Chapter 9:

Enjolras arrived at school with red eyes and one thing on his mind; he needed to see Eponine. If she didn't turn up at school, he would go to her house and somehow track her down. He didn't care what trouble he got into, he couldn't leave it like that.

The boys seemed troubled by his appearance, he hadn't shaved and his eyes were darting around as they sat in the hall. Grantaire debated about whether he should try to engage the madman in conversation but decided against it. And he was glad he did when it turned out that Enjolras had lost all sense of hearing. Multiple times the boys would try and talk to him and he didn't even react.

"What do you thinks wrong with him?" Bahorel asked Grantaire as they all walked to their form rooms.

"Who knows?" Grantaire replied. "Could be anything, maybe he got stuck on a math question last night or something." Bahorel shrugged, seemingly satiated with the answer. But Grantaire knew it was something more than that. And the only thing that had ever distracted Enjolras to this extent was walking up the pathway to school at that exact moment.

Eponine's hood was up, shielding her head from view so Grantaire couldn't be sure it was her. But the jeans looked the same and the beat up old car they had seen her get into was driving away so he was fairly certain his guess was correct. The door to the school was situated by their form room and so they seemed certain to cross paths within the next few seconds. Suddenly Eponine looked up and the wind was knocked out of Grantaire.

Her right eye was purple. The bruise squeezed her eye into an unnatural shape and it seemed to affect her whole posture. Some other, less prominent bruises surrounded the main event, all smattering her skin with a green tinge. Grantaire had stopped moving as he watched her walk into the building just ahead of them. He also watched as Enjolras leapt into sudden movement, charging at the girl ahead of them.

"Eponine!" He yelled his mind swirling as he relived the moment when he saw her again. She looked so much worse. He let that happen. He should have saved her. She turned, eyes downcast.

"Not now Enj." She muttered. "Just… not now." She was deflated.

"No," He said, trying to convince her to stay with him. "I… I'm sorry." She looked at him. Her right eye was swollen but the other was suddenly alert.

"What?" She said.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. "You're not like them you're…" He trailed off as he saw her eyes begin to fill with tears. Before he could think about it he swept her up in his arms. He heard people's annoyed words as they pushed past the two, just wanting to get to their next class. He was mildly aware of Grantaire standing next to them, cursing out people who pushed and shouted at them. His attention was taken up with the girl in his arms. He decided then and there that if she couldn't be strong, he would have to be strong for her.

They had ditched school. It seemed way too inconsequential for them to focus on A levels at that moment. Instead, they had driven to the Musain and were now sat in the back room. Eponine, Enjolras and Grantaire. None of them knew what to say. Eponine felt so embarrassed. She had been so weak in front of them so many times. She hated it. She wished she could make them forget all about her. She wasn't usually like this. So wimpy and defeated. Her legs were tucked up under her arms and she peeked out at them. Both boys were simply watching her. Waiting for her to say something. She just wanted it all to be over. Her whole body was hurting, her mind was exhausted and she needed to sleep. She hadn't slept.

It didn't look like Enjolras had either. So their fight had affected both of them then. At least that was something. She wished he hadn't apologised. It wasn't him that was in the wrong. She was breaking into his neighbour's house for godsake! It would be so much easier if he yelled at her again. She thought if she stayed silent he might do. And then she could see that fire again. Right now he just looked worried. She hated that he was worried about her. He shouldn't have to be worried about her. She should be able to take care of herself.

"Jesus, is anyone going to say anything?" Grantaire finally exclaimed, making his two friends jump at the sudden noise. "Because I have no clue what the hell happened and would like to know if that's alright with you?"

"It's nothing." Eponine mumbled and Grantaire laughed.

"Oh yeah, your eye definitely tells me it was nothing." She raised a hand self-consciously to her eye, it throbbed painfully. "What happened to you?" He asked, his voice turning soft. "How can we help you?"

They sat in silence again. Enjolras felt his anger rise again. On the one hand he was so happy to see her, she may not have been in the best way but she was alive and he hadn't been sure she would be. But he couldn't understand why she wouldn't speak to him? Surely they had no secrets now?

"I can't go back." She said suddenly, and so quietly that the boys could hardly hear.

"What?" Enjolras said.

She was picking at the frayed edges of her jeans, avoiding any eye contact. "I can't go back." She said, a little louder. "I can't do it again."

"I thought you said it was your last job?" Enjolras asked as Grantaire looked perplexedly between them.

