Thanks to all my lovley reviewers/ Followers/ readers. I love you all and i really appreciate your support :D

Though in chapter 23 i realized that i may have made many of you guys really hate Marius and i apologize for that, I never meant for that to happen...

Marius: Yes people PLEASE don't hate me! I get the short end of the stick enough as it is

Me: What are you talking about?! You and Cosette are the only ones in the musical who live and get a happy ending

Marius: But I'm so hated in fanfiction world

Me: Aww, I dont hate you...but I can't vouche for other people but you can't get it all Marius. Just be happy that you get a happy ending in the musical. I'll try to keep Marius bashing moments to a minimun from now on ok?

Marius: Fine...

Thanks again! Please review and if any one has cover art please send it :D

Everything had returned back to normal by Monday. Things had been pretty uneventful for the rest of break, the exception being Eponine's mini freak out when Enjolras was driving her and Azelma home the night of the Black Friday incident. He and Eponine were having a light conversation about various random things with Azelma texting away in the back seat –who she was texting at one am was a mystery- when the topic of Eponine's stitches came up. Enjolras off-handily commented how he thought she would get left with a scar after she had them removed which caused her to automatically stroke them gently with her fingers out of instinct. She laughed out the commented and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before running a hand through her hair, it was then she realized something was off. Eponine's eyes widened and she put a hand on the top of her head again only to have her fear confirmed: her hat was gone.

"Oh shit…" she gasped

Enjolras glanced over at her in confusion, "Something wrong."

"My cap, I think I lost it back at the mall. It must have fallen off when I fell down the stairs." she muttered under her breath when realization hit her.

She wasn't too happy after that, not angry or sad, just upset. She loved her hat, it was worn in, unique, and it just fitted her head perfectly after she wore it in so much. Her friends had asked her about it once when they noticed she wore it so often; she only told them it was her favorite hate but she had admitted to Marius after she grew close to him and to Enjolras during a tutoring session just why she liked it so much; it was one of the last thing her father ever gave her.

It was after Cosette was taken away but right before things went bad, they had just received a large amount of money and her father had decided to take Eponine and Azelma to see Oliver! – Eponine could still remember how much she loved the musical and now much she loved Nancy's song As Long As He Needs Me, she still thought of the artful dodger every time Gavroche did something sneaky- after the show they were walking down the street and Eponine had seen a hat in the window of a store that reminded her of the show and her father bought it for her. It was a brown newsie style cap that she loved, though it was a much too big for her and fell loosely around her eyes when she put it on, her father had laughed at her and assured her she would grow into it given time. When thing had gotten bad it was one of the only thing she took with her on the move, much against her father's wishes. She had to fight tooth and nail to keep it, causing a big fight to occur between her and her father over it, it was the first time he slapped her. The blow was hard and caused the cap to fall off her head. Her father was immediately remorseful and apologized and told her she could keep the hat. Since then the hat became a lot more to her than a souvenir from a musical, it became a memento to the time when her home life was happy and her dad truly loved her. It was also a symbol of her pride and strength against her changing father; she was never going to let anyone knock her down, ever.

But now that hat was gone.

When she first realized her hat was gone she was a little upset, but after a moment she composed herself and calmed down, she knew that nothing could be done about her lost hat and freaking out wouldn't bring it back.

Although she got over it, she still found it hard to fall asleep that night.

Monday was as normal as any Monday could be after facing near-death at a Sears Black Friday sale; the guys automatically pounced on Eponine when she got to school. Grantaire and Courfeyrac had told the others and they all bombarded her with question, most centering around whether she was ok and how she was feeling. She brushed off all the questioned and assured them she was just fine, but that did now stop then from insisting on helping her throughout the day by carrying her books and walking her to class. While she appreciated and was touched by their concern she couldn't help but feel suffocated by it all, she already spent the entire weekend dealing with Marius and Enjolras bombing her phone with text messages to apologize and check up on her, respectively. Cosette had been worse, all throughout English she looked at Eponine with wide eyes and a concerned expression. She continuously asked about her wrist and ankle, and how she got to be like that. Eponine had told her she fell down some stairs, that wasn't a lie, though it turned into one when she said she was reading a book and wasn't paying attention, causing her fall. She couldn't tell Cosette the truth, she knew Cosette would feel awful about it and it would also ruin the kindle surprise for her birthday in a week. That didn't stop Cosette from continuously pestering her even more about her condition and trying to make her feel better.

Eponine had never been so thankful for lunch in her life.

When lunch finally came she had sped to her locker and exchanged her stuff and left before any of the boys could have gotten to her. She scurried down the hall as fast as she could with her injured ankle. She finally reached her place of sanctuary, the auditorium but when she went to open the doors she noticed they wouldn't budge, they were locked. She huffed in irritation, the auditorium doors were hardly ever locked since no one ever used them during the school day but that was not the case. Eponine quickly looked over her shoulder and made sure no one was coming before taking out a bobby pin from her hair and inserted it into the key hole. She hated what became of her and her family when they became poor and desperate but she did gain one thing out of it, she was resourceful, her father wasn't lying when he said she was an excellent pick lock, not that she would go advertising that skill. She finally successfully picked the lock and was able to enter the auditorium, only when she did she couldn't help but hear the music that was coming from the stage. Being her stealthy self Eponine was able to stay close to the wall and peer her head over the side of the wall and see that there was someone there on the stage playing the piano, her piano! Anger built up in her but when she listened to the music the anger seemed to die down. The song was beautiful and heartfelt; she could tell whoever was singing it had a lot of emotion built up with in him.

