All those times we looked up at the sky
Looking out so far, it felt like we could fly
And now I'm all alone in the dark of night
And the moon is shining, but I can't see the light.
-Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Stars
Éponine knocked again. And again. Finally she heard the faint "coming!" from the back of the apartment. About damn time.
Marius opened the door just enough to see the raggedy girl. Éponine thought there was something endearing about the way his hair was ruffled and couldn't ever stay in place. "Still unable to dress yourself, I see," she said, commenting on how his shirt wasn't buttoned properly.
"Oh." He adjusted his shirt quickly. "What are you doing here, 'Ponine?"
She loved it when he used her nickname. The other boys did it too, but he and Gavroche were the first two to use it. And somehow it just sounded perfect coming from his mouth.
"I haven't seen you all week! Can't I just stop by to say hi? Besides, you didn't even tell me you were giving a speech tomorrow!" she punched him playfully on the shoulder.
"'Ponine, it's past midnight," he said. "What happened to your face?"
"Oh, it's nothing, just a scratch."
He still wasn't moving from the doorway.
Éponine couldn't believe it took her that long to realize what was happening. "You're with her, aren't you?" She tried to make her statement sound like an accusation, but she just couldn't find the energy.
"Éponine…."
"Okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just barge in here… I'm just gonna go." She turned to leave.
"Wait, Éponine." Every time she walked away from him, she hoped to hear those words. But she had a feeling what was going to come after them wasn't all she had dreamed.
"Do you at least want me to call a cab for you?"
You're killing me, Marius. "No, it's fine. I like walking."
"It's not very safe."
"So I've been told."
Éponine shuddered. Why was it so cold? It's the middle of the night, of course it's cold. Idiot. Even in a city so big as Paris, there was barely anybody out. Maybe in the nicer parts of town there were tourists, couples still out getting drinks. But here there was no one, except those who slept on the streets.
"Éponine? Heeeyyyyy!" the greeting was dragged out by a slurred voice. Well, the homeless and the drunkards, Éponine corrected herself. Maybe if I just keep walking he'll forget he even saw me.
"Éponine!" Shit. She turned to face Grantaire. She had a soft spot for the alcoholic, really—something about his constant annoying behavior and blatant cynicism made him that much more likeable. And his tendency for mischievous behavior reminded him fondly of her brother. But tonight, she wasn't in the mood for his obnoxious, moronic ways.
"Whoa, what happened to your face?" he reached up to touch the red mark on her cheek. She had forgotten about it until just now. One more thing to be annoyed by.
"Grantaire, now's really not the best time."
"You know what I think? I think you need a drink."
"I'm not supposed to—"
"'Not supposed to'? High and mighty tonight, aren't we? You sound like Enjolras."
Her deterrence from alcohol had nothing to do with self-righteousness. Still, Éponine accepted that comparison as a challenge. "Fine."
"Oh yeah! Come on, I live just down here."
This is the worst decision you've made all day. And you've made at least three really bad decisions.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to get you really drunk. Just a little drunk."
Éponine didn't reply. She wasn't feeling particularly social. She just wanted a goddamn drink.
Grantaire's apartment wasn't exactly spotless, but it was cleaner than she expected. Besides a few crumbs and a piece of clothing here or there, it was neat enough. He grabbed a couple of shotglasses off the counter; he used them too much to bother putting them away. He hadn't even opened a bottle before his phone went off.
He fumbled with the buttons a couple of times before he picked up the call. "Hello? Hold on bro, I'm gonna put you on speakerphone."
He pushed a button and set the phone on the counter, which was just a little sticky (but enough to upset Joly). "No, don't put me on speakerphone," said the voice on the other line. It was Enjolras.
"Too late."
"Grantaire…" Éponine heard a loud sigh come from the phone. "I was just calling to remind you of the rally tomorrow."
"Christ, for the seventh time, I know."
"We need you there."
"I know!"
"Last time you slept through the entire thing."
"I know bro, but don't worry. I set, like, five alarms. It's gonna be fine."
"You did that last time! Who are you even with?"
"Éponine. Believe it or not, some of us actually have fun."
"What's she doing there?"
"Drinking. What the hell else am I good for?" Grantaire lost his balance, almost hitting his phone with his palm. "Shit! Oh. Just kidding, we're good."
"But I dropped her off like an hour ago," Enjolras replied, ignoring his friend's side-comment.
"You're on speakerphone, I can hear you," Éponine interjected. "And I went for a walk."
"You 'went for a walk'? I drove you home so you wouldn't have to walk."
