The Man Clad in Black (Phantom of the Opera)

A Confrontation - Chapter 19

You wandered throughout the rafters, searching for any direction as to where Erik might have gone, although as soon as you heard Christine singing from upon the roof, you immediately knew that he would be up there.

"Sorry!" you whispered as you pushed past a young man (or you assumed he was - you didn't get a close enough look at his face). You carefully hurried up the stairs, although once you heard what Christine sang, you couldn't help but pause in your tracks...

"Say you'll love me every waking moment,
Turn my head with talk of summertime..."

You paused. Something told you that she was with the Vicomte - who would sing a song like themselves? As you listened to her voice, delicate enough to give anyone chills, you soon heard the voice of the Vicomte de Changy... his voice was quite nice, to be honest - although you knew just how upset Erik would be if he found the two of them up there.

Right...

That's why you were here.

Carefully, as to not attract much attention, you made your way onto the roof through a secret door...

Erik was already there.

Thankfully, however, he didn't see you - you were able to make your way behind another statue far away from both Christine and Raoul, and (hopefully) out of sight of your dear Erik. As the two continued to sing and confess their love for one another, you carefully poked your head out to catch a glimpse at what they were doing, and it was just fast enough to catch the two of them kiss right on the lips.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed that Erik had abruptly turned around... he couldn't watch his beloved kiss another man.

You watched as that familiar devastation of heartbreak washed over him...

Oh, you knew it all too well.

You wanted more than anything to run up and console the man, but you had to keep in mind that you couldn't afford to reveal your location... at least not yet, anyway.

You made sure to hide yourself again, gently pressing yourself against the statue as to not be seen. Sure, the stone was extremely cold (as it was beginning to snow) - but nonetheless, you would much rather shiver a little as opposed to have a friend of yours become upset with you.

"Order your fine horses - be with them at the door!"

You heard Raoul's voice yet again.

"And soon, you'll be beside me," he sang. You could already hear the door open as they got ready to leave.

"You'll guard me and you'll guide me..."

And with Christine's final note, the door closed, and the two of them disappeared all over again. As you began to register what they had just sang about... was this a proposal? We're they truly leaving - and if so, for how long?

You froze as soon as you heard your dear Erik's voice again... and, for the first time in what seemed to be forever, he began to sing.

"I gave you my music..." he started. God, you could almost hear him cry.

"Made your song take wing, and now... how you repay me - deny me and betray me..."

Below, you could hear Christine and Raoul sing that same song all over again...

So much for frantically needing to get ready for the opera.

This time, you heard Erik weep. You carefully peeked at him from behind the statue, and right in the center, you saw him crumpled and on his knees upon the snow-covered floor... you noticed a fistful of red rose petals fall to the floor, and you had to keep a hand over your mouth to keep from letting out a saddened gasp.