Evangeline's POV:

I straighten my posture and Erik walked around me. I had begged him to finally begin my violin lessons. When it came down to the wire he was a little nervous about me messing with his violin. I had pretended to drop it once and he almost pounced. When he learned that it was a joke he wasn't happy but took it better than I thought he would.

I glanced at him and started to blush under the intense scrutiny. I realized something. When Erik was angry he was a force to be reckoned with, but when he wasn't angry there was something about him that made one want to grow closer to him. To learn what he liked and didn't like. To get to know him. That is what I wanted to do. I wanted to know him even better than I already did. I barely knew anything about his past and hadn't ever seen behind the mask. I didn't mind too much. What was behind the mask was his own secret. I wasn't going to push. There would come the day when he would let me see. I would let him choose that day. I was snapped out of my thoughtfulness by him clearing his throat.

“Where you even listening to me?” I gave him the innocent look and he growled. “Don't give me that look. Play me something.” I started to play an old piece my father had taught me. He stopped me halfway through and corrected a few things.

After about an hour he held up his hand and I stopped. I felt like I was going to collapse. I hadn't played this much since my father died. I laid down the violin and bow and sat down in my chair. Erik sat on his piano bench and said,

“Well, you do have talent. You won't be near as easy to teach as Christine though.” I gave him a weird look.

“You teach Christine?” If I hadn't been taking lessons from him I would have been filled with jealousy. It wasn't like me to be this way. I wasn't normally the jealous type. But I remembered my promise that I wouldn't keep them apart and I would keep it. In answer to my question he said,

“Yes, I taught her how to sing. Her voice is wonderful.” I heard the love in his voice and felt my heart breaking. Only he had this control over me and he didn't even know it and if I had my way he never would. I leaned back and ran my hand through my hair. My hair was a carrot colored and for that moment I wished I had Christine's brown curls. Mine was wavy. Why did I have to born average? Well, I wasn't going to be getting an answer for a while. I suddenly thought of something to ask Erik. We couldn't leave an uncomfortable silence to keep going.

“Erik, how did you manage to make the voice in Box 5?” The most famous thing about Box 5 was the voices people would hear while they were there. I knew it was Erik. I was just very curious how he managed it. He smiled at me and I heard his voice coming from behind me, saying something I didn't understand. I was startled and looked at him strangely. I knew that if I could see his face he would have been smiling. I raised my eyebrows and said,

“Well, what do you call that? You never told me. And besides, what language was that?” He chuckled and said normally,

“That was Persian. I spent some time in Persia before I came here. And what I just demonstrated was ventriloquism. Very helpful when you are trying to be a ghost.” I smiled and he continued,

“It also helps when you have one of the columns hollowed out.” My jaw dropped. I didn't know he had done that.

“Hollowed out?” I said, in shock. He nodded. He was so talented. I flashed him a convincing smile and said,

“Would you show me?” He shrugged his shoulders and dawned his cape. He walked to the boat and we piled in. He rowed me across and quickly guided me through passageways I hadn't ever seen. He helped me up a ladder and opened a trapdoor. He pulled himself up and I waited a moment on the ladder before he held his hand down to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me up. A moment later I found myself inside a column. What was really weird was how close I was to Erik. I hadn't ever been this close to him before. I could smell death surrounding him. I didn't mind though. I knew he was alive so I didn't let the smell bother me. He opened a latch and stepped out of the column. I gasped as I followed him. We were now in Box 5. This was weird. I let go of his hand and walked around. Of course I had been in Box 5 before but now I saw it with different eyes. I turned back to him and said,

“Erik, I didn't know about that column. You really are a genius.” He shook his head.

“No, I am many things, but a genius isn't one of them. I simply love the unusual and learned how to use it to my advantage.” I smiled at him and said,

“What are you? You said you aren't a genius, so what are you?” He sighed and gestured for us to sit down.

“Are you asking what I have been or what I have been called?” I thought about it for a moment. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to ask about his past but that might be pushing it. Well, knowing what he had been might help.

“What have you been?” He settled into the seat, crossing his legs and placing his hands behind his head.

“Well, I was a architect, political assassin, Opera Ghost, focus of a freak show-” I stopped him there.

“A freak show?” How could someone do that to Erik? He may not have been normal but he wasn't a freak. He sighed and drummed his fingers against the wood of the chair handle.

“Because I am a freak.” I shook my had and took his in mine.

“Erik, you aren't a freak. You are a man.” All I could see was my love for this man who had gone through so much and was still broken from it. He looked toward me and I saw tears in his eyes sockets. I wanted to brush them away but I didn't know how he would take that. He looked down at my hand and squeezed it gently.

“I have been called many things, but a man has never been one of them.” He gently released my hand and I didn't know what to say. I looked into his eyes and wished that he cared what happened to me. All I was to him was a friend. He didn't love me and never would.

In an attempt to take my mind off of the pain of a cracked heart I looked down into the auditorium and saw the managers walking through it. I watched them for a moment then brought Erik's attention to it. He smiled and whispered,

“Get down. I don't want you to be seen. They are investigating this box. I think it is time I scare just a little. He rose from his seat and silently moved towards the edge. I watched as he pulled off his mask but because of the light and the fact that his back was to me, I couldn't see his face. The managers watched in horror as they saw him. Then they looked at each other and, laughing nervously, fled the auditorium. I smiled as Erik replaced his mask and walked back to me. He sat back down and soon after I returned to my room. Whatever was under that mask had to be bad. But I wouldn't ever love him less because of it.