Distractions (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was 6:50 in the morning as Christine trudged along the sidewalk of Ballad Conservatory. The rain was coming down in sheets. Thank goodness for umbrellas.

She yawned as she walked into the music building and folded up her umbrella. The only other person in the building was the janitor… or so she thought.

Erik was already on the other side of the mirror waiting for her. The change in lesson times made no difference him. Anytime was a good time to see Christine.

"Angel?" came Christine's voice as she stepped into practice room 7.

"Good morning, Christine," came Erik's silky greeting.

"Oh good, you're here. I just.. I didn't know if you'd figure it out."

"I will always find you, Christine."

The words, for some reason, held deep meaning to her.

"Now, let us begin. Warm-ups. It may take longer than usual with the sleep coating your voice."

40 minutes later found Christine singing the song she would be performing at the recital while Erik played his violin. When it ended, Erik found he couldn't help but compliment her.

"You sang that beautifully, Christine."

He complimented me, she thought with excitement. "Thank you," she replied, a blush on her cheeks.

"You are prepared for the recital," he announced. There wasn't a doubt in his mind.

"You really think so?" Christine asked hopefully.

"I would not have said it otherwise."

Those words puzzled her and brought about a sudden memory. She'd recently heard Derik say the exact same thing. How strange...

Erik stared at her without speaking and unconsciously touched the glass that separated them tracing the outline of her precious face. Then, realizing what he was doing, he dropped his hand to his side and quietly said, "I believe our lesson is over now. You have a class soon."

"Yeah, I hope Theory goes ok today." Christine lightly tapped a little melody on the piano while forgetting her previous puzzled feeling and instead thinking about classes.

"I am sure it will." Why must life be so unfair? If only she knew the truth... He shook his head, the thought too far-fetched to linger on.

That brought a smile to her face. Anything her angel said had to be true. "Well, I guess I'll see you- I mean.. not really see you, but.. I'll be back in the morning."

"Have a good day, Christine."

She left the room, Erik watching her. Then, his eyes lingered on the place she had been moments before. He sighed and angrily hit the wall. Really, why must life be so difficult? It was a question he'd asked himself every day for as long as he could remember.

Christine headed to the cafeteria to meet Meg for lunch. The rain had stopped but looked like it would start up again any minute. Right when she made it to the entrance, however, her cell phone rang.

She got it out of her purse and saw that it was Raoul. Oh, what could he want, she thought with a sigh. Why can't he just leave me alone? It should be pretty obvious by now that I'm not interested. "Hey Raoul," she dully said into the phone.

"Hey Chris! How are you?" He was sitting in his own school cafeteria with some friends from his fraternity. They were all listening intently to his conversation.