Darling. (Erik/Phantom x Reader)

Nine.

Stage of the Opera Populaire.

***

"Piangi, Piangi, Piangi! No, no, no!" The Maestro Reyer yelled out in French, waving his hands in frustration, "This is an English show, you will pronounce it 'Rome' -- got it? ROE-MM. Not ROE-MAH. Do you hear the difference?"

The cast did a collective sigh. They had been blocking and running through these lines for almost four hours now, and Piangi's pronunciation was only getting worse as it all went on. They hadn't even arrived at Y/N's lines, leaving her to stand in the front of the stage in boredom and exhaustion.

When the doors of the auditorium swung open for the millionth time that day, Y/N only bothered looking to distract her from her woes, not out of any curiosity. She should have been curious, however, as a familiar blonde-haired and red-dress wearing Brit entered the room in a fast strut.

"Helena!" Y/N exclaimed, jumping off stage and running to see her friend, embracing her in a hug that was nothing short of all-consuming.

"There is my star!" Helena responded, giving Y/N a firm kiss on the cheek before releasing her, "I have just spoken to Monsieur Carriere, and I am officially your costumes manager — no more slacking off."

"Oh, Helena, I have missed you so! I have so much to tell you! Dinner, tonight? Out in the city."

"Parfait, ma cherie!" Helena agreed, giving her one last squeeze before hurrying backstage to assess the costume situation.

***

After a lackluster rehearsal, Y/N spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to pick a dress for her and Helena's outing. Helena had always been incredibly fashionable, and Y/N always wanted to look somewhat in her league.

She finally settled on a blue-grey theatre dress, with half sleeves she thought were absolutely darling.

She then spent a generous amount of time on her make up, until she was satisfied that her skin gave off an appropriate glow. Her hair was the easier part of the process, as she just brushed it through and it seemed to set itself into place.

Turning out of the restroom, she saw her teddy on the shelves.

"Well, how do I look?" She asked the bear, running her hands down her waist.

The bear didn't respond.

"Tough crowd," Y/N remarked, turning around and slipping a pair of blue shoes on before tucking a small bag of currency into her pocket.

There was a light yet quick tapping on her door, and Y/N quickly turned around to open it up — revealing Helena, completed with a deep pink dress. Helena ran her eyes up and down Y/N's figure, before nodding with approval.

Y/N and Helena locked arms as they strolled out of the opera house, descending the second floor with its dormitories, and making their way out of the front entrance.

Y/N could have sworn she felt someone watching her, but she chalked it up to the unfamiliar feeling of familiarity her friend gave her. Of course, she was being admired from a figure in the shadows — one who was consumed with her brilliant figure, shown off in a dress he could only describe as 'exquisite'. He seemed to him that she was glowing in the light of the opera house, floating beside her companion — who he had come to understand was the new costume designer.

Once in the streets, Helena began talking in her posh-accent and stern voice.

"So, tell me, Teddy — have you made any friends here yet? Any ballerinas caught your attention?"