Sorry for the long wait. Constructive criticism and advice is appreciated. Also the more reviews I get the quicker I'll post the chapters.;)

Chapter 13-Gone For Good

"Chrissy?" Meg peaked into the empty dressing room to see Christine doing what she had been doing for the past month, crying. Shaking her head, Meg went to sit beside her sobbing friend. "My gosh Christine. Why in the hell is wrong?"

Christine looked up at her best friend. Through her tears Christine said, "Meg it's too complicated."

Meg laughed. "Christine, nothing is too complicated if my best friend needs my help." She wiped a tear from Christine's red face with her hand. "Now tell me what's wrong."

"Meg…"

"Christine. Look I may be a dumb blonde, but I still am your best friend, and I'm worried about you," Meg explained.

Meg's concern for her put a weak smile on Christine's face. She knew she would have to tell her. There was no getting out of it now. "Well it started about three months ago when I met this guy in the auditorium, and he wore a mask, but he would never let me see his face. He agreed to teach me how to sing, and well over time we became really close friends. Maybe even boyfriend or girlfriend close. He was a really nice guy, and well I was falling for him…a lot. And then…" Christine paused remembering the night she had met the mysterious Audrey, "I took off his mask." A tear made it's way down her face. "He got so angry…and well his face was…monstrous." Christine looked at her friend who was still listening. She didn't even want to try and describe Erik's face to her. She was too good of a friend to have to have that image in her head. "Well he won't talk to me now, and I found out that he has had a bad life and well…" she paused again, "frankly Meg I'm worried what he might do."

Taking in the story, Meg turned to look at the small window of the dormitory. "Well Christine you've certainly got a problem there. Do you really think he'd hurt himself?" she asked.

Christine stared straight into her best friend's sweet brown eyes. "There's no doubt in my mind."

Erik stared at the tall gray door with light peeking through the cracks in front of him. He had been through this door many times since he had lived here, and he knew precisely what was behind it at this time. It was the only thing that separated him from the deadly sunlight. Normally he would be as far away from it as possible, but now he was even thinking about opening it and ending his dreadful life right now.

His hand graced the knob. It would be painful for a few moments, but then all would be over with. He turned the knob. Christine's beautiful face flashed through his mind. The girl that he thought would end his lonely life but ended up betraying him instead.

He opened the door.

Madame Giry knew that Erik would pull something, and she was glad she got there when she did. She jumped on Erik pushing him out of the sunlight, and she quickly closed the door. "What the hell was that?" she yelled. She glared at Erik who had smoke rising from his body, and had red burns covering his face.

Erik laughed. "That was me trying to die!" he replied.

"My gosh Erik! Do you really think that you have nothing to live for?"

Erik glared at her with his red eyes. "What do I have to live for Anne?"

She shook her head angrily. "I swear if you weren't so burnt right now I'd slap some sense into you!" she screamed.

Erik continued to glare at her. "You didn't answer my question."

"Christine Erik. You have her to live for," Madame Giry answered.

Laughing, Erik leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "You mean the btch who betrayed me?"

The coldest look Erik had ever seen came over Madame Giry's face. She didn't care if he was burnt to a crisp right now. She went over to him and kicked him as hard as she could where it hurt for guys the most. "You idiot!" she scolded through his moans of pain. "I've never seen a woman cry so much over a man! Christine would give anything to see you again, and you sit here and call her a btch! Oh get up you baby!" she ordered.

Erik was curled up holding the throbbing area. "Why the hell did you do that?" he demanded to know.

"I had to get your attention in some way," the old woman replied. "Now are you going to go to her or not?" she asked.

Erik stopped groaning. "She should have thought about being lonely before she decided to take my mask off." He stood up and started heading toward the basement door. "It's about time someone besides me felt the pain of loneliness. Especially some stupid prying Pandora whore!" he yelled as he glided down the stairs to the basement.

Madame Giry stood at the top. "You don't mean that," Madame Giry replied.

"Yes I do," he said before slamming the basement door shut.

"I don't even know why I bother with you! You're nothing but a stupid bstard!" she yelled back getting a furious at his stubborn attitude. "At least think about it Erik. She likes you a lot; who knows she may even love you!" She had hoped the word love would get a peep out of him, but she heard no sound behind the closed door. Sighing, she left.

Erik stood leaning on the door listening to Madame Giry's last words. She may even love you. He would have to talk to Christine. He knew that they could never be together. He wasn't even human and had the face of a monster, and she was so incredibly beautiful. A beauty was never meant to be with a beast, but he would have to talk to her because he might love her too.

Christine sat eyes wide open staring up at the window. It was another stormy night just like the one she first saw Erik on. A tear slid down her face thinking about him. She didn't know how to contact him, and for all she knew he could be very well be dead. She felt truly horrible for what she had done, and now she wished she could meet the liar Audrey and give her a piece of her mind.

"Christine," a low voice from the hallway called her name. A gleam of hope rose inside of her. She knew it was Erik, and she immediately went to check it out.

"Erik?" She walked into the dark hallway. She could feel him standing near her.

"Yeah it's me," he replied.

"Thank God you're ok," she exclaimed. "Can I see you?" she asked.

