Lost In Time

24. Opera Ghost Returns

STUDY HALL N SCHOOL BLESSED ME WITH AN HOUR OF FREE TIME SO GUESS WHAT I DID~~~ :D 😂 HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Faith's POV

I sprung up from the grass and sprinted to the front door of my house. Grabbing the knob, I pushed against the door and entered the main room. Three brunette heads looked up towards me.

"FAITH?!" I heard a voice say.

"BRODY, MY MAN!" I yelled, embracing the boy who ran in front of me.

He giggled and squeezed me, "Where the heck have you been? Or should I say, when have you been?"

I smiled and looked down at him, his blue eyes sparkled with curiosity and questions.

I went to answer, but Haydn stole me from Brody's grasp and spun me around.

"Hey Kiddo! I thought you got killed or somethin!"

I laughed, "Way to think positive." I rolled my eyes and my older brother set me down.

Another man stood up, and I met his gaze.

I gulped a little, "H-hi, Dad." I sheepishly smiled at him.

He smiled and walked over towards me, embracing me tightly. "I missed you so much pumpkin. It's been a month and a half!"

I broke the embrace and looked up at Dad. "ONLY a month and a half? Geesh, I hadn't really acknowledged it would be that short. I've been in Paris for eleven months!"

His eyes almost bulged out of his head.

"OOO! Speak something French!" Brody said excitedly.

"Je souhaite que je pourrais, mais je sais pas." (A/N: Translation: I wish I could, but I know none.)

Brody, Haydn, and Dad stared at me blankly.

I laughed and group hugged them, "I missed you all so much, you have no idea. I can only stay for a day though, because a week goes by in Erik's time when a day passes here. I can't stay separated from him for that long."

"Why?" Haydn said, as we sat on the couch, wiggling his eyes suggestively.

I glared at him, and looked towards the ground. "Well, he's very uh... Fragile. He can't handle separation from something he loves for that long."

"Wait. LOVES!?" Dad bellowed, causing extreme tension in the room.

Oops...

I chuckled nervously and scratched the back of my neck. "Um... Yeah... We uh... Erik and I are dating now... It's been about a month, only five days here. Please don't be mad."

Silence filled the room to where you could hear a pin drop.

"What's going on out here? Chuck, what's wrong?" I heard a female voice say.

Tears immediately sprung to my eyes and I shot out of the couch, and looked behind me. There was my mother, wiping her hands off from doing the dishes.

She gasped and dropped the cloth, "F-Faith? Is it really you?" She started to tear up.

I jumped over the couch and ran over to her, hugging her tightly around the waist. "Hi, Mom. I missed you so much." That wasn't a lie. I had now realized how much I had missed my family during the year I was gone.

She sniffled and ran a hand through my hair. "My baby, you've come home! I knew you would. You've grown so much! Why? It hasn't even been two months!"

I giggled and lead her to the couch. "I'll explain everything, but you have to sit first." She sat next to my dad, Haydn in the recliner, and Brody sat on the floor in front of them, head in his hands.

I took a deep breath and began.

-----

1862, Paris, France

Erik's POV

"He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!" Meg screamed as the ballet rats scurried around the stage, avoiding the fallen backdrops. All of them were shaking and grabbing onto one another.

Antoinette glared towards my direction in the catwalks and hit her cane against the stage loudly. I snickered quietly. Everyone silenced and she cleared her throat.

"Girls, there is no need for such ruckus. Please collect yourselves in the dormitories, practice has ended. Supper will begin at its usual time. You are all dismissed."

The ballerinas scuttled away, mumbling to each other. Meg and Christine were in the back, my inhumane hearing picking up their conversation.

"Why is the Opera Ghost suddenly back? He's been gone for weeks!" Christine whispered to little Meg.

"Well," Meg began, "I heard that he has kidnapped a street rat and is keeping her hostage in his lair! He rapes her, and you can hear her cry for mercy through the catacombs!"

Christine gasped "Oh Meg! That's dreadful! Don't say such things!" She put a hand over her mouth and shook her head. Her silky brown ringlets swaying lightly.

I chuckled at their foolishness. Only if they knew the reason of the screams. I have to tell Faith when she gets back to be more quiet when she's impersonating Carlotta.

I watched the two children leave the stage and my attention was drawn to Antoinette, who was staring straight at me. We were the only ones present.

"Erik." She started.

"Antoinette." I greeted, throwing my voice behind her.

She jumped a little and closed her eyes in annoyance, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Where have you been? You've been slacking on your usual hauntings for the past month or so." She said, folding her hands on top of her cane. Her voice echoed through the theater.

I walked to the right for a few steps on the catwalk, my hands folded behind me. My cape billowed around my ankles, and my fedora casting an eerie shadow onto my face. "I have been busy working on a new piece of music." I easily lied.

"Then why were all the passages shut when I try to visit you?" She retaliated, suspicion laced in her tone.

I walked slowly to the left now, the wood not making a sound under my almost non existent weight. "I wished to not be disturbed."

She sighed and looked down at the floor, "Erik I know you're lying, there are rumors of a maiden staying in your residence."

I froze mid pace, my heartbeat quickening a little. 'How does everyone know?! I haven't told anyone nor has Faith been up here.' I thought anxiously.

"Who is she?" The widow questioned.

I gulped, staring into the darkness in front of me, "I have no idea what you're talking about." My baritone voice showed no sign of emotion.

"Erik." She warned.

"Antoinette."

She sighed, frustrated. "You're such a child."

"I take that as a compliment."

"What ever makes you happy."

Silence filled the air. She started to walk off the stage, but stopped and spoke over her shoulder.

"Erik, whoever this girl may be, don't get to attached to her. I don't want you getting hurt." With that, she turned her head and walked into the darkness of the edge of the stage.

I sighed deeply and hung my head a bit. I then composed myself and stealthily slipped away into the safety of darkness, and returned to my home in the bowels of the Opera House. Where I was to wait for my beloved Faith to return.

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HOPE YOU ENJOYED! :D QUESTION: WHEN DO YOU WANT ERIK'S AND FAITH'S BIRTHDAYS? THEY HAVEN'T AGED SINCE NOVEMBER! OPINIONS BELOW!

TOODLEDOO BUCKEROOS!