In the Presence of an Angel (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 3- New Feelings

Chapter 3- New Feelings

The melody was haunting, to say the least. The minor key.. So many dissonances.. A quick tempo.. Fortissimo.. Erik played as if his fingers would fall off. He played with every ounce of anger, mourning, and mystery he possessed. At the same time, though, the man was in deep thought.

Christine, Christine.. She was quickly driving him into insanity.

Nadir could only witness the scene from afar. He was glad their jobs were at a slow point at the current time. His partner could never draw a design in the condition he was in. Perhaps he would regain his senses and stop playing incessantly? After listening for a few more moments, Nadir couldn’t help but to doubt his hope.

Erik stopped playing briefly to write his new composition on paper. His breathing was coming out in angry spurts, and he was sweating beneath the mask. This damn mask..

He believed it to be the only reason he could not have Christine. Have her? Yes.. Erik wanted her body, mind, and soul. He'd never experienced such feelings, and so, having never felt such things, they came all at once and with an intensity that shook his entire being. I have to have her!

At that moment, there was a knock at his office door. "What?" Erik spat.

The hairs on the back of Nadir's neck stood on end at his tone. "I only wish to speak to you.."

"I am in no mood to 'speak'!" His emotions were overwhelmingly heavy.

Nadir took in a breath, held it, and opened the door. He honestly expected to have something thrown at his face.

Nothing happened, though.

Erik sat on the piano bench with his back facing Nadir. "What?" he quietly asked with a bit of defeat in his tone.

Studying him, Nadir honestly said, "Erik, you are not yourself."

His form slouched a bit on the piano bench fully succumbing to defeat. "Why?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Why what?"

"Why must she be so far away?" He ran his hand along the piano keys without actually playing them.

Nadir let out a heavy sigh. This was a real problem. Erik was, yet again, taking things too quickly. He always jumped to conclusions without giving things time. So, here he was obsessing over a girl he'd only seen once before.

"Why, Nadir? Tell me!" He turned on the bench to face his partner.

Nadir truly did not know what to say. No answer would be good enough. He remained silent, which was to his advantage.

"She is an angel. Christine is an angel. And I.. I am nothing more than a monster in a mask!" He stood. "But, Nadir, I need her. I do."

"But-"

"You do not agree! It is understandable, but hear me out! I fear what I feel... I- I am not in control, I realize that. And I am always in control, am I not?"

Nadir could only nod. This was the most Erik had spoken to him in quite a long time.

"But I know how to feel the control I once felt. I must have her." He stood and paced his office running his hand through his dark brown hair in agitation. Then, suddenly, he stopped. "Nadir, if you have ever considered yourself a.. friend.. to me.., you will be of assistance now."

"Explain yourself, Erik." Nadir was most definitely skeptical.

"I designed their home. I need you to bring them back. Yes, get Christine to return! Tell them I have more work to do. Ways to improve what I created. Say something, anything, to bring them back!"

"But-"

"Nadir, you must!" They stared at one another briefly before Erik was finally satisfied that he’d gotten through to him. "That will be all."

Nadir left the office in defeat. I ‘must’ do as I am told, I suppose...

"Hello?" a bubbly voice asked into her cell phone.

"Hey!" Christine said excitedly into her own phone.

"Christine! Hey! How are you?" Meg Giry asked, glad to hear her friend's voice.

"I'm great!. How are you?"

"I can't complain. It's feels so good to have a break. You know what I mean?"

"You're telling me! What have you been up to?"

"Shopping, hanging with some friends, that kind of stuff. What about you?"

"Well, I've been helping my dad a lot. We're building a new house!" Christine couldn’t help but reveal her overwhelming excitement.

"Really?  That’s great, Christine!"

“Yeah, Dad's been wanting to do this for a while now. Since before Mom died... So, we're going for it."

"Well, I’m really happy for both of you. What else have you been up to?"

"Not much of anything, really."

"You're not hanging out with any of your friends?"

"Not really. We've all gone our separate ways since high school. They weren't that close to begin with."

"But, you talked about that guy, Raoul this past semester. Don't you want to see him?"

Christine shrugged and blushed. "We haven't talked in, like, a year. He's probably forgotten all about me."

"I doubt that… You should give him a call.” Feeling that she was probably getting nowhere, Meg said, “Gosh, I miss you!"

"Yeah, same here. It's hard to be apart when we were practically attached at the hip for two semesters. I miss my accompanist."

"Oh, please.. I was terrible and messed you up half the time."

"What? You never messed up! Meg Giry, you're the best pianist there!"

"And you're the best singer."

Christine laughed again and shook her head. "Well hey, I've got to go, but we'll talk soon."

Meg had a feeling this quick goodbye had something to do with not being able to handle her compliment. "Yeah, we have to talk soon. It was so good to hear from you."

"You, too. You be good."

"Aw, why?"

Both girls laughed. They then hung up with each other. Christine's dad was standing in front of her. "What’s up, Dad?"

"I got a call from Nadir Kahn. He says we need to come back. The designer needs to work on a few things."

"But the place looks perfect,” Christine said with confusion. “What is there to fix?"

Gary shrugged and said, "We'll just have to see. He was very insistent that we come today. So, would you like to come, too?"

Christine's mind was on the music she heard in the house and the man who played it. "Well, I don’t have anything better to do."

They left the apartment and returned, yet again, to the mansion. They were completely unaware of the real reason for their visit.

Thanks for reading!! Please review :-)

-Lauren