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Combeferre, smiled, glad that Enjolras and Courfeyrac had made amends. After all, they've all been through too much to let a small fight really affect their friendship. Combeferre always found the dynamic between himself and his two best friends very interesting. In all honesty, the three of them couldn't be more different.
Courfeyrac had grown up with only his mother. His father left when he was around two, but according to Courfeyrac the guy was a deadbeat anyway. Apparently he was a drunk who just lazed around the house, forcing his wife, to pull three jobs (even when she was pregnant). Courfeyrac often said the best thing that could have happened to his family was his father leaving. As a result of it only being the two of them, Courfeyrac was close to his mother. In fact, Combeferre felt they were more like best friends than mother and son. Combeferre always thought that their relationship was odd, but he also knew for them it worked. Verna shared Courfeyrac's fun loving personality. They celebrated together, drank together, even got into trouble together. Verna was a huge partier. Because of this Courfeyrac probably was allotted more freedom than he deserved, introduced to mature things he might not have been quite ready for. There were times during their childhood where Combeferre had a lot of concerns for Courfeyrac's wellbeing, whether it was worrying he'd drink too much in a night or land himself in hot water he couldn't charm his way out of. Somehow though, Courfeyrac always managed to make it through another day, willing and ready for whatever fun might come his way.
Combeferre of course had grown up with both Claire and Arthur. His childhood was full of love, compassion and understanding. Claire and Arthur were strong believers in nurturing the heart first, and it was evident from his upbringing. He could never recall his parents fighting, at least not in front of him. Combeferre had also grown up a strong influence on culture and the arts. His parents constantly took him to plays, art galleries, and music constantly streamed through his house. Whenever Combeferre made mistakes they were dealt with by discussion and forgiveness. This didn't mean he wasn't held responsible for his actions, but it was done in a way where Combeferre came out of the conversations with higher expectations of himself. Combeferre knew that his calm disposition was much attributed to the way he was raised. He felt it enabled him to somewhat add a sense of calm to Courfeyrac's wild partying ways.
Then of course there was Enjolras…
Until he found out about the abuse Enjolras was suffering at the hands of his father, Combeferre never fully understood the idea of empathy. He thought he did, as his parents raised him to understand the feelings and needs of others. It wasn't until that day in the woods, when Phillip's abuse towards his son was discovered and Combeferre felt his heart completely break, did he realize he hadn't had a clue. From that point on, Combeferre could honestly say his heart hurt anytime he saw Enjolras with even the slightest bruise, and grimace with him if he winced if he was accidently bumped where a bruise might be. He panicked whenever Enjolras didn't show up at school on time, and worried whenever he received a bad score on a test.
There was a point in their childhood where it became very obvious to Combeferre that Enjolras's father suspected he and Courfeyrac knew about the abuse. Phillip started doing small things at first, as if he were testing them. Or in Courfeyrac's case baiting him. Phillip began openly insulting Enjolras. He'd make fun of his size, his health (when they were younger every winter Enjolras had horrible respiratory problems), his lack of success in athletics, and his poor achievement in what Phillip deemed, "boy subjects". In Phillips twisted perception, the fact that Enjolras excelled in social sciences, English, and history paled in comparison to his struggles in math and the sciences. He'd tell Enjolras constantly he had a "woman's mind", "a weak mind", "an emotional mind". He'd tape up Enjolras's failed math scores on the refrigerator and toss out his A+ essays. Sometimes Combeferre was convinced that Phillip's emotional torment was worse than the physical abuse. Combeferre didn't ever think he would forget the look of complete defeat in Enjolras's eyes after his father finished berating him.
Although Phillip never outright beat Enjolras in front of Combeferre and Courfeyrac, he did exhibit some signs of the physical abuse he dished out. He would do things like trip Enjolras when he was walking past him, or pull his chair out from underneath him when he went to sit down. One time in particular stuck out in Combeferre's memory. Enjolras had been grounded (for something or another) and wasn't allowed to leave home. Combeferre and Courfeyrac had been given permission to come over by using the cover of studying for the math test that was the following day. Phillip, who conveniently was getting a drink in the kitchen, had kicked Enjolras's chair out from under him as he passed by. Enjolras had crashed to the floor, hitting his chin off of the table. Immediately Enjolras's lip started to bleed. Courfeyrac took one look at the blood and completely lost it.
"What the hell is your problem, man?" Courfeyrac had snapped, jumping up from the table, slamming
"I don't know what you're talking about." Phillip said with a grin.
"You just knocked him on the ground." Courfeyrac said. Even at the age of fifteen, Courfeyrac was almost the same height as Phillip.
"He fell." Phillip said coolly.
"You're full of shit." Courfeyrac spat.
"Courf." Enjolras said, from the floor, "Don't. Let it go."
"Yeah, 'Courf,'" Phillip mimicked, "Let it go." He laughed before grabbing his coat and exiting out the kitchen door.
"You okay?" Courfeyrac asked, pulling Enjolras up into a standing position. Combeferre already had ice out from the fridge. He handed it to Enjolras who tentatively put it to his chin.
"Thanks." He mumbled, looking away from the both of them.
"Enj, are you okay?" Courfeyrac asked again.
Enjolras shrugged, "You shouldn't have said that to him, Courf. It's just going to piss him off more."
Courfeyrac started to say something, but then changed his mind, "I need to go for a walk." He said, and then he looked pointedly at Combeferre "You try talking to him."
Enjolras sank into the chair nearest him, "Go ahead, Combeferre…" He sighed, "Let me have it."
"I just want to know first and foremost if you're okay." Combeferre said calmly, sitting down too.
"I mean, my chin hurts." Enjolras shrugged, "But, I'm fine."
"I don't know, Enj…" Combeferre sighed, "Doesn't it scare you a bit your dad is getting more and more open about how he...how he treats you?"
Enjolras looked away before shrugging, "I guess."
"How do you do this?" Combeferre asked, honestly curious, "I couldn't imagine living a life like the one you do."
"I just keep telling myself it won't last forever." Enjolras replied, "Sure I get really down about it, but once I'm eighteen, I'm out of here."
"That's still four years away." Combeferre pointed out.
"Yeah, I know." Enjolras shrugged, "But that thought is what gets me through. There is better than this out there. Besides, think about all those stories we read about in school…the main character always goes through something awful before they do something great. I think after I get out of here, I really want to focus on helping other people."
It was the first time Combeferre ever remembered them talking about their future. Until then, they'd been so consumed with the here and now. Enjolras sharing his plans for his future was important, making Combeferre respect him more than he already did. He'd made a choice at fifteen to use his sorrows for someone else's triumphs.
Enjolras's drive and passion grew from that day. He began to openly defend those at school who were picked on because they were different from everyone else-like the boy who stuttered during a presentation, or the girl who lived in a shelter because her father had lost his job. This landed him many times in hot water with the schools well known bullies, but even when he was face to face with them, Enjolras never backed down. Of course he did have Courfeyrac to back him, but Combeferre felt that Enjolras would have stood just fine on his own.
Combeferre remembered thinking it somewhat ironic…Enjolras could stand up for the rights of those in turmoil, against three or four kids, all of whom were bigger than he was, without batting an eye. However, Enjolras couldn't defend the one person who truly mattered: Himself.