Chapter 6- In Which the First Act Ends and Intermission Begins
A/N: Gi-normous slash warning. I do not Own Les Miserables or Ragtime… Please Review but No flames.
Enjolras Entered from Stage Left and Saw Grantaire.
"No!" He cried as he ran to him. He cradled him in his arms as a flashback came into his head.
Cue Flashback
"Do you want your eyes covered."
"No." Enjolras had said.
"Ready Aim-"
"Stop! Vive Le Republique! I belong to it." A sobered Grantaire had cried. He stood next to Enjolras.
"Two in one shot, if you will permit it," He whispered.
Enjolras clasped his hand and began to smile when the bullets hit him. He looked down to see Grantaire, falling on the ground. Enjolras could see peace in the drunkard's eyes as he looked at Enjolras one final time. He smiled at him as death choked him before he could finish his final words.
"Je T'ai-"
End Flashback
Enjolras felt tears starting to stream down his face. He whispered softly.
"Je t'aime aussi, Grantaire." He wept
Grantaire heard this and smiled. The Harlem Ensemble's mournful "Oh" was soon stopped by Eponine's magically soul-ified voice, thanks to La Epster.
"There's a day of hope
May I live to see
When our hearts are happy
And our souls are free
Let the new day dawn
Oh Lord I pray
We'll never get to heaven
Till we reach that day."
This caused Joly to begin to cry. He to began to flashback to the night of the barricades.
Cue another flashback… sigh…
Joly was patrolling along one of the piles of rubble when he tripped on something. He looked to see the body of a thin gamine. He kneeled and inspected her closely to see that she was the girl who he had helped long ago.
Here we go again. Ready people? Cue another flashback!
Joly was walking toward the café to see a girl, lying in the streets. She was holding a shard of metal in her hand as blood poured from her wrists. Joly had just started his classes so he only knew about simple bandaging. He ran to her and picked her up. He carried her to his flat and laid her on a bed. She was barely alive. Joly began to wash and bandage her. He watched her as she slept. After a bath, she didn't look as bad as she did when he found her but the scars and bruises had disfigured her immensely. Joly knew she had the capability to be beautiful. He stayed by her side for a week as she slept and healed, changing her bandages and bathing her wounds. He smiled at her as she woke up. She looked around and pushed herself up, screaming in pain.
"Ow! What happened? Why am I alive?"
"Well, I saved you, mademoiselle."
"I didn't want to be saved! I wanted to end my miserable life. Anything is better than getting beaten by your father and taken advantage of by…" Eponine trailed off and began to cry. She then stopped abruptly.
"Monsieur, I need to go… If I don't get home-"
"You don't have to… you can stay with me…"
Joly watched her leave on shaky legs. He felt his heart rip in half as the girl left."
End flashback in a flashback.
Joly whimpered as he lifted her up. He walked over to the café to see Gavroche. Gavroche looked at him.
"What have you got there, Joly?"
Joly made the mistake of showing Gavroche the corpse.
"Eponine!" He cried.
"You knew her?"
"She was my sister!"
Joly cried. Gavroche looked at him.
"You loved her, didn't you?"
End Flashback
Eponine adlibbed mournfully as the rest of the Harlem Ensemble sang. Joly almost forgot the words as he heard Eponine's soul-ified voice.. Combeferre and Courfeyrac took Grantaire from Enjolras who looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"It's a day of peace
A day of pride
A day of justice
We have been denied
When a man can live
And a child can play
We'll never get to heaven
Till we reach that day."
Combeferre and Courfeyrac reentered with a casket. They set it down in front of Enjolras.
"What they did to him
What they took from him
He had life in him, Lord.
He had my baby!
Look what they left of him
Left of him
Left of Grantaire." Enjolras sang.
"He was nothing to them he was a… Never mind" Madame Thenardier sang.
"Grantaire…"
"Nothing and no one to them" Fantine sang, reflecting on her time as a prostitute, being used for men's pleasure to save her daughter. A single tear traced down her cheek.
"So they beat him
And beat him
And beat him" The three sang
"A day of peace…" The Harlem Ensemble sang.
"There was blood on the ground!" Enjolras growled.
"A day of pride…"
"He was only a gir- man" Enjolras, Fantine, Madame Thenardier, and Valjean sang.
"A day of justice…"
"It will happen again" Marius sang
"We have been denied."
"It will happen again
and again
and again!" All of the living leads sang.
"Let the new day dawn
Oh Lord."
"Why does nobody care?" Valjean mused.
"There is blood in the air!" Marius and Mme. Thenardier cried.
"We have voices and souls!" Eponine and Joly sang as the cast began to get into "One Day More" formation behind Enjolras with Eponine at the front of the clump.
"What is wrong with this country?" Fantine, Valjean, Marius, and Mme. Thenardier sang.
"She was somebody's child!" The New Rochelle/Immigrant Ensemble sang.
"There are Negroes out there!" The Harlem Ensemble sang.
"There are people out there!
Give the people a…"
Eponine adlibbed over the next part in her soul-ified voice.
"Day of peace
A day of pride
A day of justice
We have been denied
Let the new day dawn
Oh Lord
I pray!
