Hey all! Okay, so I know I haven't updated anything in AGES... Fact is, life has gotten very busy suddenly and updates haven't been as readily available as they were at the start of the summer. But! Here's the next chapter of this one! Hope it's worth the wait!

~Rosey

Chapter Two:

Courfeyrac stared after Enjolras through the downpour with wide eyes and a rapidly beating heart. Gone. How was that even possible? Two minutes ago he and Enjolras were doing classwork together and the next... The blond vanished in the gray, falling rain. What had he said to offend Enjolras so badly? He just wanted to make sure his friend was alright... He had seemed sick...

Oh no... The rain's bound to make it worse... Oh, Enjolras...

A new horror filling the young student's heart, Courfeyrac darted inside long enough to grab his jacket before bolting towards the University where Combeferre was in class, praying the older revolutionary would know what to do.

And, maybe even more importantly, forgive him for chasing Enjolras away.

xxxxx

Combeferre blinked sleepily, stifling a yawn behind his hand, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as his professor droned on about the various uses of a scalpel. His class had been going on for nearly an hour now, and he was quite sure he was absorbing none of it. All he really wanted to do was go home to his little brother and sit and talk about the plans for the meeting that night, or discuss new ideas for pamphlets, or laugh about Courfeyrac's latest mishap. He certainly didn't want to sit through another thirty minutes of lecture.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a frantic knocking resounded at the door and a soaking wet Courfeyrac burst in seconds later, a panicked look on his face. The professor turned to the boy with a deep scowl, but he seemed not to notice, talking in a rushed and shaky voice. "Professor, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your class, but I need to speak with Etienne Combeferre immediately. It's an emergency."

The boredom that was filling Combeferre moments ago turned to sheer horror, and he clumsily got to his feet, gathering his things and hurrying towards the front of the classroom. When his professor glared menacingly at him, he just spoked in a hushed whisper, "Excuse me, Professor. Forgive my friend. He's only a child." And with that, the med student rushed into the hall, closing the door behind him on dozens of confused and wide eyes.

Courfeyrac was panting in the hallway, dripping wet and shivering. Combeferre instantly wrapped him in his own coat before kneeling down to his eye level, putting his hands on the smaller boy's shoulders and trying to talk with a level voice. "What's the matter, mon ami? Is someone hurt?"

"W-we were s-studying," Courfeyrac managed to stammer out. "M-me and E-Enjolras... And he s-started coughing and so I asked i-if he was s-s-sick and then he got mad and we a-argued and he was really angry at me and he said he should just l-leave you because he thinks he's a b-b-burden but I t-told him he isn't but he didn't l-listen to me and he just ran out and now I don't know where he is! I should have known better than to argue with him when he was sick... People don't have very good control over their emotions when they have a fever and I should have known that...I am so sorry F-Ferre! I didn't mean to make him leave!"

Combeferre had been frozen as still as a statue ever since the word 'burden' escaped Courfeyrac's lips. No...No, anything but that... Make him believe he is anything but a burden... The med student took a deep breath, shaking himself a little, trying desperately to keep a level head as he turned to Courfeyrac. "Alright. We need to think rationally... He had a class at one over in the primary school. We should wait for him there. If he didn't go to class..." But this is where he had to stop talking, the thought of losing Enjolras too painful for him to even consider.

Courfeyrac nodded slowly, tears in his big brown eyes. "Combeferre, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to make him leave! I was just trying to help... But sick people don't think straight...Even Enjolras... I just... I always think of him as so... strong and solid and stable... I didn't even think... He's sick, Combeferre! Of course he's more vulnerable than usual... I feel so stupid!"

The bespectacled student embraced Courfeyrac swiftly, talking gently. "It's alright, mon petit ami. He just... There's some things that you have to be careful talking to him about. It's a matter of figuring out the best way to talk to him about certain things without hitting a sensitive spot."

Courfeyrac buried his face in Combeferre's chest. "I didn't mean to make him leave."

"I know, Courf," the older student mumbled soothingly, stroking his hair gently. "I know you didn't. He'll be fine. I promise."

"C-can I help you look for him?" the smaller boy asked in a tiny voice.

"Of course!" Combeferre pulled back, rubbing Courfeyrac's shoulders gently. "I could never do it on my own!"

The younger student gave a tiny, half-smile. "Where should we start?"

"His class at the primary school. Come on," Combeferre mumbled, getting to his feet and hurrying down the steps of the building, with Courfeyrac inches behind him.

xxxx

"He's not here," Courfeyrac whispered brokenly as the last of the children filtered out of the school building into the downpour, covering their heads with their book bags and coats. "He never skips..."

"No," Combeferre swallowed, obviously growing nervous. "He doesn't."

"And he wasn't at the Musain..." Courfeyrac ticked off on his fingers, thinking back to when they had made a ten second stop by the cafe on the way to the school building. "And I highly doubt he'd go back to the flat..."

"Where else would he be? Who is closest?" Combeferre mumbled, mostly to himself, running a hand through his soaking hair.

"Jehan's flat is on the next street," Courfeyrac perked up a little. "Maybe Enjolras went there instead of class! Jehan can make anyone feel better!"

"Maybe," Combeferre nodded, also looking a little more hopeful. "Let's go check there."

It took about five minutes for the friends to reach Jehan's flat. They ran the entire stretch there, and when they arrived they were horribly out of breath and shaky, but Combeferre took no time in bolting inside without even bothering to knock. "Jehan!"

The freckled revolutionary was curled up on his couch under a blanket, and jumped about ten feet in the air before relaxing as he saw who his company was, chuckling warmly. "Well, hello, mes amis! What's happened?"

"Jehan," Combeferre darted over to the couch, Courfeyrac steps behind him. "Jehan, has Enjolras come by? Have you seen him? Have you seen Julien?"

"Not today," the poet sat forward a little on the couch, setting aside his novel, his brows furrowing. "Is something wrong?"

"He's gone," Combeferre whispered, saying the words making it all the more real. "Julien's gone."

And there you go! At last, an update! I'm not sure what I think about this chapter... Do you all like it? The next chapter shall have some more Jehan in it, as well as a lot more Ferre and Courf searching. Please, let me know what you think and review!

Stay revolutionary!

~Rosey