It was not easy for them to mend their relationship after the night at Cosette's place, but somehow, Jesse and Eponine made it work. Sure, she had to stand a few weeks of him pissing her off in tiniest little details, had to listen to how difficult it was for him to trust her and how betrayed he felt after everything that happened, but she was patient, and she pulled through.

What's a relationship without some rough patches?

Either way, Eponine was glad that Jesse and her were in good terms.

Eponine smiled, leaning back on the couch as she put her feet on the coffee table. She watched Jesse and Gavroche playing video games together. Their faces contorted in concentration as they were immersed in the game, determined to win.

They were now at Jesse's place. Gavroche had come to visit for a few days and Jesse had offered them to stay here. His father insisted that he should take a few days off work, and Jesse was bored out of his mind when he had to stay home. He wanted to take a trip, but Eponine had work to do, and he didn't feel like going alone. So, he was stuck in the city.

But with Eponine and Gavroche here, he felt much better.

Eponine was happy with Jesse. She loved waking up next to him in the morning. She loved making breakfasts for him and Gavroche, laughing when they both woke up simultaneously to see what's for breakfast. She was relieved to see Jesse getting along so well with her brother. Most of all, she loved seeing him after a long day at work, and talking to him about her day every night, falling asleep in his embrace and then woke up to do the routine all over again the next day.

She was happy, which was why she didn't understand why she kept checking with Combeferre about how Enjolras was doing. There must be a reason why despite waking up in the morning next to Jesse, it was Enjolras who occupied her thought every single morning. Every time her phone rang, she kept hoping that it was Enjolras because she missed him terribly. Also, she was alarmed by how she liked making French toast with honey in the mornings, for it was not her or Jesse's favourite breakfast, but Enjolras'. He was on her mind 24/7, and she felt like she was going crazy with guilt and longing.

Yet, no one could know about this. She didn't tell this to anyone. This was her little secret.

Gavroche's phone buzzed, and the boy paused the game, ignoring a groan from Jesse who apparently, was winning.

"Hey Ep, Courf is waiting for me downstairs," Gavroche suddenly spoke, looking up from his phone, "I'm going out with him and R. He'll drop me here tomorrow. I'll see you then?"

"Yeah, sure," Eponine smiled, "Go ahead. Tell them I said hi."

Eponine did not miss the way Jesse's smile faltered at the mention of Courfeyrac and Grantaire's name. He was still uncomfortable with how the Thenardiers were still connected with his arch enemy's friends, but although he wanted to, he couldn't have a say on whom Gavroche hung out with.

In a way, Eponine was satisfied that Gavroche put his foot down on that matter.

Gavroche grinned slyly at both Jesse and Eponine before he walked out, "You two kids have fun."

Eponine rolled his eyes while Jesse threw a cushion at Gavroche, only to miss as the boy was quick on his feet. He stuck his tongue out at Jesse, and then winked at Eponine before walking out the door.

"Hey you," Jesse said to Eponine, snaking his arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Hey you," Eponine beamed, putting her mug on the table before moving back into Jesse's embrace. She then leaned closer and kissed him softly, hoping that it was not obvious that she was just thinking about his mortal enemy earlier.

Jesse kissed her back just as softly and sweetly, leaning back on the couch, allowing Eponine to climb on top of him. She then kissed him fiercely and more sensuously, smiling slightly as she felt him running his hand through her hair, while the other grabbed her ass.

"Bedroom?" she whispered to his ear, her voice husky, causing him to shiver slightly.

"Yes, please."

"Yes, mom. Uh-huh, alright, okay. Yes, I will mark that date on my calendar. I know! You don't have to remind me every time. Alright, okay, alright. I love you too. Bye,"

Jesse shook his head as he hung up the call, amused smile adorning his lips.

"Who was that?" Eponine asked. Her mouth was full as she was eating her breakfast. Jesse chuckled as he looked at his girlfriend.

"My mom. My parents are coming to town this weekend." he answered, "And don't talk while your mouth is full."

Eponine smiled, her mouth was still full, "If I don't want to?"

"Then you're going to spit your breakfast out. You're basically wasting food," Jesse said after a thought. He then beamed, "You said you hate wasting things."

Eponine rolled her eyes and she swallowed her breakfast, "Fine. I knew telling you things about myself will come back and bite me in the ass."

