a/n: hello! so i have recently started an obsession with les mis and the e/e ship. this is my first les mis fic after a long fanfiction hiatus, so i hope it's not too horrible haha

yes and pm me for my tumblr and other ffn account

oh yes and also the title i got from a lydia bennet video. i love lizzie bennet diaries guys!

i had to channel my inner girl and re-read pretty little liars to achieve the designer-brand-as-adjectives thing. pretty cool.


The wind was blowing, and people and animals alike ran for cover from the rainy, cold weather. Thick, fluffy clouds covered the dusky sky while the city sat sombrely. The world was laden with a sense of grey, and the usual hustle and bustle of the city was snuffed out by the overwhelming gloom that settled in the air.

A bright figure in a Burberry black leather trench coat and deep red Prada pumps strutted radiantly amidst the grey life around her, swinging a Coach handbag. With her long, straight blonde hair covered under a stylish black bonnet and deep blue eyes, she had the familiar face of a magazine cover girl. She held up in her right hand a blood red umbrella, and in the other, a high-tech cell phone. She stepped elegantly along the wet cobblestone sidewalk.

The woman stopped in front of a quaint, tall building. Fastening her umbrella up and stuffing it in her handbag, she grabbed a set of keys from the pocket of her trench coat and pushed it into the doors of the building, nodding to the men in uniform as she passed them. She entered into a large, simple yet stately lobby, with glass chandeliers hanging fragilely from the ceiling, and pristine armchairs encircling round coffee tables. The lobby was empty except for her, the doormen and a woman fiddling with her chignon behind the marble counter, looking immensely bored. Her heels clicked as she sauntered across the room.

She nodded to the woman with the chignon, and proceeded to head for the elevators.

When the expensively-dressed woman reached a door in the building, she rapped it daintily. The wooden door opened to reveal a stylish flat, and another beautiful, familiar-looking young woman. This other woman had long, fine wavy brown hair that reached her waist and sparkling brown eyes. Every aspect of her was perfect: her clothes were clearly of designer brand, her makeup was perfectly applied, and her skin looked silky smooth. She grinned when she saw the blonde woman, her cherry lips opening to reveal a set of pearly white teeth.

"Cosette Fauchelevant!" The brown haired girl cried out, then flung herself onto the other's arms. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

The blond-haired woman named Cosette pulled back with a warm smile, then leaned in to kiss the woman on both cheeks. "Éponine Thénardier! You haven't changed at all since the two last months, I can see."

"Oh, come in; come in, Cosette, if I'd known you were coming over…" Éponine trailed off.

She led Cosette into her luxurious home. There were floor-to-ceiling windows that displayed the nearly-invisible skyline of London, white furniture scattered about. Despite the beauty of the flat, clothes were strewn everywhere, and the kitchen was messy with unwashed dishes.

Cosette immediately sat down on a white couch facing the flat-screen television, while Éponine left for the kitchen to the left of the living room.

"I'm making tea," Éponine said, as she poured water into an old-fashioned kettle. "I hope you aren't too high class for some ordinary Earl Grey, darling."

Cosette laughed, and proceeded to dump her overpriced handbag onto the leather couch, spilling out various items. "I'm not nearly high class enough to refuse Earl Grey! I hope you don't mind, I'm only in town because of the fashion show. Care to attend with me?"

Éponine nodded, evidently amused. It pleased her immensely that her best friend and fellow celebrity, Cosette Fauchelevant, was a famous fashion designer and thus enabled her to go to the fancy fashion shows that Cosette was forced to attend. It was one of the many advantages to being friends with a fashion designer.

"Of course, babe. How's Marius? Still as absentminded as ever?"

Marius Pontmercy, despite his good looks, was famous not only for being a singer-turned-actor, but for being the most absentminded man on the planet. He was oblivious to Éponine's affections towards him for over a year, which Éponine eventually got over when he met Cosette. He frequently forgot to attend important meetings and dinners and dates, but Cosette didn't care; as long as they had each other, she would be happy.

