As her eyelids started gaining considerable weight, the readings Éponine was supposed to finish became harder and monotonous. For a while she swore words moved and paragraphs grew to become longer and harder than what they were supposed to be. At some point everything started losing its meaning and she found herself checking her watch more often than ever in her lifetime. She mentally cursed that book of extended studies on the philosophy of France's government throughout the last two centuries.
Usually, the brunette devoured any kind of books she found in a matter of hours. She had patience for almost every type of readings but had an especial love for humanities, which was the reason for her to choose a broad career such as journalism. But at three in the morning, the task was completely impossible for her to accomplish. Éponine sighed exhausted and between mental notes and constant whining, she asked why they hadn't chosen some easier topic to write their essay on.
She closed her battered textbook and looked up to her companion and working partner. She was surprised to find the blonde guy staring at her intently and she blushed while guessing he had being doing so enough to see her discomfort and fatigue.
Éponine looked away and stood up with the pretext of stretching her legs and avoiding a backache. She walked around the room to try to avoid his stare but she noticed his deep blue eyes were following her curiously. She sighed once again as she remembered that cruel trick of fate that made them end up working on the damned project a few days before the deadline.
Enjolras was the most brilliant political science student of the whole faculty in La Sorbonne. The teachers recognized him as a curious and passionate person full compassion towards the poorest parts of the Parisian society. He was an excellent orator, incredibly skilled in the arts of debate and persuasion, gifted with a unique charm that made him a respected figure among the students. He was a twenty-two year-old youth and still a very lonely soul for nobody outside his limited group of friends dared to look past his hard and serious "shell" to see the kindhearted and gifted soul Enjolras owned.
His friends had very different careers varying from philosophy to medicine, including law and even art but in his faculty he was alone and everyone tried to stick to him just to take advantage of his intelligence and patience. He hated to be surrounded by mediocre people who didn't see the wonders of politics as clearly as he did.
So when Professor Javert, from his elective class of French History, told the class they had to do work in pairs for the most important grade of the semester, Enjolras was determined to approach to him, crossing his fingers for the professor to sympathize with his pathetic situation and let him work alone for his own sake.
Éponine, who won a scholarship and had recently been transferred to La Sorbonne to complete her studies in journalism, approached to Professor Javert that same afternoon to ask the same thing but under different circumstances.
She had also chosen French History as one of her electives but knew nobody in her class and was also aware that everyone already had a partner to work with. Éponine wasn't very good at making friends and wasn't willing to approach to somebody just to beg them to please work with her. But Professor Javert did not budge and insisted that trusting somebody with such an important grade would be the perfect opportunity for making some useful friendships.
Enjolras entered to the classroom when Éponine, dejected and resigned, was about to leave. He looked at her and remembered feeling his heart fluttering and his stomach flipping a few times. Although they weren't particularly acquainted, Enjolras was greeted with a shy smile that almost made him forget about what he was about to do.
"Professor Javert, I won't ask you for an especial treatment or anything as such but sir, I really need to work alone in this important project," he said awkwardly and about to faint when he realized his words weren't elegant and lacked power of convincement.
"Yet another one!" Professor Javert had answered in exasperation.
"What do you mean sir?" Enjolras asked, his brows furrowed and his arms crossed.
"Mademoiselle Thénardiere here has also asked for me to let her work on her own. We've found two lonely wolves in the same room. Big applause. Standing ovation if you will. Now work with her, she's also a brilliant student," he said ironically.
"Sir, we're not even in the same class," Éponine, who had been watching the whole interaction, pointed out a little embarrassed.
"Better that way, less work for me. Just specify what's your class," he proposed and took from his desk a stack of paper he started crossing with a red pen.
"But sir…" Enjolras tried to object.
"No buts Monsieur Enjolras, I've given you a solution, don't find me another problem. Now, if you dare to work alone and then hand in the project claiming you did it together, believe me, you'll flunk the subject," he threatened and they both left without saying another word.
Since that day they had worked in a courteous way. They both proposed what to do and almost always ended up in an amicable discussion. Enjolras felt he had struck gold. Nobody had ever sat with him to speak of his preferences while doing an important work for university, much less a woman. He had the girls of the university in the worst of concepts but Éponine was different. In fact, and he said this a couple of times to her, it was the first time he enjoyed a group project.
