Author Note: Woo, second chapter! I would like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story. I really didn't think it would be that good.

I'm surprised by all the people telling me that I've portrayed Éponine's emotions really well. It means so much to me. I've sort of put some of my characteristics into this, as well. I can sympathize with her, so I guess it's easy for me to write from her point of view.

I think this story might end up being three chapters with a possibility of a short epilogue. Tell me what you guys think about that. If you don't want the epilogue, then I won't write one. Please tell me your opinions!

I'm hoping this chapter isn't as boring as the last. I've really changed things up in this one. I'm sure you guys noticed from the last sentence of the first chapter. Was that a good cliffhanger? I really hope so! I'm not very good with them, but oh well.

On with the show, shall we?

Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Les Misérables. I'm just a girl behind a computer with a crazy imagination and a bruised ass. (Please, don't ask.)

You can have the money and the world, the angels and the pearls, even trademark the color blue.

-I'll Follow You (Shinedown)

Éponine was in utter misery walking the cold, dangerous streets by herself. She tries her best not to show her fear in front of hidden men in the darkness of the alleyways. Éponine knows the outcomes of what these men could do from personal experience. She cringes from thinking of the memories of grimy hands touching her in inappropriate places. If she had not learned to defend herself, she would have been taken, and possibly murdered, a very long time ago.

Éponine's feet lead her down alleyway after alleyway until she comes across a large iron gate with black bars; with an ominous looking house she can see through the bars. Éponine's curiosity gets the better of her and she goes to investigate. What she finds on the other makes her eyes widen.

She finds a certain blonde-haired beauty sitting alone on a stone bench outside, but what surprises her most are the wet tear tracks leftover on Cosette's porcelain cheeks. There's a parchment of paper crumpled into her hands. Éponine's heart twists slightly as the sight of the tears. They don't belong on a face such as Cosette's.

Éponine is surprised she feels any sympathy toward the blonde that is stealing her love away. She tries to shove the feelings down her throat to continue watching Cosette for a while longer. Maybe the question presenting itself in Éponine's mind will be answered.

For the next few moments, which seem to drag on for an eternity, so many possibilities run through Éponine's head, but she quickly realizes she needs to return to Marius with the information of the whereabouts of Cosette.

She turns her back to begin walking away, but not before she quietly hears a whispered, "Oh, how I miss you so, Apollo." Éponine almost thinks it's the wind playing tricks on her ears, but then she hears a loud sob and knows the whisper came from the little Lark.

Éponine's curiosity peaks, but she decides it's best to leave the grieving girl be and go on her own way.

As Éponine is on her way back to the Café Muslin—where there's no doubt Marius will be—anger quickly flashes itself in her mind at thinking herself an information girl to Marius. She feels as if her dignity has been taken away, but the look on her love's face when he begged Éponine to stalk the blonde was a face she could not turn her back on. She silently hates the way one boy—a schoolboy, no doubt—could make her do such things willingly.

Éponine finally makes her way back to the Musain and up the stairs where she hears another meeting of Les Amis. She can't help stopping to listen to what Enjolras has to say.

"Lamarque has been put into his eternal rest. This is the time we need to prepare for our rebellion! There's no doubt that we should wait any longer," The leader says loudly—full of confidence. He makes sure he eyes every one of his friends while he speaks. He even sees that Marius is finally listening after declaring his love to all of Les Amis. Enjolras keeps from mentally rolling his eyes at the mention of love. His only love shall be Patria and Patria only. He will not stop and rest until he either dies or makes his mark in history.

"On his funeral day, which will be in days' time, we will arise with our rebellion showing through our eyes! The sacred grave with which the General is laid to rest for all eternity will be where our barricade will lay. The time is now! Let us embrace the possibility of a new future! When we rise, the people will as well. They will come when we call! Who's with me?!" Enjolras finishes. His striking blue eyes filled with fire. His speech is answered with cheers from every schoolboy at the Musain.

Once everything had settled down, Éponine decided to make her appearance and waited by the door until she caught Marius' eyes. He came striding over. His already eager eyes from the speech became absolutely stunning and she found herself entranced by those beautiful green orbs that never seem to be full of sorrow.

Éponine wishes with all her heart this look was only for her and his thoughts were only on her, but apparently she makes wishes of impossible realities.

"Éponine, have you found her? Do you know where she lives?" Marius asks— laying his hands on her frail shoulders and shaking the gamine from her stupor of a life where the man she loves feels the same about her and not the beautiful blonde girl from her past.

"Ah, yes, Monsieur. Would you like me to show you the way?" Éponine asks, a little too hopeful of him accepting her offer. Since when has she become so pathetic? It sickens her, but she tries not to let her hope shine through.

"Yes, that would be great, Éponine! You know how I am with directions," He answers eagerly. Éponine lets out a small sigh of relief for the fact that he seems oblivious to her emotions, but then a pain in her chest of sorts for the same reason. Éponine will never win, will she?

