Of Monsters and Angels

by Partners in Fanfiction

ErikxOFC with LND elements. Nicole "Nikki" Lasalle-Jones approaches the mysterious Mr. Y of Phantasma for the rights to one of his shows for her school's theater department. Mr. Y turns out to be an old friend of her late mother's with a checkered past he's reluctant to reveal to anyone else, even if he's suddenly enamored of her. Rated for scary scenes, limes and language.

32. Chapter 32: Erik's POV

32

Erik

Two weeks passed. It was only on weekends that Nicole and I met face to face and forgot about business. That was, until Friday the eighth of December. I found my seat in the front corner, reserved with a sign that read Reserved for the Playwright. I saw something behind the paper and peeled it off the seat. It was a note from Nicole.

Erik

Enjoy the show and stuff! I'm going to come over tomorrow before the show for any critiques and I have something to tell you.

Love,

Nicole.

I put the note into my jacket and waited. First, behind me, came a middle-aged African-American couple that I recognized by the way they addressed each other. Nicole's aunt and her boyfriend. Next to her aunt was an old woman whom her aunt called momma. I was tempted to introduce myself but couldn't. A young dark-skinned man sat next to me. He wore a black trench coat, his hands stuck in his pockets. He turned his head to face me and said, "I used to go to this school. It hasn't changed a bit."

I nodded. I didn't care.

"Except for the kids. They keep growing, getting hotter and hotter."

"Hotter?" I replied.

"Yeah. The assistant director for this show, a student, smoking hot," he chortled.

Tonya from behind me leaned forward and said, "Uh, excuse me…are you Dante?"

He turned back to look at her. "Yeah."

"May I have a word with you after the show?" she said.

He shrugged. "Sure."

The lights turned off and a spotlight turned on the stage. Nicole, wearing a formal black dress and sneakers, came in holding a microphone. The audience clapped and cheered. She caught my eye and smiled at me, then looked across the room and said over the clapping and cheering, "Okay, okay, thank you."

"Yeah, Nikki, we love you!" Deshawn called.

"I love you too, Deshawn," she sighed. "Welcome to J.D. Walker, everyone. I'm Nikki Lasalle-Jones, assistant director for Learning Lunacy. After ten weeks of strenuous rehearsal and collaboration with the author, who is in the audience tonight, I'm proud to present Learning Lunacy. Um, please take a moment to turn off your cell phones and pagers and stuff because the signals interrupt our sound system and are distracting to the actors. And please refrain from photography and…yeah, that's it. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." The spotlight turned off and the audience clapped as she disappeared and the curtains opened.