Chapter 1:
"Cosette I swear to god, if there are pink roses on my desk I'm asking for a new roommate," Eponine yelled at her roommate while fumbling with the doorknob. It's an old doorknob, you have to angle your key, twist it counterclockwise – if only the university had read their 7 emails or listened to their plea to get it replaced. Cosette walked out of her room with a laundry basket. "I apologize for trying to make this place look less dungeon-like." Eponine rolled her eyes and shut the door. "It's a dorm; what did you expect?" "For 20,000 dollars a year, I better be living in Paris."
Cosette handed the laundry basket to Eponine and went to the couch, which seemed to be the one piece of furniture not falling apart. "Are you going home for winter break?" Eponine added her clothes to the pile and set it aside. "Only if you do. I can't take my father's constant interrogation over boys on my own," Cosette laughed. "Aren't you worried about seeing Marius?" Eponine joined Cosette on the couch. "I doubt I will run into him. Even if I do, we left things on good terms." "You left things with 'you're a whiny child, and I have better things to do than listen to you compare me to sunsets.'" "Is that not good terms?" Cosette smiled.
Cosette and Marius were the couple: attached at the hip, gazing into the other's eyes, whispering 'I love you' when it's unnecessary. That was until Marius become obsessed with Cosette. He would hang out in her garden until she got home, tag along to family events, and when he was too busy to breathe down her neck, he would text her constantly. Some call it endearing, most call it creepy. They both moved on in college. Marius started dating any girl that would listen, Cosette focused her time into volunteer work at the hospital.
Eponine, on the other hand, had never been in a relationship, unless you count her fling with Montparnasse. Montparnasse was the outcast of the outcasts. He was a skinny pale kid that wore a cloak. Nonetheless, girls dropped at his feet. He kicked them all to the side without a second look for Eponine. He was head over heels, not for Eponine, but for her father's gang. He didn't use Eponine, he had a ticket in. He just needed someone to open the gate for him. Eponine was happy to oblige.
Now, they're seniors in college. Cosette is working towards her nursing degree. Eponine is majoring in visual arts, minoring in graphic design. Marius is majoring in business, but all he wants to do is find love. The rest of the group still has years to go with law school or medical school. Except Bahorel, he's somewhere in Europe with the navy, and Courfeyrac, who is in California pursuing an acting career.
"We've grown up pretty fast," Cosette turned towards Eponine. "We're going to be out on our own in a few months. We're going to be paying bills, working long hours, going to bed alone." Cosette's eyes started to water. "At least you went into a reliable job. What am I going to do? Design the cover of my mixtape?" Eponine and Cosette both laughed. "No," Cosette reached for Eponine's hand, "You're going to become a photographer and write, or you'll work for an advertising company, or you'll live in a dumpster behind my house," Eponine smiled, "You have so much faith in me." Cosette continued, "Whatever you want to do, you'll find a way to do." They sat in silence for a moment. "Now," Cosette started, "do the laundry and pack your bag. I'm leaving here at 7 am sharp tomorrow. If it snows before we get there I will start to cry."
*Author's note: Thank you for reading this chapter! I will update soon. All characters belong to Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Please give feedback!