"Oi, why's G'vroche so excited t'day?" Oliver and Jaques were inside of the elephant, listening to their leader happily sing outside.
"You di'nt 'ear? Marie's comin' 'ome t'day." Replied Jaques. They both flinched as Gavroche went horribly flat on a note, but said nothing. Marie had been in Joly's house for almost a week and a half now, and she was finally coming back. They had heard that she lost half of her leg, but they took it well.
"Courfeyrac! Fancy seein' you 'ere!" they heard Gavroche exclaim outside, "yah! I'm comin'!" and the footsteps signalled that he had left.
"Is 'er fever alright?" the younger boy asked. Courfeyrac nodded. After being in bed for 24 hours, Marie had caught a horrible fever. No one but Joly could be in the same room as her.
"Ahh, I can't wait to see 'er again! I 'ope she can't wait to see me!" Gavroche happily said. They passed corners and roads, until Joly's familiar house came into view. The minute he saw it, Gavroche began sprinting. He burst through the door without knocking and ran into Joly.
"Oof! Oh, it's you! C'mon, Marie really wants to see you." Joly gestured towards the other room. Gavroche ran into the room, where Marie was reading a book quietly.
"Marie!" He cried when he saw her alive and well. She looked up and dropped the book. She held open her arms, and Gavroche crashed into them.
"I'm sorry I worried you..." Apologized Marie. Gavroche tightened his hug.
"I'm jus' glad you're alive! Now c'mon, the others wanna see you!" He grabbed her hand, and the crutches near her bed. Seeing her without the leg she once had was strange, but she was still the same old Marie. She staggered a bit on the crutches, but got used to walking so. Gavroche walked the same speed as her so that she wouldn't fall behind.
"Wait..." Marie suddenly stopped. Gavroche turned, and tipped his head.
"G'vroche, the day you woke up and sang to me, the day I was crushed by the carr'ge. You did the other thing." she explained.
"What 'other thing'?"
"Never knew what it was called, papa never told me. You moved your face all close to mine, and I felt warm and safe."
"Oh! I see couples everywhere doing that, so...I just wanted to try it for once. The boys at the cafe told me that it meant you really liked someone."
Marie sighed happily. She had seen her mother and father do the same thing many times, she had actually never done it herself. A sheepish look swept over her face, which was now pink in colour.
"I was wondering...y'know...if you could do it again." She asked, smiling a bit. Gavroche blinked in surprise, and gulped. It was a quick movement, he moved close to her fast, and pecked her softly. He hung his head (like he always did) and left his hair fall in front of his face.
"W...we should prob'ly get 'ome." He suggested, and turned around. Marie staggered after him on her crutches.
"Guys, let 'er be! Shes tired...!" Gavroche struggled to control the gathering of children sweeping over Marie. Once they parted, he put his arm around Marie's shoulders and helped her get to her normal sleeping place in the elephant statue. She sat down on her crate and leaned against the wall.
"Hey G'vroche, could you stay with me till I fall asleep?" She asked. Gavroche nodded and sat down next to her.
"It was 'im." She suddenly said after a long minute of silence.
"What?"
"My old frein'. I was 'urt because of 'im." She responded. Gavroche shifted, and looked at her, concerned.
"After you left for the meeting, he called to me from outside. Said 'e forgot to give me somethin'. We were walkin' back to where 'e lived, 'e asked me about you. I said that I lov...uh...you were a really good friend. I don't really know what happened after that. All I remember is that we ran back to the elephant, and he pushed me in front of the carriage. Then you came along, an'...he was the one who knocked over the glass." Marie explained, her voice breaking. Gavroche didn't know what to feel. Anger? Sadness?
"He's the reason you lost your leg." he snarled. Marie put a hand on his shoulder.
"What's done 'as been done, there's no goin' back. He's probably miles away from 'ere by now."
"I don't care." He simply responded.
A thick rain had swept over, melting all the snow, but the streets were slippery. A sheet of ice had froze over most of the slums. Gavroche and the others were running to the marketplace, to see what all the commotion was about. A crowd of beggars were yelling at a large carriage that was being pulled through town.
"You have so much!"
"We're starving, can't you see?!"
"Think about someone else for once!"
Everyone's throats were going hoarse from the screaming. The man in the carriage ignored them and ordered the driver to go faster. Deciding that he'd try to get through this guy's thick skull, Gavroche pulled down the carriage window and looked inside.
