A/N Hi again to you lovely readers! Here is the third instalment of 'Well that was Unexpected'. In this chapter we have fluff, fun and Courfeyrac, the best mixture ever in my opinion.
Hi! Its SPAS' little sis Rachel again. Once again I just wish to point out that I was the mastermind behind this story. You may worship me later: after reading and reviewing. Youwill review Enjoy!
Okay, Rach, you're bordering on insane there! *laughs nervously while backing away* We wrote this together and you know it.
Details, details. Anyway, I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it. Yummy, ankles…
Bad Rachel, bad! Leave my ankles alone! Enjoy the story, people!
Yummy! Give me ankles so I may feed upon them Mooohahahahahaha.
Disclaimer: Neither of us owns Les Miserables or the Barricade Boys. Well, not yet... Rachel, get the van.
Rachel: Which one? The flowery one Jehan gave us?
SPAS: No, the mysterious black one we picked up from Montparnasse.
Rachel: Oh goody!
Before Jehan was even through the door of the Musain, Eponine had his order (a sweet and creamy latte) half made. He gave her a surprised and grateful glance, picking up the warm beverage and dropping his heavy book bag with a resounding thud on the floor. Within minutes he was curled up in his favourite chair, reading a book and sipping his drink. Eponine smiled at the sight and set about preparing the next order.
She had the Amis to thank for her new job at the Musain, specifically Joly. When the group had come around to her place of work to keep her company one evening, the cleanliness and customer service of the place had practically traumatised poor Joly. He had refused to condone her working in such a place and had worked his surprisingly considerable charm on the owner of the Musain to give Eponine a job. She was now on better wages, better working conditions, more flexible hours and she got to see her friends (she still found it strange to call them that) every day.
From her spot behind the counter of the Musain, Eponine had a pretty clear view of anyone coming in the door. In fact she could see half way down the street. This was rather useful because she got a few minutes warning when the Amis were about to descend on mass on the café. It gave her a chance to assess their mood and start on their drinks.
She glanced up from wiping down the counter and spied Courfeyrac trudging down the street towards the Musain. She frowned. His posture was slumped, his hands tucked into his pockets, his eyes on the floor. This was nothing like the normal Courfeyrac. The normal Courfeyrac would be bouncing down the street, skipping if he was with Jehan ("What, it's the fastest way to get around!") and doing a Singing in the Rain impression just for her on the lamppost outside the café.
The cheerful tinkle of the bell was completely at odds with the dejected looking figure that caused its movement. When he reached the counter, he laid his arms on the wooden surface and buried his head in them, all without saying a word.
Eponine was getting legitimately worried now. "Courf, baby, are you okay?"
He shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Courf, you're scaring me." She ran her fingers through his still gingery curls, noticing the absence of something. "Where's your beanie?"
"It blew away." The answer was muffled.
"Is that why you're upset? Because you had to be out in public with your hair on show?" Eponine felt like laughing now. "You know I've apologized for that and anyway, I didn't know you would have to wait six weeks before you could dye your hair back to your natural colour."
"It's not the hat, and it's not the hair." His big green eyes rose to meet her. "I just discovered that the one thing I could always believe in is a lie. It is an illusion, a trick that I have played on myself for years."
Eponine gave the most intelligent answer she was capable of at that moment. "Huh?"
Courfeyrac took a deep, shuddering breath. "My charm failed me."
Eponine heard Jehan's intake of breath.
Courfeyrac nodded solemnly. His head dropped back to the counter with a painful sounding thud. "It was humiliating."
"I am agog!" Grantaire's voice rang out from his place in the corner, where he had heard the whole story. "I am aghast! Did someone turn down Courfeyrac? At last?"
"Oh, you don't understand!" Courfeyrac groaned, finally moving to a chair where he lounged dramatically. "I genuinely like this girl. Oh, don't act like that!" this last comment was directed at Grantaire who was clutching at his chest in fake shock.
"So what happened? What went wrong?" Jehan scooted his chair closer, his eyes alight with eagerness.
