Ding. Ding. Ding.

The beautiful sound of the final school dismissal bell rang. I couldn't have left the class any faster, I practically left skid marks on the way to my locker. Joy rose in my chest as I caught sight of my locker and picked up my pace, only to be yanked back by my waist into someone else's chest. I started to squirm to get out of the persons hold, desperate to get my stuff and get out of this hell hole.

"Jace, calm down. You're acting like I'm dragging you to your death!" The person chuckled, their chest vibrating with the chuckles. Their grip on me tightened to keep my in place and to keep me from getting away.

"More like you're dragging me to hell. Let me go, ya' big lug!" I responded playfully, smacking the hands around my waist trying to get them to let me go. The person released me but quickly spun me around to face them and three others. "Jake, you butt head. Don't grab me like that again. I could've elbowed you where the sun don't shine!"

Jake crossed his arms with a smirk playing on his lips as he leaned forward to slyly comment, "I'd like you see you try." I lifted my fists up close to my face to imitate a boxer and threw fake punches at his face. He stopped my fake jabs as he reached out to grab one of my punches and twisted my wrist painfully, making me pull my hand back up to my chest and caress it with a pout.

"That wasn't very nice, Jake." A girl in the group scolded. "You could've just poked her side, she crumbles when you do that." The girl, Elle, commented with a wink in my direction.

Jake only rolled his eyes, taking a step back to join the little circle the others had formed. "You always take her side. She was the one who started it."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stuck my tongue out at him before speaking, "So...What didja guys need?"

The boys in the group looked over to Elle who was excitedly clapped her hands, making them smirk at her excitement. "You're coming with our musical company on that tour we saved up for all year, correct?"

"The one we're leaving for tomorrow? Yeah of course." I shrugged. Elle, Jake, and I are part of a group that tours all around to sing and dance for people who are willing to have us perform for them. Currently we've been holding the national title for 2 years straight. We decided to save up to visit a different country for...inspiration.

A smile lit Elle's features as she clasped her hands in front of her. "I know where we're going! I mean, I know our director wanted this to be a surprise and everything, and I probably shouldn't say anything...But what the hey! We're going to Paris!" She squealed out with excitement.

My jaw dropped open with amazement. Paris, I'm going to freaking Paris! The place where music is around almost every corner! Where some of the oldest opera houses reside. Where the infamous Opera Ghost supposedly lives. PARIS! I snapped out of my little trance by the boys waving their hands in front of my face. I blinked a couple times before jumping up and down with excitement and squealing with joy.

The boys covered their ears with my high pitched squealing, "Someone cover her mouth before I lose my hearing!" One of the boys complained.

Jake finally reached over to clamp a hand over my mouth, "Your pig-like squealing is attracting unwanted attention."

I stopped my squealing, but licked his hand so he'd remove it. His brows furrowed together and his nose scrunched up in disgust as he took his hand away to wipe my saliva on his pants. Of course I wasn't bothered by this since we're best friends. I'd be lying if I said Jake wasn't attractive. His perfectly tan skin made me look like some kind of vampire. His dark brown hair highlighted his chocolate brown eyes and made his full lips look a bit more pink than what they really were.

I titled my head to the side, offering an innocent smile. "You wound me with your words." I chided, placing my hand over my heart in fake hurt.

With that, I quickly went to my locker to grab my bag and my books before slamming it shut and walking out to the parking lot. Finding the rusted pick-up truck wasn't that hard since most kids here had their parents to pay for their shiny porches or mustangs, while I just used my working money I get from the library. Since my mom and dad left my aunt to care for me, she was the only person who offered to pay for my car, which I full-heartedly refused since I believe in hard work to get what you want.

Cutting the engine in front of my house, I took my time to collect my things before slamming the door shut and walking up the steps to enter the small two story house. Upon entering, the smell of cinnamon attacked my nose and the sound of opera playing from the kitchen welcomed me.

"Sharon, I'm home!" I called out, slipping out of my black vans and throwing my backpack off to the side.

A woman with brown hair cut in a V-line side stepped to get a look at me, a smile reaching to her eyes as she set down her mixing bowl to come greet me. "Hello deary, how was school? I sure hope your staying away from drugs and violence." She pointed a reprimanding finger at me.

"Oh yeah. I just skipped all my periods today to go smoke a joint in the ally near the school." I replied sarcastically as I grabbed an apple from the counter, taking a big bite from it.

My aunt smacked the back of my head for my comment, looking at me above her glasses, "You little dork. You better not be doing any of that stuff, you're only 17!" I waved a dismissive hand towards her before taking another bite from the apple. "Is there anything exciting that happened?"

The news from earlier came back to my mind. I quickly slammed my hands down on the table with a excited look on my face. "You remember how my musical company was saving up for that trip that I'm going on? I found out where I'm going!."

