One Hundred and Eight One
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.
Eponine doesn't dream; she sleeps like a log instead.
Any minute of sleep she can grasp is firmly used to check out and give herself a rest. She goes to a school on a scholarship earned through hard work and late nights. She works at a shop and grabs as many hours as she can; it's not like her parents are going to give her money.
So Eponine sleeps because she can't afford to dream.
But she does however, get feelings. Sometimes she'll get a prickly sensation on the back of her neck as if someone is tapping it with their finger to get her attention. It had led her to Paris after all.
After finally get away from her parents and their con of a bed and breakfast, Eponine couldn't decide between America or England. But that feeling kicked in the second she saw rental listings for universities in Paris. She applied and, while it may not have been an ocean away from her past, the city felt like home.
It had been weeks since the "feeling" had pointed her to Paris. Her apartment was gorgeous and her roommate Musichetta was lively and loveable. She kept saying that college was her ticket to meeting rich doctors but Eponine knew she was top of class in her design course. Work was hard to balance with studies but she was handling it.
The last thing she needed was to have the feeling hit her as she past a children's shelter. She stood outside its colourful doors and looked at the paintings that the children had obviously done on the walls.
Without pausing, Eponine walked through the doors and into a cool reception area. The woman at the desk was middle aged with a blonde bob and a smiling face. They talked for a few minutes; enough for Eponine to find out that the shelter had been set up for children by a generous donor, a young law student who stopped in now and again. She walked back out again onto the street after having offered to volunteer.
She knew she didn't have the time but something was telling her that it was the right thing to do.
It's there that she meets Gavroche. He's ten but scarred. Blonde hair falls into his dark eyes that look at the world like it's a game and a threat all at the same time. He has nowhere else to sleep since his parents kicked him out but that doesn't stop him from wandering the streets and getting into trouble.
They bond when Gavroche sees her flinch as the sounds of one of the children dropping a glass; he flinches too. Soon, she taking him out for lunch and dinner; using the spare money she has to get him a warm coat and keep him in school. He in turn makes her laugh and for the first time in their lives, someone feels like family.
It's the middle of the night when Eponine wakes up with a start. She doesn't know why; there was no loud noise and she hadn't been dreaming. But a moment later, there is a knock at the door. She rushes over, for reasons she isn't sure of, and is stunned to see Gavroche standing on her welcome mat, bloody and bruised.
She hurries him inside and cleans him up. He says he got in a fight with some other boys; they were older than him and he has a big mouth. After that, she lets him stay with her. Musichetta doesn't mind; in fact Eponine's sure that Gavroche is the inspiration for her line of street clothes for kids.
They settle into a routine and once again, she wonders about the feeling prodding her in the direction of people and places that make her happy.
The feeling returns once again when she meets Marius. He's charming and sweet, like a puppy. When he offers to buy her lunch she agrees.
The feeling however, is reluctant this time-that is if feelings can be reluctant.
It's almost as if Marius is something the feeling has to put up with for now. She pushes that thought to the back of her mind as more and more lunches with Marius turn into dates. Marius is sweet and kinder to her than any man has been before. It's like he's rescuing her from the men she would have dated; men she thought she deserved just because her parents were crooks.
Gavroche seems to think he's ok and Musichetta is just ecstatic because he introduces her to his doctor friend Joly. Joly sets off the feeling as well but only a small bit; it comes back when Marius asks her to meet the rest of his friends.
When he leads her to the cafe, the feeling is annoying tapping at her neck again. She walks in and sees his friends; giving them all a smile. All their faces are open and friendly, especially the blonde girl wearing the white sundress.
And then she sees him. Blonde hair, sharp eyes and a face that makes her want to go weak.
The feeling isn't tapping now; it's shoving her towards him. If the feeling had a voice it would be screaming, "Him, him, him! It's him!"
His name is Enjolras and he's giving her a heart attack.
Enjolras and Marius are opposites in so many ways. The biggest difference is that Marius can never understand what she's been through. He lives in a perfect world with people who always loved him; Eponine had never really had anyone. Enjolras however can tell her past just by looking at her; he sees that she's jumpy and how one of her fingers is slightly crooked from not healing right after her mother broke it.
But he doesn't say anything; he sits at the cafe table or the couch in his apartment and never says a word.
She is surprised about how often she ends up at his apartment. She goes where Marius goes and he follows his friends. And they all crash at Enjolras' apartment.
One morning, she wakes up early and is thankful that her slight hangover can be cured by a cup of coffee. Enjolras is the only other person up and for the first time since they've met, it's just the two of them. Grantaire is asleep halfway off the armchair, drooling into a pillow. Joly and Musichetta claimed the couch, while the other are dotted around the floor.
Enjolras and Eponine sat at the kitchen table, sipping in coffee in silence for a few moments. The feeling almost pokes her towards him and she is saved when her phone goes off. She catches it before it wakes the others and tells Enjolras that it is just Gavroche telling her that the babysitter did not actually steal from them, like he suspected when he first saw the teenager.
And that is what starts it.
Talking about Gavroche leads to talking about the children's shelter and that reveals Enjolras' part in it. From there, there is no stopping them. They talk about everything in hushed whispers so the others don't hear; their lives, their dreams and what they think of the world. For some reason, all these personal thoughts spill out without reservation. They talk about trivial things and important things and Eponine is afraid, very much afraid, that this man may be all she ever hoped for.
She calculates, after five months, that she has spent more time with Enjolras than with Marius. She should be embarrassed about it but this is also the time she realises that Cosette spends all of her time with Marius. She should feel jealous about that; shouldn't she?
Gavroche likes Enjolras better than Marius. It's like a sign and she can just see the feeling smiling smugly. Of course, he actually gets along better with Courfeyrac but he prefers Enjolras to her boyfriend.
