesson or not?" Erik asked her getting pretty annoyed with her attitude tonight. "I kind of wrote a song for you, and wanted help you with it."
Christine's heart sank. He had written a song for her, and she was treating him so badly. "Umm…sure," Christine agreed. "I'll be down in a second."
"Whatever," he said before going to the auditorium to wait for her.
Christine ran quietly to her bed and pulled out a decorated box from under it. Christine's Secrets was written on the top. She kept all things close to her heart within the box, and most of them dealt with her father. She dug through it until she found what she was looking for. It was a small necklace with a cross on it that her father had given her because she was scared to sleep in her own room one night.
Keep this around your neck and the Lord will always be with you he had told her. After his death she locked it away thinking that it must not work if God would take away the man she loved the most, but something within her told her she'd need it tonight. So she put it on and hid it beneath her shirt before making her way down to the auditorium.
Have I done something wrong? Erik thought to himself as he sat on the piano bench in the auditorium. "She couldn't have found out what I am? Or…." he put his hand to his face and touched the mask he hated so, "what's under this mask." Of course then an image of Audrey shot through his head. He knew if something was truly wrong with Christine then she had to have something to do with it.
"So you wrote a song for me?" a sweet voice interrupted his thought. Erik turned to see Christine standing there looking innocent and beautiful.
"Umm…yeah. Would you like to hear it on the piano?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded her head. She graced the place where the cross lay on her chest with her hand as Erik began to play. This would probably be the perfect time. He got so in to the music when he played that he would never know what she was about to do. "That's beautiful," she complimented as she went to stand behind him.
"Thanks Chris," he replied.
Quietly and gracefully, she crept her hand over his slow moving head. It was too late to be hesitant now; she pulled off his mask before he even knew what was happening. His fingers nearly broke the keys on the piano.
Still holding the mask, Christine stood dead silent behind the mask less man. The room must have gotten ten degrees colder when she removed it, and she was shivering like it was winter. She still couldn't see his face, and Erik stood perfectly still at the piano as if one move might kill him. "Erik?" Christine peeped.
"Yes Christine?" His voice was a cold and fearful whisper. Christine's breathing got heavier with the coldness in his tone, and she clutched the small necklace around her neck.
"May I see your face?" she finally squeaked. Erik was still silent, but after a very long moment he began to turn to his side. His hair still covered most of it, but Christine could tell the skin was unnaturally and inhumanly pale, and when he turned to stare at her full on she nearly skipped a breath. "Oh my," she exclaimed. She could barely even speak at the horrid sight before her.
His emerald green eyes were sunken in, his skin was stretched tightly across rough cheekbones, and there was a whole were his nose should have been. He looked like a living corpse.
"What not the sexy man you expected?" Erik asked coldly.
Christine backed away slowly as she began to cry. She could feel the cross around her neck making imprints in the skin on her hand she clutched it so hard. Erik looked like a monster!
"Oh come on Christine! This is what you wanted to see isn't it!" he taunted as he got up from the piano and made his way toward her making Christine back away even faster.
"Did you think I was so sexy I had to hide my face from you? Did you think I had no reason to hide it?" he continued. He stood over her. His emerald eyes were gleaming like fire. Christine was crying waterfalls. "Well guess what Christine I have the face of a walking corpse!"
"I'm sorry," she stuttered through her tears.
Erik looked disgusted. "You're sorry! I don't want your fken pity!"
"What do you want then?" she cried.
"I want to leave," his voice was ice plain and simple. He went back to sit on the piano.
Christine stood planted on the stage watching him.
"Why are you still here? Go!" he yelled. Christine gave up and began to wail. "You're acting like a little girl!" Erik scolded. "And I don't have time for little girls!"
"But Erik!" Christine protested.
"Leave Christine! You've caused enough damage here!"
Defeated, Christine put the mask down on the stairs and left still crying.
When she was gone Erik went to sit down on the stairs where he saw his mask sitting. He picked it up and examined the small object that had tortured and protected him his whole life. Audrey had given him this mask, and demanded he wear it right before she turned him into the beast he was today. The flimsy thing inspired so much pain and fear in him when he wasn't wearing it, but when he put it on his face it gave him a small since of comfort. A tear began to trail down his eye. "Why Christine why?" he cried. Then something glimmering beside his foot grasped his attention. He quickly put his mask on, and went to retrieve the small object.
It was a necklace with a small cross on, but to Erik's surprise it did not burn his skin. "What the?" Since the day he was turned crosses nearly burned straight through his skin, but this one did absolutely nothing.
"Erik!" The loud and angry voice of Madame Giry grasped his attention. "What did you do to the girl?" she demanded to know.
"What?" Erik asked innocently.
"Poor Christine came running upstairs in tears!"
"And you immediately blame it on me Antoinette?"
"Done Antoinette me Erik!"
"It was her fault. She removed my mask, and I reacted," Erik explained.
Madame Giry looked taken aback; her expression changed immediately. "She removed your mask?"
"Don't look so stunned Giry. It was bound to happen, and I was a fool to think it wouldn't. I wasn't meant to be loved Anne," he told her.
"Oh my gosh Erik?" she exclaimed.
"I'm fine." He took a deep sigh and looked at the old woman dressed in her nightgown. "I'll get over it. Lingering on the past only makes a bad future."
