Title: There's No-One To Blame

Summary: She didn't date. She wasn't going to let someone break her heart so easily. But what happens when a young attractive student asks her to go out with him? What happens when she begins falling under his spell? What happens if someone asked him to do it in exchange of something?

Note: I'm a terrible, awful, horrible person. I know I said that I'd be back as soon as the play was done, but life got in the way, college plans and scholarships...but I'm back! And hopefully you won't hate me! Here I present the second and final part of this wonderful story, which many of you managed to guess correctly. My inspiration was, indeed, "10 Things I Hate About You", with a little twist, of course. A big thank you to my awesome Beta JudyBear236, who still has to bear with me, you're amazing! To all of you, thank you so much for your support, and consider this a Christmas gift. Also I would like to know if someone could be kind enough to create a cover for this stories, or just one of them, I would really appreciate it. I'm not very good at doing edits, and I've seen very beautiful edits on tumblr, you can find me under sparkles-of-sunshine. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy!

Her eyes fluttered open but immediately she closed them again, the soft light of the sun seeping through the curtains making her head pound painfully. The last thing she could remember was drinking her own weigh in alcohol. She only had pieces of the night in her mind, but she couldn't seem to actually remember how she had ended up with a terrible hangover. She wouldn't go to a party ever. But apparently, that wasn't Cosette's plan. As soon as the blonde heard movement in her sister's bedroom, she bolted inside, carrying a large jar of cold water and three aspirins. She tried to sit up but stopped immediately as she felt the floor moving under her feet. She groaned and fell back onto the bed. She supposed that she could've felt even worse, or that was what Cosette told her, among other things, such as the fact that Enjolras had never left her side.

Enjolras. She wasn't sure if she should be grateful or simply yell at him the next time she'd see him. To begin with, he had been the one who had forced her to go to the party, although Cosette had part of the fault too. And although she didn't want to admit it, it was partly her own fault too. No one had forced her to drink all that alcohol…so that meant that she couldn't actually be mad at him. Damn it. Apparently, Enjolras had told Cosette that she had thrown up all the alcohol from her system, so the hangover wasn't going to be so painful, just some aspirins and she would be a lot better. Great, that meant that he had seen her throw up, just perfect. Cosette spent the rest of the morning by Éponine's side, asking constantly how she was feeling or if the headache had diminished. Also she tried not letting Gavroche or Valjean inside her room, although she kept telling Cosette that they would suspect something was going on.

Gavroche didn't manage to get through Cosette's vigilance to visit Éponine until the afternoon. The cheerful boy jumped up on her bed, the cap he was wearing falling to the ground. It wasn't until then that she understood the boy's excitement and eagerness to visit her: she had promised to take him to the new amusement park. With a groan, she stood up; she wasn't going to break a promise just because she had a stupid hangover. Ignoring her sister's complaints, Éponine put on a t-shirt and some old jeans along with her sneakers and sunglasses, tying her waves in a ponytail. Gavroche followed her down the stairs jumping as he kept hollering about how excited he was and how awesome it was going to be.

But apparently, fate had other plans. They had barely made it out of the neighborhood when suddenly, her car began to slow down, making a ticking sound instead of the usual sounds it made. She tried to turn it off before it got worse but she was just too slow. Before she even managed to pull over, the car died , exhaling its last breath.

"No, no, no!" Éponine cried, hitting the steering wheel multiple times pleadingly "Come on, baby. You can't do this to me!"

She turned the key several times, but it was useless. With a final sigh, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel in frustration.

"Does that mean that we're not going?" Gavroche asked with a small voice.

Éponine moved her head so she could see him. He was just a boy, and he had been through so much. She was capable of doing anything to make him happy.

"Of course we are."

The brunette jumped out of the car, followed by the boy whose excitement didn't seemed to falter. They were going to walk to the park if it was necessary. Éponine called Valjean and told him where she had left the car and that they were going to walk. The man just sighed but said nothing. He knew it was impossible to dissuade Éponine from doing anything. The two of them made their way down the sidewalk, Gavroche babbling about what he was going to do first as he constantly bent down to pick up some pebbles from the ground and throw them away. Eponine listened attentively to every word, a soft smile plastered on her lips. They had barely walked three blocks when a car stopped by their side. She decided to ignore it and kept walking while the boy climbed up on a bench.

"Éponine!"

She stopped in confusion and turned around, looking for the owner of the voice. But she already knew who it was, his voice was unmistakable. A red car was parked just a few meters behind them, the window rolled down as Enjolras leaned against the door and looked at her with expectant eyes, his expression as stony as ever. She felt her stomach lurch with nerves and…embarrassment. Out of all the people that could've seen her drunk, it had to be him. But she wasn't going to let him know that she was embarrassed and that if she could, she would've turned back time. So she lifted her chin up and waved at him, making her way towards the car with short steps.

"I was on my way to your house" he confessed a little hesitantly, before lowering his voice "How are you feeling?"

"This car is awesome!" Gavroche came running towards them, throwing away the twig he had been holding just moments before. The boy studied the red car with wide eyes, letting out a low whistle in appreciation.

"It's still not better than mine" Éponine stated, reaching out and ruffling his hair playfully.

The boy scoffed and ducked down, trying to avoid her hand "Any car is better than yours, 'Ponine."

"Hey!" Éponine exclaimed, feigning offense "If you don't like my car, then you'd better look for someone else to take you to the ice-cream shop."

Enjolras watched the interaction with amusement, the corner of his lips slowly turning up until he was almost chuckling. The boy was just like Éponine, he could already identify the fire and passion inside of him, such as her free spirit and witty tongue. His eyes were as big as hers, showing every single emotion that he was feeling. That was what he liked the most about her. It was obvious just by the way she looked at him that she was capable of doing anything to make him happy. She was capable of doing anything to protect the ones she cared about. Even though the kid's hair was almost as blonde as his own was, the eyes and wide smile were just like Éponine's, except for the color. Instead of bright caramel, the boy's eyes were a light blue, sparkling as he talked. Enjolras watched them argue cheerfully for a while, but it wasn't until he let out a low chuckle at Éponine's expression that the brunette seemed to remember that he was there.

