Mari and Josh walked in silence for a little while before the former remarked, "So, Catherine told me that Matt was called Maraca Boy. Why on Earth would someone in high school dress up for a 'fiesta day'? I mean, it's high school, so I sort of get it, but maracas and a sombrero?"

"He was probably in love or something," Josh laughed. "Or hadn't slept in a week. Or both."

Mariah laughed. "Probably...So, you were fostered?"

"I was for awhile," Josh nodded with a shrug. "My parents...well, by the time my sister turned eighteen, she had been trying to gain custody of me for years. I was only in foster for a little while."

"Were they at least nice to you?"

"Looking back, they were heavenly," Josh laughed, "but I was a teenage boy and they wouldn't let me smoke behind the Seven/Eleven, so I thought it was the end of the world. I was an idiot, a jerk, and didn't care about anyone or anything till they were all but gone."

"Must have been nice to have someone looking out for you," Mari sighed.

"I looked out for me," Josh said solemnly. "They kept me out of jail, sure, but I kept me from the real danger. I kept me from listening to myself too much, thinking too much. I made myself who I am today all on my own."

"I definitely understand that," Mari laughed sadly. "I never had anyone. I've been alone from the start. My foster families hated me, the kids in school hated me, my teachers couldn't stand me, the girls at the orphanage loathed me...I never felt safe anywhere...I have multiple scars from getting beaten up by the girls at the orphanage."

"That's abuse," Josh said seriously. "Sue them. You're entitled. You should've told the cops."

"I was young and so were the other girls," Mari shrugged. "They didn't know what they were doing. It's water under the bridge."

"Kids are cruel," Josh sighed. "Evil, little terrors."

"Not all of them. There were a couple that weren't so bad, but at that point, I was so tortured that I didn't even realize it until years later," Mari sighed. "I wish I would have realized it sooner. Maybe I would have actually had friends."

"Well," Josh said kindly with a sarcastic laugh, "you're the most popular girl in the theater now."

"Yeah, but getting here was definitely not easy," Mari replied, letting her hair down from the ponytail and running her fingers through her blonde waves.

Josh felt his breath catch in his throat a little and he quickly shook it off, jogging to keep up a little. "You know, Uriah really likes you."

Mariah made a face. "The feeling is not mutual."

Josh frowned in surprise. "Really?"

Mari laughed. "Really."

"He's a great guy, if you gave him a chance. He's been fawning over you for two years at the least," Josh chuckled.

"I'm not interested and I don't want to lead him on. I'm not that kind of girl...Besides, I don't really want to date anyone right now. I mean, Jeremy and I just broke up. I don't want to start something right away." Mari opened the doors to the opera house and asked, "So, what do you want to do? I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie."

"Or," Josh laughed, "we could read something."

"Like what?"

"What kind of stuff do you like?"

"Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Gaston Leroux, L.M. Montgomery...Great Gatsby is my favorite book of all time, though."

Josh's eyes lit up as they entered Matt's apartment. "How about Wuthering Heights? Or Jane Eyre? Pride and Prejudice?"

"Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Austen," Mari beamed.

Josh rolled his eyes. "I should have known...so stereotypical."

Mari scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just young girl, in her twenties, likes to argue, has a quick wit, attractive mind, and temper. You are Elizabeth Bennett. All girls are, in their own way, some Austen hero. But even if they're not, they all want to be Mrs. Darcy."

Mari shrugged. "Well, what's your favorite Austen?"

"Emma, all the way," Josh grinned, attempting to kick the panel that opened the kitchen. "Dang it," he muttered as the wall didn't budge and his foot throbbed. He moved over two more and this time kicked it more hesitantly with the other foot. The kitchen opened up and Josh chuckled in frustration. "You want anything?"

Mari laughed. "I'm good. Thanks."

"You sure?" Josh laughed, making his way to the fridge. "Some chips? Chex Mix? The crushed hopes and dreams of two talented men? We have plenty of that last one."

Mariah laughed sadly. "No, thanks. I have plenty of those myself."

"Josh?" A voice interjected from the main room. "Josh, have you seen where I left my keys?"

Josh stiffened and gave a inward moan. "In here, Matt, where you left em."

"What's Matt doing here? I thought he was with Catherine. She's meeting her half sisters tonight," Mari whispered.

Matt entered the kitchen. "Mari, what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," she shrugged. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Catherine?"

"Yeah. I just came back to grab my keys. Cath's in the middle of making dinner."

"Is she panicking?"

"Oh, yeah," Matt laughed. "You know how she is...Well, I should get back," he added, grabbing his keys. "Have fun, you two."

"Bye, Matt," Mari giggled. "So, Josh, do you want to read Emma?"

Josh frowned. "You were serious?"

"About what?" Mariah laughed.

"You read? Like more than the Teen Vogue magazine?"

"Duh," Mari smiled. "There was nothing else to do at the orphanage while I was hiding from the other girls."

"You're so...different," Josh said as he sat on a bar stool.

Mari laughed. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Josh stated, "I just feel like I don't know anything about you anymore."

"Well, what do you want to know?" Mariah asked, sitting next to him.

"It's not that simple. It's nothing that can be asked or said," Josh laughed. "See, before now, I knew Mariah Gerry was fiercely independent, every action meticulously planned. No one hurt her, and she was willing to hurt anyone who stood between her and success. Now it's different. The mask's gone, so to speak, and there's just you, someone I don't know yet."

