Phantom of the Opera (Oneshots)

The Opera Ghost (Erik)

I make it to my dressing room and slam the door shut behind me. My knees give out and I slide down the side of my door, a sob breaking free from my chest. My lungs burn as I scream out.

It feels like I've been screaming and sobbing for hours. A gentle voice interrupts me, "My angel, I am here. Come to me, Angel of Music." My gaze darts to my mirror, a smile finally stretching across my face. "Erik, it's you!" I shove myself to my feet and rush to the mirror, waiting for him to open it. He steps aside to allow me to stand next to him before he closes the mirror again.

Normally, Erik would grab my hand and lead me down to his lair so I didn't set off a trap on accident (I'm a bit of a klutz sometimes) but he kept his hand hidden by his cloak. I had to follow him from behind as he navigated the hallways.

My heart speeds up at the sight of the lake, the landmark that our journey is almost over. The lair is my favorite place because I always spend time there without the fear of some random person interrupting us. Erik grabs the oar as I approach the boat. "Do you need help?" Erik raises a curious brow at me. I huff, "Of course not. I got this." I slip onto the boat, trying to not rock it too much. The boat wobbles, causing me to lose my balance, but I sit down quickly so I don't topple over the side. Erik chuckles and steps gracefully onto the boat behind me, pushing us forward into the water. The water hardly ripples at the sides of the boat, "Are we moving slower, or is it just me?" Erik puts a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, but his smile is still there, "Just enjoy the ride. We don't need to hurry anywhere." The rest of the ride is in a comfortable quiet, the sound of Erik's breathing being one of the only noises I can hear.

The boat docks on the side of the solid ground of the lair. I get off without Erik's help, trying to prove I'm not that clumsy. Erik pulls the boat up so it doesn't float away and he sets the oar down. By the time he looks up, I'm already on the other side of the lair, lying down on his soft bed. "Comfortable, are we?" I sigh in an exaggerated manner, "You have the best bed in the world." "Along with the best fiancée," He adds. I smile at him as he makes his way over to his organ.

He sits down on the bench and slides over to the left side, leaving room on the bench for another person, "Come join me, will you?" I leave the softness of the bed and place myself next to Erik. He begins playing something slow and gentle, but it progresses into a powerful, yet beautiful, piece. I join him, our music connecting and flowing together. It sounds like we are reading off a score, but we are just playing what comes from our hearts. Our music is completely unique and aligns perfectly as if one person was playing their heart out, not two. Erik and I have an unnatural bond through music that only we can understand.

We slow down, the end of our song becoming gentle and beautiful again, like a lone butterfly flying through the spring air. Erik finishes a couple notes before me, his right hand setting down on my left. His touch is hardly there as if his hand is hovering above mine. I lift my eyes to meet his, viewing the sad smile on his face. I close my eyes to cherish the moment, but when I open them, he is gone. I am sitting alone on the organ's bench.

"Erik?" I jump up from the stool, the legs of the bench scraping against the floor with a horrid squeak. I frantically search the lair to see where he went, but I can't find him anywhere. "Turn your face away from the garish light of day," Erik's voice calls from a distance, "turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light." I can't pinpoint where his voice is coming from. "And listen to the music of the night," His voice fades away. I try to reach for it, but nothing is there.

The sound of a gunshot makes my head start ringing. It's distant, almost like it isn't even from here. Everything around me changes. I'm in Box 5 and Erik falls to the floor in front of me. Raoul's gun, pointed at Erik's figure, is smoking. I hear myself scream, but it doesn't come from my mouth. I reach for Erik to try to catch him, but two of the police officers yank me backward, the others swarming Raoul and Erik. "No!" I cry out, but it's meaningless.

The scene changes to the dressing room corridors. I throw my own door open and collapse on the other side, emotions overtaking me. The memories flood my head and I scream out. My sobs die down and I find myself in front of my mirror. I step on the area Erik showed me and the mirror opens like magic. I follow the winding halls until I'm greeted by the cold, dark lake. I board the boat and push it off. I had forgotten the oar, since Erik always got it, so I sat in the slowly moving boat by myself. The silence is eerie.

The boat stops with a little bump as it hits the side of Erik's lair. I pull myself out of the boat and set the boat on solid ground so it doesn't float away.

I stumble over to Erik's bed and let myself fall into its softness, the mattress consuming my body. I want to just lie here forever, but I force myself over to the organ. I sit on the right side, leaving plenty of room for someone on my left side. My fingers rest on the keys for a few moments before I start to play. The notes sound good, but they're lacking. The music is incomplete.

I stare at the keys with an empty gaze. They took my fiancé away from me. They took Erik away from me. My music will never be complete and my heart will never be happy again. They took away the only person that could understand me. Erik is gone and I am alone.

"Never let your passion die," Erik's voice reminds me. "Even if I'm not here physically, I'm here every time you create music. When you play a piece, I'll be there playing beside you." I readjust myself so I am sitting on the middle of the organ bench. I raise my fingers to play again. My right hand plays the sweet, happy part while my left plays the mysterious, cool part. My music combines mine with Erik's, a new style that only I would ever be able to understand. Even though I now play alone, I am playing as two separate people. Erik's music will live on through me.

Inspiration: "Last Christmas" (2019) [I Gave You My Heart scene] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paHMiEXDMaU