CPOV

The click of the door seemed to resonate loudly over the entire roof exaggerating my aloneness. I wondered why I felt that way when I hadn't wanted him there in the first place.

Raoul was one of my closest friends...or had been anyway. Now he hated me.

It wasn't a great loss, no, but no one likes to be hated. And for him to dismiss what I knew to be true, hurt more than I can say.

A blast of sharp wind caused me to shiver violently. I went to the other side of Apollo's Lyre where I could hide myself from its bitter sting. What a fool I was, up here in this weather! I could get sick and lose my voice.

At the moment I didn't care. I couldn't face the world yet.

And who knew if I would ever sing at the opera again? With all these threats, I'm sure they thought I was a part of it; perhaps even allied with the Viscount de Chagney as some kind of forbidden-love-scandal. I was obviously trying to work my way into the spotlight by threatening the lives of the patrons and Carlotta, herself.

Not that I would be too upset if something did happen to her.

I wouldn't have been surprised if they fired me right after this. I would have fired me. I was more trouble than I was worth.

Sighing, I slid down the statue until I was seated on the light dusting of snow.

The irony suddenly struck me and I couldn't help but give a slight inaudible chuckle. Here I was, hiding behind music once again. It seemed whenever my world crumbled, there was music. It was all I needed, or that's what I used to think. Now it seemed like I was drowning, barely keeping my head above water, and there was only one person who could save me.

Him…my Erik.

When everything I had known had been ripped out from under me, Erik had saved me. Of course...I hadn't exactly known it was him, but still, why he did it I will never know. What made him take pity and befriend a sniveling orphan girl? The man was strange; there was no doubt about that.

I smiled. No one could figure out Erik. Though I suspected I had come closer than most, and that thought saddened me. He was so alone and at the moment I was too. This whole night I had thought about him.

Learning the truth about my angel was shocking, but not devastating. As I lost an abstract divinity, I gained a true man. That, somehow made me feel closer to him.

For the past several nights my dreams had been consumed by him.

There wasn't one moment in those dreams where he wasn't there: singing, kissing, talking, touching...I had had dreams about him that made me blush every time I thought about them. But I still found myself wishing them real.

I let out another small sigh and took in the night sky for a moment.

I could only imagine what the new managers were doing right now. Surely they were in a uproar and trying to figure out how to salvage the evening and trying to keep Carlotta from leaving again.

I smiled at the thought and let my eyes slide shut.

After about a minute, a voice jolted me back to reality. "Do you want to get sick? Because that's what will happen if you sit down there." I was used to his spontaneous appearances. There was no reason for me to jump. Though it seemed my heart did leap at his sudden nearness.

Glancing up, I smiled at the familiar cloaked figure, "You worry too much"

"Au contraire, mademoiselle, I worry just the right amount" A small smirk crossed his face and it caused me to blush for some reason. His hand extended down to help me up. When I accepted it and met his eyes I could tell that he had expected me to reject it. Now they glimmered with something new and exciting. He pulled me up to stand close in front of him. I smiled shyly. There was only about two foot between the us. I wanted to step back but didn't want to hurt his feelings because of my bashfulness.

Erik put his finger under my chin and tilted my face up toward him.

"There now, isn't that a little better than sitting in the snow?" His silky tone made me shiver and I hoped he didn't notice.

"A little, I suppose" I smiled and tilted my head curiously, "Now the real question is: why are you up here?"

As if I didn't know.

As soon as the question left my mouth, I saw his mask go up: a mask of humor and ease.

A teasing smile played at his lips as he put his hand down. "Can a man not simply go for a stroll out on a rooftop and have a chance run-in with a beautiful lady?"

Forever the charmer.

I looked away shyly but was not anywhere close as to buying it, "Of course he can. There is no law against it" I smiled, "But you will forgive me if I still question your motives, monsieur"

That caused him to raise his eyebrows, "I am insulted" His eyes sparkled with mischief, "But I might ask you the same question."

That caused me to pause, but I was tired of being coy. It seemed we were always in a constant dance "I was hoping to find you", I admitted softly.

