When Tomorrow Comes

Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Eponine! Where did you go?" Marius kept asking through the streets of Paris.

But Eponine was nowhere to be found.

"'Ponine!" he tried again.

Still no answer. He kicked a pebble under a gate and sighed.

"This is a nightmare!" he let out.

"I beg to differ," a voice answered. "It's a beautiful night."

Marius instantly forgot he was looking for Eponine. He turned around, towards the direction the voice came, and found himself face to face with a beautiful blond haired girl.

"Mademoiselle," he said, slightly bowing.

No other words were coming out of his mouth. He didn't know what to say.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

Marius didn't know what she was talking about. But then he remembered his broken nose and black eye.

"Oh, umm, I got in a little fight, nothing important," he stuttered.

"You seem lost, Monsieur."

"I think I am..."

She laughed a bit.

"I'm Marius," he said. "Marius Pontmercy."

"And I'm Cosette," she answered with a smile.

"I, well... You see..."

Cosette stared at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. But the end never came.

"Oh my heavens, I'm doing this all wrong," Marius mumbled to himself.

But Cosette just smiled.

"A heart full of love," she suddenly said.

Marius' face brightened up.

"You feel it too?" he asked.

"I believe so, Monsieur."

"Well, Mademoiselle, I'm..."

The sound of a door being slammed open suddenly filled the air.

"Cosette!" a man's voice shouted.

"Coming, papa!" she answered.

Cosette turned back towards Marius.

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'll be here, Mademoiselle."

She smiled and turned away, running inside the house. Marius' rush of adrenaline starting to fade as he walked away, his head in the clouds.

He walked through the streets of Paris, humming tunes he used to know when he was a child. He stopped by a bench, sat down and looked up to the night sky.

"Oh, Cosette," he exclaimed. "Bless this fate that united us tonight. For I was lost and now I am found."

He laughed.

"Look at me, I'm talking like a fool. Enjolras would slap me silly if he saw me like this. Oh but now my whole world has been turned around. Cosette, I will count the hours until we meet again."

He buried his head in his hands and chuckled. That's when Montparnasse arrived and sat down next to him.

"Hey there, Marius," he let out.

But Marius was too lost in his thoughts to notice his presence. Montparnasse shook him a bit.

"Have you found Eponine?" he asked, this time on a louder tone.

"Eponine? Who's...?"

And then he was slapped back to reality.

"Oh, umm, no. No sign of her on rue Plumet."

"Are you sure? Did you look carefully?"

"Oh, I checked every corner," Marius lied.

"I believe we got off on the wrong foot," Montparnasse told him.

"Can there be a right foot between us?"

"Oh come on, you hardly know me."

"I've heard a lot from Eponine..."

Montparnasse suddenly smiled.

"Eponine talks about me?"

"Yeah, not the way you think, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, umm, nothing..."

Montparnasse then noticed the smile on Marius' face that wouldn't go away.

"Did something happen on rue Plumet?" Montparnasse asked.

"Something, what? Pfft, no. Nothing at all..."

"Oh come on."

"Fine. I met someone, okay? That's it."

"Ah puppy love, I see."

"Like you'd know what love is."

"I'll have you know, Eponine and I, we..."

Montparnasse suddenly stopped talking. His eyes were glued on something in front.

"You what?" Marius asked.

"Shh, look," Montparnasse replied. "Over there."

And that's when he spotted them. Eponine and Enjolras, sitting side by side, sleeping under the bridge.

"I don't believe what I see," Montparnasse said under his breath.

"He found her..."

"That... bitch!"

"Montparnasse, calm down," Marius tried. "She's okay. Eponine's okay."

"This isn't over!" he hissed, marching off.

He was fuming mad.

"Oh, Enjolras," Marius whispered. "What have you done?"