"Yes, of course. More than ever, in fact." Cosette grimaced. "So, Éponine, what's the latest news?"

Cosette fished out her pink Miu Miu makeup bag and pulled out a bottle of Chanel green nail polish. She sat criss-cross on the white leather couch, and slipped out of her Prada heels and threw them down on the white carpet, then began to paint her toenails.

Éponine shrugged. "I'm doing all right, I suppose. Filming the movie on Friday. Busy as ever. What about you?"

Éponine plopped herself down on the comfortable tan armchair across from her friend. She suddenly let out a loud yawn.

"Are you okay?" Cosette's sharp blue eyes softened. "You shouldn't be yawning when it's only four in the afternoon."

"Gee, thanks," said Éponine sarcastically. "I'm exhausted. Yesterday we wrapped up shooting for The Prince at, like three in the morning. Haven't had any time for sleep. How do you manage to look so good even when you're tired, Cosette? I will never understand."

The Prince was Éponine's latest movie, and by far her favourite of all her other films. Perhaps it was the gorgeous set, or the intriguing plotline and perfect script, but Éponine felt that this indie film was surely an Oscar contender. She starred in The Prince as the heroine, a young girl journeying around her city, trying to find her true "prince". After reading over the script a couple of times, Éponine found herself liking her part as Lucy more and more. If only her co-star would show up. They'd just begun filming, and her romantic counterpart had yet to show himself. She wondered who he was. It wasn't like the producers not to give any mention of him to the cast.

Cosette fanned her toes in a desperate attempt to dry her nails. She lost her patience soon enough, then began to hobble around the modest flat.

"It's not my fault I'm perfect," she replied smugly.

Éponine glared at her, and the two girls immediately burst out laughing. The tea kettle began to whistle. Éponine rose up from her seat to pour tea for them.

She handed Cosette a fine, china teacup along with her own, and they gossiped over their lives while stirring their tea. It'd been some time before their last meeting, yet their friendship continued on being steadfast and true. It was one of the things that both Éponine and Cosette would never be unfaithful to. Éponine sat back down, this time beside her best friend.

Flipping on the television set, Éponine pretended not to have heard the zealous news lady announce her co-star's latest squeeze, before moving on to herself.

"Éponine Thénardier continues to remain a very private woman, and has not revealed any details to her relationship status. But I can safely assume that she's single, isn't that right, Jim?" The television blared, and Cosette snapped her eyes up from her toes to watch it. "She's a gorgeous girl, but rather snobby in her own manner, isn't she?"

Cosette grabbed the remote from Éponine's hand and quickly changed the channel. Oprah Winfrey appeared in her usual form and began talking about life. Éponine's face was impassive, but the slight quirk in her eyebrow gave her emotions away.

"Don't listen to those people, Ep."

Cosette patted her on the shoulder comfortingly as Oprah cried out to a cheering crowd of adoring fans, "you get a car, and you get a car, you ALL get a car!"

"Really, all they do is spread lies."

Everybody knew Éponine's love of privacy. Ever since she ran headfirst into Hollywood's prestigious A-list category, the media dubbed her the "Elusive Éponine". It was absolutely maddening. Her critics despised her lack of control over the paparazzi, and she was called upon frequently for this inability, which infuriated both Éponine and Cosette.

It was a funny thing, too, just how different Cosette was. Cosette basked in the spotlight. Her good looks, coupled with her wit and charm, made her the perfect candidate for the media's adored good girl of Hollywood. She always had the best smile, the funniest answer to interview questions, and the most stunning dress during award show season. Not to mention, she just had to be engaged the good boy of Hollywood, Marius Pontmercy, Éponine's famous former co-star.

