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lady-ashfade · 2 years

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Regret and guilt, forgive or forget?

Chapter two: Camp reunion

Steve harrington x Plus-size reader x Luke Patterson.

Prev. Or. Next.

Plot: You’ve arrived at camp, finally after needed a break. You reunite with your friends after four years of not seeing them. Feeling started to show up again and he returns them. You couldn’t deny how he makes you feel. Maybe things will happen if you let them. It’s a Sumer full of love.

Notes: Is this a Julie and the phantoms cross over? Yes. So don’t come after me. Also I really like this chapter but I hate the way it’s written but it look me so many hours to finish so I’m not redoing it. So it sucks, my apologies. I tried something new.

Warnings: Nothing really you’ll just have to find out. No spoilers.

The girl stepped out of the bus and onto the ground. The suns heat hit her skin as the she heard other people chatter loudly.

"Welcome to Camp Symphony" A girl with a camp t-shirt on handed girl hand her a paper with the map of the camps grounds.

The H/c girl smiled and said her thanks, she looked around at all the people getting of the buses and the forest around her.

She started heading towards the big wooden building that everyone was going to. It was beautiful out here, to the trees and the stone paths. She could see some flowers and buildings in the distance.

Once she was half way there a voice called out from behind her.

"Hey beautiful, miss me"

Y/n stopped and her heart start to pick up, a warmth in her body started to rise up because she knew that voice. She knew who he was. So a smile found its way to her face as she turns around.

A boy with shaggy brown hair, hazel eyes and light pale skin. His muscles poked out his sleeveless shirt, and she wasn’t surprised that he had that one. But the smile on his handsome face is what made her feel at home. She missed him. No, she missed them.

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” She tilted her head in question but he knew to well by the cocky look on her face that she was joking.

“Me? That depends, have you seen me in your dreams” he stepped closer and gave her a smirk. He knew how to flirty with girls but this wasn’t something new that he did to her. This was their thing.

“Only in my nightmares” At her words he swing his hands up to his heart acting hurt. “Oh you wound me” she tried her best not to laugh.

“I’m y/n” She held her hand for him to shake and he didn’t even look down at her hand and only at in her eyes. “Luke” He took her hand and shakes it.

It was silent as they both looked at one another. With only a few seconds of staring at each other, they quickly moved towards the other and into a embrace.

He wrapped his arms around her wider body and pulled her close, and she did the same to him. Best friends reunited again after all the time away from each other.

“You can’t believe how happy we are to have you back” He let out a happy chuckle as he still held onto her waist while pulling apart.

“I needed a break. You guys are family and I missed you, if I didn’t miss you so much I wouldn’t be out here in the hot ass Sun” Non of that was a lie but she was really happy to be here.

“Then we should get you inside? Benny goes over everything and the guys are in there” He stepped away and took ahold of her hand.

She giggled as he pulled her to the building. She forgot about everything else but this moment. Hawkins, her other friends. Or the man that left her heartbroken.

As he dragged you into the doors of the big building you saw rows of people and some empty ones as people where still getting here. It was a lot of people and it made you feel intimidated since you were the biggest girl in the room. Or people will have their eyes on you.

“Most people are nice here. Plus you have us” he watched as you looked around the room and he remembered how you got. He turned away to look for the rest of your small group but before he could stop what was about to happen. It happened.

You felt a big impact crush into you and wrapped around you. Two boys hugged you and cheered as they held you tight, you let out laughs but then also felt suffocated.

“It’s y/n” another dark haired boy said while into your neck. “I figured that out” a blond taller boy said from over your shoulder. Your arms patted both their backs.

“Hello to you too” they finally pulled away and you could see the happiness on their faces.

“You look amazing” The darker haired boy, the one you knew as Reggie, the biggest flirt you knew, gave you a wink. But Luke pushed him back a bit so he stopped.

“What he means to saying is that you look great.” The blond one, Alex said. You knew he wasn’t flirting with you since he wasn’t into people like you. He wasn’t into girls at all.

“Right back at you guys. We seem to have all grown up a little since the last time” They all nodded. Alex started to walk into the sitting row and all of you followed.

“I can’t believe you came” They all missed you so much. “To be honest I wasn’t planning on it” You took a set down next to alex and Reggie was about to set next to you but Luke pushed him out the way when you weren’t looking.

“What do you mean by that” Luke asked while sitting next to you.

“Well I had a lot of plans this summer, then” you stopped when the memory’s you just forgot about came back. “It was suddenly freed up” they looked at you in worry. Alex looked in pity.

Luke stared at you from the side and noticed your body language and the sadness hint in your eyes that wasn’t there before. He was going to ask but got interrupted.

“Good morning campers” A boys voice came through the microphone as everyone took their seats. You looked forward and saw him at the front of everyone.

“I am so glad to see all your beautiful faces here today.” Luke rolled his eyes and you caught him in the acted and leaned close to him.

“What’s that about” you whispered at him and he just shook his head.

“You’ll see” And you leaned back and watched as he went on.

By the end of it, your face was red and almost all the other girls were too. The guy Benny, Luke mentioned earlier, had taken his shirt off for some reason that you couldn’t remember.

“Now that we’re at the end, you guys have been spread into teams for four. Some of you payed extra to get into groups with friends. Others are paired randomly and by age.” You kicked yourself for not even checking for the opinion.

“I see why you don’t like him” You giggle at Luke and he nodded his head. “He didn’t even have a good reason for it” you shrugged at his comments and stared back at the shirtless guy.

“He has a good reason to me” Alex nodded in agreement from beside you.

“Oh please, he isn’t half as jacked as I am” Luke said flexing his muscles. You rolled your eyes and got up with the rest of them, to the front to get your schedule.

“It’s not about being super jacked, I mean Steve isn’t jacked” you didn’t fully understand what you said until you said it. For a moment you forgot you and him weren’t together.

“Steve?” Reggie and Luke questioned you at the same time. But Alex tensed up.

“Who? Oh look it’s the girls line” you quickly went over to the line of girls and hoped they would forget about it and not question you later.

“Who the hell is Steve” Luke walked with them. “No clue” Alex replied quickly but Reggie had he’s own ideas and a grin grew in his face.

“Maybe it’s her boyfriend” Luke’s head spun towards up at reggie. You would have told him, right?

“Guys stop she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Leave it for another day, it’s time to have good times like we used to” Alex pointed out. They both nodded to agree but Luke couldn’t stop thinking about you having a boyfriend.

As you got your schedule you waited for them in the corner of the room. But they aren’t the only once’s who noticed you or wanted your attention.

“You must be new” A voice you recognized said from close behind you. You turned around to see the boy named Benny who spoke earlier. He had a shirt on this time.

“Oh yeah I have friends who invited me.” You smiled at him with your schedule in hand. “Well, I’ll have to thank them” He flashed a smile and you almost couldn’t believe that he was talking to you.

“Y/n” You both looked towards the area your name had been called. You saw your friends walking towards you and relief washed over you.

“Have you looked at your schedule yet” Alex was the first to come over and talk like he didn’t even see Benny.

“No” you answered him. Reggie came over in the other side of you. Luke however stayed close to Benny almost to protect you if he went too close.

“Patterson” Benny glared at Luke as he did the same but with with a smirk. “Madden” Luke replied and crosses his arms.

“Well I have to get things done, it was nice meeting you y/n” Benny smiles at you but glares at all of the boys around you before walking off.

“Is he that bad?” You asked as they nodded.

“Each year he finds someone new, then has his way then repeats” You made a “o” with your mouth and looked down at your paper.

“It’s says I’m in group…” You looked at the name and a huge grin spends its way onto your lips as you looked up.

“Patterson” Luke winked at you. “You think I’d let you go with anyone else then us” he put his arm around your shoulders and brought them close.

“You paid for me?” You couldn’t stop your heart from fluttering at the thought he would do that for you. He stared right into your eyes and a spark you haven’t noticed before caught your eyes.

“Of course i would” the other two boys looked between you two and gave the other knowing looks.

“I’d do anything for you” He didn’t say those words out loud but he thought them.

“Thank you” you give him a smile and then looked at the others not to make it look weird or anything. “Can you show me around?” Reggie was the first to pop up at your side.

“My lady” He held out his arm for you to take and of course you took it, gigging in the process. And then he dragged you off.

“I just noticed how you haven’t changed” Alex put his hands in his pockets while they watch you walk off with Reggie.

“What are you taking about?” Like tore his gaze from you and to Alex confused.

“You still have a crush” The smirk on Alex face and his words made Luke flustered.

“I do not” Alex raised a brow as Luke crosses his arms and puffed out his now red cheeks.

“You look at her like you did when we were kids, and trust me I know when you have a crush. I’m the one you come to when you ask about what to get girls” Alex explained but luke wasn’t having any of it.