"Okay, so I wasn't really concentrating in my lecture, I mean I already know all of the dates and info backwards, I mean, we're studying the June Student Rebellion of 1832 and that's like Enjolras favourite period of history, but I digress. As I said, I wasn't really concentrating, but the girl beside me was. Did I mention she looks really hot when she's really concentrating? Rather a lot like Enjolras, but anyway. So, she's like really into it, and I start trying to read her notes, so I lean over a little bit…and then a little bit more and then…"
"Oh, no." Grantaire groaned. "You didn't do 'the move', did you? Right there in class?"
Eponine held a hand up. "Whoa, back up because I'm a little lost here. What is 'the move'?"
Grantaire shook his head gravely and moved to sit next to Jehan. "The flirting term we are discussing here, 'the move', goes something like this. You begin with a simple stretch." He stretched his arms above his head as if he was simply relaxing his muscles. "As the arms come down, one goes behind the shoulders of the recipient." One paint spattered arm curled itself around Jehan's shoulder. "To maximise the stretch, you lean across to extend the muscle." His arm reached farther around and his hand made its way to the top of Jehan's arm. Jehan was looking slightly uncomfortable. "Head comes across for extra reach." His head lay down onto Jehan's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck.
"I'm not even going to ask." Enjolras closed the door behind him.
Grantaire disentangled himself from the poet with fluid ease. "Just demonstrating 'the move' to Eponine."
"With Jehan?" Enjolras raised an eyebrow.
Grantaire frowned. "When you say it like that it really doesn't sound very good, does it?"
"R?" Jehan poked the older man in the ribs. "Can you get off me now?"
Grantaire gave one last squeeze before returning to his seat. "Of course, little Jehan."
Eponine interrupted this touching display of tactile friendship with a rather unladylike snort. "You tried to snuggle with some random girl you've never talked to before, in the middle of class? Remind why you haven't been reported for harassment?"
"He has." Enjolras commented dryly.
Courfeyrac was defensive. "It was once and it was a total misunderstanding. Sorry, back to my story. I didn't actually pull 'the move' because she looked up and gave me a glare that would match Enjolras' any day so I rather wisely decided to wait until after class. The end of the lecture came and I caught her as we went to leave and asked if she maybe wanted to study together sometime and that I knew this great little café just off campus. That café is here in case you hadn't guessed. I explained I needed a bit of help because I had been so distracted by her beauty I hadn't been paying attention."
"So what did she say?" Jehan rested his chin on one fist. "I mean, she obviously said no or you wouldn't be brooding, but what did she say?"
"She just…looked at me. Pityingly. As if I was some little boy trying it on with a girl way out of his league."
Eponine rolled her eyes. "You are stunningly pathetic sometimes, Courf."
"Hey," he whined, "don't be mean to me. I've been emotionally bruised today and I think that deserves a hot chocolate."
Eponine completed another eye roll.
"Yes, with the little marshmallows and everything." Courfeyrac clambered into Jehan's chair (that still had Jehan in it) and curled himself around the poet. This was something that Eponine had learned very quickly. Courfeyrac was a very touchy feely type of guy, not in a creepy way, just really physically affectionate. It had taken her a little while to get used to it, especially if he sneaked up on her and gave her a hug because, for far too much of her life, physical contact for her was often unpleasant, usually resulting in bruises.
Now however, she smiled fondly as Courfeyrac proceeded to whine and wheedle at Jehan until he was given a small stack of cookies from the box that Jehan had baked and brought with him to the meeting. She looked over to Enjolras and was surprised to see the same emotion mirrored on his face. He glanced over and flushed slightly as he realized he had been caught in a sentimental moment, a small bashful smile gradually gracing his features. Eponine felt herself smile back but the smile dropped as she heard the click of a camera shutter.
"You had better delete that, 'Taire!" She threatened making to head out from behind the counter. "I've been on my feet all day and look disgusting. Delete it!" She stood before him, hands on her hips, a fierce frown on her face. Enjolras echoed her protests, but Grantaire waved them down.
