Les Misérables | Regulus A. Black [1]

Chapter Five

[Chapter Five]

Éponine would admit that she was surprised by the gesture of Regulus escorting her down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Although there wouldn't be much interaction between them as they just sat at the table while she ate. It made her feel self-conscious to be the only one eating but as she peered up several times while eating a couple of chocolate digestives, she could see that Regulus was struggling to stay awake. He had his elbow on the table, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, and his eyes were closed but fluttered every so often at the slightest of noise. She attempted to eat quietly, only watching to make sure that his hand didn't slide out from under the boy leading to him slamming his face against the table.

While she still wasn't exactly fond of Regulus, Éponine wouldn't deny that she was thankful that he went along with the lie when it came to his parents finding them out of bed. He could have easily placed all the blame on her and she thought he would especially after her little stunt with her "piano lessons." When her stomach growled on the staircase, she was already embarrassed enough and she just assumed she would be going hungry for the rest of the night, hoping for a big breakfast in the morning. Yet, Regulus just seemed to be full of surprises when he grabbed her by the wrist and led her downstairs. He quickly made note that he wasn't cooking anything as he rummaged through the cupboard in the corner of the kitchen.

However, Éponine certainly didn't find herself complaining when he handed her the chocolate digestives. They were among one of her favourite things, but one of the things her mother didn't allow her to have, simply because Éponine needed to maintain her figure. It drove the girl absolutely mad that she couldn't have a simple biscuit without her mother worrying. If anything when Éponine looked at herself in the mirror, she thought she looked quite underweight, rather than healthy. Not to mention, the way her stomach growled most nights after dinner, it was unsettling.

Yet, her mother's reasoning behind the lack of sweets had also gone along with her daughter's acne and how they were doing everything to get rid of it. Heloise believed that the sugar definitely had a playing part in Éponine's condition and they really just put her on a strict diet of water, vegetables, and some proteins. Even fruits were kept to a minimum with the girl, leaving her incredibly frustrated. The change in diet didn't do anything for Éponine's skin condition, it was only when they brought the new remedy home that she was finally free of it all. But the damage had already been long done, having a clear face didn't suddenly free Éponine from all the harmful things others had said to her. 

It was all she could think of when she finished the last biscuit, all the teasing and horrible things that were said to her, and how not once, did Regulus come to her defence. How she had caught him smiling and that was all she could see besides the sleepy boy sitting in front of her. With the old laughter ringing in her ears, Éponine brushed the remaining crumbs away from her and picked herself up. She didn't even bother to wake Regulus up as she left him at the table and went back to her own room to go back to sleep.