Prologue:
Eponine loves Marius.
He doesn't love her back... right?
This is at the barricades promptly after Eponine has been shot.
This - means that it is either a flashback or deep thought.
Story:
As she struggled down from the barricade all she could hear were his words echoing in her ears, "Don't follow me to the barricade 'Ponine. It won't be safe for you there. Promise me you'll stay away, promise me."
-She had promised Marius she would stay away, but there was a silent understanding between the two she wouldn't. He had hoped maybe for once she would listen to him and heed his advice. Being her usual, stubborn self, she didn't listen and obey his plea. She felt he would easily get in trouble and get hurt. She couldn't bear to think how she would live if he wouldn't have come back. So she told herself she had to follow him and be his guardian.-
-She didn't get in the way, and she tried to do the tasks the students at the barricade asked of her to do. She got them bullets, gunpowder, drinks, and food as they requested. Favoring Marius out of all of them, because of her deep love for him, she often reloaded Marius's gun and made sure he had plenty of gunpowder and bullets. She was also there to watch after Gavroche, even though she knew he needed no looking after. Just as she had, he was growing up faster than a child should have. He even looked after a group of young boys himself. -
As Eponine was heavily leaning against the barricade, she could feel the letter Cosette had given her burning a hole in her pocket.
-It hurt almost as bad as the gunshot wound she had just received protecting Marius. She felt awful because she withheld this letter from Marius. It was filled with sworn undying love and information of where she was moving. Eponine knew what the letter contained because she had read it. It was the only letter she had ever read between the two of them. She was checking if Cosette really did feel the same way Marius did for her. She did. She loved Marius almost as much as Eponine did. But Cosette's love was a different kind of love; it was a love of happiness that was being returned and nurtured by Marius's love.-
Suddenly Eponine heard the sound of retreating footsteps and a collective sigh of relief from the student's at the barricade. There were no cheers though; they knew they had to swiftly tend to the injured that might have a chance at surviving. But she knew she wouldn't be one of them. Figuring enough lives had been lost from the enemy troops, they found it was too costly to continue fighting. They would regroup and come back at a later time to attack again. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice climbing down from the barricade rushing towards her. It was Marius. She felt a small smile on her heart, for she didn't have enough strength to actually smile. She was barely holding on so she could say one last goodbye to him. She knew as soon as the bullet ripped through her abdomen she was done, and her duty to protect Marius had been fulfilled.
Marius cried out, "'Ponine, what's wrong with you? Why are you here?" As he ran to Eponine's side, Enjolras looked slightly confused where the young Marius was going. He had not seen Eponine get close to the barricade during the fight, or he would've put her inside the café. Had he seen her lying there he would've helped her. Barely standing, she was leaning against the barricade and was doubled over in a crumpled heap below where Marius had been fighting. When he saw her shaking figure, he knew something had gone terribly wrong. He had a suspicion why she was there.
-Everyone that did not have the name "Marius Pontmercy" knew of Eponine's strong love for Marius. She didn't have to tell them, they could just see it in how she talked and acted when she was with him. She always had a small twinkle in her eye and she spoke with extra whit, yet her guard was slightly down when she was with Marius. The students felt sorry for the poor street urchin; they knew she had felt strongly for Marius for a long time. And they all knew, including her, she never really had a chance to be his. He was consumed in the revolution, just like everyone else at the time, until he saw Cosette. Then it was over. He could no longer concentrate on any one thing for longer than a few short minutes without thinking about, or mentioning, his new found soul mate. Not only was Eponine's heart totally ripped to shreds because he was her only happiness and he loved another girl, but the students also became greatly annoyed with him. He frequently was late for meetings or even sometimes missed them completely after he had met Cosette. They found they could hardly rely on him anymore. Some, such as Grantaire and Courfeyrac, would tease Marius about her. While Enjolras was very displeased and astonished that someone could actually think about something other than the grand revolution that was coming up. This new attention getter, Cosette, was already on Enjolras's bad side before he could even meet her. He would simply tell Marius, "Drop it Marius! No one cares how you and your tortured heart feel. You may run to her once France is free again! Until then, I suggest you pay attention and tuck her away into some corner of your mind or heart you can visit after the revolution." Marius agreed for a short while, but that corner in the back of his mind and the bottom of his heart consumed him. It took up all of his spare time, the times when he was busy, when he was eating, when he was with friends, and even when he was sleeping. Cosette was now a part of his life that he could not simply ignore. Eponine knew this, and it devastated her. She use to think his happiness was her happiness, and in a way, it still was. But now she delivered his love letters to Cosette and it tore her apart inside, she still made the deliveries because it made him happy. And she liked when he was happy. She didn't know why she was still so wrapped up in him and everything he did. Yes, they were still best friends. And to him, nothing between Eponine and him changed since he met Cosette. If anything, Eponine was more valuable to him because she could deliver his messages of love to Cosette. Eponine still had nothing better in her life but him. Her heart ached when she was away from him, and it ached when she was with him. But she found it ached less being with him, so she stayed by his side.-
As her sight started to go black she could see Marius rushing to her side. Looking up in his direction just as he arrived, she whispered to him, "I don't think I can stand anymore." Suddenly she felt her head being propped up on his shoulder while they were lying on the ground. She figured she must've passed out from the blood loss into his arms He gently brought the two of them to the ground. She was thankful he was there and unharmed. She handed him the letter from Cosette. As she handed it over she said, "This is from Cosette. I am sorry I kept it from you. That was wrong of me, but I just... Never mind, but here is the letter none the less." He took it and quickly shoved in his pocket as if it had no importance. He just kept looking at her face, down at her mortal wound, and then back up to her face. "I don't need your apology 'Ponine," he said with a small smile and light laugh of sadness. Suddenly she saw a single tear slip down his face from one of his perfect eyes. She had never seen him cry before and she wondered out loud what was wrong. "'Ponine, you're hurt!" he exclaimed with another few tears streaking down his face. She realized he was sadder about her injuries than she was. To comfort him, Eponine smiled and began singing to him. She was telling him not to worry and she complimented how beautiful and good the light fall of rain was. She found herself slightly crying for several reasons: the pain, the feeling of being so close to Marius and him caring for her, the relief she felt because she could at last leave the cruel world, and finally she could tell him how she had so long felt about him. She found this the perfect time to hint and tell him how she felt because she wouldn't have to listen to him say he only wants to be friends.