“I’m just happy to see her again, no romantic involved. Now lets go before he does something stupid” Luke walked away from Alex.

“Idiot” Alex mumbled a huff and followed Luke.

It’s been five days since you’ve arrived at the camp, and you couldn’t believe all the fun you’ve been having. You haven’t seen your friends in three years and you missed their company so much.

“I can’t believe you said that” you guys finally walking back to camp from a day of exploring. It was getting dark at the camp, and they were going to have some sort of sing along.

“It’s true! He couldn’t even sing. What was i supposed to do” Luke raised his voice slightly and you just shrugged a laugh.

“Something other then that.” You carefully walked over the tree roots. Alex and Reggie walked in front of the two of you.

“He wasn’t leaving” Alex added and you gasped a bit. “Not you too” he only put his hands up. “You weren’t there”

You guys came back into the big building with all the seats and sat at last row to the door. You sat on the outside of the row.

Before Luke could take a seat next to you, Alex took it first. He knew that you two were growing close again because he saw the looks you two gave each other.

Of course he knew you two could be good to each other but he can’t let what happened again. When you moved away Luke took it the hardest since he knew the longest, had a stronger bond and he wouldn’t admit it but he had feelings for you.

Alex knew what happened before you came here with Steve because you called him. You both kept in touch more but not often, but he knew Steve and you were in a relationship.

When you received the letter you called him immediately and told him everything and asked if you should actually come. He knew you were hurting and not fully recovered so maybe you two having feelings for each other wasn’t good at the moment.

But undoubtedly he wanted you to get together, he just thought it should be later.

So when Luke glared at him he ignored it. “You like sing alongs right” Alex questions from beside you.

“Haven’t really been to one” you replied.

Then ten minutes later and you haven’t said anything yet. They all were love songs. And it reminded you of Steve, you tried not to let it. But everything reminded you of him.

You glanced around the room and your eyes noticed a boy and his hair look exactly like Steve’s. And he was singing with another girl and she looked perfect, skinny and pretty.

Stomach dropping and you could feel your body get ready to cry and break. “I think I’m heading to bed” you stood up and put your arms around your plum belly trying to hide it.

“What are you-” before anyone could ask you ran out the door. The look on your face had them all worried. But Luke’s heart ached at the sight of you being so sad.

“I should-”before Alex could even make it out of his seat he was slight pushed back down. Luke pushed him down.

“No I’ll go” he walked passed him and out the door. Alex wanted to stop it but you guys had to talk at least once alone, and what’s the worse that could happen.

“Was it my fault?” Reggie asked from beside him in a sad voice.

“No, no. Not your fault” Reggie sighed in relief.

“Y/n” you heard luke shout from behind you, causing you to speed up more. You already had tears rolling down from your eyes. You couldn’t control it anymore.

“Y/n, what’s wrong?” You hear his voice get closer and the sounds of his running feet hit the leaves on the ground. You we’re about to tell him to leave you alone but you tripping on a tree root. Fuck, why didn’t you take the stone path.

You fell onto the ground and that just broke you even further. You let out a sob as Luke finally reached you. “Darling, what’s wrong” you haven’t heard that nickname in a long time.

You tried to push him away as he leaned next to you but he wouldn’t budge. Taking you in his arms once again and held you close.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you” He’s voice was soft and gentle towards you and his body felt warm against you.

You felted protect and safe. He made you feel better. And soon your cries stopped and your breath died down. He felt his heart at ease again knowing you had calmed down.

“You want to go somewhere private? You can talk to me there” He helped you back up.

You didn’t trust your voice but you nodded at him to give him the answer and he smiled grabbing your hand and lead you into the woods. Taking the stone paths this time.

He never let go over your hand, and you didn’t mind. You felt safe with him so this wasn’t unusual for friends to do. Friends hold hands all the time, so no reason you freak out.

Soon you saw a dock and a lake come into view the moon shining off it. “Woah” you said admiring the beautiful lake in front of you.

“Yeah” Luke agreed but he wasn’t looking at the lake but at you. He admired everything about your face, to your eyes and then to your nose and then your lips. He felt himself looking at every detail from the side.

But he quickly caught himself and turned away. “I know, I’m the best” he walked backwards towards you and pointed at himself.

“You take all your girls here?” You joked and walked with him. He winks at you “Only you doll face” You laughed at his remark.

He turned back around as both of you walked towards the end. Luke sat on the bench and looked up at you. His eyes twinkled as the moon hit them and you swear the moon light hit his face just right.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked with a hint of hope in his voice that you would trust him. You look a second and caved, sitting next to him quickly.

“It’s a lot” you put your hands beside you down on the bench. But he reached down put his hand over yours.

“I have all night” He said in a playful manner but he was serious. He would stay up all night just to make sure you felt heard.

“I fell in love. Steve was his name” Luke’s heart squeezed as he heard the word “love” and the boys name you mentioned earlier.

“He was a douchebag when I meant him, the school’s popular guy. He got every girl just by walking by, and he wasn’t the nicest to every one. But then it all changed one day after he got together with her” It was your turn for your heart to squeeze.

“Nancy wheeler, school’s good girl. She was smart, pretty and beautiful. She was everything I wanted to be and soon I noticed how good he treated her and how I wish I was her. Then something brought us all together, then I got to see up close that he wasn’t a bad guy.

Soon they feel apart, she loved another. I was there beside him and I guess he clinched onto the first thing he saw. He called me beautiful every day, kissed me and treated me just like he did her. At first. Then about a few weeks ago he stopped all of it. Never told me he loved me or called me beautiful it was like he stop trying.

So at the last senior party Steve dragged me to it, it went so quick. He got drunk and tired to force me to dance with him and then his hand slipped and he spilt his drink on me. Robin was the one who came and found me in the bathroom, she’s my best friend but I wished it was him. Because when I came out the bathroom I found him kissing Nancy.

I should have saw it coming by the way he looked at me then her. I wasn’t ever going to be her. I mean look at me” you paused as you stood up with anger in your voice. You walked closer to the edge.

“I could never be someone first choice. I’m fat, too nice and annoying. All I want is to be beautiful” You looked down at your reflection in the water below.

“What the fuck are you taking about” luke shouted from behind you, and you turned quickly with shock.

“You are beautiful. I have no idea what the hell that guy was seeing but it wasn’t you because he should’ve said it every second.” Luke looked pissed as he moves towards you.

“I grew up with you so I know the person you are deep down. The one who would never hurt anyone, the kindest person I’ve ever meant.” He stopped and gazed into your eyes.

“And the most beautiful”

Pound..

Pound…

That’s what both of your hearts sounded like. You shouldn’t feel the way towards your friend.

“Y/n” He reached for your hand but you pulled away. But when you took a step back your foot didn’t hit anything so you lost your balance.

Shit.

Then you fell into the water. Luke watched you disappear into the water. “Y/n” he yelled as you came up to the surface. Your hair wet and clothes sticking sticking to your body.

But what he didn’t expect was your laugh. You were laughing. It wasn’t a light hearted one but a full one. He leaned down and laughed softly with you.

“Fuck it” he dove down next you and the water splashed into your face. He came back up and flipped his hair, both of you socking wet now.

“It’s surprisingly warm” he said while moving his arms. “It’s the summer” You replied with a laugh. He gave you a look and you knew a fight was about to break out.

“Oh no you don’t” You quickly made the first move and slashed him. He took the splash and then returned the favor. It hit you and you let out a gasp.

“That’s what you get” you looked at him and glared. Soon you two started to repeatedly slashed one other. It went on for quite a while until luke had enough.

“You’ll pay for that” He quickly moved towards you and grabbed your waist. He start to rapidly push small slashes onto your face and you begged him to stop while laughing.

His arm around your waist held you close to his body. Both of you didn’t notice in the moment but your body’s did. Both of you felt warm inside.

Soon you coughed as it got into your mouth but you also couldn’t stop laughing. So even thought he was worried he also couldn’t stop laughing with you.

“You bitch” You said between coughing and laughs. He just throws his head back and laughed harder.

You noticed his shirt sticking to his toned chest and your eyes fluttered at bit. You never really noticed how good it looks- No..stop. This isn’t normal. You still loved Steve…Right?

You looked away just as the laughs stopped from both of you and left you two silent. And the silence was loud. Filled with so much wonderful.

“Y/n”

“Luke”

You both said each others name at the same time. You broke out into a nervous smile as he moves closer to you.

“You don’t deserve to feel like he made you. You know that your beautiful” You looked away from him and into the water fade away from you.

“Look at me” he put his fingers on your chin and pushed your head back to his. Faces inch’s easy from each other and he made sure to keep you looking at him.

“The moons jealous as it shines on your skin” his fingers move to your cheek and caresses it. “Because only in this moment it knows true beauty” this feeling wasn’t going away.

Not matter how hard you tried to push the feel away you couldn’t. You looked down at his lips and his eyes followed towards yours. Then you felt body moves on its own and leaned into him.

