Hey people. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far, it's been a little tension filled but what is Les Mis without angst right? Anyway to answer Danielle9Rachel's question, Eponine Thenardier is not at the barricade because I go by Eponine too and it's just confusing for me to keep track of. For now the only people at the barricade are the barricade boys, me, and my visitors.
Btw I saw Graceland on Thursday (it was awesome btw, if you love Aaron Tveit you should see it) and I was tweeting while i watching (as i always do now) and Manny Montana (Johnny in Graceland) replied to my tweet! I was a happy camper
Some other quick points, the poll will be open for two more chapters after this so make sure to go on my profile and vote (there will be another poll after that so just letting you know).
I am also a Beta now! So if you want my help be sure to let me know. I'd be happy to help!
Please remember to review! I will love you all so much if you could review. You already spent time reading the chapter, can't you spare 5 more seconds for a review?
Enjolras: Seriously? You're begging?
Me: Oh shut it Enjy!
"I'm not so sure about this..." Eponine said timidly as the car made it's made its way down the graveled path
"'Ponine the best way to handle this to just tell her and be honest."
"How do I know if she will listen?"
"You just have to take a leap of faith."
After her confession to Enjolras earlier the two of them had sat at the river bank for a while without really saying anything; Enjolras simply held her while she stared off into the rippling water and rested her head on his shoulder. Words weren't exchanged but they didn't need to be. Eponine had felt her world crumble around her and it had hurt. She didn't like feeling so much pain. she prefered the ting of numbness, it was something she was used to and oddly enough it was in her comfort zone. She was use to being strong and forcing everything down, anything different was foreign to her. Enjolras on the other hand had the wheels in his head turning. Much like Eponine he didn't like dealing with unpleasant emotions; however unlike her he didn't just force them down, he used them to help his drove and motivation. He hated seeing Eponine like this and he wanted nothing more than to think of a way to help her. She was one of the strongest people he knew but at the moment she looked so cold and numb and inside it scared him. Eventually he decided enough was enough and stood up from where he was seated on the soft dirt. Eponine flinched at the loss of his warmth next to her before tilting her head up to see Enjolras' outstretched hand angled toward her. Eponine pursed her lips and tentatively wrapped her hand around his, allowing him to help her up to her feet. They stare at each other for a moment before Enjolras gave her a gentle tug and she automatically pressed herself against his chest. Enjolras kissed the top of her head before he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair while she in turn buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck while taking in his comforting scent. Leave it to Enjolras to be the one person who can always make her defenses go down without even trying. Eventually after a few moments Enjolras let her go and instead grabbed her hand. He lead her to his car and when she asked where he was planning on going he revealed his plan.
"You have to talk to them." He told her simply as they walked down
She looked shocked, "But they're pissed at me. They probably won't listen to me."
"'Ponine you need to have a little more faith in people. They are your closest friends."
She held back the urge to roll her eyes, "Faith? Faith in people is something I lost long ago. People change due to the smallest things and many times they let you down. You should know by now that I don't trust anyone." She whispered the last part under her breath but Enjolras heard it and it made him cringe even if he didn't say anything. "Besides what if they still hate me even after I explain?"
"Well then at least you tried."
That is how the two of them found themselves parked in Enjolras' car right in front of Cosette's house. Along the way Eponine had seemed to grow more and more accustomed to the idea but she still held her doubts and worries.
Enjolras turned off the ignition and looked over at Eponine who took a moment to collect herself and take a deep breath before flinging off her seatbelt and getting out of the car. Enjolras followed suit and walked by her side as they neared the gate-like entrance to the Fauchelevent property. They got within a foot of the entrance before Eponine froze and pursed her lips. Enjolras tightened his grip on her hand and looked over to see her dilemma. He sighed and turned her to so they were standing in front of one another and gripped her shoulders.
"I'll go in first to try to warm them up ok?"
Eponine looked up at him with a gracious smile and gave him a small nod in thanks. Enjolras pressed his lips to her forehead and gave her a quick hug before disappearing behind the gate. Enjolras looked at her dark outline one last time before turning his full attention to the house in front of him. He knocked on the door swiftly and stood there waiting as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Within moments the door opened but much to Enjolras' dismay he saw it was Cosette's father who opened the door. The older gentleman smiled at the young man warmly and invited him in. From the way he was acting Enjolras assumed that Cosette and Marius hadn't mentioned what happened to her father- the thought gave Enjolras a sense of relief. He told him that Marius and Cosette were in the living room if he was looking for them. Enjolras thanked him and made his way to meet them. When he reached them he saw Cosette seated at the loveseat with Marius next to her as her fingers played with the locket around her neck while her other hand wrapped around Marius'. The couple apparently hadn't noticed him come in and he coughed loudly to make his presence known. Marius head automatically turned to the noise and in an instant their eyes met. Marius instantly stood up and separated himself from Cosette who in turn glanced over at Enjolras before returning her gaze down to her lap where a few pictures were placed. She looked very confused and pained. It was as if she was trying to make sense of everything she had learned. Marius stood up straight and walked over to meet Enjolras by the doorframe, his expression was unreadable.
