AN: Howdy! Thanks for the reviews. Your waiting will soon come to an end because the next chapters will now focus on some much needed interaction between our two leads. But for now, read and enjoy.
Disclaimer: To say that Les Mis is mine is to say that Darth Vader is my father. Seeing as I don't have a lightsaber in my possession and that I am not a dude named Luke, it would be apparent that I don't own Les Mis.
It is utter chaos. A mere barricade which they had built themselves was the only thing separating them from the National Guard. From their guns. From their death. Take that away and they were truly dead. But death was certain that night. That she knew.
She watched as some of the men retaliated with their own gunshots. She just stood by, not wanting her cover to be blown. She helped as much as she could. She passed on rifles to those at the barricade and helped carry the injured away to safety. But mostly, she watched. She watched the scene unfold before her eyes. She watched the beautiful tragedy that would soon be known as their eminent demise. She watched him, the sole reason she was there in the first place. But she did not let her eyes linger that long. This was the battlefield. She had to stay sharp.
She watched Gavroche. He was fine. He too was helping the men the way that she did. She watched the others. She watched as they fired away. She watched their faces scrunched up in utmost seriousness. They did not seem like college boys anymore. No, they looked like soldiers. They were men.
And finally, she let her eyes land on something red. It was their leader. She did not know his name. She did not even remember his face. But his voice she knew very well. It was always full of passion, as though it was a flame that would never die out. It was as if his voice had its own law of gravity that pulled you in. He stood atop the heap of furniture they had made as a barricade. He stood tall and fierce. He was a charming young man capable of being terrible. But soon he will die. They will all die.
She turned her attention back to her beloved just in time to sense that something was amiss. There! A member of the National Guard was pointing a gun at him. She moved quickly. She did not have enough time to think. She just moved. And there it was, a gunshot.
Things began to feel hazy. She did not register the events that conspired after that shot. All she knew was that she was in the arms of her beloved. Just like she always wanted it to be. She could feel it. She could feel the life slowly escape her. But she did not care. She knew. She knew that it would happen. And she knew that it was for nothing. Her death. Her life. For nothing.
The last thing she saw was a flash of red moving toward her. There was a face attached to that color but she could not make it out. It did not matter. She would soon leave that earth. She could feel it. She was falling. Falling. Falling…
Eponine awoke with a jolt. She sat up from her bed and held herself tightly. She removed her hands from her stomach and held it in front of her face. Nothing. There was no blood. There was no wound. It was a dream.
It wasn't the first time that she had dreamt something like that. Each dream varied from the other. But, in a way, they were all the same.
Marius. He was the man from her dream. Her beloved. In earlier dreams, the man did not have a face. It was a blur that soon became clearer and clearer as the dreams continued on. It was a few months ago that she finally saw his face. And it was then that she realized the reason behind her irrational love for Marius. Those were feelings from a long time ago, back when she was a different person. It was no wonder that she had instantly felt a connection to him the first time that they had met. She had truly loved him in another time. And these feelings were nothing but leftovers from a past life. Well, at least that was what she used to convince herself to stop the feelings from growing.
She knew better than to love her best friend's boyfriend. It was a lost cause. She knew that. And even if a few feelings still lingered, she knew that they meant nothing. They would eventually die out. But until that day comes then she'll have to put up with it.
She looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was seven fifteen. Good. At least it was now a reasonable time to be awake. She stood up and went to take a shower. She changed into some clothes and went out into the kitchen. Cosette and Musichetta were still asleep but it wouldn't be long till one of them wakes up.
She decided to make some breakfast. She was in the middle of flipping a pancake when Musichetta arrived.
"You're up early." She said, followed by a yawn.
"I'm always up early." She said, not taking her eyes away from the pan.
"Yeah, but it's a Sunday."
"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. It's too bad I couldn't sleep in, this time."
"What're you cooking? It smells good." Musichetta said as she sniffed the air around them.
"It'll taste good too." She said, "I'm just finishing up this last pancake then I'll be frying some scrambled eggs and bacon."
"Oh God. I'm drooling already. It's a good thing we're not one of those health conscious girls that eat nothing but a place of lettuce." She said, shuddering at the thought. Eponine laughed an agreement as she placed the last pancake on the plate.
"I'll make myself useful and make some coffee." Musichetta offered and walked over to the coffeemaker.
"You do that." Eponine replied as she took the eggs and bacon from the fridge. It was then that Cosette finally came out of her room. She walked into the kitchen, following the scent of pancakes that wafted through the apartment.
"Mm, pancakes." She said as she sat herself on the counter.
"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine." Eponine greeted.
"That's not all. 'Ponine's going to cook us some eggs and bacon as well." Musichetta said.
"You could just hear my stomach growling now. Oh how you spoil us, Ep." Cosette said.
"Geez, it's just breakfast guys. Don't act like you've never eaten pancakes, eggs, and bacon."
"Well, not in a long time." Musichetta said.
"I'm starving. When's that going to be ready?" Cosette whined.
"Don't be such a baby. Make yourself useful and set the table." Eponine fired back.
