Disclaimer: I do not own Erik, or Meg, or Madame Giry, or any other characters from the ingenious mind of Gaston Leroux! Anne just currently resides in my head until she's done telling her story. She's getting alone quite well with all of the other voices that reside up there. :)

AN: And moving their relationship along...

Chapter 28

Elizabeth, thankfully, had not managed to make any sort of contact with me after the incident at the restaurant. Meg, however, cornered me the second she had to herself. She was angry and hurt that I seen Christine, and had not said anything. I apologized profusely for not telling her, but I refused to say anything about what I thought of the Vicomtesse. I knew I was going to have to change my opinion of her anyway since it wasn't her fault she was the way she was. A second chance is always hard to come by and I felt guilty jumping to any conclusions.

"You're distracted today." Erik's voice whispered in my ear and my hands jumped off the keys. I had missed another wrong note and it was unusual since this was a piece I could play in my sleep.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

I smiled and looked at the sheet music. "Obviously not this piece." I stood up from the bench and took a turn around the music room and sighed.

"Anne? What is it?"

"I've been thinking about Christine, honestly, and Elizabeth as well. I'm worried Elizabeth and her fiancé will do something drastic to the Populaire since I won't cooperate with her."

"You'll find that these people can handle themselves quite well. And that ridiculous Earl is not the only Patron we have. The managers are also quite capable. I made sure of that."

I sat down on the bench and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He smiled and I saw an eyebrow raise. "They are people who know music very well and know how it should be done. They think my notes to be left by some critic who walks about rehearsals even though everyone knows that rehearsals are closed to the public. But, they want the good reviews, and the money. So, they listen."

"They've never asked to meet you?"

"No, they haven't, nor do they wish to. As long as the money keeps coming in, there's nothing for them to worry about."

"It's quite an ingenious plan. Considering the last two managers, it's quite an improvement."

"Those two were ridiculous men who only wanted to make money, and that was all. There's not much that can be expected from people in the junk business."

I chuckled. "No, I suppose not."

There was a moment of silence before he pointed to the piano. "Shall we continue? I've not heard your waltz yet."

I grimaced. One thing I did not want today was a fight. "Can we skip it today? You know we always disagree on how it should be played."

"You still think that you're carrying two dancers."

"That's what a waltz is."

He sighed and walked towards me. "May I show you something?" He extended his hand to me which I hesitantly took. He helped me to my feet and guided me to the middle of the room where there was an open space.

"What are you going to show me?" I laughed, suddenly nervous.

He took my left hand in his right and with his left hand he placed my right hand on his left shoulder. "You do know how to dance, don't you?"

I looked up at him a retort ready on my lips but I saw his brown eyes alight with laughter. "Yes, Erik." I smiled. "I know how to dance."

"Good. Then this shouldn't be too difficult for you. Now, one, two, three." We did a simple turn around the room, keeping it perfectly in tempo. "Now, if we were in a room filled with a hundred other dancers, than yes. Our dancing would be perfectly in time and not an extra second would be spent extending a beat."

"Exactly. A perfect waltz."

He smiled. "But look around, Anne. Are we in a room filled with a hundred other dancers?"

I didn't have to look around to know that answer. "No," I replied.

"No, we are not. So, we are giving perfect liberty to extend every beat if we want. Every moment can be dragged to it's limit until we, the dancers, decide when we want to move on to the next one."

I blinked. "Oh…I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Well, let's try it to make sure you know what I'm talking about."

No words were spoken for the next few minutes as we danced around the room with only the imaginary music in our minds playing. But, standing so close to Erik, I felt as if I had gone into a sensory overload. I could feel his hand on the small of my back and I could smell his very subtle cologne. The only sound was the rustle of my dress, but I could hear his breathing and, when I dared, I looked into his eyes and I felt as if the world disappeared and it was just us two in all of existence. Nothing else mattered. Elizabeth, Christine…everything else vanished.

It was a strange, yet pleasing, feeling to be dancing around with Anne. It was strange scenario he found himself in and he always managed to find himself in these awkward situations with her. She always did something or said something that made him feel more human than anything else. With her, he wasn't some disfigured monster who had committed horrendous crimes and hid from the world. She always seemed as if coming here was the most natural thing for her. She came because she wanted to…not because he forced her. But he knew this wouldn't last forever. Soon, she would see what was hidden behind his mask. She would tear it away just as another once had and that would be the end of his glimpse of the light. He couldn't hate her for it. Women were naturally curious and it would be to her own demise. Yet, he was going to let this last for as long as he could. This small glance of paradise was going to last as long as possible…just like this dance.

