A/N: Yay another update! Sorry if my updating this summer has been irregular, time just flies by when you are on vacation. Les Mis is not mine, but Simon Strider is. I made him up: he is not the current Fiyero. Also: SHERLOCKIANS AND WHOVIANS PM ME ABOUT OUR BREAKTHROUGHS I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE FEELS! THE TEASER TRAILER AND PETER! AHHHHHHH

Some people forget little promises they make, but Enjolras always went through on his word. Granted, he seldom promised things, but that meant that his few promises were special to him. So it shouldn't have surprised Eponine when he slipped her a first class plane ticket to France a couple weeks later.

"Enjy, I can't take this. This ticket cost a lot of money and I could never repay you. Plus I have work that I cannot miss, and if I get the part of Elphaba by some miracle, then I will have to devote my time to rehearsals," Eponine sighed shoving the ticket back into Enjolras' hands.

"I can pull a few strings…" Enjolras tempted, waving the ticket in front of her face but Eponine swatted him away.

"I don't care, I can't go to France with you. Ask Gav to go with you, I'm sure he would love a change of scene," Eponine grumbled.

"Aw c'mon, Ep. It's only 5 days! I know you've worked harder than anyone I've ever met, you deserve this vacation and I do, too. See? I just admitted I need a break, now you do the same," Enjolras said.

"I don't need a break. If anything, I need to work more! I have my final callback in three weeks, and they've eliminated it down to three other girls. I need to practice. When are you planning on going, anyways?" Eponine asked.

"In a month and a half, and you are coming too," Enjolras said with finality.

"If I get the part, I will have started rehearsals," Eponine countered, her argument standing strong.

"Fine, let's make a deal. You keep the ticket for now, but if you decide not to go, just give it to Gav."

"I'm just gonna hand it to him now, I already know that I'm not going."

"Lots can change in a month and a half, just hold on to your ticket now and make your decision later," Enjolras begged.

"Fine. I got to get back to work now." Enjolras filled with joy; he knew Eponine would end up coming on the plane with him. The opportunity to go to Paris would be too great for her; plus she and Enjolras had become inseparable in recent light. Their friendship was undeniably strong (some of Les Amis suspected that they were more than friends), and Eponine trusted Enjolras. Her friendship meant everything to Enjolras.

In fact, sometimes he wished it were more than a friendship. He couldn't deny his attraction to her; to her beauty, wits, and talent. She had the best conversation out of anyone he knew, but she also knew when to respect the silence. He feared, however, that if he confessed his feelings that Eponine wouldn't return them, and their friendship would be terminated.

Enjolras scanned the room for Eponine and they made eye contact. She made a goofy face at him, and he returned it by sticking his tongue out. Soon enough, they had a silent exchange going, and Eponine almost didn't notice a man approaching her.

"Excuse me," a male voice said behind Eponine right as she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Sorry to disrupt your… whatever that was. My name is Simon Strider and I am the current Fiyero. I listened to all the possible Elphaba's voices, and yours is by far the best. Everyone is leaning towards you. I recognized you immediately from your picture Eponine, correct?"

"Correct," Eponine said, her mind racing a thousand miles away. They actually liked her voice? Leaning towards her to be the next Eponine? Simon cleared his throat and snapped Eponine out of her thoughts. "Sorry, that just took me by surprise. I never thought they would have chosen me!"

"You're my favorite," Simon said flirtatiously. Eponine focused on him for the first time and couldn't help but notice his looks. His beauty rivaled Enjolras', but secretly to Eponine, Enjolras would always be the most handsome man in the universe. His dark brown hair was casually messy, his bright green eyes were focused like a hawk's, and he possessed a megawatt grin.

"Appreciate it," Eponine said breathlessly. Simon's smile spread further across his face.

"You are more beautiful in person than you are in your picture," he said earnestly, taking Eponine by surprise… again. A blush blossomed across Eponine's cheeks, but she felt no desire to smile back. She didn't like it when strangers complimented her. Simon's cheeriness slipped a little when he noticed her negative reaction.

