Gavroche was short of breath. His ruined shoes beat the ground with a childish ferocity; His blond mop was soaked through with sweat and the shaking image of suburbia was slowly dissipating into red. He came to a panting halt by the trailer. The moon was making a slight, pale indent in the smokey sky, and Gavroche could hear the growing sound of the sirens, on their way to arrest his family.

Once he caught his breath and appeared less desperate, he bounded into the trailer. "Hey, family!" He was answered with a scowl from his father and Montparnasse, and with a blank stare from Azelma. Éponine was nowhere in sight. "Where's Ép?"

"Didn't come home last night... Probably sleepin' around, the teasing slut." Montparnasse sulked, and Gavroche was filled with hope. Maybe she wouldn't come home tonight, either, and she would be...

Just then, a timid face appeared in the trailer. Gavroche whirled around and pushed her back out into the October night.

"Gavroche, what?" She hissed, and he was still struggling for breath as he pulled her to the boys' RV.

"No... Time... To... Explain." He said, and pulled her inside. Courferyac was alone, to Éponine's obvious disappointment, and he was pouring over a stat textbook. He looked up, his hair disheveled and his eyes bleary as he regarded the siblings. He managed a tired smile in their direction.
"Ép had a homework question." Gavroche said, shoving her forwards and towards the college boy. Smart as she was, she played along, asking Courferyac about imaginary numbers and functions. He answered her questions in great detail, for they were actually quite simple questions that Éponine knew the answer to.

While she and Courferyac were talking, Gavroche poked his head out of the RV. He saw the flashing lights as the police left the Jondrette home, presumably with three obnoxious individuals in tow.

"Thanks, Couferyac!" Éponine said cheerfully. He nodded and put his attention back to his stat book, for once lacking cheer (Éponine HAVING it, for once).

As she and Gavroche left the RV, Éponine pulled her brother aside and asked him, softly, "What was all that about?"

He smiled a cheeky grin and pulled her back to her 'home'. It was empty, and Éponine's face dawned in realization. She didn't ask, for, quite frankly, she didn't want to know.
She laughed and picked up her brother with difficulty. The two spun around the empty trailer, laughing and dancing. Finally, they sobered down and Éponine remembered a certain piece of paper in her pocket. She pulled it out and Gavroche's eyes widened in hunger.

"Pizza?" He asked.

"Pizza."

The week trailed on, and Gavroche added his granola bars to a food stash that began with their large pizza, so the brother and sister were actually well fed. Gavroche was happy, and Éponine put on that masque, for she had finally done the deed. That Monday, after school, she brought Marius to the jewelry store. Through the window, she watched as he and Cosette chatted excitedly, both of them blushing like little schoolgirls.

But even her broken heart couldn't completely contain the exulting feeling of being able to sleep without a new bruise painting her. And Gavroche, he was finally a brother again, like he'd been so many years prior at the inn, where she'd raised him, thinking it to be a fun, maternal game.

On Wednesday, it was a late night for both Jondrette siblings. Éponine was helping Gavroche complete a particularly difficult math worksheet, and trying to complete her Social Studies study guide at the same time. She had her pencil in her hand, her arm draped over Gavroche, and his head resting on her shoulder and her head on his. They were comfortable, they were happy.

Gavroche finally finished and tucked the slip into the over-large pocket in his jacket- which served as his make-shift backpack. He climbed into the bed with freshly-washed sheets and within minutes she could hear his slow breathing.
Éponine smiled. Somehow, she knew that this was what she wanted. For the first time, she felt like this was HOME, that she was part of a family. The only thing that would complete this dream that she was living would be if Marius was hers...

Little did she know that the person ambling towards the trailer would indirectly give her something better. This person had a bottle of cheap whiskey in hand, the bottle of which was weakly made and would shatter upon impact with the ground. The person paused for a moment, smirking at the light that shined from the inside of the trailer.

He stepped into the light, and went to the door. As usual, it was open. He stumbled into the main room to see her working diligently on the floor, using a textbook as a desk. He watched her for a moment, and she was so focused on her work that she didn't notice his presence. He spoke up, jarring her. "Nothing turns me on like a schoolgirl."

He snickered when she leapt to her feet like an electrocuted cat. She carefully put down the work and stood by the bed protectively. "I thought you were arrested."

"You thought wrong." Montparnasse walked towards her with a drunk swagger in his steps, and she walked around him, her eyes wide and her hands made into useless little fists. "And I've been laying low for a while, and it's been lonely without your sister to accompany me."

Éponine's blood ran cold. Of course Parnasse would stoop that low, he DID hang out with her father after all. It still shocked her, though, to think of her little sister's innocence being taken by a boy as mean as Montparnasse. She couldn't imagine him being gentle.

"She's decent, but what I really want, Éponine, is you." He made his way to her. She was still frozen in shock, and unable to fight off his hands as he pulled her shirt down so that her shoulders were bare. She pulled the top back into place, but he was persistent, and she finally turned to him and looked him in the eye. "I'll do whatever you want, just let me finish my homework first."

He snorted, but sat on the floor to wait. He raised up the bottle as if in a toast, and said, "I'll finish this bottle before you finish that work!"

Being as there were only dregs left, Éponine doubted that it would take very long. She sat and tried to return her attention to her homework, but she couldn't. She kept looking over at Gavriche and praying that he was asleep enough that he wouldn't hear anything happen.

After a few minutes, there was the feel of wet lips on her neck and she pushed him away. He continued kissing her like an assassin, with harsh pecks along her shoulders and neck.

She was annoyed, but she could handle it. She just acted as if there was nothing going on until there was a loud sound. That was all she registered at first, and then there was the pain as the glass tore the skin on her shoulder to pieces. She collapsed to the floor, her papers flying everywhere amidst the screaming that filled the room. She turned her noise into a painful moan, but it was too late, for Gavroche had already been roused, and he was looking at her in horror.

"Gavroche," She said, her teeth clenched, "Go next door for a little bit, okay?"

Glass covered the floor, and she could see a few pieces dig into Gavroche's feet as he stood from the dilapidated bed. Her head was pressed to the floor, a piece of whiskey-stained glass pressed against her cheek. Then Parnasse was on top of her, ripping the clothes off her back and tugging her into a standing position. She had tears streaming down her cheek and her skin stung like she had been pierced by a thousand bee stingers. Montparnasse grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her down into the bed, pushing past Gavroche in the process.

Suddenly, his pressing weight was off her and Gavroche was yelling. "Get away from her!"

His sentence was cut off by a cry of pain. Éponine forced herself up and screamed. Blood was blossoming across her brother's chest, made by a shallow wound that Montparnasse gave him with a particularly large piece of glass.

"Gavroche! Next door, please!" Éponine cried, full of fear and pain. This time he obeyed her, rushing out of the trailer of hell before Parnasse could hurt him again. She shuddered, certain that she would pass out from blood
loss, and she got ready to be taken by the handsome, sleazy boy who she'd managed to avoid for so long.

She still pushed him back with as much strength as she could muster, but she was close to giving up when a God burst into the trailer.