To him, Éponine was very straightforward and intelligent. He found her beautiful and very witty, which were all gifts he hadn't found in other women. Éponine also knew what she wanted to do with her life and they shared many of their dreams. She was also an idealist who wanted to change the world and he found that very attractive. Not like he was going to say it though.
To her, Enjolras was incredible. She felt like he was the kind of people you ought to admire and every day she was surprised by something new. She confessed to him that she knew about his reputation in school but since they didn't shared a class together, had just considered it rumors. She smiled at him more often than she smiled at anybody else, even at her friend Marius, who turned out to be also Enjolras' friend. Éponine found herself writing his name a couple of times in the back part of her notebooks like an enamored schoolgirl and that simple act made her fall from simple courtesy to carefree camaraderie but nothing else for she didn't want to fall in love.
Out of the three weeks they had to work on the project, they used one to choose the topic and the books they would cite and another one to spend their days chatting in lonely cafés and sitting in each other's apartments while laughing and comparing hobbies or feelings towards certain things. By the third week, they had fallen in love with each other's company.
On Wednesday of the last week of work, Enjolras arrived in alarm Éponine's apartment only to find her skimming through the books they were supposed to cite and taking quick notes.
"We have two days," they both said in unison.
The work had to be finished by Friday and still they hadn't even started with the paper, which was something traumatizing for both of them. Éponine confessed to him that on a regular basis she would've been finished the first week and Enjolras agreed while playfully blaming her.
"Why my fault?" Éponine asked, "it's your fault."
"My fault? Was I the one that invited you to my apartment to "work" and ended up watching Pride and Prejudice?" he answered with his eyebrow raised and a smirk.
"So what? You watched it with me while completely admiring Jane Austen's work and Keira Knightley's performance or am I wrong?" she answered with a frank smile.
"Yeah right…it's not my fault that you love discussing books and things I really appreciate," he stated while also taking notes.
"Very well then, it's not my fault that you love to criticize what I hate with passion," she answered.
They continued with their friendly teasing for hours. About at eleven thirty they decided they would work the whole night and skip class the next day so Enjolras called his friend Courfeyrac asking him to bring some clothing to Éponine's house.
They both swore, for the sake of their working time at night, they would forget what happened when Courfeyrac arrived to Éponine's apartment in a state of drunkenness that made his body stink to alcohol. Marius accompanied him to avoid him causing a disaster of wider proportions but still he couldn't stop Courfeyrac from giving a package of condoms to Enjolras and chanting that he was going to get laid that night.
"Your friend's a bit communicative," Éponine simply said when they were both gone and peace was reestablished among the working partners.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that unbearable show. He's a good person, really. I know he might…." Enjolras didn't know how to continue but Éponine finished for him.
"He might have quite a reputation of taking to bed everything that moves but he's indeed a very nice person. He's harmless and yes, I don't resent him. After all, he was drunk," she said with a smile and Enjolras thanked her with a smile.
Around two thirty in the morning, Enjolras couldn't continue taking notes anymore. Both his eyes and his head ached because of the lack of sleep. He closed his eyes for a while, falling asleep for a few minutes and then silently coming back to reality. He didn't want to completely doze because he knew Éponine wouldn't wake him up so he found comfort in watching her concentrating on her book.
Enjolras made a mental portrait of his beautiful companion, who hadn't seen him looking at her. He saw her brown hair with almost invisible flashes of red and blonde; jumped to her breathtaking almond eyes, profound and intriguing, and continued to her little and freckled nose. Her lips were of an incomparable red that highlighted her face and Enjolras felt the desire to kiss them softly or maybe caress them with his fingers.
He didn't know how much time he had spent staring at her, but he realized she noticed him and the blush on her cheeks made him wonder if he was intimidating. She stood up and he felt he was losing her so he followed her with his eyes to see what she would do next.
"Aren't you also tired?" she asked softly from the other side of the room.
"I am," was his simple response while also standing up and walking towards her with clear intentions of hugging her tightly.
"Come with me," she said taking his hand and guiding him to the kitchen.
