beauty and a barricade || enjonine

6: someone to listen

éponine hurried into cafe musain with marius trailing behind her— a first. recently, she had started to notice how unbearably obnoxious he had a tendency to be. she began to wonder if he had suddenly just became more annoying, or if something had caused her perception to change.

she saw enjolras sitting at a table in the corner, surrounded by a few boys whose names she couldn't quite place. his gaze wandered continuously, as if he were searching for something that he couldn't quite find.

éponine felt marius whisper in her ear. "'ponine, guess what?"

she was fully aware that a verbal answer wasn't required. he would proceed whether she wanted him to or not.

"i kissed cosette's hand today," he beamed. "it was so soft... so much softer than i would have ever dreamed!"

éponine could feel the burning sensation in her chest. what was this? could it be jealousy, even after all this time of knowing that he didn't love her? or was it anger, and the fury that came when someone who bothered you spoke of worthless things? she wasn't quite sure. for all she knew, it could be a combination or in fact, neither.

éponine tried not to think about marius' developing relationship with cosette, so she glanced back at enjolras. he was standing up now, a folded paper in his hand. he started to walk towards her.

for me? éponine wondered.

enjolras was clearly on a path towards. he wasn't forming eye contact, but his body language made it evident. then, with no warning, he quickly veered to the bar when he came in a meter's proximity of éponine.

she scolded herself for being so naive as to think that it was for her. how could she be pathetic? of course it wasn't for her! when was anything?

he began to chat with some rugged boy surrounded by three empty bottles, which quickly grew to four.

éponine was so focused on enjolras that she didn't realize how marius was talking away. he had been talking all this time and she was completely unaware. she didn't even care.

"mademoiselle," came a voice. éponine turned around. this was a becoming very common occurrence- the letter being delivered by some other boy. and this boy didn't look very interested in being there. his disheveled appearance seemed to contradict enjolras'.

"mademoiselle..." he glanced at the note for reference, "...éponine." he held the letter out to her.

éponine took the letter, fairly accustomed to this, and nodded to the new messenger. she had never spoken to him, but curiosity overpowered everything else and she began to talk.

"did he go and sit by you just so you could give me this?" she queried bluntly.

the boy let out a hearty laugh. "i think that was a side benefit. he's trying to postpone the act of giving you the letter himself."

she blinked a few times, her eyes falling to the letter, and then rising to meet the muddy eyes of the messenger. "why? does he not like me?"

"of course not," he said, shaking his head. "i think you just scare him." a smirk began to dance on his lips.

"what?"