Hi guys! It's MariusxEponine3 rewriting my old fanfic with my new account. I loved my old story, but life happens, and I was sadly unable to finish it. And when I found time again and motivation to write it, I forgot I used my middle school email to write it.

But here we are, rewriting the story so it's much better and fleshed out and the grammar is good haha.

And for all of you are new, thank you for reading this and welcome to my story about how much I love MariusxEponine. :)

Eponine stood at the top of the ledge as she peered down to the bottom of the Seine. She had just slipped away from a beating from her father and the treacherous hands of Montparnasse. The rain poured down her face, mixing with her tears. Her heart felt heavy and her entire body felt cold as the rain forced her thin and torn up dress to adhere to her small frame. The sky was dark and the streets around her were completely empty.

She had planned to die.

"It would be simple", she thought.

She would jump off the ledge into the Seine, and being a street urchin, no one would care. No one would miss her. Her sister had died two years ago at the hands of her father, her brother Gavroche had run away, and her best friend had left her.

But she just stood there, frozen, unable to take the final step off of the ledge. She had made up her mind that there was nothing left for her and that the pain of this living hell was unbearable, yet she felt as if some force once preventing her from taking that final step off the ledge.

Unbeknownst to Eponine, the streets were not so empty and that unknown force preventing her from jumping was about to come to view.

A young man, Marius, carrying school papers and law books, was running back to his apartment after accidentally falling asleep at his University's library.

"Dammit all my texts are getting drenched and I forgot an umbrella"

He was studying hard for his upcoming exam after an ABC meeting with some fellow students.

He continued to run and cover his papers with his coat and arms (which honestly did nothing) as he approached the bridge above the Seine.

"Great I'm almost home". The bridge was only a few minutes from his apartment.

But just as his pace increased, he suddenly began to slow down. He noticed a thin figure… a girl who could be no more than a year younger than him, standing on the edge of the Seine bridge. She wasn't moving but before Marius could process anything his body shot out towards the girl, abandoning his papers, and grabbing her arm (which was thinner than he anticipated)

Eponine whipped her head to turn towards Marius and her puffy and swollen eyes widened. She could not tell if it was the tears or the rain, or even both that were clouding her vision. She couldn't believe such a handsome man was holding her arm.

She quickly glanced over his facial features, back to his hand that made contact with her arm, and then back to his eyes. His beautiful eyes were a mix of green and blue hues and the freckles on his face resembled a starry night.

Marius was looking over the girl as well. He noticed her thin body. He eyes the scars and bruises covering her one exposed leg form her torn up dress and the arm he tightly grasped. He noticed the black eye she had but also the deep hazel color her irises gave off. Her face was beautiful but so much sadness was buried beneath her expression.

Eponine did not speak. Marius was the one to break the initial silence.

"Madam, I am sorry for surprising you but I could not help myself. It's as if my body reacted to seeing you and I felt I had to save you. Miss, please, whatever reason it may be, it is not worth it to throw your life away.

Eponine was now staring at him, but not from the same initial high angle, she was smaller than him now. She hadn't realized that Marius gently pulled her down and that her body unconsciously followed.

" There, that's much better" Marius held both of her arms in his hands, still directly looking at her.

Eponine finally found her voice again "Monsieur, I want to die. I have nothing, no one left. I'm all alone and I am ready to die. I can't take this hell anymore. I barely escaped a beating and a ..." Eponine couldn't put into words the horrors she new Montparnasse attempted to force her to do.

Luckily Marius did not pry.

Marius had encountered dozens of street urchins on his daily commutes to class and have them money and the occasional loaf of bread. But he never felt such conviction to care for one until now. Something about the girl's fragility and beauty hidden behind all the dirt and pain, made him feel like he had to help her.

"Well… Ummm… miss" Marius wasn't sure if this was the right decision " I do not know you and your situation but… Stay with me tonight, I want to show you that there can still be joy in living." Marius said nervously but all the while maintaining a smile.

Eponine eyes furrowed as she forced her arms out of his grasp "I am sorry monsieur but I am not a cheap prize that you can win through those sort of means" she clutched her shoulders trying her best to hide her figure under her thin dress.

Marius's face turned a slight shade of red after fully understanding the interpretation the girl made from his offer. He raised his arms scratching his head in annoyance at himself.

He frantically tried to fix the situation

"NO! I don't mean it like that at all. I just want you to stay at my place so we can talk. You said you have nowhere to go and I live close by and I thought, since you feel alone, having someone to speak to could help you see you can find other people and comfort in new places and the life is worth living and I'm very sorry but….."

Eponine caught off Marius from his rambling. She grabbed his arm just as he did when she stood at the ledge overlooking the Seine.

"Monsieur, I will go" Eponine felt comforted by the boy and could tell his motives were genuine and kind. She thought to herself, this may be the reason her body did not allow her to jump.

Marius stared at the girl and her thin hand grasping his arm. He simply nodded and picked up the now soaked papers he had abandoned to save the girl. They walked to Marius's apartment, Eponine followed Marius a few paces behind.

As Marius was unlocking his door he realized something, he did not even know her name.

He turned to the girl, noticing her face looked different. Her eyes were brighter and a slight smile crept onto her face as he made eye contact with her

"Miss, I can't believe I hadn't asked but what is your name?"

"My name is Eponine, Monsieur."

"Eponine" Marius whispered under his breath. "I like that name"

Eponine turned her head so that her hair covered the evident blush that was now present on her face.

"Thank you, Monsieur, And yours?" She whispered

"Marius"

"Monsieur Marius" Eponine smiled.

Marius smiled and quietly laughed. He reached out to touch the Eponine's shoulder. She shuddered at his warm touch.

" Ponine, you don't have to say Monsieur. Marius alone is fine"

Marius finished unlocking the door and he entered with Eponine a few steps behind.

She looked down and smiled "Marius" she whispered under her breath.

She even noticed how he called her "Ponine" and she quite liked the nickname.

She followed Marius upstairs into the living room of his apartment.