A/ N : Hello again guys, here is another chapter for all you wonderful readers. Thank you so much for R/R and being so kind with your words. By the way guys this does not have a Beta so sorry for any mistakes, grammar is not my strong suit. :D

Eponine made her way through the halls as quickly as she could. She saw Javert waiting for her at the doors that led out of the school and she stopped in front of him.

"How'd you get here so fast Pai Mei?" She laughed out still struggling to look normal.

The joke came out sounding frail and empty. She cast her eyes to the floor and she could feel him looking at her. He sighed and opened up the door for her after a moment's hesitation. She looked back to catch Javert's gaze as she left. There was a mix of irritation and concern in his eyes but Javert would never try to fix her problems for her. He knew she was strong on her own, and she would power through it when no one was looking. She was grateful that he knew her that well and that it was him at the doors waiting for her instead of Valjean. She didn't think she could muster enough anger for anyone else on top of what she already felt for herself. She smiled at him one last time and took out a cigarette as she turned away from the doors.

The wind was howling outside and the sky overhead was cast in various tones of grey. It almost felt as if there was some God out there, well aware of the storm raging inside her who wouldn't mind mocking her for a few hours. Lighting her cigarette she flicked off the sky and her god of choice. "You're a fucking bowl of soup." She mumbled around her smoke.

Yes, she was upset. She was blistering with anger and resentment at herself for allowing that moment of fragility. How could she honestly have thought he meant her? She swore out loud and wiped at the moisture building and threatening to spill from her eyes. She squeezed them tight to force them to stop but it only made it harder for her to see the world in front of her.

Eponine never cried. Never.

There was once a time and a place for such things but it seemed stupid to cry for a boy when she never did over the fucked up life she lived.

Rain started to pour down on her and she sent a silent thanks for the mercy and grace to disguise the tears escaping as nothing but water that would help the flowers grow. Only rain drops falling down her cheeks. She took out the folded letter from her back pocket, its weight overly affected by gravity in her hands. She clutched it tightly and placed it inside one of her books to keep it dry and continued on her way.

She felt the hope of any future with Marius slowly dwindling further into oblivion and though she knew from the start that she never stood a chance against the pretty girls at Les Mis, her air supply still felt limited and it left her feeling high.

Eponine was proud to be realistic and brutally honest with herself but that didn't stop her from drowning in the desperate dreams now crashing down around her.

She rubbed her arms now raw from the pelting rain but it didn't soothe her at all. She had a myriad of scars from learning to live the life of street rats but she was sure her body had never felt such lashings, the slaps, the broken ribs and bruises…they were nothing compared to this. How the world was still turning and time still passing almost made no sense. She laughed bitterly. She felt so stupid, she should have been ready for this, she knew this day would come.

'You chose this' Her mind told her and she nodded in agreement pulling her beanie tighter down and forcing a smile on her face. Eponine Thernadier did not cry, she did not wallow, and she did not pity…no matter the situation, she chose her life and she made her bed. She would lay in it. She sniffed loudly and straightened her back.

Her boots smacked against puddles of water for ten minutes, the rain finally stopping . She found herself in front of the Elephant statue in the town square and called down Gavroche. This was where her baby brother slept sometimes and instincts told her it was exactly where he would be today.

"Ponine!" Gavroche yelled jumping down from the hollow monument.

She hugged her brother and smacked his hand when he made to reach for her cigarette.

"Ah Ponine I'm cold."

She glared at him for a moment then gave up and reached in her pack and pulled out three.

"Don't use them all up today."

He smiled widely but it left his face as soon as he took a good look at her. He used his small hands to pull off her sunglasses as she towered over him and she let him. "Ponine, what's wrong?"

Her lips twitched at the gesture and she let her eyes soften for her brother.

"Did papa hit Azelma again?" He asked starting to tremble with miniature rage. Eponine squatted to his level and put her hands on his shoulders. "No Gav, Zelma is fine, I don't let dad do anything to her, you know that."

He nodded his head, blonde and messy waves bouncing. They were a dirty sullen locks but she was sure that if he had a good bath they'd glow as bright as Enjolras's own. A grim smile lit her face at the thought that if they had the means Azelma, Gav, and herself could be just as good as any of the Les Amis.

If she had money Marius would love her.

"Marius fell in love with a girl named Cosette." Eponine said without hesitation. She blew a smoke circle to the wind and stretched her arms up to the sky as if it didn't bother her. " You know everyone Gav, help me find where she lives."

