The results from the auditions had been posted. The cast of the Light in the Piazza had been put up, and the moment Christine had found herself with a spare moment in the morning she had rushed right over to look over the paper.

Up at the top of the list were the leads. That was always how it went. The first name on the list was the part of Margaret Johnson. None other than Bridget Hadley had been awarded the role. If anyone deserved it, it was her. Christine had wanted to spend more time with Bridget, and this was bound to be a way to get the two of them speaking again. She clapped her hands slightly, hoping that this "luck" of sorts would continue.

Of course, Christine wasn't too interested in the role of Margaret Johnson. Biting her lip, Christine looked further down the list. Sure enough the next role was Clara Johnson. That was meant to be Christine's role. She had wanted it more than anything.

But across from Clara Johnson was the name Caroline Gill.

Carly had gotten the part.

Carly had gotten Christine's part.

Christine gave a deep sigh. She wasn't going to let herself cry over losing the role, at least not yet. She had to make sure she say what she was going to be first. Christine dragged her finger down the list.

Fabrizio, the male lead, had gone to none other than Paul Chandler! Christine was very happy for him, but it made her even more upset about not getting Clara. Clara and Fabrizio were the two romantic leads. Christine couldn't deny that she felt something more than friendship for Paul, and now that he was at Garnier High School and they were dating it could blossom into something even more. From the way he acted around her, it seemed that he might very well return those deep feelings.

But now he would be kissing Carly, and, well, Christine had to face it, Carly was very attractive. Her personality was terrible, but sometimes a gorgeous face and body could make that all go away.

Still, she would have to text Paul about his triumph. He probably already knew that he was playing Fabrizio, but they could talk about it. That reminded Christine. She hadn't seen who she was going to be playing out in the musical. The most important part had slipped her mind. She could mope all she wanted about Carly getting the role she wanted later.

At the moment, she had to figure out what she was playing. Christine ran her finger further down the list. She saw a few more things that struck her as interesting. Ian, Carly's boyfriend, was playing Giuseppe Naccarelli. Giuseppe didn't have much romance with Clara, so the two of them wouldn't be too happy about that. Christine sighed and continued on, stopping a little more above halfway.

Franca Naccarelli was the name across from Christine Daae.

Franca. She was playing Franca. Franca wasn't a bad role, she got a solo and everything. But Franca was not the role of Clara. Christine shook her head. She could live with the role of Franca. But she could have thrived with Clara.

If only Carly hadn't been so full of herself and ready to crush anyone who got in her way on the journey to the never ending spotlight. Christine would have gotten the part, she knew it. Her name would have been at the top of the list instead of "Caroline Gill." Now Carly was playing a romantic role with her Paul, and Christine's character was married to Ian's. Everything was so messed up.

She bit her lip and looked down. Now that everything was done and set in stone, Christine was realizing just how big of a mistake it had been for her to not go to see the Angel of Music before auditions. There was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that if she had done as such she would have easily been able to snag the role of Clara.

He had mentioned this on that night. Even though it had only been a weekend since that extraordinary night filled with music and absolute shock from the removal of his mask, it felt like years had passed it. It continued to be a dreamlike experience for her. Every time she glanced over to the auditorium, she would wonder if it had all really happened. It was real, and yet it felt fake.

But she was driven by the memory of the music of the night. Ever since she had heard it, there had always been a part of her mind that had been transfixed on hearing it all over again. Even more so, she wished that she could create it herself. The Angel of Music had told her that he was going to have her sing his music.

Perhaps that would be better than playing Clara Johnson in the Light in the Piazza. Knowing that she was the driving force behind the unearthly music that the Angel of Music composed was worth so much, it had to be.

Yet that disappointment from being cast as Franca echoed through her soul. When she had been expecting to play the lead, she had ended up becoming the supporting role. Just months ago, this would have been a dream for her. But she hadn't been able to escape the spotlight going to her head completely.

She was no Carly Gill when it came to being a drama queen, but she certainly wasn't the doe eyed girl who would do anything anyone would say just to attempt to prove herself. She was finally seeing that she was better than that, and it was getting to her.

Trying to take her mind away from the situation, she continued down the list. Almost directly below her name was Meg Leary in the role of Senora Nacarelli. This put a smile back on the soprano's face. Her best friend was going to be playing her mother in law! Oh, now she was excited again.

Turning around, she spotted a flash of blonde hair. Rushing over to her best friend, she didn't let anyone get in her way.

"Meg!" she cried. "Have you seen the results? They posted the results!"

"I didn't!" Meg shrieked in response. "Oh my goodness, who are you? And who am I?"

Christine cleared her throat. "Hello, mother-in-law," she said. When Meg gave her a perplexed look in response, she rolled her eyes. "You're playing Senora Nacarelli and I'm playing Franca. That makes me your daughter-in-law."

"You married my son?" Meg said, lifting her eyebrows. "I don't remember giving permission for that."

"You didn't," Christine giggled, going along with the joke. "We eloped."

"Wait," Meg interrupted, breaking character in a minor way. "Who is playing your husband? My son?"

Christine gave a sigh. "Ian Peterson." At this, Meg burst into a bout of only slightly stifled laughing.