"Sorry" she apologized, rolling her eyes while the boy stuck out his tongue towards her "He just can be so stubborn at times."

The boy huffed in annoyance and walked past her, so he was now standing in front of Enjolras' window "I'm Gavroche, who are you?"

Enjolras raised a brow and looked at Éponine, who just shrugged, so he stretched his hand out towards the boy "Nice to meet you, Gavroche. I'm Enjolras."

Gavroche grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously, his small hand almost invisible inside Enjolras'. Éponine watched him with a smirk, she knew how…overwhelming Gavroche could be, so it was just a matter of time until Enjolras began squirming underneath the boy's questions.

"So where are you going?" Enjolras asked, his voice curious.

"We are going to the amusement park, but if her car wasn't so old, we might actually be there already" Gavroche answered, sending Éponine a glare, which only made her roll her eyes.

"I can give you a ride if you want to" Enjolras offered, surprising Éponine and even himself.

Éponine shook her head, suddenly at loss of words "No, no, I wouldn't force you to drive us there, you probably have-"

"I ask the front seat!" Gavroche squeaked before running around the car.

Enjolras chuckled and leaned to the opposite side to open the passenger door, the boy hopping inside excitedly in one swift motion. Éponine watched with wide eyes as her brother put on his seatbelt happily, rambling incessantly about how her car was older than his English teacher, something that made Enjolras laugh, a deep and raspy sound that made her skin tingle. He then turned back to look at her expectantly, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Are you coming?" he asked, the ghost of a smile still evident in his lips.

She bit her lip "Are you sure you are not busy? I know that you have a lot of things to do…"

"Just get in the car 'Ponine!" Gavroche exclaimed impatiently, leaning towards the window, his head the same level as Enjolras´ now.

She looked from Gavroche to Enjolras before rolling her eyes and groaning, opening the backseat door and hopping inside. Crossing her arms over her chest in a childish way, she spent the rest of the journey in silence, just listening to the two of them talking, well, mostly Gavroche. Surprisingly, Enjolras didn't seem frustrated or tired about the boy's incessant rambling. Quite the opposite to be honest; he even managed to add some of his own opinions about whatever the boy was saying. Despite her attempts of not letting her imagination work as it always did, it was impossible. The way Enjolras and her brother looked together was something that made her heart constrict inside her chest, making her wonder about the "what ifs". She wasn't the kind of girl that was always looking for males' attention, but for the first time in all her life, she wished she was as pretty as Cosette.

The car had barely stopped moving when Gavroche jumped out of it and began running as fast as his legs could carry him towards the entrance of the park. Éponine sighed and tightened her grip on her bag, her head spinning ever so lightly. She was even more surprised when she realized that Enjolras was getting out of the car too, locking the doors and putting the alarm on, making his way towards Gavroche, who was already in line. It wasn't until he turned around looking for her that he caught sight of her expression, making him stop.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, genuinely curious.

It took her a moment to find her voice again, before shaking her head "No, I was just…nothing, let's go."

He frowned but decided to ignore it, waiting for her as she walked towards him. Despite her attempts to push him away from the ticket window, he was way stronger than she was and she couldn't stop him from paying for their tickets. Gavroche didn't seem to notice her annoyance as he was already halfway down the street in the direction of the roller coaster, but Enjolras did noticed her deep frown as she walked inside the park, arms crossed and lips pursed. Letting out a weary sigh, he walked towards her.

"Can you please not make a big deal out of this?" he pleaded, using every ounce of self-control to not roll his eyes.

She huffed in annoyance but didn't answer. Éponine made a move to turn around when her head began to spin faintly, causing her to trip on her own feet. A strong hand grabbed her by the elbow and steadied her. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to make the world stop spinning, feeling him studying her intently.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively after a moment.

Éponine opened her eyes slowly, meeting his own clear blue eyes now shining with worry. She cleared her throat and nodded "Yeah, I guess I'm still a little dizzy, that's all."

"You didn't answer me before" he said, his expression now more severe "Are you feeling well? Last night it was a little bit…crazy."

"Crazy" she echoed, chuckling darkly "I actually don't feel that bad, just the leftovers of a hangover, I guess. It could be worse."

"Have you eaten something?" that simple question seemed to throw her off guard, making her frown slightly.

"Some pancakes Cosette made for me" she answered hesitantly, not understanding the point of his question.

She had barely time to process what he was doing, when one of his hands faintly pressed to her back and pushing her gently forward, through the sea of people, laughter and excited cries surrounding them.

"The only useful thing Grantaire has taught me about hangovers is that the best remedy is greasy food" he explained, his tone formal, as if he was reciting from memory a passage from a book. "Don't know why, but it will make you feel better."

It was a little fast-food place, buzzing with people, mostly kids. That made her stop in her tracks and turn around, trying frantically to exit the small establishment "Wait! Gavroche is going to the rollercoaster!"

"I'll go" Enjolras stated, catching her forearm swiftly and pushing her gently towards the nearest table "You stay here and save our seats."

And with that he was gone, getting lost in the sea of people. Her gaze followed him as he made his way through the crowd, his dirty blonde curls blowing with the soft breeze. She didn't noticed the moment he found Gavroche, but the boy only nodded enthusiastically to whatever he said to him and took off, leaving Enjolras behind and watching him get in line for the rollercoaster. Enjolras looked up, meeting her gaze. Despite her attempts, she felt her cheeks go warm and immediately averted her gaze, pretending to read the list of greasy food that they served. Éponine actually felt her mouth water at the sight of so many delicious things, but her train of thought was stopped when the chair in front of her was pulled out and Enjolras plopped down.