"I assume you heard about what happened?"
Enjolras nodded, "Eponine told me Cosette remembered their history as kids."
"Did she tell you how she was a bitch to Cosette as a kid and made her life hell?"
Enjolras clenched his fist and nodded stiffly, "She told me everything. Like how she has changed since then and how sorry she is for everything."
"Of course she would say that." Marius scoffed
"She means it Pontmercy!" Enjolras sneered through his teeth, trying his best to keep his anger under control
"You are only defending her because you like her!" Marius shot back, "And here I thought you were the marble statue. Cosette remembered everything and let me tell you that what she went through as a kid is chilling and she didn't deserve any of it! However thanks to Eponine she had to endure the worst of it. She isn't who we think she is Enjolras."
Something cracked in Enjolras and he strode forward until he was but a foot from Marius, "Don't tell me you are forgetting everything she has ever done for you." Enjolras all but yelled at his face, "She may have made mistakes in the past but she has learned from them changed for the better." He looked between the two other people and continued, "You both know her homelife is crap, don't you think she is paying for her mistakes? She has been nothing but a good friend in all the time you have known her. She puts everyone before herself and does all she can to make you happy. Don't you forget that she is the reason you two are together! She delivered the letters between you guys, set up your meeting and she even went with you to that stupid Black Friday sale so you could get Cosette that gift for her birthday!"
Cosette's ears perked up at that and she turned to face Enjolras, "What?"
Enjolras nodded, "Eponine fought tooth and nail to get you that kindle case. She dislocated her shoulder and sprained her ankle thanks to some crazy shopper who wanted the case too. And to think she never even called you out for it or made you feel sorry! She never does! She has forced down her emotions too many times to count and it's all thanks to you guys. Do you know how many times she has put on a happy face just so she wouldn't hurt you! And to think how hard it must have been since she was practically in love with you then." The moment those words were out of his mouth Enjolras regretted them all.
Marius eyes opened to the size of saucers and his mouth gaped open like a fish, "What?"
Enjolras grimaced and tried his best not to make eye contact with either of them. He had just revealed one of Eponine's biggest secrets and it killed him inside. She had trusted him and he blew it, she would never forgive him if she found out.
"Eponine is in love with me? Marius asked spellbound
Enjolras gulped, "No...not anymore."
Cosette stood up with a puzzled look on her face, "What do you mean not anymore?"
"When she first met you she liked him. That entire time she was getting you two together she had feelings for him."
Cosette gasped, "I can't believe she would do something like that..."
"She wanted you guys to be happy." He explained with a defeated tone
"I- I never knew..." stuttered Marius, "It must have killed her on the inside."
"Still think she hasn't changed." Enjolras stated coldly
Marius opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream.
Eponine leaned on the gate with her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Enjolras' disappear into the large house. Her heart was beating five times faster than normal and her stomach was doing somersaults like a gymnast. She didn't want to lose her closest friends, it would kill her on the inside and she didn't know if she could handle it. She hoped that Enjolras was doing an effective job at convincing Marius and Cosette to forgive her. Eponine hummed softly to herself in an attempt to distract herself and calm her nerves. It was a simple melody she would sing to Gavroche and Azelma when they were scared or sad.
"That's a lovely song." Sneered someone behind her
Eponine automatically stiffened and stood up straight. She knew that voice and it was always the bringer of trouble, "Montparnasse..." She hissed through her teeth.
"My dear 'Ponine! Aren't you happy to see me?"
She scoffed, "Not particularly."
"That hurts 'Ponine that really hurts."
"You act as if I care."
He let out a dry chuckle and leaned against the gate next to her, "What's with the attitude? I thought we were past that."
"Just because you think it doesn't make it true. Actually when it comes to you it's most likely not." She answered back. "Now you asked me something so now it's my turn to ask you. What the hell are you doing here Parnasse? It's a little far from your usual place."
Montparnasse gave her a wicked grin and touched her cheek, "Look at that you called me Parnasse! I knew you didn't completely hate me."
She rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away, "Answer the question you dick."
"Back to that are we?" He sighed apathetically, "Well if you must know your father target this house for a clean sweep."
Eponine widened her eyes, "A c-c-clean sweep? You have to be kidding."
Montparnasse causally kicked his legs out in front of him and grinned, "Sorry love I am dead serious. This house is the Patron-Minette's next ticket. We are going to rob them dry."
If Eponine was nervous before now she was frantic. Not only was this Cosette's house but Marius and Enjolras were in there. Not only would they get hurt but after learning about her past they might think she had something to do with it and led them all there.
Oh lord somebody help me! Oh God what do I do? They'll think this is an ambush and they think I was a part of it. What do I do? What do I say? I've got to warn them here! I've got to find a way to fix this!
Eponine gripped the bars of the gate to try to get a glimpse of the inside of the house but it was no use, trees and bushes blocked her view. Her hand automatically flew to her pocket to see if she could get her phone but found her pocket to be flat against her leg. She cursed silently as she realized she left her phone in Enjolras' car. The car was only 20 feet away but she knew she couldn't very well get to the without one of them seeing her and calling her out, that would not have turned out good for anyone. She heard noise coming from down the road and out of instinct she pressed herself against the side of the fence and crouched down to hide herself from view, she knew Montparnasse wouldn't reveal her, it would be no fun for him if he did. Her heart raced in her chest like a horse on the track and she swore it was so loud her father's gang would hear her. She did her best to keep her breathing steady and still her body but on the inside her mind was screaming and she was scared for her life. She tightly gripped the metal bars of the fence as she crouched near to the ground and her old converse dug themselves deeply into the soft soil. She let out long quiet breaths as she heard her father's voice come above everyone else's. He revealed that this was the house he had his eye on for a while and that it would bring them all riches. Hardly any people lived in it and those that did would be all too easy to handle. He let out a sinister laugh and Eponine could hear the greedy voices of the other gang members agree in response. Fear kept growing in her gut and she had to clench her teeth together to try to control herself. But it wasn't enough. Out of the corner of his eye Claquesous spotted her hunched near to the ground and took upon himself to act. Before Eponine could react he had leaped over and grabbed both of her arms, pinning them behind her back as he all but dragged her to the others.
"Who is this hussy?" hissed Thenardier, his rotten beer-smelling breath reaching Eponine's nose and making her want to upchuck right where she stood.
Brujon scoffed in their faces, "Its your brat Eponine! Don't you know your own kid what she doing here hanging around us?"
Eponine wrenched herself away from Claquesous' arms and turned her scrunched nose up high as it challenging her father. Thenardier did not take that lightly and took his daughter's elbow harshly as he led her away from the group.
"Get home Eponine! You're not needed in this robbery."
She glared back at him, "Didn't I tell you I was done with that?"
"Doesn't matter just get going you brat! We have some important business here. This house is going to make us filthy rich."
"Oh please," Eponine scoffed, yanking her elbow from her father's grasp and quickly thinking up of a plan, "This house is worthless."
The gang did not react well to that and they were soon met with a bunch of grunts and outburst.
"She doesn't know what she is saying boys."
"Yea I do." She challenged back, "I know this house!"
Thenardier let out a animal-like snarl and yanked Eponine by her hair painfully, forcing her to look him in the eye, "You be careful young miss. You think you are so smart but don't forget there are five of us and we aren't afraid to take drastic measures to keep you quiet." He then threw her on the ground where she landed with a painful skid on her knees.
Eponine returned his snarl and looked at him with fire in her eyes, "You don't scare. I don't care if you have knives, I have my hands. There may be five of you men but I am a woman, the odds don't matter to me. Nothing you do could scare me because I know you are just a cowardly crook with a bunch of stupid minion who follow you blindly. Even to house that will get you guys nothing!"
Thenardier didn't hesitate in slapping her in the face before reassuring the boys the house was golden. Eponine held her ground.
"I'm telling you if you go in there it will be waste of energy. There is nothing in there worth stealing." She yelled as she flung herself to the gate
"Now you better get out of the way girl and watch your mouth!" Thenardier responded back with an aggressive look in his face, "I've been studying this house for weeks! It's priceless."
"No it's not!" She yelled, her face matching his in aggression. Her father made another step toward the gate and Eponine responded by flinging herself onto his back in an attempt to tackle him down.
From the side the gang chuckled. "What an interesting sight to see a dog and his daughter fighting for blood on the street."