"That's what they said." She explained, her voice low. "But… Montparnasse heard you and now I have to do whatever he says or he'll tell Dad and you'll…" She trailed off but Enjolras got the idea.

"You'll stay with me." Enjolras said simply.

"No, I've already put you in danger I won't…"

"I don't care!" Enjolras said loudly. "If they come to my house, I'll call the police! I saw them break into the Moyer house, I could send them to jail!"

"You saw us break into the house." Eponine reminded him. "If you send them to jail, you send me right there with them." That silenced him.

"Not if you testify against them." Grantaire said. "If you helped bring them down they would probably let you off, especially with the…" He gestured to her face before trailing off.

"He's right." Enjolras said, suddenly enthused again. "If they found you we could use that as a threat!"

"Who says I'm willing to do that?" Eponine argued.

"Why not?" Enjolras replied. "None of them have ever done anything for you!"

"But they're family!" Eponine protested.

"No they're not." Interjected Grantaire. "Family do not treat each other the way you've been treated." Eponine looked down. If she was honest with herself, the idea of living with Enjolras wasn't all that bad. She would be warm, have food and a friend. "We can be your new family 'Ponine." He said. "You just have to let us help you."

The inside of Enjolras' house wasn't as grand as you'd expect it to be. The open plan, all-white kitchen led to the understated dining room which led back round to the entrance. The wooden staircase creaked and groaned under Eponine's feet as she followed Enjolras to his bedroom. The floors upstairs were carpeted and Eponine was glad she no longer had to hear her footsteps traipse around this house. This house that she felt she shouldn't be in. But Enjolras and Grantaire had been very persuasive and, in the end, she got tired of fighting something that she wanted. She looked around her. It was clear that the people living here had money, but it didn't feel garish or show-off-ish at all. It was just… nice. And clean, and well decorated.

Enjolras' room was even more understated. All he had was a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. No posters lined the walls and it had been painted a simple grey. It suited him but it also felt a little empty. He sat on the chair by his desk and she took her place on his bed.

"So," He said, a little awkwardly. "I guess the question is, where do you wanna sleep?" She smiled but didn't say anything. "You can sleep in my room, or there's the guest bedroom across the hall that you can take if you want? I mean, I'm not sure what I'm going to tell my parents but we have a couple of days before they get back to figure it out."

"Are you sure you're fine with this?" She asked quickly. "I'd understand if you want to change your mind."

"No!" He said firmly. "No, I want you to stay I just…" He fidgeted in his seat and Eponine had to admit that it was quite fun to watch him squirm. "I've never had a girl home let alone have one stay round."

"Oh." Eponine said simply. She had heard the boy's jokes about Enjolras' chastity but she hadn't taken it seriously. "Well, obviously you can say we're just friends." He nodded.

"There's no real need to worry about it yet." He said clearly wanting to change the subject. "So we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Eponine nodded. They sat there. "Do you want a proper tour of the place?" He asked.

"Sure." She said. "Why not?"

The house consisted of two floors, three if you count the attic. Each floor felt different to Eponine. The bottom floor was pristine, clearly used for entertaining and impressing guests. Their kitchen was decked out with the latest equipment, their living room looked out into the incredibly cultivated garden with its array of colourful flowers and interesting looking plants. The dining room was simple but had a mini-chandelier situated above the table.

The second floor felt more like a home. The bedrooms were all very similar, the guest bedroom having the nicest sheets and biggest wardrobe. The colours were all muted greys, yellows and greens. This floor held Eponine's favourite room so far. The office. The walls were lined with tall bookshelves with masses of books piled high. A small chair sat in the corner by a window opposite the desk with the computer on top. This is where Enjolras and Eponine ended up that evening. Eponine had collected a pile of books which she thought looked interesting and sat in the chair reading while Enjolras did school work. Their absence that day had been noted but they'd already sent in excuses, hoping to avoid the inevitable call home. They sat like that for some time, the only sound being the pages turned and the clacking of the keyboard. Both felt as if they could do this for the rest of their lives.

Unbeknownst to each other, quick glances were taken by both of them to watch the other. Eponine found herself admiring her friend's shoulders as his muscles moved as he shifted in his seat, constantly moving even though his hands were typing frantically. She enjoyed the way his stubble made his jawline more prominent and delighted in seeing specks of red within his growing beard.

Enjolras found himself being distracted just by her presence. How occasionally she would sigh and run a hand through her hair, sweeping it over to one side even though it quickly fell back into its original place. He could watch that sequence again and again. His eyes would also naturally fall to the line of her legs as she propped them up against the window pane. He detested himself. Here was a girl who needed nothing more than a friend and yet here he was, practically salivating at the sight of her. It was reprehensible and yet he could not stop himself.