You both stop, lips almost touching if the slightest movement were made. “What are we do-“ before you could finish his lips crashed onto yours.

You kissed him back and wrapped your arms around his neck as both of his hands found your waist again. This feeling of being appreciated and safe hit you in a flash.

You remember feeling this way right before you left your home town. Leaving your friends behind and him. You had fallen for the boy when you where younger because he saw you and treated you good. Made you feel like you deserved love.

He gripped your waist tight as a groan left his lips and brought you closer. His heart was racing as fast as yours because he felt the same relief when kissing you. He was in love with you for years but only discovering it when you left.

He couldn’t have you that’s why he was so heart broken when you left. His best friend and his first love just disappeared from his life.

Maybe it was built up tension from all those years ago…But if that’s what it was you weren’t going to stop it.

But someone else could..

“Y/n” Alex voice called from the woods. “Luke” Reggie’s voice followed his. You both pulled apart and both flustered.

“We’re here” you shouted as you fixed yourself. Try to acted normal…

You heard their foot steps get closer on the wooden deck above you. Soon you saw their faces looking down at you both and confusion set on their faces.

“What are you guys doing?“ Reggie question.

“Late night swim” He hummed in reply and Alex looks between the two of you. The look on Luke’s face gave it all away.

“Mind if we join you?” Alex asked and Reggie turn to him.

“But I don’t want to-“ he let out a yelp as Alex pushed him into the lake. The blond boy took off his hat and shoes then jumped in.

“How about a warning let time” Reggie whined while holding his nose trying to get the water out. You and Luke burst out laugh as Alex came back up.

“You deserve it” Reggie pouted and then grabbed the blond boy and dunked him under. “I’ll show you who deserves it” The boys roughly tried to drag each other into the water.

You and Luke glanced at each other but a evil grin appears on your faces. You pulled the boys apart from each other and gave them a minute to relax.

“Now!” You shout and took ahold of Alex’s shoulders and dunked him under while Luke dunked reggie under. You both laughed as the came back up with gasps.

This was how the night went on laughing with your friends like you needed. You guys stayed out there for about two hours but finally got out. Still had chats and pushing each other while making back to your cabins.

The first cabin you came to was the boys. You had your wet shoes in your hand while you looked at each of them. “Goodnight boys” Your eyes flickered to all of them and turned around.

Alex looked at luke as he looks at you. “Go” he whispered and hit his chest. It was dark and they had clearly interrupted something earlier.

It didn’t take much time for Luke to finally catch up with you. “Why can’t we go” Reggie asked. But Alex look between the two of you and Reggie got it. “O” he realized. He smirked at you two then Alex dragged him inside before he could watch.

You both walked in silence again but this time it was more tension fulled then it ever has before.

Her lips so kissable. Skin so soft and plush. Her body perfect in my arms….His thoughts went on

Hands so rough but hold me so soft. The breaths he let out. The feeling of his body against mine….Her thoughts went on

Fuck they were already back at her cabin. Not looking at each other you stop. You had to talk about it. Come one spit it out. It was just a kiss.

“We should” Your words in unison. And turned to each other.

“Lady’s first” you watched as he put a hand up to his wet hair. He looks nervous and frustrated and you took that as a bad thing. You shouldn’t have kissed him and bod he regrets it.

“I was going to agree that we should forget what just happened” His breath stopped and his stomach twist. You wanted to forget it? Fuck, he shouldn’t have kissed you. You were vulnerable and hurt and he just took advantage.

“Forget” he stutter and tried to stand up straight. “Yeah, forget. That’s exactly what I was thinking” He was lying. He wanted to remember and talk about it. To kiss you again if he could.

“Okay, good” You clicked you tongue and nodded your whole body. “Goodnight Luke” you turned your heel and walked into your cabin with out another word.

He watches you walk away. His whole body screaming to call after you, run after you and kiss you. But he never did all he could do was watch in regret.

Maybe it really just was relief from all those years. He couldn’t blame you for it because he was the one who pushed on. He leaned in first and he could tell you needed someone to comfort you.

He shouldn’t have kissed you and he knew that but why did his heart not care? Why would he do it again and again if he could go back.

He walked back to his cabin while you stayed in yours.

As soon as you closed the door you took a look around to see all your fellow bunk mates asleep. You leaned against the door. Your wished he went after you.

You felt stupid for feeling anything again. He kissed you because he felt bad for you. You loved you so much that he would do anything to make you feel better even if it meant kissing you.

Luke went back to his cabin and both pairs of eyes were on him. “How’d it go?” Reggie asked wiggling his eyes but Luke walked right passed them.

“Fine. It’s been a long night so I’m heading to bed” He grabbed his clothes and went into the bath.

They watch him with pity both knowing it didn’t go fine.

It’s been one week and two days since that night and you haven’t mentioned the kiss and to your surprise it wasn’t awkward. Or at least it wasn’t shown.

Hell his flirting didn’t even stop but you missed the look he gave you when you turned your head. But other then that it was like it had never happen.

And since it was the last day of camp, you all tried to make it the best day yet.

Starting off with breakfast. You guys found your way to the eating area and had a fun time. Between laughing, story yelling and a bit of food thrown.

Then the camps last games. You didn’t really partake in the big ones but you guys made your own games. Like you and Alex against Luke and Reggie in arm wrestling, tug of war, and other games.

Then it was hiking in the woods trying to collect flags for your team together but you guys ended up in last place since you guys got distracted.

Then they had a bright idea of sneaking into the band room. You followed of course. And you finally agreed to sing along with them this time.

You and Luke tried to not stare at each other while singing but it was like all times. The other eyes looking between you as usual.

“Cause we’re standing on the edge of great” You sung again as you walked back to the piano and began to play. You’ve knew how to play since you were little but you never did it anymore. Now you had a reason to.

You felt the movement of the chair you sat on and looked at the person who sat down next to you. You both leaning close to each other.

“Running from the passed. Tripping on the now. What is lost can be found, it’s obvious” You both looked down at your lips and back up to the eyes. You both didn’t move but by the look on Luke’s face he finally caught you.

“Okay. I think it’s lunch time” Alex said breaking the two of you up. Your cheeks burned with heat as Luke grinned. “Coming” Luke got up and followed Reggie out.

“You really like him don’t you” Alex immediately asked as soon as they were out the door. You shot up and went into panic mood.

“What?- No I don’t- It’s not like that” but even though you kept on trying to deny it Alex just gave you a dead stare. He didn’t believe you.

“I don’t know” you screamed as your hands flow into the air. “He makes me feel things, makes me happy. We kissed and then promised to forget it but I can’t. But part of me wants to. I don’t know if what I’m feeling is just because I’m broken or what. But I don’t want to lose him” Putting your head in your hands as you sat back down.

“I don’t want to lose him” you repeated.

Alex sat down next to you and put his hands in his pockets. “You know I have someone back home. He makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine and when I’m away I can’t stop thinking of him.” You listen closely.

“I know what love looks like and I know you and Luke. You guys can’t be away from each other, the staring is all you two do anymore. I know being heartbroken is hard and confusing so you have to decide if this is real or not.” Alex took ahold of your hand and you rested your head onto his shoulder.

“The feeling are there but you guys have to decide if it’s just a fling or lasting. Either is fine if you do it right. I mean you both care for each other and love one other so I’m sure you guys can come to agreement” his voice of reason was the only thing that was actually getting through your head at the moment.

Then the thought of Steve running through your head as you knew you missed him deeply. You tried to push it away when really you should have focused on it and got over it.

Maybe being in Luke’s arms was your way to be whole again.

It was the last lunch of the day, the moment all the campers regrets since after this ended they had to get on the bus and go home. Some students drove and but most kids under 18 had to take the bus home.

“I can’t believe this is our last moments together” you sat down with lunch in your hand. The Boys glanced at each other before nodded.

“It’s so sad” Reggie cried but it sounded like he was being sarcastic. Woah, that hurt.

“I had a fun time this summer, with all of you” glancing to everyone at the table. “I don’t want it to end” You looked down sad knowing the time with them is up.

“I can’t take it anymore” Reggie groaned as the others glared at him. “Shut up” Alex kicks his leg from under the table.

“What are you talking about?” You looked back up at him but before Luke could over his mouth he started to talk.

“We planned to come back home with you since we wanted to spend more time with you. We brought Lukes car and everything” he rambles on.

They already planned this? He knew already? They all did! You couldn’t believe they would do that for you, you really loved them. “You guys” you awed at them.

“That is the sweetest thing ever”

“It’s all Lukes idea” Reggie lets out a groan as Luke hits him.

“You did that?” Luke’s looked away for a moment then back at you. Hoping he didn’t do anything bad.

“Yeah”

You smiled at him and took his hand from across the table. “Thank you” you looked back at the other boys.

