Hey kids! Took my first exam, looks like I'm going to still graduate from college a semester early (was getting a little worried about this operations test, but it's all done and I definitely passed so DRINKS ALL AROUND!)
Enjoy this chapter! Thank you all for the support/love for the first two installments!
Chapter 3: The First Meeting
"The fuck is wrong with Enjolras?" Grantaire asked, lifting a bottle of beer to his lips. This was the commonly asked question of the night; the blonde had come into the café nearly two hours earlier, and had not moved from his seat since. He seemed to be in deep contemplation, and had not spoken to anyone.
"Dunno, he had his first day at the soup kitchen today, though." Combeferre said, leaning on the bar of the café. He lifted his elbows as Cosette wiped the counter down with a dish towel.
"He probably doesn't want to admit that we were right." She suggested, dumping the crumbs from the counter into the trash.
"What were we right about?" Marius asked, joining the group. He leaned down, planting a kiss on Cosette's temple. He followed Grantaire and Combeferre's eyes to where Enjolras was seated. "Oh, him."
They all moved their gaze to the door at the sound of a key being placed in the lock. For precaution, they all waited until Cosette had closed the café for the night before all arriving for their meetings. Grantaire always bought a heavy supply of alcohol, and the other boys switched off on food duty. They all had keys to the café; Cosette had them made after she started working. It was technically illegal, but if anyone walked into the café unannounced, they would all be in bigger trouble.
Courfeyrac entered the café, holding a twelve pack of beer under his arm. He pulled the key out of the lock, pushing it into his pocket, closing the door behind him. "Evening," he greeted, nodding at his friends. Before he could get more than five steps into the room, however, Enjolras's head snapped up.
"Courf, come here, I need you."
Courfeyrac sent a questioning glance to the other boys and Cosette, who shrugged in response. Grataire muttered "the marble moves!", to which the others laughed, before turning back to their conversation.
"What's up?" Courfeyrac asked, sitting across from Enjolras and cracking open a beer.
Enjolras leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "I went to the soup kitchen today."
Courfeyrac took a sip of his beer. "And?"
"I have some complaints."
"Let me contain my shock." Courfeyrac deadpanned, rolling his eyes slightly. Enjolras scoffed.
"I am not that predictable." Courfeyrac said nothing, just motioned for him to continue. "Okay, so first of all, the other workers suck. They're not even volunteers, they don't give two shits about anyone there, and they're a bunch of uneducated idiots." Courfeyrac raised his eyebrows, still saying nothing.
"Second of all, it's sad, Courf, it's really sad to see. Like these people…how much pride do you have to lose to be forced to go to a soup kitchen and be served by a bunch of assholes who don't even notice you're there?"
"Tough times."
"It's not right." Enjolras said seriously, fidgeting with his fingers. "Third of all, Gavroche was there." Courfeyrac put down his beer, frowning slightly. "But he wasn't there during the day, because since he's on his own, he's not allowed to go. Does that make any sense at all? A kid who has no family isn't able to go to a soup kitchen! Isn't he the one that should be there the most? So he snuck in at night, scared the living shits out of me, and all he was trying to steal was bread. BREAD."
"What did you do?" Courfeyrac was trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. He had met Gavroche the night before, and already cared for the boy.
"I made him sit down and eat with me. We had mashed potatoes and some other food that was just going to go to waste. I told him to stop by every night to eat and that I'd make sure he was fed."
"That's…that's very admirable Enjolras, that's great."
"No, it's not great. It's ridiculous. This kind of thing should not happen. And even if people are starving – I think there will always be starving people – they should be able to access help. What is the good of help if it is not available for everyone?" Enjolras was practically shouting at this point, half standing from his chair.
"Hear, hear!" Grantiare cheered, holding his beer in Enjolras's direction. Enjolras frowned, and stood up from his seat.
"This isn't a joke, R, this is serious!" Enjolras repeated what he had told Courfeyrac to the group. At the end, all of them were frowning.
"Add that to the agenda." Enjolras commanded, to which Cosette pulled a small notebook from under the cash register. They kept a record of all the causes they had aims to improve, and kept it hidden away in the café. "I want to see what we can do about making sure this aid is accessible to everyone. You shouldn't need to be on any kind of list to get in, and children who live on the streets certainly should not be turned away."