"What did you say to him?" she inquired, grabbing a napkin and twisting it. It was something she did whenever she felt nervous. Not that she felt nervous, why should she?

"That he could go to whatever attractions he wanted, as long as it was close" he answered slowly, looking around the place "Gave him some money and told him that we would see him in an hour right here."

"How much did you give him?" she grabbed her bag and took out her wallet "I still owe you for the tickets. Gav had saved some money for this, Valjean also gave me some, you know how kids are, they go crazy with-"

He put a hand over her wallet, stopping her movements "Today everything's on me. Consider it…an apology gift."

Éponine stared at him in surprise, before finally her brain seemed to work properly again "I won't let you."

He chuckled and stood up "It wasn't a question. Pizza or hot-dog?"

"Pizza. But wait" Éponine said, taking hold of his wrist and stopping him from going to the counter. Her tone became softer as her eyes met his, her fingertips burning at the sensation of his skin. So she let go. "What happened last night? I just remember pieces of it…"

"You were pretty drunk and did some…things that weren't just you. So I drove you home and waited until Cosette arrived so we could sneak you up to your room, sorry for that." He finished, looking down at the table. He wasn't altogether sure whether she should know that half of the masculine population had seen her dance provocatively, nor that she had thrown up and then flirted with him.

She moved her hand further away from his and nodded absent-mindedly. Enjolras let out a soft sigh before placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it wasn't much of a big deal" he assured her, his eyes scanning her face "I'll tell you what. Let me get the food and I promise to tell you what happened, and then maybe we can have some fun with Gavroche, does that sounds good?"

Éponine cracked a smile and nodded "Yeah, sounds great."

Enjolras smiled back and turned around, going to the counter. He had said that she had done things while being drunk, did he mean that perhaps she had broken something? Or perhaps fought with someone…oh crap, what if she had said something stupid about the way he was making her feel? Wait…what was she feeling for him?

Yeah, she knew that every time he looked at her was like if he was seeing through her soul, a tingling sensation running down her body, that when his fingers or shoulder brushed against her own she could feel her cheeks get warm, or how every single time that he smiled, a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. Could that mean that, maybe, she was falling for him? Éponine had barely time to think about the newfound information before he was back, carrying two large slices of pizza for her and two for him, a coke in his free hand. They ate silently, while Enjolras tried very hard, without succeeding, to not get his fingers stained with grease from the cheese, Éponine chewed her slice impatiently, eager to know what Enjolras had to tell her.

"Done" she stated, cleaning her lips with a handkerchief before leaning forward on the table "Now spit it out."

Enjolras swallowed his last bite and chuckled "I don't think what you did was good for your stomach, but that's all right. What would you like to know?"

"What exactly did I do last night?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Éponine" he began, averting his eyes "What's your excuse?"

She chuckled softly, her gaze upon her fingers before asking nonchalantly "For?"

"For acting the way you did last night." He said, returning his heated gaze to her face.

"I don't like to do what people expect." Éponine stated simply and shook her head "Why should I live to other people's expectations instead of my own?"

"So you just got drunk to prove everyone that you can do what you want?" Enjolras questioned with an amused tone in his voice.

"Something like that" she answered, tilting her head innocently.

The corner of his mouth turned up, before he leaned forward and a frown appeared in his face "Éponine, last night was crazy. I swear that I tried stopping you, but you just simply didn't listen to me. You-you were dancing on tables, and I must say that you had half of the male population happy by that…somehow I managed to get you down from there and took you to the garden, where you, uh, expelled all of the alcohol from your system. I took you home then."

He finished lamely, watching worriedly how her cheeks turned different shades of red before she decided to bury her face in her hands. He definitely wasn't going to tell her how her flirting with him had made his heart beat faster, nor how he couldn't help himself when he pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead.

"Oh my God…" she groaned, her voice muffled by her hands "I just…I wanted to show Cosette and the others that I can have fun too, I don't know what went through my mind...maybe I wanted to dissapoint, prove that I can be whoever I want to be."

"Then you screwed it up" Enjolras stated, and although his voice was firm it was still gentle.

Éponine lowered her hands slowly, a frown etching her features "How?"

A soft smile appeared in his lips "You never disappointed me."

She stared at him with wide eyes, feeling her lips form a smile as he held her gaze. Probably it wasn't the right thing to do at that exact moment, her fingers going numb as his blue piercing gaze made her knees go weak. Stupid Éponine, her mind said, he does not want you. And probably that was right, for the short period of time she had known Enjolras, she knew that he was not a man that let his emotions control his life, she had never seen him with another girl, and Marius had told Cosette that he barely dated. His life revolved around college, nothing more. But at that moment, with him looking at her like that, the soft sun rays making his golden hair glow, his parted lips looking even more appealing than she had ever witnessed…Éponine shook her head and made a move to stand up, and he followed.

They spent the rest of the day with Gavroche, going from one attraction to another. Éponine had never seen Gavroche so excited, running from stall to stall, playing in every single one if he could. By the end of the day he had won three stuffed animals, two nerf-guns and a cowboy hat. Unfortunately, Éponine had only managed to win a princess crown (which she planned on giving to Cosette later). Enjolras, ever the gentleman, won a huge teddy bear for her by shooting arrows, for which she thanked him with a hug, that both of them had enjoyed rather deeply, although neither of them was going to admit it.

Somehow, Gavroche had managed to drag them to the Paint Balls field, something she had been avoiding the whole day through. Éponine tried persuading Enjolras not to play, she knew how competitive Gavroche could get, and she doubted that Enjolras would appreciate having paint all over his body, knowing how composed he was. But he insisted that he would be fine, and was finally dragged towards the locker room by Gavroche. Luckily enough, they were the only ones on the field at the moment, and as soon as she put a foot on the ground, Gavroche had already propelled a balloon filled with blue paint towards her. She managed to duck down, running to hide behind a stack of straw.