"I apologize; that was too forward. I just met you and now I look like an idiot. It's just that you are the loveliest lady I have ever had the pleasure to speak to before," Simon said, his charm never faltering. Eponine forgave him immediately; mostly because she was still on cloud nine in spite of the Elphaba news.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have coffee sometime. I can give you tips for the final audition and tell you what to expect," Simon offered. A normal girl might have thrown her arms around Simon for that, but Eponine just gave him a small smile. That little action from her was a big deal.

"That would be perfect! Thank you, Simon," Eponine said calmly.

Across the room, Enjolras was boiling. When Eponine smiled at the alluring stranger, Enjolras felt jealousy tear at his insides; it had taken forever to get her to truly smile at him. Next, after they had traded cell phone numbers, Enjolras began pondering ways to interfere the exchange. Finally, he had it when the man kissed Eponine's cheek. A complete stranger just kissed her cheek like it was nothing. Nothing! Enjolras would never cross a boundary like that; he knew Eponine had trust issues, to say the least, and she liked having personal space.

A smug grin plastered his face when Eponine scowled at the contact.

Not soon enough, the man exited the diner with a tip of the hat and was lost in the hustle and bustle of New York. Eponine, sporting a dazed grin, ran up to Enjolras with bright eyes.

"Enjolras, has the world stopped spinning? I think there is a glitch in the universe, for sure. I feel… I've never been so happy. The most wonderful thing just happened… Ugh, I sound like Marius… The stars are definitely shining on me…" Eponine rambled cheerfully, causing Enjolras' heart to sink to his feet.

"Let me guess, you're in love with that man," Enjolras grumbled. Eponine regarded him like he was insane.

"No, I just met him. I thought you knew me better than that; I have to get to know the person before I even consider being friends with them," Eponine said blatantly.

"Was Marius ever your friend? Or did you love him at first sight? Is he special?" Enjolras said sarcastically.

"That's a low blow. Of course you don't even care about my news."

"I'm sorry, Ep. I do care about your news; what is it?" Enjolras said with an apologetic tone.

"Okay, now I know the world has gone crazy. Did you just say you're sorry?" Eponine chuckled.

"I don't want to fight with you; I want to hear your news."

"Now you sound like Marius-"

"Don't make this difficult," Enjolras warned.

"Sure, whatever. The man I just met was named Simon Strider, he's the current Fiyero in Wicked and he said that the casting directors liked me the most! And even better: he offered to give me some tips over coffee? Isn't he so nice?"

"The nicest!" Enjolras said with fake enthusiasm.

"Jealous, much?"

"No. It's just that I have a bad feeling about this Strider guy," Enjolras muttered.

"Hey, you haven't even met him yet. I exchanged like two sentences with him; I barely know the guy. Don't worry about him, it's not like I want to date him or anything. Plus I haven't lost sight of the one man in my life who matters the most."

"Gavroche." There wasn't any drop of doubt in Enjolras' tone.

"Well yes, but I wasn't thinking about Gav actually… I meant you, stupid. You and your manly manliness," Eponine said, tweaking his nose. Enjolras was in awe that Eponine considered him to be the most important man in her life; pride swelled in his chest and roared like a lion. His face beamed down at hers.

"Really? You are easily the best woman in my life," Enjolras said honestly.

"Yeah, more like the only woman in your life."

"Eh, I've heard it both ways."

LINE BREAK WOOOHOOOO

Simon Strider had to be the most disarming man in this entire universe. His smooth words and entracing presence were too strong to be ignored. Eponine admired his honesty, humor, cleverness, and appreciation for Broadway. Over coffee, they talked about their Broadway dreams, and Simon gave her some awesome tips.

"I know you'll do great, Eponine," Simon assured. "People like you really go far."

"Thank you, your vote of confidence really means a lot," Eponine replied. After talking to him, she had a feeling that she had met the man before. Now that she thought about it, she recognized him from Wicked, but she couldn't shake the feeling she had seen him somewhere else, which could be extremely bad if he knew her from her days at the hotel.

