"Enjolras," the pretty blonde, Cosette stood before him, hair unusually messy and cheeks unusually red "we have a problem."
He wanted to ignore her, he didn't have time for problems, perhaps if he ignored her, she - and her accompanying problem would cease to exist.
"Enjolras!"
No such luck.
"What's wrong now?" He turned to face the girl, but she had already darted halfway across the field and was yelling at him to follow her, and quickly.
This is why he did things by himself, alone. When he did things himself there were never any problems, obstacles yes, but problems, no, and with this group of people, his friends, there were always problems. He put it down to the fact that they were large in number and pleasing everyone is difficult, that's why he does things himself, alone.
She led him to Marius' car, his back seat to be precise, where Enjolras had personally printed, packaged and placed four thousand flyers. The combined work of Jehan and Courfeyrac on design and himself and Combeferre working on banners and future sound bites. There were a few of them working in the project, so problems were assured; however in the early of this morning they finally finished. The rest of the boys went straight to bed and were granted the luxury of working the afternoon shift. But not Enjolras, no, rather than go to bed he chose to run over notes, confirm that flyers were done properly and ensure computers and databases were working properly in order to ensure everything would run smoothly for what would be their most important day of the year; orientation. However, in order to get the most members at orientation one needed to obtain prime real estate and that required being at the lawns before sunrise. Therefore he had somewhat willingly gone the past 24 hours with zero sleep, and his patience was waning.
"Oh hey Enjolras," Marius turned around from the drivers seat where he had been catching up on some sleep. "We thought we'd be nice and grab you some coffee for the big day. But there was this massive pot hole on our way in and well, let's just say putting the coffee in the back seat was not the brightest idea Cosette or I have ever had."
Enjolras paused for a few seconds and looked down at the pamphlets, at his pamphlets, soaked in cold cappuccino. His pamphlets, his work, his sleep gone.
"Where's Eponine?" he asked, tearing his eyes away for the disaster zone in Marius' back seat "she should have been here half an hour ago."
"She's busy," Cosette quickly spoke up.
"With what?" He didn't have the patience for Eponine and her inability to be anywhere on time today.
"With something that doesn't concern you," Cosette and Eponine were always incredibly protective of each other, being the sole females amongst the hordes of men that had become their group.
"Okay then, I need you to get her onto the phone now," his mind is racing but remained strangely clear as a game plan begins to form in his mind. "Tell her to go and wake up Combeferre and Courfeyrac, they have the hard copy for the pamphlets, she needs to print off a thousand and bring them here preferably within the hour. You will take the car to Courfeyrac and Combeferre's, load up the pamphlets and bring them here by 10 the absolute latest. Marius take these boxes out and bring them to the stall, hopefully we can salvage a few boxes worth. Sounds good?" He asked even though he neither waited nor cared for their response.
Before long Marius was removing the boxes whilst begging Cosette to drive the Jeep with care, they were listening and for Enjolras that was all that matters.
"I think," Eponine smiled as she chewed rather loudly on her gum "that this time next year you will be telling me to get onto a different carriage and turning your back on me, like Azelma," the pair glanced over at their sister who was sitting rigidly in the other direction, making sure not to look at her siblings.
"Only if you promise not to get all embarrassing."
Eponine gasped "embarrassing, me? Never!" Gav's face fell as he realised he had said too much, and didn't have to move as she pulled him into a huge hug, showering him with kisses and leaving purple lipstick stains all over his forehead.
"I hate you," he laughed finally weaving his way out of her grip "are you going to be here to pick me up tonight?"
"Sorry kiddo, we've got a meeting at the bar, and I'm working, so lets do a quick-"
"Can't I just come to the bar, Courfeyrac said he'd help me with my maths, it needs to be at least two years in advance for the Sir Edmund Corinth scholarship at the science school. Please, I need to improve otherwise ill be forced to go to Azelma's school!" the boy was almost panting by the time he finally finished.
