This chapter is a little shorter then usual. By the way is there anyone who would like to be a beta reader for this chapter? I'm just wondering because someone said I had some spelling error, and I know I make mistakes...especially careless ones. Anyway thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. It's nice to know people like the story.

Chapter 14-Raoul

Christine sat silently in her dressing room thinking. Most divas would be thinking about their performances; especially ones that had given a breathtaking show just like the one Christine had given, but Christine was thinking about Raoul. She was thinking about his bright blue eyes, his handsome smile, and his loving personality. Raoul wasn't a bad guy; he had even saved her live once, and maybe he could feel the void in her heart that Erik had created and abandoned.

Erik…She still thought about him everyday. Meg had told her that if he left her he was a fool and didn't deserve her, but Meg didn't know Erik, or why he left. Madame Giry had said to forget about him because this secret of his was too great. She still didn't know what secret could be big enough to keep two people apart. He had to be human, right?

A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "It's a mad house out there!" a very familiar male voice exclaimed.

Almost laughing, Christine turned around to see Raoul standing at her door looking flushed. "Hard getting here?" she asked as a joke.

"Nah, I just had to fight two alligators, kill a couple of monsters, and wrestle some roaches to get here, but it was all worth it," he joked with a sweet smile on his face. He walked a little closer to Christine.

Christine laughed. "Now what could possibly worth all that trouble?" Christine inquired a playful smile on her face.

Raoul gave a light laugh. "To see the diva of the Opera Populaire would be worth going to hell and back…especially if the diva is you," Raoul explained. He was smiling, but Christine knew he was dead serious.

Christine's playful smile faded, and she turned to look at the tall and handsome man. He simply nodded a little. "So it looks like the little girl I knew has gotten big and serious?" Raoul mentioned.

Snapping out of the sweet moment, Christine replied with, "Oh yeah. Erik's been a great tutor."

A disgusted look came upon the young man's face. "Ahhh…I see…Erik is a better tutor then I took him for," he remarked.

Christine leaned against the desk. "What do you mean then you took him for?"

Raoul laughed. "Well it's kind of hard to think a tall masked guy all dressed in black could be a great singing teacher," he said.

"Good point, but Erik is pretty darn good at it…even with the mask," Christine replied laughing.

"Where is the man now?" Raoul questioned. He hated to refer to the monster as a man, but he didn't want Christine to know about the things that go bump in the night. She didn't deserve to have to worry about such terrible things.

Christine sighed. "He's gone," she answered sadly.

Raoul had to hold back a gasp. He hadn't expected Erik to leave Christine. The last thing a vampire would do would be to leave a woman as beautiful as her. "Why?"

With a confused and sad look on her face, Christine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. He said he had some secret that I could never know, and that it was great enough to keep up apart," she explained. Raoul looked very surprised.

"He said there was a secret? Was it his face or something? Is he deformed?" Raoul interrogated.

"Why do you care so much?" Christine asked.

Raoul looked very earnest. "Just humor me Christine," he pleaded.

"Well I've seen his face, and he said it was something much worse then that," she told him.

"Really?" Raoul walked across the dressing room rubbing his chin.

"What's the matter Raoul?" Christine demanded to know.

Raoul didn't answer though. He seemed to be in deep thought pacing "Raoul…" she said loud enough to get his attention. She had something to ask him, and he certainly wasn't making it any easier.

He haulted. "What?"

"What in the hell is the matter with you?"

"Oh nothing," he lied. Everything was the matter though. From what he had heard of this Erik he was horrible…a monster, but he would leave a girl alone because of what he was? It just didn't make sense, and it was beginning to frighten him.

"It seemed like a whole lot of something to me," Christine replied.

Raoul smiled innocently. "Nah, it's nothing. No worries."

Christine wasn't quite convinced, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. "You know Raoul, Erik and I were pretty close, and now that he refuses to see me…I…um…," she felt really stupid for asking him on a date when it was usually the other way around.

"Christine are you asking ME out?" he asked her.

Christine bit her lip. "Yeah…" She was desperately hoping he'd say yes.

"Well I'd love to go out with you, but I feel slightly embarrassed that you had to be the one to ask," he explained.

Christine felt as if a cruise ship had been lifted off her shoulders. "Well I think everything's already been said and done," she said.

Raoul smiled. "I guess you're right…"he replied. "Um…so when do you want to go out?" he asked.

"Well I was actually wondering if we could go get dinner…tonight?" Christine offered.

"That would be grand," Raoul answered.

Erik lay awake in his bed staring at the imprints on the ceiling. Ever since he left Christine she was all he could think about. Her beautiful voice, her lovely smile, her gorgeous eyes…it was driving him insane. Not to mention the pain and hurt he must have caused her when he left.

He desired so badly to go back to her, but every time he saw that skeleton face staring back at him in the mirror, or when he saw those sharp teeth that had taken so many lives he knew he could never be with her. She was a beautiful and kind woman that deserved to be with a handsome man…not with a corpse. Raoul De Chagny. Erik may have hated the man, but he knew in his heart that he would make Christine happy with him, but he hated the man with a passion. Erik didn't know what would happen if he saw the two together. He didn't know if it would be the end of him or De Chagny.

