Helloooooooo!

This is the run of the mill Les Mis AU with the love triangle. It's from the point of view of Cosette and Éponine.

Also, in this story, Éponine is definitely more like brick!Éponine in the sense that she's meaner, crazier, and not as sympathetic, although her madness is much more internalized. She's still not pretty and mostly a bitch and kind of evil and insane and has blonde hair instead of brown the way she does in the book. I understand many people's translations of the brick have her with brown hair, but mine says blonde. Plus, Cosette's going to be brunette, and I want to create more contrast between the two girls.

I apologize. I'm not anti-Éponine, I'm just anti-romanticized Éponine. I'm actually quite fond of the character.

I'm not as brilliant as Victor Hugo.

Enjoy! :)

When the new girl shows up, Éponine suspects that everyone in her sophomore class is a little entranced. There's something special about her, they can all tell. She's beautiful, well dressed, and delicate. The teachers praise her for her participation in class and she always hands in her homework, but while she blooms in the classroom, she's quiet and introverted in a crowd.

When their homeroom teacher makes her stand in front of everyone and introduce herself, her name floats off of her tongue like a song. Cosette Fauchelevent. Whoever she is, she's not like any other girl here, from the bottom of her caramel brown leather high heeled boots to her perfectly fitted skinny jeans to her soft blue cashmere sweater to the small diamond studs in her ears.

From her seat in the back of the room, Éponine squints. There's something vaguely familiar about her. It's like Éponine knew her, a long, long time ago. Whoever she is, the eldest Thernárdier knows immediately: if she doesn't do something soon, this sweet, pretty little thing is going to invade her turf.

It's always been something of a shock to Éponine that she's popular, at least with the guys. The girls all nurse some quiet resentment of her. But despite their dislike of the blonde, every girl in her class has at least some grudging respect for her, in a different way than how most the popular girls are well liked at her school. Éponine isn't that pretty, or well dressed. True, her blonde hair is thick and shiny, and her gray green eyes large, but she's too skinny, her features gaunt and sunken in, and her nose large and crooked. Her clothes are skimpy and trashy, consisting of short shorts and skirts and torn jeans and leather jackets and fishnet tights and combat boots and Converse. Éponine smells like cigarettes and beers, and while she's not outright mean, she is very snarky and snappish.

So why are the other students drawn to her? Despite her flaws, Éponine knows that she's considered her own flavor of cool. She's the only girl who has never been caught smoking during detention or drinking behind the dumpster, and even though the teachers dislike her sharp tongue and lack of respect, they've never been able to fail her because she always manages to turn in perfect homework and projects. She's fiery, headstrong, stubborn, street smart, cool, and witty. So, even though she holds the record for most detentions in the sophomore class and she knows she'll never have any girl friends, Éponine knows that she is indisputably cooler than the rest of the girls in her class.

But this girl makes Éponine feel uneasy, even more so than her father does when he's drunk or Montparnasse when he brushes his lips against Éponine's neck and whispers something beautiful and slightly taunting in her ear. Because this girl holds the attention of the entire class, in a different way than the way 'Ponine has been able to.

Images float into her head about the type of popular girls who are kind, smart, bubbly, and nice to everyone. They're inclusive. They marry their high school sweethearts and don't drink or swear or get tattoos. This is the type of girl Cosette is, 'Ponine can tell. And if she doesn't put the new girl in her place, Cosette is going to have the entire sophomore class under her spell.

Éponine refuses to let that happen.

That's why, during lunch, she marches over to Cosette's locker, glad that she wore her intimidating combat boots and camouflage jacket for the first day of school. As 'Ponine predicted, the tall brunette is standing by her locker, loading her new notebooks into her caramel brown leather hobo bag for the classes she has after lunch. I bet she's the type who gets sooo excited about the first day of school, wetting herself with excitement over her new pencil cases and books, Éponine sneers.

"We need to talk." The blonde hisses as she approaches Cosette.

Cosette turns to face her, and, wow oh wow, is Éponine glad she's doing something about her before it's too late. Because Cosette is even prettier up close than she is from the back of the classroom. Her chestnut brown hair is thick, shiny, and perfectly styled in a curled side ponytail that frames her rosy complexion and draws attention to the streaks of red and gold in her brown hair. Cosette's huge blue eyes are the exact color of sapphires, framed by long dark lashes, and accentuated by her perfectly arched eyebrows. The lips, small, glossy, and pale pink, the nose, ski-jump and delicate, the skin, flawless and pale with a rosy tint.

"Hello." Cosette smiles at the other girl, revealing perfect white teeth. "What's your name?"

A thought dawns on Éponine, and she realizes in horror where she knows her.

No.

