Author's Note: Big thank you to the lovely DonJuana19! The character Lynette is hers, and you NEED to read her stories about her, which include Passion for Patria and Trials and Tribulations. Her new story, Meet the Beauchene's (sp?) will be up soon, so check out her stuff! Or I will be very sad.
P.S: I put in a bit of time between the Attack at the Rue Plumet and the Battle. As you can tell. But I'll get there.
P. P. S: After seeing the movie, I've changed the portrayer of Enjolras to the Godly Aaron Tveit. Just sayin'.
Enjolras' POV
I watched Éponine walk to her home, and I thought I might've been going into cardiac arrest. Here I was, a 24-year-old revolutionary student, almost hyperventalating in the middle of an avenue. I feared for Éponine. If she was going to get beaten worse than she has been, she'd probably be dead.
I walked home almost like an atomaton. I could only imagine what her father must be doing to her now. I needed to know if she was ok. I needed reassurance that my friend would be able to see tomorrow. I needed to talk.
Talking to friends is the most useful way to release emotion. I didn't feel like looking for the guys, so I changed my course and headed for the only friend who could give revolutionary speeches that rivaled even mine.
"Lynette? You there?" My voice was shakier than I expected. I waited a bit, and soon, the door swung open.
"Well Enjolras, have you finally decided to look towards real women instead of dogmatic representations of our fine country?" Lynette asked with a giggle. She loved to make fun of my passion for Patria. She was also as much of a revolutionary as the Amis. She'd fight as strong as any man; we all called her the Spitfire.
"I can't talk about that now, I need your help." I was visibly upset, and she ushered me inside her flat. We sat down, and I told her the story, starting at the Café. I was in a whirlwind of emotions, and I attempted to shield them from Lynette.
"I just need to know she's ok," I said as I summed up my rant.
"Enjolras, do I sense an ATTRACTION?" She winked, and I have to confess, I almost wanted to slam my head on the coffee table in front of me.
"No! Of course not! I'd feel the same if it were you."
"Hm..." She got the look on her face that she usually had when she's trying to process her ideas. "Do you know where this Éponine lives? Perhaps you could go to her home and see for yourself. It wouldn't hurt, and it could be her aid."
I never thought about where she lived. I always assumed that it was either on the streets or in an Inn somewhere. I shook my head, and Lynette looked at me with a worried glint in her eyes.
"Enjolras, I ask that you stay here tonight. I want to make sure you're ok…or prepared for the worst."
Éponine's POV
I woke up the next morning to EXTREME pain in my chest. It felt as if someone had stabbed me, and my memory of last night flooded into my brain. I sat up and looked around. I was in Combeferre's home alright. We never had any books in our little inn, much less a bed like the one I was in. I felt a sharp stab in my ribs again, and I figured it was time to get Combeferre.
I slowly walked into the living room, and I saw him in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Goodmorning, Éponine! My God, 'Ponine, you're very pale. You look like you're on Death's door!" He walked over to me and sat me down on the couch.
"M-My rib," I croaked. "It's still broken."
"Merde. Joly lives down the hall. I'll fetch him." He ran out of the apartment, and moments later, he returned with a rather surprised Joly.
"How did this happen?" He asked.
"M-My father." He paled, then went to work bandaging me. About ten minutes later, he put all of his equipment back into his bag and nodded to me.
"Be careful!" He left, and Combferre showed Joly out, thanking him.
Combferre turned back to me, saying: "I have to go to my classes now. You can come with me if you wish." I nodded and followed him out the door.
The University was huge, though I've walked there with…Marius before. I had to shake him from my thoughts, no matter how hard that is.
We walked inside the huge wooden doors, and all I could do was gawk. My mouth was hanging open in awe. I've never seen such a fancy place! There were large paintings of leaders and kings on all the walls. There were lots of well-dressed men walking around us.
"Beautiful…," I sighed. I started to walk slowly toward the end of the long hallway. I got many glances from the men around me. They've probably never seen a woman here, much less a street rat.
Combeferre guided me into a large lecture hall. There were desks on different levels surrounding a platform in the middle. My eyes must've been the size of dinner plates.
"You can sit next to me," Combeferre whispered into my ear. He led me to his seat and told me to get comfortable, for we had to stay in the same spot for four hours. I watched the other gentlemen filter in through the doors. I didn't recognize anyone.
I turned to Combeferre and asked him: "Are the other Amis going to be here?" He chuckled, nodded, then pointed toward the doorway, where a rather hungover Grantaire stood. He trudged up the stairs and flopped next to me, not saying a word.