Jesse laughed, turning his attention back to his phone. He was silent for a while, and Eponine was about to ask what's on his mind when he finally spoke.

"Listen, Eponine," he said, "There's something that I wanted to talk to you about."

Eponine stopped eating, froze in her actions. Oh boy, why did she have a feeling that she was not going to like this?

"Why don't you come see them when they're here?"

Eponine blinked, confused.

"I'm sorry. See who?"

Jesse smiled, "I want you to meet my parents."

"Meeting your parents? Are you serious?" Eponine gasped, panic rose in her chest and she suddenly felt like she could not breathe.

He couldn't be serious. They were still new in this relationship. Were they ready for this type of commitment? Wasn't this too fast for both of them?

"Why not? They already know that you're my girlfriend. I'm sure they'd be delighted to see you." Jesse tried to persuade her, reaching out to hold her hand. A hopeful smile formed on his beautiful face, a smile that Eponine found hard to say no to.

Eponine's jaw dropped when she realized that he was dead serious about this. She cleared her throat, looking down at her food. She had definitely lost her appetite.

She felt sick.

"Are we… are we ready for that?" she croaked, trying hard to hide the fear in her voice. She looked up to Jesse slowly, quite frightened to see his response.

Jesse's eyebrows furrowed. He looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've only been dating for a few months. I am not sure if I'm ready to meet your parents. It's a pretty big step."

"Well, we are serious, right?" Jesse let go her hand, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back to observe her reaction, "Are you having second thoughts about us?"

Eponine groaned, "Not this again!"

"What?!"

"You need to stop asking me those things! I have told you over and over again that I am serious about us, and I am not having second thoughts! I am just not sure whether seeing your parents now would be a wise choice!"

"Why the hell not?"

"It's just… it's just…" Eponine tried to come up with an answer. When she could not think of any, she simply grunted and took her plate to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, Jesse followed her.

"No, Eponine. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"It's a huge step for me, alright? I promised myself that I will never see my boyfriend's parents unless…"

She stopped mid-sentence, as if regretting everything that had just came out of her mouth. God, this was exactly why Combeferre reminded her over and over again to not say anything when she was emotional.

Once words were uttered, you couldn't take them back.

Avoiding his gaze, Eponine turned away, focusing her energy on the dishes.

"Unless what?" Jesse's tone cold and icy, "Unless you're sure that you're going to be with that person for the rest of your life? Unless you're sure that you're not going to chicken out on the relationship last minute? Unless you're sure that you have feelings for your boyfriend only and not anyone else?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Eponine exclaimed angrily, facing Jesse, frustrated with this argument which they had had countless of times.

"It means that you still have feelings for another man and you're having second thoughts about me!"

"How many times are we going to argue about this, Jesse?" Eponine exclaimed furiously, "I am not having second thoughts about us! I am here with you, which means I chose you. I cut off all contact with Enjolras simply because I want to be with you. I haven't talked to him for weeks! And he was my friend since college! Do you have any idea how cutting off contact with a friend hurt? I did everything I could to make you happy but you still doubt me! What else am I supposed to do?!"

"Tell me that you don't love him," Jesse said, and unlike her, he was calm, but his eyes were blazing with fire, and this somehow made him much scarier, "Tell me that you no longer have feelings for him. Tell me that he means nothing to you now. Tell me that you mean everything you said to me."

His gaze on her was hard and uncaring. She chuckled bitterly, still in complete disbelief that he would ask her such things.

Jesse waited for her answer, and when she didn't say anything, he shook his head.

"I thought so," he said bitterly before taking his bag and walked out of his home, slamming the door behind him.

And despite herself, Eponine found herself thinking about Enjolras, and how she slammed the door behind her a few weeks ago after breaking his heart.

Enjolras was reading the documents that Combeferre sent him when he heard knocks on his office door.

"Come in!" he called, not bothering to look up from his work.

"Hey, handsome," a woman's sultry voice greeted him. He looked up, the frown on his face immediately curved into a wide smile when he saw who it was.

It was Quinn, his best friend since childhood. It had been a while since he heard anything from her. The last time he talked to her was about a year ago, and he did not need to be reminded about what happened between them then. Shaking off the memory from his head, he quickly got to his feet to greet the woman with chestnut curls and cherry lips, who opened her arms wide to hug Enjolras.

