Hey guys! So, I wasn't originally going to write this as I had written Echoes instead, but WeAllHaveAnEscape suggested that I write it. So here it is!

Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters

Also, I would like to dedicate this to WeAllHaveAnEscape as I would not have written it has she not suggested it. So, without further ado, here it is!

Eponine winced as she plunged the needle into her arm. It wasn't the first time she'd turned to drugs as an escape from the constant pain and torment she felt. She felt the familiar rush as the crystal meth entered her blood stream. Her heart sped up and her vision blurred, the dark alleyway she was sitting in almost seemed to disappear. She felt numb and her thoughts faded, being replaced by voices. Whenever she used drugs she heard the voices. They were hallucinations, of course, but Eponine did not realise that when she was intoxicated. They seemed real to her. Some of the voices weren't too bad, some were absolutely awful. They told her things, horrible things. She'd nearly killed herself because of some of the things they said. Eponine had jumped in front of a moving car. She'd been severely injured, but she had lived, though she hadn't been found for a couple of days (the driver of the car had sped off, not wanting to deal with the fact that he'd hit someone), by which point the drugs had left her system. When they'd asked her what had happened, Eponine had told them that she just hadn't been paying attention and was hit by the car. She'd tried, once, to hang herself, but had been stopped by Azelma and then talked out of it. No one knew that she did drugs, and Eponine wanted it to stay that way. She always waited until nightfall to use drugs, and she never used them at home. She knew that the drugs were bad for her, that they could kill her, but they provided an escape, even if only a temporary one, from the hell that was her life. Besides, the horrible voices weren't always the ones that she heard. Most of the time, she didn't hear the horrible voices, the ones that told her to kill herself. But on some nights...

You're worthless... One of the voices told her, No one will ever love you.

Maybe you should just jump into the Seine and drown. Another added.

Why even bother living? You really ought to stab yourself.

Just give up. You have no reason to live.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

No one will miss you and no one will stop you if you try to kill yourself.

Eponine ran her fingers through her hair and tried her best to block out the voices, but she found it hard to focus on anything.

You're unloved by your mother and father, your brother ran away, your best friend will never love you like you love him. Why live? Why not just end it? Come on, it would be so easy! You know where your father keeps his gun.

"No... stop it!" Eponine cried out, wanting the voices to go away. It had been a particularly awful day for her. Montparnasse had nearly taken advantage of her, her father had beaten her rather horribly, and Marius had kept going on about some blonde girl he fancied. Eponine wanted a break from all of it; she wanted a break from her life. Sometimes it was just too much! That's why she used drugs. Though, like now, the drugs didn't always help her, didn't always provide the escape she so desperately needed. Sometimes the voices were just too horrible. Like they were now.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

You don't deserve to live.

Give up now.

Just end it.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

"Stop it!" Eponine covered her ears, but to no avail. The voices were in her head.

No one loves you, no one cares about you.

Marius wouldn't miss you.

Marius doesn't even care about you. Why would he? You're nothing.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" In an attempt to distract herself, Eponine dug her nails into her arms and scratched them, drawing blood. While this did cause pain, it did not stop the voices.

You're a waste of space, you're useless. Just die already.

No one needs you, no one wants you.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed. She started pulling at her hair, still trying to distract herself from the voices. Then she heard footsteps. She scrambled to hide the needle and the small vial of crystal meth.

End it. Just do it already.

No one wants you to live.

No one will miss you when you're gone.

No one will even remember you.

Kill yourself. Do it.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

"Stop it!" Eponine exclaimed, digging her nails into her scalp now.

"'Ponine?"

Eponine froze. She knew that voice. Marius. She looked up and saw him approaching her. He studied her. He noticed that she was trembling, that her eyes were dark and wild, that her skin was flushed. He noticed the bloody scratches on her arms and he noticed that she was breathing rapidly. He also noticed that she would not meet his eyes. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"'Ponine, what's going on?" he asked.

He doesn't really care. He's just being polite.

He's not really your friend.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" Eponine muttered under her breath. Marius looked again at her arms and, this time, he noticed the track marks. He gasped in shock as he realised what she'd been doing.

"But Eponine... why?" he asked her.

"Because my life is hell!" she replied, digging her nails into her arms once again. Marius grabbed her hands and pried them off her arms. "I can't take it, Marius. I just can't!" Tears were streaming down her face.

He doesn't care.

Why even bother? Just kill yourself and do everyone else a favour.

"Stop!"

"Stop what?" Marius asked softly.

"The voices! They won't stop, they never stop!"

"And, these voices, what do they say?"

"They say that I should kill myself, that I don't deserve to live, that you don't care." Eponine told him, her voice shaking.

Because he doesn't care about you. He never has and never will.

Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.

"Stop, stop, STOP!"

"Come with me, 'Ponine." Marius said, "Come back to my flat, you can sleep it off." Eponine didn't say anything, but nodded. He guided her back to his flat. Every couple of minutes, she would mutter something under her breath that sounded like 'shut up'. Marius brought her over to his bed and she lay down. "Sleep now, 'Ponine. When you wake, the voices will be gone. Don't worry, I'll stay with you until you're sleeping."

It took Eponine a while to fall asleep. The voices refused to leave her alone, but eventually sleep found her. Marius watched her for a while, as she slept. He wondered how long Eponine had been using for. It scared him to think that she could have been doing this for awhile, that it could very well have some long term effects. He knew that when she woke in the morning, he would have to talk to her about it. He couldn't let her continue to use drugs, he cared about her far too much. She was, after all, his best friend, and after many years of knowing her, Marius had developed some deeper feelings for Eponine. He had never told her that, fearing that she would not feel the same way. He gently pressed a kiss to her forehead before laying down next to her and drifting off.

...

Marius woke the next morning when sunlight streamed into the room through the window. He looked down at Eponine, who, while sleeping, had draped an arm across his stomach. Marius couldn't help but smile. His smile quickly faded as he remembered what he would have to talk to her about when she woke. Eponine slept a little bit longer before waking. Her eyes were no longer wild looking and she seemed to be quite calm.

"Bon matin, Monsieur." Eponine said as she looked at him.

"Good morning, 'Ponine." Marius replied. For a moment, both were silent. Marius was the first to speak, "'Ponine, about last night–"

"I know, Marius. I know that drugs are bad. I know that I shouldn't do them."

"Then why do you?"

"Because they provide an escape. Well, most of the time they do..."

"They also make you hear voices that tell you to kill yourself." Marius said pointedly.

"Not all the time. Sometimes the voices aren't that bad."

"Eponine, hearing voices is never a good thing. Even when they aren't telling you to kill yourself."

"I know that... and it's not like I haven't tried to quit. I have tried, but I get cravings and I go through withdrawal and it's just too much!" she told him. "I've tried, Monsieur. But I'm not strong. I can't do it."

"Yes you can. Eponine, you are the strongest person I know. You can get through this. We can get through this."

"We..." She whispered, echoing him.

"I'll support you 100% of the way." He told her. "I never told you this before, but I think now is as good a time as any... 'Ponine, I believe I may be a little in love with you." Eponine smiled, tears of happiness creeping into her eyes.

"Now I know I can get through this," She said, "because I have you." She knew, of course, that it would not be easy to get over her addictions. Such things never are. But she had a new found strength, the kind one can only find when they are loved by the one that they love. She kissed him softly. Marius kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her as he did so. "I love you, Marius."

"I love you too, 'Ponine."

I hope ya liked it. I might post another chapter in which Eponine struggles with withdrawal, but I don't know. What do you guys think?