Maybe it made sense to Cosette, but Éponine never really understood why she and Cosette were best friends. They met over a year ago, when Cosette was still fresh and Éponine already feeling overconfident after finishing her first film. She was ashamed to admit how rude and awful she was to Cosette, but gradually they warmed up to each other and quickly bonded when they did a movie together, pulling pranks on both each other and the rest of the cast. It wasn't a very successful movie; nevertheless, the two still had great fun together, and it did bring them closer.

Still, their differences troubled her. How could the sunny, outgoing blonde, who was the definition of a dumb cheerleader, become best friends with a moody, pessimistic girl with a tinge of social anxiety?

Éponine was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Cosette staring at her with an indescribable emotion.

Cosette leaned in with a wide smirk and said, "Ep, you'll never guess whom Marius met the other day!"

"Hmm?"

Cosette whispered with excitement, "Enjolras!"

Éponine gasped. "THE Enjolras? The activist-actor guy? The one who threatened to take George Clooney down? That one?"

"Yes, yes, THE Enjolras. You know, for an activist and everything, he's actually pretty nice. He's not as explosive as you might expect."

Enjolras was a famous name in Hollywood. At fifteen, he began his infamous acting career by starring in a highly controversial, yet successful film. He then acted in a string of high profile, triumphant films, earning him an Oscar and worthy recognition all before his twentieth birthday. Enjolras' career turned sour when he was sucked into the activism, and he began protesting and promoting anti-prejudice. His name, though synonymous with Hollywood's most prestige actors to this day, was forever tainted after his arrest last year. But celebrities like Éponine and Marius, young and innocent, admired his bravery and fire, and although they were not famous when he was, Enjolras still remained an important icon in their hearts.

"No!" Éponine's voice was shocked. "When did he get out of prison? I thought he was supposed to be in there for what, two, maybe three years?"

Cosette's red lips grinned madly. "Apparently not! And from what Marius described, he's back and very good looking."

Éponine's hand flew to her mouth. "Cosette! You're engaged! Really, it's scandalous the way you talk sometimes!"

Cosette just laughed.

It was quiet for a moment, the both of them contemplating. It seemed as though the world was sucking its breath, waiting for the plot to thicken. Outside, the rain had stopped and the birds were singing. Sunlight peeked in through the masses of grey clouds, quickly turning the sombre sky into a light, cheerful blue hue. Éponine's flat lit up from her immense floor-to-ceiling windows.

"He's acting again, you know." Cosette's voice was softer, sweeter, and all traces of teasing were completely gone.

"Really?" Éponine pretended to be interested. In truth, and no offense to him, she had more important matters on her mind, such as memorising her script.

Cosette glanced at friend, picking up the slightest hint of sarcasm in Éponine's voice. She sighed inwardly. It was just like Éponine to refuse a man like Enjolras; she was too concerned with something other than boys. Sometimes, she cursed Éponine's disinterest in men. She was pretty enough to date anyone she liked, but it wasn't as though she tried very hard. Maybe if she just put in more effort, Éponine could've been married, like Cosette.

"Come on, Ep, you're twenty-three. Don't you at least want some male companionship?"

Éponine paused. "I guess so."

It made Éponine squirm, with all this talk of men. Sure she liked men, she's had many boyfriends over the last five years, but none really stuck to her. Until, that is, the very last boyfriend she had, about a year ago. She was very attached to him, and he dumped her. Éponine never really did get over that, and after meaningless flings—too meaningless to be classified as "boyfriends"—she gave up on the ideal fantasy of boyfriends and husbands. If anything, she was destined to die alone.

"Well, what's wrong with Enjolras?"

"Nothing, nothing at all! I'm sure he's perfectly nice…but I don't care about him."

Cosette sipped her tea. "Well, it's a shame, really. Because Marius told me that Enjolras' new movie is also called The Prince."


a/n: that wasn't too bad, was it? Review please!

also i won't be able to update for a 2 weeks because i will be in new york, sorry :( but chapter 2 is already halfway finished

thanks for reading xx