"Alrighty Gav, there are two immediate flaws in your argument there. One, I also attended Azelma's school and I'm not sure if you have checked the most recent statistics, I am now studying at Corinth University which was recently ranked as the second best university in this glorious country and was my first preference. Secondly, Courfeyrac's mathematical skill is about on par with mine - as in when a store says 10% off he estimates 10 dollars off regardless of what the starting price was. Really, what's more likely is that you two are going to play the cinnamon challenge in the kitchen and forgetting to clean up after yourselves. If you really, wanted to improve your mathematical skill you would ask Combeferre who is choosing maths as his minor because he is slightly insane. But no, you wouldn't do that because you would rather play chubby bunny than actually learn anything."
Gav just rolled his eyes "you're annoying when you act like a mother."
She smirked. "You're annoying when you act your age!" He shoved her. "Just kidding! Alright your stop is next, final checklist, do you have keys?"
Gav quickly looked in his bag "yep."
"Awesome, phone?"
Gav reached into his bag to pull out his brand new iPhone - a gift from Eponine and Azelma for Christmas "yep."
"Doing good Gav doing good, that phone is for emergency purposes only okay? Emergency purposes are if you are being held up at gunpoint, knifepoint, being kidnapped or robbed, if you are injured or someone else around you is injured or dying, or there is a fire. And you can call me or Azelma okay? How about lunch?"
His face fell as he quickly rummaged through his backpack "Crap Eponine, I left it on the bench."
She groaned and reached into her pocket, giving him her lunch money " thank god I drowned that sandwich in peanut butter."
By the time Eponine arrived back home to collect her sandwich, Cosette was already waiting outside. Eponine tried her best not to laugh when she discovered what had happened to Enjolras' beloved pamphlets, she really did but she had a terrible sense of humor. What could possibly be more hilarious than Enjolras' pamphlets - the one's he had badgered everyone about for the past month - being ruined? Well, she could think of one thing, his face upon discovering them. Oh, if only he had ruined them himself that would have been true comedic brilliance, and she would be sure to never let him forgetting.
She will just have to bide her time, it will come, it will come.
Cosette is one of those people, you know the ones, they appear quiet, timid and sweet… until they get in the car. In the car Cosette is more pedal to the floor, white knuckled, blind rage than sweet and subtle and Eponine cannot help but wonder if Enjolras knew how much she was enjoying his pamphlet crisis and therefore had stuck her in the car with Cosette as some sort of sick revenge. Eponine didn't mind so much until (and she will swear black and blue on this if you were to question her) Cosette had Marius' car airborne as she went down the hill in Combeferre and Courfeyrac's street.
Combeferre was waiting at the door for them, still in his pyjamas (which he had no intention of getting out of until well past midday) holding three boxes of pamphlets. "Killing trees ladies, killing trees."
Cosette just shrugged her shoulder from the car seat (again she was a completely different person in the car) "Marius's fault. Hey Eponine, do you want Macca's?"
"I think if we did that, Enjolras would kill us."
"Literally?"
"Literally."
The campaign had gotten off to a flying start with members of the Amis flirting with various students in order to get them to sign up to their club. It was pitiful, it was shameful, and it was working.
"Woah Grantaire, what are you doing here? It's...it's before 9:30" Eponine dropped the final box with a loud thud causing Enjolras to shoot her a glare. "And you're wearing yellow, you hate yellow."
"It's not Grantaire" Grantaire (or not) replied, not even looking up from Marius' laptop.
"I'm pretty sure it is."
"Grantaire is an identical twin, I'm Joseph" his eyes still haven't left the screen.
"Oh my god Grantaire stop shitting me, I like this new look on you, yellow really is your colour"
"I'm not Grantaire"
Eponine rolled her eyes "Enjolras, back me up here, don't you love the yellow on Grantaire?"
Enjolras smirked, looking over in her direction "That's not Grantaire"
Eponine rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she walked over to Enjolras "Okay is this some sort of in joke that I'm not a part of?"
