I'm hoping you like it...thanks for reading!
The week ended quickly, leaving each one of Les Amis completely exhausted by the extra hours of work. Éponine, Grantaire and Feuilly's hands were constantly numbed. Jehan couldn't think of more songs and rhymes. Bossuet, Joly and Bahorel were tired of repeating the security plan. Cosette, Isabelle and Gavroche were tired of distributing brochures and spreading the word of the rally, which made them walk all around Paris every day. Marius, Combeferre and Courfeyrac didn't want to talk about logistics. Even Enjolras didn't want to know about speeches anymore.
On Friday, a week away from the rally, they decided to take a break. It took a lot to convince Enjolras, who, even tired, was still enthusiastic about working on everything they needed to do. They sat down, put on some music and chatted for a while as Musichetta brought them drinks and sat with them.
Courfeyrac was really getting to like Gavroche and Isabelle, so he sat with them and joked with Grantaire and Jehan. Joly was lost with Musichetta and Marius had enough courage to talk to Cosette without anybody else with them; now they were supposedly friends so there was nothing wrong in "simply talking". Éponine realized everybody was distracted and looked directly at Enjolras on the other side of the room. They had a plan to tell everybody about their relationship, hoping for the best but not knowing what to expect.
Enjolras smiled at her and she left the room without anybody noticing. He went to the stereo and turned off the music, making everybody look at him with confused looks.
"I need to tell you something important," he explained walking to the middle of the room, his face expressionless.
"Enjolras...we're chilling out! Are you sure this can't wait until...other day?" Combeferre half whined as he stood up in front of Enjolras and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Yeah...Enjy...I'm sure...we could talk about whatever important thing you want to talk about on Monday," Courfeyrac proposed.
"Please Enjolras, we're really tired!" Gavroche exclaimed.
"Calm down and pay attention! Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Gavroche...you are the ones who should pay attention even more intently than everyone else...Joly please stop staring at Musichetta for two minutes and listen to me! Marius and Cosette, this is important!" he exclaimed.
"You're not enraged are you?" Jehan asked.
"No..." he said, "I'm actually happy. Just promise me that you won't overreact."
"Well, now you're making us all curious, what is it?" Bahorel murmured.
"I'm going to...introduce you to my girlfriend," Enjolras said with determination and a smile on his face.
The reactions in the room were different but all of them remarkable. Courfeyrac, who was taking a sip of his beer, spit it all out and almost drowned in laughter. Isabelle pouted and smiled tenderly. Combeferre eyed Joly with a questioning gaze. Musichetta squealed. Bahorel chuckled. Jehan sighed romantically. Grantaire grinned. Marius and Cosette looked at each other worriedly. Feuilly controlled Bossuet from accidentally dropping another base with an involuntary smack.
"Courfeyrac told me you don't date...you're a Greek God, that's why you're perfect and you never date. That's the golden rule!" Gavroche exclaimed standing up. Enjolras laughed in response.
"Apolo...you're confusing us all...bring the girl right now," Courfeyrac demanded with a serious expression.
"Darling Athena," Enjolras called out in a fake voice of complacency, "please come here."
Then Éponine, who had been waiting on the other side of the door, came into the room with a huge smile on her face. As she walked to the center of the room, just where Enjolras was standing, everyone noticed with confused that she hadn't been present for the last few minutes. Éponine hugged Enjolras. They smiled and everyone was deadly quiet.
"This can't possibly be true," Gavroche said, falling in his seat.
There was silence in the room. Everyone stared at the couple intently and they simply tried to look away, suddenly too conscious of what they had just done and of the fact they couldn't unsay anything.
"This must be a really bad joke..." Joly said and was smacked by Musichetta, who stormed out of the room just after stating that she supported Enjolras and Éponine if they wanted to be together.
"So...you understand...that this is kind of an...impossible?" Joly asked.
"How. Did. This. Happen?" Courfeyrac asked.
"It just...happened," Éponine said.
"You know what? I think...this is family business and we shouldn't be here," Bossuet said standing up, "Come on Isabelle, let's go home."
Suddenly, all of Les Amis who's last name didn't end with "Pontmercy" or "Valjean" left the room.
"This is really romantic, I'm definitely on your side," Jehan said with a smile.
"You evil little guy, I'm hoping you don't use this for your poems," Éponine whispered in Jehan's ear before he left.
