I am officially legal voting age. Yes! But the next election in Canada probably won't be until 2015... Anyway, I basically wrote this entire chapter today. Not my best, but I think it's good. It shows a bit more about how Eponine and Enjolras' relationship progressed during book 1 in the form of flashbacks simply because I couldn't think of anything else to write and it seemed like a good idea at the time. And it gave me an excuse to beat up a Mary Sue, which reminds me: *WARNING* SUE ALERT! Writing about her sickened me...

Chapter 10

Enjolras and Joly walked to Musichetta's shop together, as Joly wanted to see Musichetta after the meeting, and it made sense to go with his friend.

"So, you and Eponine? Really?" Joly asked. He had asked more or less the same question five times already. Apparently, the hypochondriac medical student was having trouble comprehending it.

"Yes. Eponine and I are together now," Enjolras replied. "I love her. I've loved her for a while now. Really, though, I don't see why it is such a big deal."

Joly snorted. "Because you've always shown a fair amount of disdain towards members of the opposite sex."

Enjolras sighed. It was true, he supposed. The first time a young bourgeois woman had flirted with him when he was with his friends, she had gotten rather huffy and left while he had been in the middle of explaining to her why she should waste less money on frilly dresses and help the poor instead. He had actually more or less flat out insulted her when she had been calling him handsome. Courfeyrac had howled with laughter. That had been about four years ago. Within the next two months he had had several similar encounters, and after a while, the bourgeois women of Paris had somehow all learned that they should try to gain his attention in a less direct manner, but their efforts went to waste as they were ignored.

There had been similar incidents over the past few years when a few young women decided to see if he had stopped spewing out 'revolutionary nonsense' as they called it, but they soon learned that he hadn't. One had gone so far as to try to join Les Amis de l'ABC. This had been shortly after Eponine had first started showing up. The young bourgeois woman had not had a pleasant time, he recalled. She'd certainly never shown her face again.

"Bonjour, messieurs," said a high, lofty, sing-songy-voice. Enjolras narrowed his eyes and looked up from his book to see a tall, thin, blonde-haired blue-eyed bourgeois girl enter the café. "Is this the location of Mes Amis de Cabasay?"

Joly appeared to have choked on his wine, and Courfeyrac seemed to be contemplating the fastest way to get the girl out of her dress.

She was a perfect height and weight, with curves in all the right places, her eyes were the brightest blue, and her hair was a beautiful shade of gold tied neatly back behind her head where it fell in perfect ringlets. Her lips were bright red, contrasting somehow even more perfectly with her pale skin. She was wearing a pale blue dress that fit her like a glove with a lacy top, and she looked absolutely stunning.

Enjolras found himself revolted.

"It's Les Amis de l'Abaisse. Or ABC, whichever you prefer. I'm doubtful that Cabasay is even a word," he told her coldly. She smiled at him, revealing blindingly white teeth. He wished quite strongly that she would leave. She didn't. She approached him instead.

The rest of Les Amis, all of whom were present, were staring at her, dumbfounded.

"You must be Enjolras," she giggled. He hated her, and didn't even know her name. "My name is Alphonsine." He hated her even more.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, his voice still cold. He turned his attention back to his book, but she was suddenly beside him, chattering in his ear nonstop. She had the most annoying voice he had ever heard.

Thankfully, though, Eponine and Gavroche chose that moment to burst in, Gavroche clutching what appeared to be a fluffy mass of hair with eyes.

"Gavroche, I told you to leave that thing outside!" the auburn haired girl yelled.

"It's not a thing, 'Ponine, it's a cat!"

"That you found on the street!" Alphonsine turned to look at the newcomers. Enjolras could practically feel the tension building. Eponine arched an eyebrow at the blonde. "Who's the bourgeois two-a-penny thing?"

"You let street rats in here?" Alphonsine questioned, her tone more chilled than it had been earlier.

"I believe that the mademoiselle said it was a cat," Enjolras replied without looking up. "Bonjour Eponine, Gavroche." His gaze flicked upwards briefly to see the rest of Les Amis with their jaws hanging open at the sudden exchange. Alphonsine had visibly stiffened, and Eponine had a faint smirk upon her face.

"I meant the girl!" Alphonsine snapped.

He couldn't help but think that Eponine was far prettier than the conventional bourgeois beauty that was glaring at her. Her skin was tanned from being in the sun, and her long, thick, auburn waves were tangled. All it took was a single look at her to see that she was scrawny and underfed, but her eyes held a powerful fire of life and determination. It was her fire and strength that made her so beautiful to him, like Patria in human form.

But he didn't love her. How could he? He had never had a full conversation with her. He simply admired her.

Eponine's gaze had turned icy, however. They were no longer warm like a fire, but cold as ice as she glared at the blonde.

