"Enj, are you sure that you're alright?"

"Combeferre!" Enjolras sighed in exasperation. "As I've told you before, I'm perfectly fine. Although, I would be much better if you would stop worrying about me and focus on the task at hand!" Combeferre sighed and turned back to his hushed conversation with Courfeyrac about who knows what. However, Enjolras had a sneaking suspicion that it was about him. Behind 'Ferre's back, Enjolras let out his breath which he had not realized he was holding.

Enjolras was lying through his teeth. He most certainly was not as fine as he had said. No, not even close. His head was pounding, his muscles ached, his vision was slightly blurred, and he was sweating, yet freezing at the same time. But there was no time for weakness now! Not when there were speeches to be said, fairness to be fought for, people to be recruited, and plans to be made. Although, he may have been just using that as an excuse. He truly loved their cause, freedom, anyone who looked at him could tell that, but it was a bit of an excuse to not show weakness. Under no circumstance would he ever admit weakness. But that is another story that will be told later, my dear reader.

Enjolras had been trying to act normal; passionate, loud, his typical marble stature; but it was becoming more and more difficult as his conditions worsened. He sat down at his table, (It was always that same table; somewhere in the middle of the room) and attempted to work on his latest writings. But he couldn't even read his slanted handwriting on the page, much less write more of it. So he just hunched over his work, clenched his teeth, and pretended to work. Head bent over his paper, so that his friends wouldn't see his pained expression, Enjolras closed his eyes tightly. Even the dimmed lighting hurt his eyes. What was wrong with him? Ah, well it would probably pass. Or at least that's what he hoped.

Enjolras felt someone's gaze on him and opened his eyes gradually. He glanced up from his "work" and looked to see who it was. A pair of eyes gleamed back at him from the corner of the cafe. A bottle of wine was brought to the lips, but the eyes were still trained on Enjolras. Enjolras made a questioning gesture at the drunk. Grantaire, for that is indeed who it was, pulled himself out of his corner and stumbled towards the blond revolutionary. The blonde straightened up, wincing slightly, and faced the approaching cynic. He really was not in the mood for the brunette's drunk antics.

Enjolras looked expectantly at Grantaire, waiting for him to babble out some drunken speech. To Enjolras' shock, Grantaire seemed rather sober when he began to speak. This was shocking really, mostly because Enjolras had seen him down a few bottles tonight. He had tried to get him to stop, but to no avail. But for 'Taire to ever sound like this was strange enough.

"Hey, hey Apollo. You're not lookin' too good tonight. Why, you're pale as a ghost and aren't even mad at me for drinking!" Grantaire chuckled a bit as he said the last part. He pulled a chair out and sat down heavily next to Enjolras. He took a swig from his bottle of toxins while raising his eyebrows, awaiting his idol's response. Enjolras glared at his nickname and tried to formulate a reasonable explanation. He could say that he was fine, but that would most likely just make Grantaire more aware of his illness. By this time, it had dawned upon Enjolras that if the drunk man seated beside him had realized his sickness, that the others wouldn't be far behind.

"Look Grantaire. I have told Combeferre this, and I suppose I will have to tell you as well. I am perfectly fine, albeit a bit tired. No need for concern." That seemed to be a believable lie. It was true that he hadn't slept and was exhausted from his lack of sleep. So not all of it was a lie. Just the majority of it. But would R realize the lie?

Grantaire seemed to be thinking about his words. Then, out of nowhere, he started laughing. Enjolras stared at him, bewildered by the sudden laughter. The noise hurt his head, but he clenched his fists and ignored the pain. Grantaire continued laughing as only a drunken man could, long and drawn out. Enjolras glanced around the room, instantly noticing all the stares they were getting. The room had been relatively silent before now. Combeferre and and Courfeyrac shared a look before turning back to their previous conversation, signaling that everyone else should follow suit. Thank God for those two, Enjolras thought to himself. Now only Jehan remained staring. The poet had a thoughtful look on his face as he watched. Then, with a word from Joly, he turned away, casting only a few glances over his shoulder.

"What on Earth are you laughing about? What is so very funny?" Enjolras demanded harshly in a hushed voice.

"Apollo, Apollo, Apollo. Look here 'Jolras. I may be a bit drunk, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I can still tell a lie from the truth. You never were a good liar anyway." Grantaire's voice was laced with a bit of humor as he spoke. Grantaire placed his bottle down on the table, as carefully as one might place a baby, and leaned closer to the revolutionary. The blonde could smell the repulsive scent of alcohol on his friend's breath. He scrunched up his nose and focused on the other man's words.

"You really are not fooling anyone here. I mean, temporarily you may have, but not for long. You should have been up and yelling at us all for not working! So. What's up with you?" Enjolras knew when he was trapped. Right now, he was certainly trapped. He decided only to tell part of the truth. If he phrased it correctly, he should be able to get the drunk off his back.

"Alright, fine. You want the truth?" Grantaire looked surprised at how easy it was to convince the usually stubborn man and nodded. "Well, I am tired, that part was the truth, and my head is pounding. Are you happy now?" Enjolras was speaking rather quitely, for the loudness of his own voice was killing his head. Grantaire had a look on his face that seemed to say he was buying the tale. Perhaps, Enjolras thought, perhaps this one might work.

"Well," Grantaire paused to take another sip. "I suppose that it could be believed. You are known for not sleeping. Or for eating, for that matter." Enjolras was about to protest, but stopped himself. It was true. Many a time had Combeferre forced him to eat or sleep. So there really wasn't a very strong counter-argument for that point.

"Go home and sleep it off. That's what I do when I'm drunk. So basically that's what I do all the time." Grantaire laughed and stood up, stumbling slightly. He wandered off towards Bossuet and began humming some song about bottles of wine. Enjolras shook his head lightly and thought about Grantaire's suggestion. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. So he tiredly began gathering his papers and books together.

He bid goodbye to everyone cautiously, claiming that he had business to attend and had to leave now. He promised to be there tomorrow night as always, although he wasn't sure of what condition he would be in then. Of course he didn't say the last part aloud.

Enjolras felt pretty proud. He had made it all the way home, without collapsing or even stopping for longer than ten seconds. He trudged up the stairs, practically sleeping on his feet. Enjolras reached into his waistcoat pocket, fumbling around a few moments before finding the key. He shakily put in the lock. He sighed. Great, he thought. "Now I'm shaking too!" He was mumbling to the air, but he didn't seem to care.

He finally got the key in the lock and unlocked the door. He dragged himself inside, dropping his books and locking the door behind him. He really was not in the mood for any visitors tonight. He lay down, preparing for only a short rest. He soon slipped into unconsciousness, tossing and turning with an illness that he was determined to hide.

hey guys. So I know this is awful. I wrote most of this when I first got into Les Mis and had no idea of most of it. Gah. So OOC. Whatever. I'll fix that soon enough. So please review and I promise that I will update this as regularly as possible during the summer. I have vacations and things as well. So there's that. But uh yeah. Thanks for reading.
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