Forever and Always

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Friendship

        " 'Scuse me," Eponine muttered, pushing through a crowd of sleazy street vendors. Most people did not spare a second glance to the skinny twelve-year-old street urchin with dirty feet and a nest of matted brown hair. This made it easy for Eponine to slip a couple of apples off of the cart of one of the vendors. She tucked one of them into the pocket of her filthy, ragged skirt. Unable to resist the temptation, she took a huge bite from the other apple. Juice flowed into her mouth. It was the first bit of food she had eaten in two days, and it was quite possibly the most delectable thing she had ever tasted. She hadn't had an apple in... Well, she could not even remember the last time she had had an apple. Probably back when her parents still ran that inn, when that despicable little beggar girl Cosette was still living with them. Eponine took another bite from the apple. It was crisp and sweet and wonderful. Eponine couldn't help herself. She moaned with delight.

        "Oi!" shouted the fat, sweaty vendor from whom she had stolen the apples. "You got money to pay for that, or am I gonna have to call the p'lice?"

        Eponine silently cursed herself for not waiting until she was out of sight to eat the apple. She smiled innocently at the man and batted her eyelashes. "Monsieur," she said in a patronizing voice, "If I had any money to pay you for this, I would not have to resort to stealing it, would I?" Eponine laughed teasingly and darted off.

        "Oi!" the vendor yelled again. "Get back 'ere, you filthy little street rat!"

        Eponine chuckled heartily as she sprinted away. She heard the fat vendor trotting along behind her. She laughed again and turned left down the next street. Her pursuer didn't know it, but Eponine knew the streets of Paris like the back of her hand. She knew every twist, turn, and short-cut. A couple more turns, and she had shaken the vendor off her tail. Still, she did not want to take any chances, so she rounded the corner and ran into a rich neighborhood. "He'll never think to look for me here," she said, laughing at her own cleverness.

        Eponine sprinted forward without looking where she was going. Suddenly, she slammed into someone, knocking them both to the ground. Her precious apple tumbled out of her hand and into the dirt.

        "Ouch!" she cried. "Watch where you're going. You made me drop my apple!"

        "I didn't see you there, Mademoiselle. Forgive me."

        Mademoiselle? 

        Eponine looked up and saw, for the first time, the person she had run into. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. He had dark curly hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to pierce through her, right to her very soul. He was obviously a bourgeois, probably about fourteen. He gave her a very charming smile that made Eponine want to swoon. He brushed the dirt from his suit and picked up the armful of books Eponine had caused him to drop. Then, he held out his hand to help her up.

        "I am able to stand up on my own, thanks," Eponine said haughtily, and then did just that.

        The boy bowed his head politely. "I offer you my sincerest apologies for knocking you down, Mademoiselle. And for ruining your apple," he added as Eponine plucked her half-eaten apple out of the dust.

        Eponine couldn't help but feel a little guilty.The collision was entirely her fault, and yet the boy was the one apologizing. She graced him with a genuine smile. "It's quite all right, Monsieur. A little dirt never did hurt no one, after all," she said, polishing the apple on the cleanest portion of her skirt before taking another enormous bite. Then she grinned mischievously, deciding to have a little fun. "However," she said, "you did ruin my favorite gown. Look at this!" she cried, indicating the rags that clung to her skinny frame. "Just this morning this dress was clean and new, and now it is ruined, thanks to your carelessness."

        The boy blinked, utterly taken aback. "I- I am so sorry," he sputtered.

        Eponine grinned and let out a short laugh. "I'm teasing!"

        "Oh." The boy looked slightly embarrassed.

        "Wotcher do with all them books?" Eponine asked him. For some reason, she wanted to keep a conversation going with this boy.

        "Oh, these? They are for school. I'm a student. I'm studying to be a lawyer." He threw his chest out proudly. "I'm Marius, by the way. Marius Pontmercy."

        Eponine could not help but think, What a wonderful name! "I'm Eponine. Eponine Thenardier," she said. "I suppose you have heard of my father," she added with a scowl as Marius' hand flew to his pocket. "It's all right, I won't pickpocket you," she reassured him. "I'm not like my father, you know. I only steal if I have to."

        Marius looked at her, a hard, disapproving expression on his face. "What do you mean, 'if you have to'?"

        Eponine looked at him indignantly. "Well, Monsieur, some of us are not born into money like yourself. Some of us actually have to worry where our next meal comes from, and sometimes, that next meal does not come unless you steal it!" Eponine was suddenly furious at this Pontmercy boy. How dare he judge her for stealing! How didn't know what it was like to skip meals for two days straight! He didn't know what it felt like to look in the mirror and see a living skeleton staring back at you.

         Suddenly, Marius did something that surprised her very much. He put his hand on her bony shoulder and said in a sepruchal voice, "I am so sorry, Ponine. I should not have judged you so readily. I cannot imagine what it must be like to live such a difficult life."

        Ponine. Eponine had always despised nicknames, but "Ponine" sounded wonderful coming from Marius' lips.

        "Don't worry, Monsieur. I do not need your pity," Eponine muttered.

        "You needn't call me 'Monsieur.' You can just call me Marius."

        "Marius," Eponine repeated. She couldn't help but smile. All her life, the rich had treated her as no more than a street rat. They saw her as no more than the dirt beneath their feet. Now, for the first time, Eponine felt like this bourgeois boy saw her as another human being, a human being with actual worth.

        Marius reached into the pocket of his coat. "Here, Ponine," he said, taking out a handful of sous. "Take this so that you know where your next meal will come from."

        Eponine eyed the coins greedily, but her pride would not allow her to take them. "No, I don't want your money, sir. I am no charity case," she replied indignantly.

        Marius chuckled softly. "You remind me of... someone," he remarked. "She never liked anyone to help her either. Well, do not think of this as a charity donation. Think of it as... a gift. From one friend to another."

        "A friend, eh?" said Eponine skeptically. "And are you my friend, Marius Pontmercy?

        "Forever and always," Marius replied with a smile.

        "Forever and always," Eponine repeated.

        She took the money.