Outside of suddenly having his cloak, Christine hadn't seen nor heard from Erik. It had been months and she'd been trudging along as best as she could, pretending she could love Raoul as she once had. But she couldn't and didn't.

There were some fond feelings that remained, but those were that which she would feel for a brother. Not a lover. It made kissing Raoul very, very awkward. Unfortunately for her, he loved her kisses and refused to hear her out.

Tonight was going to be more awkward than anyone seemed to realize. Especially with Raoul being her date to the ball.

She wasn't entirely pleased by this but even if Erik was speaking with her, she had no other options. It wasn't like she could convince the Phantom to take her considering what he'd done thus far.

She ignored Meg's excited rambling as she changed into her dress. The pink made her want to cringe. She didn't feel like pink suited her or this event in the slightest. But that was what Raoul was convinced would work best.

She only turned around to help Meg attach the little angel wings to the back of her dress. Her outfit made more sense as it was almost a costume.

"Are you alright, Christine? You've been oddly quiet." Meg commented, frowning at her over her shoulder.

Christine didn't want to lie to her, but at the same time she couldn't tell her the truth. Especially not with how concerned she was. She wouldn't understand. Not fully, at the very least.

"No.. nothing's wrong. I'm just nervous, I guess." She murmured, raising a hand to fiddle with the ring that laid between her breasts.

She wasn't even lying fully. It was partially the truth. She was nervous. Just not for the reasons her well meaning friend would assume.

"You don't have to be, Christine! I'm sure Raoul will find you beautiful. I mean, he's already gone and proposed. I'd say he's smitten." Meg chirped, a comforting smile on her lips.

She forced a smile in response, nodding lightly. She was right. Her friend had definitely assumed wrong. But it was for the best. Meg was never much good at keeping secrets.

There was a knock at the door and Meg pushed her towards it. She sighed and opened the door, fighting the urge to drown when she saw Raoul.

His outfit didn't even remotely go with hers, but she wasn't going to complain. He'd probably call her childish again if she even asked about it.

So when Raoul offered her his arm, she simply took it and plastered yet another smile on her lips. He returned it and lead her off.

Christine didn't know if she should be proud that she managed to fool or fiance or ashamed. Ashamed that he clearly didn't know her enough to see through her.

She should've never accepted that proposal. The longer they were together, the more this became clear.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination and she blocked out his rambling. She didn't care much to talk about their engagement. It wasn't the happy subject that he clearly considered it for himself.

She welcomed the distraction of performing with open arms. At least he couldn't talk to her and distract her when they were supposed to be keeping up with everyone else.

It was going well. Too well, despite how she felt about the situation. Perhaps she should've expected something to happen. Especially with the managers taunting Erik like that.

Not only that, but with all the masks, he would be very much welcome. He wouldn't even look out of place. Not really. Not unless he decided to cause a scene or something of the sort.

A few moments later, it became clear that was exactly what he was going to do. He had essentially highjacked the moment, scaring the others and causing them to part like sea.

Christine couldn't take her eyes off of him. Not when he was singing and he looked like that. That red suit of his hugged his body perfectly. It was wrong of her to notice but she couldn't help it.

The mask was shaped like a skull and it somehow suited him as well. Especially with the way that the black make up underneath it made those eyes of his pop.

His eyes had always been rather beautiful, but they were impossible to miss or ignore at this point. They were more hypnotic than she'd ever truly realized and she found that she didn't mind, even if she probably should.

Christine listened as he berated Piangi, insulted Carlotta and threatened the managers. It amused her on some level. Perhaps because he wasn't entirely wrong about what he was saying.

She couldn't deny that she was curious about his opera despite herself. All she really knew was that it sort of explained his long absence. He must've been very busy with it.

When Erik finally turned towards her, she froze. She vaguely felt Raoul rest a hand on her back but she ignored him, unable to look away from the other man.

He informed everyone, including her, that she was to be the star. She wasn't entirely surprised. Nor was she surprised when he seemed to be ordering her to come back.

Though some part of her was disappointed that he was asking as her teacher.

When he'd finished singing, he began walking towards her. She followed suit, approaching him in return. His eyes were almost tender and they were dragging her in. She didn't have the will to fight it.

"Christine!" Raoul shouted, running back into the room with a sword.

The sound of his voice snapped her out of it and she turned to look at him, slightly irritated despite herself. Erik wouldn't hurt her. He'd never tried to harm her physically before.

Christine didn't have much time to process what was happening. Erik grabbed her arm and dragged her up the stairs behind him. She squeaked but struggled to keep up despite herself.

Her shock grew when he pulled her against his chest and flipped that overly long cloak in front of both of them. The next thing she knew, they were falling.