Cosette wrote his words down, and replaced the notebook. Enjolras continued. "Gavroche has a sister as well, she's going to come with him tomorrow. I suppose I could ask her about her opinions on everything…"
"Gavroche has a sister?"
"He said her name is Éponine. She did not graduate from high school, and she's currently trying to find a job. He hinted that she had been involved in…less than modest means of attaining money. Hopefully she will come with him tomorrow."
"Hang on," Marius said, standing up and frowning. "Éponine? And the boy…oh well, yes that makes sense, she told…yes…"
"Would you care to share with the group, Marius?" Enjolras deadpanned, earning a laugh from his friends. Marius had the tendency of getting carried away in his own head.
"Ah, yes, sorry. Éponine? I know her. It makes sense now. I used to live next door to their family, and I thought Gavroche looked familiar. We were friends."
"Were?"
"That would be my fault." Cosette piped up, coming to stand in front of the counter. "You all know I was adopted, but it was actually Gavroche and Éponine's parents that I was taken from by my father. They had me in foster care."
"Why did you leave?" Combeferre asked. Cosette frowned.
"The Thenardiers…they're horrible people. They practically enslaved me, and treated their daughters like princesses. When I left though…I saw Éponine with Marius before he and I met, and she had been living on the street. Her parents were monsters. When Marius and I started dating, I mentioned my time with the family and he stopped speaking to her. You know, you really didn't have to." She chastised, giving him a patronizing look. He blushed slightly, kissing her cheek. It was clear they had had the conversation before.
"The Thenardiers…isn't the guy the leader of that gang? He just got arrested the other day?" Jehan asked, coming to join the group at the bar.
"The Patron-Minette. Nasty group." Courfeyrac said with a shudder. "They're into everything – drugs, prostitution, illegal exports…" He trailed off.
"Jesus, no wonder the kid and his sister didn't want to stay with them."
"They used to involve her in their jobs." Marius said quietly, twisting the neck of his beer bottle nervously. "I don't think I was supposed to know. She was small, and she wasn't that old, and they used her to…distract people while they did their jobs. I don't know many details. She certainly didn't have it easy."
The conversation further fueled Enjolras's anger. "She's looking for a job, I hope she's able to find one." He said shortly, making it clear their conversation about Éponine and her past was over. Enjolras did not even know the girl yet; he certainly did not want to pass judgment before meeting her.
The group was silenced, and Enjolras sat back down at his table, retreated into his own thoughts. At the bar, Grantaire shrugged at the other boys. "Maybe this chick is hot?" He suggested, letting out a cry of surprise when Jehan hit him on the arm.
"Even if she is, Enjolras won't notice."
"Good night, kid, have a good one." John called out as he and the other workers left the soup kitchen. It had been another long day of biting his tongue for Enjolras, who raised a middle finger to the retreating backs of his coworkers. He picked up the broom, sweeping the back area quickly, before turning a light on for Gavroche. And Éponine, he reminded himself.
After a few minutes, Enjolras heard the faint click of a door opening, followed by hushed voices. "I told you, it's fine." It was Gavroche, and he sounded like he was whining.
"I want you fed, Gav, but I don't want any shady deals, you got that?"
"I promise, it's fine."
Enjolras took this opportunity to step into view. His eyes first fell on Gavroche, who looked up at him with a grin. Behind him, standing no more than five feet, was a young woman. Her long, dark hair was cascading over her shoulders as she bent forward to talk to Gavroche, her dark eyes trailing from the floor, up to meet Enjolras's gaze. Her skin was dark from the sun, her lips open in faint surprise at his arrival. She was wearing a simple black skirt and white collared shirt; it was clear she had been on a job interview earlier.
She seemed to be surveying him as well, and Enjolras became painfully aware of how out of place his hair was, along with the ruffled state of his clothes. He was never one to concern himself too much in vanity, and without a second thought, he stepped forward and extended a hand. "I'm Enjolras, you must be Éponine."
She looked at him for almost ten seconds without response, before snapping out of her reverie and standing to her full height. "Yes, Éponine." She said slowly, placing her hand in his. "I know you."
Enjolras's brow furrowed as her hand fell out of his. "You do?"