Éponine got on her knees and took a balloon out of the bag before peeking from behind the straw, looking around the field for any sign of movement. A smile spread in her lips as she caught sight of Enjolras, and adjusting her goggles and white suit, she stood up and ran in his direction, throwing a red balloon towards him before sliding and hiding behind what seemed to be a glass window. She heard his surprised yelp as the balloon collided against him and made a red mess all over his chest. Éponine laughed loudly, watching his expression as he looked around to find her, finally spotting her, a mischievous grin appearing in his face. She let out a surprised laugh as a red balloon exploded on the glass that was protecting her, before standing up and sticking her tongue out towards him, running out of view.

She definitely wasn't expecting how serious Enjolras could get about a game. His brow furrowed in concentration as she looked around the field for the others. Éponine gasped when she felt the impact of the balloon in her back and the wet paint dripping down, she turned around, balloon in hand, just to find Gavroche climbing up a stack of wood, a proud grin in his face. The game soon became a battle, balloons flying all over the field, hitting Éponine in her stomach, legs and back. She managed to throw some at Gavroche, his arms now stained in yellow as he ran after Enjolras, who was a mix of red, green and purple, one of his cheeks stained with red. Soon, the boy accomplished his mission and ran out of view.

"I win! You both owe me popcorn! I'll go inside and wait for you!" he commanded before disappearing inside the cottage, not before exclaiming cheerfully "Beat him, Ep!"

Éponine let out a shaky breath as Enjolras' gaze traveled to her, his eyes glinting with mischief, and before she could comprehend what was happening, he was already bolting in her direction. She let out a shriek before running away, managing to protect herself behind an enormous cardboard. He followed her, kneeling just at the other side of the cardboard. Éponine began straightening up slowly, balloon in hand. She found herself staring back into his eyes, mere centimeters away from her, but before he could do anything, she had already thrown the balloon against him and darted off. He followed and managed to corner her between what seemed like a massive pipe tube and himself.

She raised her hands in surrender, laughing uncontrollably and trying to regain her breath. Enjolras lowered the balloon and motioned her to come closer with a chuckle. She sighed in relief and came closer, surprised when he circled her shoulders with one arm, just before a balloon exploded just below her face, paint dripping down from her neck and onto the white suit. She squirmed in his arms as he held her close to him and tried to stain her even more by mixing paint all over her cheeks. Somehow she managed to free herself and ran away, just to be tackled down by him. They fell down a pile of straw, laughing loudly, as he rolled off from her and fell down at her side, still laughing.

Enjolras stared at her, his eyes still sparkling with amusement. She held her breath as one of his hands came forward, placing a tendril of her hair behind her ear, his knuckles brushing her cheek softly. He was so close, she just needed to lower her head and then her lips would be pressed against his, how she longed to feel the soft pressure of his lips against hers, to be enveloped by his arms and pressed against his lean body, every curve of her body fitting against his muscular frame. For a moment she thought he might actually kiss her, his eyes drifting to her lips, his breath becoming shallower. She closed her eyes.

A soft gasp escaped from her lips as he straightened quickly, standing up, as if nothing had happened. She looked up, feeling a hole inside her chest as she watched him take off his goggles and run a hand through his curls. Feeling suddenly ashamed, she took her own goggles off and stood up, fighting to control the heat that was coloring her cheeks from embarrassment. She stood up by his side, and it wasn't until she brushed his arm with her hand that he looked at her. His eyes seemed troubled, as if he was fighting the hardest battle he had ever had. She was about to apologize when he spoke.

"Would you like coming with me to the Winter Gala?" he blurted out, his eyes anywhere but her face.

Éponine seemed at loss of words before finally managing to say something "Enjolras I-"

"Come on, I know you don't like these events" He interrupted her, facing her now. "But it would be great if you could come with me, I don't like it either but somehow if you come, it could make everything more…bearable."

"So you just want the pleasure of my company?" she mocked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

The curve of his mouth turned up "That's all."

She nodded and smiled. They met Gavroche at the entrance of the field, already changed and waiting for them to "pay up". Enjolras drove them home, while Gavroche placed a handful of popcorn into his mouth from the largest box they could buy. Éponine sat on the backseat listening to whatever the boy was rambling about, still excited about everything that had happened that day. Enjolras pulled over in front of her house and Gavroche bounded out of the car, arms full of stuffed animals and nerf-guns (which Éponine was going to hide later, of course). He thanked Enjolras cheerfully and ran straight to the house. Éponine got out of the car, surprised when Enjolras did the same, resting his back against the car door.

"Thank you so much for today" she began, looking up at him though her eyelashes "I don't think I've ever seen him have so much fun, before, well at least not since dad took him bowling."

Enjolras smiled at her "It's nothing, it was fun."

Éponine let out a soft giggle before tilting her head "So, what I'm supposed to wear for this Gala?"

"Whatever you want" he cleared his throat "I mean, it's just some party where lawyers meet us students. They call it 'The Fishing', because they spot talent, so you just need to talk, make a good impression, and then you're in."

"It seems kind of a big deal" Éponine answered pensively, before chuckling and pressing a finger against his chest "But I'm sure they'll fight over you."

Enjolras chuckled and caught her hand in his, holding it close to his chest "Maybe, I hope so, I just want to be able to help people…make a change, does that makes sense?"

"Absolutely" Éponine answered softly "Well, I think I'll ask Cosette for help, she always knows what to wear so…"

Enjolras let go of her hand, suddenly surprised by what he had been doing, and rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly "I bet she's going, well, Marius is going."

