Darling. (Erik/Phantom x Reader)

Ten.

Dormitories of the Opera Populaire. 

***

"Helena, this is adorable!" Y/N smiled, seeing her friend's dormitory room for the first time. It was smaller than her own, consisting of only a room and bathroom, lacking Y/N's living area. It was just a few doors down, and had furniture covered in sheets and boxes in stacks -- evidence of Helena's recent arrival, "Can I help you unpack, dear? I have an hour before rehearsals begin."

Y/N was already prepared, dressed in a thin pair of ballet tights and matching pink leotard, with a long white skirt over it. Her hair was twirled into a bun, secured with a silver clip that had been her's for as long as she could remember, but had allegedly belonged to her mother once. 

"Well, if you wouldn't mind dressing the bed while I change -- the sheets are in the box right there," Helena instructed, waving a hand in the bed's general direction and pulling a proper day's outfit from some wooden crates. 

Y/N went over to the bed anyways, searched for a moment, and soon produced a full box of sheets and pillows and more. She began dressing the bed as Helena disappeared into her bathroom, and by the time her friend resurfaced, not only was the bed made, but the boxes which were once atop the sleeping place were now organized against a wall, waiting to be unpacked. 

"Oh, Teddy -- you are an angel," Helena proclaimed, smiling at her darling friend. Y/N blushed with the compliment, before following Helena out the room as each made their way to their prospective jobs. 

Y/N arrived on the stage just a few moments prior to everyone else, and had set her bag of necessary belongs -- a water canteen, her script, and extra lipgloss -- on a chair in the front row of the audience. Just fifteen minutes later, all the chairs in the front row had similar belongings littered about, and Monsieur Carriere and Monsieur Reyer were taking their usual positions on center front stage, discussing quietly their agenda for the day. They were still finalizing the blocking for the show, so Y/N knew she would be stuck listening to Piangi butcher the script again and again, as she stood frozen like an ornamentation of the stage, rather than an actress. 

"Okay, we shall resume from the intermission, so can we get the two lovers on cue?" Reyer called out, in French, from the stage. Y/N scurried up to the left wing, where she would make her entrance. 

She watched as Piangi got into position, sitting on a stool in the front and center of the stage, which would be transformed into a magnificent throne when the construction department was done with the set building. At times, she could hear drilling from somewhere in the opera house, but still had not found the warehouse which so many worked on the scenery. 

"Action!" Carriere called. Y/N watched as a flurry of ballerinas stormed the stage, playing a group of enamored women, charmed by Piangi -- or, in this context, General Albina -- and his conquest in war. 

The chorus of girls giggled, sang, and danced around him, speaking of his glory as he entertained him -- at timed, General Albina would turn to the audience and confess that he knew flirting with these women was wrong, because he is engaged to marry Cassia -- or, in this context, Y/N. 

While the girls still danced about, Y/N entered the stage, but stayed off to the side. She observed, with a peaceful yet interested expression, and mimicked the backward-forward dancing of the girls around Piangi -- a tactic which would, hopefully, allow the audience to see her by grabbing their attention. 

Then, the girls filed off stage, leaning General Albina with a smile. 

The General turned to the audience, and sang: "Oh, my Cassia -- beautiful as one could be, yes! Beauty beyond comprehension -- but I confess that in my heart I have hesitation. Can one as beautiful as she even truly love me?" She watched as Piangi walked to the side, acting pained, as he continued, "Is a man like me, a man who needs to be seen, a man who is adored -- well, what is marriage for? What is a union of such delusion going to be -- oh, my Cassia!" Piangi turned around, and acted surprised to see Y/N, who stood now in center stage. She had, as the blocking directed, been creeping up on Piangi the entire time. 

Y/N moved closer to Piangi, and took one of his hands in her own, as she sang softly, "Beauty is only a thing of the eyes, what I search for is hidden -- somewhere," she took a deep breath before singing out: "deep inside!" and brought Piangi's hand to her breast, above her heart, as she held contact with him. On cue, the orchestra erupted and Piangi ran off stage, leaving Y/N alone. 

She turned to the audience, and was about to begin 'Think of Me' when Monsieur Reyer yelled, "HOLD!" 

She stopped, breaking character, and realized that her eyes had been watering and her eyebrows were growing sore of their exaggerated expression on stage. She sat down on Piangi's stool-thrown, as Reyer scolded the orchestra for their lackluster performance and delayed inclusion. 

Half-heartedly, she looked around the auditorium to once more appreciate its grandiose beauty, in hopes that it would further inspire some excitement into her. On her scan about the room, her eyes steadied on a small movement in the shadows of one of the viewing boxes: there, behind the partial-cover of a velvet-red privacy curtain, she could see Erik -- determinedly writing away on something, his gaze fixed to a paper. She smiled subconsciously, appreciating for a moment his persistent look onto his pen, and how even from so far below, she could see his towering figure and feel his presence. 

"Okay, Duchess," Monsieur Carriere called, bringing Y/N back to the stage as she turned to him, "You may resume your position and sing the aria."

Y/N stood back in front right stage, and listened as the introductory piano notes played, as she began to sing: "Think of me... think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye. Remember me, once in a while -- please promise me you'll try!" She moved a bit towards center, looking at the audience as she floated across stage, "When you find, that once again you long to take your heart back and be free -- if you ever find a moment... stop and think of me!" 

She picked up her skirt and took a few steps backwards, towards where Piangi left, before whipping back to the audience in a dramatic fashion, "We never said our love was evergreen, or as unchanging as the sea. But if you can still remember, stop and think of me," She was smiling now, her left hand reaching to her chest to grasp her necklace, as her other hand braced her abdomen, "Think of all the things we shared and seen -- don't think about the way things might have been. Think of me, think of me waking -- silent and resigned! Imagine me," She moved leftward now, reaching to an imaginary audience, "Trying to hard to push you from my mind! Recall those days, look back on all those times -- think of the things we'll never do," She returned to center stage, "There will never be a day when I don't think of you." 

The orchestra erupted as she pretended to look back in the direction Piangi ran off to, contemplating whether or not she should follow. 

On cue, she turned back to the audience, slowly walking up to finish her aria: "Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade -- they have their seasons, so do we. But please promise me, that sometimes... you will think," Instead of singing 'of', she vocalized in it a dramatic way, allowing the the 'oh' of the word to dance around the room, before holding a high riff of the operatic song, and dramatically returned to say, "Me!" 

The orchestra played her music to leave, so she followed the outlined path off stage, before hearing the band drop into silence and Carriere calling for her. 

"That was marvelous, my dear! You barely need practice," Carriere clapped, joy written across his face, "My one note: be a bit more convincing about your doubt in General Albina, I want to see the heartache in your chest. But, you are released for the day."

"Thank you, Monsieur," Y/N smiled, running down to collect her things before he could change his mind.