Eponine really needed a job. That was the thought that crossed her mind as she exited the overly crowded school, lugging her heavy backpack behind her. If she got a job, she would be able to pay her dad for nothing. Well, for safety. If she didn't bring anything, she received a beating. Simple as that. Also, she could keep some for herself and be able to buy herself some new supplies.

Clicking of heels came from behind her. Eponine whipped around and saw Leslie, the girl who had been crying earlier. Her makeup looked perfect once again, and she was smiling. At Eponine.

"Hi! So I was thinking, since I've been officially, like, rejected from Cosette's group, can I sit with you guys at lunch? Like, you people are the only ones who seem to be, like, totally nice to me these days and I really appreciate it. Totally." Leslie said excitedly. Eponine couldn't just turn her away, Leslie actually just hung around Cosette and didn't actually torture her. Eponine smiled widely.

"Sure thing. Anybody's welcome to our little group, even you." Eponine said, still smiling. Leslie thanked her many times and continued to walk with her.

"So, like, what bus number are you?" Leslie asked Eponine. She shrugged.

"21." Eponine said without any feelings. Leslie did her pretty girl gasp.

"I'm on that bus, too! Oh, we have to sit together! Like, best friends forever!" Leslie squealed. She pulled Eponine into a tight hug. Eponine gasped for air. Even pretty girls were strong. Eponine wiggled, but Leslie wouldn't let go.

"Can't… Breathe!" Eponine gasped. Quickly, Leslie shot back.

"Sorry!" Leslie cried. Then she hurried back to Eponine. She certainly was a persistent girl. Eponine thought she was fairly nice, though. She couldn't see shy these type of girls were choosing to join Cosette's side of the school. Because it made them super popular? Seriously.

Two boys ran up to Eponine and Leslie. Both were very tall.

"Hey, 'Ponine!" One of them shouted. Courfeyrac. Eponine waved to both boys, and Leslie gasped in disbelief. Oh right, Eponine thought, doesn't all the popular girls have a crush on some boy in this school? Probably Leslie likes Courfeyrac or… Who's that other guy? Oh. Joly. Right. We'll just have to see. Maybe- Courfeyrac waved his hand in front of Eponine's face. Eponine snapped out of her thinking trance and glared sharply at him, Leslie laughing loudly behind Joly. Courfeyrac put his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa! Hey! It was like, 'back to earth with 'Ponine' and then suddenly you give me a huge glare. If looks could kill, I'd certainly be dead by now, 'Ponine is great at that. Ow!" Courfeyrac cried. Eponine had slapped him harder than ever on the arm. This made Leslie giggle even harder.

"Hey! Who said you could insult my glares? They're my signature move!" Eponine said in mock insult. Courfeyrac decided to play along.

"Well, apparently, your signature move is death looks, but you don't know my best move." Courfeyrac said in a proud way. Eponine laughed inside her head. Really? All Courfeyrac really knew was tackle, run, and kick. Leslie flounced up to the pair.

"Oh, 'Fey! You're such a joker!" she squealed. Courfeyrac looked amused.

"'Fey? Really? Hey, can you start calling me that? It sounds good." He murmured to Eponine. She decided to comment on that.

"Why don't you go date Leslie, then? You two would make such a good pair!" Eponine whispered back. She did her best imitation of Leslie's squeal. Courfeyrac laughed. Eponine looked down at her worn out shoes, way too small for her, hiding the smile that appeared on her face.

"Courfeyrac! The buses are going to leave in…" Joly looked at his watch. "One minute! Better hurry!" It was true. Most of the areas had been cleared of students. Eponine grabbed Leslie, who was still looking at Courfeyrac in an admiring way, and steered her toward bus 21. Together, they climbed the steps of the bus and sat in one of the cracked, brown leather seats of the vehicle.

Truthfully, Eponine had never really noticed Leslie on the bus, partly because the usual squeals weren't there, and also because Eponine never paid attention to who else was sitting with her. Looking up this time, though, Eponine saw quite a few people from her classes, including Marius, Combeferre, Grantaire, Jean Prouvaire, and Enjolras. There were also two or three of Cosette's girls sitting towards the back, chatting and gossiping, or flirting with one of the football team members. Eponine's phone rang in her pocket.

Marius: Hey 'Ponine. Made a new friend?

Eponine: Yes, actually, she got kicked out of Cosette's girl gang.

Marius: Wat's her name?

Eponine: Leslie Grace, I think. She's actually pretty nice if u talk 2 her, unlike Cosette.

Marius: C'mon, 'Ponine. Cosette is really nice. Just talk 2 her! U will like her!

Eponine: Do u think I haven't tried yet?

Marius: Ur insufferable.

Eponine: Thank you.

Leslie peered over Eponine's shoulder.

"Who are you texting?" she asked. Eponine looked at her, then at Marius. He nodded at her, urging her to go on, as if he'd been listening to their conversation. Eponine glanced back at Leslie, not very shocked to find her giving her puppy eyes. Eponine sighed.

"Marius."

"Pontmercy?"

"Yes. He's my best friend. Of the opposite gender."

"Oh! You two are dating?"

"Of course not! Cosette just asked Marius out, anyways, he was never mine to lose."

Leslie sighed. "Aww. You sound just like a poet. Romance!"

"More like Jean Prouvaire." Eponine muttered under her breath, soft enough so Leslie wouldn't hear her. Her phone rang once again.