"Why?" Gavroche asked, a mad and stubborn look on his face. She stood up and passed the cigarettes to him which he took and stuffed in his pocket pushing wet hair from off his eyes to look at her better.

"He was never mine to lose."

He sighed and passed her shades back to her.

"55 Rue de Plummet, I'll walk you there."

ENJOLRAS POV

"She's a fucking idiot." Enjolras said leaning against his locker, looking down the hall instead of at his sister and her friends.

Nina let out a growl of frustration and looked over at Suzy who just shrugged. Lizbeth stood tense as if ready to tear the boys head clean off his body at any moment. He crossed his arms in front of him and looked bored.

"Look pretty boy, there is no use pretending. We know you have the hots for Ponine. Stop trying to kid anyone." Adrianne jumped in poking him in the middle of his chest with as much sass as she could muster.

He released a huff of annoyance and lifted up an eyebrow. "Her head is up her ass if she really thinks that. Eponine is a troubled girl with disgusting habits and even worse friends."

Lizbeth punched the locker next to his face but he didn't flinch, he knew all about Lizbeth's anger issues and the move hardly surprised him.

"You fucking douchebag, and to think today I was actually proud to call you my brother."

Enjolras felt a pang of guilt but he brushed it off. "This is about Eponine; not me and you Lizbeth. I love you, you're my little sister. But Ponine ,she's a big girl who thinks she knows what she's doing. I told her before that she was only going to get herself hurt and she chose not to listen to me."

"I told you so' that's all you've got to say on the matter. 'I fucking told you so'" Lizbeth sneered at her brother and briskly walked away with the others trailing behind at a reasonable distance from her fury. He let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose while he started to walk in the other direction.

He was half way to his girlfriend's class when he felt a small hand grasp his wrist. Turning around he was surprised to see little Suzy looking quite amazed at her own hand. He was amused by the fact that she had even found it in her to stop him.

"She-she could like you back you know. " She stuttered out turning red at the ears. He felt a small smile on his face. He could see why Joly liked her, maybe she wasn't a meek mouse after all.

"The Les Amis, they're not bad guys and – I think she knows that…s- somewhere inside her. She could like you back if you let her in." She turned an ever darker shade of crimson and excused herself but he stopped her.

Today was turning out to be a very irritating day. It was hard for him to admit; even to himself that the truth was that he actually LIKED teasing Eponine. He loved to see her riled up.

He enjoyed the way she glared at him that morning, and the way she looked all wrapped up in his jacket. He would be lying if he said the sight of her with his name on her didn't stir something inside the football captain that bordered very closely to arousal.

Enjolras looked around to make sure no one could over hear them. "Look….just don't go spreading any rumors okay. I don't need any more drama today. I'll go find her."

The girl brightened up and practically skipped to class.

Enjolras pressed his lips together and clenched his jaw. Even if he had some sort of odd attraction to Eponine he didn't want anyone to mistake it as more than that. Lust and love where two completely different things. He wanted her; he knew that much. That infernal creature had gotten into his head and under his skin. He was changing because of her. He'd spoken to college advisors, to counselors, to Valjean and Javert. He was changing his views on his future. At home he had at least four books and various essays on the oppression of the lower class and laws that hindered human rights. Gay marriage, women's rights to free contraception, abortion, taxes on the rich. If anyone had ever told him that one fight with a stupid girl would lead to reevaluating his entire life, he would have thought they were mental. Why would he give up all his plans and the perfect life for a girl. Single handedly she had implanted his brain with a sense of responsibility for his country and its people. He wanted to be more than an empty degree. And it was her fault. Eponine had gotten through to him, with her wild eyes and fevered speech. She had defied him and questioned him, prodded him with an in your face attitude and looked down on him for his shallow aspirations. She made him want to be a better man; she made him want to stand for something…and that kind of turned him on.

He felt heat spread up his neck and he pushed a hand through his hair. He stood in the hallway debating what to do but in the end the decision was always made. He walked outside and started towards the town square, he had to find Gavroche.

Leslie would just have to walk herself to class.

EPONINES POV

"Well we're here Ponine."

Gav scuffed his shoes against the floor and Eponine nodded to him. He squeezed her hand one more time and took the hint to leave.

Eponine took out the letter still dry from the safety of her book even though she was drenched to the bone, looking like quite the sewer rat. She pressed her hands to the heart shaped iron bars and noticed a figure clad in white sitting on a low open window.