Not her.

Anyone but her.

This can't be happening.

"Éponine Thernardiér." Éponine smirks, waiting for it Cosette to recognize her.

And, just like she expected, something crosses over Cosette's face, and her smile falters ever so slightly. "Oh. Hi, Éponine." Cosette says, and although Éponine can tell she's trying to put on an amiable front, there's something new and slightly nervous in her tone. "How are you?"

"I'm fucking fine." She snaps. "Let me get one thing straight. I know what you are."

"What do you mean?" Cosette asks as her eyes widen. She is finally allowing her smile to melt away, leaving her looking wide-eyed and scared. Her tone is no longer energetic and blithe but small and nervous.

"You're a fake." Éponine hisses. "A sneak. You'll lure everyone in and have them in your trap, make them love you. But I'll know. I'll always know. You're evil, Euphrasie," Éponine pauses, letting the name Cosette carried as a child settle in. The message is clear: you can't run from me. "And I'm going to make sure everyone finds out what you are."

There's a silence. Cosette just stands there and blinks, undeniable hurt on her face. For a small half second, Éponine feels a small flash of guilt, and she wants to apologize, ask the brunette if they can start over and become friends. But then, as quickly as the feeling came came, it is gone, and Éponine is left only with satisfaction at the hurt on Cosette's face and the sheer pleasure at the fact that Cosette looks as though she's going to cry.

Just when Éponine is sure Cosette is going to run away in tears, Cosette blinks, as though telling herself to get a grip. She leans in close so that she and Éponine are face to face. There is a surprising hardness in her voice when she says, "What have I ever done to you?"

Cosette can see Éponine's face soften for a moment, and Cosette admits that despite her obvious malnourishment, Éponine is still something close to pretty. Her grayish green eyes are big and an interesting color, and framed by long lashes. Her skin, though suntanned and windburned, is clear, and at this angle, Cosette can see a small sprinkling of freckles.

But then, Éponine's face hardens again, and all Cosette sees are harsh features, accentuated by thick eye liner and bright red lipstick. "I. Will. Destroy you." Éponine snarls. "Make no mistake, Lark. Don't you dare try to assemble a little army against me. I don't care if you've got the rest of the class fooled. I can see right through your flimsy veneer, and I won't rest until I've made sure that everyone else at this school can see it too, you understand?" Éponine breathes on Cosette's face, and Cosette has to resist the urge to cough at the strong scent of cigarettes and beer.

Cosette inspects Éponine's face, wondering if there is any way to appeal to her. When Éponine shows no sign of surrender, Cosette straightens herself up and stands as tall and proud as she can. "I would like to make one thing perfectly clear to you, Miss Thernardiér." Cosette replies in a short, clipped tone. "You are going to leave me alone. I have done nothing to you, and I will not be intimidated into submission by anyone who has absolutely no reason to dislike me."

Éponine's eyes narrow. "Fine, then." She barks. "Have it your way." With that, she storms away, her combat boots making loud, thumping noises on the linoleum tiles.

Cosette breathes a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted on her first day at a normal school was make enemies, and here she is, not even halfway through the day, and she's already made an enemy out of one of the scariest girls she'd ever seen. Even though Cosette is wearing heels, thus making her taller, Éponine had screamed don't mess with me from the moment Cosette had laid eyes on her.

Sighing, Cosette closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and makes her way to the cafeteria, shiny metal lunchbox in hand. As she bounces down the halls, Cosette can't help feeling like a seven-year old would on their first day bringing in a special new lunchbox. After fighting tooth and nail with her father to go to regular school instead of being taught by a private tutor, Papa has finally allowed her to go to school like a regular sixteen year old. Despite everything, it feels wonderful to finally be a normal teenager!

Just as she is walking around the corner, Cosette feels a small force push her into a wall. Before she can scream, Cosette finds herself being shoved into a janitor's closet. The door slams shut, but not before Cosette spots a flash of blonde hair and fishnet tights.

"Éponine!" She screeches. No answer. "Éponine, let me out now!"

On the other side, Cosette can hear the sound of a door locking.

"'PONINE!" Cosette bellows with as much force as she can muster. "LET ME OUT OR I SWEAR I'LL MAKE YOU SORRY YOU WERE EVER BORN!"

Silence. Wonderful, Cosette thinks, pounding on the door, I'm locked in a janitor's closet on my first day of school. Could this get any worse?

Meanwhile, Éponine races to the lunchroom, eager to put her plan into action. That bitch is going to be sorry she ever messed with me.

