"Damn it."

Éponine cursed under her breath as she made her way towards class, she was nearly half an hour late. The brunette had unintentionally passed out at the library, that's what she got for pulling an all-nighter. She pushed her way through a sea of students, inhaling deeply as she slipped into the lecture hall where her class was being held. She had hoped to go unnoticed, but that hadn't happened. She tripped, her books falling to the floor along with her small body. "Fuck," she whispered, quickly gathering her things before giving the Professor an apologetic smile.

"Way to go, 'Ponine." She narrowed her eyes at the familiar voice, looking over to see Marius grinning at her. "Shut it, Pontmercy," she hissed, taking a seat beside him. She fished her binder out of her bag, placing it on the desk before her. "Sharing is caring." She grabbed the paper that Marius had been writing on, ignoring his groan of protest as she copied his notes. It didn't take her long, and it gained her a disapproving look from the boy on the other side of Marius. She had seen him before, but they hadn't interacted much; his name was Enjolras.

"It would do you well to arrive on time," Marius mumbled as he took his notes back, nudging her gently with his elbow. Éponine snorted, nudging him right back before she leaned back in her seat. "Says the boy who missed two of his classes yesterday because he was too busy studying with his darling Cosette," she retorted, using air quotes when pronouncing the word 'studying'. Marius's eyes widened at her words, and he quickly busied himself with his notes. There had been a time when Éponine would have done anything to see that delightful tinge of red on his cheeks while he was speaking about her, but she had moved on and they were finally able to be just friends.

Marius Pontmercy was her oldest friend, they had grown up with one another. In fact, he had been the only boy to show her any type of kindness until she was fourteen. Éponine didn't come from a wealthy family, in fact what she came from could hardly be called a family at all. She had worked her ass off to get a scholarship, and now she was finally free. She had been infatuated with Marius since the day he saved her from a particularly nasty beating from her Father, though it wasn't until recently that she discovered those feelings seemed to of faded. They were better off as friends, and she accepted that that's all they would ever be.

"That's all for today, be sure to check the listings posted at the back off the classroom to find your partners," the Professor announced, taking a seat at his desk. "Class is dismissed."

"Partners?" Éponine asked, groaning as she looked expectantly at Marius. "If you would of been here on time, you'd know what he's talking about," Enjolras spoke up, his voice cool as he slowly placed his things in his bag. The brunettes eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over at the blond, her teeth digging into her lower lip. "Thanks Dad," she teased, offering him an innocent smile as he gave her a disapproving look. They had only spoken a handful of times, for he didn't exactly seem to be the chatty type. He had been nice enough, though he was the most serious person that Éponine had ever met. There was a distinguished air about him, one that she wasn't entirely sure what to make of.

"I better be partnered with one of you," came a familiar voice from behind them, Courfeyrac had joined them. He nudged Éponine with his shoulder before he grabbed her hand and led her to the lists. There was nothing romantic going on between the two of them, Courfeyrac was simply incredibly flirtatious. To be honest, Éponine didn't even notice it anymore. "Score!" The male exclaimed, turning on his heel to grin at Marius. "Partners."

"I swear if they put me with someone I don't kno—" Éponine arched a brow as she felt someone press into her back, tilting her head to the side to see Enjolras hovering over her. "Can I help you?" She asked, gesturing to his arm that was now only inches above her head as he scanned the list. She noted the way the corner of his mouth twitched before he withdrew his arm, looking down at her with an unreadable expression. "It looks like you're going to have to," he said, taking a step back. "We're partners."

It could of been worse, right? She could of been paired with someone that she didn't know at all, at least they had mutual friends. Hell, if the rest of the boys liked him she assumed that he couldn't be that bad. "Partners it is," Éponine said, licking her lips as she reached into her bag and pulled out a pen. She then took Enolras's hand into her own, not missing the way that he tensed when she did. She hummed quietly to herself as she scribbled her number onto the back of his hand, accompanied by a small smiley face.

"The smiley face is to remind you to smile," she stated, looking up to see that same unreadable expression on his face. "I'm not sure I've ever seen you do so." She held his gaze for a moment, brown pouring into blue before she stepped back. "Call me." With that, she gave a small wave and was swallowed by the sea of students.

"You know," came Courfeyracs voice, a smirk playing at his lips as he placed a hand on Enjolras's shoulder. "Despite what you believe, there really is no such thing and cooties, mon ami." Marius lifted a hand to his face to stifle his laugher, both of them now beaming at Enjolras. "Shut up," the blond retorted, clearing his throat as he quickly shoved his hand into his pocket; not realizing he had still been staring at it. "I don't have time for that." He sighed heavily, glancing at his friends who were both staring expectantly at him. "Let's go, there's much to be done." Marius sighed as he and Courfeyrac followed their friend, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.

A/N:

This is my first attempt at writing a fic, and I apologize if it's terrible. I adore É/E, and the idea has been floating around at the back of my brain for quite some time now. Please let me know what you all think, and if I should even continue writing. I promise the next chapters will indeed be longer, this was simply to set up the initial plot. x'D