A/N: Alrighty guys, this chapter is kinda shit, but it gets the basics established! Some Marius x Cosette x Eponine in this chapter, as well as a hint of Enjy x R! Oh, Chloe = Cosette, obvs. Yup! Reviews are more than welcomed!
1. Rebellion In which Elliot starts a revolution and Martie falls in love.
None of the les amis de L'ABC could pin point the exact time when Elliot had started muttering in hushed tones to his text books about 'revolution.' Martie just knew the first time he'd heard the word escape the blonde's lips like venom he'd been slightly worried and had inquired. "Revolution, Elliot? Why would we need one of those?" This had earned him a momentarily hard death stare before the other man's eyes had softened and he'd gestured for his friend to take a seat.
"Not a revolution as you might be thinking. No guns or battles, but… a social revolution," Elliot explained as he gestured towards the newspaper that sat beside his French history text book. As one could assume the two boys were in the back room of the Musain (they hardly ever abused the privileges of having a fully stocked library only a few blocks away) and were currently the only two there at this point in time. The article Elliot was pointing to was a piece on the latest 99% picketing that was happening in New York City, not too far from them. "How is it that the poor keep getting poorer and the rich keep getting richer?" Elliot's eyes were alight with a fiery passion; he'd always had a soft spot for those undermined and tread upon by the legal system. He'd always favored the times of revolution, and most of his professors were sick of his ramblings about equality and history repeating itself now. His friends found all of it fascinating, though, and maybe that was why they were all still in it together. Politics was a subject quite often discussed in this back room, and no matter how many times the cynical Grant tried to snub out Elliot's passion, the blonde always trumped him. Even Grant was quickly pulled in by Elliot's eloquent words and passionate bravado.
Tonight he wasn't in a fighting kind of mood, and Elliot looked broodingly thoughtful rather than fired up. "I wonder that all the time, Elliot. But what do you propose we do? It's not a time for grand shows of rebellion, not in a society like this."
"A protest." It was a simple idea really, one that Elliot had been entertaining quite a bit lately. "In Washington. We would all have to go, but we could get enough to make our numbers great. Social media is an important part of today's culture and if we get enough buzz… Martie we could change the world." Elliot had a triumphant little grin upon his lips. It was the moment he'd been working towards, the moment he'd waited his whole life for. Now was his time, his chance to show the world how much it needed to be fixed and who better than him to head the project? He looked towards Martie eagerly, but the redhead was staring at his hands, now deep in thought. Leave it to his friend and classmate to get stuck in head at such an important moment as this. "Think on it, Martie. For me. We could do this, together, all of us –" here he gestured towards the empty room around them "- and we could make a real difference!"
Martie bit his lower lip before nodding. "You're right of course, as always," Martie teased as he clapped Elliot on the shoulder. Both smiled and Elliot started packing up his messenger bag. Martie was busy fooling around with his phone and Elliot figured he was sending Penny a message or something along those lines. The girl was so obviously in love with his friend it almost broke his heart. Almost. She was asking for it, though. If someone obviously didn't return your affections, why would you keep pining after them? Love was a thing that Elliot avoided like he would the plague: it would only cloud his thoughts and ruin his plans for the future. He would never change his plans for a woman, no matter how pretty the face or how witty the brain.
Martie, on the other hand, wanted to find love. It wasn't that he actively sought it out, but he did occasionally go on dates, and quite a few of the girls around campus had managed to get his number at the bar or for 'study sessions.' But none of them were 'the one.' He had old fashioned beliefs that he would just know one day, that it would hit him like a ton of bricks and that would be it: he would be set for life.
"Are you staying for a few drinks with me and Grant?" Elliot asked as the two exited the room. Martie's eyes flickered over towards the mop of curly hair in the corner and shook his head. He'd made plans earlier, plans he couldn't back out on.
Penny Thenardier was a sad kind of girl, and part of the reason Martie spent time with her was because he felt absolutely sorry for her. She lived with her parents who owned the diner that she worked at, and had barely managed to graduate high school thanks to those same parents. Once upon a time she had believed her parents loved her, but those days were long over. Occasionally, or more often than any of her friends would like to admit, welts and bruises would stain her skin. They had tried to inquire once, but Penny had immediately scurried off and returned hours later in a baggy sweat shirt that hid everything but the last fadings of her black eye.
Everyone knew Penny had what one might call a school girl crush on Martie. Her wide brown eyes looked at him with such a passion impossible to miss, unless you were Martie himself. Most of the boys felt sad for her; he would never see it, they all assumed. He would never understand what he had right in front of him, and all of his friends were too involved in their own lives to try and worry about the chick flick that was the Penny and Martie situation. Today was no exception: as soon as Martie had exited the Musain he was greeted with a wide, toothy grin from none other than the small brunette who had been leaning against the outer wall of the building. "Ah, here comes the fine scholar himself!" she teased him playfully as a strand of brown hair was pushed from her face.
Martie couldn't fight the wide grin he brought on as he gestured towards his car. The two spent enough time together that Penny knew which car was his, and quickly slid into the passengers seat which was still set to her liking. "How was tonight's meeting?" She inquired with a slightly cocked head.