"No" Enjolras was still smirking "Grantaire really has a twin."
"No way!"
"Yeah and he's the exact opposite of Grantaire, it's brilliant"
"Woah, I feel like I barely even know him" Eponine says softly, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Who, Grantaire or Joseph?"
"Both."
She smiled back at Enjolras as he laughed softly, his expression changing to a cheeky smirk "Hey, did you enjoy your car ride"?
"Did you enjoy your coffee?" she smiled even wider as she started handing out flyers to new students.
Enjolras was the first to admit that he did not improve of his group's campaign tactics, which generally involve shameless flirting and Courfeyrac openly advertising to female passer-by's that Enjolras is very much single and apparently looking for a girlfriend. He wouldn't mind, except that every time he heard this, he could not prevent his cheeks from going pink and every time a girl did take Courfeyrac up on his offer Enjolras would have to conjure up some excuse which would not be too offensive so that she would still hand over the money - who ever said politics was noble profession?
Though, that being said Enjolras would also be the first to admit that the tactics his friends employed worked. By the time his shift ended and the evening troupe - Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Joly, Jehan and Bossuet had arrived, they had already set an all time record for money fundraised through a university club or organisation- $ 14 000 - Courfeyrac and Bahorel are now debating what to spend the excess money on, letterman jackets or basketball shirts for the team they were yet to start, but hey with these guys anything is possible. He wasn't sure which was worse.
Rather than return home for some much needed sleep, he quickly made his way across the busy lawns and to the top level of the Campus Centre where the most popular location on campus during the semester was located - the bar. Lamarque's named after the leader of a group of university students (which Enjolras and Combeferre's fathers were part of) which succeeded in abolishing university fees. Their successes were short-lived, but famed enough to earn a pub in their honour, which was better than nothing.
It was a warm day outside, the sunshine enough to tempt people out of the bar and onto the lawn. Apart from a few girls speaking in hushed voices in a corner it was empty. Enjolras quickly snatched up one of the few tables up on a slightly raised podium which would serve as his stage for the night.
Tonight was the most important night of the year - well that was probably a slight exaggeration - however tonight was when their party - The Amis of the ABC - would convince the new and some old students to join their cause. The name was Jehan's idea, apparently everything sounds better in French, and more sophisticated. Not to mention that the French did have a long history of student rebellion and revolutions and therefore it fit. Well perhaps it didn't, but no one argued with the suggestion, and they were unable to come up with a better name, to the Amis it was.
This was the biggest night of the year, was their chance to showcase what their organisation was all about and what made them different (and in Enjolras' opinion, far superior) to the faculty organisations. They as a group were able to introduce themselves to first year students and make themselves accessible to the student community. Considering they were completely self-funded, it was a further opportunity for them to raise money. And there was free beer, yes; they were bribing people to get them through the door. It was Grantaire's suggestion and he had been completely against it, he felt that giving out free booze cheapened their organisation, everyone just ignored him.
Well, not everyone. Eponine, was a surprising opponent to this proposition. As a bartender at the Lamarque's (and the unofficial Amis HQ and subsequent venue for the night's launch party) she really did not want to deal with a bunch of eighteen year olds, who had not quite figured out their alcohol limits just yet. And Eponine just could not be bothered with it. But alas, no one listened to either of them, and the bar was booked, it's manager jumping at the chance to earn some extra cash before the semester begun - after all, it was a long and quiet summer for campus bars.
"Hey," Eponine sat herself down opposite Enjolras, who was writing some last minute notes into his speech. "Have you ever considered typing those notes up?" she asked as she watched his left hand, smudging ink marks over the paper.
"I did, once, and then the computer broke and I lost everything."
"And you've never dropped a coffee a book or something?"
"Never" he replied, setting his pen down.
"I don't know whether to be amazed or just to conclude that you're a little strange" she smirked.
"I think you're just clumsy. Don't you have work to be doing?"
