"You know what I hate about customers?"
Enjolras didn't even bother to turn to face her. He took a long drag of his cigarette and let the smoke slowly pour out of his mouth. Eponine wasn't sure if she should follow up her statement or wait for him to respond.
"What?"
"They always complain about the price of the meal"
The moment the words left her mouth she regretted saying anything in the first place. He sounded tired and she was certain he didn't want to talk to her.
"I mean no one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to eat here" she laughed uneasily. What a painfully-awkward follow-up.
He let out a soft chuckle. He turned to her and the barest hint of a smile ghosted his lips. Eponine felt her heart flutter.
"I wish I was still young and full of life like you" he said.
"You talk like an old man" she challenged.
He scoffed, "Twenty-seven is a lot older than nineteen"
She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out and he just tossed his cigarette on the ground and crushed it beneath the rubber toe of his sneaker. He looked up at her and stared with such an intensity she almost started to blush. In this moment she wished more than anything that he would say something to even hint that he saw her as anything more than a pathetic puppy dog. In the past few months Eponine had become infatuated with him. She painfully overthought every encounter, every look, every touch. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, with his sharp jawline, blonde ringlets, and cerulean eyes that conveyed more passion than anyone else in this stupid restaurant combined. Whenever any political or social justice issue was brought up he could work himself into a fiery rage and rant for hours. He wasn't the type to always have something witty to say (no that was Courfeyrac and Grantaire), but she had a feeling he was the most honest person she had ever met. Eponine was in love.
Enjolras sighed and walked back into the restaurant. It would be another few minutes before her bus arrived but he didn't come outside to keep her company. Just a cigarette break.