"Oh, Marius is going" she repeated with a sigh "That means that probably she's begging dad right now to let her go. I'd better get inside, I need to save her from all the grovelling, after all, I'm also going."

She chuckled and made a move to walk away, but before she had a chance to react, Enjolras had dipped his head and brushed his lips against her cheek, a fleeting kiss which lasted no more than a few seconds, but still, she felt as if it had been hours. His lips were warm and soft against her cheek, delicate as porcelain. He straightened and bid her goodnight, before climbing inside his car and driving away, still not understating why had he done that.

Enjolras had enjoyed the day far much more than he was supposed to have. He was getting close to Éponine, too close. At first it had begun as something simple as a friendship, a deal he had made with Marius only to get that stupid scholarship. But now…now it felt like something definitely even deeper than just a deal. He knew that she had wanted him to kiss her back at the paint ball field, the way she had closed her eyes and moved her head towards him, offering him what he desired the most. She had given into him completely, the girl who was afraid of loving…had made the marble man want to love. Hitting the steer-wheel hard, he tried to regain a little order with his thoughts. It was wrong, everything about this was wrong. But now he had no idea how to repair the damage he had caused, not without breaking her heart, and his own.

Cosette had squeaked joyfully when Éponine informed her that she was going to the Gala, and of course, the blonde would be going too. Valjean had stared at the girls with big eyes when Éponine had told him about their plans for the next night. He wasn't expecting this, from Éponine at least. But what was he supposed to do? It had been his own rule which had backfired on him. With a sigh he nodded and watched as the blonde dragged Éponine up to her room, rambling about which color would fit her the most. They grew so fast…and he wasn't just ready to let go.

"You look so beautiful, 'Ponine!" Cosette chirped happily the dollowing night as Éponine entered the room. She just groaned in response and sat down on the bed, watching the blonde finish with her own hair-do. Her long waves had been pulled back in a tightly neat bun, a few crystals covering it and adding the effect that her hair was actually sparkling.

Cosette looked truly beautiful, the tight fitting dress covering her body in all the right places. To Éponine, the color reminded her of a pearl, with embroidery all over it. It went up to her neck and was tied behind it, an oval in front of her neck leaving a hint of cleavage at view. It was beautiful. She was sure that Marius would probably have a mental crisis when he saw her.

"Come! Let me fasten your necklace!" Cosette ordered, tugging her sister from the hand.

Éponine had actually no idea where Cosette had found the dress. At first she had been against it, the dress was simply too…revealing. And as she looked at her reflection on the mirror, she suddenly remembered why she hadn't wanted to wear it. The cleavage of the dress almost reached her middle torso, leaving little to imagination of what lay there, covering only what was necessary. The dress was of a deep blue, the one Éponine liked very much (but that still hadn't meant that she actually liked the style of dress). Her hair had been pulled up in a simple bun, leaving several strands of her hair hanging loosely and framing her face. Éponine stared back at her reflection and touched the sun-shaped necklace absent-mindedly. She didn't feel like herself…but, for the first time in a long time, she felt beautiful.

Before she had even time to start feeling the usual nerves, the doorbell rang. Marius was going to pick them up, and they would meet Enjolras and the rest of their friends there. Cosette squeaked and ran to get her surprisingly high heels on. Valjean was waiting in the hall with a very nervous Marius by his side, who was anxiously fidgeting with his hands.

"You look really nice, Éponine" he greeted, a smile playing in his freckled face, before his eyes darted up at the sound of the click of the heels. Almost imperceptibly, he straightened his jacket and ran a hand through his hair.

Éponine stepped aside, taking Valjean's hand in her own. She giggled at the way Marius' eyes widened when Cosette entered the room. Yeah, what they had was strange, but definitely, it was true.

"Promise me you'll take care" Valjean whispered to Éponine as Cosette walked out of the house, holding Marius' arm.

"I promise" she vowed, a playful smile in her lips at her father's antics.

Valjean enveloped her in a tight hug, careful not to spoil her hair or anything. She hugged him back, enjoying every single second. After a moment, he pulled back and pressed a soft kiss in her forehead "You look beautiful, 'Ponine."

Éponine let out a soft giggle before placing a kiss on his cheek "Thank you, dad."

The ride to the hotel was peaceful, well at least for Éponine. The lovebirds couldn't seem to stop staring at each other, and Marius kept praising every single detail about Cosette, from head to toe. Éponine rolled her eyes but smiled. They arrived at the hotel far more quickly than she thought they would, and soon she noticed her hands feeling clammy. The lights were bright, illuminating the whole street, men and women walking around wearing their finest clothing. The entrance was crowded, and Éponine wondered how they were supposed to find Enjolras among the sea of people. Marius pulled up to the valet, who helped her get out. She thanked him and stood waiting for Marius and Cosette at the bottom of the steps. As soon as they were by her side she began walking.

The hotel was full of people, but she kept walking towards the great salon where the dinner was to be held. Lifting her dress gently to prevent herself from tripping up the marble stairs, she reached the top and scanned her surroundings, taking in all the details from the room. It was breathtaking. She motioned Cosette to keep walking with Marius, she would wait. She could hear the sound of a jazz band playing soft music in the background, some couples dancing to it. The sound of glass cups clicking and chattering as well, tables scattered around the dance floor as old men talked amongst them, studying the college students, some of them brave enough to come close and talk to them.

She stood like that, unaware that someone had caught sight of her, feeling rather dumb at being alone.

"Wow, you look…really beautiful" his voice came from behind her and she turned around quickly, catching sight of him.

If he was handsome wearing a pair of jeans and a denim shirt, wearing a suit made him look breathtaking. . ?docid=36674909l covered in black, his white shirt tucked neatly inside his pants, black shining shoes, and a red pocket square at the breast of his jacket. Although it seemed that he had tried to control his wild curls, it still looked as if he had just got out of bed, his hair looking so soft that it made her itch to run her fingers through it.