“All of you” Letting go of his hands you started to talk about everything you wanted to show them. Your hang outs, your friends and so many things.

You were bringing your friends to Hawkins. It was going to be like two worlds colliding, and it was going to be awesome.

What could go wrong?

“What do you know?” Steve followed Robin around the store as they were about to close.

“I don’t know anything! All I know know is that it should be her last day” Robin frustratingly stocked the tapes.

“Today? I have to call Dustin-“

“You’re calling that child”

“Dustin is actually really smart, and he knows y/n too so maybe we can-“

“Y/n is my best friend, steve. I knew her before you even paid attention to her. So you drive to get us food then to Dustin’s house and make a plan” He stopped when his mind flys somewhere else.

“Wait you don’t think she meet someone else do you?” Steve question and Robin stopped for a moment. That was all the Steve needed.

“Oh shit” he stepped back and leaned on the counter.

“I didn’t say anything”

“But you hesitated that means their is a possibility”

“It’s summer camp Steve. What did you expect to happen, if she did its ended by now. Just a fling, not like she’s being him home” But just the thought of her being with someone else had his heart aching.

He needed to make it all up to her. That’s all he’s been able to think about, was her.

But little did they know that what Robin said was true. Y/n was bring him home. And for better or worse the two boys loved her.

A war was near. And if they had their way the other wouldn’t survive it.

Are you on Steve or Luke’s side?

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cestlefantome · 7 months

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POTO Italy review

Ok, that’s gonna be a very long post. My synthesis capacity is clearly lacking but I really wanted to put down to paper all the details possible from the Italian production before my memories faded. If you don’t want spoilers, better stop reading this now.

First of all, let me tell you that I absolutely love the Brilliant Original and that I’ve never seen a non-replica production before (except for the 25th anniversary, which I consider a non-replica as it is missing key elements from the original). I was very skeptical of the Italian production after seeing the bootlegs and photos posted on TikTok and also listening to the audio of the first show sent by a friend of mine who was there for the first show. I spent the first week of the run moaning about all the changes and how cheap the production looked, so my expectations were very low. I really thought I was going to hate it. Even Ramin didn’t impress me in the bootleg audio, and if you know me, you will know how much I love his Phantom. That was the state of mind I was in before seeing the first show on July 11.

I am an experienced traveler but arriving in Trieste was a strenuous adventure even for me. It took me 3 flights (the longest one was 11 hours long) and a train, a 30-hour journey in total (and 32 hours to get back home). I stayed with a friend from London in an Airbnb on the same street as the theatre, a three-minute walk. We were really lucky in that regard. The whole city was celebrating Phantom, it was a great happening to them, with many store windows with Phantom-inspired decorations.

The Il Rossetti (Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia) was built in 1878 and heavily restored 3 times, the last one in 1999. It sits 1,531 people and it is stunning with a beautiful ceiling mimicking the sky that can light up as stars. It has an opera house atmosphere which I think is very appropriate for staging Phantom. The original theatre chandelier looks tiny though. We were surprised to find out that there were no rows 1 and 2, so we were closer to the stage than we thought. That was indeed a very pleasant surprise. I saw the show 8 times, from July 11 (the first show of the second week) to 16 (the last show), including both matinees. I sat twice in the first row (in reality numbered as row 3), one of them on the right side and one on the left side of the stalls. Sat 4 times at the second row (numbered as row 4), all of them on the left side of stalls, and twice on the third row (numbered as row 5), one of them on the right side of stalls. The stalls are divided into left and right with a central corridor. I will say that for this specific production, and because of the revolving stage, the seats on the left can have a restricted view in at least two crucial scenes, depending on where you are seated (most specifically as you get the farthest from the center, but not so bad if you are seated near the central corridor).

As you enter the auditorium, the whole stage is blocked by a huge mirror wall written "Phantom".

At the beginning, they had a recording of Ramin saying “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to MY theatre. Consider this your first and only warning. Recording or taking pictures during MY show is strictly prohibited. Should these commands be ignored, a disaster beyond your imagination will OCCUR (a low sinister laughter). Enjoy the show.”

When the auditorium goes dark for the show, there’s a flash and a very loud sound of shattering glass, as the mirror wall is lifted to reveal the auction scene. The auction is set at the Opéra Populaire dilapidated and abandoned auditorium. There’s a very cool backdrop of the destroyed boxes and only a partial ceiling, revealing the sky and the Eiffel Tower in the background, with birds singing. The covered chandelier is in the back, near the auctioneer who is standing on the ground and not higher as in the original production. The chairs are arranged just like in the real auditorium, with two rows of chairs on each side with a central corridor. The people attending the auction have their backs to the audience, so in a way, we feel as if we are part of them as well. Old Raoul doesn’t have a wheelchair, he is seated in a normal chair like everyone else. He still has a nurse by his side. I’m pretty sure old Raoul wasn’t played by Bradley Jaden, but by the same actor who played Monsieur Lefevre (Jeremy Rose), wearing a beard. I think that was a nice touch because it looked way more realistic to have an older actor instead of a younger one with not very good makeup.

Fun fact, in lot 664, the wooden pistol and three human skulls from the 1831 production of “Robert Le Diable” by Meyerbeer was replaced by only one human skull. The Monkey music box is very similar to the one from the 2004 movie, wearing a green vest, a red waistband, and a red Fez hat. When Lot 666 is to be revealed, the auctioneer walks to the side and turns an old electricity knife switch that is part of the “backstage” wall of the revolving stage (lateral side of one of the boxes). The chandelier is revealed and the whole theatre goes dark as it is then illuminated in tiers, according to the overture playing (I love this part, it always makes me cry). In the few seconds in darkness, the chairs are removed from the stage to prepare for the next scene, in the past. As the chandelier rises, we can see actors and ballerinas coming into and going from the stage in slow motion. It was a very clever way to represent the restoration of the Opera Populaire to its full glory. During this scene, the revolving stage rotates, and we have a first glimpse of Joseph Buquet (Matt Bond) going up a side spiral staircase with a noose in his hand. Madame Giry crosses the stage looking at him. On the side, Christine and Meg appear talking, also in slow motion.

In this production, the revolving stage acts as a stage within the real stage. From one side it shows as the front of the stage, with the footlights and a prompter box. The back of it is the backstage view, with old black brick wall, a spiral staircase on one side, a hidden door, and the knife switch on the other end. On each of the sides there are three tier theatre boxes and behind each of these boxes there is part of a wall with a window and a curtain for the Manager’s office and on the opposite side, it is Christine’s dressing room set. This revolving set also has a beautiful, decorated ceiling where the chandelier hangs. A very clever set in my opinion.

The stage then stops facing the audience, the Hannibal backdrops falls in place as Meg and Christine leave and Carlotta enters the stage to sing. Carlotta was played by Italian Opera soprano Anna Corvino, and she is fantastic and a very extra and funny La Carlotta. I loved her voice (even though she was trying to sound bad) and how dramatic she was. She was also very nice at stage door.

The stage during Hannibal looks very crowded, because everything happens within the revolving stage limits (because they have to be behind the footlights). The backdrops, costumes, and choreography are all different from the original, but it didn’t bother me, and they didn’t look cheap at all, just different from Maria Björnson’s. There’s no elephant, instead, they have an open sedan chair carried by two people. There are 6 slave girls (counting with Christine) plus the slave master, Christine is on stage dancing from the beginning of the scene, and at one time, she loses her balance and falls on stage after which Madame Giry calls her out “Christine Daae, concentrate girl”. I had the distinct impression that, except for the slave master, none of the girls had ballet training, especially not the actress playing Meg (Zoe Nochi). She had a horrible posture, certainly not one for a trained classical dancer. If it was an acting choice, it was a weird one.

Monsieur Lefevre comes with Messieurs Firmin (Ian Mowat) and Andre (Earl Carpenter). Monsieur Reyer is hidden in the prompter box, we never get to see him. Piangi was played by Italian tenor Gian Luca Pasolini and he has an incredible voice but was a bit stiff on stage. Maybe he was supposed to be like that, I don’t know. It’s not a bad thing, but he doesn’t stand out much, except when he is singing. When he steps inside the sedan chair, the two guys carrying it have a really hard time suspending it until its floor breaks due to Piangi’s weight. It was funny and made up for the missing elephant at the end of Hannibal. Monsieur Lefevre seems overly joyful when he announces he is retiring.

The part in which La Carlotta sings “Think of Me” to Monsieur Andre is also very funny. She’s over dramatic and as he approaches her, she actually spits on his face when singing “Spare a THOUGHT for me” and Andre has to clean it with his hand. Earl’s face at that moment was hilarious, he was born to play Andre. Then the backdrops fall, and Meg comes forward to sing “He’s there, the Phantom of the Opera” and when Firmin replies “Good heavens! Will you show a little courtesy? Mademoiselle, please!”, she actually challenges him with a sarcastic smile on her face, until Madame Giry pulls her back. I will say I didn’t like Meg in this production. Her voice was very harsh and annoying, and I didn’t like her attitude in general, with the exception of one scene.