"No, this is photographic evidence that you and Enjolras can actually genuinely smile at each other." He had a strange look on his face and Eponine had a feeling he wasn't mentioning something, but she let it drop. She had caught sight of the rest of the Amis charging the street and needed to start on their orders. She spared Enjolras one last glance but his attention was once again on his laptop. She sighed and started on Joly's soy macchiato.
LINE BREAK! THE VAN! THE VAN IS HERE! LET'S GO GET SOME BARRICADE BOYS! WHOOO!
After his minor breakdown at the café, Courfeyrac seemed to bounce back to his normal self. He dyed his hair back to its natural colour of dark brown and returned to flirting with any pretty girl that crossed his path.
Eponine had all but forgotten about the incident until one particular day at the café…
She had just finished her shift and was relaxing with the group when something very strange happened.
The bell rang above the door, indicating a new customer had entered the café. Eponine glanced up out of instinct and saw a young woman of about her age standing in front of the counter. She was dressed fashionably but comfortably and her ash blond hair was caught up in a simple pony tail. She thought nothing of it until she turned back around and found that Courfeyrac had disappeared.
"Erm, guys? Has anyone seen Courfeyrac?"
Everyone glanced around, confused as to his whereabouts until they heard rapid breathing from underneath the table.
Eponine ducked her head underneath the table to find a wide eyed Courfeyrac curled up on the floor, peering through the gap between her chair and Bahorel's, who was sat next to her.
"It's her. It's Laura." He whispered by way of explanation. "The girl who turned me down."
"So, why are you pulling a Pontmercy and hiding under the table?"
He pouted. "Low blow Thenardier, low blow."
Feuilly's head appeared under the table next. "Why is Courf pulling a Pontmercy?"
They faintly heard Marius protesting at this implied slight as to his character, but they all ignored him.
"The girl who turned Courf down a couple of weeks ago and seriously dented his self-belief in his charming abilities is stood at the counter." Eponine explained, sliding off her chair completely and onto the floor. "So he's hiding."
Jehan appeared next, sitting cross legged next to his best friend. "Why are we all under the table?"
Eponine couldn't help but giggle at the picture Jehan made, his long arms and legs tangled together to fit under the wooden table.
Feuilly answered the question. "Courfeyrac's female arch nemesis is at the counter."
Courfeyrac raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Arch nemesis is a bit over the top don't you think?"
"Hey, guys." Grantaire slithered under the table, "Aw, you're having a party and you didn't invite me? That hurts guys, truly. So why are we hiding?"
"We're hiding with Courfeyrac because the girl that broke his heart and destroyed his self-worth with her evil world domination plans is at the counter."
Eponine sighed. "Feuilly, please slap Jehan."
"OW!"
"Over and done with."
"To answer your question R, we're hiding because Courfeyrac isn't man enough to go and talk to his crush." Eponine pulled a childish face in response to Courfeyrac's glare.
"Ooohhh." Grantaire hummed, earning himself a kick from Enjolras when he tickled his ankles. "So what's the problem? Man up and talk to her."
Bahorel peeked under the table. "I'm not going to join you in your little 'under the table' club, but I agree with R. Get out from under the table and talk to her before I drag you out by the roots of your fake dyed hair."
Knowing Bahorel wasn't joking, Courfeyrac complied, grumbling somewhat. He straightened his shirt, ruffled his hair for good measure and set off towards the girl's table, his familiar swagger firmly in place
Grantaire appeared from the waist up from under the table and rested his chin on the edge. "Five bucks says he gets bitch slapped and/or has a drink thrown on him."
Eponine popped up next to him. "You're on."
LINE BREAK! I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!
Five minutes later Eponine could see that she was losing the bet and Courfeyrac was minutes away from being doused in mango smoothie.
Grantaire smirked around the neck of his bottle. "Want to hand that money over now, Thenardier?"
