Chapter One:

The Headmaster's office was not an unfamiliar place to Eponine. She had sat in the uncomfortable dark wood chairs many times, sat in front of the imposing oak desk upon which was the golden slate bearing the name Headmaster Patterson. Eponine liked to entertain herself by counting the number of leaves on the small bonsai tree that sat upon his window ledge to the left. If this proved a bad distraction she would re-read the newspaper clippings behind the headmaster's desk which were emblazoned with the alumni achievements of the past.

At this moment in time Eponine had nowhere to look but the face of Headmaster Patterson who was waiting for a reply. As he waited, his thumb impatiently tapped against the side of his other hand, both of which were clasped on his desk. His posture was always impeccable which made Eponine think that he had been in the army once upon a time; before the dark hair on his head had turned grey and receded to leave an island of skin atop his head. He often wore black-rimmed glasses but these had been set down because of the severity of the situation at present. Eponine knew she had to speak soon, but she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to. Normally she would be quick to talk, knowing that she could string any person along with a tall tale that would get her off the hook. But she had been caught red-handed.

She had been stupid. She should have known that the cameras in the cafeteria would be running all night, but her hunger had made her act drastically. She'd snuck in her usual window in the back of the kitchens and made her slow way to the gigantic fridge kept in a small room just off the kitchen. And it wasn't as if the food was particularly good. That's what annoyed her the most. She'd been caught stealing for the first time in her life and it was for mediocre food that was probably a couple of weeks out of date. When she'd been called into the office as she stepped into her school she knew what had happened.

"Ms Thenardier, I will not wait for you." Patterson warned. "If you do not provide an explanation for your actions I will be forced not only to suspend you but to revoke your scholarship." Eponine's eyes, which had been trained on her lap, jumped up to meet his. "Ah," he said with thinly veiled satisfaction, "That got your attention didn't it?"

Eponine took a deep breath. "The reason," she started, "The reason I stole the food was…" She trailed off, the words stuck in her throat. She knew what would happen as soon as she told the truth. She dreaded the look of pity, the way his words would soften and he'd make his suggestions as to how to make things better. She'd never told anyone before. Not since she was seven. She hated that she'd have to break her silence. "I stole the food because otherwise I wouldn't have eaten."

Patterson sat back a little in his chair, still looking at her intensely. "No offence Miss Thenardier, but I could have told you that. I doubt you would've stole for fun…"

Eponine had to cut him off, something that he did not appreciate. "No, you don't understand." She breathed slowly in an attempt to slow the pounding in her heart. "If I hadn't of stolen that food, I wouldn't have eaten for two days."

And there it was. A sort of glaze fell over his eyes. He audibly sighed and she felt the pity drip over her, giving her the feeling of being slowed dipped into honey. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Eponine," He began. "You mean to tell me that you are not able to eat without stealing?" Her eyes were now permanently fixed on her hands that were wringing in her lap. "I was under the assumption that you lived with your parents?"

She needed to finish this conversation already. "Look," She said trying to make her voice sound stronger than it was. "If you want to arrest me or something, do it. If you want to kick me out, do it. But I don't see how talking about my home life will help this situation."

"I want to know about your home life so that the school can help you if you need it." Patterson argued. He didn't know what to make of this girl. She had an incredible intellect-that was evident in her results at school. She attended every class and no teacher had a bad word to say about her. But other than that, she was a ghost. No one knew anything about her. She didn't seem to have any friends within the school. Whether that was because of the socio-economic differences between her and her classmates, he wasn't sure. But he did know that she had made no effort to become a fully involved member of the school. Perhaps if this changed, she would be more willing to accept help.

"Oh yeah, like they helped me and my brother by splitting us up when he was just 6 years old!" Eponine exclaimed quietly. She had been through the system before and it had spat her out worse than when she went in.

"I have a proposal for you Ms Thenardier," Patterson eventually spoke after a tense pause. "I will not be suspending you or revoking your scholarship at this time." Eponine felt relief rush through her. "But," he said and she looked at him, the feeling of elation suddenly short lived. "Only on the condition that you try to become more involved in school life. Join a few clubs, attend a few meetings, mingle you know. Try and make some friends."

Eponine blinked at him. "I steal food and all I have to do for punishment is join a club?" The headmaster nodded. "We have a deal!"

Eponine left the office with the distinct feeling of having just missed a bullet. She felt exhilarated. She had really thought she'd lost everything. This school, as bad as it was at times, was her safe haven. It kept her safe for six hours every-day and stretched her brain. She was forever indebted to the teacher who told her about the scholarship. She had been in Year 10 when her history teacher Ms Martens had pulled her into her office to discuss Eponine's so-called 'hidden potential'. For Eponine had always been very clever. She would call it shrewd. Picking out people's blind spots and being hyper aware of how people act in different situations had helped her immensely when she was just a lowly pick-pocketter in her youth. This had translated strangely into book smarts. It wasn't as if she had some kind of photographic memory or some Good Will Hunting ability at maths, she was just able to clue into exactly what the examiner was looking for. She also enjoyed working her ass off. Studying took up space in her mind that had once been filled up with some not so pleasant things.