Once the only people left in the room where Éponine's brothers and Enjolras' siblings, there was just silence. Enjolras took a seat in front of his brothers and Éponine pulled Gavroche aside, to talk to him. Marius and Cosette, who knew about them and also had a secret, waiting in silence to see their reactions.
"I don't know 'Ponine...one thing is cooperating with them for something good...I mean with the cause and all...but something different is to be Enjolras' boyfriend. Grandpapa will get really mad at you..." Gavroche said.
"Is it really that different? Grandpapa would squirm at the mention of us relating to them in any way...and well, apart from that, you've got the chance to know Enjolras for the week. He's my total opposite and at the same time the male version of myself...Gavroche, this will be the cheesiest thing you'll hear from me and you won't ever repeat it...not to Marius, not to 'Zelma, not to Enjolras or anybody else: 'Roche, this is one of the very few moments in which I've been truly happy in a very long time," she said in a whisper.
Gavroche hugged her and smiled, while looking directly at Enjolras, who wasn't paying attention to them.
"In that case sister, I have nothing to say...I started to like Apolo too. Besides, anybody's better than Montparnasse," he said, spitting the name as if it was venomous.
"Really Enjolras? Really?" Courfeyrac said, "You've never had a girlfriend before...and really? the first girl you like is Éponine? I mean...she's nice and all but...really?"
"Enjolras, she's the only girl you can't have...the only girl that's out of your league!" Joly exclaimed.
"Please don't start..." Enjolras said while rubbing his temples.
"Yes...we insist," Joly said, "Understand that Éponine's from the family we shouldn't talk to."
"Yet we've been in the same room, sharing our free time with her and her brother for more than a month now!" he said exasperated.
"So what? They can help us with Les Amis...but you having her as a girlfriend?" Courfeyrac exclaimed.
"Actually..." Combeferre said while staring at Joly and Courfeyrac, "I think your arguments are...silly and unreasonable."
"So you're on their side?" Coufeyrac asked in desperation.
"I'm not taking sides! I'm just saying that Enjolras might be right...I mean we're also relating to them in a way. The relation doesn't really matter..." he said.
"Don't be harsh on Enjolras, he's not the only one with a secret relationship," Cosette intervened for the first time, her voice decided. Everyone stared at her. Éponine eyed Marius and then Enjolras in total distress; that was going to be the resurrection of Troy.
"Marius is my boyfriend," she said shyly before anyone of her brothers could ask her anything.
"This," Courfeyrac said, openmouthed.
"Can't," Joly continued, wide-eyed.
"Possibly," Combeferre whispered.
"Be," Gavroche said, too surprised to realize.
"Happening," Marius mumbled taking Cosette's hand and kissing it softly.
...
"You must be kidding me," Grantaire said between laughter.
The day after, she had gone directly to Taire's because she didn't have classes and because she needed some rest from all the drama around her. The first thing he had asked her was the Valjeans' reaction to their scandalous announcement but she had simply commented on Cosette's even more scandalous revelation.
"Gosh and what happened?" he asked taking a huge sip from his bottle.
"I don't know...it was a fist of insults...Joly almost kills Marius at first and then Gavroche threw himself on top of Enjolras, don't ask me why. Courfeyrac tried to help Enjolras but you know Gavroche's black belt in Karate...so he soon was also on top of Courfeyrac. Cosette was paralyzed and nervous and I had to go and help her. But in the end, all of the guys ended up drinking and laughing together, including Enjolras. 'Roche fell asleep really soon and I helped Cosette," she answered.
"So...they pretty much accepted your relationship with Apolo?" he asked.
"I guess so...I'll see him today before the meeting. Please sober up by then," she said.
"Oh, now that you're the official first lady of Les Amis De l'ABC, you're trying to command me, buuuut you won't!" he said with a grin.
"You're crazy 'Taire," Éponine said while rolling her eyes.
...
"So...how was your evening?" Éponine said sitting down besides Enjolras on a bench on campus. He closed his book and smiled at her.
"Well...expect a whole lot of nonsensical jokes," he said very annoyed and instantly frowning.
"I wasn't expecting less," she smiled.
Enjolras kissed her softly and passionately because there was nobody near them...or so they thought.
"Look...if it's Apolo and his darling Athena!" Joly said, appearing from out of nowhere.
"Enjy and Pony sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage! Sucking his thumb, wetting his pants, poor little baby with parents like that!" he said pointing at the couple.
"You're not even singing it right," Enjolras said with a scowl.
"As if you knew," Joly said.
"And don't call me Pony again," she finished.