Then it hit him. Raoul was a hunter. Hunters didn't have high life expectancies which Erik really didn't care about, but if he was a hunter Christine couldn't be with him without there being a great chance that she'd get hurt. Erik loved Christine too much too let that happen. "Maybe they won't get together," he thought. "I'll just have to keep an eye on the two."

He grabbed his coat and went to find Christine.

"You know you're possibly the best diva the Opera Populaire has ever had," Raoul told Christine as he took another shot of whiskey. They were at possibly one of New York's busiest bars. The music was blazing, people were dancing, and you had to practically kill someone to get a bar stool. Christine usually didn't like the bar environment ,but she needed something to get her mind away from Erik besides Raoul's cute face, and a whole bunch of beer might do the trick.

Christine laughed. "Yeah right! Maybe the worst diva but certainly not the best," Christine replied taking another drink of her beer.

The handsome man nearly fell off the bar stool laughing. "You the worst? Oh you're being too humble Ms. Daae. Carlotta was by far the worst," he said.

"Wait you know who Carlotta is?" Christine asked. She wasn't quite drunk enough to miss that.

"Oh yes. My family has funded the Opera Populaire for quite some time now. My brother only took over when my parents were killed," Raoul explained. His voice got softer as he talked about his parent's death. "They loved the arts you know, and they would have loved to see you up there tonight." The poor man sounded so sad, and it nearly broke Christine's heart. Christine had been living with Madame Giry long before his parents died, and she hadn't talked to Raoul for a few years tell now. She felt terrible for not being there when they died.

"I'm sorry Raoul," Christine comforted. Raoul put the shot glass down to look at the beautiful woman beside him. She looked so concerned and mature even if she was a little drunk. The little girl from a long time ago had grown into a beautiful woman, and he hadn't noticed it tell now. She had such beautiful eyes and such an emotional look on her face.

"Christine…," he whispered. He was getting closer and closer to her before he even noticed what was happening.

She was a little nervous and surprised as Raoul approached her, but Christine didn't back off. Her eyes were glued to his, and she would even admit that she liked it when their lips touched to form a passionate kiss. He was so warm, so handsome, and he had such passion in his kiss. Then thoughts of Erik flashed through her head. "Raoul...," she whispered after breaking the kiss early.

Sighing, he caressed her soft cheek and gave her some distance. They looked at each other's eyes for a long moment. Only one thought raced through her head as she gazed at his ocean blue eyes, and it was a name…Erik. She thought Raoul would help her feel better, and that he could feel the void in her heart, but he had only made things worse. She would need more time to get over that masked man. "I've gotta go Raoul," she announced as she quickly grabbed her purse from under the bar.

Raoul looked shocked. "Wait why?" he asked getting up to chase her as she left the bar.

"I'm just not ready for this yet," she answered quickly. She didn't want to look at him right now.

"Why?"

Christine pushed open the door to the bar to be greeted by the cold New York air. She stopped and turned around. "Because I'm just not Raoul, and if you truly care about you'll understand," she said.

He was at a lose of words, and she couldn't think of anything to say that he would understand. "Look Raoul," she put her hand on his shoulder, "I'll call you," she finally told him before storming off leaving Raoul astounded. She felt ashamed, but strangely though, she could feel Erik's comforting presence around her, and it put a small smile on her face.

Erik watched from across the street as Christine walked away from De Chagny. "I love you to death, and I hate to see you in pain," he thought. He didn't want to see the woman he cared about so deeply in so much pain.

"My God the woman's seen your face, and she still won't get away from you," Audrey's voice rang in his ear.

Annoyed, Erik turned around. "Dmn I'd gone a month without seeing you. Why'd you have to come spoil my fun?" Erik asked.

She laughed and sat down on a box. "You know you missed me. Of course you were probably too busy thinking about the woman who betrayed you," she commented.

Erik stopped realizing what her words meant. "So you were responsible for her little curiosity in my face?"

"I might have peaked her curiosity, but I wasn't the one that removed the mask," she mentioned with a sense of pride.

Erik sighed. Exactly as he expected, Audrey had been behind it. "Why do you want me so bad?" he inquired staring in the eye for the first time. He wasn't afraid of her. "As I recall you were the one that hurt me so bad that the only thing to do was leave…,"

"Oh Erik," she played. "Why do you have to hold that against me? Didn't I say I was sorry?"

He nearly burst out laughing. "Do you think that one word especially coming from your mouth could make me forgive you? Actions speak louder then words my dear."

The beautiful woman looked ready to burst, but she kept her composure…luckily. "So is that a no, you won't help me?" Audrey questioned getting annoyed with his speeches every time they spoke.

"My God woman do you not get the point. I hate you! I wouldn't help you if you threatened to torture me!" Erik yelled.

Audrey stopped moving, and an evil grin made its way on her perfect face. "Maybe not if I torture you…," she turned to stare at Christine who was still walking away, "but what about the ones you love?"

Hope you liked it. Please don't kill me for the cliffhanger.