"Um…Grantaire? Are you...alright?" He mumbled something about a birthday party, and he peered over to look at me.
"Woah!" His head snapped up. "When the hell did you get here?!"
"Monseir Joséph, I will not have cursing in my classroom!" The Professor yelled at Grantaire from his platform.
"Sincerest apologies, Monseiur," Grantaire grumbled.
"Combeferre asked me to come," I whispered. "Isn't it exciting?"
"Y-Yeah…sure. Congrats." Grantaire proceeded to put his head back on the desk. Class had begun, and everyone pulled out notebooks, pencils, books, pens, and various other instruments. Combeferre tore a piece of paper from his notebook and placed it and a pencil in front of me. Too late to tell him I could barely read or write. But I pretended I knew what I was doing.
The Professor was in the middle of a long and confusing speech when a flustered and familiar man burst through the door.
"Lucien Enjolras, so glad for you to join us," The Professor sneered.
"S-Sorry, Monseiur," Enjolras mumbled. He raced to his seat on the other side of Combeferre, took out his supplies, and proceeded to take notes.
I stared at Enjolras, who was still straining to gain a bearing. He easily caught a train of thought, for he relaxed and wrote with ease. At this time, I noticed something about him that I never had before. He had a little scar above his upper lip. He had a dimple on his left cheek, and not his right. A couple strands of his curly blond hair was constantly falling in his eyes. He had a permanent wrinkle of worry etched into his forehead. I memorized every detail about him. He WAS handsome. Just how everyone said he was.
I smiled a bit and leaned my head on my hands. In my peripheral vision, Combferre was smirking to himself. I nudged him with my elbow, and his face went back to its resting position.
Oh no! No, no, no! 'Ponine, you will NOT fall in love! You saw what it did to you!
I shook my head quickly and turned back to the lecture. My thoughts floated back to Enjolras again, and soon, I found myself staring at him again. But this time, luck wasn't on my side. He looked at me.
"'Ponine? What on Earth are you doing here?" he whispered with a small smile.
"Combeferre let me come. Joly patched me up, and now I'm here," I whispered back.
Enjolras paused, then turned back. "Good."
After four long hours, the class ended. When the Professor left the room, the group made a collective groan; me included.
"Well that was Hell in a hand basket!" said Grantaire, who stood up and stretched. The three boys that were sitting with me all set their stuff away. I was about to put my paper away, but Enjolras snatched it off the desk before I could.
"Hey! Give that back, Monseiur!" I shouted at him.
Enjolras held up a hand and started reading. "Hm…'Ponine, do you know how to read and write?"
"No," I mumbled ashamedly.
"Then why does all of this make perfect sense? Sure, the spelling is a tad off, but otherwise, it's an amazing paper."
I stared at him with wide eyes. "What? How is that even possible? I just took things that I heard and things from my head and mushed them together!"
"Well, it's amazing…mush." Enjolras grinned and read my paper. When he finished, I looked up to see the men that were left in the room staring at me.
"Thanks…can I have it back now, please?"
He smiled wider, handed the paper back to me, and ruffled my hair.
"Ready to return to the café?" Enjolras asked the group. All of us nodded, and we started out to the meeting.
Enjolras' POV
All I could think of on the way to the meeting was the way Eponine was staring at me in the lecture. She looked like she was concentrating hard, so I didn't bother her until it grew to be too curious. She still confuses me.
"Enjolras! I need you!" I heard Courfeyrac call from the back of the room. Sighing to myself, I went over quickly.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I heard from someone that our own 'Ponine was staring at you."
"Is it true?" Prouvaire added in.
"Men, don't you have something better to discuss? Like, perhaps, PLANS?" I shoved a few maps and notes into Courfeyrac's chest, and I returned to my seat.
I worked without interruption for approximately an hour. I hummed to myself, and my reverie was broken by someone sitting at my messy table.
"How's everything, Monsieur Enjolras?" Eponine said cheerfully.
"Haven't I asked you to stop calling me Monsieur?" I asked, not looking up from my work.
"N-No…I don't think so…want me to?"
"That'd be lovely…"
"Oh. I intruded. I'm sorry, Mon- Enjolras."
I waved it away. "Forget it. Can you help me?" I looked up, and she got a proud glint in her eye. She was finally asked for help.
"Of course!" She saluted me, pulled up a chair, and we talked and laughed and worked until the restaurant closed.
