The next day, Marius entered the café with a petit and beautiful blonde on his arm.

"Everybody meet Cosette!" Marius said introducing the girl. Oh, that's Cosette, Enjolras thought. No wonder Eponine doesn't like her; she looks like she would break if you touched her. Everyone approached the petite woman and shook her hand politely and treated her like a fragile doll. Enjolras nodded at her before he began to finish typing up his essay on the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. For some odd reason, he felt himself itching to text Eponine about Cosette. He supposed it was because of their newfound 'friendship.' It was still strange to him being such close friends with a female, but he was adjusting. Shaking the thought from his mind, he saved his paper and slammed his laptop shut. He heard his friends mentioning Eponine and he began to eavesdrop intently on their conversation.

"I don't know what to get her for her birthday either! Eponine never tells me what she wants, and she never seems to want anything anyways," Combeferre sighed.

"We could get her something she needs," Grantaire suggested.

"She needs money, but if we gave her money she would decline it. She doesn't like to be pitied," Prouvaire pointed out. Combeferre and Grantaire agreed in defeat. Enjolras didn't know Eponine's birthday was coming up so soon. He sauntered over to get more information.

"Eponine's birthday is approaching, you say?" he asked.

"Yes, it is on Friday."

"I know she lives in a really bad area, maybe she should move in with me, Enjolras, and Grantaire as her present? Do you think she would go for that idea?" Courfeyrac asked. Les Amis encouraged Courfeyrac to go for his idea, of course, that was until Enjolras stood up and added his two cents.

"This is a big deal! She would have to sell her apartment, we would have to transport her things, there really isn't that much space in the apartment, and there is no way she would want to live with us!" Enjolras argued dampening the mood. Everyone groaned at Enjolras.

"We are all thinking about her safety! And plus, she is friends with us and I am sure she will be fine with it. If you haven't noticed, Eponine doesn't really have that many things so it wouldn't be hard to get them to our house," Courfeyrac said pleadingly.

"No, I put my foot down on this idea. Eponine is too proud of her apartment to move out and she would feel like we are only doing it out of charity. She would appreciate us taking her out to dinner a million times more; she isn't expecting anything and I don't want her to feel uncomfortable," Enjolras said tugging at his collar.

"I like that idea better; good thinking Enjy!" Grantaire declared and Enjolras rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname.

"That's not all we could do, though. Eponine adores Broadway, we could all take her to see 'Wicked.' That is the only show I will tolerate, and I am sure my uncle will be more than pleased to get me tickets," Enjolras suggested.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are we just going to dismiss the moving in idea?" Courfeyrac asked.

"We could just get her a puppy," Prouvaire suggested.

"Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" Feuilly chanted.

"We could give her a huge stack of books! Who doesn't love reading?" Jehan asked excitedly. Enjolras groaned.

"I said we-"

"We could write a poem."

"Hand sanitizer. That would be amazing and hygienic and good smelling! We should get her all the different flavors at Bath and Body Works!"

"No way! Let's get her the finest wine in the country! No, forget that, the world!"

"Stop talking, Grantaire. You're drunk."

"No, I'm drunk!" Grantaire protested.

"QUIET!" Enjolras shouted. Some people in the café jumped in surprise, but it had the desired effect on the Amis that Enjolras intended. "My friends, let us not waste time dreaming up all this ridiculous presents. It's not what Eponine would want! Taking her out to a nice dinner and a show would be the best birthday that Eponine could dream of." Well, it would be the best birthday if Marius suddenly abandoned Cosette and fell in love with her, Enjolras thought.

"I suppose you are right, after all, you are quite good at understanding people. Where do you think we should take her out to dinner? And are you sure you can get the 'Wicked' tickets?" Combeferre asked.

"I think she would like The View. Their food is good, but their desserts are out of this world! And yes, I am positive I can get the Wicked tickets. Surely you don't doubt me?" Enjolras asked lightly. "Trust me on this."

"Okay, you better make her birthday amazing. Let's keep this a surprise, too!" Bahorel said threateningly.

"Don't worry, I will do everything in my power to make it perfect… well, perfectly imperfect. Nothing around here is ever perfect. But I'm not doing anything really special! I don't have that kind of time! I have school, after all," Enjolras said impatiently.

"Okay, and then we can all get her separate presents as well. I don't know what I should get her," Marius added.

"This girl is lucky to have so many kind friends," Cosette said in her soprano voice. It was so high and sweet that Enjolras found it annoying. Marius beamed down at Cosette as though she were the most amazing thing on this planet. "I wish I had friends like her."

Enjolras found it almost ironic that Cosette was jealous of Eponine when Eponine would trade lives with her in a heartbeat.

