The City called Saint Michel

Chapter 9

"C'mon, we'd look cute together"

The meeting was on the following day. I made my way to the Café Musain. When I entered the Café, I was greeted by an elder woman. "Bonjour Mademoiselle, you look lost. Can I help you?" "Yes, I'm Juliette and uh, is Gavroche here?" "Oh yes, that little kid is always here. But there's a meeting at the moment. You have to wait until you can go upstairs." "Madame, is Enjolras in that room too?" "Oui, he is. Why?" "Because he invited me to the meeting.", Juliette said shyly. "Oh my dear, why haven't you said that before? I'm Madame Houcheloup. I'm the owner of the Café. Go hurry." She walked up the stairs to the meeting room and knocked. Gavroche opened the door. "Juliette, I thought you wouldn't come." "Of course I would Gavroche." Enjolras has gotten up from his seat when he saw who entered the room. "Welcome to Les Amis. Courfeyrac will inform you of everything you need to know." And there he was, the curly haired revolutionary. Oh god, how much she has missed his face. After the meeting was officially dismissed, Courfeyrac catched up with Juliette on the stairs. "I'm sorry. I believe I hurt you that night. I didn't want to do that." "It's fine. It is. I was merely shocked. Because I experienced the same thing as you. I've known for days, but I feel like I've always known him." "Let me tell you all about our cause. Maybe we can go back to the park." "That would be nice.", she smiled. There was it again. Her extraordinary smile. They walked to the park. It wasn't a long way from the Café. "So, the cause." "We fight for a better France. The King's still there, raising prices. He doesn't see the people in need. The rich people have everything, meanwhile the poor have nothing. I am myself from a wealthy family, but I share.", Courfeyrac explained. "At the end of the day, when we have bread left, I go out and give it to the poor. Good bread shouldn't be wasted. It should go to people who want it." "That's very generous of you." "It's all I can do." They kept walking in silence when the reached the park. "Wow, it's still really beautiful here." "Just like you." "What?", she said, chuckling. "You heard me.", Courfeyrac said.
"What about that girl you told me about? Have you brought her here too?" "Yes, but that was only one time." "What's her name?", she asked curiously. "You know her pretty well." "Éponine?" "No, she likes Marius." "I know, he's just too blind to see it. It's sad." "Hey, cheer up." "It's kind of hard cheering up. Today, many years ago, I lost my mom. She was a— she was a very adventurous person. She gave up her whole life for me and my brother. But after she gave birth to my brother, she started getting gravely ill. I'm sorry, I didn't wanna bother you with my family story."
"You're not. I'm sorry. If you don't mind me asking: how did she die?" "Tuberculosis. We found out too late.", she replied with tears in her eyes. "My father passed away when I was 10 years old. He also had tuberculosis. I was numb to the pain at first, but after a while, after realizing that my father wasn't going to come back, I just— I freaked out." "I'm so sorry Courfeyrac." "Call me, Courf, my friends call me Courf. Oh and about that girl, she's closer than you think." "What does that mean?" You seem really smart to me. You can figure it out." "No, Courf, please tell me."
"I think I might have fallen in love with you..."