The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Show Time - Chapter 27

You nodded.

You had noticed, by this point, Peter was holding the notepad quite close to his face, squinting to see through the darkness while scribbling something down. Francois cocked an eyebrow.

"Well... I'm sure we'll see you. Get well soon," Francois said with a nod. He shot Peter a look before the both of them hurried out of room.

***

As promised, you found yourself in the audience. Matthew had given you last-minute tickets (though many of the ballerinas assumed that it was because you and him were "having an affair"). After you had gotten yourself dolled up, you ended up being seated in the box directly next to Box Five, and funnily enough, you were seated directly next to Antoine. You hadn't seen him since the incident with the chandelier.

However, it turned out that he didn't choose to not come back— André and Firmin had planned to fire him for a long while. While he said the reasons were personal, apparently, it was enough for him to be "an absolute disgrace to humanity— much less, at the Opera Populaire." He went on to explain that Matthew was trying his hardest to get him back.

"It was... erhm, quite funny, actually," Antoine smiled, gazing down at the curtain rippling with movement. "He knocked on my door with a box of pastries and everything."

"Did he, now?" you hummed, trying to hide your anxiousness behind a smile. You resisted the urge to check if Erik had appeared yet. Truth be told, your heart was drumming in your ears— and while you didn't want to get caught worrying over him, you knew that it would be hard as hell to do.

"Yeah," Antoine said with a soft nod. He smiled as the lights began to dim for just a moment. "But enough about me. What have..."

He trailed off the moment he noticed some commotion next to you.

You held your breath...

But just moments later, you breathed a sigh of relief.  It was just Peter and Francois having at it.

However, you realized that this was the first time you had seen Detective Francois upset— while he was clearly trying to keep his voice down, his furrowed eyebrows and blushing face said enough. He seemed angry about something.

"Who are they?" he asked, squinting a little as he leaned forward in his seat. "I don't recognize... do you know who they are?"

"They're investigating the... erhm, phantom?" you said, questioning whether or not you worded it correctly. You restated what you had said when you realized it had been correct the first time. "Yes. The phantom."

"The opera ghost?" Antoine asked, his lips pricking into a frown as his finger tapped his armrest. "What's the point of that?"

What?

You were shocked. Why did he care?

Awkwardly, you toyed with the lace hem of your dress while averting your eyes, trying not to let him notice how flustered you were.

"You're serious?"

"Well... sure," Antoine said with a shrug, sinking back into his seat as he stared at the stage again. "You know, half of the reason people even come to this opera house is to get a glimpse of him."

You legitimately hadn't thought of that until now.

"But... isn't he dangerous?" you asked. Of course, you knew otherwise, but you wanted to get a glimpse into what everyone else thought— or at least, him.