Enjolras woke up with a pounding headache. His eyes adjusted to the mid-October sunshine as he glanced around the room, trying to adjust himself to his surroundings. And it was then that a rustle in the sheets averted his attention.
There laid a naked Eponine, her hair flowing out from the pillow as she rolled over to face Enjolras. Her eyes fluttered open to match his and for a split second, they seemed to be a happy color, but they clouded over once the memories rolled back into her head.
"Enjolras, I don't-" She began, but he shook his head and stood up as she struggled to roll out of the sea of white sheets, "Enjolras, just please listen to me!"
"What is there to say, Eponine?" He asked, whipping around to face her, "I don't know what the Hell you were thinking," The look of apathy on her face suddenly turned to red hot fury.
"What I was thinking? What the Hell?" She spat, "You came onto me last night!"
"I was drunk!"
"That's not an excuse and you know it, Enjolras. Jesus, I can't even do this anymore!" Eponine snapped and he rolled his eyes at her, putting his middle finger up to face the girl covered only in a think white sheet.
"What a gentleman you turned out to be, Enjolras!" She spat and he turned to face her, "You don't even love me anymore so what does it matter?"
Enjolras didn't know what to say. His heart was being held in Shannon's hands. And he had betrayed her in a drunken stupor.
"I tried pretending that I don't give a damn anymore, Enjolras, but I can't do this anymore! I'm not stupid, I know about Shannon. You were in love with her before and you're in love with her now. And don't try to say you're not because you are. You're in love with her. Just please tell me. No more games. Just please look me in the eye and tell me the truth: Are you in love with her, Enjolras?"
Enjolras felt his heart leap into his throat. Shannon was everything he had ever wanted. She was smart, beautiful and kind. But somehow, Eponine was all of those things at the same time. But, Shannon had him wrapped around her finger and he knew where his allegiance was.
"Eponine, please try to understand-" He began, but Eponine wouldn't hear it. As soon as the words had tumbled out of his mouth and into the air, Eponine began to cry unabashedly. Tears flowed down her face as she sobbed into her sleeve.
Enjolras felt a knot in his stomach as he watched her sit on the couch, her head in her hands as she sniffled loudly. He knew that attempting to comfort her would only draw more tears and even if he didn't love her, seeing her in such despair killed him inside.
After a moment, she composed herself and looked up at Enjolras.
"I tried to cure you. To help you lose your demons and whatever was haunting you. But I can't bring back Combeferre or Bossuet or-or any of our friends. And I say our because they were my friends too, Enjolras. And I know that whatever happened to you happened for a reason. Maybe we weren't meant to be. Maybe some day, I will look back and smile and remember our love as a passing fling. But just please remember that I loved you and in these final, complicated days that I truly loved you and nobody but you. But I want you to be happy. And I think that being with Shannon will bring you that. But I did love you and all I wanted from you was to be loved as well. And I will look back at you with a smile one day and be happy for whatever has become of you. I just hope she'll love you as unconditionally as I did," Eponine muttered, staring Enjolras in the eyes.
Nobody said anything for a moment and Enjolras stood there, pondering what to do. Finally, Eponine stood and when standing on her tiptoes, she kissed Enjolras on the forehead for the final time, a fleeting goodbye.
"I'll go over to Cosette's place for a bit while I move my things out of here," Eponine said, throwing on a pair of pants, "I just want the basics. My clothes, my tapes, all that stuff,"
It hadn't struck Enjolras as permanence yet and he was baffled as she pulled on a stray pair of pants and grabbed her purse.
She pulled on a pair of flats, pushing her palms into her eyes to keep anymore tears from possibly leaking out onto her cheeks. Just before she left the apartment for one last time, Enjolras called out to her.
"Eponine?"
"Yes?"
"Someday, I hope I can love you as much as you love me,"
Eponine said nothing and made eye contact with the nearly-naked boy before her.
She simply muttered, "I hope so too, Enjolras," and with a final, fleeting smile, she shut the forever squeaky front door and left Enjolras in a world of his own.