When Andre asks if there is an understudy for La Carlotta and Monsieur Reyer replies “There is no understudy Monsieur, the production is new”, Meg literally pushes Christine to the front saying “Christine Daae could sing it, sir”. Christine almost loses her balance again. That was a choice because it happened in every single show. Christine then starts singing very shyly and when she tries to leave the stage, Meg comes forward, holds both her hands, and encourages her to keep singing until she is confident enough to sing with her full voice. I really liked that added moment between the two friends. A curiosity, there was no scarf for Elissa, so indeed Christine was a bit more restricted in her (lack of) choreography and sang more or less standing, facing the audience, not much different from the 2004 movie. While Raoul sings his part, the stage rotates 360° so everyone can see him in the box with Andre and Firmin (no Madame Firmin) as well as a view of Christine as seen from “backstage” and that is when Christine moves the most on stage, she does a quick choreography similar to the one she does at the back of the stage in the original production at this very moment.

I have to say that before seeing the show, I told many of my (poor) friends (who had to deal with my moaning for over a week) that Amelia was, in my opinion, the weakest link in the cast, as she had no previous experience and I didn’t like any of the videos of her singing posted previously (not the ones with Ramin in NY and not the ones on her own YT channel). Well, I learned that we should keep our harsh opinions to ourselves after we see the show in person. We can’t judge someone’s talent by a video filmed in a living room, a crappy bootleg, and even worse, by other’s opinions. I personally loved Amelia Milo’s Christine. She has a beautiful, strong voice, is very sweet and both her face and voice convey a lot of emotion. Her voice also blends beautifully with both Ramin’s and Bradley’s. Both men have very powerful voices, and none held back but she just kept up with both, her voice was never drowned by theirs. Bradley Jaden is a very attractive Raoul (he has long hair and wore it in a low ponytail, except for the final Lair) and also has a big, strong voice. He was an overall enjoyable Raoul, at least in my opinion (I’m still team Erik all the way), although at times he seemed very annoyed but in the end, I think it worked and I’ll explain later why.

The whole scene with the ballerinas surrounding Christine, and she holding the big flower bouquets and bowing with her back to the real audience while the curtain closes doesn’t happen in this production. Monsieur Reyer doesn’t appear talking to her either while the ballerinas rehearse in the background. When the Phantom sings “Bravi, Bravi, Bravissimi”, she is already in her dressing room changing to the dressing gown, which looks similar to the one from the original production, except for the sleeves. Ramin’s “Christine” sounded a bit harsh for me. In the 25th anniversary, he sings her name pianissimo, like a caress, so that was something that I didn’t quite understand, because he was supposed to be happy after her successful debut, but it sounded (to me) like he angry.

As I said before, Christine’s dressing room is located behind the boxes on one side of the revolving stage. It consists of a dressing table, a chair, and a huge, tall mirror that sits above her dressing table. When she sits down to change her ballet shoes, there is already a single red rose on her dressing table, from the Phantom. Christine stands up when Meg comes in and she gently makes Meg sit while she sings “Angel of Music”. For most of the song, Meg keeps touching everything on her dressing table and not paying much attention and is sitting in a very unladylike way, not like I would expect a ballerina to sit. Madame Giry comes in, tells Meg to leave, and gives Raoul’s note to Christine.

The scene where Raoul walks to Christine’s dressing room in the company of Messieurs Andre and Firmin (and his wife) was cut, but depending on where you were seated, you could see Andre, Firmin, and Raoul talking in the very back during “Angel of Music”. Raoul then comes to her dressing room (no rose or champagne bottle) and when she recognizes her childhood sweetheart and hugs him, the two sconces positioned on each side of the mirror flicker. Both Christine and Raoul notice it, Raoul looks particularly intrigued, although he doesn’t miss a beat on his part. That was another small change that I enjoyed. We know the Phantom is not happy. The dressing room scene is one of the two scenes I mentioned that have a partially restricted view for those sitting on the left side of the audience. When the revolving stage rotates after “Think of Me”, it stops at an angle, facing the right side of the audience. For the most part, the view is ok. But as Raoul leaves and the Phantom appears in the mirror, his image can’t be seen by at least half of the theater audience. That was a very unfortunate choice by the production, I can’t believe no one sat in different parts of the auditorium to make sure everyone could see this crucial scene. We can only see Erik when he steps out of the mirror and extends his hand to help Christine climb the chair and the dressing table and enter the mirror with him.

I was lucky to be able to see the full scene at least half of the time but was still annoyed by the times I couldn’t see him. Ramin looks amazing inside the mirror. By the way, when he appears in the mirror, Christine knees down and extends her arms as in prayer for her Angel. I absolutely loved this scene, which made it even worse that I couldn’t properly see it every night, even though I had excellent seats very close to the stage. The title song staging is very cool. After entering the mirror, the revolving stage rotates again and stops with the backstage facing the audience. They appear crossing the dark stage from right to left and then a hidden door at the backstage wall opens and they come out from it. The Phantom then comes forward to the edge of the orchestra pit to get a lamp. He reduces the intensity of the lamp light; turns back to get Christine and they go down a stair in the pit. They then appear at the top of the spiral staircase on the right side of the stage (the same we saw Buquet earlier) and descend until they reach the boat (a gondola) and cross the stage, reaching his lair.

The boat stays on the left side of the stage, while a massive organ comes up from the floor in front of the conductor and then slides a little to the middle of the stage. At the same time, a 4-poster bed and the monkey music box appear on the right side. A backdrop of the cellars appears in the back. There are no candelabra or candles in the Phantom’s lair, except for some in the organ. While they are in the boat, there is some dry ice effect and a bluish light, to mimic the lake. The background reminded me of an artwork from Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Carceri d’invenzione) that is mentioned in one of my Palais Garnier books. It is not as spectacular as the original production, but it is still magical, and impressive. Ramin’s Phantom is particularly shy in this production. Except for holding hands (which many times you can notice his shaking), he hardly touches Christine. For “Music of the Night”, Christine is standing on the left side of the stage, near the gondola, where she sings her high E. Erik then plays his organ dramatically (“I have brought you to the seat of sweet music's throne (…)”. He is standing and looks at her. A bench then slides on the stage, and he sits down, facing the audience and with his back to her. He has music sheets on his hand. He sings part of Music of the Night while seated and hardly acknowledges her, but you can see he is very nervous. He stands up only when he sings “turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night”. He slowly approaches her from behind, but when he sings “darkness of the music of the night”, she runs to the opposite side, but then she stops near the bed when he sings “Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world!”

When he approaches her again, he takes a candle from the organ and immediately after he sings “Only then, can you belong to me”, he blows the candle in her direction. You can see some kind of powder and then she is in some kind of a trance. He comes behind her, but he doesn’t really touch her, she is the one to rest again him while he sings “Floating, falling, sweet intoxication! Touch me, trust me savor each sensation!” and she touches his hand and his face very gently and he slightly leans into her hand until he sings “Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write the power of the music of the …”. She faints, he holds her, closes his eyes for a second, looks at her and sings “night”. He then gently places her on the bed and covers her with his cloak and walks around the bed while singing “You alone can make my song take flight, help me make the music of the night”.

I know some people have been pretty vocal about the candle part and him “drugging” Christine and taking away her “consent”. I respect those who felt uncomfortable with this scene, but honestly, I much prefer this to that creepy mirror bride with the likeness of Christine, which implies that maybe Erik does “things” with the mannequin. Even though he did put her in some kind of trance, the way I see it is that they were both overwhelmed and he was bidding his time, without not really knowing what to do and maybe trying to postpone the hard conversation ahead of them, having to explain why he lied about being an Angel. He never touches her inappropriately (before or after the candle), he never approaches her while she is sleeping, and the scene between the candle blow and her fainting takes about 40 seconds (yes, I tracked the time). I’m not saying it is right, but then we will have to discuss if it is right to bring her to his home in the first place, unchaperoned. Is it really much worse than drugging her with chloroform like in the book or hypnotizing her with his voice? Those were different times and men tended to think and treat women as their property. Right or wrong, at least the Phantom was a gentleman.