"Fine, Mom." Cosette mocked but did as she was told.
They soon ate their breakfast in silence, savoring each bite until there was none left. After placing her plate in the sink, Eponine said her farewells.
"Bye." Musichetta said.
"Say hi to the boys and Azelma for us." Cosette called out.
"Will do." Eponine said as she opened the door, "See you guys later."
Eponine stood outside a quaint house, as she waited for the door to be opened. She heard footsteps that sounded like they were coming down the stairs. The door was then flung open as she was greeted by her brother, Gavroche. He was still in his pajamas and looked as if he had just gotten out of bed.
"Bloody hell! Why so early, Ep?" he said at which he received a smack on the head, "Ow! What was that for?"
"Language. And for not being happy to see me." She said.
"Oh pardon me, Mademoiselle. I did not wish to be rude. I am simply thrilled to see you on this lovely Sunday morning. Shall I take your coat or escort you into our humble abode?" he said mockingly.
"Two things. One, as you can see, I have no coat. And two, I'm glad that your vocabulary has gotten better. Now, step aside." She said as she mussed up his hair and entered the house. She headed for the kitchen where she knew Madame Magnon would be.
"Oh good morning, dear." The old lady greeted her as she entered the kitchen. The older lady was already sixty-two years old and was more like a grandmother to her and her siblings rather than a mother.
"Good morning, Madame Magnon." Eponine greeted.
"When will I get it through that thick skull of yours that you don't need to call me that? Your siblings are under my care and although you are not residing with us I still believe that you are too. We are family."
"Right. I'm sorry, Grand-mère." She said, blushing. She still wasn't used to it but she would do it for the older lady's sake.
"Now, that's better."
"What's for breakfast, Gram? I'm hungry." Gavroche said as he entered the kitchen.
"I made some waffles." She said. He made a move to grab one when she swatted his hand away. "Go wake up your siblings first." She scolded.
"Yes, Ma'am." He said. He walked out the kitchen, mumbling something in the lines of, "What is up with people hitting me today?"
"Eponine, be a dear and kindly fetch your grandfather. He's in the garden." Madame Magnon said. Eponine nodded and headed out the backdoor and into the garden.
Monsieur Magnon was not there. She assumed that he was in the shed and so that was where she went.
"Mon – I mean – Grand-père, are you in here?" she called out. She then heard something hit the shelves and a few things fall out.
"Eponine! You gave me a start."
"Breakfast is ready." She said as she helped the man pick up the fallen objects and placed them back on the shelves. They soon exited the shed and went into the kitchen. Her other siblings were already seated at the table.
"Morning, Ep!" they all greeted.
"Morning, guys." She said as Madame Magnon handed her a plate which she refused.
"Oh no. I already ate, Grand-mère."
"Are you sure there's no room for more? You're still a bit too skinny, dear."
"No, I'm good. I'll just have some toast and juice." She said. The older lady was about to say something when Monsieur Magnon cut her off.
"Oh let the girl decide what to eat. There's no need to treat her like a child. She can handle herself." He said.
"All right then. But if ever you need anything, just tell us." She said. Eponine just nodded and got herself a glass of juice and a piece of toast. They all sat down at the table and began to talk.
"So, how are things going, Eponine?" Madame Magnon asked.
"Great, actually. I'm doing well in school and Madame Girdeau has hired another singer so I now have some free Fridays and Saturdays for myself. Oh and I've become better acquainted with Marius's friends. We even had a movie marathon last Friday. They made us watch through the whole Star Wars Trilogy." She said as she shuddered at the memory. The movies weren't really bad. It was the whole experience that made it bad. Courfeyrac and Marius kept giving then trivia as they watched and they would overreact in some scenes. There was even a time that she wanted to pee in the middle of the second movie but Courfeyrac didn't want to pause it and didn't let her leave. That was really uncomfortable.
"Are there any potential boyfriends out of them?" the older lady asked innocently. She had been dropping hints at her to get a boyfriend already but she absolutely had no time for that. In Madame Magnon's defense, she only wanted Eponine to be happy. I mean, with the life she has had she most definitely deserved it.
"Yeah, is there anyone hot?" Azelma asked. She was only two years younger than Eponine and was also a college student but she was still young enough to be adopted at the time. Even if she was free to live on her own, Azelma still chose to live with her siblings and keep an eye on them.
"What? No!" she protested but she was only given skeptic looks from the two ladies, "Look, they are all rather good-looking, I must admit. But I only see them as friends. Besides, I don't plan to have a boyfriend any time soon.
"Good. Studies first." Monsieur Magnon said. He was protective of the girls, even if Eponine wasn't legally theirs. He and Madame Magnon had grown to treat and love the girl and her siblings as their own.
"Well, dear. Things don't always go according to plan." Madame Magnon said, giving her a wink. And she was right. Things never did seem to go according to plan.
AN: Mmm...bacon. Sigh. If only I had the chance to eat breakfast with the girls. Oh well. Reviews would make up for that. Review if you also like bacon. And also if you don't. But honestly, no decent meat-lover could ever resist bacon.