She ignores the pain and leads Marius out of the Musain without another word until they are walking the streets. Éponine drags her bare feet on the wet ground to slow her movements down, so it takes longer for them to reach their destination, but Marius has other ideas and tries to urge her to go faster.

"Are we almost there? I really cannot wait until I see my angel again. Didn't she look like an angel to you? Thank you so much for finding her for me! The Lord knows it would've taken me ages to find her! I think she might be the one. I have such strong feelings for her. I think it might be love," At these words, Éponine stops in her tracks. She had been dreading to hear these very words come from Marius' mouth. She physically had to clutch her chest in her hand to attempt to stop the internal pain coming from her heart. Tears started to well up in her chocolate brown eyes, but she quickly wiped them away with her dirty hand.

Marius didn't seem to notice Éponine had stopped until she was a good fifty feet ahead of her. He realized he was no longer hearing the light patter of her footsteps through his rambling. He turned around and Éponine was standing in the middle of the pavement with her head facing downward toward the ground.

"Hey, Éponine, is everything all right?" Marius yelled out towards the heartbroken girl. When she didn't respond, Marius ran back towards her, but before he could make it to her, she wiped all traces of her tears and plastered a smile she hoped was convincing. She walked the rest of the way to meet him.

"Did you say something, Marius?" She asked as innocently as possible.

"Yes, are you feeling all right?" Marius asked with true concern showing on his beautiful face and voice.

"Yes, I'm great actually! Let's get going now, shall we?" Éponine said, faking as much enthusiasm as she could. It seemed to work on Marius. He didn't suspect a thing anymore.

"After you, Mademoiselle," Marius gestured his hand in front so Éponine could lead the way to 55 Rue Plumet.

"Please, just Éponine. I am certainly no lady."

"As you wish."

After that awkward encounter, almost the rest of the walk there became eerily quiet. Éponine wished she could know what Marius was thinking. Maybe her acting didn't fool him after all. She began to get nervous. She did not want to explain to this man the feelings lurking in her heart from the moment she first saw him

But what if she did? What if she did tell the man she loved her hidden feelings? He seems to be the only one who doesn't know. Even her parents knew she'd fallen for "the rich, handsome schoolboy." She'd done everything she could to protect him from her parents, and fortunately, it was enough.

Would their friendship still be the same, even if he doesn't love Éponine back? She knew the answer even before she thought it. The answer would be no, of course. She's probably end the friendship right there and become the lonely girl from the streets, again. Well, people still thought that now, but then she'd truly be alone. She could never return to the Musain because he would always be there. Éponine wouldn't be able to handle seeing him again knowing she'd lost him to another. It's best if she kept quiet.

Her horrible train of thought ended when Éponine recognized the black, iron bars coming into view. She nudged Marius' arm and pointed out in front where the house lay ahead.

"We're here," She said emotionlessly. Marius' face became one of excitement and happiness. It reminded Éponine of her youth when her family still owned the Inn and had a constant income. She remembers the same expression on her, Azelma's and little Gavroche's face on Christmas day when they got the presents they'd asked for.

Marius waited before approaching the gate to give Éponine one of the biggest hugs she's ever received. She could smell the rain and that smell that just was Marius on his vest. Before she was even close to done, Marius gently removed his long, strong arms from her boney frame.

"Thank you ever so much, Éponine! You're the greatest friend anyone could ask for, you know that? In my life, I don't think I'd ever felt this way about anyone, but she's changed everything. I am forever in your debt. Anything you want, I will give," Marius said. He began to skip closer to the iron gate—leaving Éponine once again, behind.

"Do you know every word you say is like a knife repeatedly stabbing me, Monsieur? Do you even care how much they're affecting me right now?" Éponine whispers softly, so the man walking ahead of her has no chance of hearing.

Éponine was woken from her self-pitying by a gasp from Marius. She ran up to where he was standing to see what he did. And sure enough, there was the petite blonde sitting in the same position Éponine had seen her before. Luckily, Cosette had dried any leftover tears from before. She looked like a statue the great Michelangelo would have sculpted.

Marius took a step forward, and when he did, his foot stepped upon a twig and a loud snap broke the silence of the night.

Cosette was shaken from her own thoughts by the sound and now became as alert as ever. She stood from her stone bench and walked to the gate and looked around. She didn't seem to see Marius and Éponine

"Who's there?" She asked in a shaky voice toward the darkness. Marius seemed to take this as his cue to step shyly from the shadows to the gate in front of Cosette. She spotted him right away and opened her mouth as if to scream, but Marius shushed her right in time. Her eyes were still wide in panic, so he began to talk and reassure her that he was not a criminal.

"Hello, Mademoiselle. I haven't meant to frighten you. I came here to talk to you. Oh, heavens! I'm doing everything all wrong! My name is Marius Pontmercy. Do you mind if I ask yours?" Marius asked—clearly nervous and stumbling over his words.