"I'm so sorry Erik," she comforted.
"Hey you were always nothing but good to me," he told her. "There's no reason for you to say sorry Anne," he continued. Madame Giry was practically crying for him.
Erik stood up. "Well I suppose I better go now." Slowly, he began to leave the auditorium.
"Are you going to be ok Erik?" Madame Giry questioned.
He stopped and turned to face her. "We'll see," was his simple reply before he left.
"You know Christine you could help with Meg," Jamie said angrily to Christine who was still in bed crying from the last nights events. Meg was having a nasty hang over and most of the ballet girls were in the bathroom helping and comforting her all except Christine.
"I'm sorry Jamie I just feel so bad," Christine explained to the tall ballet girl who was getting angrier with her by the second.
"Are you sick?"
"No?"
"Are you dying?"
"No?"
"Then what the hell is it?" Jamie demanded to know. Sighing, Christine sat up in the bed to look the girl in the eye.
"It's a long story," Christine told her.
"Try me," Jamie said sarcastically.
"No Jamie, but one thing would help. Could you go get Madame Giry for me?" Christine asked.
With an annoyed sigh Jamie rushed out of the room to fetch the ballet mistress. "Eeeellllo Chrissy!" A weak hand grabbed Christine's arm, and she turned around to see a very pale and sick looking Meg.
"Not doing too well Meg?"
Meg reluctantly sat beside Christine. "I'm never drinking again," she said.
"Yeah right," Christine replied. Meg would probably be back at the bar tonight.
"Oh Chrissy what's the matter?" Meg asked.
Christine was about to answer when Meg's pale face froze, and she was back in the bathroom in an instant. Christine forced a small laugh. Crazy Meg. "Christine I think we'd better talk alone." Christine turned around to see Madame Giry standing there; her face spelled worry.
Quickly, Madame Giry led Christine to a dark and abandoned room. Turning on a light, she turned to face Christine. "How could you do it Christine? How could you remove his mask?" Madame Giry asked with clear anger in her voice.
"I just had to," Christine answered as a tear made a trail down her face the night before was flashing through her mind. "He would never have shown me…" Her voice turned into a whisper. "I've never seen something so terrible. His face seemed to come out of a nightmare, and he got so angry. He was like a monster," Christine explained.
Madame Giry's hands trembled as she glared at the girl. "You know sometimes Christine anger can be a cover up for pain." Crying, Christine looked up at the tall ballet mistress with interest. "Erik's face has caused him more pain then…" her voice trailed off, "we'll ever be able to comprehend. He's been beaten physically and mentally because of how he looks. He's had to live his whole life in the shadows with hardly a single friend much less a female companion. His friend Nadir and I could be considered friends I guess, but we are not close. Sometimes I wonder if Erik even considers us friends. Erik was always so hidden, so quiet and then you come along. A beautiful chorus girl that actually befriended him, and then you do something like taking off his mask. He might be a little angry with you Christine, but every woman…well every person that's seen his face runs away, abandons him, and hurts him. Why should you be any different?" Madame Giry explained slowly.
Christine could barely breath as she listened to Madame Giry speak of Erik.
"What have people done to him?" she managed to ask.
"You don't want to know my dear. Just trust me you don't want to know."
"My God," Christine exclaimed.
"You see why he hides his face now?" Christine simply nodded her head.
"Do you think I will ever see him again?" Christine questioned hoping for a good answer.
A grave look fell upon the old woman's face. "I don't know my dear, I simply don't know," she replied. "His sanity was already hanging on an unsteady limb my dear. God only know what this will do to him."
"What have I done!" Christine wailed as she buried her pale face in her hands and began to sob.
The ballet mistress put a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You didn't know Christine. You didn't know." Smiling, Madame Giry hugged the crying girl.
Erik sat on his bed leaning up against the wall staring aimlessly across the room. He thought Christine would be different, he though she wouldn't have cried, and he thought that for once he would have something he'd never had before…love. Like all others though Christine cowered at the mere sight of his horrible face, and also like others she would never return to him.
"I knew she'd leave you as soon as she saw that face of yours." Like a ghost, Audrey walked slowly out of the darkness looking absolutely gorgeous like she always did.
Erik was too down to even bother looking at her. "Oh poor, poor Erik!" she played as she ran over and jumped on the bed to put a cold, slender hand on his back. "Seriously Erik if you want a beautiful woman you should just come with me," she explained to him.
"I'm much better then that ballet rat."
Erik faced her with bloodshot eyes, but he didn't utter a word. "I mean sure I did some bad things to you in the past, but I swear I've changed," she explained looking him the eye shaking her head yes.
"Just go Audrey. I don't want to talk to anyone right now…much less you," Erik replied.
"Aww poor Erik's been hurt by the ballet brat. What shall we do?" She was playing with him.
"Please Audrey. If you've really have changed, which I doubt you have, you'll just go," Erik said sadly.
Audrey's fake smile turned into an ice-cold frown. She had known Erik for a very long time now, and knew when he was playing or serious. He was dead serious, and while she enjoyed the fact she had caused Christine to leave him, she knew she was not going to get Erik to come to her. Well at least for tonight. "Very well Erik, but I'll be back," she said before disappearing.
Erik simply sighed.
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