My aunt raised a brow while she continued to stir the contents in the bowl. "Well go on. Where are you going?"

A playful smile played on my lips as I leaned on the table, "Guess."

She sat there looking at me before setting the bowl down once again. "Give me a hint."

I put a thoughtful finger up to my chin as I thought of a hint that wouldn't totally give it away. "My favorite book is about a man who lives there."

My aunt sat there for a second thinking before snapping her fingers, "Paris."

I excitedly nodded my head with a huge smile, "Yes! I'm so excited!"

She let out a good natured laugh as she turned her back to me, "I'm so happy for you! But sadly, I have to work tomorrow at the bakery. I won't be able to say good bye to you tomorrow morning, so you better call me on the way there young lady."

The chair screeched across the floor as I stood up to give her a hug, "Of course. I won't forget."

She returned the hug before combing her fingers through my hair, "And who knows, you might actually meet the Phantom while you're there."

We both broke out into laughter and spent the rest of the night eating cookies and watching Harry Potter before I went up to bed.

...

*the next day*

I woke up two hours before my alarm clock was set to go off. I was just too excited, I kept waking up at random times during the night just to check the time. Throwing off my blankets, I ran down the stairs to the kitchen to start brewing some coffee and make some waffles since I had time to waste. Clicking on the kitchen radio to 107.9, I started to dance around my kitchen while pulling out a coffee mug, a plate, and some syrup.

After eating my burnt waffle and pouring myself some coffee, I headed up the stairs and into my bathroom to get ready. Splashing my face with water, I blindly groped for a towel to wipe my face. Dragging the towel down my face, I observed my features for a little bit. I wasn't cover girl gorgeous, but I wasn't ugly either. My blueish green eyes were evenly spread apart, and they squinted every time I smiled. My cheeks had a light rosey shade to them, adding a childish look to my face since they were slightly chubby. I didn't have those big fat lips most girls yearned for, but my pink lips were a little bit full.

I ran a hand through my curly brown hair before clicking on my straightener. It wasn't that I hated having my hair curly, it's that it gets in the way. A lot. Within an hour and thirty minutes, I finally had straight hair. I put a coat of mascara on before leaving the bathroom to get changed. Pulling out black skinny jeans and a white V-neck, I slipped them on before jumping onto my bed and taking out my laptop. Might as well get in a good writing session. Clicking on the Fanfiction tab, I logged onto my account and went straight to a chapter I was almost finished with.

After posting my finished chapter, I sent a PM to Elle since she'd rather be on here than Facebook. That girl could spend all day on Fanfiction without needing a break to eat or drink...heck she probably wouldn't need to breathe. Within minutes of sending my message, she replied back.

ElleyBelle487: Good morning mi amore! Are you ready to get this adventure started?

TasteJacelace: I'm more ready than I'll every be.

ElleyBelle487: Haha I'm still not used to the user name Jake gave you XD And good, I'll come get you in about 30 minutes.

I rolled my eyes as I craned my head to the side to look at my clock. 7:30...
7:30?! WHAT? I still need to finish packing!

TasteJacelace: Ok. Gotta go. See you in 30 mins.

I quickly logged off and shut my computer, flying off my bed to my closet. Quickly matching outfits together, I stuffed them into my suitcase before running to my bathroom. While brushing my teeth, I stuffed my straightener, brush, and other hygiene necessities into a pack along with my tooth brush after I was done. By the time I had packed my shoes into the suit case and grabbed money for food, souvenirs, and admission fees to enter certain places, Elle had already pulled into the drive way and was honking like a maniac. On the way to the airport, I called my aunt to say good bye. By the time I hung up, I felt a little torn at leaving her behind, my eyes stung a little with the threat of tears spilling out.

When we arrived at the airport, our musical company was waiting at the ticket counter. Jake and his friend, Mack, separated from the group to come greet us.

"Hey guys." The smile on Elle's tanned face reflected in her voice when she caught sight of Mack. I guess you could count me guilty for being one of those friends who try to hook their friends up with their crushes. But you couldn't blame me, they would be cute together since she was 5'7" (towering my 5'5" height) and he was 6'0", and that his chopped blonde hair contrasted well with her mid-back length raven hair. All in all, they'd be the new BradJolina if they got together.

I waved in acknowledgement towards him before Jake decided to mush my face with his hands, "Awe, look how cute you look." He stated while blinking his eyes innocently. I pushed his hands away from my face with a growl while I sauntered over to the group near the ticket counters. Jake look dumbfounded when he came to stand next to me, "What's up with her?" he mouthed to Elle.

"You know I can see what you said." I hissed at him.