He twirled her around the room, prolonging beats, making every moment last until they transitioned to the next one. It was perfect and yet not so, for this was more than just a waltz to teach her how to play. This was a waltz that was were he would always remember that he had finally let go of Christine. She was forever his past and he could move on from her. Broken and shattered he had been, but in Anne's own way, he had been put back together again. He had learned to feel again…he had learned to…

The reality of the situation struck him like a ton of bricks and he gasped for breath. He lost his footing and nearly toppled to the ground taking Anne with him. He regained his footing at the last moment and when he caught Anne, it was if he had dipped her down backwards and she was waiting to be brought up. The moment was made, however. The spell had been cast. She was so close. Her lips were so close. If he dared…oh, if he dared.

"And so, that's how I'm to play, is it?" She asked, smiling nervously.

The moment was gone. The spell had been broken. With that sentence he was brought back to reality so fast that he almost dropped Anne. He slowly brought her back up and stood her on her own two feet. He dropped his hands and stepped back. How could he ever have thought he would have been granted access to Heaven? To have one…just one kiss?

"Y-yes. That's how it's done. You…have to feel everything in the music. You represent just two dancers and the dance they share."

She nodded, clearly as nervous as he. "Well, I'm…going to fix us something to eat. We…we can resume this when we're done eating."

He nodded back and waited for her to leave. He even waited until he knew she was in the kitchen before shutting the door to the music room. He leaned against it and tore off his mask, the wretched thing becoming irritating and annoying. He was really in a bind now. This time, though he would know how to proceed…because he wouldn't. He wasn't going to go down that path all over again. But…how could he keep going on like this? How could he keep continuing his lessons with her and just simply pretend that he didn't care for her? That he didn't….love her?

I had gone overboard on lunch and I had only myself to blame. I had tried to block out the dance with Erik, not because I didn't enjoy it. I did. I enjoyed it very much. And that was the problem. My time with Erik was…was… I couldn't quite put a name to it. We were student and teacher yes, but we were friends as well. One would say more than friends, but there wasn't any sort of romantic connotation to it. Erik was my friend, and one would say protector, but that was it. So…why did I enjoy that dance so much? I hadn't danced since my private instructor had drilled me in all the society appropriate dances. That had been a few years ago. Of course, I had always danced when Father was alive.

"You've been in here a while…and I can see away."

Erik's voice came so suddenly that I jumped. "How do you move so silently?!"

He smiled wryly. "Force of habit, I suppose."

"Well, you're just in time. Lunch is all set out, so help yourself."

"I hardly know where to begin." He looked at the cut meats, fruit, vegetables, bread and pastries. I had made a special tea I had learned from Mama and it was sitting in a tea pot on the table."

"Well…I got a little carried away."

"I can see that. Does this happen often?"

"Only when I'm trying to stay occupied." I sat down at the table and he followed suit. I poured tea, knowing how he liked it after careful observation. Then, we were silent as we usually tended to be as we sat down to a meal. We enjoyed the presence of each other's company, until it became awkwardly quiet.

"Anne?"

"Mmm?" I took a small sip of tea and picked up an apple. I peeled it slowly, waiting for Erik to ask his question.

"I would like to know a little more of what your time was like with your parents, if you don't mind."

"What would you like to know?" I was hesitant to answer, and I tried to be really absorbed in peeling the apple.

"What was your mother like? Your father?"

I looked up at him and gave a cheeky smile. "Anything else?"

"Well, you can leave your sister out if you don't mind."

I laughed and then returned my attention to my apple. I tried to put my thoughts in order before saying anything to him about what life was like back then. At times, I even struggled to remember what it all used to be like. But, then again, I didn't really want to divulge to much. It was a part of my life that I kept close to me. Very few people knew about that time, because if they wanted to know about what happened before my father died, they would inevitably know what happened after he died. And that, was not something I was prepared to divulge.

"Trust is a two way street, Anne." Mama's words sounded in my ears and I sighed. She was right of course. Before either of us could truly trust each other, we both had to be honest with each other. It seemed that Erik was going to be tight lipped about what his past was like, but maybe I could get to know him better if he knew me better.

After peeling and slicing the apple, I put the knife aside. In truth, there was nothing shameful or embarrassing about when Father was alive. It was all happy and carefree, but it was also painful because what happened afterward was something I did not want to relive.

"I was born on March the 2th, 1850. According to my mother, it rained all day. I've always loved the rain." I looked towards the fire and smiled. The flames were almost hypnotic and my story unfolded.

AN: I am also a huge fan of cliff hangers! My bestie hates me for it. :-) Song that I had playing as I was writing their dance was "So She Dances" by Josh Groban. Leave a review if you love cliff hangers!