Eponine woke up the next morning with tear stained cheeks. She though maybe Enjolras had cared enough to come in and hold her when she cried, but she woke up, she was alone. She thought it was only a dream after all. It was stupid she knew, why on earth should she be upset now, it's not like Marius ever loved her any other time in her life, not as more than friends. "But I thought he might." She thought to herself. And now all that hope was destroyed. Joly later told her he was marrying Cosette. Out of all the people in her life Marius was the only one who ever respected her. Even her little brother, Gavroche hardly spoke to her, even though she tried to look out for him. He didn't even know he was her brother and she didn't want to bring shame to him by telling him. Now Marius wouldn't have time to even be friends with her. He'd live in the countryside in a grand mansion with the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Just like he deserved, just like Cosette deserved even.

Eponine remembered the bottle of liquor she had found one day in the drawer in her room. She thought of nothing better to do then drink it. Maybe she could forget this throbbing whole in her heart. It worked for Grantaire. Poor Grantaire. He saw something in life no one else could find, no one except Eponine. Something terrible and wicked only they could grasp. She opened the bottle and drank half of the foul liquid as fast as she could, saving the other half for another terrible time.

Eponine drunkenly walked to Enjolras' room in the small apartment.

"Eponine! What on earth- are you drunk?!" Enjolras said gasping.

"You may call me Ponine now Monsier. All my friends are dead." She said with a blank expression on her face.

"Ponine sit now you're scaring me!" Enjolras said, still keeping the calm tone to his voice, but slightly frightened.

"They're DEAD Enjolras. DEAD. And Marius might as well be DEAD because he no longer will care about the poor little stray who steals scraps and has the voice of a convict. It's funny because I LOVE him. HA! Don't you hate that word? Love? No ones ever LOVED poor little Enjolras. They say you're marble but no, you're merely sleight. It looks strong and sturdy but it's ever so easy to knock down." She spat. "If it weren't for you they'd all be alive.

"Eponine stop." His voice becoming stern. "You don't know what your saying your drunk."

Suddenly her voice became soft as she said, "It's terrible isn't it. I can't help but blame the world for my problems. Not Marius though. I never blamed him and he never blamed me. My mistake was thinking he belonged to me, and I belonged to him. But it's silly though. People don't belong to people. That's something you understand." Enjolras caught her as she tripped forward into his arms. "You never blame me either. I thank you." And she kissed him on the cheek.

Enjolras had never been touched by the lips of a woman and his face was on fire. He had never felt something so soft, so sweet, so pure. He looked down at the woman in his arms. "Eponine what did you do that for?" He said.

She looked up and him and said so softly he could barely hear, "Because no one's ever done that for you before." And she got up and stumbled away. That was it. Enjolras didn't understand her. She was all fire, so angry at everything, so quick to fight the world. But inside, he realized, little Ponine was just sad, and maybe even afraid. Just like him. He just had been raised to hide it, keep it inside. Eponine was not a stray like she thought, only a bird in a cage, crying for freedom.

Enjolras then pulled out a piece of paper and wrote:

Marius,

Please come visit your dear friend Eponine. She misses you dearly, and I'm sure Cosette would be understanding.

-Enjolras

He handed the note to a young boy and gave him ten francs to deliver the message. It may take up to a week for the letter to even get to Marius, and ten francs was a lot to spare, but Enjolras thought these things were a small price to pay for Eponine's happiness.