A/N Hi! This is a story that's been in my head for a while and I just had to put it out there. This is heavily based on the musical with somme aspects of the book. This is my first fanfic and I hope it goes well. I hope to update every other day or so (though school is school and idk how much that'll effect everything) also this is not beta'd but if you're interested in being a beta for this then PM me or something :P Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! Read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables.

She did not notice him.

Not at first. Not when Marius was speaking emphatically about his new love, breaking her heart with each beautiful word. She remained glued to her seat, staring at Marius as he spoke of the beautiful blonde they had seen in the park.

"It's love at first sight! I swear to you when I locked eyes with her, my entire world shifted! I see the world better, now, or at least brighter, I think. Oh, Eponine, what a beautiful feeling! Have you ever felt this way?" Yes, I have, Eponine thought. I felt this way the moment you came into my life Marius! Why can't you see me?

The loud café began to grow quiet as her friends began to listen in. They all knew of Eponine's unrequited love for her best friend and they knew it must hurt her to have this conversation. The Les Amis stared at her with a mix of pity for her and anger towards Marius. Bossuet and Feuilly were trying to gently calm the seemingly seething Bahorel while Jehan was watching the scene unfold like he watched bad reality tv. Joly, Combeferre, and Courfeyrac were pretending to play on their phones, but their eyes darted to Eponine and Marius every few seconds. Grantaire was staring on silently, nurturing a whiskey. His eyes met Eponine's and he shook his head.

Grantaire was different from anyone Eponine had ever known. He listened. No one else seemed to, but he did. He never lied about how he felt either. He was funny and kind and weird, but Eponine was drawn to his friendship the moment they first met when he bowed and kissed her hand upon meeting her.

She did not notice, though, the angelic looking man in the corner, staring contentedly at the notebook in front of him. He looked up every few seconds and hurriedly erased whatever he had been writing.

"Of course not, but you will one day." And with that began another rant of his darling. "She is my light, Eponine! She is my future, I feel it! But how am I going to find her? I don't even know her name!" Marius gasped, his face contorting into one of total panic. "But…what if she doesn't feel the same way? What will I do? I have to find her at once! But how?" Marius shook his head and continued to think aloud of how he'll find the blonde. Eponine took this moment to stare at her best friend.

Marius Pontmercy. His copper hair and award winning smile with pearly white teeth matched with his green eyes and freckles gave him a sort of boyish look, but his intelligence made him more of a man than boy. He was a student at the local university along with Eponine. She had met him during a class change during the first week of school, where he had accidentally walked into her (Eponine had always fancied herself invisible. Apparently she wasn't the only one). After picking up her books off the ground, Marius had asked for her name and had walked her to her next class (which they shared) happened everything fell into place after that. He was a junior and she had just started her sophomore year. He was studying business management because his grandfather owned a million dollar, international retail store that Marius would one day take over. Eponine was studying Middle Childhood Education, hoping to one day give students a better chance than she had. While Marius was well off…actually, to put it frankly he was "hella rich" (words of their friend Grantaire), Eponine was struggling to get through school on a scholarship and a job at the Café Musain.

Her thoughts drifted to to Marius' new love. Eponine couldn't lie, not even to herself, about how beautiful the girl was. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, curvy. Eponine knew she couldn't compete with her mousey brown hair and boring brown eyes and too skinny frame.

Her thoughts continued to wander.

She didn't notice the vaguely angry and slightly drunk Grantaire stagger out the door muttering "I can't watch", nor did she notice the man in the corner of the cafe glance up from his notebook to concentrate on her. She did not notice him frown at the page when he looked back.

She did, however, notice when Marius said something that made her practically stop breathing.

"Eponine, you saw her today, too, didn't you? Of course you did considering you were with me!" Yes, She thought. I did see her. I saw as she took you away from me without ever uttering a word. "Eponine, you must do something for me! As my most trusted and loved friend," Eponine's ears immediately turned red as her mind spun with the word 'loved'. Maybe the blonde didn't win all of her beloved's affections after all! "You have to find her for me!"

Oh.

There was a sharp intake of breath, both from her and the Amis.

Oh. Great.

Marius looked up at her expectantly. Oh, fuck it. Eponine thought. You probably won't find her anyways. Then you can tell Marius there's no hope and he'll give up and then might finally realize that you've been here all along!

With these thoughts, she looked into Marius' eyes and whispered, "Sure."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are truly a miracle, Ponine!" Marius threw his arms around her, and for that, the pain was worth it.

Eponine smiled. "Anything for you, Marius."

She noticed how brightly he smiled back at her.

She did not notice him leaving the café in a hurry.

Nor did she notice the notebook he had left in his absence.

She did notice the time though, and excused herself to begin her shift at the Café Musain.