My lovelies! I've missed you when I've been away, but with cross country, theatre, and the general business of high school life (and no little amount of swooning about boys, fictional and real XD) and here I am again! Again, I'm not sure when I will find time to write again, but in the meantime, here is a chapter you are bound to enjoy! :) I love every one of you and I am blessed to have you.

Cheers!

-crescentmoonthemage

When the door to the house opened the next morning, and Enjolras heard the chatter of familiar voices, he knew that something wasn't right. He gulped, all the color draining from his face as he waited for the shriek of shock that was sure to come.

And come it did, a moment later, when his mother walked into the living room and looked quite shocked (and rightly so) to see her disowned son and about 15 other high school boys sleeping in her living room. In fact, Enjolras was surprised that her scream didn't break the lovely glass windows. It did, however, wake up all the rest of the Amis, whose faces mirrored Enjolras's mother's.

"What are you DOING here?" she shrieked. "Gregory, why are you in MY house?"

The way she called the house he had lived in until he was sixteen her house stung but he didn't show it. "Mother," he said coolly. "I can explain."

"No you can't! You couldn't explain why you took part in that bloody revolution, when I told you not to. You couldn't explain why you still hang out with your stupid, idiotic friends. At least you listened when I told you to leave! SO GET YOURSELF AND YOUR HEINOUS LITTLE FRIENDS OUT OF THIS HOUSE!"

Enjolras sighed. He had expected something of that sort. "Come on, guys."

Without a word, the Amis packed up their things, grabbed the leftover food, and left the house, heading for Courfeyrac's place nearby. Enjolras came back inside. His mother crossed her arms, staring at him with such an expression of hatred and resentment, he had to resist the urge to stare at his shoes.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she demanded.

"You haven't been in this house for months. How was I supposed to know that you'd come back now?" he asked. He knew that it wasn't much of an excuse, but it was truly all he had.

"Because it's MY HOUSE! NOW GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!"

That was too much. Enjolras fell silent. His own mother had disowned him for doing what he thought was right, but that was old news. He'd always held on to some tiny, tiny hope that maybe, just maybe, she still loved him. That 'maybe' had been killing him from the inside for over a year, trying to keep it all inside, trying to still hold on, and now his small, tiny hope, had just been shattered. He slowly, as if in the midst of a dream, brushed past his mother, his siblings, his cousins, and crept out the door.

On the street, his eyes glanced over the faces of his shocked and worried Amis, but he pushed past them all and began walking down the sidewalk, tails of his red coat fluttering in the wind. He made it back to his apartment and locked the door, fervently hoping that Courfeyrac hadn't commandeered a key somehow. Then, another locked door later, he sat on his bed, staring with glazed eyes.

He wasn't sure when the tears started seeping down his cheeks, tears of all the emotions he had kept bottled up for so long. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, motionless, and he wasn't sure how Eponine got in, but suddenly, she was there, sitting next him, wrapping her arms around him. He pressed his head into her shoulder, silently mourning what was, what had been, and forgetting all about what was now: vanilla-scented Eponine, sitting with him, no questions asked.

It was a while before he talked. He just couldn't bring himself to, but eventually the words came out, spilling as freely as his tears. He told her everything- from the revolution, to his mother, to moving out, to shutting down the group, to his fears about everything.

"Is there anything that I've ever done right?" he wondered to himself. He stared up, into the unfathomable eyes of Eponine. "Everything," she whispered. He smiled a faint half smile, but there was no joy in it, for truly, he had screwed up his entire life. The one thing he was proud of was Eponine, and she wasn't even his. He had saved her, and she had saved him. Simple as it should be.

But even with her, there were seeds of doubt in his mind, about his choices, about who he was, about what he had done. For gods sakes, he had almost gotten himself and everyone else killed! He couldn't forgive that.

It appeared that he had said all that out loud, because Eponine replied: "Courf has. 'Ferre has. We all have. I have. I know you haven't, but just for once, will you trust us? Trust me, please. You're the one who gripped me tight and raised me from perdition. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"I mean, you told me once that you weren't a hero. And sometimes, I don't even think you're human, but, let me tell you this: you are the best man, and the most human… human being I've ever known. No one will ever convince me that you aren't. I was so alone, and I owe you so much."

"Look, please, there's just one more thing, one more thing, one more miracle, Enjolras, for me. Come back. Please, you have to. Would you do that, just for me, just… stop this. Stop this, please."

Enjolras stared at her, something dawning on him. "You really, really think so?"

She nodded. "Forever and always. I know she's your mother, and I know you love her, but you did what you did for what you believed in. And no one, I repeat, no one, should be able to take that away from you."

He smiled sadly. "Thanks, 'Ponine. You really are a great friend." Her heart ached sadly when she heard him say 'friend' but she told it to be still. After all, who was she to deserve anyone like Enjolras?

She pushed those thoughts from her mind as she smiled a most convincing smile. "Thanks, Enj. Hey, I'm going to go write. If you need anything, just tell me."

He nodded, and she went out of the room to open up her laptop, telling her heart all the while to be still, be still or it would break and leave her with nothing again.

What are the two TV show references I made in this chapter? Kudos if you find them both, name the show they were from, and the character who said them…

Happy Hunting!