The Man Clad in Black (Phantom of the Opera)

Dance Partners - Chapter 24

Once you were back at Erik's lair, he had taken off his cloak and gloves so that he could comfortably dance with you. It was better if nothing got in the way.

"I was able to watch a part of the dance," he murmured, moving up to you and holding both of your hands. He stared at them for a moment before shifting his gaze up to you, a serious yet intrigued look to his eye. "I think that I know enough to try running through it once... Then, you tell me whether or not I'm doing it right."

You cleared your throat.

There was no way that you were ready for this. After all, this was such a... well, hands-on song, and it would only be reminding you of everything that you knew you wouldn't ever be able to have.

However, you still forced a smile and nodded softly.

"Alright," you said quietly, drawing in a deep breath as you let go of his hands. You distanced yourself far away enough to both mentally prepare for what was about to happen and get yourself a good starting point.

You took in a breath before you began counting the tempo out loud, doing each move accordingly.

"One, two, three, four..." you counted as you danced. You held back a gasp once you were finally in Erik's arms, gulping lightly as you continued your count.

This was the exact same move that you had done with Antoine...

And yet, was it going to be even harder to do with Erik as opposed to with a complete stranger.

The both of you wrapped your arms around one another, the two of you close enough to kiss as you continued to count out your numbers. It was only a few moments before he spun you into his arms and held you from behind, and (as it was choreographed this way) his face was inches away from your skin. You had to keep yourself from pushing yourself away too quickly.

The both of you paused, panting slightly. While it wasn't an emotionally demanding dance, it seemed like the both of you had put everything you could into getting it right just this once.

"Was that right?" he murmured softly, resting his head in the crook of your neck. Slowly, your right hand made its way up to rest against his face (as choreographed).

"Just about..." you whispered.

It pained you that he had opted to stay in that position for so long, perhaps so that he could get a feel for what it would be like with his dear Christine, but you stayed put up until he unraveled his arms from around you. You didn't quite want to go through that again. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, of course - but it just hurt to know that everything you had was only temporary.

"Who's your partner for this number, [Y/N]?" Erik asked, snapping you out of your thought.

You glanced back up to him.

"Oh, his name is Antoine," you said with a slight nod, smiling softly as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You drew in a shaky breath as you placed your hands on your hips, trying to collect yourself after everything that had just happened as well as look natural. "He's... erhm, he knows a lot more about dance than I do."

Erik thought for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Ah, Antoine..." he muttered. "He's quite the talented dancer, if I recall correctly... and he's quite handsome too, no?"

Talented? Absolutely... but handsome? Well, after overhearing the ballerinas talk about him, it seemed like he would meet the standards for what many girls would deem to be good-looking... but to you, he just wasn't your type. To answer Erik's question, you simply shrugged.

"More or less," you said with a small smile. "Not that I dislike him, though. He's just not what I would call handsome... I'd probably need to get to know him first."

"I see," Erik murmured. He let out a sigh as he smoothed his hair back down with a hand, and as he walked away from you, he nodded softly. "Well then. Let's try this again, shall we?"

Oh, good God.

Before you could stop yourself, however, you nodded softly. And murmured an "alright." You drew in a deep breath sending him a soft smile, silently praying that your nerves weren't far too obvious.

You opened your mouth to count again, although Erik was quick to interrupt you.

"No," he said, sending an unreadable glance your way. "It will be easier for the both of us if I sing it through... that way, we can both get the timing down."

"Oh, I... alright," you said. You most definitely weren't complaining - whether he was in love with you or not, it was undeniable that his voice was absolutely stunning. "You know where to start, yes?" It was a very brief moment of the song that you two were going over (as this was the only point in time where Erik and Christine would actually have to match the dancers), but yet, Erik seemed to want this perfected.

"Past the point of no return... The final threshold," Erik sang. The two of you approached one another until yet again, you repeated the same movements. The two of you had come so close pressing yourselves together before he quickly spun you around, holding you from behind as his hands on top of yours, resting tenderly on the lower part of your stomach.

"The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn!" Because his hands were on top of yours, he was able to slowly bring your hand up to touch his face, and you couldn't help but freeze up a little bit...

Erik didn't seem to notice.

"We've passed the point of no return..." As the final note rang throughout the lair, you stayed in that position for a final few counts.

You were waiting on Erik to let you go.

To be frank, he truly seemed to be embracing the moment as he kept your hand against his face and on your stomach. His eyes were closed as he seemed to want the moment to sink in, and even after he finally let you go, the two of you stood in silence.

It seemed like forever until he broke it.

"Thank you..." he said softly, looking to the ground before beginning to head back to his desk.

You nodded.

"You're welcome, Erik," you said, fixing yourself up a little before you began to leave again. "It's been a pleasure."

Erik nodded softly as he sat down in his seat.

"I'll expect to see you soon, then," he said, picking up his quill before dipping the tip of it into the ink.

As much as it hurt you to think about it, you knew that you were only doing what you could for the man you loved... You only wanted to see him happy.

"Absolutely."

A/N: Whaaat? 3 chapters in one day? Who is she? Haha, goodness! I want to do so many things with this story, but we all have to wait... All in good time, I promise! Vote, Comment, and share for me, if you don't mind. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you soon!