"I gave you my music, made your song take wing." The voice sang, "And now how you repay me, deny me and betray me…He was bound to love you when he heard you sing."

With each word Eponine would feel the heart break in the boys heart bleed through him, it made her sad too as she compared it the past two months of her life. She budged a little bit but didn't notice an empty bag of chips right in her path until she stepped on it and make a loud ruffling sound. The figure turned around abruptly and glared at Eponine who was pressed to the wall with her head peaking out. He looked over her and he realized who she was. He didn't know her name or anything about her but he did know she was the girl who came to the auditorium to play the piano and sing much like he did, she was also the girl who stood up for him against Freddy and Andre weeks ago. He eyed her carefully and turned toward the light so she could see him clearly. To his surprise she didn't run or away or gasp at his face, she didn't even react to him. He decided to try to talk to her instead.

"How did you get in?" He asked her curiously, "The doors were locked."

She took a step toward him, "I could ask you the same thing."

"I was the one who locked them, your turn."

She gave him a face that said she thought he was insane but she replied all the same, "A bobby pin has more than one use and I am very resourceful."

"Nice answer." He responded simply

"I try." She said sarcastically, trying to get a laugh out of him but he remained silent. She gulped but took another step toward him, "I'm Eponine."

"Erik."

She pressed her lips together and took a seat in one of the seats close to him. "I heard you singing, it was really good." He just rolled his eyes at that comment, but she continued nonetheless. "I can tell you wrote it from personal experience. You must have been through a lot of pain lately."

"Why yes, though I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand the kind of thing I've been through." He didn't know why he was acting this way; usually he avoided people all together and ever engaged in conversation. However he didn't have the urge to do that this time.

She put her hand on her hips, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, just that you are a teenage girl with nothing better to do than cause drama over every little bump in the road you face."

"I'll have you know I'm a hell of a lot tougher than that."

"Oh please I've seen you in the auditorium, spilling out your soul on the piano."

"You do the same!"

"But mine is real pain, and it's all about the same girl; a girl who I have been there for when she had no one else only to have her abandon me for someone better."

"Believe me if there is anyone who understands that it's me."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "So what exactly is your story?"

She scoffed slightly before going on, "Oh the usual you know. I was in a giant hellhole when I befriended someone who gave me some hope, I ended up having feeling for him and I was there for him no matter what. He was the only good thing I had I really had no one else. Things were looking good up until he fell for someone who was the exact opposite of me after just looking at her once."

"Oh," he replied, understanding his mistake, "well that's no good."

She stopped him, "Wait it gets better. He asked me to help him get with that girl, keep in mind I still had feeling for him at this point, and she asked me to help her get with him. It's thanks to me that they are now together, and just last weekend I faced a near death experience trying to help him find a present for her. Is that enough for you Erik?" she stated mockingly

Erik stared at her coldly but the ice in his eyes seemed to melt. He could tell that she knew about heartbreak and betrayal just as much as he did. There was an awkward silence between them until Eponine asked him his story and he revealed the entire thing from being bullied to Christine. He didn't understand why he was telling her everything, maybe he just needed someone to share the burden with and vent to, someone who would listen and understand, the fact that she seemed oblivious to his face also made him feel a bit better, even Christine stared non stop at him when she first saw his face.

Eponine sat there and listened to his story; she felt for him and really connected it to him. She didn't feel pity but empathy and it felt nice to have someone to talk to. Sure Enjolras had listen to her rants but he never seemed to understand where her pain came from, instead constantly brushing it off and being his stoic self.

Neither Erik nor Eponine judged the other for they each understood where their feeling for their others came from and they were a lot more similar to each other than anyone else they knew. It was funny, neither of them ever thought they would have someone they could relate and connect to, they thought they were alone in the world. Apparently they were both wrong. They only talked for half an hour, so they didn't get all that close but at least now they had a confident and someone to reach out to when no one else would listen.

Grantaire: Hey Eppy, where's Enjolras?

Me: *Looking around nondiscreetly* Oh no where important

Grantaire: Eppy...

Me: Let's just say he is serving out his sentance for loosing the bet

Courfeyrac: Wait i thought he had to kiss you or Grantaire as punishement

Me: He did, but he REALLY didn't want to do that...and i thought of a better punishment for him

Grantaire: That being?

Me: He is currently locked in a room with Marius and Cosette as they sing A Heart Full of Love and profess their undying love for each other

*All barricade boys laugh and Courfeyrac pats me on the back*

Courfeyrac: You Ms. Daae are a genius

Me: I try, oh and i need you all to say "Patria" every 20 minutes so I can get a piggy back ride

Grantaire and Courfeyrac: Deal!