"No, not at all, Monsieur. My name is Cosette. May I ask what you would like to talk about? Are you here to sell something?" Cosette asked innocently—clearly still confused as to what this strange man wants. Éponine just wants to gag at how sweet her voice is, but restrains from doing so. She does not want to expose herself. She still hides in the shadows, watching the couple get past their awkward first meeting.

"No, I am not. Oh, my, how do I even begin?" Marius starts, his face blushing as he looks to the ground. "I'm here to tell you how I fell in love with you when I first saw you this morning," He whispers—just barely enough for Cosette to hear him.

"Oh, dear! I do not know what to say. You mu—."

"Then please, don't say anything. I will explain it all," Marius interrupts Cosette. Marius doesn't seem to see the horrified expression on Cosette's face. He only sees her blush, which he takes as a sign of encouragement to continue.

"I know this is a terrible way to approach a lady of your beauty, but it was the only way. My heart sings for you. My world was lost until I found you. I've never felt this way about a woman before," Marius says quickly—out of breath from speaking so fast. He still does not completely see the expression on the poor girl's face.

"I—I'm so sorry, Monsieur, but I love another," Cosette stammers, unable to look Marius in the eye—her face becoming even more flushed from embarrassment. Marius' face looks to be utterly defeated. "He lives very far away, for now. I'm flattered that you feel this way, but I regret to tell you that I do not feel the same. I don't even remember seeing your face in a crowd today. I'm terribly sorry," Cosette finishes, finally able to look the poor man in the eyes. She can practically see his world tumbling down inside him.

Feeling sorry for the gentleman, she reaches through the bars of the gate to gently touch his shoulder. This seems to wake him, and he's finally able to mutter his apologies and turn around to begin to walk away.

"I can tell you're a great man, and I know you'll make a girl very happy!" Cosette calls after him, a small smile tugging up on her lips. Marius turns and gives his own interpretation of a smile, but feels as if he's failed miserably. He watches Cosette walk back into her house without another look back at the grieving man on the other side of the iron bars.

Éponine had heard the whole exchange and couldn't believe her ears. Cosette had turned him down?! She should be excited by this news, but she can't help the feeling of her heart tugging as she sees the defeated look on Marius' face. She knows exactly how that feels.

She ran up to meet him and gave him the biggest hug she could with her boney body. Marius could only gently wrap his arms around her in return.

"It's okay, Marius. You'll find another. Any woman would be lucky to have you," This is probably the most honest she has been with Marius and her feelings in ages. Éponine is truly speaking with her heart.

This surely brought Marius back from his thoughts, but not in a good way.

"Cosette is the only woman I want!" Marius snarls at Éponine. Her body stiffens as he continues. "I'd never felt this whole in my entire life. You don't understand what it feels like to love someone and they don't feel the same! I know her and I are perfect for each other. We're made to be together. My world will never be the same. I hope I die at the barricade. I can't liv—,"

Marius' rant was cut off by a loud slapping noise from Éponine hitting him on the cheek. He could feel the burn on his face straight away. He was surprised to know just how strong the little gamine was. He was positive that was going to leave its mark.

Éponine, however, was fuming in her spot in front of Marius, her hand raised again as if she were going to slap him again, but the hand stayed where it was for a few moments, then she let it fall limp at her side. She refused to speak. Her dark eyes held nothing but fire in them.

Wha—what the hell was that for?!" Marius yelled, his voice echoing off the alleyways.

"I did it because you're being such an imbecile! You really have no idea, do you? I've loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. Don't you dare tell me I don't know what it feels like to have feelings for someone and they not return them! I've been going through this for years and everyone but you has figured it out!"

Éponine's eyes widened as she realized she's just confessed her true feelings. She clamped her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything more. She waited to see Marius's reaction, and a reaction she saw.

His eyes bugged out from his head and his mouth hung open loosely from shock. He didn't say anything to her, which upset her greatly. She waited a few more moments, and then decided she's waited long enough.

"Please, just stay away from me, Monsieur. I'm very angry and now I've embarrassed myself," Éponine managed to mumble out before she turns on her naked heal to run way, but before she was out of reach, Marius gently grabbed her by the wrist to pull her back. And before she knew what was going on, his hand quickly cupped her face and smashed their lips together in a kiss that could last forever.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author Note: Well, what did you guys think? I've worked practically all day on this because I had a snow day. I wasn't going to update until this weekend, but I had nothing better to do.

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! IT WOULD MEAN SO MUCH. IF I DON'T GET AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWS, I WON'T UPDATE. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. NEXT CHAPTER IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD!

I'm sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes. I try my hardest, but sometimes there are still mess-ups. Please bear with me.

Next update should be this weekend, then. Tell me your thoughts about my above author note.

REVIEW MY LOVLIES.