Marius: Hi again.

Eponine: Hiiiiiiiiii…

Marius: Can Enjolras join our texts?

Eponine: Sure, but why? He never really pays any attention 2 our texting.

Enjolras: So what if I do? Marius, is it possible 2 set up a text between just me and 'Ponine?

Eponine: Creep.

Marius: Okay, will do.

Enjolras: Thanks. Eponine, u owe me some explaining.

Eponine saw Marius fumbling with Enjolras' phone, which looked brand new. Typical rich people. She couldn't believe Enjolras didn't know how to set up a text. He really was too dedicated to studies. Seeing Marius' finger fly fast over the shiny keyboard, Eponine whipped her phone out, prepared to receive a text.

Enjolras: K, is this working alright?

Eponine: Ya, hand the phone over to Enjolras.

Enjolras: U need to stop making urself feel bad. Cosette's playing with u.

Eponine: Who said u can tell me what 2 do?!

Enjolras: Calm down, I'm only trying 2 help.

Eponine: Ya, well, Ur making me feel really bad.

Enjolras: Really? K, let's meet tomorrow after school at the front entrance. I know a café that's walking distance.

Eponine: Thank you. How will I get 2 my home?

Enjolras: I'll drive u.

Eponine: Thank you so much. I'll be there.

When Eponine arrived at the stop before hers, she jumped off and started walking. Through the window, Enjolras nodded at her, and she nodded back. Eponine also saw Leslie waving frantically at her, a sign of goodbye. Eponine waved back, though more calmly. Then, she sprinted down the street and tried to find Gavroche at his usual stop.

When she arrived, she saw Gavroche flirting with a girl his age. Eponine mentally slapped herself. Her twelve year old brother was flirting with a girl, and he wasn't even in high school! She was going to chew him out when she got home.

"Gavroche! Let's go!" Eponine shouted at the young boy, not bothering to wait for him. The girl blew Gavroche a kiss and he flushed a deep red. Eponine ran up to him and grabbed his arm, hard. Gavroche started yelling.

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Wait! Let me go!" He ran up back to the curb and snatched up his tattered backpack. Then he stormed after Eponine.

Azelma had stayed home from school that day to recover from her bruises and scrapes Thenardier had given her the day before. Eponine had received some, too, after throwing herself in the way, but she recovered faster than fragile Azelma. Azelma refused to believe she was weak, but she knew she could not stand up to Thenardier, at least not alone. Eponine always ended up steeping in and "helping" her with her problems. Thenardier used to be so loving and caring, but once he lost most of his money in gambles, he started turning on his daughters and son, and using them to get money. Eponine and Azelma hated the life of stealing, Gavroche didn't mind too much.

Eponine took out her key and inserted it into the rusted lock on the door. There were no cars in the driveway, which was a good sign because it meant none of her parents were home. She turned the doorknob and Gavroche bounded inside. Eponine followed and hung both their coats on the rack. She removed her shoes, and stepped barefoot onto the cold, hard living room floor. Across from her was the kitchen, so she went to prepare something for her siblings and herself.

Rummaging through the cabinets, Eponine found some canned peaches and a box of crackers. She brought those snacks to her room and found Gavroche and Azelma sitting on the floor, talking. Eponine opened the box of crackers and offered some to them.

"So, we would like to talk about Enjolras." Gavroche started. "We were reading your texts, and he said to meet him after school tomorrow. Are you two going out?" Eponine jumped. Gavroche had her phone? The little thief!

"Gavroche! Give my phone back to me!" she cried. Gavroche shook his head.

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

Eponine sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll tell you. Cosette asked Marius out today, and of course he believed her. So, he asked me to deliver a note to her about their first meeting tomorrow."

"But doesn't Marius know that you hate her?" Azelma asked carefully. Eponine shook her head as well.

"I never told him because of his crush on her. It would only make me lose our friendship." Eponine replied. Gavroche stole a cracker from the box.

"So, go on." Gavroche said through a full mouth.

"Enjolras tried to convince me not to cooperate in Cosette's plan, but declining Marius would make Marius sad, and I can't stand to see him that way! So, I agreed to meet Enjolras after school tomorrow to discuss the problem."

Gavroche knew that this whole thing was hurting her inside, but they were her siblings, and she could trust them with the information. They would never disrespect their sister, who had always taken care of them whenever they had hard times. Azelma scooted closer to Eponine.

"'Ponine, you can always come to us for help. It's the least we can do for you after you've basically raised us yourself. I know you're basically killing yourself over this situation. I'm sure you'll get over it soon, though." Eponine nodded in agreement. Azelma did have a point. It would kill her in the beginning, but soon enough, she would discover that all this fuss would not be worth it. Then Gavroche's second question hit her.

"WHY WOULD YOU THINK WE'RE GOING OUT?!" Eponine yelled at Gavroche. He shrugged. Eponine decided to throw something at him.

"Hey, who was that girl you were flirting with? Are you two going out? Hmm?" Eponine asked patiently. Gavroche turned red again. He really hated when his older sisters got in his business. Azelma leaned forward, eager to hear. This made Gavroche even more truculent. Now he knew why Eponine always got irritated at him when he asked if she was dating one of the Revolutionaries.

"So, what was her name? How old is she? Come on Gavroche, you ask me this all the time." Eponine pressed on, not giving up. Gavroche groaned.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Her name is Nessa."

Eponine smiled in victory.