The Les Miserables Challenge!

5. Jehan

5. Congratulations you've gotten to #5! This one has to be a scene with Jehan! I'm talking flowers and braids! Why is he such a cutie?

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(Let's go to the past shall we? Enter 'Les Young Amis')

They were only eleven and ten, and naturally as the youngest of the group, they weren’t as involved as the older boys. This is why Joleigh took a liking to them. Grantaire was very shy, only talking when absolutely necessary; sometimes not at all. Jehan Prouvaire was younger than him, though taller by a couple inches but could ramble endlessly about the most random of things. He even had a peculiar fondness to flowers; no doubt this caused some teasing, but Joleigh was always there to defend her smaller friends and keep the elders in check. So, as Enjolras, Courfeyrac and the others would plan their various plots to ‘liven’ the town, Joleigh would sit down with Jehan and Grantaire, talking about their own things. She would let Jehan weave flowers into her long braid in the summertime, and extend her cloak around them in wintertime like a pair of loving wings. There was no doubt that these two were her favorite, though she hated to pick favorites in her companions.  

 Therefore when she found Jehan crying alone on a street corner, she was caught up in a flood of anger. The sight was awful; he was curled into a little shaking ball, his face covered by his dirty hands and burying his sobs into his scrawny, bruised knees. She ran to him and fell beside him.

“My little Jehan, what's the matter? Where’s the rest of the boys? Where’s ‘Taire?” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him into her chest. He gave in and cuddled into her tightly, but said nothing. Joleigh frowned and stroked his tangled, overgrown hair gently. “Deep breaths. In and out.” She said softly. They sat like that for a few minutes until the boy had calmed down. It was a beautiful day; it’s amazing how summertime could change Paris. It was like the whole city was in bloom.  Jehan sniffled and looked up at her with his round green eyes. Joleigh brushed his long fringe from his brow and wiped away that last tear stain on his freckled cheek. “Better?” The boy nodded and rubbed at his red nose. The older girl pursed her lips. Jehan rarely cried, so it must have been something he’d seen or something that someone had done to him or the others to make him this way. She gently inquired what had happened. His lip trembled as he brought out his closed fist. He was holding something.

 “It might seem stupid, but I-I really liked it. But, Combeferre said it made no sense and Bahorel took it then passed it to Courfeyrac, he’s really tall, and there was this puddle. And-and, it fell and now it’s ruined.” Jehan sniffed.

 “Fell, or he dropped it there?” Joleigh frowned when she saw the soaked piece of parchment, wrinkled into a shedding mass of paper and ink. The boy whimpered again. 

“Dropped it. On purpose.”

“Did anyone stop him?”

“They laughed.”

“What about Grantaire?”

“He was laughing with them.” He said quietly. Joleigh pursed her lips. Grantaire should have known better. She knew Jehan was a little poet; and a good one at that. The boys thought it was girly, so, as boys would do, they teased. Jehan didn’t mind, he liked having his friends around him and seeing them happy was all he wanted. But this was too far. Joleigh needed to sort them out. She was always the one to do so. Even she could make the mighty Enjolras apologize for his wrongs. She quickly stood; outraged that no one would help little Jehan. He was their youngest; therefore they should be protecting him, not picking on him. She held out her hand and pulled him up. Jehan handed her the paper ball. “No use in keeping it.” He muttered.

“Well if you don’t I will. “ Joleigh carefully placed it into her apron pocket. “Maybe if we dry it out, it could be readable?” Jehan laughed.

“Or I could just write it again? I can remember it you see.”  He cleared his throat. Joleigh smirked in amusement;

"Listening to the summer chimes, 

Of summer sounds of summer time, 

Bringing all that nature is, 

That shows and sounds like, 

Summer chimes..." 

“Beautiful as usual, young monsieur. I looked forward to hearing the rest.”

“Thank you. I’m still working on the second-”

“Now,” Joleigh took his hand and tugged. “ I must go sort out those pesky friends of ours.”   

"No!" The younger boy squealed. Joleigh stopped. "I-I mean, please, Joleigh. It's nothing, I'm fine." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Are you sure?" She asked, tucking her loose hair back behind her ear. Jehan sighed.

"I-I just don't want to lose them." He said sheepishly, turning red. Joleigh smiled and wrapped an arm over his shoulders as they began to walk.

"You'll never lose them, their you're friends. Friends never lose eachother." She said. "And they should all be there for eachother."

"They are there for me."

"Jehan," Joleigh sighed, "Letting them ruin your work is not 'being there for eachother'- "

"I know, I know. But it's alright." Jehan laughed, green eyes sparkling in the sunlight, all traces of crying gone. Joleigh paused to look the boy up and down. She knew that he was too modest and too sweet to confront their friends, but she was not. The young poet deserved more then he got from them. 

"How about you go find some more paper and I'll meet you at the usual spot, no doubt the others will be there already." She offered, breaking away. Jehan blinked at her then beamed.

"Okay, that's a good idea. I guess I'll see you by the factory!" He smirked.

"Yep!" She hugged him tightly, curling her fingers into his hair and tucking his head under her chin. He sighed happily. When they released eachother, they said goodbye and Joleigh then skipped away, making sure that when she turned back that he was walking in the opposite direction, small hands shoved into this pockets. Joleigh swallowed hard and looked to the groud as she walked. She was going to comfront the others, and hopefully they would listen to her about Jehan, and how they should treat him. Hopefully, it would help.

In time, they would come to know that it did.

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Ahh another day done! This was something that I had at the back of my mind and something I may expand on sometime as I relly love to write about children!Les Amis!

-Kat/Grantaire xx