Éponine sat down in front of him at the kitchen table and rested her face on his hands. She closed her eyes and he caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. Éponine's heart exploded in her chest at the sight of his familiar warm hands and Enjolras whole body flipped a thousand times over, he felt complete. They couldn't find the words that wouldn't make that moment a very awkward one so they simply opted for peaceful silence.
After a while, Éponine started humming a song and Enjolras simply looked at her while still caressing her. He knew the song and, since he wasn't the one to sing, simply said the sentence of the lyrics he felt that belonged to that moment.
"You feel like heaven to touch,"
Éponine blushed deeply and sat up. Enjolras feared he might have broken that magical moment that made him feel full and closed his eyes only to feel this time Éponine's soft lips on his cheek. It was his time to blush and her time to smile. He opened his eyes to find her moving around in the kitchen, taking out two cups and a coffee pot. He questioned her with his pleading eyes and she simply smiled widely.
"It's coffee time Enjolras," she said and he looked at her with his eyebrow raised.
"Nothing better than a cup of coffee when you're tired. It's warm, bitter and so sweet at the same time. It's simply reassuring," she answered while putting the cup in front of him.
"Here you have milk, sugar and honey," she said with a smile as he looked at her like she had suddenly become a madman.
"Thanks, I guess," he said taking a sip and feeling the bittersweet taste taking over his five senses. She looked at him expectantly and he smiled.
"It's great," he said and she nodded.
"My mother used to make the best coffee I've ever tasted. It made you feel genuinely alive," she said, her eyes lost in the memories.
"Come on 'Ponine, it's just coffee. It was you, you've always been alive…in fact, I think you radiate so much life you've made me feel like if I had been dead before I met you," he said shamelessly as she blushed and laughed.
"You're being silly, 'Jolras," she said rolling her eyes.
"You're adorable," he answered.
"Will you stop making me blush? It's not fair or pleasant, much less when you're laughing in my face!" she pleaded and he stood up, hugging her from behind.
"Éponine…" he tried but couldn't find the words.
Éponine took his hands and intertwined their fingers. Out of an impulse, she kissed his hand and he sighed. How could he tell something to that girl who had been driving him mad?
He sat down on his place once again and continued drinking his wonderful coffee, sparing a few glances to his friend every once in a while. They continued teasing each other, hiding their feelings in their cups of coffee until Enjolras saw the bottom of the cup. His thoughts and worries drowned all together with the last sip of the dark beverage and he stood up once again, taking Éponine's face in his hands and telling her, in the most serious and sincere voice he had ever managed to articulate, the words that his heart was willing to set free just for her ears.
"Éponine I've fallen in love."
She didn't answer and he feared he had done something wrong or said everything too fast. It was the first time he had ever said those words with so much of feelings to a girl and he felt almost about to cry for she simply looked at him without saying a word.
Éponine was thinking what to do. She reviewed everything they had said to each other since they left Professor Javert's classroom. Every word, and every situation led her to think there was no better person, no person she had ever wanted to be with than Enjolras. He knew, after two weeks and a half of coexistence and acquaintance, that he wouldn't say that just for the sake of saying something. Enjolras really meant it and she could feel her eyes shinning with unshed tears.
"I've also fallen in love," she answered while reaching for his neck to hug him tightly and fill her nostrils with his intoxicating scent.
"Let's forget about everything tonight," he proposed taking her hands and kissing them both.
"You don't know, 'Ponine, how lucky is the guy you fell in love with," Enjolras said teasingly as they walked to the living room.
"Not half as lucky as your girl," she answered mischievously.
After a few stares and smiles, their lips intertwined in a passionate and desired kiss in which they showed each other how much have they had longed for that moment to occur. Éponine hugged Enjolras by his neck as her fingers played softly with his blond curls. He grabbed her by her waist and lifted her a few centimeters from the floor, smiling as she shyly deepened the kiss and he tasted a hint of coffee on her lips.
Soon they were huddled together in the sofa, sharing soft kisses and staring into each other's souls. Éponine laughed at an internal joke she had just made and he asked her what was going on curiously.
"Perhaps we can say, we found love in a cup of coffee," she answered before kissing him once again.
So...I thought about this last night when I was alone drinking coffee in my kitchen. hahaha! I'll love to hear your comments :)
With love,
-Cami