And The Sun Will Rise (ExR Fanfic)

Chapter 6

This is where we finally leave behind the backstory and get on to the interesting part :)

Song for this chapter: Katherine McPhee ft. Jason Reeves-Terrified

Two months later

Enjolras sat down at the kitchen table with his cup of coffee, enjoying the quiet of the morning. He loved this time of day, when the city was just starting to wake and the world still held a sense of newness and promise, like anything could happen. But even more than that, he relished the sense of freedom that came with having his own space. He and Courf had finally gotten lucky and found a flat a month ago through an advertisement on the university noticeboard. Yes, it was tiny, the ceilings were so low that Enjolras kept banging his head against them if he stood up too quickly and it would probably be boiling hot in the summer, but it did have the perk of being within walking distance of both the Musain and their university. Speaking of which- he had to get a move on, or he'd be late for his first lecture of the day. Before he left, though, he poked his head into Courf's bedroom. His best friend was barely visible beneath the cocoon of duvets he'd wrapped himself in like a human burrito. Enjolras gave him a gentle shake.
"Hey, don't you have a nine a.m. lecture as well?"
"Yeah, but I was up till three finishing an essay, so there's no way in hell I'm going to class" Courf muttered without even opening his eyes.
"Fine then, get your beauty sleep. As long as you're at the café for the meeting this afternoon."
Courf replied with something unintelligible before rolling over and falling back asleep. Enjolras shook his head at him, grabbed his bag and left the house to head to uni.

His day of lectures dragged on even more than usual, only enlivened by the argument he had with his professor about the principles of communism. It was Enjolras's weekly challenge to see how quickly he could annoy the lecturer and today was no different. He probably shouldn't get this much of a kick out of winding the poor guy up, but it was the only thing that helped him not to die of boredom. At last, his final class was over and Enjolras walked to the Musain to meet the others. It was drizzling outside, but thankfully, the real downpour didn't start until he'd already reached the café. When he entered the back room after a brief stop to say hi to Éponine, Courf was already there, still looking half asleep as he nursed a cup of coffee.
"Hey, Enj. How was uni?" he said through a yawn.
"Boring, as usual. But hey, I broke my record today. It only took me five minutes to make old Dupont lose his temper."
"God, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. It must be horrible to teach little know-it-alls like you."
"Well, at least I'm engaging with my classes, unlike some people."
"I just fucking hate Law" Courf grumbled.
"I'll second that" Bahorel said from the doorway before sitting down to join them. Once he'd settled, he looked at Enjolras expectantly.
"So, what's so important that it warrants a meeting on a Monday?"
"I'll tell you once the others get here. Don't really fancy explaining everything twice."

A little later, everyone else had trickled in and gathered around the table. Joly and Combeferre came last, bringing a strange smell with them, a mixture of disinfectant and something sickly sweet, almost like rot.
"Ugh, what have you guys been up to today?" Courf asked, holding his nose.
"Dissecting" Combeferre replied nonchalantly, sitting down beside him.
"Ew, spare us the details, please" Courf said and scooted as far away from him as he could.
"But it was actually really fascinating. There was this brain-" Joly interjected.
The others' groans of disgust quickly shut him up, however.
"Well, thanks for putting me off my food" Courf complained.
"That's actually a good thing because there isn't any" Éponine said, coming into the room. "My cook just walked out on me. Said she was sick of working in a place always populated by noisy students, by which I suppose she meant you lot."
"We aren't that noisy" Courf protested, only proving Éponine's point. Enjolras motioned to him to be quiet and said, "I'm sorry to hear that,'Ponine. Hopefully, you'll find a replacement soon."
"Yeah, I hope so, too. But considering how little I can pay, it's not looking very likely."