Chapter 11

Eponine spent her days meandering through the streets of Paris, still strewn with wreckage from the students' revolution.

When she came upon the still-standing barricade, Eponine was filled with memories of her friends: Enjolras and Gavroche, who had died in their fight for liberty; Marius, wherever he was now; and, unexpectedly, Erik. She couldn't understand why he would come to mind now. But there he stood, a shadowy presence in the corner of her mind that refused to disappear.

A week later, Eponine was wandering along the river Seine. It was near dusk, and she saw a dark shape on the opposite bank. On her side of the river, a deep blue police hat had washed up. She picked it up, pouring out the water.

"Javert," she whispered in disbelief. Looking at the figure again, Eponine made out the police chief's dead body.

"Javert, what's happened to you?" she murmured. "You, too, have fallen in this war."

Eponine walked back to the barricade, picked up a stray sword, and plunged it into the ground. She mounted Javert's hat on the sword's golden hilt and left it, a silent and anonymous salute to her fallen comrades.

Soon Eponine's feet carried her to Cosette's house. She gazed through the iron gates at the big mansion and was suddenly glad that Cosette had left. Now Marius would have no reason to be back in Eponine's life – he would forever be chasing Cosette, wherever she had gone.

A flood of loneliness abruptly washed over her, and Eponine shivered. It was twilight, and she felt an urge to get inside. It was funny – she hadn't needed a roof over her head before she'd met Erik. Now she ran through the dark streets, hugging herself against the cold.

Eponine pushed through a large set of doors in the darkness. They slammed behind her with a thud. The building was as black as the streets outside. She stared into the gloom and eventually made out rows of old, dusty chairs. They faced an enormous stage. A line in the ceiling was completely ripped out, and had been poorly patched: she could make out stars through the crevices. Eponine went up the steps to the stage and stood in the very center of the platform, staring at the open sky.

"And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend,
Without a face to say hello to.
And now the night is near
Now I can make believe he's here…

Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head…

On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone, I walk with him till morning
Without him,
I can feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me…

Seven floors below her, Erik's head snapped around so quickly he nearly broke his neck.
Eponine?
He had to be hearing things. Still, he took staircase after secret staircase to the platform around the ceiling where he could hear properly.

In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me, for ever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say, there's a way for us

Erik moved swiftly down from his balcony to the backstage catwalks, never taking his eyes off Eponine.

I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone, the river's just a river
Without him the world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers

I love him
But every day I'm learning
All my life I've only been pretending
Without me his world will go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known!

Erik stared down at her, barely believing what he heard.
"So much sadness," he murmured. "So much loneliness."
So much in common, he thought.

Eponine wept quietly as she trailed off into silence.

I love him…
I love him…
I love him…
But only on my own…

Erik slid silently down a rope to the stage. She sensed him behind her and turned around, but he was gone.

Eponine sighed, silently chiding herself. She wanted him to be there so much.

"Erik…" she whispered through her tears. "You have no idea… it's like I can still feel you. But that's all you are… a phantom."

Erik turned her around gently to face him.

"No… I am real."

He kissed her, tentatively. Eponine responded, tears cascading again. It evolved into something tender and warm, and they held each other as if the world would end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: yay, they're back! I adore using Erik's theatricality in a scene like this, and I'd been dying to use "On My Own". It's my fave song. What do y'all think? R&R!