Line Break

Combeferre had been diligently working in the library all morning, free from distractions. He had a paper due on Monday, and knew he had to finish it because the weekend was drawing to a close. He was just wrapping up when Enjolras came barging in the library and slammed down his laptop.

"Wow, this is a first. Normally you are the one studying quietly in the library and I, or one of Les Amis, comes along and disturbs you. So, what brings you here?" Combeferre asked.

"Feel free to call me a genius: I got the reservations and the tickets. All we need to do is keep our mouths shut for the next few days," Enjolras said somewhat excitedly. Combeferre grinned at him and began to plan out the big day.

"I cannot wait to see Eponine's reaction. Remember Grantaire's birthday when we kidnapped him and rented out his favorite bar and invited all his friends? Ooo! Remember Prouvaire's birthday when we kidnapped him and flew all the way to Orlando and took him to Universal to see the Harry Potter World? Or mine, when you guys kidnapped me and shoved me in the limo and we went to Carlos' Bakery and ordered a big cake? Or when we kidnapped Bahorel… Wow we do a lot of kidnapping! I didn't realize it 'til now… We probably shouldn't kidnap Eponine though," Combeferre said thoughtfully.

"Shhh! I need to study!" Enjolras whispered cracking open his book. And now the typical Enjolras returns. Combeferre chuckled as his best friend's attention quickly became trained on his textbook.

"I'll just go talk about this with Grantaire and Courfeyrac. I'm sure I'll find them at the café or somewhere," Combeferre said waving goodbye. Enjolras didn't see, he was too absorbed in his schoolwork.

Line Break

For the next week, Les Amis tried their hardest not to act suspicious. Enjolras didn't care enough to go crazy over Eponine's birthday celebration, but others, like Courfeyrac, couldn't be kept in the same room with her in fear of giving away the surprise.

"So, no plans on Friday, right Eponine?" Courfeyrac asked not so casually on Wednesday morning. Eponine eyed him suspiciously; Friday was her birthday. Plus, she never had plans other than hanging out with Les Amis. She doubted that Les Amis knew it was her birthday in two days, she hadn't told them about it.

"Of course not," Eponine snorted shoving her unruly black hair into a sloppy bun. Her hair was always out of control, but she liked it. She didn't want perfect, straight hair; imperfections defined Eponine and made her comfortable.

"Good, it's not like we were planning on doing anything different this Friday, pshhh. Like, what? Where did that idea come from? I mean, come on. Stop being crazy, Eponine! Is it hot in here because I am sweating? STOP QUESTIONG ME AND NEVER LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!" he spazzed. This resulted in Grantaire and Bahorel dragging him out of the classroom and force feeding him Dramamine. They weren't exactly sure if the Dramamine would help, but at least it couldn't hurt?

Anyways, in spite of that incident, Courfeyrac was not allowed to go near Eponine until the party. Prouvaire, unfortunately, had a similar excursion with the birthday girl in question. Later that day when Eponine was serving him at the Stardust Diner, his excitement got the best of him.

"I cannot wait for it to be the weekend, ya know? Fridays are the best! I love going out to eat and I love going to see Broadway shows, don't you? Wouldn't that sound like the perfect way to spend an evening?" he asked hopefully. Eponine seemed taken aback at his sudden burst of… energy.

"Of course that would be the perfect evening- if I had the money to afford it! Broadway and music are my life, but going out to see a show isn't really a luxury I can have at the moment," Eponine sighed.

"Music is your life? Eponine, stop being so funny! Is your blood made out of music? You could just cut yourself and a song would pour out of your veins! You could be like 'I think I am in the mood for 'Sound of Music' and then you would cut your wrist or something and 'THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC' would just flow out. Broadway, fun stuff. By the way, you don't have any plans for Friday, right?"

And that was how Prouvaire was also banned from Eponine. There were a few close calls with Joly and Feuilly, but they managed to pull through. Enjolras seemed rather uninterested in the party, but Combeferre spent every waking moment planning every little detail. Grantaire had made a habit of disrupting him with his antics.

"I think we should get her the Harry Potter Magic Wand remote. I mean, it's a wand that can work as a remote! Who wouldn't want that?" Grantaire whined.

"I really don't care what you get her, I already have my gift picked out and wrapped," Combeferre said impatiently.

"You should get her the Dolphin Power Boat," Grantaire suggested.

"What the actual hell- Never mind I don't want to know. I already told you I got her something, though!" Combeferre sniffed indignantly.