"You guys!" She exclaims as she jogs over to her table, where Montparnasse, Jacqués, Adrien, and Dennis are sitting. Éponine does not have any girl friends. While her tough, impenetrable manner is irresistible to boys, her sarcasm and lack of social skills or tact has earned her nothing but resentment among the girls. "Did you hear about the new girl, Cosette?"

"Yeah, I saw her in the hallway this morning and damn," Montparnasse grins, and Éponine clenches her teeth. Much as they pretend to hate each other, Montparnasse is hers, and she is Montparnasse's. That girl has no right coming and making eyes at her man. Well, when I'm through with her, no one will even want to be caught looking at her. Éponine smirks.

"Well, I just saw her eatin' her lunch in our homeroom. She was sittin' all upright, clearly thinkin' somethin' of 'erself." Éponine lies, hoping desperately that Montparnasse won't be able to see through her.

"She's probably lonely, 'Ponine." Dennis says good naturedly. "We should invite her to eat with us! Clearly, she's shy."

Éponine inwardly groans at Dennis' kind nature. Despite his scary appearance, Dennis is good-hearted and kind, and he really isn't reacting the way Éponine wants him to.

"I did, idiot." She hisses. "That's what I came to tell you." By that time, a few other people, noticing the drama and wanting fresh dirt on the new girl, have come to join, and a small crowd is slowly but surely gathering around their table. Perfect. Éponine counts to ten, giving the students time to crowd around her table so they can all hear before she continues. "I was watching her eat lunch, and I thought, 'Oh, no. The poor thing has no friends, and is clearly shy!'" Éponine draws out, doing her best to look compassionate.

"You're such a hero, 'Ponine." A girl says admiringly from her spot in the crowd.

Éponine smiles inwardly. "So I go over to her, I says, 'Hello, I'm Éponine! My friends would love for you to come eat with us!' And, would you believe it? She says, 'No, thank you. I'm far better off away from that kind of company.' And she sniffs a little and goes back to eatin' her lunch." Éponine lets the story sink int. "Don't you all see? She thinks she's better than us!"

"That can't be." Adrien says, frowning. "I thought she looked excited. Plus, when I went up to say hi to her, she promised to sit with us at lunch."

"It's obvious she was playing with you, Adrien." Éponine rolls her eyes impatiently. "I'm telling you, she's too big for her britches."

"I guess." Jacqués says, looking unsure.

Rolling her eyes, Éponine plops down at a chair and plops her combat boot-clad feet on the table.

Cosette beats on the door. "Can somebody please help?" She begs. When she realized that Éponine had locked her in the closet, she had willed herself not to cry. Crying is for pansies. I have no reason to cry. There is no way that Éponine is going to get that kind of reaction from her.

"Hello?" A kind, male voice comes from the other side of the door. "Is someone there?"

"Yes! Yes!" Cosette cries desperately. She hears the sound of a doorknob turning from the other side, and the door opens to reveal a tall, handsome, friendly looking young man.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Cosette cries excitedly as she practically leaps out of her prison.

"It's no problem, although," The boy raises one eyebrow. "What were you doing in there?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Cosette smiles sheepishly.

The boy chuckles. He's got a nice laugh, Cosette notices. Warm, kind, amicable. Add the black curls, tan skin, and sea-green eyes, and he's definitely one of the cutest boys Cosette's ever seen-although, admittedly, Cosette doesn't know many boys.

"Say, what's your name?" He asks her.

"I'm Cosette Fauchelevent." Cosette replies.

"Marius Pontmercy." The boy smiles. "What year are you?"

"Sophomore." For a moment, she contemplated lying about her age, but Papa always said lying will always come back to you. "What year are you?"

"I'm actually a 1L down at Columbia University Law School. I was stopping down to say hello to one of my teachers from when I went here."

So he's older than I thought. Cosette knows she should take it as a warning sign, but something about their imminent age difference thrills her in a new, exciting way.

"Well, Marius Pontmercy, my deepest gratitude for getting me out of this closet. Lord knows how long I would have been in there if you hadn't come along." Cosette beams.

"My pleasure. I'll see you around, Cosette." Marius winks at her, smiles, and walks down the hallway, leaving an infatuated sixteen year old to watch him leave while wondering what just happened.

And even when the other students hiss in her ear "Snob" and "Bitch" as they walk through the hall to math class, and even when the kids snicker and whisper when she raises her hand in class, Cosette isn't upset like she should be. Why? Because all day she is holding onto the friendly smile and warm green eyes and the thought that she has indeed made one friend. And that's worth the acceptance of the entire sophomore class.

There it was! I hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, I like Eponine, I really do. In the brick, I think she's one of the most fascinating characters. I wanted to take a look at the darker side of her personality that's more evident in the brick. And just so you know, 1L is a term for a first year law student, so Marius is about twenty one.