"Trying to get me to piss off? I can take a hint," she winked. "Look, I just wanted to ask if you mind if Gavroche comes to a few of the meetings, he doesnt-"
"Why are you asking me? This is a public space, of course he can-"
"It's just that you-"
"Eponine, I really don't care, as long as he isn't driving me up the wall, which he usually doesn't it will be fine."
"Oh okay, thanks," Eponine smiled getting up to go back to the bar. "Did you want a coffee or something?"
"Yeah, espresso? Also, don't say thank you, it makes me feel like I've allowed him to come."
Montparnasse is a people person, you just ask him. He loves people, all of them, from children to the elderly and everyone in between, he fashions himself as quite the ray of sunshine, really.
But there is one thing he hates, more than anything in the world, and it is unfortunately, intrinsically tied to people.
Customers.
Which is why he works in hospitality.
"You're late!" Eponine shouted as he rushed past her and into the storeroom.
"I'm five minutes early"
"You're 55 minutes late, didn't you get my message" she followed him back to grab some stock.
"That was from you, you know I don't listen to you, only boss"
Eponine rolled her eyes "This is why they kicked you out of uni last year?"
"No, that was because I never submitted my assignments on time." Montparnasse helped by bringing a few more crates of beer out to the front.
"Punctuality all the same!"
The line to enter into the bar stretched out the door, through the corridor, down the stairs and out into the courtyard just below the bar, and Enjolras was freaking out. This was what he lived for, all that he had been striving towards over the past three years, but now, now he needed to make an impression, he needed to give these students a reason to fight and that was, well, daunting.
He was hunched over a table, on an elevated platform in the room, which would later become his stage. Flanked by both Courfeyrac and Combeferre, they were combing over their notes, adding in last minute alterations and smiling giddily amongst themselves. Finally, the day was here.
Out of the corner of her eye, Eponine could see Marius and Cosette, greeting students as they walked through the door and signing up even more memberships. Soon after students (and new members) entered the bar, they were pounced upon by Joly, Jehan or Bahorel, who quickly informed them of what the night would involve as well as how to redeem their free drink card. They were then ushered to the bar, to be greeted by Eponine (Montparnasse had chosen to run the kitchen for the night) who would provide them with two beers - house only - though more than one boy had tried to beg for a boutique beer from the cabinet.
"You know, considering you are just sitting around here doing nothing" Eponine shouted over the noise in the bar back at Grantaire, who was sitting on the bench in the staff only section "you could help out."
Grantaire took a swig from his third beer "Am I getting paid for it?"
"No."
"Well then why would I do it?"
"So you're basically useless," Eponine huffed, attempting to hand six beers over the bar at once - she needed to convince her boss to employ more staff.
"Hey, I am here to bring you news from the outside world!"
"The what?"
"Nothing really, just letting you know that Feuilly and Bossuet are running late"
"Enjolras is going to kill them"
"Well they were here but security made them line up to enter, and when they got to the entry, Bossuet realised he had forgotten his student card at home, security didn't believe he was a student so they're going to look for it."
Eponine laughed to herself "And I thought you were the useless one"
Grantaire smiled, tossing an empty bottle into the bin "at lease I make an appearance."
Eventually the doors were closed on the pub, and the crowd fell into a hushed silence, waiting for Enjolras, the enigmatic, popular student leader to make an appearance. He emerged from within the crowd, flanked on either side by Combeferre and Courfeyrac. Eponine watched as the crowd leaned forward, eager to hear what was to come next. And as always, Enjolras didn't let them down.
"Friends, both new and old," Enjolras' eyes darted nervously around the ground, though he tried to mask it with his loud, boisterous tone "I would like to begin by saying thanks so much for coming tonight, even though I know most of you are probably here for the free beer." The crowd laughed, helping him to relax.
