Twisted Every Way: A Haunting Love Triangle

Chapter 8: Begin Again

(Steven's Point of View, Erik Destler)

I am caught off guard by how beautiful Julia looks. Her blue dress hugs her body perfectly, and now I can see the high bone structure of her face. "Julia, welcome. You look beautiful" I say. Wow, good job, Steven. She looks up at me in awe. "You don't look so bad yourself" she replies. "Please, come in. I have the studio all set up and ready for us." She holds out a bottle towards me. "I didn't know if you liked red or white wine" she says as she steps inside. "I like either one, so I'm sure whatever one you picked is perfect. Would you like a glass?" I ask. She nods and I walk to the kitchen to grab the corkscrew and glasses. "So how do you think the first rehearsal went?" she asks, sitting on the couch. I take the two glasses into the living room, hand her one, and sit down beside her. "I think it went well for the first run through. But we still have a long way to go." I reach my glass towards hers and we toast to the success of the show. "So do you want to order diner first or sing?" I ask. "Let's sing first, then we can order. I've sung on a full stomach before; it's not a good idea" Julia says laughing. I love the way her eyes light up. "Ok, let's sing!" I say. I take her hand and lead her into the music room. She immediately notices the Phantom score, but her face lights up when she sees the Finding Neverland score. She walks over ad opens it. "You know the score?" I ask. "I was in this show, the US tour! It was one of my first big breaks. How did you know?" she asks. "Call it musical instinct. If you can sing Phantom, you can sing almost anything." Julia walks around me and puts the score on the bookstand of the piano. To my surprise, it's open to All That Matters. "Can you play this? It's been a while and it's one of my favorites" she asks. Nodding, I sit down at the piano and start to play the intro.

(Julia's Point of View, Christine Daae)

How is it that an outfit can make someone who is already easy on the eyes look so much better? I am surprised how well Steven cleans up. "Julia, welcome. You look beautiful" he says. I can tell he's nervous, poor guy. I look up at him in awe. "You don't look so bad yourself" I reply. He motions with his hand "Please, come in. I have the studio all set up and ready for us." I hold out the bottle towards him. "I didn't know if you liked red or white wine" I say as I step inside. "I like either one, so I'm sure whatever one you picked is perfect. Would you like a glass?" he asks. I nod and he walks to the kitchen. "So how do you think the first rehearsal went?" I ask, sitting on the couch. He take the two glasses into the living room, hands me one, and sits down beside me. "I think it went well for the first run through. But we still have a long way to go." He reaches his glass towards mine and we toast to the success of the show. "So do you want to order diner first or sing?" he asks. "Let's sing first, then we can order. I've sung on a full stomach before; it's not a good idea" I say, laughing. "Ok, let's sing!" he says. He takes my hand and leads me into the music room. I immediately notice the Phantom score, but I am surprised, yet extremely happy to see the Finding Neverland score. I walk over and open it. "You know the score?" he asks. "I was in this show, the US tour! It was one of my first big breaks. How did you know?" I ask. "Call it musical instinct. If you can sing Phantom, you can sing almost anything" he replies. I walk around me and puts the score on the bookstand of the piano. To my surprise, it's open to All That Matters. "Can you play this? It's been a while and it's one of my favorites" I ask. Nodding, he sits at the piano and starts to play the intro.

(Tim's Point of View, Raoul, Vicomte de Chagney)

"Hey Julia, its Tim. Listen, I want to talk to you and I'm surprised you're not picking up your phone. So if you could call me, that's be great. Love you." That's the third phone call and voicemail in the last half hour and she still hasn't called me back. Where could she be? I finish my dinner and throw the dishes in the sink. Those can wait until tomorrow. I pop open another beer and just as I'm about to flop back down on the couch, there's a knock at my door. Julia, it's about bloody time you got here. I walk over to the door, open it, and am shocked to see Kara Maywood standing outside. She's playing Meg Giry in the show. "Kara, what are you doing here?" I ask, still trying to figure out why she's here at all. "I just didn't want to be alone" she says. "But how did you find out where I live" I ask, now kind of creeped out. "The email Andrew sent out before the first rehearsal" she replies. Fair enough. "Come on in, then. Do you want a beer?" I ask, waving my hand. "Sure" she says, flopping down on the couch. I grab her one out of the fridge, give it to her, and sit down in the recliner. "You're not going to sit next to me?" she asks. "Ok, sure" I answer. I slide onto the couch and she takes off her shoes and puts her feet across my thighs. Without hesitation, I tuck my hands under her knees. "So what's going on? How do you like rehearsal so far?" I ask. God, I hate small talk; but in this case I don't have much of a choice. "Its fine, I guess. But I'm not too happy with the casting choices" she says. "Don't get me wrong, I think they made some good ones; but what were they thinking putting Julia Luker as Christine?" She continues, "I've been in the Broadway cast for two and a half years and I finally thought this was my moment to have the lead role." "Well, that makes two of us then" I chime in. "I wanted to be the Phantom more than life itself, and yet they cast that Steven character as him." Kara leans closer and puts her hands on my wrists. "You would make an AMAZING Phantom. With your background, you deserve that role more than anyone." I pull my hands out from under her knees and take her face in my hands. "God, you're gorgeous" I murmur. I draw her face towards mine, her hands fall to my knees and our lips meet.