After Music of the Night, the stage went dark for a few seconds. Erik took off his jacket and moved the bench closer to the organ (no Mandarin coat and hat). I didn’t mention it before, but he has pretty much the same outfit as in the original, except that his waistcoat is white silk with a chain clock (he also wears a red lining black cloak with a shoulder cape with no embellishments and no fedora hat). When the lights go back on, he is sitting on his pipe organ playing, his back to the audience. The music box then starts to play. Erik looks at the Monkey and does the same movement with his hands as if he was playing the cymbals too. A small detail but one that I loved it. He then is back to composing. Christine wakes up and begins singing, he looks at her and is back to composing for a few seconds, but when she sings “Whose is the face in the mask?”, he watches as she gets up from the bed and he stops composing. He then turns on the bench, facing the audience, but he sits at the very end of the bench and starts fiddling with his hands, with his head down, very shy, without really knowing what to do. She approaches him and sits on the bench very close to him, his hands are shaking, he closes his eyes, and she touches his face, and he leans into her hand, so trusty and vulnerable and that’s when she tears the mask from his face. He immediately screams and turns his back to the audience, leaning against the organ while cursing. She tries to escape to the boat, but he goes after her and yanks her from it, and she falls to the floor. When he sings “Curse you”, he sits on the bench, still covering his face with his hand and he actually chuckles and starts singing back again a bit more menacing while he approaches her again, she crawls to the opposite side and then he collapses on his knees and sings “this loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven, secretly. secretly.”.

In this last part, he sings almost sobbing. The part “But, Christine. Fear can turn to love you'll learn to see, to find the man behind the monster, this repulsive carcass, who seems a beast, but secretly dreams of beauty, secretly. secretly” He sings with so much despair, except for the words monster, repulsive carcass, and beast, which he sings with anger. It’s heartbreaking. The whole time after the unmasking, Christine hardly breaks eye contact with him. Bonus points for her, as most Christine cowers in fear. After her initial shock during his cursing, she looks more regretful than afraid. He covers his head with both hands, bends down, and rocks like a small child while sobbing. She approaches him slowly and tries to touch him and he flinches and sobs a “No”, his voice bears so much fear at this moment, that it seems as if someone is trying to beat him. He then moves his body away from her, still rocking. This whole scene was devasting and the best I’ve ever seen so far. She then extends her arm to him, holding the mask, he looks at her still afraid but takes the mask and puts it on his face, breaths, recovers himself, stands up, and says “Come we must return those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you”, He seems resigned, not angry anymore. Thank God there was no creepy crawling, which is something about this scene in the original that I dislike.

The scene then shifts to the backstage of the opera, while the revolving stage rotates to show Buquet on the top of the spiral staircase with the noose in his hands, singing his part about the O.G. to the frightened ballerinas. Madame Giry arrives and sends the ballerinas away while singing her part “Those who speak of what they know find, too late, that prudent silence is wise. Joseph Buquet, hold your tongue he will burn you with the heat of his eyes.”. At the same time, Buquet comes down the stairs. He comes really close to her, his face is inches away from hers and he actually threatens her with the lasso. She doesn’t even flinch. He starts laughing like a maniac as he leaves the stage.

The stage rotates again to show the manager’s office. That part is about the same, except that the Managers seem to be a bit annoyed with Raoul, and Raoul looks particularly annoyed with La Carlotta, and he is even rude to her. While the conversation between the managers, Raoul, Carlotta, and Piangi is happening, those sitting in the right side can see that Meg is seated on the stage floor in the background, playing with Buquet’s lasso. I have no idea how she got it, but she even has it around her own neck until Madame Giry sees her and takes the lasso away. Meg then follows Madame Giry to the manager’s office where Madame informs everyone that Christine is back and shows them the new Phantom’s note. There are a few amusing moments involving the managers and La Carlotta. The trio is responsible for most of the funny scenes. They start singing Prima Donna in their office but then everyone moves to the stage (as the stage rotates again) to sing the last part “Light up the stage with that age-old rapport! Sing, Prima Donna, once more!”. We then listen to the Phantom threatening them “So, it is to be war between us! If these demands are not met, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur!”, while they sing “Once more!”.

For Il Muto, there is no bed, in fact, there’s no furniture at all on the stage. They have a backdrop very similar to the 2004 movie, with a fake balcony in the middle. Raoul is in Box 5 and Firmin and Andre are in the opposite box, drinking. They both seem to be a bit drunk. Meg is not on the stage. Besides the Countess and the Maid/Serafimo, there’s only the hairdresser, the Jeweler, and the Confidante. Don Attilio is much younger and is not a bass. He is also not so funny. When Don Attilio and the Countess both sing “Addio!” they both hold the note for ages. Don Attilio then leaves and hides in the fake balcony. Christine rips off the maid's skirt to reveal herself as Serafimo. Everything is alright until we hear the Phantom’s voice say, “Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?”. Meg then invades the stage out of nowhere, in her Degas-like ballerina outfit to sing: “He's here, the Phantom of the Opera”. Everyone looks terrified. Madame Giry pulls Meg from the stage.

Everything happens as in the original production. The Phantom says “A toad, madame? Perhaps it is you who are the toad” and Carlotta panics. She calls for her dresser that brings that throat spray, just like in the movie. On her way back, she takes away the maid’s skirt, so when they play the scene again, Serafimo has no skirt, like in the original. When Carlotta starts to croak and seems to be losing her voice, chaos breaks loose, Raoul jumps onto the stage, Carlotta leaves crying, Christine runs to Raoul and Firmin announces that the role will be played by Christine. At this, she looks at Raoul in panic and both leave the stage, while Andre goes to announce the ballet. He has a bottle of champagne and a flute glass on his hands and this scene is particularly funny. Earl Carpenter is indeed the perfect Andre. The ballerinas come to the stage, no Sylvan glade costumes, they are all wearing the regular Degas ballerina costumes. The scene happens more or less the same way, but it’s a different choreography, and twice the Phantom swings across the stage in a rope, laughing. The third time, the rope swings with Buquet hanging. The Phantom swinging across the stage wasn’t necessary but I enjoyed the way Buquet hangs, it was way more realistic than the dummy they have in the original production; I believe it is indeed the actor playing Buquet in that scene.

The scene then changes for the rooftop. They have a raised rooftop for the scene and Christine is already there in her dressing robe when Raoul finally climbs the stairs singing “Why have you brought us here?”

The whole scene reminds one of the domes in the Palais Garnier, below it, you can see a structure that reminds the arched structure that supports the main dome above the auditorium and that houses the chandelier counterweights. There’s a backdrop of Paris, partially showing one of the Angel statues and you can also see Notre Dame in the background. The rooftop scene is very different from any version that I’ve seen so far. Raoul is terrified from the height and also because Christine is dangerously close to the edge. Christine is frantic, walking from one side to the other. The only time she seems a bit calmer is when she sings “But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound. In that night there was music in my mind. And through music, my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before. Yet in his eyes all the sadness of the world. Those pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore.” But then she hears his eerie “Christine” and is immediately frightened again. Raoul tries to pull her from the edge many times and she refuses his touch every single time. In fact, she hardly looks at him, It’s like she is going mad, and she looks suicidal. At one point, Raoul just sits on the edge of the rooftop with his legs out and very slowly moves closer and ends up calming her. It’s one of Raoul’s cutest moments in this production. Christine doesn’t look much at Raoul, she sings most of All I Ask of You looking at the horizon like she is singing to (or thinking of) someone else. Only at the very end, she looks at him and they kiss.

When they leave the rooftop by the same stairs, the spotlight illuminates where the Phantom is seated hidden in the shadows, just below where Raoul and Christine are (no big hat with black feathers). He looks devasted and furious at the same time. He comes to the edge of the Orchestra pit to sing “You will curse the day you did not do all that the Phantom asked of you!”. The chandelier then lights up behind him in the dome structure. He goes to the chandelier and lights it on fire, climbs on top of it, he has some kind of knife on his hand, and he seems to be cutting some of the cables that hold the chandelier. The chandelier then is pushed to the back and when he screams “Go”, it swings to the front of the stage with Ramin on it, while real fire lights up at the very edge of the stage near the Orchestra pit and the lights go down. This was one of my favorite scenes in the musical. Even though I love the chandelier falling over the audience, this scene was spectacular and very impressive as well.

The second act begins with two people fully covered and hooded in Venetian carnival cloaks (a nice touch considering it’s an Italian production). They are standing in front of the mirror screen (the same that was covering the stage at the beginning of Act 1)) and light spots illuminate each of them briefly while they move closer to each other until they meet and show themselves as Firmin and Andre. Andre is wearing his usual tailcoat under the cloak (no skeleton costume), but Firmin reveals a pink bow gown. They leave the stage laughing and happy, the mirror screen opens and reveals the empty auditorium with the chandelier lowered and Meg seated on the floor below it, wearing a monkey music box costume and pretending to be playing the cymbals. Although cool, I didn’t understand why she would be wearing this specific costume. As for the lower chandelier, it is obvious that the Masquerade ball is the inauguration of the new chandelier, as it is raised during the celebrations. There is no great staircase in this production, but in the book, the Masquerade happens in the Grand Foyer and in real life, it usually happened in the auditorium (they would remove all the seats and have wood planks covering the floor to protect the carpets). The ensemble enters the stage one by one, all of them wearing Venetian cloaks and masks in different colors. They are all dancing with mannequins dressed similarly and as they dance, they look like real people, because they move their heads to face the audience, just like the actors. The ones not wearing Venetian cloaks for Masquerade are Andre who took his down at the beginning), Firmin, who is in the pink ball gown, Madame Giry in her usual black costume and a mask, Meg in her Monkey outfit, Raoul in a tailcoat and a silver mask (which he takes off almost immediately) and Christine, who is wearing a beautiful off the shoulder cream satin gown, that reminds me a lot of Chirstine’s wedding dress in the 2004 movie.