Elle looked from me to him before shrugging her shoulders, "Not a morning person?"

"Why would you be so mad? We're going to Par-"

"Sh! We don't want anyone else in the group to know! We weren't supposed to know, remember?" Elle quickly cut him off before he blew the secret.

We snapped our heads to the front of the group when our director clapped her hands together, her bracelets clanging together loudly as she did so. "Ladies and gentleman...and Jake." She paused so that we could laugh at her little joke, since Jake was known to bug anyone and everyone. "I want to congratulate you guys for getting enough money to make this trip possible. I'm so proud of your commitment!" Another pause for applause. "I think I've kept you guys on your toes long enough. Today we will be heading to- drumroll please- Paris!"

Everyone cheered, as well as some of the couples wagging their eyebrows at each other. Mack and Jake decided to hoot and raise their fists up in the air before high fiving. Elle and I looked at each other before shrugging and joining in with the cheering.

Our director was laughing at our excitement before looking down at her watch, "Holy Ba-geebus, we gotta get going! I have our tickets, so quickly follow me so we can make our flight." and with that, she started fast-walking towards the security scanners.

After everyone went through the scanners, we all jogged to our gate just in time to make the flight. I let a breath out as I sat next to Elle, happy that I didn't have to spend the whole flight with Jake and his face mushing. Pulling out a book, I reclined a little in my seat to get comfortable for the long flight ahead of us. Elle leaned over to get a look at my book before raising an eyebrow at me.

"The Phantom of the Opera? Didn't you already read that?"

I looked at her for a minute before shrugging my shoulders, "I wanted to refresh my memory before we got there. Plus, you can't get enough of the Phantom."

She looked at me for a long while before she broke into a huge grin and fell back against her seat. "You're obsessed." she sighed.

I laid my book against my lap before holding up a correcting finger, "Not obsessed. Just mildly interested."

Elle looked at me before cracking her back and rolling to her side, "Whatever, Jace. Wake me up in about 2 hours."

Opening up my book again, I nudged her with my elbow and let a smile spread across my features, "No promises."

...

*Phantom's POV*

My breath came out in short pants as I quickly navigated my way through the tunnels. The adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, I could feel the need to go back just to see everyone's reactions. I swiftly hopped onto my gondola and started paddling towards my lair. The events that had taken not even 5 minutes ago replayed in my mind.

I hid up in the beams above the stage. The managers were fretting over the cleanliness of the stage. Apparently polishing the stage twice a day wasn't enough. My hands clenched and unclenched around the rope in my hands. It wasn't my Punjab, but it would have to do. I sat there waiting for the man to finish polishing the stage floor before acting out my plan. I dropped a small round object off to the side of the stage, a ghastly smell radiating from it catching the managers attention. After they went off to go investigate, I quickly cut down the rope providing the back round scenery to reveal my...personal made back round. Tied the rope in my hands to the beam and let the mannequin fall. A scream echoed before the managers quickly rushed out to see what had happened, their faces turning a ghostly white when they saw my creation. I let out a loud laugh before following the beams out to get a look at my work. The mannequin was hung by its neck, swinging back and forth gracefully. The back round had words written, 'Forget my pay again, my dear monsieurs? Let's not make that mistake again. -OG'.

Entering my lair, I jumped from the gondola onto the dark floor. Hopefully these managers weren't going to be as ignorant as the others, thinking that I was some underpaid stage worker, a conman looking for an easy way to get money. Why shouldn't I get paid? I'm the reason people from far and wide come to listen to the beautiful music.

Casting a longing glance at my organ as I passed, my fingers ached to dance across the keys. I have only touched my organ to write new music for these fools, not to indulge in the pleasurable escape the music brings like I once had. The last time I had ever played my organ in peace was when...she...was still here.

Oh Christine...

I miss her soft curls, her smile... her voice. I still visit her to this day, but it isn't the way I would rather have it.

Oh Christine...I wish you were here. I need you.

A broken breath left my mouth. Why did she have to leave me, when I needed her the most? But of course...a creature of the damned like me isn't aloud to have an angel in his hell.

I remain forgotten in this hell.

...

I don't own Phantom of the Opera, or anything else I mentioned. All OC's are mine.

Alright, Welcome guys to my first chapter for Once Forgotten. I had already tried to write a POTO story...but that totally failed. So why not try again? Sorry for the slow beginning. I just needed to get in a bit of a back round story...and I'm terrible with starting a story.
I actually got interested in this again when I got my own movie (Don't have to go to my friends house to watch this anymore, YAY) and I totally fangirled O.O

Your reviews, favorites, and criticism is welcomed. Please tell me if you find something in any of my chapters that you want me to fix or explain a bit more since this is self beta'd. Hope you guys will stick through this story with me:)