If Éponine had been surprised, Enjolras had been definitely stunned, managing only to breathe and stare at her. She looked absolutely radiant, her skin glowing, eyes sparkling. He forced his eyes to divert from the exposed part of her chest, traveling over her collarbones, an incredible urge to touch them with his fingers. He loved when she wore her hair down, but like that, she managed to look even more beautiful. She was so incredibly beautiful, never had he felt the warmth he was feeling now. Not even a single woman had managed to render him speechless, but now he found himself even incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

"You too" she answered back softly, before stuttering "I mean, you, uh, you look really nice."

He laughed and offered her his arm, which she took gladly, and let him guide her inside the grand room. They reached their table and sat down, Éponine sat next to Enjolras and Combeferre, who had introduced himself as Enjolras' best friend. They were joined by Marius and Cosette, and also an old man which reminded Éponine of her philosophy professor. The man was, surprisingly, Marius' grandfather, and owner of the biggest companies in the whole city. They were also joined by a man named Champmathieu with his wife.

The dinner was pleasant, and they served at least three courses, the most delicious meal Éponine had ever tried before. She watched with great joy as Enjolras engaged in conversation with the two gentlemen, talking about politics and matters that would probably be of great interest if she had paid attention. But at the moment, she found herself contemplating dreamily as the couples swirled around the ballroom, the dresses flowing around the ladies in a breathtaking way. It reminded her greatly of when Cosette and she used to dance with Valjean in the living room, pretending that they were princesses. The girls would giggle as their dad twirled them around and Éponine would grab Gavroche, who was learning to walk, and dance gently with him. She smiled.

"Would you like to dance?"

She almost thought it had been her imagination, but when she turned around and saw that he indeed, was talking to her, she couldn't help but smile at the way he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. She was about to refuse, how could she let him waste his time to talk with two important lawyers by dancing with her? But then, something terrible happened. The band began playing a Michael Bublé song, her favorite one.

"I love this song!" she blurted out.

He chuckled and grabbed her hand, leading her to the dance floor. She didn't understand completely why she let him guide her, nor why it felt so right when he placed his hand on her waist and began leading her around the floor effortlessly, almost as if they were sliding through. Éponine wasn't a very graceful person, she sometimes managed to collide against walls or trip down over the single rock lying on the ground. But at that moment, it seemed different. She didn't know if it was because he was leading her, or because the whole place radiated elegance, or because her favorite song was being played, but somehow she managed to follow him. A smile was on her lips as he twirled her, singing in a voice that was barely a whisper the lyrics of the song as the band continued to play.

Enjolras pulled her body slightly closer, barely visible to anyone but themselves. He was captivated, by her glowing eyes, soft, raspy voice as she sang, trying hard to not be heard. But he listened, and he was under her spell. Her colored cheeks and full lips, her arm holding him, in a way, closer to her. He knew that his friends were staring, but honestly, he couldn't care less. Perhaps it was the wine that had loosened his mood, or the way she seemed to glow when she was staring at the couples dancing, but he still wasn't sure what was the exact reason he had asked her to dance. Maybe it was because he felt guilty that a stupid internship was the reason why he had asked her to come…or was it because he actually wanted her to be with him? He pushed all these thoughts aside and decided to concentrate on her, deciding that he would treasure forever the way she was smiling at him at that moment, even if someday she wouldn't be able to look him in the eye anymore.

They danced a couple of songs more before she declared that the high-heels were killing her. Enjolras led them to their table, but before he could sit down, Marius was already tugging him by the arm, leading him to a place near the bar.

"I actually don't know how to thank you for all you have done, Enj!" the freckled guy blurted out grinning like a mad man "And you won't believe what my grandfather just told me. He wants you to work with him after college! And he's willing to give you an internship meanwhile!"

Enjolras' eyes widened by instinct. He knew that he should've been happy, that was what he always wanted, wasn't it? But at what cost? The girl he…loved? Yes, he loved Éponine, perhaps even more than he could begin to comprehend at the moment. He knew that no matter what happened, what he hoped for would never happen. He needed to tell her the truth: that he loved her…and that he had used her.

"I appreciate it, Marius, really" Enjolras muttered, closing his eyes tightly and trying to regain some composure over himself "But I really think that I can't go on with this…"

"Don't worry, man. Cosette and I decided that I'll talk with her father so he can let me go out with her." Marius let out a laugh and grabbed him by the shoulder "I know how much you hate dating, so if you want to, you can stop pretending with Ép. And don't worry, grandfather is more than willing to give you that internship."

Even if he had tried to stop Marius from talking, he knew that she had heard enough. Enjolras watched mutely as Éponine's lips opened and her eyes widened in surprise, a million of emotions running through them, not being able to understand one of them. She had approached them with a smile, and stood behind Marius. Probably she had come to tell him something she had found funny, or maybe she wanted to dance some more with him. But when she caught Marius' words, all was forgotten, her eyes growing cold. He saw sadness, hurt, disappointment, pain, which then morphed into what he dreaded the most: anger. The worst part of it was to have witnessed how everything they had built together crashed down, and he wasn't capable of doing anything to stop it. Éponine turned around and hurried out of the room.

But he wasn't going to let her go without a fight. She had to know, she needed to know. He pushed right through Marius and followed her, his heart beating fast inside his chest as he tried to not lose her in the crowd. He wasn't sure of what he was supposed to tell her "Sorry for using you, I got my internship and now we can be together because I love you"? No, he knew that that was the last thing he needed to say. Without having any idea of what he would do to stop her, he just grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Would you give me a chance to explain?" he pleaded, letting go of her.

"You were paid to take me out?" she snapped, eyes burning with fury "By the one person I truly trust…I can't believe Cosette agreed to this!"