At some point, part of the actors on the stage leave and stand in different parts of the auditorium with the audience, Firmin and Andre stand near the first row almost in the middle, there are others that stand near the exits of the auditorium and some in the boxes around the theatre. Christine and Raoul stand just in the middle of the stage and gold and silver confetti falls from the ceiling over the stage and the first few rows of the theatre while they sing Masquerade. It’s a visually very beautiful scene. Then comes Red Death. And I’ll say I was prepared to hate this scene because Maria Björnson’s extravagant, over-the-top Red Death is one of my favorite costumes in the show. In this version, the Phantom wears just a red velvet cape with a hood covering his face. On his hands, the Don Juan score. He looks very much like the figure of a reaper, like the original artwork of Edgar Allan Poe’s Red Death. Raoul and Christine immediately leave the stage. As the Phantom sings “Here I bring the finished score, Don Juan Triumphant!”, Andre approaches him to get the score, but Raoul comes running and prevents him from getting closer. People surround Red Death, he has his back to the audience at this moment and they rip off his cloak but there’s no one underneath it, the Phantom is gone.

Then, a spotlight illuminates Christine and someone all covered in black standing in the auditorium near the first row, inches from the audience and the Phantom takes off his hood and sings “Your chains are still mine; you belong to me!”. I was lucky to be seated front row once, just in front of where they stood. In fact, I noticed that as they both approach their positions, Raoul looks at them and tells them to stop and wait. It gave me the impression that Raoul left Christine in the care of this person, without knowing it was the Phantom, and he is as surprised as everyone else when he sees it’s in fact the Phantom. I already knew it would happen, because it was my last show, but it was incredible to see Ramin as the Phantom standing so close that I could actually touch him if I tried. Since Ramin wasn’t on the stage during this scene, his part was pre-recorded, with the exception of the very last line he sings to Christine.

Immediately after this scene, the auditorium is empty, except for Raoul sitting on the floor, looking bewildered. When he sees Madame Giry and calls her, she says “Monsieur, don't ask me. I know no more than anyone else”, he asks very calmly “That’s not true. You've seen something, haven't you?”. She then replies “I don't know what I've seen. Please don't ask me, Monsieur”. That’s when he stands up and shouts at her face “Madame, for all our sakes”. She then explains what she knows about the man locked in the cage of so many years ago. At this point, they have a background illuminated as the silhouette of a traveling fair, which reminds me of Love Never Dies Phantasma. I like these small details connecting both stories.

The second manager’s scene shows that at this point everyone is on edge, Firmin and Andre are annoyed with the whole O.G. thing, as well as Carlotta’s antics and also at Raoul's permanent presence at the Opera house barking orders. Christine is behind Raoul with the Don Juan score in her hands. She has an aqua dress with small roses embroidered. It was my least favorite of her costumes, to be honest. It wasn’t ugly and I believe it was period-appropriate, it just didn’t stand out to me. Carlotta kept challenging Christine the whole time (while Raoul just stood there like an idiot) and at some point, Christine couldn’t stand anymore and came face to face with Carlotta while singing “How dare you! You evil woman! How dare you!”. After the Phantom’s new note brought by Madame Giry, Christine seems very distressed, especially after Raoul suggests having her as bait to catch the Phantom minutes after assuring her that the managers couldn’t force her to sing. He even has the audacity to put both his hands on her shoulder while he sings “but remember we hold the ace”. This disturbed me way more than the candle thing with the Phantom during MOTN.

While all of them are speaking at the same time, Christine stands up and is even more distressed with the whole situation, and finally collapses on her knees while pleading “Raoul, I'm frightened, don't make me do this. Raoul, it scares me, don't put me through this ordeal by fire. he'll take me, I know. we'll be parted forever. he won't let me go”. While she sings this, everyone in the room is looking at her, except for Raoul, he has his back to her, his hands resting on the manager’s table and he looks really annoyed and frustrated. Only when she starts singing “What I once used to dream I now dread. If he finds me, it won't ever end” he finally faces her but just stares like everyone else. When she cries “and he'll always be there, singing songs in my head. he'll always be there, singing songs in my head.” Carlotta looks at Raoul and says “She is mad”. Only then does he finally kneels down near her and sings “You said yourself he was nothing but a man. Yet if he lives, he will haunt us till we're dead”. She then stands up and moves away from Raoul, and she sounds angry while singing Twisted every Way. Raoul comes closer to her, puts his hands on her shoulders to have her face him (again), and sings gently but very forcibly at the same time “Christine, Christine, don't think that I don't care, but every hope and every prayer rests on you now.”. He then holds her by the waist and leads her against her will to the auditorium (while the stage rotates again) and has her seated with the score. She just looks at him resigned. She clearly doesn’t want to do it. Raoul just stands there, looking at her to make sure she won’t run away, and then shouts to no one in particular “So, it is to be war between us! But this time, clever friend, the disaster will be yours” and leaves the stage as Don Juan rehearsal starts.

The Don Juan rehearsal happens more or less the same way as the original, but instead of the piano just playing alone, it also spins on the stage. Monsieur Reyer was supposedly coordinating the rehearsal from behind the piano and at one moment, we see his arm raised, but when the piano spins, there’s nobody there. Chaos breaks loose as everyone starts to fight. The rehearsal scene is the other scene which is a bit restricted to people seated on the left side because the stage stops at an angle facing the right side of the audience too.

As the violins start playing, Christine stands up and goes to the back while the stage rotates again. As she emerges on the front of the stage (that finally stops rotating), she has her cloak and is holding a single red rose. She walks towards the edge of the stage and in the background, we see the silhouette of the people fighting in slow motion during rehearsal, throwing chairs and things like that, a total mess. Then the graveyard backdrop falls, and Christine is alone on the stage as snow starts to fall and we hear the bells. There is no Daae mausoleum, which never really made sense to me, as they weren´t rich. She sings a good part of the song kneeling down in front of the conductor, as if in front of a simple grave or headstone. She even has the rose resting on the ground as she sings. When she finishes (her Wishing is fantastic) and is ready to leave, the Phantom with raven wings appears illuminated by a single spot behind the backdrop while singing Wandering Child. Christine seems totally mesmerized by the vision of him as an Angel, she sings back to him on her knees with her arms raised, as in prayer, and starts moving towards him when he sings “yet your soul obeys”. As he starts singing “I am your Angel of Music”, he rises from the ground.

The whole time, the Phantom is very aware of Raoul’s presence and becomes more agitated and angrier by the minute. When Raoul manages to shake Christine out of her trance, it culminates with the Phantom fully rising to the sky, maybe 10 meters or more from the ground, and instead of the pitiable fireballs from the original production, he commands lighting and very loud thunder effects. At the very end, he shouts “So be it! Now let it be war upon you both!” and flies down as to attack Christine and Raoul while a thunder sound explodes loudly, and the stage goes dark. That was another favorite scene of mine. Say what you want about it, I’ve always had this canon of the Phantom as a black-winged Angel, so to see my idea turned into reality on the stage by my favorite Phantom was truly incredible.

We are then back to the stage of the Opera house, Raoul, Andre, Firmin and the chief of the Gendarmerie are on the stage and the Gendarme with the gun is in a box, with the audience, instead of the orchestra pit. The Chief of the Gendarmerie shouts, “Are the doors secure?” and someone replies back “secure” only once, there’s no sound of slamming doors from all around the auditorium, which makes way more sense, because soon after, the Phantom sings “Let the audience in”, which would be impossible with all the doors closed.

As they leave the stage, the revolving stage shows the silhouette of the actors in Don Juan from the backstage until it fully rotates and stops facing the audience. The backdrop falls and it is very similar to the one in the original production. Piangi’s Don Juan outfit is somewhat similar too. Passarino’s outfit is different from the stage musical though. The first time I saw an image of this scene, I absolutely hated it, I’m so used to the black hooded cloak that I couldn’t understand the yellowish-brown cloak and big hat. But it makes sense with Passarino’s outfit, that it’s about the same color. So, when Don Juan changes his red cloak and hat with Passarino, it makes sense to have the Phantom dressed as so. The more I watched the show, the less it bothered me. There is really no right or wrong, this scene doesn’t even exist in the book, only in ALW’s version. At least it makes more sense than the outfit he wears in the 2004 movie when he doesn’t even try to disguise himself.