We'll never get to heaven
Till we reach that Day!" The cast sang strongly, each seeing how somehow the song related to themselves. As the curtain went down, the cast exited. Enjolras searched out Grantaire.
"Grantaire, come with me. We need to talk."
Grantaire followed Enjolras to a room. Enjolras closed the door and turned on the light.
"What is it, Enjolras… Are you going to yell at me?"
"No… Grantaire… My life has changed… I was foolish and I was hiding something all this time… Grantaire… I… I love you."
Grantaire smiled. Enjolras pulled him close and the two kissed passionately.
We will leave them alone for a minute to see that was going on outside of the room. Gavroche had found a yo-yo and was busying himself with it (ie. Doing "Around the World" and other assorted tricks that would injure fellow cast members). He came upon Eponine who was writing on a piece of paper in her serial killer handwriting.
"Hey sis. Whatch doin'?
"I'm writing a love letter."
"Not to Marius again!"
"No. It's for Grantaire."
Gavroche snickered. He knew not only about Grantaire's feelings for Enjolras but what he was doing in the other room (The little peeping Tom).
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to give him this note." Eponine said.
Gavroche was presented with two options. He could either tell his sister not to go into the room for fear of traumatization. Or…
"He's right in that room over there, 'Ponine."
"Thank you very much, Gav."
Gavroche snickered as she went to the door. As Eponine got nearer, she could hear muffled moans from inside the room. If love hadn't made her oblivious, she would've known not to go in the room… Unfortunately, she opened the door to see Grantaire and Enjolras… umm… in an awkward position. Eponine closed the door quickly. The two hadn't even noticed her. She first went off, picked up a bonnet and vomited into it. She then went over to a corner and cried. Joly saw this as an opportunity to move in.
Meanwhile, Cosette was looking around.
"Where did I set my bonnet for my next scene?" She asked. She saw it, picked it up, not noticing anything, and placed it on her head. The moment of realization was priceless as she screamed and ran to a sink to wash her hair.
"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" She cried.
Fantine was seated oppostite of Valjean who was combing Azelma's hair.
"Thenardier is getting into character a bit much don't you think?" Fantine asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he winks at me and he even suggested…" Fantine stopped and motioned for Valjean to lean in. She whispered in his ear and he gasped. He stood up and walked over to Thenardier.
"That'll by Forty-Two "Hail Mary's" and Fifteen "Our Father's"." He growled to him after slapping him.
Meanwhile, Eponine was tearing up her letter to Grantaire. Joly walked over to her.
"What's wrong, 'Ponine?"
"Grantaire…" She sniffled. "He… he's… with Enjolras… In that room…" She sobbed. Joly wrapped an arm around her.
"Don't worry, Eponine… I'm sure you'll find someone…"
Eponine looked up at him.
"Do you really think so?"
"I know so."
Eponine smiled. She then looked at his hand.
"Joly?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind taking your arm off of me? It's making me really uncomfortable."
Joly complied. Eponine got up and began to scan the rest of the cast for a cute guy to follow. Joly sighed. Then, he got an idea. He noticed Eponine's hat was on the ground. He went over to a table and pulled out a piece of paper. He began to write on it. He set the paper in her hat and walked away. Eponine came back, dejected because she didn't find anyone single, straight, cute, and sensitive enough for her liking. She looked in her hat and saw the note. She took it out and read it.
"Mademoiselle Eponine, I deeply love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please meet me on the roof of the theatre after the first scene of the second act. Love, Your Secret Admirer."
Eponine smiled. She then shuddered. She had never admitted it until she cried out to the heavens:
"But I'm afraid of heights!"
Joly slapped his forehead. Another plan was foiled… maybe…
La Epster came backstage to announce that the Intermission was over. She looked around to see who was missing.
"Where are Grantaire and Enjolras?"
Gavroche smiled.
"Why, they're in the other room, arguing about the revolution."
La Epster, who was nursing a tension headache so she really did not have her common sense about her, walked over to the room and opened the door. She saw the two and cried out.
"Augh!" She said as she shielded her eyes. "Okay you two. Um… Intermission is over… Get dressed and get onstage Enjolras."
Grantaire and Enjolras complied. They kissed and Enjolras leaned over and whispered in Grantaire's ear.
"Let's act like we've always acted except when we're alone."
"Okay, Mon cher," Grantaire smiled. They both walked out, Grantaire acting drunk and Enjolras pinching his ear.
"Maybe that'll teach you to mess with me, winecask."
"Oh, Apollo. You smite me with your words…" Grantaire then "passed out" on the ground. Eponine, Gavroche, and Joly looked at them incredulously. Enjolras waited until everyone cleared to their entrances. He then helped Grantaire up and kissed his forehead.
"I'll perform out there for you," He whispered.
"Okay, my love. Break a leg." Grantaire whispered.
Enjolras walked out onto the stage with a pistol. He prepared to start thesecond act.
A/N: So thus ends the first act (Finally!). Sorry for all the slash… and the random Phantom moment… and the OOC-ness… I had to make Eponine sing one of my favorite songs though. Anyway, before I get into a Grantaire-ish rant, I better go to sleep. Please Review but no Flames.