On my own, pretending he's beside me.
All alone, I walk with him till morning.
Without him, I feel his arms around me.
And when I loose my way,
I close my eyes and he has found me.
They talked about their ideas of revolution for hours that night. The students had fun, laughing happily, telling silly jokes and they had a drink. Enjolras was still sitting at the table with Eponine, but Courfeyrac and Combeferre had joined them. Suddenly Eponine stood up.
"Would you excuse me for a moment, please?" she asked the students politely.
"Of course," Enjolras nodded.
Eponine didn't say anything but gave him a little smile and turned around.
"Where is she going?" Courfeyrac asked when he watched her walking downstairs.
"I've no idea, probably getting some fresh air," Combeferre said and shrugged.
After a few minutes Enjolras was getting a little worried and decided to go outside and look for her.
"I'm gonna have a look, it's dangerous outside at this time," he said and stood up.
When he walked outside he crossed the square and walked into an alley. He saw someone sitting on the floor, she had pulled up her knees and had wrapped her arms around them.
"Eponine?" he asked carefully.
The girl looked up, it was Eponine. He walked over to her, "What are you doing here? Come back inside, it's cold…"
She shook her head and looked down again. Enjolras kneeled down next to her and softly placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with red and watery eyes. He gulped at seeing her like that.
"Eponine, it's better if you come back inside," he tried again.
"Marius," she said quietly.
Enjolras didn't know what to say.
"He was all I had," she said. "But now I'm all alone again, nowhere to turn no one to go to…"
"That's not true," he said and shook his head.
"But now… the night is near, now I can believe he's here," she said and smiled a little. "You know," she continued and looked at Enjolras. "You know, sometimes I walk alone at night, when everybody else is sleeping. I think of him and I'm happy with the company I'm keeping,"
Enjolras looked a little confused at her. "He won't come back,"
"Yes, I know," she said and gulped. "I know it's only in my mind. That I am talking to myself and not to him,"
"Come on, you need to rest," Enjolras said and tried to pull her up.
"I love him," she said and stood up.
"I know you do…"
"I love him, but when the night is over, he is gone, the river's just a river….Without him the world around me changes," she said and her eyes started to fill with tears again, emotion taking over her voice. "The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers," Eponine said and suddenly walked away.
"Eponine!" Enjolras said a little shocked. He followed her, she was walking her way to the square again.
"I love him," she mumbled to herself. "I love him, but everyday I'm learning. All my life, I've only been pretending… Without him, my world will go on turning. His world was full of happiness, that I have never known." and with that she collapsed on her knees again, sobbing loudly.
Enjolras ran over to her, "Eponine…" He kneeled down next to her again and hugged her tightly. "Shhh… It's gonna be okay," he said and kissed her head softly.
She kept on sobbing.
"We don't let them go away with what they've done, we are fighting for revolution and it's going to happen soon, I promise you. We will do it for Marius,"
She looked up at him. He smiled at her and whipped away her tears.
"You are too good for this world,"
He chuckled, "I'm not,"
"Yes, you are," she nodded. "If everyone would be so kind and full of passion…"
"Then what?" he asked.
"Then all of this wasn't happening,"
"Maybe… but it is happening," Enjolras said. "And we are going to end this, tomorrow we will fight from our barricade, right here," he said and looked up at the cafe and the houses around.
Eponine looked up as well, "The sky is so beautiful,"
"It is," Enjolras said and looked up at the sky. "It's really clear, you can see the stars,"
"There are so many stars, you can't count them,"
"No you can't… But they are shining for you, for us," he said.
"For us?"
"I believe that every star is a soul in heaven," Enjolras said, still looking at the sky. "It's beautiful to think that Marius is there, looking down at us. And also helping us. He might be gone but he will always be here," he said and placed a hand on his heart. "And also here," he said and replaced his hand on Eponine's heart.
She smiled at him, "That's true,"
He gave her a smile too and stood up again, reaching out a hand for her. She took it and also stood up.
"Thank you," she said and hugged him.
"For what?" Enjolras asked.
"For just being here… and being you,"
