LES DÉSCENDANTS

~Chapter 2: Honnêteté (Honesty)

Avenir POV

"G---Gavroche!" I squeaked.  "What are you doing here?"

"You're lookin' for me, aren't ya?  Well, here I am!" he chirped.

"Courf...I need to talk to you," I mumbled.

"You didn't bump into your brother...?" Courf asked, looking worried.

"No," I muttered.  "I bumped into you."

There was an awkward pause.

"Gavroche, go upstairs to Grantaire," said Courfeyrac softly.  "We'll be right up."

The moment Gavroche left, Courf let out a shaky breath.  "I don't know what you saw, but I -"

"Courfeyrac," I said, quickly trying to change the subject.  "Does Gav know?  We weren't supposed to tell anyone..."

"No, Gavroche doesn't know," sighed Courfeyrac.  "Turned out he was at the Corinthe with Bossuet and some friends.  I spoke with Grantaire, but...it's been over an hour.  I don't know where you went, but whatever you saw, I -"

Avoiding the inevitable, I pressed forward - "I was following my past self's footsteps.  We're here on the day when Enjolras and I saw a shower of gold.  I think, because we wished at the same time he did...I think we caused the wishes to collide.  And maybe that's why Enjolras's wish didn't come true that night..."

"Maybe," he said, staring at his shoes.  

"Did he tell you?" I begged.  "Did he tell you what he wished?"

Courfeyrac paused, conflicted.  "He said you told him to keep it to himself.  He seemed very serious about that - apparently you told him if he told you what it was, it wouldn't come true?"

My eyes grew wide and I couldn't tell if I wanted to burst out laughing or give a scream of frustration.  "Courfeyrac, I was joking... you've heard me wish out loud so many times, and I've told you and Enjolras basically all my wishes...it was a joke...my God..."

"He takes the word of those he cares most about quite seriously," spoke Courfeyrac.

"He is going to hear about this," I said, amazed at the childlike innocence that Enjolras could possess.  "Please tell me the wish...it could save the future."

Courfeyrac looked as if he was having trouble saying it.  "He..."

Oh no...if it was something sappy, I just made things worse between myself and Courf...

"He...in his exact words, said he wished your future would never hold any more unhappiness in it and for you have a happy life. In addition, he wished that he could personally see to it that you would be happy for the rest of your life..."

I slowly sat on the pavement, my emotions threatening to come forth once again.

"And he called it selfish, but he wished for us to win with not a drop of blood shed at the barricades."

"My God..." I said, placing my head in my knees.

He had loved me even back then...

"What did you see just now, on your way to the Bastille?" spoke Courfeyrac sharply.

I shook my head.  Now is not the time, Courf.

"I think you have something to ask me, about what you saw," he said, ignoring that I was still recovering from the information I had just been told.

Why did people die at the barricades, if Enjolras had wished for them not to...

"Ask me, Avenir."