"Kiss my ass, Nicholas." She snarked.
Jehan smiled. "Hey, that nearly rhymed!"
Eponine heard Courfeyrac burst into hysterical laughter and cringed. If she was going to win the bet, she needed to do something drastic. It seemed desperate times called for desperate measures. Getting to her feet and ignoring Grantaire's protests that interventions were not allowed, she headed towards the other table, adopting the walk of someone who was slightly uncertain. Being the daughter of a conman and taking part in scams had honed her acting skills somewhat it seemed.
She sidled closer and tentatively tapped Courfeyrac on the shoulder. He turned, a slightly confused look on his face. Before he could speak and blow her cover, she let surprise wash over her features.
"Oh my god, it is you!" Her smile was brilliant, egged on somewhat by the look of utter confusion on Courfeyrac's face.
"It's me…?" He trailed off, giving her a look that clearly said WHAT THE HELL?
"You saved my puppy from out of the river a few weeks ago!" she pulled over a chair from another table. "I never really got a chance to thank you for saving my little…" her mind grasped for a name. "Jehan! Jehan, my little dog."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the other girl's eyes widen in surprise. She gave Courfeyrac a look to say he should play along, which he did, with great aplomb.
"Oh, it was nothing. Really." He looked down, blushing slightly (how did he do that?) and sounding uncomfortable from the attention. "But I just couldn't walk past you know? He just looked so helpless and scared and," he gave a bashful smile, "I'm a sucker for cute dogs."
Eponine reached over and gave him an awkward hug. "I just wanted to be able to thank you." She stood and gave the girl a radiant smile. "You're very lucky to have a boyfriend like this."
The girl, Laura, turned a startling shade of red. "Oh, he's not my boyfriend." She stuttered. "I barely even know him."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Eponine squeaked, giving an uncomfortable smile. "I'll leave you two in peace now then." She sauntered back to the table that the Amis were sitting at and sat down triumphantly. Enjolras gave her an appraising look and the rest of the table either smiled or applauded.
"That's not fair!" grumbled Grantaire.
Eponine shrugged. "What you going to do about it?"
LINE BREAK. JUST A NORMAL LINE BREAK. HONEST.
After that, the conversation between Courfeyrac and his lady friend seemed to go much better. She seemed more engaged with him and less likely to slap him and he seemed more at ease as well.
Ten minutes later (in which Eponine and Grantaire never stopped bickering, even when Enjolras growled at them to shut up, and Bahorel and Feuilly joined in the bet) Courfeyrac and the girl rose, and after a brief and slightly awkward hug she left, waving to him one last time as she passed the window.
"Well? How'd it go?" Eponine asked as soon as Courfeyrac was sat back at their table, a slightly shell shocked expression on his face. "Oh, and boys? Pay up, he lived."
All three of the boys groaned and handed the money over to Eponine.
"I still say you cheated by intervening." Grantaire protested, holding the money just out of her reach.
Eponine snatched for it, seeing her shopping bill for the week disappearing if the other boys agreed with him, but help came from an unexpected source.
"Shut up and pay up, Grantaire. It was never specified that she couldn't intervene." Enjolras didn't even look up from his book to argue with the artist.
Stowing the money away in her purse, Eponine asked her question again. "How did it go? Did you get a date? An offer to speak again? Threats of death?"
"I'm dead."
His answer confused everyone.
Combeferre shifted slightly. "Is there any chance we'll be dealing with another harassment case?"
Courfeyrac shook his head. "No, the opposite. I seem to have talked my way into being her early morning swim partner before class."
Jehan's forehead furrowed. "But you don't swim; I think the last time you were in a swimming pool you were fully clothed, drunk and thought the whole situation was hilarious."
"Exactly! But after Eponine came over and set me up as a hero for diving into a river to save her dog, great on the spot choice of name by the way, Laura then asked if I swam for fun and then where I swam and then one thing led to another and…"
"It's your fault for lying." Enjolras said bluntly. "You're just going to have to start swimming." He peeked over the top of his book. "Not that it will do you any harm."
