Cœur De Pierre (Heart Of Stone)/ Enjolras Les Mis

Les Amis de l'ABC

The sun began to set. Madame Houcheloup waves to catch Ninette's attention. "Alright, dear. On your way. You don't wish to miss your mother's birthday."

"Of course! Thank you again for the job, Madame." She goes to hand the woman her serving tray, but is stopped by a request.

"Could you do one more thing for me, dear? Can you take these pastries up to the boys? I'm sure they will appreciate it." Ninette nods and makes her way upstairs with a full tray of pastries.

As she draws closer, she can hear hearty laughter and exchanges. She politely knocks, hoping to not disturb them. The door swings open, a man with short blonde hair and broad shoulders appears and looks down at Ninette. She smiles shyly at him. "Bonjour! Madame Houcheloup sent me up with some pastries."

A grin come to his face, making Ninette ease. "Mercí. I'm Combeferre. Please, come in." He opens the door wide for the girl to come through with her tray. "Aye, Boys! Madame sent this lovely lady with food for us!"

Before Ninette could take a look around, she is suddenly surrounded by men grabbing at the pastries. Her eyes widen in both amusement and fear at the quick movements. Getting too overwhelmed, Ninette shouted in protest. "Oi! One at a time! You are not animals!" The outburst halts all the men and they take a step back. Ninette huffs and looks around at the silent group. "Now, could you be gentlemen and get in a straight line, please? There is enough here to go around." In fear of being scolded, they do as she asks. As each man approaches her, she is able to get a good look at them. They give her big grins and their thanks.

The last was a child no more than nine or ten. "Ello, miss. Can I has me one?"

Ninette giggles and bends down to his level. "It's 'May I have one?', and yes you may." She hands him one which he hungrily began to devour. She could easily see the boy comes from the streets. "What is your name?"

"Gavroche, Miss."

"Well, Gavroche, I am Ninette." She smiles brightly at him and hands him a second one which he gladly accepts. A groan is heard from the corner.

A man with curly black hair, holding a bottle begins to whine. "Why does he get two?"

Ninette giggles at the drunk. "Because he is a child, and he was very polite. Anyway, sorry to interrupt your meeting. Aú revoir!" As she turns to leave, she notices a man sitting at a desk in the corner by the window. He had curly blonde locks, and covered himself in a red jacket. She quietly approached him. He was so indulged into his writing that he didn't notice her.

Quietly clearing her throat, she calls to him. "Excuse me, sir."

The man looks up with a bored expression until he sees who is calling for him. He did not hear the woman come in. Usually, women were not allowed in here except Madame Houcheloup. "How did you get in here? Women are not allowed."

Ninette furrows her brows at the man. "Combeferre let me in. Madame Houcheloup sent me up with pastries. Would you like one?"

The man looks at Ninette up and down slowly before returning to his work without regard to her question. This took Ninette by surprise at his rudeness. Before she could say anything, Combeferre comes over and leads her to the door. "It's best not to interrupt Enjolras when he is writing. He gets a bit..." He tries to find the right word. "Grumpy. I assure you, he is a good man. Just a very busy one, being the leader."

Ninette nods showing she understands. "Very well. Au revoir, Combeferre."

"Au revoir, Ninette."

Once the girl is gone he turns to his leader and crosses his arms. "Did you have to be so rude to the girl, Enjolras?"

"Hmm?" Enjolras looks at his second in command confused, then he remembers. "Ah, the girl. I did not want a pastry." He says nonchalantly as if it was a normal response and goes back to his writing.