"Oh, Christy!" she said. "I am so sorry!"

"No, no need to be sorry," Christine replied. Of course, the real reason she had felt so irritated about her role was because she had had her heart set on the role of Clara. But she was attempting to hide that away from Meg best that she could.

"Let me change the subject," Meg offered, being able to decipher the distress on her best friend's face. "I'm wondering how they can use Chandelier in this musical. I can't wait until the techies come around."

"Chandelier? What's that?" Christine asked, creasing her eyebrows.

"It's the new sound and light system," Meg replied. "That's why my mom ran all of that fundraising last year."

"Let me guess, it's super high tech?"

Meg nodded. "Precisely. If anything happened to it, all of the teachers would freak out. It was really expensive. It took them years to get enough money for this thing!"

"I hardly even noticed," Christine said with a little giggle. "I guess it's because I didn't have a mic until Cinderella, and when you're being blinded by lights you can't exactly tell if they're special."

"Don't forget about the sweat in your eyes," Meg added.

Christine looked at her. "Meg, you're gross." Then both of the girls burst into laughter.

"But, Chandelier, you say?"

"Yeah. I'm just surprised that you don't remember when they were putting it into the auditorium. We couldn't go in there for weeks!" Meg exclaimed.

"Oh," Christine said, feeling a bit stupid for not thinking about that. "I thought they were fixing a leak."

"For five weeks?"

"Yes."

Meg shook her head, wondering just how ditzy Christine could get. "I guess you were distracted. Anyways, this Chandelier thing is actually pretty cool, believe it or not. You can do a lot more special effects a lot easier. Apparently all the techies had to be retrained," she said with a laugh.

"All of the techies?" Christine laughed. "That sounds like it would have been difficult. But I guess it worked out."

"It really did," Meg agreed. "And now we're going to have a beautiful Italy using the pure magic that is Chandelier." The two girls continued to chatter on aimlessly for a few more minutes, but it became clear that Christine's mind was drifiting back to her roles.

Meg soon broke off the conversation, saying that she had to head off to class. Once she was gone, Christine gave a slight sigh and began to walk in the direction of her own class. It wasn't long before she ended up being stopped all over again.

"Christine," a voice whispered from the wall. Knowing that it was the Angel of Music's words, Christine could not possible resist her curiosity. She was going to end up late to class again or something, but with the possibility of the music of the night so nearby she was too entranced to mind.

There was a swish of dark movement in her peripheral vision that made her compelled to swing around. There was nothing there, but when she turned back around she saw a small stack of sheet music in its black and white beauty sitting there on the ground. The notes were handwritten, she saw. With an enormous grin, she realized that it was the music of the night.

"I just wished to deliver to you a copy of my music," the Angel of Music explained. "You will have to do some practicing on your own now that the musical will be taking up more of your time."

"So you know what role I got?" Christine asked. After glancing down at her papers, she began to look up as if the Angel of Music was where she was looking. "I mean, I'll still have time just as I did when I was a dancer."

"You have played an ensemble member and then a lead in the last few weeks. Your experience will not be the same when you play a minor character such as Franca Nacarelli. I think you will find that it will end up taking up much more of your time."

"But not the same amount as Carly as Clara," Christine grumbled.

"Do not fret," the Angel of Music said.

"But now she's in the role that I wanted to get! I mean, we're practically equals at this point in the director's eyes."

"Ha!" the Angel laughed. "How could you and Carly ever be seen as equals? She is a toad compared to you, both in voice and in beauty."

"Thank you, I guess," Christine said, giving a slight laugh. Even though the Angel of Music had seemed to have built himself back up to his normal self, she couldn't help but remember the image of his face and how he crawled around like some deformed monster. He had been nothing short of pitiful, right at her very feet. He may have possessed the music of Heaven, but for Christine he was no longer an ethereal creature in his entirety.

"I will always be there for you as long as you are willing to follow me," the Angel of Music said. "I promise that I will pave your path so that Carly Gill's deplorable reign over the drama department will be nothing more than a sour memory whereas Christine Daae will be the peak of it all."

"That does sound rather nice," Christine laughed.

"It sounds brilliant," the Angel agreed. "I must ask that you follow several specific requests of mine."

"I'm listening," Chrisitine murmured.

The Angel of Music cleared his throat before continuing. "It is very simple. All you must do is keep my secret with yourself, which I am sure you already assumed was the case yourself." His voice paused for a moment, Christine listening intently.

"The second thing, which may not have crossed your mind, is to do with the necklace I have given you. It is my condition that this is always around your neck. As long as you keep it, you will be protected against all danger and I will remain your friend."

"And tutor?" Christine piped up. She had been wearing the necklace around regardless because it was rather pretty and matched pretty much everything she owned.

"And tutor," the Angel of Music confirmed. "That is all I have to say to you for now. Expect me waiting in the wings during rehearsals. Your angel will always watch over you."

A/N Despite the distinct lack of readers on this story, I really am proud of how this is turning out. I've considered putting it on hold several times but I just don't have the heart to. I mean, everything is just starting to get good! Well, for those very few readers, please vote and comment! We've got to get the word out somehow.