She kept walking towards the grand stairs, so he followed "Éponine, please, if you just-"

"I knew this was a set up!" she interrupted, turning around to send him a heated glare before sprinting towards the stairs.

"Éponine!" he called and ran after her, unsure of what to say. He grabbed her by the waist with one hand and tried to pull her around "It wasn't like that!"

She turned around abruptly, pushing him away and cried out "Really? And what was it like? An internship for dating me and a bonus for sleeping with me?"

"No! I didn't care about the internship!" he exclaimed desperately, trying to make her see that he was saying the truth.

But he knew she wasn't going to believe him, not after all the lies he had told her. Actually, for him, whatever had happened between them had been anything but a lie. He had never been so honest and open with another person than he had been with Éponine, and he doubted that he would be able to find someone like her again. There was no one like her, and he wasn't going to let her slip her away from his life so easily, even when he knew that he had broken her heart. He was going to fix it.

"I care about…" he began but stopped, scanning his eyes across her face, looking for any sign that she was indeed believing him, so he decided to just say it, as softly as he could. "I care about you."

Éponine watched him for a few seconds, her eyes softening ever so slightly. He actually thought that she would believe him. But then, she tilted her head, an incredulous look in her face, tinted with sarcasm, and what he thought to be sadness.

"You are not who I thought you were" she whispered softly, her voice fragile as she gave him one last glance.

She made a move to go away, but he grabbed her by the hand. Éponine swatted his hand away and turn around, descending down the great staircase rapidly, without sparing one last glace to him. He watched her disappear through the doors and into the night, not being able to follow her, because he knew that whatever he said or did would never be enough to get her back. His eyes followed her until she was out of sight. It wasn't until then than he felt a great coldness spread all over his chest. Not only because he knew that he had totally messed it up, but because he had seen how her eyes misted with tears as she descended, and how her shoulders trembled as she walked out of the building, a hand flying to her face to dry her own tears.

Enjolras stood motionless as she disappeared, his hands gripping the rail softly, trying to keep himself grounded to his place and not to follow her. He slowly moved his head and glanced behind him, only to find Cosette standing at the entrance with a broken expression in her face. Enjolras returned his gaze towards the grand doors, which were still swaying. He couldn't let her go away so easily, perhaps right at that time, it wasn't the best moment to solve the problem, but one thing was sure, he wasn't going to let go without a fight. Not when she had made him a better fighter.

A week later, it was a bright sunny day, the wind caressing her skin and making her hair blow. As she sat on the porch of their house she thought that it definitely was a really nice day. Unfortunately, that wasn't what she felt inside of her. She was holding a sketchbook in her hands and was drawing something not even she could understand, but it was pretty. Somehow, the pieces of her heart that had apparently come to life the last few months had, in a way, returned to be cold. The night of the Gala she had fallen asleep crying, hugging her pillow tightly as she tried to stop the sobs that were wracking her body. Not even in a thousand years would she have imagined that out of all the guys in the world, Enjolras was going to do that to her.

Use her just to get some stupid internship? Apparently he was indeed really obsessed with becoming a great lawyer. But she didn't care, not at all, in fact she was surprised how sneaky and clever he could be, he would be one of the best lawyers, there was no doubt about it. But to think that he actually was capable of toying with her? That was the main reason why she didn't date. Because men were jerks, and Enjolras was the epitome of the jerks. And to think that she actually thought that he felt something for her…it had all been a lie. And she actually wanted him to kiss her, what a fool she had been, truly believing that someone was actually capable of loving her.

She looked up at the sound of footsteps, a sad smile appearing in her lips when Cosette came into view. The blonde had been begging her to forgive her, and Éponine had assured her that it was fine. She had only done it because of her feelings for Marius. Cosette gave her a gentle smile and offered her a cup of tea.

"You want?" she offered softly.

Éponine smiled and took it "Thanks."

Cosette tilted her head, fidgeting with her fingers innocently "So you sure you don't want to go to the movies with us? It'll be fun."

Éponine continued to draw in her sketchbook and shook her head "No, I'm fine."

The silence was almost overwhelming, and Éponine had practically forgotten that Cosette was there until she spoke again.

"Look, I don't know if I ever thanked you for going the night of the Gala…or every night that I really wanted to go" Cosette said softly, grabbing Éponine's shoulder and giving it a light squeeze before letting out a breathy laugh "It really meant a lot to me."

Éponine let go of her cup and placed her hand over her sister's, giving her a soft smile and nodding gently "I'm glad."

Cosette just smiled and at that moment Marius appeared up the steps of the porch, slowly approaching the two sisters carefully, as if afraid that Éponine would stand up and smack him. Although she did want to.

"Hey" he greeted with a smile in his lips. Cosette turned around, her eyes glowing as she held her hand out to him, which he took gladly "You ready?"

Cosette nodded, and before turning around, she kissed Éponine's cheek softly "Bye"

"Bye" Éponine whispered as they both walked away.

"Éponine?" Marius called, making her look up curiously. "I'm really sorry."

Éponine shrugged and gave him a smile. He smiled back and continued to walk with Cosette. She couldn't hate him, not when she saw how deeply he cared for her sister. In that case, Enjolras should've been the one to refuse using her. Does that mean that everything he had said had been a lie? Had he truly meant everything he had said to her? Just as she felt tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, she heard the front door open, and Valjean came walking out towards her, his gaze lost somewhere else.

"Where is your sister going?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the car as Marius drove away.

"The movies" Éponine stated simply, before shooting her dad a knowing glance "I think she's really capable of taking care of herself, Dad."

Valjean sighed and sat next to her at the wide rail and crossed his arms "I know, I know. So tell me about the Gala, was it fun?"

"Yeah, I guess so…" Éponine trailed off, returning her attention to the sketchbook.