-Marius didn't understand why she had to be so stubborn. He was slightly angry because she didn't listen to his warning, he was also very sad because his best friend was dying in his arms, in his place. But he tried to hide all of that as best as he could and smile a little because she was smiling. At first he was confused why Eponine was smiling. He could see in her eyes that she was in a great deal of pain even though she had told him she didn't feel any. He just held her and listened as she sang, he just tried to make her as comfortable as possible. As his friends stood around patiently watching them, he could feel some stares of disbelief from them. He didn't understand why. Little did he know they were in disbelief because they couldn't believe Marius hadn't seen at that point why she took the bullet for him. Suddenly she stopped singing and he had to shake her awake singing to her promising that she would live and he would close her wounds if he could. It disturbed him slightly that she seemed almost okay, and prepared, for her surely fatal injury. As she continued with a voice that grew fainter with every word, he had a feeling this would be the last time they would ever speak again. He detected the words she sang had a pain behind them, not a physical pain, but a long harbored emotional pain. This feeling bothered him and grew heavy on his heart. -
He realized she spoke of him. More so he realized that she loved him. He smiled whole-heartedly now because he understood why she was smiling. She was smiling because of him! All he then said was that he was there. That's all she needed and ever wanted to know. It gave her biggest smile she could muster to know he was there in her final minutes. He finally had put it all together. All those months of her hanging around, delivering those letters for him, and her coming to the barricade despite his plea for her not to. This was it; this is why she had come. She came for him, to make sure he succeeded and that his life continued past the barricade. She thought that he had a life after the barricade and the revolution. He had Cosette. Then after the barricade, Eponine's life would be over and he would be gone. Every purpose she had for living would be gone. He would either be dead, or in Cosette's arms. The greatest love that can be shown is dying for another. So why not die for him? Possibly he might die too once she was gone, so maybe they could be together in a better place together. She loved him. Why didn't he see that sooner! Maybe he would've loved her. He could've gotten use to the thought of him and 'Ponine. But now there was no time, now she was dying in his arms in his place.
-All of this information sprung upon him suddenly as she was dying. He had no time to change anything. It was over, and he felt so guilty. He gave all of his attention to Eponine now. No Cosette, no revolution, and no friends: just Eponine.-
She finally gave out and went limp on his shoulder. The hand she had upon his face was ruby from her own wound, it fell softly into his lap as she let go of her last shaky breath. He kissed her on the forehead because he felt that her life was pitiful, yet she stayed strong and he was proud of her. He was sure she was gone now. He gave her one final tight embrace as his friends came over to take her body away. Being shot unknowingly in the arm during the attack, his friend were certain his weak arm would be unable to carry her body away.-
Suddenly he felt something. At first he thought it was his own heart, then another soft thump came from something other than him. He separated himself quickly from her, and then shoved his ear against her chest faster than anyone could blink. He heard another soft thump, then another! She wasn't gone, not yet at least. He got up and snatched her fragile, lightweight body from the ground. He hadn't noticed he had been shot in the arm yet. He only recognized the injury once he started running with her to the nurse they had in the café. She was nearly dropped because of the sudden coursing pain that surged through his arm once he picked her up. But he couldn't give up on her now; he was determined to help her no matter what.
He was in the café faster than Grantaire could grab a bottle, faster than he thought about Cosette at meetings, and even faster than when Enjolras snaps at him. No one quite knew what had possessed Marius. They were unsure of what he was doing because from just looking at Eponine, they thought the poor girl was gone. The two most in shock were Courfeyrac and Combeferre. They were the ones who were going to get Eponine's body when they were nearly trampled by a one-man-stampede carrying a what-they-thought-to-be dead girl. Once they had processed what was going on, they all rushed to the temporary hospital were Marius had whisked Eponine away.
The best they could do for Eponine was attempt to stop the bleeding. They would have to wait until she was somewhat stable before they could send her away to a proper doctor and resting place. Seeing to it that the bleeding had stopped and she had been wrapped in descent bandages (not the most cleanly, but they were all they had), Enjolras put some of the students to work. He made some men count the supplies they had left, forced some to rest because they had been up for nearly two days straight, and he made some take the watch. Of course he oversaw the whole production and supervised their actions. Always reminding them why they were there and what they were fighting for, he was there leader and moral support. He didn't put Marius to work though. He felt Marius needed to be there for Eponine if he chose to, or he could help with the work if he wanted. Enjolras thought work would be good to keep Marius's mind busy, but he also felt Marius would be very distracted. He may miss count the bullets or the amount of gunpowder, or possibly he would not see an enemy marks men that could put multiples at risk and danger. Enjolras allowed Marius to choose to stay by Eponine's bedside as she struggled to hold onto life.