The Dark of Ages Past-An Enjolras Fanfiction

Chapter 5 The Wine of Friendship

"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

                                                                                           —Victor Hugo

Chapter 5 The Wine of Friendship

Enjolras

I stand outside of Marius's house and knock on the huge wooden door. It opens a crack and Marius sticks his head out. "Enjolras!" he opens the door all of the way and leads me inside. "Glad you could make it."

"Me too. You better work some magic with my Biology notes because I'm struggling."

Marius laughs. "Sure thing."

I walk into the main room. "Enjolras!" Leafless signals me to come sit at the table where he and Prouvaire are pouring over a history textbook. I make my way through the group. I pass Joly and he shakes my hand. "Are you ready for this Literature exam?" I ask.

"As I'll ever be." he replies. I laugh.

I spend the next few hours explaining the main events of French and European history to Lesgles and Prouvaire and frustrating Marius with my inability to understand the principles of Biology.

After a while I take a break, sitting back in a soft chair in the corner of the room. I sigh as Combeferre leaves his table and comes to sit beside me.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asks, cutting straight to the point as usual.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I attempt, "I just got tired of Marius trying to beat Biology into my head."

"Come on, Enjolras; I know something's wrong. You disappeared right after class yesterday. I went to your house; you weren't there." Combeferre puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm just worried about you."

I sigh. "I know, and I appreciate your concern, but I promise, I'm fine." I insist.

"I've always been able to tell when you're lying, Andreas." he puts emphasis on the last word. He knows that I hats being called by my middle name, but he values his life enough not to call me by my first name.

"Look...you're right; somethings been going on, but I really don't want to talk about it." I concede. "But like I said; I'm okay. And if I become in any way not okay, I'll come to you immediately and bare my soul, alright?"

Combeferre looks doubtful. "Alright." he finally agrees.

"Good." I smile and look up. Across the room I spot Gavroche flipping through my notes. I nod goodbye to Combeferre and head over to talk to the little boy.

"Hey, Gavroche."

"Hello, Enjolras." The boy grins up at me, pushing his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes. "What is all this stuff?"

"Well, that depends on which ones you're looking at. If they're my history notes, it's a fascinating story. If they're my biology notes, it's a torture device."

Gavroche laughs. I sit down beside him. "Oh, Monsieur Enjolras, I saw your friend today. How long have you known Lissette?"

Lissette? My heart beat speeds up. "Lissette?" I ask, "How do you know Lissette?"

Gavroche raises his eyebrows. "This is my town, Enjolras; I know everyone."

I nod. "How did you know I knew her?"

"It...came up." Gavroche grins.

'It came up'? What does that mean? I imagine Lissette talking about me, her green eyes twinkling with laughter at some story about me--probably something stupid I did.

Gavroche leans in to me. "You like her, dont you?" he whispers. The blood drains from my face. I llok up at Gavroche in shock. How does he know?

"It's okay." Gavroche assures me. "It's not abvious or anything. I can just...tell."

I open my mouth, trying to find the words to explain myself. I finally settle for a question. "Did she say if--?"

"She likes you?" Gavroche interrupts me. I swallow, trying to force air to my lungs. He grins. "Well, if she had said something, I wouldn't be able to tell you, just like you wouldn't want me telling her about our conversation, right?" the boy nudges me.

"Right." I manage.

Across the room, Courfeyrac calls for Gavroche. The little boy puts his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck with your....exams." he winks at me before running off a conspiratorial grin on his small face.

Gavroche's smile is mirrored on my mouth. I try to get rid of it before someone sees me grinning like an idiot and comes over to see what's wrong, but it is impossible not to smile when you've just learned that the love of your life loves you back. I silently thank the little street urchin, even if he informed me in the most indirect way possible. i take a deep breath and realize that I am twirling the button Lissette gave me between my fingers..

And I know that Gavroche's words have given me the confidence to do what I have to do; I am going to tell Lissette.

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I hope you enjoyed it! On the side is a picture of Lissette.