"What did you just call me?" she hissed.

"A street rat, because that's what you are!"

Eponine flew at the blonde, hands balled into fists, knocking her to the ground. Enjolras stood, gaping in shock. He had never seen Eponine so furious. The blonde was squealing and began to claw at Eponine with her nails, scratching her.

Combeferre rushed in and pulled the brunette off of the blonde and held her back as she tried to get free of his grasp while Joly helped up the blonde, who would soon have a black eye. A jagged cut ran down Eponine's cheek, but on her it blended in with the bruises and few scars that she already had.

Grantaire jumped in then. He stumbled over to Alphonsine, more drunk than usual. "So, ma'mselle, my flat or yours?" he asked before drunkenly pressing his lips to hers. And at that, all Hell broke loose.

Alphonsine stormed out as quickly as she could after screaming her head off and slapping Grantaire across the face while Eponine and Les Amis all laughed, and she was never seen again.

"Enjolras?" Joly asked, snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Enjolras!" He shook his head, clearing it. "We're here. Where were you? Off in some sort of revolutionary world?"

Enjolras grinned. "I was just remembering Alphonsine."

"You mean the blonde girl who tried to join Les Amis but left after Grantaire kissed her?" Joly asked, struggling not to laugh at the memory. "How could I forget?" he snorted. "I thought 'Ponine was going to kill her!"

"So did I," Enjolras agreed with a laugh. "I'd never seen her so angry in my life!" He wasn't surprised that she had been so angry. It had been a week after their first conversation on the bridge when she had contemplated drowning herself. She had already been upset enough without being flat out insulted by a random stranger on her territory. Despite not having been part of Les Amis for long, she had quickly become one of them. And that night they had had their first real conversation.

Not long after Alphonsine left, Eponine slipped outside quietly. No one seemed to care much, as they were all busy with their drinks and conversations. But he noticed, so he followed her.

"She really upset you, didn't she?" he asked as he sat beside her on the steps.

"Why would you care?" she retorted. "I'm just a street rat!" She spat out the last part furiously, as if the words left a bad taste in her mouth.

"You are far more than just a street rat. You're brave and know how to stand up for yourself. And you certainly taught that bourgeois a lesson." He grinned at her. He didn't normally smile, but Eponine looked miserable, and no one else was there to cheer her up. And she was different from the others, somehow, but he didn't understand it.

She looked up at him, a touch of surprise on her face. "You really mean it, don't you," she said. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

He nodded. "I really do," he replied.

She smiled then, and for some reason, looking at her smile, he felt like the happiest man on the planet.

He hadn't known it then, but thinking back now, Enjolras realised that it had been that night that he had started to fall for Eponine. He grinned at Joly. "Come on, let's go inside and see what Musichetta has done with Eponine."

He opened the door, and walked inside, Joly close behind him. Both men immediately heard the giggles of two young women. He glanced at Joly. "Why didn't we set this up earlier? From the sounds of it they're already best friends."

"Because all men are idiots!" came the musical response of Musichetta's voice. "Really though, why did you have to leave it for so long?" The red-haired young woman was walking towards them with her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. "All this time you've known a brilliant girl, and you kept her from me! Really Joly! You should have known that she was a potential best friend!"

Enjolras could see why Joly had once told him that his lover had a temper to match her hair. It was just as fiery. But then he saw Eponine walking towards them, a bag holding several dresses in one hand. Musichetta had put her in a pretty forest green dress with shoulder length sleeves that flared slightly at the ends, and a neckline that was low, but still high enough to be decent, but only just. She looked beautiful, but just as frustrated with Musichetta.

"I'll have you know that I agree with 'Chetta, Joly. We've been friends all these years, but I've only ever heard a little bit about her from you! And I've only just met her?" She glared at him, furious.

Enjolras sighed. This was why he had tried to avoid and ignore women as much as possible before.

"Well, the important thing is that you've met now and are best friends, isn't it?" Joly replied, looking somewhat intimidated. Enjolras was glad that he wasn't the one on the receiving end of their fury.

Both women softened. "I suppose," Musichetta replied before walking over to take Joly's offered arm.

"So you're not so angry that you are no longer interested in our dinner plans from earlier?" Joly asked.

"I'll consider that your way of making it up to me," she replied sweetly. The four made their way outside before splitting up. "I'll see you again soon, I hope, Ep!" Musichetta called over her shoulder as she left with Joly.

"Looks like that was a good choice," Enjolras said with a grin as he and Eponine walked back to his flat.

"It was!" Eponine agreed happily. She sighed blissfully. "I don't think I've ever felt so happy in my life," she told him, turning to look at him. "And it's all because of you."

Enjolras smiled. "I've never been happier, either," he replied. And he meant it.