"At first I was a little annoyed at that little marketing ploy Jehan and Grantaire cooked up, thinking that such a serious group needed to have serious meetings, but I now see that I was wrong. If it was not for their added incentive I would be talking to an empty room, but seeing as we are so cramped in this tiny room that Joly has informed me that we are violating some safety regulations I believe it is safe to say that it worked. So thank you Jehan, Grantaire and Heineken for that." He smiled down at his friends and gained another soft chuckle from his audience, this was going well. "
"Now, onto more serious matters. I stand before you as a student of one of the best universities in the country, and in the world, and that is an incredible privilege. I, just like all if you, are incredibly privileged to be in this position. However, as students, we are also incredibly vulnerable and we need to realize this. Every year, students are exploited right here within the university and we formed this club two years ago in to put an end to this. For example, last year, eighteen students from this history department were wrongly placed on the plagiarism register after a computer glitch. This spelt the end for their careers, with their names on the plagiarism register they would have never been taken seriously as historians. One of them was a member of The Amis, she sought out some of the free legal services we provided and upon further investigation, it became evident that a mistake had been made. We forced the removal of eighteen students from the plagiarism register and in doing so, launched a university wide investigation into how plagiarism is judged by various faculties. Also last year, over one hundred students suffered from food poisoning in the Fried Food store down in the first floor of the Campus Centre. As a result of this we launched an investigation into food handling and safety standards, making recommendations on how to improve food handling across the campus. We regularly carry out food checks on all the retail venders here and this year, are including in our Campus Guide a rating, from one to five on the food safety – I repeat food safety, not quality – of each store on campus. For example Lamarque's, the bar we are all at here has a five star food safety rating which you can see through the sticker on the door, it is just one of the reasons why we chose it as our venue-"
"The other is because they do a great parma" Bahorel shouted out from the bar.
"They do an amazing parma" Enjolras agreed "best on campus."
"We aren't just some party club, or a regular faculty group." Enjolras continued, "The Amis of the ABC are much more than that. We serve the university community, you as students. You can almost always find one of our representatives her at the bar either working" he pointed at Eponine who waved from her spot behind the bar. "Or drinking" Enjolras smiled, toasting his audience "regardless, we are here for you, to provide you with the basic services that seem to get overlooked by the old men, sitting in their offices on the eleventh floor of the administration building. Now, that's all from me, I'm going to hand over to Combeferre and Courfeyrac who will be introducing the whole Amis team to you, and informing you guys on some of the upcoming events we would love for you to get involved in. Thanks for your time."
The mess the students left behind was incredible. Not an intentional attempt to trash the bar, rather the result of having over a thousand people crammed into a space not meant for any more than three hundred and Eponine knew that once the meeting, rally, whatever it was finally finished she and Montparnasse would have a long clean up ahead of them. The Amis stayed behind to help, throwing out papers and bottles but slowly they all left, the threat of early morning classes and the first day of semester sending them all home, well all but one.
"Eponine, do you want a lift back home?" Enjolras asked as he tossed another bag of beer bottles into the bins outside the pub.
"I'm not going for a while"
"I'll wait if you want, have you got classes tomorrow"
Eponine shook her head "Only three days this semester, I'm sure you've got some terrible schedule, go home, if you want."
"You sure? I can just get a coffee or-."
"Enjolras" Eponine sighed "If you have another coffee, you're going to start shaking, go home, go to sleep and I'll see you around soon, okay?"
"Alright" he shrugged gathering up his papers "I'll see you around."
It was just minutes after Enjolras had left that Montparnasse sauntered out of the kitchen "I thought he's never leave"
"He's helped out a lot more that you did tonight" Eponine smirked, gathering up more bottles from under tables.
"I help out in other ways" she could feel him smiling as he moved her hair to one side, placing small, soft kisses down her neck.
"How was Europe?" Eponine asked turning to face him.
"Cold" he said quickly before joining their lips.
"Did you go to-"
"Stop talking" he breathed before deepening the kiss, his hands roaming wildly under her shirt as she wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her back to the store room, just like old times.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you are enjoying this so far. Thank you for reading and please remember that comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated.