"Hey, no problem. I have to be honest: I had a lot of fun with you today. What do you say to me taking you to dinner tomorrow night?" Simon asked.

"Umm… I would say yes, but I have plans with Enjolras."

"Who's Enjo… Enj… Whatever-his-face-is? Is he the boyfriend? I might have known there is always some man."

"Enjolras, and he's my best friend, not boyfriend." Eponine with a twinge of regret in her voice.

"Hmm… Should I be jealous?"

Jealous? Why would he be envious? Eponine wasn't an idiot; she could tell that this Simon guy was flirting with her, but did he seriously want to date her? Eponine liked it when people were clear with their intentions and didn't leave her guessing; like Enjolras.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, any guy should want to have his looks, smarts, and common sense. He's a great guy. We are such good friends because we understand each other, and we know that at best we will always be there for each other, and at worse, if something happens to one of us, that we were immensely lucky to ever be graced with such a good friendship."

"Wow, sounds like you have been friends for quite some time. How many years has it been?"

"Weelll… I've been friends with his group of friends, Les Amis, for a couple years, but I never really met Enjolras. I had seen him around the café when we would all hang out, but I didn't become friends with him until a few months ago. But time doesn't matter; when you just click with someone, time seems to stop."

"It doesn't sound like you are merely describing a friendship, Eponine," Simon said in a warning tone.

"No! That's all it is, I swear," Eponine said persuasively.

"I see," he replied in disbelief.

"Oh yeah? I'll prove it to you! I'm gonna go out on a date with you tomorrow night and completely blow off Enjy! He'll be fine on his own," Eponine said with a triumphant smirk.

"Great, I knew you had it in you."

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

"I think I just got stood up," Enjolras said into his cellphone with a heavy sigh. He had been waiting for Eponine to show up to dinner for an hour. She was usually (always) late, so he had told her to come at 7:45 instead of 8 in hopes that she would be on time. So technically, she was an hour and fifteen minutes late.

"She still hasn't shown up? Man, I'm sorry," Grantaire replied.

"I tried calling her but she didn't answer. I guess something came up and she forgot to call me," Enjolras worried, trying not to think about all the bad things that could have happened to her.

"I can try calling her, but I don't know if that will do any good. Give Combeferre a quick call and see if he has seen or heard from her," Grantaire said, and the phone line went dead with a 'click.'

"Combeferre? Is Eponine with you?" Enjolras said when Combeferre picked up.

"No… Why? I thought she was with you tonight," Combeferre replied.

"Oh God… She over an hour late, she hasn't contacted me, she won't answer her phone… This isn't like her at all. What if- What… Oh God, 'Ferre, what if her father's gang has her? I know in past-"

"This is serious, mon ami. Do you really think her father has her? We should contact the police!"

"Let's wait a little bit before we do that. If no one has heard from her by tomorrow then- hang on I'm getting another call from Grantaire. He said he tried to call Ep, I'll see if he got a hold of her," Enjolras said switching lines.

"Okay, this is gonna make you mad, so just… get it out of your system before you freak out. Eponine's fine, which is the important news-"

Upon hearing of Eponine's safety, Enjolras clutched his phone to his chest and let out a sigh of relief. She was safe!

"… and so she didn't want to call you. Are you angry?" Grantaire asked, but Enjolras had missed everything he said.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Can you repeat all of that over again?"

"Uh, sure. So, this guy named Simon helped her yesterday with her final audition for Elphaba and I guess she felt really grateful or something because he asked her out on a date and she said yes, and that's where she is right now. I'm real sorry; she blew you off for Simon. She saw you calling and she said she didn't want to answer your call right there, but she says she promises she will explain when she gets back."

"Why would she talk to you and not me?" Enjolras asked, talking to himself.

"I don't know, but how furious are you?"

His only answer was the line beep dead.

A/N: I hate Simon…