It took Courfeyrac and Fiera ten minutes to catch up with him.
"MARIUS! YOU SHY DOLT! STAY STILL!"
Guiltily, Marius halted and turned around. He faced Courfeyrac, looking none too happy, and Fiera, heaving and out of breath.
"Marius, why did you run out like that? That pretty girl liked you," Courfeyrac said to him. Marius didn't answer.
"You hurt her feelings!" Fiera said accusingly.
"I'm sorry," Marius mumbled. "I just wasn't interested…I suppose."
Courfeyrac smacked his forehead. Exasperated, he said, "Marius! You're not interested in anyone! What? What is it? Are you interested in me?!"
"No! Of course not!" Marius turned bright red, either from embarrassment or anger or maybe a combination of both.
"Are you interested in her?" Courfeyrac challenged, roughly seizing Fiera, and half throwing her at Marius, despite her sounds of protest.
"No."
"Well, then…are you interested in her?!" Courfeyrac pointed at a dirty, rag-clothed girl who was watching them intently from an alleyway.
"No…" Marius said, but Courfeyrac was already on his way to the girl.
He pulled her up by the arm and dragged her over to Marius. "Is this your type?" Courfeyrac demanded. "Poverty-stricken, lice-infested gamin roaming the streets of Paris?"
The girl turned around with a nasty look on her face. "I don't have lice," she said. Then she savagely kicked Courfeyrac in the shin and ran off.
Courfeyrac cursed under his breath, muttering, "Damn good thing that's not your type."
"Courfeyrac, I'm sorry," Marius began. "I know that this is important for you for some reason, but it's not for me. I don't want to have a different girl hanging around me each week. I want to find a girl on my own, not some bar-wench that you've thrown at me. All of this-" Marius gestured around vaguely. "is unnecessary. It just bothers me. That's all." Marius quickly looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"Huh, Pontmercy, I wasn't aware that you could string that many words together," said Courfeyrac.
At that, Marius looked hurt, so Courfeyrac went over to him and put his arm around his shoulders. "No hard feelings, Marius," he told his friend. "At least look at it this way: the trip wasn't a whole waste; I found Fiera here!"
Laughing, Courfeyrac grabbed the blonde. She giggled.
"Do you suppose we can just go home?" Marius asked plaintively.
"Of course, Marius! I just hope you don't mind if Fiera comes along for a few days; I'm a bit attached to her."
Marius looked appalled. Courfeyrac laughed at Marius' shocked expression, and the three of them made their way home.