Eventually the spell was broken by Eponine's stomach groaning at the lack of food inside it and Enjolras quickly shot into action. "Do you want something to eat?" He said turning to her. She had finished off one of the shorter books and was currently on the first chapter of an interesting Murder Mystery.

"Oh," She said suddenly noticing the dwindling light outside. "Yeah, if you have anything."

"I was thinking we could order in something? Like pizza." He said delighting in how she smiled at that.

"Sure, let's make it a proper sleepover." She laughed. "We can watch rom-coms and whisper about our crushes."

By the time the pizza had arrived they had turned the living room into a large blanket fort. Pillows and cushions covered the floor around the TV and a few blankets had been haphazardly tied up to hang from the ceiling. Enjolras wasn't too keen on the idea if he was being completely honest but Eponine had been so happy at the thought of it that he couldn't help but oblige. Occasionally he noticed her eyes drift off into the distance but he could bring her back to reality with new ideas of how to make the room better. She had also ransacked the entire house in certain of the perfect film for them to watch. She was still searching as he began to cut up the pizza.

"If you don't come down now I'm going to have to start eating this!" He warned as he heard her patter around upstairs.

"No!" Said her voice. "I called first slice!"

He chuckled a little. "Well hurry up then!" He said, getting plates from the cupboard. Eventually she bounded into the living room with a bunch of DVD's in her hand. "Got them!" She said. Her eye was still bruised and swollen but the rest of her face looked happy enough.

Enjolras dished out the slices before letting her tell him what DVD she had found. "Grease!" She said excitedly. Enjolras rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed with her choice when really he was rather amused.

"Go on then." He conceded. "You're the guest after all." She let out a little excited shriek and ran into the room leaving Enjolras to follow in her wake.

Eponine didn't know what time it was. One, two maybe? She wasn't sure. It was just dark. After the film they had talked and watch crappy TV and must've fallen asleep at some point. Now she lay there, within the blankets they had arranged and wondered whether if she moved Enjolras would wake up. He was lying somewhere to the left of her, the small sound of his breathing was the only thing that broke the silence. That was what had woken her up. She was so used to the sound of a busy street, or a couple fighting or at least some stray dogs barking. That symphony acted as her lullaby her whole life and the stillness of tonight made her feel uneasy.

She had been feeling uneasy all day. After embarrassing herself in front of her friends she had been too emotional to think realistically about running away. She supposed she was safe for a few days, Montparnasse will assume she's with her family and vice versa. But once they realise she's missing… she didn't know what would happen. A man hunt perhaps? With a target placed on her back she would have to run. Staying here would be being a sitting duck. Enjolras' grand idea of threatening to turn them in wouldn't hold out, she didn't think. They would kill her before she could go to the police. Maybe if she acted pre-emptively…?

"'Ponine?" Enjolras mumbled. She hadn't realised he'd woken up. She watched as he slowly sat up next to her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," She assured him. "It's just quiet."

"Right," he said slowly. She could barely see him in the light, just the outline of his hair. "Do you want to put the TV on?" He moved to switch the button on the remote but she stopped him before he did.

"Tell me something." She said.

"Like what?" He asked. Unlike Eponine, he could see her quite clearly. She was lit up by the small amount of light coming in through the window. Her swollen eye looked almost black in the dark which made that side of her face look like it was cast in shadow. The other side was a soft blue.

"I don't know." She thought for a bit. "You know all my secrets." She stated and he nodded. "Tell me something I don't know about you."

Enjolras leant back onto his arms, his feet almost touched hers. "Enjolras isn't my actual name." He said.

"What?" She asked, taken off guard.

"Well," he quickly corrected himself. "It is my name, it's just my last name. My real name is Gabriel." He told her.

"How did I not know that?" She wondered.

"Everyone calls me Enjolras. Even the teachers now." He told her simply.

"Gabriel." She repeated, finding it funny how the name seemed so foreign to her. "So you're an angel then?"

He laughed. "Hardly." He sighed. "I think my mum just liked the name. She said it suited my hair." His voice seemed to suggest that he found basing a child's name off of their hair was ridiculous to him. But Eponine saw the logic behind it. With his striking blue eyes and halo of blonde curls he did look rather angelic.

They stared at each other for a while, Eponine unaware of the fact that Enjolras could see her eyes wander over his face. "I'm glad I'm here." She said softly and Enjolras smiled.