when tomorrow comes || enjonine

+ chapter 2

marius and i had departed from cafe musain shortly following my conversation with enjolras. primarily, i did not have any intention of mentioning what the marble man had said to me, whether he asked or not. enjolras had been kind and polite, yet i could only focus on the foolishness of his words regarding marius.

his assumptions were false. it was improbable that enjolras was as familiar with marius as i was. this wonderful boy, who possessed the qualities of both a friend and a love interest, was not worth my concern? not worth neither my attention nor my time? how amusing! his presence in a room was more warm than the brightest fire. his intelligence drew me to him, and his geniality temporarily freed me from the shackles of my miserable life.

as if on cue, marius asked, "what were you discussing with enjolras?"

"oh, nothing," i said. "he was only curious about my stance. he claimed that i was not active enough at his meetings, but don't fret, as it has been resolved." my words were not entirely fabricated, but i certainly did not have trouble with lying. i had been surviving off of lies for years now and it was growing to be my second nature.

"why am i not surprised?" marius responded with a laugh. "don't allow him to intimidate you, éponine. i assure you that he is not worth your concern."

he is not worth your concern. he is not worth your concern. would anyone ever be worth my concern? i could not understand these schoolboys and their ways and their words. they believe themselves harmless, yet what will they say when i am no longer concerned for their lives in the midst of their rebellions?

"of course, monsieur. i am under the impression that he enjoys intimidating those he finds inferior," i said with a grin.

marius nods. "he preaches about being a voice for the oppressed, yet any chance he has, he oppresses others!"

marius and i shared a walk home nearly every night. they always varied, for one night could be spent laughing and teasing, yet the next could be fulfilled with intellectual conversation. would i allow myself to appear vulnerable before him? of course not. éponine and vulnerability are not closely related terms. but on occasion, i would showcase emotions never before seen by others. at least, not since montfermeil.

my memories of montfermeil are as vivid as those of paris. the inn that my family once possessed remains in the forefront of my mind, though i wish it would vanish, because it plagues me. i can't seem to understand why, because my life was joyous then. i was secure. my next meal or a place to sleep was guaranteed (except for the evenings when papa was overbooked). i was happy; i was loved; i yearned to feel that now!

i now found myself on the streets. i slept on the jagged cobblestones. i could only wonder where my next meal would come from. would i have to steal it? while these schoolboys were fortunate enough to wear a different ensemble every day, i was subjected to a constant attire of a dirty blouse and trousers until we managed to scrounge something else up.

none of those wealthy schoolboys have endured a fraction of what i have suffered. never have they longed for a morsel of bread or a drop of water or wished to have more clothes on their backs during the bitter winter months. i could only envy them, yet i pitied them all the same.

"most of your friends have their peculiar tendencies," i commented. "for example, grantaire is terribly blunt, not to mention a drunk."

"and combeferre acts as though he knows everything."

"and joly is an awful hypochondriac."

"yet he's perhaps the wisest of us all," marius chuckled.

soon enough, we had arrived at our flats and had to depart from one another.

"thank you for walking me back, monsieur."

"you thank me every night, 'ponine. there is no need to." i smiled at his utterance of my nickname. he was the only person to call me as such, which i interpreted as something special.

"of course there is," i responded.

he gave me a cheeky smile and shook his head. "good night, éponine."

"sleep well, monsieur."

as quickly as we had said hello, we had parted. i always despised those moments when we said goodbye, but the thought of seeing him tomorrow, whether it be on his way to school or accompanying him to cafe musain, alleviated my melancholy and caused my heart to soar.

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chapter dos what's good my dudes

i luv this story & i luv y'all

vomment?!

xx. anna