Christine’s outfit reminds me of Emmy’s outfit in the movie, and she even has the basket. When the Phantom comes out singing, it is the voice of Piangi that we hear. It is supposed to sound like the Phantom mimicking Piangi’s voice to perfection. This had me very confused when I first listened to the audio from the first show my friend sent me. I knew it didn’t sound a bit like Ramin, but at the same time, it was supposed to be him singing and my brain was so confused. Only when he starts singing “Past the point of no return -no backward glances (…)” it shifts to Ramin’s voice. I believe that’s the exact moment when Christine realizes it’s him and not Piangi. She even looks at Raoul at this point.

This scene is very interesting because Erik acts as if very much in control while he is singing, but as soon as Christine is singing, he looks very nervous and even terrified. He sits awkwardly and doesn´t know what to do with his hands, they are shaking, and Christine acts very provocatively and touches him a lot. By the time she sings “In my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining defenseless and silent”, she has her leg almost on top of him, and after “And now I am here with you: no second thoughts, I've decided, decided”, she is already seated across the bench facing him, while he seems even more nervous, seated facing the audience. By the “Past the point of no return -no going back now (…)” she forces him to look at her by holding both his hands, and when she sings “When will the flames, at last, consume us?” they both stand up, she leans her back on him, they are both still holding hands. He slowly sits down again, bringing her to sit on his leg while they both sing “Past the point of no return the final threshold, the bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. We've passed the point of no return”.

The whole scene is very sexy. At this point, she actually tries to kiss him, but he pushes her away and moves to the very end of the bench, opposite her. He then takes off the hat revealing himself on stage. Everyone gasps, including Christine, but I believe she is shocked because she wasn’t expecting him to show himself like that. The stage is invaded by the police, the managers, Madame Giry, and Meg. Raoul immediately jumps from box 5 to the stage and tries to reach the Phantom, but Christine prevents everyone from getting near him. He starts singing All I Ask of You reprise, very softly, looking at the floor and fiddling with his hands. At that moment, I think he believed it was his last chance to win her willingly, he is very vulnerable, and there are lots of people pointing guns at him, but he keeps seated, the way he sings is truly heartbreaking, it is a pleading, his last chance to be happy. He then stands up and puts the ring on her finger and she betrays him, pulling his mask and wig. His scream is painful, and he just catches her and flees the stage with her under his cloak. Piangi is not dead (which I appreciate because his death is pointless). We see Piangi in the background, on his feet, being helped by two men while Carlotta cries out his name.

Firmin is hysterical shouting “We are ruined Andre, ruined”. He is holding a lantern. Andre faces him and holds the lantern too. He shakes his head in an affirmative way, silently telling Firmin that there is only one thing they can do. They both release the lantern, initiating a fire that ultimately destroys the theatre. I believe they did it seeking for some kind of insurance. I prefer this to the idea of the Phantom being responsible for all the destruction.

Madame Giry calls Raoul and leads him to the same staircase near the orchestra pit from where we see Erik and Christine descending in the journey to the lair during the title song. She doesn’t go with him. Meg is not with them either.

The scene changes to the Phantom and Christine in the gondola, on their way to his lair, and he is totally unhinged at this point. His humor shifts from totally devasted (and almost crying) to very angry and violent. Christine is still wearing Aminta’s outfit. Erik hands her a veil and a wedding dress, but she never gets to change. He doesn’t sing “That fate, which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face, the infection which poisons our love” angrily as in the 25th anniversary, he sings very softy, almost as if he is about to cry. The same happens when he sings “This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing. A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing”, it is all very shy and sad until the “scrap of clothing” part, when he touches his face in disgust and sings these last few worlds more harshly.

Christine sings “This haunted face holds no horror for me now” and he looks at her almost hopeful, but then she says “It's in your soul that the true distortion lies.” And he shakes his head in disbelief. But then he senses Raoul’s presence, puts his hand over Christine’s mouth, and says “Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!”.

Raoul is crawling from the lake and the Phantom pulls him inside by his hair, throws him on the ground, towers over him with his feet on each side, and slowly bends over Raoul while singing “And now my wish comes true, you have truly made my night!”. Raoul seems as terrified as Christine and manages to crawl away from him, hiding near the bed. The Phantom then grabs Christine (sometimes the Phantom would grab her by the neck, but not always. Not my favorite part) and Raoul starts to plead for him to free her until Erik says “be my guest” and releases her. He always looks at his hand, as if he regrets his action. Christine runs to Raoul and they both embrace each other until Erik comes and puts the lasso around his head. He then climbs on the bench and pulls Raoul about 1 meter from the ground. This scene is very impressive, and I believe that’s the reason why Raoul is shirtless because we can’t see any harness and still, he is literally hanging by his neck. Of course, there’s a trick here and if you are close enough, depending on where you are sitting, you can understand how they are able to do this scene, but it is still way more impressive than the original and makes the whole situation much more dramatic, as we see Raoul struggling to breath for a good time.

On the last Sunday matinee, the mechanism to raise Raoul didn’t work, so his feet were on the ground the whole scene. It actually took a bit for Ramin to realize it wouldn’t work (he tried more than once). To compensate, he was way more aggressive and gave Raoul a really hard time. I have to say that from the moment Erik and Christine arrived at the lair, he looked already defeated. He knew he lost his last chance during Don Juan. We could see on Ramin’s face and body language that he knew he ruined everything. It was very clear, especially at one point while he sat on the side of the gondola and looked at Christine trying to free Raoul, but even before that. He had nothing else to lose at this point, he was literally fighting for any paltry crumbs. That’s his state of mind when he sings “You've passed the point of no return”

Christine furiously replies “Angel of Music, you deceived me. I gave my mind blindly.” At that, he approaches her like a predator, lifts her chin with one finger, and says very slowly and menacingly “You try my patience. Make your choice!”. Christine is shaking and crying while this happens. He then moves away from her. She looks at him, and then at Raoul struggling and kisses the Phantom after singing her lines. During the second kiss, she touches his deformity. He doesn’t touch her during the first kiss, during the second one, he puts his hand over hers. In some of the shows, he was the one to break the kiss. In others, it was she who ended it, but it was always him that moved away from her, totally overwhelmed, and crying, touching his lips. At this moment, he looks at Raoul, hanging limp and Christine follows his gaze. When she realizes that Raoul looks lifeless, she tries to swallow a sob. They both look at each other. She doesn’t move, she just keeps still staring at the Phantom with tears in her eyes. He looks from her to Raoul, shakes his head, he is still touching his lips as he approaches Raoul, looks at her again, pulls him down, and yanks the lasso from his neck while singing “Take her, forget me, forget all of this. Leave me alone, forget all you've seen”. Raoul has hardly any strength left to move. The Phantom brings the gondola to near where they are, and Christine practically drags Raoul into it and he collapses in the boat.

As they leave, the Phantom is the one who collapses on his knees, crying with the veil on his hands. The Monkey starts to play. Erik takes the music box from the bench at the foot of the bed and puts it on the ground next to him and starts singing Masquerade. In some of the shows, Ramin’s voice broke (on purpose) when he sang “Hide your face so the world will never find you”. He then senses Christine, but he never looks back at her, I think he knows it is pointless, but he sings “Christine, I love you” anyway. She is crying too, so she leaves the ring on the bench near the bed (where the monkey was) and leaves. He looks at the monkey very sadly and only then, looks back and reaches for the ring. He puts the ring on his finger, holds the veil again, and rocks like a child, crying, while she and Raoul sing on their way out. He then stands up and sings “You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now, the music of the night”.

That’s when he hears the mob coming. He sits on the bed and half covers himself while crying and rocking. Madame Giry arrives at his lair and sees him. They both look at each other and his face is incredibly sad. They both reach for each other with their hands from afar. The mob comes closer. She silently tells him to hide. He lies down and covers himself with the bed sheet. The mob arrives and Madame Giry points in the opposite direction, to give him time. When they finally notice something moving under the sheets, an armed Gendarme points the gun to the bed and pulls the sheet, but they find only his mask. The Phantom is gone. Meg takes the mask and gives it to Madame Giry and the spotlight illuminates it on her hand instead of Meg’s. I really enjoyed this change, because it clearly shows that they were indeed friends, and it makes more sense if you think that in Love Never Dies she admits she helped him escape.

And that was it. I love this production very much, all the changes were very clever, and even the ones some people found tacky, I enjoyed seeing them live. The show as a whole works very well and it is still visually beautiful. I have to say I never had a clear view of the Phantom’s deformity, despite having sat in the first row twice. Even the one white eye, I only noticed after checking my curtain call photos. Ramin said he was practically blind from that eye due to the contact lens. Considering that most people didn’t notice it, I wish they would just disregard this detail.

#phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera #ramin karimloo #erik x christine

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