"I didn't know that you're in town! Why didn't you give me a call?" Enjolras questioned after she let him go. "Take a seat. We have lots to catch up on," he gestured to one of the sofas.

Quinn sat on the plush white sofa, patting the empty space next to her, a motion that asked him to join her. She then said, "I wanted to surprise you. I take it that my plan succeeded?"

"Yes, it did," Enjolras said, sitting beside her, "It's been a while, Quinn. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Gabriel," Quinn replied with a pretty smile on her face, "How long has it been? Six? Seven months?"

"A year, actually. I haven't heard anything from you for a year."

Enjolras did not bother to hide the bitterness in his tone. Quinn's smile faltered. She sighed, placing a hand on Enjolras' thigh as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry. It's just… after everything that happened, I needed some time alone."

"It doesn't hurt to pick up the phone once in a while to let you know that you're doing okay, you know?"

"I know, but… what can I say, Enjolras? I was embarrassed."

Enjolras sighed as he leaned back on the sofa, breaking his gaze from Quinn. Guilt started to consume him as he remembered how badly things turned between them the last time they met.

Enjolras and Quinn grew up together. Her parents were his family's friend, and she often came by his house to play with him. Other than the Amis, the one person that he would trust with his life was Quinn. She knew him better than anybody. She was there for him during his rebellious teenage years, joining him when she agreed with his ideals, keeping him on the ground once he was a little over his head. They spent most of their times together as their parents were hardly at home. They were each other's best companions.

They knew each other's secrets. Except that Enjolras did not know one of Quinn's.

He didn't know that she was in love with him.

She confessed her feelings for him when they were having dinner at her place about a year ago.

…

"Gabe, I… I have something to tell you," Quinn suddenly said. Enjolras looked up from his phone – he was checking his emails - and startled when he saw how nervous Quinn was.

"What is it?" he asked, putting his phone down.

Quinn seemed to be battling with herself. Then, she said, "You know what, forget it. I… I forgot what I wanted to say. Are you finished?"

She talked fast, and before Enjolras could answer, she quickly took his plate and hers and disappeared into the kitchen. Enjolras frowned. He knew his friend very well. She was hiding something. And he couldn't let that.

"Quinn," Enjolras appeared in the kitchen, finding her leaning against the refrigerator, trying to catch her breath. She always seemed to have serious trouble breathing when she was extremely nervous.

"Are you okay?" Enjolras asked, stepping closer to her. She quickly walked to the sink next, avoiding him.

"I'm okay, Gabriel. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're acting strange, and you seem so nervous out of the sudden. What is wrong?"

"I'm fine!" she insisted, but she had her back on him, so he couldn't tell her if she was really okay.

"Quinn," Enjolras cooed, "You're a terrible liar, so why bother?"

"Come on, tell me what's wrong." Enjolras tapped her lightly on her shoulder. She didn't budge.

Enjolras grinned, circling his arms around her waist, hearing her breath hitch.

"Quinn, I'm your friend. If there's something bothering you, you need to tell me," he whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"That tickles," she said softly, pressing her hand on her mouth to stop giggling when Enjolras' stubble rubbed against her neck. Enjolras grinned, doing it again and she laughed.

"Stop it!" she tried to face him but he kept her there.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"Gabriel!"

"Quinn!"

"Gabe, stop!" she laughed.

"Come on, your secret's safe with me!"

"No!"

"Quinn!" he hugged her tighter.

"Alright, fine!" she said, and Enjolras stopped.

"Gabriel... Gabe, I'm in love with you," Quinn blurted out, and breathed after she told him the truth.

Enjolras froze, and wondered if he heard things right. However, judging by the way Quinn froze too, Enjolras knew that he heard the right thing.

Slowly, Quinn turned to face him. She bit her bottom lip, looking up at him, waiting for his answer.

"I'm in love with you," she repeated, watching him expectantly.

It was Enjolras' turn to feel so nervous that he felt like he couldn't breathe. He tried to remember Courfeyrac's advice on handling things like this, and then he cursed himself mentally for tuning out when Courfeyrac was talking because he didn't think that he would ever be in that kind of situation. He was sure that he would remain devoted to Eponine until the day he died.

Well, fuck him. Look at how things turned out.

