Inside the Musain, the wild havoc of the 'party' seems to have subsided. Courfeyrac watches the door worriedly waiting for Bahorel to come back through as Combeferre frets over the gash on his cheek. The mood has turned from jovial and loud to solemn and silent in a matter of seconds. It's just weird to see Bahorel lose his temper like that; although hot headed sometimes, he's not the kind to let things get to him and it's difficult to watch through the cloudy window as he buries his head into Feuilly's shoulder and shouts angrily about whatever is bothering him.
Feuilly returns first, still as calm as he was when he wandered out. It's an admirable trait; to be able to remain so chilled out even when things may seem difficult. It's a trait Feuilly harbours in an indescribable amount. Even out of a job and poor, he somehow manages to stay happy and take everything that comes his way head on. He wanders towards Enjolras, pulling him aside for a second to speak to him in private.
Bahorel finally re-enters the room about five minutes after Feuilly. The others try to make it seem as if they haven't noticed but there's no denying the quick surreptitious glances in his direction, the watchful eyes analysing every little movement; from the twitches of his face to the curling of his fingers. Enjolras-probably the only person in the room not watching the man like a hawk- signals for him to come over.
"Do you want to talk about it here, or would you prefer to step outside and talk in private?" he asks, going straight to the point. "Come on, we'll go outside. Everyone staring is creeping me out a little."
Instead of going out into the hall where Feuilly and Bahorel had sought refuge, Enjolras picks up on Bahorel's tense posture and leads them outside so that his friend can have a cigarette.
"Feuilly said... um..." Bahorel stutters nervously with his cigarette between his teeth as he forages around in his pocket for his lighter.
"He explained it all," Enjolras smiles gently. "So do you want to get kicked out of university or not?"
"I don't even know," he scoffs, puffing a cloud of smoke into the air. "I'd lose my funding and probably have to move in with Grantaire or something."
"You don't want to do that to Feuilly though, do you?"
"I mean, I'm fine with sleeping on a sofa but... Two people. It's just not fair."
"You're probably expecting for me to say start showing up to lectures, aren't you?" Enjolras laughs. "Law is great. I know the lecturer sucks, but that shouldn't make you want to pull out."
"I don't mean to skip out on lectures. The lecturer... he just puts me down all the time. I don't want to show up, so I don't. And the workload is just too huge already this year; I can't cope with it."
"Look, I want you to answer this honestly. Do you want to continue studying law?"
"I think so. I just don't think I can now; it's too late for me."
"I'll... The organisation can provide you with starter funds if you want to study something else or to keep you going so you can think about finding another job," Enjolras sighs. "But I'd be happy- if you are willing to put the effort in, of course-to help you catch up and keep up with the workload. You have to start attending lectures though; they've given you an ultimatum, and they want you to pull yourself together and get on with it."
"What, like tutor me?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Thank you," Bahorel grins, chucking the butt of his cigarette on the floor and squishing it with his foot. "I was going to throw in the towel; I'm not passionate about law like you are. I just... I want to do something with my life. I don't want to be a useless piece of shit like people think I'm going to turn out as-"
"You're not a useless piece of shit. You're clever Bahorel; cleverer than you give yourself credit for."
"Compared to people like you though; how do you cope with it all? I try and write half and essay and Feuilly has to leave the house to avoid me punching him in the face.
"Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee; and believe me, you're not the only person who has wanted to punch Courfeyrac before. Look, you don't need to decide what you want to do until the end of the week, right? So show up to all of the lectures this week, I'll help you catch up and then you can decide on Saturday whether you're going to quit uni or swap courses or whatever; sound like a plan?"
"God I feel like an idiot. Yeah, it does. Thanks, man."
