Sonadow: Phantom of the Opera Ch10

Chapter 10: Nothing can change that…

I’m back at the Opera house now. The Phantom returned me just a few hours ago. Note to self: Never touch his mask again. I’ve been faking smiles too. I have to. If I don’t, Mr. Wilson is sure to notice something. He’s a smart one after all. With Ms. Rose… well… she’d just worry about me. I don’t want anyone worrying about me. Sure the Phantom is a scary guy, whom I just realized, but my friends back home always told me to give people a second chance to explain themselves. So, I’ll wait. For months if I have to. I’m sure the Phantom has a reason for why he refuses to take off the mask… so I’ll wait.

:-:

The next few months in the Opera house were very successful. I improved immensely with the help of Ms. Rose teaching me music theory. We have had 3 concerts so far, and each and every one of them had seemed to applaud for me the most, as Mr. Wilson says. Though playing my violin makes me happy, I still get down a bit, for I have had yet t see the Phantom since the “incident”. I feel bad for him. What is he hiding? Whatever it is, it must be so painful that he’s never spoken to anyone about it before. Poor Phantom. I wish he’d trust me enough to tell me. Maybe… that’s why he came to me in the first place. If so, I totally blew my chance. I touched his mask, tried to remove it; I shouldn’t have done that. Now what does he think of me? Probably hates my guts… but still… I yearn to know…

:-:

It was a Saturday morning when he visited me.
I was walking to my room when I found him staring at the window. I hid behind the door, waiting for him to make a move. However, he just stood there; motionless. After what seemed about five minutes, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a picture of… I couldn’t make out exactly what it was. Then he smiled wickedly. I got a bit worried, so I stepped forward, but then thought I shouldn’t disturb him. He did look a bit unstable. That smile… was like the devil had taken over his soul. It looked like he was ready to murder an entire village. However… he did nothing of the sorts. In fact, he did something completely opposite.

The photo dropped to the ground, as well as himself, and the Phantom; the one who was feared by all in the Opera house for unexplained causes; was…

…crying.

:-:

Time seemed to pass by in a slow manner as I stood, motionless, behind the door of my bedroom. The Phantom was still weeping for what seemed to be forever. I wanted to make him feel better, but I didn’t want to intrude on this soft moment of his. Perhaps this was the relief he needed for all those bottled up emotions. I could only watch the poor creature cry for second longer, before I found myself creeping up behind him, quietly, and wrapping my arms around him. I could have ran off and told Ms. Rose to contact Mr. Wilson, but I didn’t. This was the chance, I thought. Though I doubted the hug would last for long. The Phantom was sure enough to push me away and attack me with a pocketknife, or something. However, once more, he did the complete opposite.

The Phantom grabbed on tightly to my shirt, as if it were the only option to survive at this point. I was surprised at first, then slowly pulled him into a tighter embrace. He needed to be hugged, I could tell.

:-:

He cried for about a half hour, until I shushed him enough to calm down. Now we were just tightly hugging, not saying a single word. If either of us spoke, the moment would be torn apart into the ruthless void of the past, and things would never be the same.

So we just sat there, holding onto each other. I pulled him closer as every second passed. So much time ran through us that by the time Phantom pulled away from the tight, warm embrace, the stars were shining brightly in the black void of the night sky.

“P-Phantom…” I dared to speak.
The Phantom didn’t respond. He suddenly took interest to the carpeted floor, and looked downward, leaving my gaze.
“Let me tell you something, Sonic.” He spoke in that dark voice that always had made my spine shiver.
“Life is a precious thing… not something to be tampered with, you know?” He explained, as he stood, towering over me, for I was still siting on the floor.
“O-Of course I do. Life is beautiful. Why do you ask?”
“I’m sure Mr. Wilson told you the story of Miss Maria.”
“Indeed he has.”
“Well… there you go…” He trailed off, in such away like he expected me to know the rest. I looked at him with a bewildered expression. He chuckled, making me nervous.
“I’d expect as much, Sonic. Maria would have enjoyed your company.”
The Phantom slowly began to move back down towards me. I tried backing away, but my back hit the wall behind me.
“You’re smart, like her, musical, energetic. You remind me so much of her… the one whom I loved dear to my heart.”
He moved closer, and with those blood red shining eyes, stared directly into my soul. However it wasn’t a menacing feeling. It was… warm…
“And you… remind me… so, so much of her… Sonic.”
Before I had a chance to respond, he snatched my lips up in a heated kiss.

The kiss felt… surprisingly warm, and even “hot” at that. He was… a good kisser. (I’m sure he’s had prior experience)
He wasted no time in breaking into my mouth, deepening the kiss, while pulling me onto his lap. I let him.
If this was what he needed to do to reach that release of emotions… why should I stop him? He needed it after all.  

:-:

“P-Phantom~” I moaned lightly as he began to nip at my neck. I should have known he’d try something else other than kissing. Sneaky basterd.
“Sonic… you’re perfect. Be mine. I promise I’ll protect you no matter what. I’ll swear on my life you shall not suffer the same fate as Maria. So… please…” Said the Phantom in a desperate tone. He pulled away from my neck and placed a quick, soft kiss on my lips, before gazing at me with those deep, red eyes of his.
“Phantom… I… I don’t know.” I simply responded. Though I cared about the Phantom, I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to become his… just yet. I still had feelings for Ms. Rose, and I wasn’t going to let those go to waste.
But… MAN was he a good kisser! I’d have to kiss Ms. Rose just to see if it had the same effect before I made my final decision.
“But, Sonic! I-“ He began to protest. I shushed him by putting my index finger to his lips.
“Phantom. I can’t ignore my new found feelings for you. However, I… I can’t ignore my feelings for Ms. Rose either. She’s so beautiful, kind, sweet. I can’t ignore that! I’m sure you felt the same for Maria when she was around… I’m not rejecting your offer. It’s just… I want to make sure I’m making the right decision… you know?”
The Phantom just sat there, close to me, with an expression I could not identify.
“…I see…” Was all he spoke after a few moments. At first, I feared I said it in a way that offended him, even though I made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t rejecting his offer.
“Oh! I – I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-“
“Shh.” He shushed me by moving a bit closer, like he was going to kiss me, but he didn’t.
“I get it. You need time to think this over.” He calmly stated, before kissing the tip of my nose, making me blush. Partly out of embarrassment.
“Thanks. I was afraid I offended you…”
“No, no. I do know how this feels. I understand.”
“Heh. Thanks.”
“But know this, Sonic.”
“Huh?” I looked at the Phantom with a bewildered expression.
He got up off the floor, and walked over to the mirror and stepped inside. I stood as well, and looked at him, waiting for him to finish.
“What is it?”
…
“No matter who you choose. I will always be here for you. Just remember to look into your mirror, and I’ll be there. I do love you, and nothing will ever change that.”
He spoke, before vanishing. It took me a moment to suck in the information he had relied to me. Then, I found my cheeks growing hot once more, and I blushed deeply.

He loves me… and nothing can change that?

I heard the birds chirping.

It was morning.