There is suddenly a tension between them. It's sitting in the air every time they are in a room together. What makes it worse is that they are both aware that the other person is affected too.
Eponine knows what he is thinking when he stares at her mouth and Enjolras can sense her eyes on him every time he moves around the room.
The worst was at a charity event and they were both volunteered by the others to go in dunk tank. They had a target each but if someone hit the smaller one between them, they both got sent into the water. Of course, that was exactly what happened-thanks to Jehan and his surprisingly good aim. The water was freezing so they jumped up immediately, whipping their faces.
Eponine stops when his t-shirt clings to every muscle and he can't think when hers is see-through. They stand there for a moment, that tension building, until Grantaire and Joly pop their heads over the side of the tank to check on them.
From then on, they can barely stay in the same room together. The others don't notice so Combeferre thinks nothing of making them move over in taxi so their sides are pressed against each other. Grantaire also makes jokes about them running off together (in front of Marius!) like there is no tomorrow.
Things come to a head in a May afternoon.
Marius asks her to go away for the weekend and Musichetta suggests that he's going to ask her to marry him. Warning bells go off in her head and she feels ill. That's not how a girl's supposed to feel when her boyfriend may or may not be proposing to her.
Things only get worse when she finds out from Grantaire that Enjolras was the one who suggested the getaway. That sends her out of her apartment and to his. She bangs on the door and he opens it straight away, as if he was waiting for her.
The argument starts when the door closes and it's just the two of them. They shout and snap and it's all a cover for the fact that they are both thinking of something else far more enjoyable that they could be doing with their mouths.
But that's the problem and they both agree out loud that this thing has to stop and go away.
But that does not stop her from asking why he told Marius to take her away for the weekend.
Enjolras gets a sad look on his face and he whispers in cracked voice, "Because I think I've been in love with you since before I knew your name...but we can't..."
Eponine knows they can't; because of Marius, because it could ruin their group. But at that moment all she can think of is that fact that he loves her. He's in love with her and it's like every dream she never knew she dreamt has come true.
Marius doesn't propose; the feeling seems to be doing cartwheels.
Cosette is a kind person; the type of person you want to hate but you can't because you want her to be your best friend more. For the past few weeks, she been a mix of incredibly quiet and yet, highly enthusiastic. It's like she's a rubber band with a weight on one end; the second she goes in one direction, she snaps back to the other.
It takes her a few weeks but Eponine finally realises what's going on. Cosette is acting this way because she feels incredibly guilty about something; something to do with Eponine. After that it's not hard to guess.
"You're in love with Marius."
Cosette stammers and tries to tell her not to be stupid but she was a terrible liar.
So Eponine takes her hand and says, "It's alright; I actually think you love him more than me."
She's not broken hearted when she and Marius stop dating; it's like there is a peace finally.
The boys offer to beat up Marius and maybe glare slightly at Cosette but Eponine knows they'd rather not. Seeing them sit together side by side at the cafe at everyone's regular table is a bit strange at first. No one wants to speak until Grantaire makes knocks over an entire pitcher of water and Eponine can only laugh. That breaks the ice and thankfully, everything returns to normal.
Except between her and Enjolras. They are both single, feelings have clearly been made on his part and yet they still don't do anything. They can't-again-because there surly is a grace period for this type of situation.
She is lying in bed one night, a few weeks since she and Marius parted ways when she realises something important. Why on earth should she waste time? She and Enjolras had a chance for happiness and they were putting it off for two people that have serious public display of affection problems.
Eponine is up and dressed in a few moments; she's out the door and onto the street in less. Enjolras' apartment is actually only a few minutes' walk away but since she's running, she gets there in no time.
She doesn't even realise that it's raining.
Enjolras opens his front door bleary eyed and in only pyjama bottoms. He pulls her inside when he sees that she's soaked to the bone from the rain and starts babbling about towels and warm clothes so much that he doesn't realise the door is still open.
Eponine smiles at him and takes his hands so he stills. "Marius and Cosette are happy," she says, "It's our turn to be happy."
For a moment neither one of them move. Then they've collided and are kissing over and over until they're both dizzy. He doesn't stop; just kicks the door closed as he kisses her again.
The dreams and the feeling never come back after that moment; they've done their job.
Jean gives the newspaper another once over, reading the article about cleaning out corruption in factories. The rain is hitting the rooftop of the house and dropping down onto the balcony in front of him. He always loved to leave the doors open on nights when the rain didn't fall in and Paris was lit up with lights. It was peaceful and gave him a calming sense of freedom.
He turned away from his newspaper when he hears humming and sees his wife coming towards him with two hot drinks. "You should be in bed Fantine," he says, taking the drink.
Fantine just scoffs and sits beside him on the sofa by the balcony. "You are lucky it is such a warm night," she says between sips, "Or else I would have that door shut by now."
Jean nods but looks out at the city. "Did Cosette tell you that Marius is coming to dinner next week?"
"Yes; poor boy is a nervous wreck. If only he knew that we already approved of him the first time round."
Jean frowned and replied, "Wait, you didn't even meet him the first time!"
Fantine just shrugged and moved on. "Do you think those other two have finally made it? Cosette's friends?"
"Which ones; she collects a lot of them."
"The brunette girl from the inn and the blonde boy from the barricade."
"The one that shouted a lot?"
"I think so."
Jean sat back with his drink in his hand and the folded paper on his knee. "Well I should hope so; it's only taken them one hundred and eight one years."
Fantine looked out at the city, not knowing where the nightlights stopped and stars began. "I think they've made it," she says softly.
Jean just smiles softly at his wife and they both look out at the city together as Fantine hums a song about dark nights ending and suns rising.