Thursday went by pretty smoothly, but Friday was the worse. Even Enjolras was feeling a little anxious about the party. By now, all of Les Amis except for Enjolras were unable to get near Eponine because the surprise that would happen shortly was just too marvelous for them to even handle. They all wished her a happy birthday that morning but said nothing else all day. Eponine wasn't expecting anything; she was honestly just surprised that they knew her birthday. Perhaps she should have been apprehensive with all the strange behavior going on that Friday with the secretive glances and whispering between Les Amis, but she doubted so greatly that anyone would ever do anything for her birthday that the thought didn't even cross her mind. Before lunch, Eponine began to leave for her shift at the Stardust Diner, but Les Amis wanted her to be within their sight for as much of the day as possible. Fortunately, Enjolras caught her before she left.

"Where are you going?" he asked grabbing onto her backpack before she could get away.

"I'm going to work like always," she shrugged. Enjolras detained her when she attempted to pull away again.

"Not today, it is your birthday! You deserve to have a work free day," Enjolras demanded.

"Work is way more fun than school. Just let me go, Enjolras," she sighed. Enjolras shook his head firmly and Eponine gave in.

"Fine, but you are making my birthday worse," Eponine said sadly. "Not like you care. Nobody cares about my birthday." Enjolras regarded the broken girl.

"Les Amis care about your birthday and so do I," he said truthfully and Eponine half believed him.

"Thanks, I guess. Well, let's go to lunch then," Eponine said with her stomach growling.

Line Break

Enjolras was going to crash if Les Amis didn't shut up in the next second. The large SUV was completely crowded and everyone was bouncing off the walls on the way to pick up Eponine. Enjolras hated the commotion.

"Are we there yet?" Grantaire asked like a two year old.

"I need OUT! This is SO unsanitary!" Joly exclaimed clawing at his throat.

"Aw, nothing is wrong with some cuddling between old friends."

"Never say that again."

"Cuddling?"

"Yeah, that word."

"Oh well in that case, CUDDLING, CUDDLING, CUDDLING, SNUGGLING!"

"MAKE IT STOP!"

"I think the chocolate I got her is going to melt."

"It isn't going to melt."

"I got her the best present: a Harry Potter Wand Remote!"

"Dear Lord, you actually bought that?"

"Yup."

"I got her a batman snuggie."

"Yeah, well I got her a target practice alarm clock. When she wakes up, she has to take the gun and shoot the target to make it stop!"

"That's. Freaking. Amazing. I want one!"

"WE'RE HERE! THANK THE LORD I CAN FINALLY GET OUT OF THE CAR!" Enjolras shouted as he slammed on the breaks and swung open the door. They surveyed the area, and Joly whimpered as he spotted a couple kissing on the stairs, and he remarked about how germy that was. Even Bahorel looked intimidated as a completely ripped guy swaggered across the small patch of grass in the front of the ramshackle building. The small apartment complex was covered in graffiti and dirt. A majority of the windows were cracked and grass grew through the unclean sidewalk. The building was dilapidated and the people were pretty sketchy.

"I'll just, um, stay in the car," Courfeyrac gulped. The Amis nodded in agreement as they refastened their seatbelts.

"Whimps," Enjolras muttered as he shoved open the door and strode up to the room that Gavroche had told him was Eponine's. He knocked thrice on the door before Eponine quickly thrust it open.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her holey sweatpants and faded red tee shirt weren't exactly the most attractive thing ever, however her hair was tied tightly into a French braid that was nice enough to wear for the night.

"Happy Birthday, Eponine. We are taking you out for a birthday surprise. Put on your most elegant dress and we will leave!" Enjolras said without much emotion.

"What? Wait a second, where are we even going?" Eponine asked, but Enjolras was not going to reveal anything.

"I cannot tell you, just go put on a dress. Les Amis are waiting in the car," Enjolras explained.

"They all saw where I live! I never wanted any of you to see this place!" Eponine said in distress.

"Don't worry, none of us care. Now go get ready!" Enjolras urged sending Eponine to her room. He sat down on a plastic chair in her kitchen and pulled out his phone. What seemed like an eternity later (but was really only 15 minutes), Eponine emerged from her room. She wore a tight and short black dress and tall, sleek heels. She was proud of the dress because she had saved up her money for months so she could afford it. The braid was still there, but it was accompanied with a black lace headband. Her makeup had been touched up a bit, Enjolras noticed. He felt like he had been staring at her for a moment too long.

"Not bad," he shrugged. He felt like he should have told her she was beautiful, but he didn't. Surely the other Amis would. "Let's go."

Eponine latched onto his elbow and led him to the door. She frowned when she noticed he shied away from her touch.

"Don't worry, friends can link arms," she informed him. He immediately relaxed and decided that he did indeed enjoy linking arms with Eponine.

A/N: Today is June 3rd! IT IS BAD WOLF DAY! I haven't seen 'Bad Wolf' written anywhere, but that's cool too. Go Whovians!