"Ah, it was just me and Elliot tonight, we did some studying." And by some, he really meant very little. For two students who were at the top of their class, those two boys seemed to do very little studying. "What do you say to some dinner then a walk around the park before we go to the grocery store?" It was not shocking that Penny assumed some of his actions a bit more than friendly, but Martie always meant it in good spirits. He knew her parents weren't the best people in the world, therefore he didn't always trust them with having food in the fridge and he didn't like the idea of her being around them all day. He wanted her to have a life outside of her job, and since she wasn't going to school Martie had taken her under his wing.
Penny sat back in her seat and smiled widely. "I like the way you talk, sir!" she said with a nod of affirmation. If it weren't for Martie, Penny was absolutely positive she would be driven crazy.
"Ah, and I like the way you always tease," Martie chided her with a soft grin. He pulled into the parking lot of a small Chinese restaurant and turned the car off, looking over towards Penny who was frowning. "What?"
"We had Chinese last week," she pointed out with arched eyebrows. Martie chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, it won't kill you," he murmured as he pulled her car door open and she slid out. Next to his oxford shirt, bow tie, cardigan and khakis, she looked simply homeless. She'd opted to go for a more casual approach, which wasn't unusual, and her skinny jeans were starting to show wear in the knees. She chewed her lower lip before stopping and gesturing.
"Why don't we walk first? I'm not very hungry yet, and the sun is just starting to set… it will be nice," Penny grinned widely as she started off in the opposite direction, causing Martie to roll his eyes and huff. She did have a good point, though: the sun setting was staining the sky a magnificent array of colors, and he could appreciate such a beautiful site.
The redhead followed in his friend's footsteps. She'd managed to get a good ways ahead of him while he had been looking at the sky, and Martie hardly noticed the crowd that had gathered around a store front when he arrived. "Penny?" He called, his eyes scanning the small crowd. Two people in the center of people were loudly arguing, and immediately Martie noted that one of those people was Penny's father, who looked outraged.
"How dare you accuse me of such things, you old bat!" Penny was tugging at her father's arm, but it was no use. He shook her off, catching her in the stomach and she grimaced but stayed beside him, her eyes looking towards Martie.
"Stay out of this," she hissed to him, immediately recognizing the look that had come over his face. Martie pushed further towards his friend, and simultaneously almost knocked someone over in the process. He apologetically steadied the girl, who turned to look at him with wide blue eyes.
In that second, Martie was absolutely sure he felt his heart stop. She was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen with her wide blue eyes, soft curls which framed her face, and the way her perfect lips were curling up into a soft smile. "I didn't see you there, forgive me…" he managed to stutter out. It was then that he heard a car door slam and Martie averted his eyes. The girl looked as if she had been about to speak, but when Martie looked away from the policeman making his way over the blonde was gone, heading away from the crowd in the opposite direction. Immediately his heart sank. How could he have let her get away without so much as her name?
Eponine was back at his side in a flash, tugging at his arm towards his car. "On second thought, I think we need to go and get dinner," she said breathlessly. Her father was still screaming about something, and Martie was still craning his neck, trying to see the girl. Penny stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him quizzically. "What are you looking at?" She asked him tersely as her eyes followed his.
"That girl… who was she?" Martie asked breathlessly.
"Who? That timid little blonde thing?" Penny asked with a soft snort. Her eyes met his as he nodded once, and her heart sank. "Oh… her name is Chloe," she said blandly, a slight look of disgust on her lips. She'd gone to school with Chloe when they were children, many many years ago, but the other girl had moved away after her mother had passed. What ever she was doing back here was none of Penny's concern, and she couldn't imagine why Martie was worrying about her now.
"You know her?" He asked, taken aback but looking beyond happy none the less. If only Penny could understand how his heart was thumping so loudly he was sure she could hear it, or how just a simple look from Chloe – ah, what a beautiful name! – had caused his heart to soar. If only she could understand this love that was coursing through his veins, then maybe she wouldn't be wearing that sour look. "Penny, please! You must introduce us. Please," he asked her softly, his eyes meeting hers as he held the brunette by the shoulders. She looked utterly despondent right now, and Martie assumed it had something to do with her father.
Penny's heart had sunk so far down in her chest that she was sure if it went any further it was going to fall out all together. "I… I can try, Martie, but I can't promise anything," she mumbled, her voice rough with emotion. She needed to escape. Everything was starting to close in on her, she could feel the stars falling around her. Why did she even think she'd had a chance with Martie to begin with? He was too smart, too handsome, and definitely above her social class. She could feel the hot tears threatening to fall from her eyes but Penny quickly blinked them away. She didn't want Martie to see her weakness. "I'm going to go home… my father will be in one hell of a mood. No, I don't need a ride thanks, I will walk." Her voice was so low Martie almost missed it. Before he could argue and insist upon giving her a ride she was stalking off in the opposite direction, her head ducked and her arms folded tightly over her chest. As soon as her back had turned to him, tears slid down Penny's cheeks. It had only been a matter of time, but she never knew heartbreak would hurt this intensely.