"Éponine, I think that…I think that if you really want to go out with a guy, you can do it." Valjean said softly "I guess fathers don't like to admit when their daughters are capable of running their own lives. It means that we've become just…spectators."

She straightened and put her sketchbook aside, placing a hand over Valjean's arm. He gave her a sad smile. He had done so much for Gavroche and her. She truly loved him.

"Cosette still needs me in some games, but you've had me sitting on the bench for years" he added, his eyes never leaving the girl's face, before he gazed down to his hands "And I'm afraid that when you find a guy that really cares about you, he'll become your favorite player, not me."

Éponine felt her eyes well up with tears as she launched herself into his arms "Never, Daddy, you'll always be my favorite player."

Valjean enclosed his arms around her and hugged her tightly, as she burrowed her face against his chest. No matter what happened, or how many guys broke her heart, she knew that she would always have Valjean there for her, ready to defend her and make her feel better, even when he had no idea that her heart was grieving. Even when he had no idea that a hug was everything she needed. Even when he had no idea that she had had her first broken heart and that he was making her feel a thousand times better, because nothing could compare to the love that Valjean and she shared for each other. And it only became better when Gavroche came running towards them and hugged Éponine from behind. They were her boys, and they would always be there for her.

Éponine put her book inside her bag and turned off the lights. The day at the library had been a slow one, only a couple of students coming to borrow some books, but aside from that, the only thing keeping her sane in all that silence had been her book. She had finished "Great Expectations" almost two months ago, but something had made her want to read it again. Probably Pip's deep love towards Estella even when she was a rude spoilt kid was what kept Éponine glued to the story and in love with the character. She hadn't thought about him in a whole week, nor had she seen him on campus.

Not that she was looking for him, nor that she cared.

She locked the door of the library and walked towards the parking lot. Valjean had fixed her car and now she didn't have to walk towards their home, not that she didn't liked walking, she enjoyed it rather deeply. It was just her need to arrive home fast, afraid of spending too much time on her own. She hugged her bag and got her keys out, she was about to open the door when she saw a reflection of something, or rather someone, behind her.

"Éponine." He called, his voice smooth, barely a whisper.

She stiffened, pondering the option of running inside her car and escaping or turning around and face him, once and for all. But she wasn't a coward. She was Éponine Fauchelevant for God's sake, and she was a fighter. So she turned around.

"What do you want?" she answered coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

He took a step closer, his eyes hurt "I want to apologize. I know what I did was wrong, and…I want you to know that I refused to accept that internship. Not when it could cost me someone that meant a lot more to me."

She held her breath, but raised her chin "You don't have to do that, you earned it after all."

"Please don't say that." He pleaded, a frown in his face, as if her words had truly pained him "It sounds as if you…hated me."

"I don't hate you, Enjolras" she whispered, her voice fragile, before her features hardened. "I hate the way you talk to me, as if I truly meant something to you, as if you truly cared about me. I hate the way your stupid hair makes me want to run my fingers through it, I hate it when you stare at me, as if I was truly beautiful, as if you could know what is going through my mind…as if you were just looking at me because you wanted to, that's all."

Enjolras took a step forward "Éponine I-"

"I hate your stupid red jacket, how everything red reminds me of you, and I hate how you can always read my mind and tell exactly what I think or what I need, as if you have known me forever" she felt her voice start to tremble, but kept going. "And I hate how you're always right, even when I don't want to admit it, and I hate so much when you lie, and make me fall in love with an idiot like you, even when I thought that perhaps you felt the same way…"

"Please, Éponine" Enjolras pleaded, barely a step away from her.

"I hate it when you make me smile" she let out a soft laugh and looked down "Because it feels as if everything stops when I smile and you smile back. Even worse when you make me cry."

Éponine stopped for a moment, trying to stop the tears threatening to fall. She looked bravely up to his eyes, and suppressed a shiver when his fingertips brushed away a tear she hadn't notice had fallen. But she kept talking.

"I hate it when you're not around, because I realize that for some unknown reason I really need you, now more than ever" she whispered, fighting her tears back, her voice trembling. "I hate the fact that you didn't call or look for me. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you, not even close…not even a little bit…not even at all."

Enjolras had enough of this. Softly, he cradled her face in his hands, brushing the lonely tear that had escaped. She was so brave. He dipped his head and brushed his lips softly against hers. As their mouths pressed gently, he didn't know if he had been the one to release a sigh of relief or if it had been her. But he didn't care, not when he felt her respond to his kiss and come to life in his arms. They both realized that this moment had been the one both of them had been waiting for, what his body and heart had been screaming for.

He enjoyed the feeling of the palm of her hand against his beating chest, as the other one tangled in his curls, just as he'd thought it would be. Her lips were sweet, reminding him of chocolate and something else, something entirely hers. He wanted to be closer to her, feel her in every way possible, to make her know how rapidly she was making his heart beat as she captured his lower lip and he grazed her cheekbone with his thumb. And all of that in less than a minute, a fleeting kiss. He pulled apart, resting his forehead against hers, his hand still cupping her cheek.

"Did you know that some asshole paid me to take out this really great girl?" he muttered softly, making her laugh softly. Enjolras straightened and looked down at her.

She quirked an eyebrow "Oh really?"

"Yeah. But I screwed it up, I…" he looked up to her, his eyes boring holes into her soul as a beatific smile grazed his features "I fell for her."

Éponine felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips, her throat going dry "Really?"

"It's not every day you find a girl that can beat you at Paint Ball" he smiled.

Éponine laughed as he raised a hand and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. He dipped his head once more and closed the distance between their lips, stealing her breath away. Éponine let her arms circle his neck and pulled him closer. She didn't date, that was a fact. But perhaps, just perhaps, she could possibly give the guy she loved a chance.