"Perched upon the bust of Pallas just above my chaimber door." Eponine mumbled through her now soggy and put out smoke. She struggled to relight it, and held the butane lighter open. She dangled the letter from her fingers over the flames and she was sorely tempted to just set the letter burn. She imagined the corner turn brown and curl in on itself, blackening and cracking with the heat but she winced at the thought of Marius finding out. Closing the lighter she took the beanie from her head and turned inside out to wipe the remaining moisture from a nook in the gate and placed the letter with the name Cosette upward.

Eponine took a couple of steps back and looked at her sealed fate.

"Oi who is that hussy?!" came a voice from the alley to her right.

"It is your daughter Eponine sir." Montaparnasse called back as she greeted him with a sour smile. He took the beanie from her hand put the wet thing on his head.

"You better scram Ponine, your dad's gonna pull off a trick."

Eponine looked at her father and panicked at the thought of him robbing from Cosette and her family. Marius would be devastated if he received no response from her.

She pushed past Montparnasse and made her way to her father. "There is nothing here for you, go find another place to break into."

The smell of strong whiskey filled her nostrils and made her turn her head to breathe.

"Get out of the way Ponine, you aren't needed here." He thrust her to the side but she took his arm and used her strength to hold him back.

"If you don't stop I'm going to scream."

"Yeah right" One of her father's friends laughed out and pushed her out of the way.

Eponine saw Montparnasse shake his head at her and start to scale the gate. Her father was crouched with a lockpick at the door.

She steadied herself for what she was about to do. Gathering up all the air in her lungs she released a loud and bloodcurdling scream making Parnasse fall on his ass and her father snap the lockpick in two.

The others ran and her father took her by the neck into an alley and bashed her head into the wall letting her fall on hands and knees.

"You filthy little rat! Find yourself another hole to stay in unless you want to end up in the river." He ran off behind the others and she felt soft fabric press to her head.

"Hold it there you stupid girl." She heard Montparnasse whisper despite the ringing in her ears. He pulled one of her hands to the beanie, which was now turning crimson and he looked at her with a sad and twisted little smile.

"All over a two a penny bourgeois boy who won't look twice at you after this."

She smiled up at him, of course he would know all about it. Montparnasse always knew everything about her. The sound of running footsteps echoed through the streets and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before dashing off after her father.

Eponine dropped the beanie to the floor and hauled herself up onto a trash can that was next to her using it to jump onto a fire escape of the building.

She ran hastily away from the scene and made her way through the city by hopping from building to building the way she and Montparnasse did when they were young and both running from the cops.

Finally a good distance away from Cosette's house she jumped down and walked in the direction of Muschietta's café. Coffee sounded pretty good.

She stumbled a bit, dazed by the blow to the head and the rushing adrenaline that was wearing off. She breathed deeply and exhaled;at least this was a pain she knew how to deal with. She smiled to herself as she felt the side of her head to see if the bleeding had stopped. It was funny that a blow to head was distracting her from Pontmercy thoughts. She opened her pack pulling out a smoke, happy to note that when her fingers on the other hand came back with little to no red tint on them.

A hand plucked the cigarette from her mouth and she angrily followed it to the last person she wanted to see. She rolled her eyes and willed herself to walk away. She felt strong hands grab her back and suddenly she was braced to his chest. Large hands that were usually rough pushed her hair back softly and she gathered the fabric from his shirt in a fist as he found the gash with a hiss of air escaping his clenched teeth.

Eponine pried herself off of him as he wordlessly draped the wretched red jacket into her back. He led her to a parked car. She was too tired to argue so she felt her body obey his command and climbed in when he opened the door.

"What is it with your infatuation with this color?" Eponine jested running her hand on the red outline of the seats. Once she was seated and buckled in she propped muddy boots on to the dash. He took her feet in his lap and removed the boots, Eponine staring at him as he pushed them on top of his gym bag in the back seat along with her socks.

She wiggled her toes and stretched making no move to take them off his lap. He rolled his eyes at her and started the car.

He didn't say a word, his grey blue eyes staring fixed on the road and his jaw clenched.

"What? Too good to talk to me now?" Eponine sang out with an exhausted laugh.

She sunk further into her seat and didn't even mind that she had no idea where they were headed. The streets outside the window where greyand blurring. For the first time since leaving the school she allowed herself to relax and felt her eyes start to feel heavy. The last thing she saw was Enjolras look over at her with no pity or hatred or disgust.

In the warmth of his fancy red car with her feet curled into his body heat Enjolras gave her a look that she hadn't seen from a man since she was very, very young.

Love.

She closed her eyes and the moment was forgotten.

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