Two updates within two days! Wow, I'm good! And I wrote an essay in that time as well! I hope that his makes up for my March Break laziness, and that I get more than one review this time? Please?
Chapter 6
It had been three days since the dress incident, and Eponine had done her best to distance herself from Enjolras. The fact that he had since thrown himself into working on new speeches for when he met with the King and the other members of the government to try to arrange a compromise was certainly helping, in Eponine's opinion. But she was once again growing bored with sitting inside all day.
She desperately needed air and something to do. She had considered reading, but most of Enjolras' books were in a language other than French or had big fancy words that she wasn't used to. She had learned to read and write when she was younger, but not for very long. She'd only gone to school for about two years before Cosette had left and she had been pulled out to start doing chores, and she could only remember a little. Unfortunately, with Enjolras still in the flat nearly 24/7, only leaving to go to the café every few days and insisting on bringing her with him to keep an eye on her, she was stuck inside.
So she did the only thing she could think of: she drove him crazy.
Enjolras was reading a book with the most ferocious intensity she'd ever seen. She hadn't thought that it was possible to be so focussed on a book. She found it a little ridiculous. It looked to her like his eyes were about to burn a hole through the book. A smirk crossed her face. It would be only too fun to distract him.
She leaned over and began to tap her fingers on the coffee table that was between herself and Enjolras, who sat in the chair opposite her. His focus remained unbroken. She frowned and continued tapping. Still no result. So she began to hum as well. A slight twitch was visible from the corner of his mouth, but nothing else.
Her eyes narrowed. She would break the marble statue somehow. She shifted from humming to whistling. He glanced up.
"Will you please stop that?"
"I'm bored!" she whined. He flinched slightly at the whining, and she smirked. "So that's what annoys you. Whining!"
He narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
He glared at her for a good minute, and then turned his attention back to his book.
"Enjolras..." she whined. That did the trick. The book was down and he was out of the chair advancing towards her within three seconds. And he did not look happy.
It took no more than ten seconds for her to be standing with her back against the wall with Enjolras' hands on her shoulders as he glared at her. She was smirking at him.
"What are you trying to do, scare me?" she taunted. "I know you wouldn't hurt me, you're too much of a gentleman!" She was right, and he knew it. She could tell that he knew it. He suddenly looked doubtful, as if he didn't know exactly what he was planning to do. She was thoroughly amused by the situation.
The amusement didn't last for long though. In the following silence, she quickly became aware of her heart fluttering in her chest, and she felt as though her stomach were doing flips. She could tell from the fact that he appeared to be forcing the calm expression on his face that he felt similar.
Eponine found herself thinking back to the night at the barricade. It had been very similar to what was happening now. She began to tremble, wondering what was going through his head. Was he also thinking back to that night?
She felt regret pierce her heart like a knife. She had gotten his hopes up that night, but had changed her mind in the morning. She had the sudden desire to close the distance between them, to kiss him, but could she? What if she changed her mind again? What if he had changed his mind since then? But somehow, from the way he was looking at her, she knew he hadn't.
She bit her lip for a second before speaking, finally breaking the silence. "Enjolras, about that night at the barricade-"
"Don't," he cut her off firmly, pain suddenly filling his eyes for a moment before he hid it again behind his impenetrable marble mask. "It doesn't matter."
"But I-" he ignored her, releasing her shoulders and turning, walking back to his chair and picking up his book. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She sighed as he resumed reading, giving only the briefest possible glance to show he had heard her. There was just no reasoning with him. And why would he even want to reason with her anyway, after she had told him she loved him, changed her mind almost immediately after, and had then proceeded to probably drive him entirely mad over the past few weeks she had been staying with him.
But, then again, he hadn't thrown her out on the streets, and was still far kinder than anyone else, even Marius, had ever been to her, save for her brother, perhaps.
The longer she watched him read, the more certain she became that she had made a mistake the morning after the barricade. She loved him. She really, truly loved him, more than she had ever loved Marius. And while the thought scared her, she knew that there was no way she could keep pretending that she didn't.
Without a second thought, she crossed the room and perched herself on the arm of his chair and pulled the book out of his hands. Startled, Enjolras turned to look at her as she set the book down on the table before leaning over to press her lips to his.