"I used to be friends with Marius, and I saw the two of you together a few times." Éponine said, smiling slightly. "It's okay if you don't remember, I'm pretty easy to miss."
"I don't think that's – " Enjolras started, but Éponine was already wandering around the kitchen. Gavroche gave him a look, rolling his eyes to the ceiling, before grinning.
"Are you two hungry?" Enjolras questioned, to which Gavroche nodded enthusiastically. Enjolras cast his gaze to Éponine, who was standing near the oven. She gave a noncommittal shrug, which he took as a yes. He grabbed three plates, loading them with mashed potatoes, chicken and bread.
"Are we going to have mashed potatoes every night?" Gavroche questioned, poking at the white substance with his fork.
"Gav!" Éponine exclaimed, looking from her brother to Enjolras in horror. "I'm sorry, he's – "
"A boy, who probably wants some variety. I'll see what I can do tomorrow." Enjolras said, smiling at Gavroche. He nodded, digging into the potatoes anyway.
"How is the job hunt?" Enjolras asked Éponine, who looked down at Gavroche.
"Did you tell him our whole life story?" She asked exasperatedly. Gavroche said nothing, just laughed into his food. "It's going okay. It's hard to find something that pays enough."
"Are you living on your own?" Enjolras asked. Éponine shrugged, looking down.
"I live all over," she said nonchalantly. "Sometimes at home, sometimes with friends, sometimes with Gav." She ruffled his hair affectionately. "Someone has to look after this miscreant."
Enjolras smiled slightly, not missing the undertone: Éponine did not have a home to call her own.
"How is Marius?" Éponine asked carefully. Enjolras shrugged.
"He's the same old Marius. Still oblivious." Éponine laughed at this, her face turning slightly pink. Enjolras did not miss this either; clearly, Epoinine had some sort of feelings for Marius. He wondered if this had something to do with why they were no longer friends.
The meal passed too quickly for Enjolras's liking. Gavroche commanded most of the attention; he seemed to relish in the fact that his sister and a law student were sharing a meal with him, and listening to his stories attentively.
For much of the meal, Enjolras stared at Éponine. She did not seem to notice, and to this, Enjolras was grateful. He took in her appearance and her attitude with respect and amazement. From what he had heard from Marius and Cosette, Éponine had not had a very good life. She was only about eighteen years old, and yet, she had all the youthfulness of someone who had lived a much easier life than herself. Enjolras did not know how she did it. He knew if he dug deeper, he would find the traces of that life, and for some reason (that he didn't understand) he felt himself wanting to.
Éponine was considering Enjolras just as much as he was trying to read her. She took in his clothing and groomed appearance with envy. Gavroche had told her that Enjolras was a law student, so clearly he had money and was well-educated. He did not come off as such, however. Éponine had found that many people who were blessed with good fortune were rude and off putting to those they believed to be "below them". Enjolras seemed quite the opposite, and anyone who went out of their way for Gavroche was good in Éponine's book.
A little after nine, Enjolras stood up, taking their empty plates and depositing them in the wash. "I hate to cut this short, but I have a meeting I have to get to," he said, pushing his chair in and looking at Éponine and Gavroche in turn. "Will I see you two tomorrow night?"
Gavroche nodded enthusiastically, his head bobbing up and down. "Same time!" He said cheerfully, rubbing his full stomach. Éponine smiled, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder.
"I'll be here," she said, looking up to smile at Enjolras.
"Would I….would I be able to talk to you about some things in this soup kitchen?" Enjolras asked suddenly, fixing his blue eyes on her brown. Her eyebrows furrowed.
"You want to talk to me?"
"I have some…issues with how this establishment, and the government as a whole are run. I'd like to hear your opinion."
"Why do you want to talk to me, because I'm poor?" she asked bitterly, turning her gaze away from Enjolras. He shook his head, leaning forward and placing a hand on the table.
"No, because your opinion matters."
She stared at him, not saying anything. He smiled slightly, pushing himself off the table and following the pair to the door. As they left, Enjolras flicked off the light, pulling the door shut behind him. He took the key from his pocket, placing it in the lock.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Éponine said.
"I'll – " Enjolras turned to reply, but she was already gone.
And they have met! What will happen next? Leave me a lovely review, will you? Love you all! – Brittany