He didn't answer. Although, I'm not sure what there was to say to that.

"Well, you have found me", he said guardedly. What do you want?, his tone implied. If trust could be built between us, this conversation would have to take place and we would both have to be honest.

I gathered myself in preparation of opening the proverbial flood gates, "Why, Erik?"

I realized that I had not really given him much clue as to what I was talking about, but to my surprise he knew. I could tell by the way he looked at me. It was a sad look that said how much he dreaded the conversation, but he let out a sigh that made it evident that he knew it was unavoidable.

His voice was dark as he looked past me.

"That man couldn't leave well enough alone. He kept meddling in my business hoping to find out more for his damned stories" He glanced at me only for a moment before continuing solemnly, "Also, I promised a disaster, and I never go back on my word" His eyes filled with a smug righteousness that chilled me all the way through and he noticed.

I could see the sudden regret too.

His words had been harsh. Erik tried to be so gentle around me, like I was a china doll.

I could tell that wasn't who he was. The way his eyes shimmered when he talked about killing Boquet confirmed that. He was trying to hide who he really was, so as to not scare me away. If we could repair what had been broken, then he would have to stop hiding.

It surprised him when I laughed, I think. It was a breathy giggle more like, still, I didn't know why I did it. It just seemed appropriate. I shook my head in defeat. I had wanted the truth and I had gotten it.

"Why do you do that?" I asked.

He tilted his head in a puzzled way, "Do what?"

"Regret telling me the truth? You are so careful with me"

His face was sullen and he was quiet for so long I wondered briefly if he would answer me. "If you knew the real me..." he stood there and looked down at me grimly, "You would not be standing this close to me"

"Do you honestly believe that? Do you believe that I would fear you?" I asked gently.

He looked straight into my eyes, "Look at me, Christine. I killed a man in front of hundreds of people tonight. Can you honestly say that doesn't frighten you?"

I thought about that for a moment. Did I fear him? I thought long and hard over it, but he never rushed me to answer. Finally, I looked at him and nodded.

"You are right, that is unsettling. There are some things about you I don't understand or that I am frightened of..." I saw the hurt flash in his eyes at my words, "...but if I am not willing to try to understand or to get closer to you...I am no better than the others"

I felt sympathy, with a small twinge of anger and hurt. I felt sympathy for the broken man in front of me who was so far from the world. I was angry at all the people that had ever hurt him. The ones who had cast him out like a piece of trash. I wanted them all to know the pain they had caused him. Moreover, I was hurt that he believed that I might do that. Of course I couldn't blame him. No one had ever given him reason to trust before.

His eyes seemed to be looking for something in my face. I just smiled softly at him, "Ange, I will never leave you. No matter what, I am here. If you will have me" His arms closed in a vice-like embrace around me that warmed me to the core. I returned the embrace just as fervently.

Suddenly there was a silence that wasn't like the previous ones. It was charged. I felt his breath close to my neck and I trembled softly.

Slowly I brought my lips up to meet the base of his neck in an experiment. I felt his whole body go rigid.

Was it possible? Did I affect him as much as he affected me?

It seemed impossible, but the thought made me braver. I looked up at him for a moment and met emerald eyes, almost florescent in their brightness. I took a small breath, and brushed my lips against his. It was tentative at first...testing. I wanted to be sure of what I felt and be sure he wouldn't reject me. When he didn't, I let myself get lost in the moment.

And nothing had ever felt more right.

"Christine…" He sighed almost inaudibly against my lips. I was pulled away to look up at him. His brow was furrowed and he wore a troubled frown on his face.

"I would never hurt you, Christine. You know that?" His eyes pleaded with me. Don't believe the lie, they begged.

I smiled and nodded, "Yes, I know that" I had never trusted anyone like I trusted him. No matter what I felt for this man...pity, hurt, anger, protectiveness, a slight fear...and now a strong urge that I had never felt before with any man.

We slowly pressed close into another kiss and got lost in eachother.

Again, R&R please ;) Sorry about the sort of cliff-hanger…