She couldn't lie – she'd had half the mind to think that this could happen. Enjolras could find out the dirty little secret between her and Grantaire and then her goose would be thoroughly cooked. You couldn't fantasize that Enjolras would be alright with his closest friend and a woman he was growing to care about cooking up a plan to get him into bed with her. Purely because Grantaire wanted to prove Enjolras wrong about himself, he did have the capabilities of caring for a woman.

But what she hadn't be prepared for was the look his eyes. The look of anger, of misplaced trust, of betrayal, of hatred, of pain. She had never seen a fairly docile man get so up in arms and so violent so quickly. Once he shouted for them to leave, she rushed out of the garret. She'd heard that venom before, in her father and her mother, and she knew that it meant leave and leave now. She wanted to explain to Enjolras how everything got out of hand, but it was neither the time nor the place. He wouldn't listen to any voice of reason – not that their plan had been within reason. It had been far from reasonable.

Eponine pressed her back against the stone wall, trying to keep her knees from buckling. She was a mess of tears and sobbing. Her heart felt as if it had been wrenched from her chest, drug around the street, and plopped unceremoniously back into her cavity. She did care for him, even if he'd never see that now. Sleeping with him hadn't just been for the money – it had been for a feeling they shared. She could never deny that she felt something that wasn't related to money or kindness.

But that was all done now. She'd ruined her only chance with him.

All for the money that would buy her freedom.

She sank to the ground, burying her face into her knees.

"Eponine?" Grantaire came around the corner, rushing to the side of the bedraggled girl. "Eponine, Eponine?"

"It's all been destroyed. Everything. Everything."

"I'm sorry." Grantaire hugged her to his chest, trying to console her in some way. "I'd say it'd be okay but it's not. I'm sorry."

"It's all your fault!" Eponine snarled, shoving him away.

"I know. I thought it was a good plan… but it's not. But I tried to explain. I tried-"

Eponine looked up at him, seeing where his face was already starting to swell. "He hit you?"

"I deserved it."

"Yes you did." Eponine snapped, sinking back to her knees. "I cared about him."

"I'm sorry. I screwed up royally. I've ruined a chance for you and I ruined my friendship with Enjolras… He'll never forgive me. Not after the things he just said to me." Grantaire hung his head, there was nothing jolly on his face like there typically was. Instead there was pain and anguish. "I shouldn't have done this."

"You're not helping by saying that you screwed up, over and over again!" Eponine smacked Grantaire across the face, bolting upright. "I don't want this to be real. Please just let me wake up." She stared up at the stone building, knowing that just a few floors up, Enjolras was there in his garret. Brooding no doubt.

"I wouldn't go up there if I were you." Grantaire warned, nursing his cheek. "He's furious."

"Well I would be too." Eponine bit, covering her face in shame. "Grantaire why did we think this was going to be alright? Why? When did it enter our minds that you paying for me to sleep with Enjolras was a good idea? He was so kind with me! He taught me to read and write and he was sweet. It would be my luck that the only guy who was sweet to me is gone now. All because I was greedy and you were offering. Damnit."

"Eponine-"

"Don't." Eponine shoved his hand off of her shoulder. "I need to talk to him."

"I wouldn't-"

"I'm not listening to you anymore."

~o~

Eponine hesitantly opened the door to the garret, afraid that at any moment a book could come flying at her head. "Enjolras?"

"What do you want?" Enjolras hissed, coming out from his bedroom with a grim look across his face. "Haven't you done enough here?"

"I didn't mean for th-"

"Don't even pretend that you didn't come here yesterday with every intention to-"

"But I didn't do it for the money then! I wasn't thinking about the-"

"The deal with Grantaire? The deal that had you pretending to care-"

"I wasn't pretendi-"

"To get into my bed-"

"I cared about yo-"

"The money? That's all someone like you could care abo-"

"What do you mean by that?" Eponine snarled, stomping across the garret towards him. She wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't going to let him stand there and make comments about her. He was not going to harass her because of what happened. She wouldn't allow it.

"That you might pretend that you're not a who-"

Eponine laid her palm flat against his cheek, feeling no remorse in smacking the man that she'd hurt. "Don't even pretend that you know me. You don't understand what that money even meant to me. It meant that I'd finally get to stop working for my father. I wouldn't have to be a whore anymore."

Enjolras rubbed his cheek, his eyes narrowing at the tear stained cheeks and her still ruffled hair. "But you admit that you slept with me for the money?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because," Eponine stepped closer to him and acted as if she was going to smack him, but instead pulled his head down to hers and pressed her lips against his. "When I kiss you, I feel something I've not remembered feeling with anyone else."

Enjolras' mouth fell agape as he looked down at Eponine, his hand had moved to her waist without him even thinking about it. He felt his anger slipping away from and he resented that her lips had that power of him. "I feel it too."

"Maybe this did start out as a plan to pay off my debts but it turned into something else." Eponine pressed her palm against his chest, staring up at him with softening eyes. "I don't want this to happen between us. If I had known that this was going to hurt you, I would have never done this. I would have rather been nothing with you before this, then nothing with you after this."

Enjolras shook his head, reaching out to stroke her hair. "I don't want us to be over. It's strange what we have, but I don't want it to end."

Eponine covered his hand with her own. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"You'll have to prove to me that I can trust you."

"Whatever it takes."

A/N: HEY! I wrote a new chapter (: How happy are you lovelies? It's not anywhere near being finished.