A/N: Life is crazy. That is all.
Enjolras sighed as he wrapped his red coat closer to his body, attempting to block out the cold. Normally, his red coat would stand out, but not in the festive month of December. Every person and building was decked out in red, green, silver, and gold. Enjolras tried to smother his scowl as he noticed a couple kissing near the skating rink. The man had blond hair and the woman had dark locks, and he couldn't help but think of himself and Eponine.
He hadn't seen her in weeks. He hoped he would see her tomorrow night.
Tomorrow was the night he would go to France, and if she didn't show up, he didn't know what he was going to do.
Maintaining the brisk pace, Enjolras scanned the crowd of people for an energetic, young boy. Gavroche.
All of a sudden, he felt a hard rap against his back and turned around to see Gavroche smirking. Enjolras scolded him with his eyes for a split second before they proceeded to complete their secret handshake. Enjolras remembered the day that Gav taught it to him. At first, he thought the idea was preposterous, but then when he saw how happy it made Gav, he began to like it.
"I missed you! Have you been hiding from me?" Enjorlas asked Gavroche. The young boy shook his head.
"Nah, but my sister has been 'too busy' to take me to visit. That's not fair! You should've come to see me!"
"Well, I've been quite busy myself. Exams are coming up, and I just got an internship. So, about tomorrow, do you know what your sister is planning on doing? Has she said anything about France?" Enjolras asked urgently. Gav shook his head.
"She won't tell me anything! She says I will find out tomorrow, but I hope she doesn't go. I want to go, but I know you want her to go. I don't like Simon one bit, and the other day I stole his phone and saw he had been calling my father practically every night. What could he want with Thenardier?"
"Wait, he's been calling Thenardier? What business could he have with that scum?" Enjolras wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but I think we should do some investigating," Gavroche said with a smirk; of course he would want to do some sleuthing. "You go distract Ep and Simon; they are at Starbucks going over lines and boring stuff. While they aren't looking, I'll steal his phone and… well I'll explain later but I know this will work."
Enjolras knew he had to trust his little friend, so together they ran up to the street to hail a cab. Gav told the cabbie which Starbucks to go to (since they seemed to be on every corner in New York), and they went over the plan together quietly as the world passed by in a blur.
When the taxi pulled to a stop, Enjolras hastily paid before jetting off into the Starbucks. The first thing he noticed was Eponine's scratchy , yet hearty laugh and her mane of dark curls. He saw Simon sitting across from her, intently watching her reactions. Gav signaled him to go while he hid behind the counter, ready to pounce.
Enjolras ordered a tall, steaming hot latte and walked past their table. Then, he 'tripped' over the chair and spilled coffe all over Simon.
"Enjolras! What the hell!" Eponine shouted, finally noticing the presence of her friend. Enjolras' heart stopped (in a good way) when she said his name. He really missed. He really, really missed her.
"It was an accident!" he defended. "Sorry, man." Simon grimaced in his direction. "I'll get some napkins."
"Where have you been, Enjolras? You never respond to texts anymore! Did I do something?" Eponine shouted when Enjolras returned. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"What do you mean? You never text me! I texted you once or twice, but you didn't respond. I thought you were avoiding me!" he shouted back.
"That's crazy. I have sent at least 50 messages that you haven't responded to."
Enjolras rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, showing her that he really hadn't received any messages.
"Did you delete all of them?"
"No! I never got them!"
"That's weird, maybe your phone is broken," Eponine shrugs.
"Yeah… Anyway, nice to see you, and sorry for spilling coffee on you, Simon."
Enjolras collected himself and walked outside to be greeted by a devious looking Gavroche.
"Easy, peasy. I grabbed it in no time when Eponine was looking at your phone and Simon was cleaning himself. I hate that guy. Now, for the second part of the plan." Gav led Enjolras through the streets and to a secluded alleyway. Litter clouded the area and it smelt foul, but neither man nor child paid attention. They were too focused in their mission.
"I'm going to dial Thenardier. I need you to pretend to be Simon, okay? You kinda sound like him, and if you talk quietly Thenardier won't notice the difference!" Gav exclaimed, thrusting the phone forward. Enjolras pinched it between two fingers, regarding it like a bomb.
"This won't work."
"Scared?"
"Yeah… Maybe a little."
"What's the worst that could happen? Nothing. So grow a pair and call him," Gav demanded. Enjolras looked slightly surprised at his outburst. Clearing his throat, he opened the phone and pulled up the phone. Under recents, Thenardier's name was the top of the list. With a shaking finger, he clicked the name.
Thenardier picked up after the third ring.
"What is it this time? You're supposed to be with Eponine!" a voice drawled. Enjolras visibly gulped before answering.
"I am, she's just in the bathroom," he said, deciding to play along.
"Oh. Well, then why are you phoning me?"
"Remember what we talked about last time? Well, I was kind of drunk and the details got blurry," Enjolras tried. Gav thought for a second before shrugging and mouthing 'good start.'
"Eh, it's alright. I'm drunk a lot, too. I know what it's like to forget. You know the main part of the plan to keep Eponine away from the airport, right? We can't let her go with that bloody university student. If she ends up going with him, our whole scheme will get messed up."
Enjolras almost fainted. He knew Simon shouldn't be trusted, but he didn't know that it was this bad. Gav looked concerned at his friend's reaction. Enjolras help up a finger to Gav to tell him to be patient.
"Of course. I'm not a complete idiot. I just forgot some of the technical stuff."
"It's not a technical plan. Just keep her away from the airport. Do what it takes, even if that means dressing up like a kidnapper and pretending to kidnap her. Don't let her see your face and later you can rescue her and she will see you as a hero and fall even more in love. You blocked that blonde kid's number on her phone and vice versa, correct?"
"Of course."
"Good. I'm so proud of myself. I need her back! I've been dreaming of all the money Ep will earn. And I promise you can have her when this plan works. Ep will be happy because she won't even know what hit her. Everyone wins. Except that blonde kid. But it's his fault for being such a-"
"Ya, I know. Shh, she's coming back. I have to go."
Enjolras double and triple checked to make sure he had hung up before letting out a strangled moan.
"What was that about? What business does Simon have with Thenardier?"
"He's using Ep. I can't believe it. Well, I can. I feel so horrible for your sister. We need to stop this! We need to save her."
"My sister doesn't need saving."
"She's incredibly strong and wonderful, definitely no damsel in distress. But at the end of the day, sometimes someone needs to save the hero."
"Alright. How do you want to do this?"
A/N: SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER. Exams kind of take it out of a person. Oh, and Sherlock. There's that. Two more days before the pain comes again. Bring it on.