"'Ow do you do?" he greeted them, "my name's Gavroche. Look at these people, they're 'ungry and skinny! This is the closest we've got to "high society". You see this patch? It means I'm supportin' the revolution. Watch out. Everyone, follow me!" he climbed into the carriage and out the other side, earning a shout from the couple. He jumped onto another passing carriage, and the other children followed.
"Remember when we killed the king? Well, this new one is no better! This was the land who fought for liberty, and nowadays, we fight for food. At least we know that the rich and the poor will be equal someday, when we're dead! Take your chance! Vive la France!" He yelled, and the kids following him screamed back in agreement. Gavroche turned to see Enjolras and Marius waving flyers around, so he jumped off the carriage to listen to what they had to say.
"Now that Lamarque is dead, what will we do?! Join the revolution, let's take back our country!" their voices echoed through the streets, and people cheered.
"G'vroche, what's goin' on?" Marie came rushing up on her crutches.
"A rally. We're trying to get people to join the revolution!" He answered. They paid no attention to the people crashing past them, bumping their shoulders, almost knocking them over.
Note: I understand that Lamarque died after this scene, but this is based on a different version of the production. In the one I saw, he died before.
"Marie, can you come with me for a second? Be careful, it's slippery." Gavroche gestured her over. He put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from falling, and helped her away from the crowd.
"What is it, G'vroche?" She asked. She sat down on a nearby crate, and her friend sat down next to her.
"I 'ave a question. Do you-"
A shout from around the corner snapped his attention, and mumblings came afterwards.
"Stay here," he said, "I'll be right back." Gavroche. Slowly walked around the corner, to see a familiar man with his hands around another man's shoulders. The other man was more clean, and was obviously rich.
"Monsieur...my child hasn't eaten. He's only three weeks old..." Said the dirtier man. The rich man broke out of his grasp.
"If he hasn't eaten, shouldn't your wife over there be nursing him? He's not old enough to be eating anything other than milk, sir." He said. The beggar went silent. Before he could respond, the wife came running over.
"Hold on...I know this man." She said. The "baby" tumbled out of her arms, which was really just a loaf of bread with a blanket over it.
"Men such as me don't forget these things! You're the one who bought Cosette!"
"Monsieur, that is nonsense, I don't know who that is."
"Everyone, scatter! It's Javert!" Screamed a voice. Gavroche turned to see a familiar girl hiding behind a wall. His attention was drawn back to the scene when the inspector lifted the boy up by his shirt. Gavroche snarled, but didn't push.
"What's going on here? Monsieur, these streets are not safe! These merchants are nothing but crooks!" exclaimed Javert, throwing the child back onto the ground. Gavroche landed with a grunt and scampered away.
"What happened, did 'e 'urt you?" Asked Marie when he returned.
"Ah...yah. But it ain't nothing but a bruise."
"Good...so, what were you about to ask me?"
Gavroche paused. What was he asking again? He struggled to remember.
"I'm sorry, Marie...I've forgotten." He responded. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder once more and helped her get up. As they walked, Gavroche listened to a conversation that was being held near them.
"I don't know of I should help, you don't even know her name! What'll you give me?"
The voice that warned everyone of Javert. Gavroche just couldn't figure out who it belonged to. He knew this girl, but from where?
"Éponine, please! I'll give you anything just to see her again!"
"Éponine. Gavroche stopped cold in his tracks. The name hit him like a snowball. It seemed to run through his veins, and everywhere around his body. It was all coming back to him now. The beggar on the street. His wife. He was unable to respond to Marie's calls, as he sunk to his knees.
"Will you shut him up? Our guests are complaining!" Yelled Thenardier, filling up a mug with lukewarm water. His wife sighed, and approached the room with the crying child.
"Oi, shut your face! Cosette!" Madame Thenardier yelled for the young girl. Cosette ran to her adoptive mother quickly with a broom in her hand.
"Yes, my lady?" The young girl asked, flinching when the woman walked towards her. She picked up the baby and handed him to Cosette.
"Get this little brat to shush! When you're done with that, come back and help serve customers." said Madame Thenardier, who then exited the room.
"Gavroche!" He yelled out when Marie screamed his name. Gavroche turned his head, his eyes darting around.
"You just...froze! I tried to get you to move, but your eyes just glazed over...I thought you had died!" Marie cried. Gavroche rubbed the back of his neck. He just couldn't speak.
"I...let's go home." He finally managed to say. Marie looked at him questioningly, but nodded. She refrained from asking any questions as they waked home, for Gavroche had a fairly disturbed look on his face. She was tired to the bone, so she immediately sunk down into her sleeping space and threw her ratty blanket over herself. She could find out what had been troubling Gavroche the next day.