"Hey!" Courfeyrac yelped. "I am in perfectly adequate physical form thank you!"
"Swimming really is a very good form of exercise." Joly chipped in. "The natural buoyancy of the water means that there is less stress on your cartilage and bones." He frowned. "However, the water can be full of germs left by other swimmers, the top two or so inches especially, and the changing rooms can be the perfect breeding ground for foot infections such as verrucae and fungal infections and, okay, maybe it's not such a good idea for you go swimming after all…"
Bossuet good naturedly clapped a hand over his best friend's mouth. "Ignore him. If it's something you can have in common with her, go for it."
Courfeyrac pulled a face. "The things I do for love…"
LINE BREAK! I REALLY LIKE LINE BREAKS! AND SO DOES JEHAN!
A fortnight later Courfeyrac seemed significantly happier. He came bouncing into the Musain, a bright smile on his face and the distinct smell of chlorine clinging to his hair, mingled with the spicy scent of his shampoo.
"Hey!" he sing-songed, flopping into a chair.
"Hey." Eponine replied brightly. She gave him a quick once over. "Swimming seems to be doing you a hell of a lot of good."
"Thank you." He pulled a ridiculous noble pose for which he got slapped lightly.
"Looking good, Courf!" Grantaire ruffled his friend's wild brown curls before settling himself in his usual chair. "Hey, Ponine, check these out." He threw a folder onto the table.
Gingerly, she opened the folder, not quite sure what it would contain. When she saw what it was, she gasped in surprise.
"I handed it in as one of my assignments. " Grantaire smirked. "My tutor went nuts over it."
"I can see why." Courfeyrac agreed, peering over her shoulder to see it better.
Eponine gazed at the glossy photograph in amazement. It was the picture that Grantaire had taken a few weeks before that he had refused to delete. She was situated on the left, her hair pulling loose of its topknot, a few strands curling loosely around her face. Her lips were curled in a gentle smile, a sparkle of humour and happiness showing in her dark eyes.
Her eyes moved to the other side of the picture, the side holding Enjolras. His hair was in its usual rumpled state, golden curls arranged in a messy halo around his head. His lips were quirked up into a slightly guilty looking grin that made him look a little younger and more carefree than usual. His sharp blue eyes had a gentleness to them that Eponine hadn't seen before, even on that night, the emotion gone before she had recognized it.
The picture was stunning and beautiful and had a feeling of intimacy that made Eponine feel equal parts uncomfortable and intrigued. She didn't realize how else it had affected her until a tear dropped onto the paper.
"How much did you have to Photoshop it to get me looking like that?" she joked, trying to draw attention away from her tears, and pushed the picture back towards its creator.
Grantaire looked at her seriously. "I didn't do anything to you or Enjolras, I just played with the background a little." He pushed the photo back into her hands. "That's all you."
"I look happy." Eponine didn't realize she had said the words aloud until Courfeyrac gave her a gentle hug. "I can't remember being happy before I met you guys."
Grantaire frowned. They knew very little about Eponine's past and she wanted it to stay that way, so he knew better than to ask questions. "I called it 'Apollo and Athena'" he said quietly.
The bell over the door rang and Enjolras and the rest of the group entered. Grantaire gave her a look and reached for the photo, thinking maybe she didn't want the picture that had affected her so deeply to be shown to everyone else.
She shook her head with a smile. "It's your work, it deserves to be shown off." She gave it a last look. "Such an unexpected moment deserves to be shared."
A/N AWWWW, cuteness all round! Hope you enjoyed this and don't be shy, tell abyour what your favourite bit was, or if there was something you want to see or something I should change. Although I was planning on only doing one chapter for each of the Amis, if I get some really good prompts, Id love to do more, these are just so much fun to write.
BTW the whole section involving 'the move' is real. It's from the film Cheaper by the Dozen 2, a personal favourite of mine, and was just begging to be out in.
Until next people mon Amis!
Libz
