Deceiving Passion

Chapter 2: Enjolras's Contemplation

~Enjolras's POV~

I shook Marius's hand after he excused himself to go speak to some of the others. To be honest, I was extremely happy for him and Eponine. Marius was a close friend of mine, and Eponine of spectacular. It was fantastic to see how happy they were together, and that their happiness would live on for years to come. They seemed to be a wonderful pair from my point of view. However, there was something inside of me that tickled me with envy. There was something inside of me that wanted this joy for myself. I wanted to feel the joy they had in the relationship I was currently in.

My eyes wandered across the cafe until they landed on the mine of golden hair I had been searching for. I headed towards Cosette, who had made herself at home on a bar stool. I sat down, and looked at her surprised. Cosette normally was not the one to drink. Every now and then of course she would have a glass or two. This time though, it seemed that she had made her way through about three bottles alone, and ready to order a fourth. I placed my hand gently upon one of hers, and our eyes met. My serious expression softened a bit as I looked at her. She always seemed to have that effect on me. It was almost as if she was my distraction. I questioned her, "How many drinks have you had?"

Cosette giggled profusely, "A lot." She tried to raise her hand to order herself another one, but I grasped it in mine.

"Don't you think you've had enough?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

I sighed at this. There was no use arguing with Cosette when she was sober, so my chances with convincing her while she was drunk were impossible. She could be that way a lot. When we would fight, it would usually result in my giving in due to her stubborness, and it seemed that tonight would be no exception. Besides, I wasn't in the mood for an altercation. I decided to simply let it be. I replied, "I'm going to head home. Are you going to be alright getting back by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," she responded quickly, "I always am."

I was about to debate her on this, but I let it slide. I really did not want to fight her tonight. "Fine," I said as I kissed her forehead. I looked around the bar to see if any of my friends were sober enough for me to reason with them. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be as intoxicated as my girlfriend. Usually, Grantaire was the only one who was extremely drunk. However, it seemed as though the occasion of Marius and Eponine's engagement had caused everyone to drink themselves silly. Finally, I found that Marius was the only one not extremely hammered, and I approached him. I thought it was a long shot that he would be willing to walk Cosette home, but I had to make an attempt. I wanted her to return home safely, and Marius seemed the most likely person to get her there without any tricks.

Marius greeted me, "Hey Enjolras. What's up? I thought you were heading out."

"I was." I replied, nodding my head towards Cosette, "She's drunk, extremely drunk. I was wondering if you could possibly take her home for me?" Marius went silent for a moment, looking from both Eponine and Cosette. He had a rather weird expression on his face, almost as if he had a conflict. It almost looked as though he was choosing between the two of them. I coughed awkwardly, "Uhm, Marius?"

He was finally brought back into reality, "Huh?" Typical Marius. His mind always seemed to meander to something else. He finally answered my question, "Oh, yeah. Definitely. I'll just let Eponine know that I'm going to stay here a little while longer, and to head out without me."

I nodded, "Thanks Marius." We said our goodbyes, and I headed out of the cafe.

I shivered as the cool wind hit my face. Other than the cold weather, everything else outside was almost perfect. The stars that shone down upon Paris were burning bright, and the autumn leaves that had fallen from the trees had created a colorful pathway beneath my feet. The beauty of nights like this made me remember why I loved this country so much, and why I was fighting so hard to change it. It was also on nights I would find myself pondering everything else in life. There was just something about the solitude that made me rather pensive.

Tonight, my mind seemed to wish to examine relationships. More specifically, my relationship with Cosette. Cosette was a great girl. She was beautiful, considerate, and fun to be around. I had truly grown to love her over the past month she and I had been together. Still, even with my strong feelings towards her, I couldn't help but think that maybe we weren't the best match. We both had strong heads, and different opinions on multiple things. This caused us to fight constantly, and usually we never ended up resolving the problem. We would simply pretend that it had never happened. Along with that, I always felt that she was hiding something from me. It sometimes seemed as though she wasn't as into our relationship as I was... Then again, was I really into it either?

I closed my eyes. Marius and Eponine were lucky. They seemed to have everything figured out.