"I'm a regular Erik," she laughed sadly. "I've learned to be independent. I try to plan things because then I know what to expect. There's a lesser chance I'll be hurt that way. I've had to fight for myself since day one. I haven't always, but it's not like I never did. I'm more...weak than people think I am."

"Erik who?"

"The Phantom of the Opera."

"So that's his name. Fascinating," Josh laughed.

"You've never read the book?" Mari asked in surprise.

Josh winced. "I'm not big on romances."

Mariah ran to her purse and pulled out the book. "Come on. Just read the first chapter. Please. It's unlike any other romance."

"They're all the same," Josh shrugged. "Why you keep that thing on you anyway?"

"For moments like this," Mari laughed. She set the book in front of him. "First chapter. Come on."

"It's all a lie. Mari, you of all people should know that. Gothic fiction more so than any of them."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Read."

"I've been working on this show for forever," Josh chuckled. "I think I know the story pretty well."

"Ah, but the book is different," Mari smirked.

"Ugly dude still doesn't get the girl. Who cares what happens in the middle? The raw emotion and themes are the same."

Mariah sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

"Yes, I am," Josh grinned, "but for the sake of friendship, I shall read the first page."

Josh glanced at her with intrigue. "Hey...don't tell anyone about the singing thing, alright? Especially Matt."

"Finish the chapter and I'll keep my mouth shut," Mari smirked.

"I should prosecute you for blackmail," Josh sneered.

"You won't," Mari smiled knowingly. "You'd be laughed out of court."

Josh's face fell solemn. "I have been, and trust me, I'd win this one."

Mariah laughed. "My voice could shatter your ear drums," she muttered under her breath.

"Was that a threat?" Josh grinned, raising an eyebrow.

Mari shrugged. "Just read," she said, twirling her hair.

Josh sighed and quietly read to himself through the first chapter. "Well," he exclaimed, "they got it all wrong! Buquet doesn't die till the middle!"

"The book was written over a hundred years ago. Technically, Andrew Lloyd Webber got it wrong," Mari smirked.

"The man's a plagiarist. I don't put anything past him."

"Well, you clearly aren't interested, so I guess I'll just take the book back," Mariah smiled knowingly.

"Another chapter wouldn't hurt," Josh grumbled. "Just to see what else they messed up."

Mariah gave a breathy sighed. "Whatever you say," she smiled as she watched Josh read.

"I'm sorry," he laughed nervously, moving the book between them, "I'm not used to other people being around. Did you want to read too?"

"I've read it a thousand times. I could probably recite it from memory."

"Alright," Josh grinned, slamming it closed. "Do it."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's see...chapter two?...'On the first landing, Sorelli ran against the Comte de Chagny, who was coming up-stairs. The count, who was generally so calm, seemed greatly excited...'"

"Fascinating," Josh grinned. 

"Do we want to watch the movie?" Mari asked hopefully, staring at him with her big, bluish green eyes and biting her lip.

"You're not sick of it?" Josh laughed.

"I could never get sick of watching Gerard Butler and his hotness. I've been fangirling over him since the movie came out," Mariah smiled.

"And that's why we're not gonna watch it," Josh groaned, moving over to the couch.

"Why?" Mari whined.

"It's all a lie. The whole message of the story is he's a man, not even that, a monster, and yet he has to find and come to terms with his humanity. When he's some perfect bodybuilder, what's the point?"

Mari rolled her eyes. "You're such a guy. And that's not the message. It's about a man who everyone thinks is a monster. He's been tormented and scarred by the world and doesn't have anyone to love him. It shows how someone who may seem cruel and a monster, may just be dying for the smallest bit of sympathy and love."

Josh laughed. "But having him look like a model kind of ruins that message don't you think?"

"Adding a bit of eye candy never hurt anyone...Come on. Please," Mari begged.

"Hurts a lot of people and healthy relationships," Josh muttered bitterly.

"Must you always be so cynical?" Mari laughed.

"The world showed no compassion to me," Josh quoted in perfect tone. "With everything that's happened to you, how can you be such a optimist?"

Mariah smiled. She opened her mouth to speak, but as she did, her phone rang. It was the new manager. "I'm sorry. Do mind if I take this?"

Josh gestured for her to go ahead.

Mari answered the call in the other room. "Hello. Monsieur Firmin, I presume?" She joked.

The man laughed. "Nope, sorry. This is Monsieur Bennet."

"Drat. Wrong again," Mari laughed. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, you see, Miss Gerry, I've seen you perform a few times now and-"

"You have?"

"Yes, I have, and I think that you are magnificent. This is incredibly forward of me, but would you perhaps like to attend the masquerade ball with me?"

Mari's face conveyed shock as she laughed nervously. "I-I have a boyfriend," she stammered.

"Really? I thought I heard you broke up with Monsieur Baker," Monsieur Bennet said with an air of suspension.

"Something like that, yes. Well, you see, I have a new boyfriend," Mari replied, silently thankful that she could think so quickly.

"Might I ask who?"

Dang it. She hadn't thought of that. "Josh Taylor," she replied unsteadily. "The sound crew member. He's super smart and sweet and funny. Twice the man Jeremy is. You know, I think he could be the one."

"Oh," the new manager said surprisedly. "Well, then, I wish you the best. I'm going to go die of embarrassment now."

"Oh, don't do that," Mari laughed. "I'm flattered. Really. You have a good night, okay?"

"Alright," Monsieur Bennet chuckled.