She had received the scholarship in her eleventh year at school. Now she was mid-way into her first year at the Hugo Private School and loved the old architecture, the huge libraries and the way the teachers could push her to the heights she had always wished she'd get to. What she was less keen on were the other students.

The problem with attending a private school was that almost every other person had their own trust fund. If they weren't old money they were new money and it felt like every week there was a new type of bag that every girl had to have. It was clear that Eponine did not come from any money. She wore the same blue jeans every day with the same tatty grey jumper that was slightly too small for her now. She tried hard to play it off, pretend that the side glances and raised eyebrows didn't affect her, but it was hard to be friends with a person that automatically looked down on her.

That morning she spent trying to think of one club that she could stomach. She toyed with the idea of joining the book club until she quickly remembered that it was run by Jacqueline Kay whose father was in government. Although she was unsure of Jacqueline's personality, Eponine wasn't sure if her presence near any kind of authority was a good idea. If they caught wind of who her father was, or more accurately, where her father was, it would not turn out good for her.

By lunchtime she was defeated. Sat alone at her usual lunch table she strained to see one person who looked like her. It was just as she had opened her pasta pot that the solution arrived. "Hi!" a boy from her year sat in front of her. She knew him vaguely from her English class but she hadn't paid enough attention to his name. Now, as she looked into his nice hazel eyes, she chastised her apathy.

"Hello?" She said, the greeting transforming into a question as she was so unused to company.

"Sorry, I'm Marius." He introduced himself holding out a hand. Smiling at the weird formality she shook it, noticing the incredibly expensive watch that once upon a time she would have stolen. "Patterson asked me to introduce myself to you." Her heart sank. This was a pity conversation. Walls suddenly sprung up.

"Oh, cool." She said.

"I'm from the ABC group. Patterson said that he'd demanded you join a group and I think this group would suit you." She just continued to look at him. While she detested the idea at having to have help to find a club it was a rarity to be this far in a conversation and not ready to hit him. "It's kind of a debate club. You have straight A's, we need a girl."

"You need a girl?" Eponine asked. She was studying Marius' face trying to connect the dots of his many freckles hoping that she could find some kind of pattern there.

"Yeah, we're under pressure from faculty to get a girl in the club, if we don't we may not be allowed to continue. Some kind of requirement nowadays."

"How irritating it must be to have to lower yourself to accept a girl." She meant it to sound condescending and biting but Marius just laughed.

"Exactly! That's exactly the kind of attitude that could put us lads on our arses." She smiled back at him, finding his laughter to be infectious. He had a rather wide mouth but it complemented his face. "Just come along to one meeting. Tonight, in the Musain."

She peered at him. Should she go? It would solve her biggest problem. And this guy didn't seem too bad, if she could hang out with him maybe it wouldn't be terrible. As well as this, they needed her as much as she needed them. It was a pity invite but a pity invite from both sides. She sighed and prayed she wouldn't regret this. "Okay, I'll come tonight and see if I like it."

Marius beamed at her. "Good, I'll see you then!" He got up to leave but paused. "It is Eponine isn't it?" She nodded and he smiled again. "Pretty name."

Then he was gone. She sat and ate her lunch absolutely certain that her excitement to go tonight was purely from the prospect at her school troubles being over. There was absoltuely no other reason for her excitement but a certain smile continued to creep into her mind for the rest of the day.

The Musain was a bar situated outside of the school which students often frequented. That of course meant that Eponine had never stepped a foot into it before. It was nice, the deep red walls made everything look a little darker but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. A long bar stood along the right wall and fronted a large collection of bottles of every type. Although she was no stranger to the stuff, Eponine didn't recognise half of the bottles and wasn't sure that she wanted to become too familiar with some. Groups of people dotted the bar floors. Booths lined the walls while small tables littered what possibly could be a dancefloor. Having no clue where she was supposed to go Eponine sidled up to the bar resisting the urge to down a drink to calm the nerves that flittered through her body. She felt that everyone was watching her, a stupid thought but one that plagued her.

Salvation arrived as Marius strolled through the doors. Eponine stood up suddenly and this attracted his attention. He bounded over to her. "You came!" She smiled at him feeling a little stupid at how greatly he had changed her mood. "Fantastic! Come with me, I'll show you to the meeting room." He then led her through a black door in the back which opened up to a long corridor which had multiple doors coming off of it. Marius listed off all the doors to her. This one was for wedding receptions, that one was the kitchen door, the other one led to a staircase which took you straight to the roof. Eponine wondered how many hours he had spent in this place to get as knowledgeable as he was. The door they wanted was the sixth from the pub floor. From behind it there was already the unmistakable sound of raised voices. "Looks like they started without us." Marius remarked shrugging before opening the door.

The room was relatively small, a round table took up most of the space and the eight or so boys that were occupying the room were sat around the table on an assortment of chairs. The paint was peeling and the carpet was stained, Eponine almost felt at home. As they entered the shouting stopped and they stared at her. She stared back recognising some of them from her classes. Eventually Marius broke the silence. "Well, everyone this is Eponine, Eponine this is everyone." Eponine meekly raised a hand before quickly dropping it as the boys looked at her. "I told you I'd got a girl for the club remember?" Marius prompted.

