After The Opera Burned || Phantom Of The Opera

Chapter 25 - A Normal Life

Smiling she walked over to her decision and grasped his hand in both of hers, her smile wide as she placed his hand over her chest and softly spoke her answer, "I wish to be yours, truly and completely."

The smile never left her face as she continued looking at him, awaiting to see of not only his response, but everyone else's as well.

His eyes that were once pleading and so uncertain gained new light as he noticed she chose him. Him, out of all the souls in the world, she chose him. In his short life here on this Earth and after having experienced so much sadness and uncertainty, fate finally seemed right as his hands removed themselves from hers and went to cup her face.

He felt sudden wetness appear on his face and as he looked up at the night sky above them, he noticed that the weather was fare and that all the stars from Heaven were shining down upon them both. He then realized the wetness were from his own tears, tears that he shed out of love and happiness that he was finally accepted, he was finally normal.

His attention drifted from above and then back to Meg, smiling like a mad man as he finally kissed her the way she deserved to be kissed, kissing away both of their fears, doubts, loss, and jealousy and turned the emotions into ones of holy matrimony. Time seemed to stand still as she slowly succumbed to the sudden gesture, her hands wrapping themselves around his waist as she pulled him closer still. He stilled in an instant, not used to any sort of affection besides the short willed one form her best friend. No, at last Erik can be happy.

For what seemed as if it was forever and yet not enough, Charles interrupted the grand gesture by a sudden sniffle of defeat. Meg instantly broke the kiss and turned to him, the boy who had given her everything and yet she could not do the same for him. Her heart had belonged to Erik, long before he had shown himself to Christine.

"Is this..... what you truly choose?" he asked, so quiet that she was unsure if he had asked anything of her.

"Yes," she said calmly, so sure of herself as her arm found Erik's frame and wrapped it behind his back, rubbing it to soothe him as she confronted her other option.

"I see..." he replied, hiding away any sort of sadness that could have confirmed his cause of defeat, turning instead into one showing no sign of emotion. He then walked closer to them, looking up at a man he once admired and thought of as a father figure, but now he was nothing of the sort, he was just a man. A man that had killed, harmed, and did so much damage and yet he was able to obtain the affections to his first crush, the girl he lost his innocence to, "Please Erik, please, take care of her."

"And where are you going?" Erik replied, curious as to Charles' actions.

"There is no place for me here on Coney Erik, we all knew this was my fate," he replied, looking into Erik's eyes while never breaking his gaze.

"If you should ever need it, you are more then welcome to return," Erik stated, moving his arm to wrap behind Meg's back and hold her close.

Charles grimaced slightly, "I appreciate the offer."

Erik knew Charles would not come back, not after all the fighting the two had between them, and most of it was over Meg and his actions. The thought saddened him since he remembered his days back in the inn when Charles had unknowingly stuck up for him, or perhaps he already did know.

"Surely this phantom is not a monster as everyone claims him to be...born with a cursed face that only the devil himself could love...I don't think that to be true either. I believe he was just misunderstood."

A subtle smile escaped his lips as Charles smiled back at him, seeming to know exactly what the other was thinking. How far they had come and how willing Charles had been to throw his safe life away for one of adventure and intrigue with the infamous Phantom. For that, Erik would be forever grateful.