The night ends prematurely, the mood never quite returning to normal. Bahorel is usually the life of the party-whether it be a loud song sung at the top of his voice, a well told anecdote(his most recent being about his recent altercation with a duck and a poodle) or his guffawing laughter- but tonight, with his mood compromised(and the usually lively Courfeyrac's mood too) not one person in the room is in high spirits. He won't admit it, but Enjolras is glad the night is over. All too quickly the meeting was being turned into a party, and he hates that. Although all of his friends are passionate about the organisation to some degree, he's often the one pulling them together and has to force them to do any work. He's glad to be back home and able to continue working on his essay so that he'll have time during the week to help Bahorel.
Jean Prouvaire joins Courfeyrac on the walk home. Over the week, the pair have grown exceptionally close despite the short space of time. Jehan is smitten; Courfeyrac's cheerful nature is exactly what he looks for in a lover. Courfeyrac too is a changed man; usually afraid of commitment, it seems that he's now welcoming it in Prouvaire's company.
Three members who didn't attend the meeting('as usual' Enjolras will mutter) were Marius(one of Courfeyrac's friends), Cosette and their friend Eponine. This had not been without reason. Marius and Cosette have been dating for a while now, and it was only a matter of time before the inevitable occurred.
So with Eponine's help, Marius organises a fabulous night for himself and his girlfriend. It starts with a walk in the park within which they had met, but with a bit of a twist. Dotted throughout the park were sweet love messages(although seeing as they were from Marius, they were cheesy things such as 'I love you so much', and 'I couldn't live without you' and the like) and Cosette's favourite flowers.
Following that, a meal in her favourite restaurant. Thankfully Marius knows the owner, so he manages easily to secure the restaurant all to themselves. Cosette is fully aware of what is going to happen at the end of their meal; Marius is so clichéd in his romantic gestures(and she loves him for it), and the puppy dog smile placed upon his lips makes it all the more obvious. Still, she grins widely as he pulls out the gorgeous little black box with a rim of silver ribbon. It may not be much of a surprise, but her heart thumbs loudly in her chest and she's close to tears as the gentle 'will you marry me?' tiptoes from his tongue.
The ring is beautiful; gold with two small diamonds and one big one in the middle, fitting perfectly around her dainty fingers.
"Of course I will," she grins widely, leaning over the table and placing her hand gently upon his cheek.
They return to the park again, their hands intertwined. Thanks to Eponine(and the council for giving them permission), the park is now decorated; the bench which they first spoke sitting on is draped in twinkling fairy lights, the trees facing it covered in lights arranged into love hearts.
"You've outdone yourself, Marius," she whispers gently as they sit on their bench and rests her head on his shoulder.
"The lights? I can't take credit for that one; that was all Eponine."
Despite being so involved in the organisation of the night, Eponine herself wasn't exactly happy about it. Her heart sinks seeing them together; she loves Marius, yet she's fully aware he'll never love her back. But she's their friend; she can't ruin their day just because of her bad feelings. It's for that reason that she seeks refuge from the one person who she feels understands what she is going through; Grantaire.
He himself is no stranger to unrequited love; as far as he's concerned, Enjolras doesn't reciprocate the feelings he has for him. And why would he anyway? Enjolras is clean cut, clever, in control of his life; Grantaire is scruffy, not intelligent(at least he doesn't think so himself) and completely out of control. They're two ends of a spectrum; two stars destined never to meet; two lines so parallel in some ways, though they'll never be collinear.
"Eponine?" Grantaire opens the door, a slice of toast balancing in his mouth and his laptop in one of his hands. "Marius didn't bottle it, then?"
"Sorry, I just..." she sighs and Grantaire finally notices her frown. "Didn't know who else to speak to."
She can smell the thick odour of alcohol wafting from the man's breath, but she can't judge his habits; a Thernadier, she'd been surrounded by bad things throughout her life(alcohol, drugs, burglary, crime in general) and couldn't be a hypocrite. And besides it's a Saturday and he's been at the Musain, so it's no wonder that he's had a little too much to drink.
"Look, Marius is a prat alright? He leads you on and acts like he doesn't know what he's doing."
"Doesn't change anything. He... I love him, R."
"I know..." he sighs and wraps his arms around her, knowing very well there is little he can say to help. "I know."