The Man Clad in Black (Phantom of the Opera)

A Stormy Night in Paris... Again - Chapter 29

Your kiss was very brief... It ended as quickly as it began, as you pulled away out of both shock and in realization of what you had just done.

The both of you stared at each other. Your eyes were wide, and the both of you could hardly believe what had just happen.

"What was that for?" he asked, blinking a few times. You couldn't imagine how this looked to him. After all, a kiss was a telltale sign for anyone, really... You had practically just revealed that you were hopelessly in love with the man.

"Erik... I love you," you said softly. "That's why I stayed."

You let out a shaky breath, almost as a way to try and calm yourself down, and you slowly grabbed onto Erik's hand. You didn't dare look up at him again... Not that you were afraid of him, of course - you were just afraid of how he would react. You decided that the best option was to pretend that these things didn't even happen and continue forward.

"Let's go..." you muttered softly.

Erik still looked taken back, but instead of saying anything else with the topic, he nodded slightly as he began to lead you off again.

He lifted up a curtain to reveal yet another (and the only unbroken) mirror, and he picked up the candlestick that Meg had dropped before she had left. As he held the makeshift weapon in his hands, he glanced at his reflection for a moment before looking back to you.

"Careful," he said softly. He dropped your hand and, after you backed up a few steps, he used all of his strength to take a swing and shatter the mirror.

You were a little startled and covered your face to avoid spraying glass, but after a moment, you noticed that the mirror was hollow... and behind it, there seemed to be even more catacombs and hallways tucked away.

You were astonished.

"How - " you muttered, although you were interrupted when you felt a hand on the small of your back. Erik was gently pushing you to go through, continually glancing back just in case anyone else began to come down, and you let out a slight gasp when you accidentally placed your left hand on a glass shard that hadn't yet fallen from the mirror... however, you said nothing else as you made your way inside, and as Erik closed the curtain, you were engulfed by complete darkness.

"Erik, I can't see," you whispered, taking a few careful steps forward. The mirror shards crunched under your feet as you held a hand in front of you, and you felt Erik's hand gently wrap around your waist.

"Stay close," he muttered.

You weren't going to complain about that.

You gently wrapped an around Erik as the both of you continued to inch forward. It was hard navigating through the dark, but after a few moments, you felt Erik reach down and grab something... before you knew it, a blinding orange glow filled the room.

You squinted for a moment, but as soon your eyes adjusted to the sudden light, you let out a soft sigh...

You were in a seemingly endless hallway... it looked almost untouched, and although the air was quite dusty, it looked like it was the only way out (that wasn't through the opera house).

"I suppose this is better..." Erik muttered, keeping his arm tight around you as he held a torch in the other. This time, however, he wore a mask, a new cloak, and a hat - that way, if the two of you found yourself on the Paris streets, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone giving him suspicious looks. "Let's keep going."

Despite the fact that you were no longer wandering in the dark, Erik still kept you close to him, just so that he knew where you were at all times...

And before you knew it, the two of you were on the streets of Paris.

A gust of wind and a face-full of rain was the first to greet your face. You shivered a little, almost certain that a tremendous amount of stage makeup was dripping down your face, and you spat out a mouthful of rainwater.

Your bottom lip began to quiver a little, and you noticed Erik smile amusedly.

"Does this not remind you of the time we first met?" he asked, dropping the now snuffed torch as he kept an arm tight around you. "It's a peculiar thing, the way the world works... Now come with me - we need to find a place to spend the night."

He didn't have to ask twice.

He kept you close as the two of you walked the streets of Paris. It seemed like all of the stores were closed - all of the shades were down, and aside from the moon, there wasn't a single flicker of light to be seen... However, you nearly had a heart attack when you heard someone call your name.

"[Y/N]!" they shouted. "Is that you?"

You turned around to see Matthew, still in all of his waiter garb, rushing over to see you... however, he was quite taken back when Erik turned around - hat, mask, and all. He stepped backward, eyeing Erik like he had just seen a ghost (haha).

"Goodness! What's..." he started, staring at Erik for a moment before looking to you. He looked as if he was about to explode with both anger and and confusion. "What is he doing here?"

You immediately sought to calm him down.

"Don't worry, Matthew," you said quickly. "He's not here to hurt anyone - he just helped me get out of the opera house after the chandelier fell."

Matthew paused.

"So that's what all of the commotion was about..." he muttered, staring at the ground as he began to think. However, his head perked up immediately once an idea crossed his mind, and he suddenly seemed a lot less hostile toward your masked friend. "You were on that stage! That's why you came to work a lot less... didn't you mention it before?"

You still shivered as you nodded softly.

"Yes, I mentioned it on the day of my audition..." you said. As another gust of wind made a flurry of rain blow your way again, you leaned back into Erik just a tad bit, giving Matthew a hopeful smile. "Is there anywhere that you know that we could spend the night? It's really cold, and - "

"Absolutely," Matthew said quickly. He had said yes for your sake, but he seemed to forget about Erik... however, as he already offered, he knew that he couldn't take it back.

"I live a few blocks from here, and I have a guest bedroom... you can come with me."

A/N: *lE gAsP* So the book continues!!! Haha, anyway, sorry for such a late update - my schedule was PACKED today... anyway, what did you think? About Matthew? About Erik's reaction? Let me know, people! Please, for my sake (*cue Raoul* don't throw your life away for MY SAKE - I'm sorry, I'll stop there, haha!) let me know what you think!!! Haha, comment, vote, share, add to your reading list... or just keep reading. Everything counts to me! Thanks, and I hope I'll see you soon!