When he found that Quinn was still looking at him, he said the worst possible thing anyone could ever say to someone who had just confessed their love to another person.

"… thank you." he uttered, feeling his heart clench when he saw the broken look on Quinn's eyes.

…...

"Anyways, these things happen. There's no use looking back at them now," Quinn suddenly spoke when he remained silent for God knew how long.

"Yeah, I suppose." Enjolras replied, turning his gaze back to her. She was still watching him, a smile adorning her lips.

"What are you up to nowadays?" Enjolras asked, trying to rid himself of the guilt.

"Well, I'm in town for a couple of weeks. I have some work to do."

"What work?" Enjolras could not help to ask. Quinn owned a cupcake shop in the town they grew up in. What work could she possibly be doing in New York?

Quinn grinned widely at his question, "My business is doing so well, Gabriel. I'm thinking of opening a branch of my cupcake shop here!"

"You do? Quinn, that's great!"

"I know, right?" Quinn exclaimed excitedly, "I mean, my business partner told me to keep this thing between us first because we still have lots of things to plan, paperwork to complete but I am so excited, I just have to tell you!"

Enjolras did not remember the last time he saw Quinn this happy.

"Well, I'm glad you did. If there's anything I can do, anything at all, I am only one phone call away."

"Thank you, Gabriel. That means a lot," Quinn said.

She hesitated, and then she continued, "If you don't me asking, how are you? I mean, I talked to Combeferre before seeing you, and… and he told me about Eponine."

Enjolras scoffed, "He did, huh?"

"He did. I know she's dating that Ashworth guy now. Gabriel, I'm so sorry. I know how much you care about her, how much… how much you loved her."

Enjolras did not miss the pained look in her eyes when she uttered the last words. Enjolras ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"I know what you're thinking, Quinn. I'm pathetic because I am still very much in love with Eponine despite everything that happened,"

Quinn frowned at his statement. Her expression showed that it was probably the weirdest sentence she had ever heard.

"No. There's no way I'd ever think of you like that," Quinn said, "I've been in love too, Gabe. I know it's not easy to stop loving someone."

Quinn sighed before she continued, "But… but it's time to move on, Gabriel. Combeferre told me that you're not yourself these past few months since Eponine got back. I know that you love her, but you need to let go. She's with someone else now, and she's happy. You're hanging on to nothing now. Yes, you've made a mistake in the past, and you both reconciled, but she wants to be with someone else. Don't do this to yourself. You'd only fall even further, and then there won't be us who care about you to catch you. We love you, and we want the best for you. The best for you right now is to forget about Eponine."

Enjolras glanced at Quinn. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right.

He had been trying to do exactly what she told him to do. He had tried to forget her ever since Eponine told him that there was nothing that could ever happen between them ever again. It was not easy, and he cursed himself for falling so deeply in love with her.

Eponine and him were not meant to be. This was the bitter pill life wanted him to swallow.

"You're right," Enjolras murmured, "You're absolutely right."

Quinn smiled, squeezing his hand to show her support.

"Anyway, I have to go now."

"So soon?" Enjolras asked, surprised that she had to leave early.

"Yes, I have errands to run. I'll call you later, alright?" she replied as Enjolras stood up. They looked at each other, smiling. She leaned in and kissed him lightly on his cheek, then lightly stroke the spot which her red lipstick left stain.

"I promise this time I would call. Maybe we could have coffee before I go back," she suggested. Enjolras merely nodded as he said, "Yes, that seems like a good idea."

Quinn then made her way to the door. Before she got out, Enjolras quickly turned and called, "Quinn!"

She stopped and faced him.

"What?"

"I…" Enjolras struggled to find words, "I… I mean, why wait until the day before you go back? Are you free tomorrow night? Would like to have dinner…with me?"

Quinn seemed confused.

"Like… like a date?" and yet, despite her confusion, her voice quivered with a little hope, as if she wasn't sure if this was real.

Enjolras smiled shyly, "Yeah, I suppose. Would you like to go out with me tomorrow?"

Quinn seemed to be battling with herself, and Enjolras could tell that she wanted to ask him if he was serious without being rude. He did not change his mind, and he waited for her answer. Once she realized that he was serious, she chuckled slightly, her face reddened and she nodded.

"Yes, I would love to."