"We didn't think she'd start today!" One of the boys said. He had sandy blonde hair cut into a neat crew cut.

"Well…" Marius trailed off. "Why not have her start straight away? It's not like there's a real structure to this!"

Eponine began to panic again, they didn't want her here. She shouldn't be here. Suddenly something snapped in her. Why was she acting like this? She was a Thenardier! She had dealt with far worse than a couple of preppy boys who were dick hurt at having to take on a girl.

"I'm sorry, why are you so weird about having a girl at these little meetings? Are you afraid I can't handle it? Because I'm a girl there's no way I can possibly keep up with your staggering intellect right? Well suck it up because you need me here." The silence kept up for a little longer than she was expecting. Shit, she had ruined it. She would have to join the drama club after this, god.

"Well I guess you'd better sit down Thenardier." One boy said. He had curly black hair and was smiling, clearly amused by her outburst. The other looked at him and he rolled his eyes. "What? She's right, we need her." Eponine smiled triumphantly as a chair was pulled up for her. "And she needs us." His eyes flashed as she sharply looked at him. He winked. "The name's Grantaire. Such a pleasure."

After she had sat down all eyes automatically turned to the blonde haired man in the corner who Eponine didn't recognise. "I guess we should formally start then." He said sitting forward in his chair. By the way the others drank in every word she guessed that this would be the leader of this little club.

Then began a very intense discussion on American Gun Policy. Whatever she had been expecting, this hadn't been it. Marius had mentioned something about debate so she assumed it would be a kind of debate club. She assumed she knew how it went in clubs like that. You get a topic, split into teams and then debate it out. Competitions were attended. But this seemed to have no structure. They talked over it all for hours. Occasionally things would get heated and Enjolras, the leader would have to step in and calm things down. Although it seemed that he was just as hot-headed as his fellow debaters. Eponine found him immensely entertaining. He was so easy to read. When something annoyed him, his eyes would cloud and he'd shuffle in his seat. His eyes rolled whenever an incorrect fact was tossed around and his hands would fly around his head as he spoke. But his words were like fire. She'd never heard someone talk like him. With such confidence, with such authority. Words flew from his mouth like bullets and hit their target with pinpoint accuracy. Occasionally he would go off on a tirade and the group would just sit back and watch. Then in the wake of his speech Grantaire would make a quick quip and they would be off again.

After around two hours of debate it suddenly ended. Eponine was caught off guard, it didn't seem like there had been a winner or even a truce called. It just suddenly stopped. It was then she realised that she hadn't said a single thing the whole time. She felt herself side with a few people but could never bring herself to add anything. Marius turned to her. "So?" He asked expectantly.

"It was…" She tried to find the right words. "Interesting." She settled for ambiguity.

"You'll be back?" Enjolras asked her from across the room. He was not looking at her and so for a second she doubted whether it was to her the question was directed to.

"Yeah, I mean… I kind of have to come back." Eponine said and Marius nodded. "But it's been quite…"

"Interesting?" Grantaire ended for her smirking. "So glad we could entertain."

The room was almost empty now. Just the four of them stood in various stages of departing. Eponine looked around, not sure what to do. She didn't want to be seen to rush out but she didn't want to overstay her welcome. She brushed a hand through her hair.

"Do you need a lift home?" Marius asked suddenly.

"Oh, no thanks." She replied.

"Are you sure? I'd be happy to drop you off. You might be on my way, where do you live?" His questions came out rapid fire.

"I live on Michael's Street." She answered and Marius' eyebrows twitched with confusion. Of course he hadn't heard of her street, it was a long way from the clean streets of the elite. "It's completely out of your way, don't worry I'm fine." Marius shrugged before saying his goodbyes. Eponine walked out with him and welcomed the change of the cool air against her warm skin. The Musain was almost stiflingly hot. She dawdled a little outside of the pub, not quite ready to head back home.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk at this time?" She heard Enjolras' voice behind her. She turned to look at him. Again, he was looking away from her face. If he couldn't even stand the sight of her she wasn't sure why he was offering to walk her home.

"I'll be fine." She told him. "I've done this many times before."

"But Michael's Street is dangerous." He warned her to which she just laughed.

"No shit, I live there. But I'm so glad you warned me of the dangers of the street I've lived on since I was seven." The sarcasm dripped from her lips so easily that she forgot she should be playing nice.

"Fair enough," he said simply. "I'll see you next week then." And with that he disappeared into the darkness.

The walk back to her house was a long one made longer by the aching in her stomach. She couldn't decide how she felt about the group. They seemed as okay as Hugo kids could be. But she hadn't felt very welcomed. Ha, she thought, understatement of the century. They didn't want her there; that was made clear. By the time she was in bed she'd decided that next week she'd speak up, add something to the discussion. She didn't want to just be a token girl that was forced upon them. She would prove that she could hold her own.