Grantaire gave her a look, which Éponine reciprocated with a silently-mouthed expletive.
"I dunno, Enjolras," Grantaire said, grinning. "If Bahorel and her got into a street fight, she'd probably win."
Enjolras made a noise of annoyance, somewhere between a sigh and a grunt.
"Unless Bahorel talked me to death first," Éponine said.
"You, mademoiselle, have just earned your first shot." He popped off the lid of the bottle with relative ease, especially given his already inebriated condition, and poured the shot for her.
She downed it in one gulp, coughing only a little.
"Bro, you have to see this! 'Ponine totally knows how to do shots!" Grantaire was a bit too happy.
"It's almost one in the morning. We have to be there before ten. You guys need to go to bed."
"I'm too sober to sleep," Grantaire said, although he could barely stand.
"He's so bossy," Éponine said, barely above a whisper so Enjolras couldn't hear. That earned her another shot. Her arms were already starting to tingle; she hadn't eaten since this morning, and she was so underfed as it was.
"Well, we're gonna go have fun, so unless you're gonna join us, I'm hanging up now," Grantaire said loudly into the phone. Before his friend could protest, he hung up.
"What's his problem?" asked Éponine, somewhat seriously.
"He's just really dedicated."
More like obsessive.
"You gotta admire his commitment, though," Grantaire said.
Éponine took another shot. Montparnasse, Marius, Enjolras—she needed to forget all of them. "Um don't you think…" began Grantaire, but she gave him a look. "Okay, never mind. I assume you'll be sleeping on my couch tonight then?"
"'Ponine, hey 'Ponine!" Grantaire was standing above Éponine, shaking her awake.
"Oh my god," Éponine said, turning to her side just as she went into a coughing fit. The awful combination of morning breath and alcohol coated the inside of her cheeks. Her back was sore from sleeping in such an awkward position on the couch.
"I've never met somebody who got drunk so fast. It was awesome," he said, laughing.
She stood slowly, bile creeping up her throat. Her muscles were shaking violently. "I don't even remember—"
"There's not a lot to remember, you had like four shots and passed out."
Éponine looked down at her shirt, which was on inside-out and backwards. "Oh god, we didn't… you know…" she motioned between them.
"What? Oh! Oh god, no. No, no, no. I don't know how that-" he motioned to her shirt— "happened but no."
"Oh thank god."
"I would never- not with you—"
"No I get it—"
"I think of you like a sister—"
The awkwardness was broken with the sound of Grantaire's phone ringing. He checked the caller ID, rolled his eyes, and answered. "Yeah, bro. Yes, I'm up. Yeah, we're almost ready. It's only, like, nine. We'll totally be there in time. What? Oh, yeah, she's up, too. Marius is what? Oh, yeah, he gets like that sometimes, doesn't he?"
"What?" Éponine mouthed.
Grantaire covered his phone with one hand so he could reply to Éponine. "I dunno, I get Marius is just getting on Enjolras's nerves or something."
"Well who doesn't get on his nerves," Éponine said. "He's so…" she couldn't find the right word,
Grantaire nodded, then went back to talking to his friend. "Okay. We're going right now. We'll probably stop for coffee or something though, I think 'Ponine needs it. Okay. We're leaving. Yes, now! No, I'm not lying! I swear to god, we're literally walking out the door. Okay, okay I'm going now. Bye."
"Do you always hang up on him?"
"Actually, he usually hangs up on me."
"I don't blame him," Éponine said.
Grantaire laughed. "Okay, we should really go though. As much as I love irritating him, I'm too hungover to deal with it. I'll buy you coffee on the way, yeah?"
Éponine nodded. "Yeah, I just… gotta fix my shirt. Bathroom?"
Grantaire pointed.
Éponine went to the bathroom, which was actually quite large, and fixed her shirt. She also scrubbed her face and put her hair into a semi-acceptable bun. She wasn't sure she was ready to go out and face Marius after last night. The alcohol was supposed to make her feel better. And maybe it did last night, but she couldn't remember. Now she felt worse than she did last night. The shots had just dropped her mood further. But she needed to support Marius. And she was, admittedly, interested to hear was Enjolras had to say, too.
"Are you ready yet?" Grantaire called from the living room.
"Yeah, coming!"
A/N: Hey there! As always, I cannot emphasize enough how much I love hearing your guys' thoughts and opinions. And I'm forever grateful for the support.
Bit of a filler chapter, no? But can I say that I'm pretty excited for the next chapter?
(Am I even allowed to say that? I dunno, but I am).
Well, looks like I'll be going to watch Les Mis for the third time... Until next time!