A Little Bit of Sunshine

Chapter 3

Eponine walked into Enjolras' room, trying to keep her eyes open. Her eyes were droopy, and he immediately noticed. Surprisingly, he chose to say nothing. "Monsieur Sabret is leaving for the next day and night, so I will be keeping you in somewhat good care. He is trying to secure supplies for when we leave. There is a rather large price on your head, you know," she said softly, sitting in the chair closest to his bedside. He saw her hold back a yawn and wanted to ask her to go back to bed, but Enjolras refrained. Who knew how she would react to that?

"And what am I going to do about it? Your acquaintance is not letting me leave this bed. Trust me, Eponine, I would love to be milling about, rallying the citizens to fight. Hell, even if I was up and moving, I don't think I would be. In all honesty, I would rather be dead than be stuck in this bed. I would rather that, I think," Enjolras had meant for most of his ramblings to stay inside of his mind, but they had slipped out. He took a deep breath when he saw Eponine beginning to turn a bright shade of red.

She was fuming, her eyes squinting and alight with a fire. He was almost surprised by how quickly her attitude and posture had changed. Her hands were held on her hips, and her onslaught of words was coming quickly. "How dare you to say such an awful thing! I cannot believe you. Do you know the trouble I went through to see if at least someone had survived on that bloody barricade? Are you aware of the struggle I went through getting your arse out of that place with the two of us alive?

Do you know how big of an utter cockroach you are? You aren't the only one who lost someone on that barricade! I lost a brother and a best friend. I know that you lost all of your's; how could I forget? And I swear if I could switch Gavroche or Marius for you, I would. It's awful of me, but I would. I do not think that your friends and my little brother died for you to mope about wishing you were there too. You know, I thought that you were smart, but I guess not. Damn it, Enjolras! You - you." With that, Eponine could not continue, and she swiftly sat back in her chair and began to cry.

Enjolras was at a loss. He wasn't good at dealing with emotions, nor was he fantastic when dealing with a woman's emotions. "Eponine, I am sorry for being so senseless and for not thinking of your emotions. Please stop crying. I can apologize better when you're not crying so much, and I don't really know how to apologize to you. I am sorry, but please don't cry anymore. I don't like it," he told her. His voice was very quiet when he finished, and if he were able, he would have reached out to her and patted her hand. That was as close as he was getting with anyone. He had never embraced his friends, ever. The closest he had ever been with any of them was when he and Grantaire were shot. The drunk had ended up covering most of Enjolras' body.

Now that he thought of it, 'R' might be the reason why his heart still beat today. Then, Enjolras wanted to cry right along with Eponine. "I really am sorry for being so insensitive. I don't always think of others' well being when I do things." His voice broke, and a hard ball formed in his throat.

The gamine was looking at him now, a pitying look on her face. "You are so, so incredibly stupid. How am I going to let you go out there all by yourself? You'll last a day or two at the most. Boys like you have no idea about running from the law. Damn it! I need a nap. I can't deal with this right now. You'll have to be alright without me for about two hours," she insisted. Without so much as a goodbye, she'd fled, leaving Enjolras with quite a few questions.

Eponine was so embarrassed. She couldn't believe that she had broken down, in front of Enjolras, again. And she had yelled at him before that. 'You're such an awful person. Told him that you wished it were Gav or Marius, made him almost cry. Then, you stormed out and made it all about you. Pathetic.' The last part in that wasn't Eponine's own voice but, rather, her mother's.

It was no surprise that Eponine and her siblings were abused, both physically and verbally. Hell, she'd even been forced into prostitution once last year. Monsieur Thenardier was always the one behind the beating of the children, but Madame was the one that took away their hope and confidence. It was not as though her children had much anyways. They were, after all, the scum of the street - the dirt beneath everyone else's feet.

No-one knew how much Eponine wished and hoped that, one day, she would be able to walk down the street and have no condescending glares shot her way. To have nobody walk over her like she was a dog on the street would have been wonderful. That was the reason why she had latched onto Marius Pontmercy.

The bourgeois had not looked at her as though there were about two and a half social classes between them. Never mind that Marius was cut off. He was still a part of that high up place, and Eponine hoped that he would get her somewhere. Now that he was gone, she didn't think she'd ever lose the shame that came with being at such a low place.

She tried to shake the traitorous thoughts from her mind. The girl didn't want to start crying again. With a loud sigh, she laid down upon her bed and went to sleep, and hell, did she need it.

Enjolras waited and waited and waited and waited. Waiting was really all his life consisted of at the moment. He waited for Eponine to come back, waited for his wounds to heal, waited for his arm to heal, waited for death.

According to the small clock in the corner, she'd been gone for two and a half hours. He would never admit it, but he was slightly worried about how Eponine was coping with everything. Enjolras was not stupid, well not that stupid. Even he could see that Marius had been the light of her life. In the earlier days, at the Musain, he had seen her waiting for her bourgeois companion.

After the arrival of Pontmercy, she looked like a different girl. There was a sparkle in her eyes that he knew hadn't been there before. She had a fire in her, anyone could see that. Yet, it seemed like it was only Enjolras who could see it slowly going out with each passing day - like putting something over a candle. Slowly getting smaller until it was hardly there at all and then gone.

Enjolras decided to try to reach the book that was sitting on his bedside table, just out of his reach. Honestly, he would probably have to wait until Eponine came back before he could even touch the damned thing.

Eponine sat up quickly, her breathing hitched. Her dream was still fresh in her mind, and her heart was beating faster than any rabbit's. The dead bodies of the Amis were still there every time she chose to close her eyes. The worst part was that Enjolras had been there as well, and she was alone - so alone. Without any hesitation, she jumped up and almost ran to his room.

The girl couldn't handle that feeling of being so alone. In all honesty, she'd never really been alone in her life. When life had been good, her parents were there. Azelma was there when it began to decline. Gav or Marius were there when she was on the street. Now, it was just her and Enjolras. Her parents would never let her back inside their home, not after what had happened, and 'Zelma would never leave. Eponine knew it just as well as her sister did.

She knocked softly on the door and waited for the replied admittance. It came, and the waif walked inside. "M'sieur, Enjolras, I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I am sure you understand how trying these times are, and I don't think I have properly dealt with anything that has happened.

I truly am sorry for being so awful to you, and I do realize that this is not your fault. Although, I do hope that you come to terms with this yourself. Do you need anything, M'sieur?" She inquired.

Enjolras sighed inside of his head. "If you wouldn't mind handing me that book, I would appreciate it a lot. You really don't have to call me Monsieur. I am not fond of it. Can you read, Eponine?" The question surprised them both, but he was beginning to realize that he wasn't quite able of holding a book or turning the pages with his dominant hand and arm out of commision. She nodded slowly, and he smirked slightly. "Would you please read it to me? I can't exactly do much at the moment."

Eponine took her seat, in the same chair she had been in earlier, and opened it to the first page. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame? My mother used to tell me a much milder version of this when I was younger." Her smile was quite small, and she began to read.

"Three hundred and forty–eight years, six months, and nineteen days ago to–day, the Parisians awoke to the sound of all the bells in the triple circuit of the city, the university, and the town ringing a full peal..."

This is probably the worst chapter that I have written. NOTHING HAPPENS, but it had to be done. I hope to have the next chapter up by Sunday. ((March 30)) I might be able to get that done. A warning: I have a habit of writing a ton for a few days, then not writing at all. It happens…