Love is Ours {See Final Author's Note}

Chapter Twenty Two

[Sierra]

The weekend passed by quickly, and when Monday came, it was time for previews.  Sierra nervously made her way to the theatre for rehearsals.

Thankfully, she didn't mess up, but poor Ramin was looking a bit faint.  During lunch, he disappeared into his dressing room and didn't emerge until rehearsals were about to resume.  Sierra didn't question him about it, not wanting to invade his privacy.

At five thirty, she left the theatre to grab a quick dinner before she had to start transforming into Christine Daaé. 

Sierra blasted Barbara Streisand while she put her hair up in pin curls.  She did her makeup while her wig was being put on and chose a word.  She got "Confidence" and smiled to herself. 

Kate entered to help Sierra into her Christine mannequin costume and she truly felt like Christine Daaé as the five-minute-call came over the speakers.  Sierra made her way backstage and giggled with Summer before saying good luck to Joseph, Niamh, and Liz.

She saw Ramin twisting his hands together nervously and she made her way over to him, taking his hand.

"You'll do great," she whispered in his ear.  He didn't respond, instead looking down at the floor.  Sierra stretched up and kissed him on the cheek.

The performance was unlike any other she'd ever known.  The audience was captivated, and she and her fellow cast members moved through the show with ease, proud of the show they'd helped create.  The orchestra played beautifully, and Sierra had to try hard to stay in character so she wouldn't get caught up in how gorgeous the music sounded.

Before she knew it, she was dying in Ramin's arms.  They kissed, he and Summer cried, and her little Gustave came and he and Ramin had their moment before the curtain fell to thunderous applause.

Sierra hopped up from the floor and scurried backstage, embracing her cast mates.  She held onto Ramin for an extra second before pulling back, a smile permanently imprinted on her face.  She felt like even Tam couldn't ruin her good mood.

She heard her cue to take her bow, and she smiled broadly as the audience cheered.  When Ramin came out, he quickly took his bow and the audience went wild.  He took a few steps towards Sierra, took her hand, and kissed it, the tip of his mask brushing her knuckles.

Then the entire cast bowed together and the whole audience was on their feet, clapping and cheering as loud as they could.  When the curtain finally fell, Sierra's cheeks ached from smiling so much. 

She and Ramin embraced again before she went to her dressing room to change and take off her wig.  She brushed her hair out before grabbing a sharpie.  As she was leaving her dressing room, she bumped into Ramin, who also had a sharpie.

They grinned at each other before heading out the stage door, where the signed playbills and took countless pictures. 

Finally, the crowd dispersed and Sierra headed to her car, walking alongside Ramin. Sierra still felt on top of the world after such an amazing show, and she was sure Ramin felt the same.

"Goodnight, Ramin." Sierra said, stretching up to kiss Ramin's cheek. 

"'Night, Sie." Ramin grinned at her. 

Sierra drove home happily.  No worries of Tam crossed her mind, and as she unlocked the door to her flat, she felt at peace. 

She changed into pajamas, brushed her teeth, and scrubbed her makeup off.  Content, she crawled under her covers and fell asleep.

[A/N Hey guys!  I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going up north this weekend and won't be able to update.  Sorry for leaving you with this crappy chapter but the good news is it's gonna escalate from here pretty quickly when I get back.  I should be back to posting regularly by Monday.  Also I just wanted to tell you guys that there are probably going to be about thirty-thirty five chapters in this fanfic but there will be a sequel!  Watch for that!  Thank you guys so much for your enthusiasm for this story!  It means a lot 😘]