"I would rather we had our last conversation in silence," he answered.

"What?" She paused. "Our last conversation? That can't be!"

"Shhhh," he ordered nicely. "You don't want to wake your friends do you?" Erik warned. She was reacting exactly as he had expected. In the darkness he could see her perfectly. Everything from the lines under her eyes to the tears rolling down her perfect cheeks.

"But Erik I WANT to see you again. I don't care about your face," she explained. She was beginning to blabber.

He slowly caressed her cheek immediately calming her. "I forgive you for that Chris. Madame Giry told me how you reacted after I was gone. You see there's something else," he paused. "Something much worse then my face that you'll never be able to know, and I don't have the heart to tell you. Because I keep this secret of mine…" he paused again to look at he wide eyes," I can never be with you."

A confused look came upon Christine's face. "Erik there can't be something that bad about you," Christine said.

"You're so innocent my dear. I would give anything to be with you, I really would." Erik began to cry. "You've done something that no one…not even my very own mother could do…you still care about me after seeing my face. Believe me when I say I'd sell my very soul to be with you, but I can't." He turned around. He didn't want to meet the tear-covered eyes of the woman he loved. "I love you Christine Daae," he finally said before doing the hardest thing he'd ever done…leaving her forever.

"Erik?" Christine felt her way through the darkness hoping to bump into him. "Erik?" There was nothing. No figure in the darkness, no comforting feeling that she got when he was around. "Erik?" she stuttered through her tears. It was of no use though…the masked man was gone.

"See look she's worse then before!" Meg exclaimed to her mother gesturing to the balled up and wailing Christine on the bed.

A very angry and worried look came over the ballet mistress's face. "Meg will you leave me and Christine alone," Madame Giry instructed.

"But mom I'm here best fr-,"

"That wasn't a request Megan Giry!"

Meg glared at her mother for a second before storming off.

The ballet mistress turned back to Christine. "What did he do now?" she demanded to know.

Crying, Christine looked up at the older woman. "He left me…for good!" she cried.

"Well did he tell you why?" she asked surprised.

"He said it was some grave secret of his that he could never tell me," Christine explained through her tears.

A very interested look came upon the ballet mistress's face. "I see," she replied. She knew exactly what the reason was.

"Do you know the secret?" Christine asked.

Madame Giry took a seat on her bed. "I do my dear," she answered, "but I will leave it to Erik to tell."

"Is this secret really that bad?"

Madame Giry was silent for a second. "You want my advice Christine? I'd say forget about Erik and move on with your life," was Madame Giry's reply.

"Oh God it's that bad?" Christine asked.

"Christine move on," Madame Giry continued. She stood up and made her way toward the door. "You're the new diva of the Opera Populaire Christine. The last thing you need is to worry about some guy you could never be with." Then she left the room leaving Christine to her tears.

Raoul walked quickly through the crowded streets. He could sense three or four of them chasing him. He could take on one or two, and they knew this so they always chased him in numbers. Raoul knew the reason they were chasing him was because he killed one with the sun. He had only heard rumors of how much they hated this. And now he knew those rumors were true.

He reached the door to the Opera Populaire and ran inside. The lobby was crowded with people waiting to enter for the last showing of Hannibal. The vampires would never kill someone in a big crowd like this; it was the perfect place to hide.

Raoul marched toward the ticket counter. "Are there any open boxes for tonight's performance?" he asked the woman at the counter.

"Let me check," the worker replied. Raoul looked into the crowd. There were three vampires looking right at him with deep red eyes. They were pissed, and he would have a terrible time getting home. "Uh sir." Quickly, Raoul turned back around.

"So is there one open?"

"Box 5 appears to be open, but if you don't mind me saying there's a rumor about that box. People that have sat there tell terrible stories about an opera ghost," the woman explained.

Raoul nearly laughed. "I'll take my chances," he turned to look back at the three vampires, "I've dealt with worse then ghosts."

Christine played with her fingers as the overture began to play. Ever since she had stopped seeing Erik every night she felt so nervous before every show. She didn't know why, but for some reason the thought of Erik had always comforted her before a show. Now thoughts of him only made her more nervous and scared. A soft hand on her back disrupted her thought.

"Christine are you ok?" Meg asked.

Christine smiled nervously. "Just a little nervous that's all," Christine replied.

"No need to be nervous." Smiling, Meg gave her friend a strong hug. "You'll be great perfect as usual," she whispered in Christine's ear.

Christine forced a smile. "Thanks Meg."

Everyone took their places on stage, and soon enough the large velvet red curtains opened to reveal the massive audience looking at Christine with wide eyes. She glanced across each row hoping to see the man she had fallen for, Erik, but as she had expected he wasn't there. A tear of sadness made its way down her make up covered face. She was stupid to think that Erik would be here. He said he was leaving her, and that was what he meant. The music for the first song began to play, and she was about to start singing when a smiling face in box 5 caught her attention. Raoul. The big, bright smile on his face, and his delicate big blue eyes lifted her spirits immediately. Raoul had cared about her so much when they were kids, and now she wondered if simple childhood friends could become something more.

Hope you liked it.