Thenardier finally had it and threw his daughter off his back with a grunt and Eponine fell flat on her side onto the hard pavement with a loud thud. Pain shot through her body but she swallowed it down an
"Don't you dare take another step toward this house!" She bellowed
"Or what?" Challenged Thenardier
Eponine scrunched up her nose like an attack dog, "Or I'll scream! You wouldn't want that! I'll warn them and the entire neighborhood. Someone is going to see you no matter how swift you are or do you really think you can evade a whole neighborhood on watch." She taunted, "You may be quick but you aren't invisible."
Thenardier shook his head in a warning way, "You scream and you will regret it!"
Eponine stood there waiting with a fierce look in her eye as if she was ready for battle at any moment. Thenardier and his gang scoffed at her and moved to climb the gate without giving her a second thought.
"I told you I'd do it! I told you I'd do it," She hissed through her teeth before taking a deep breath and opening her mouth. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
The men all jumped back in fear as her screech reached their ears and echoed across the neighborhood.
Thenardier acted the quickest and flung himself into Eponine's direction. His bony hand wrapped itself around Eponine's throat and gave it a slight squeeze, effectively cutting off her scream. Eponine choked and curled her hands around his wrist out of instinct.
"You are going to regret that young miss." He hissed wickedly into her ears. The tone in his voice was something Eponine only heard once or twice in her life and it chilled her to the bone.
He flung Eponine to the ground yet again and gave her a hard kick to her abdomen causing Eponine to yelped out in pain and cringe. Thenardier took one last look at her before instructing the rest of his men to run and following suit, leaving Eponine lying there curled up in pain while trying to force back her tears.
"Eponine!" She heard a voice call
At the sound of her name Eponine automatically stood up and sprinted away, she didn't know who called her and but she was too afraid to find out. Instead she ran away as fast as she could into the dark night. She didn't know where she was going she didn't care, she just needed to get away. She heard footsteps following after her and out of fear she forced her legs to move faster. Her legs burned and she could feel something wet coming down her cheeks, whether it was blood or tears she didn't know, but she pushed that aside and kept running. At one point she tripped over a curb and felt the pavement skin her elbows, hands and knees but even with the piercing pain she pushed herself up yet again and started off on another run. She would have gotten farther away if it wasn't for a strong hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.
"No!" She yelled defiantly. She flung her arms frantically while whipping her head and body around in an attempt to free herself.
She opened her eyes to see a familiar face staring back down at her.
Me: boy I keep leaving you at a cliffhangers don't I?
Enjolras: if you keep doing that you are going to get killed. I can't keep protecting you!
Me: I don't think I asked you to!
Feuilly: Hey we have someone entered from the back. She said she's a friend
Me: oh we have another guest!
Enjolras: Is she crazy too?
iputonefootinfrontoftheother: Hehehehe! Just a bit... Omg! Hi everyone! Hi Enjy.. :)
Enjolras: Hi...
Me; Did u know that this guest had reviewed EVERY chapter of mine! All 44! She's awesome
iputonefootinfrontoftheother: Thanks Eponine T! So Enjy! When are you and Eponine T gonna make it official?
Enjolras: Is that necessary?
iputonefootinfrontoftheother; Duh! Of course it's necessary! When you become president of France, she'll make a great First Lady! Hi R!
Grantaire: hey!
Enjolras: you do realize this is 1832? There was no president of France
Me:Enjy be nice! She been nothing but nice!
iputonefootinfrontoftheother: Yeah Enjy! *sticks tongue out and flips non-existent weave* So, who else can we find up here on this barricade! Are Courf and Jehan here? Are they? ARE THEY!? I swear I'm sane! Haha not really
Me: yea they are here! Jehan! Courf!
Jehan: *runs in* Hiya
Courfeyrac: You rang!
iputonefootinfrontoftheother:Omg I love you! I mean hi... W-w-what's up guys? *awkwardly leans against a table*
Jehan: Um we're good...
Courfeyrac: How are you?
iputonefootinfrontoftheother: Hehehehehe! I'm good! I'm happy to be here! We're all safe, right! Enjy, if I get shot will you hold me while I die?
Enjolras: Um...
Me: no he won't!
Courfeyrac: haha no need to get worked up. Lets just focus on not letting her get shot
iputonefootinfrontoftheother: Ugh well ok then.. Aww! Thank you Courf for being concerned about my safety! That's so sweet of you *blushes*
Courfeyrac: um you're welcome.
Me: maybe I should make people sign a disclaimer in case of injury... Enjy your a lawyer right?
Enjolras: I was studying to be one
Me: Ok then, let go write up a disclaimer