Becoming Eponine *A Les Misérables Story*

Dream Eleven

"The people will join us. Paris will come, everyone will come!" Gavroche's voice piped up hopefully, "We will fight and we will win. Then afterwards we can return here to celebrate, for it will be a whole new country." There wasn't the false promise ringing in Gavroche's voice like that of a child. Gavroche sounded stern and desperate, but also optimistic, the boy was a complex figure.

"We need to get there early, we need to position ourselves." Grantaire says, gazing towards the floor, where I remembered he had accidentally smashed a bottle only the night before,

"That is probably wise." I agree, my voice trembling, I try to conceal it as best I can but I am unsuccessful. I watch Eponine and Enjolras turn towards each other, they don't look embarrassed in the slightest as their lips meet, however I turn away, my heart pounding in my chest as an overwhelming sadness and desperation creeps through me, The same words pulse through my mind, keep them alive, keep them alive, keep them alive... I look back to watch them pull away. Eponine's wide brown eyes are full of sadness, her palm is against Enjolras' cheek as they look at eachother.

"I love you Ep." I can hear Enjolras say,

"I love you Enj." I hear her reply, I see the barricade boys preparing to depart from the cafe. Possibly for the last time. Something tells me that no matter who else resides here, there will never be as much spirit or happiness. There will never be as much love and amusement and laughing and tears. I swallow hard,

"You'll come back." Eponine's words are a statement and Enj nods, my heart drops, he cannot promise her anything,

"Of course, I'll always come back for you." I swallow hard, as they pull away I move to Eponine's side, their hands are still intertwined. Finally I watch them break apart, as Enjolras moves to the other side of the cafe, with Gavroche, Joly, Grantaire, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, and everyone else. My heart beats like a drum in my chest as I watch them depart. The moments after that are silent cold moments. I can hear the silence pulsing in the air and when I look to Eponine, I find that she is brushing flecks of cool droplets from her eyes.

"Come on Eponine." I manage to choke out, brushing away tears which are slowly forming. We move up to our room and I examine myself in the mirror, my slender frame looks weak and my eyes look sad. I take a deep steady breath as Eponine tosses me the clothes. She has a cap to tuck our hair in, a loose white shirt, a jacket and brown pants. I change in the baggy clothing quickly, tossing my dress to my bed but pinning the rosette to my shirt. I wasn't willing to leave it behind. Eponine is changed quickly too, I tuck my long dark curls into my cap and examine my reflection, I could pass as a small boy, which was good enough for me, I turn to Eponine to find that she wears a mask of complete determination. She was ready to fight alongside her lover, her brother and her friends.

We head down the stairs and out the door in near complete silence. Moving across the streets and not receiving any weird glances. No one recognized Eponine, which was a good sign. I could see up ahead the boys, their figures, they walked slowly but confidently, broken off into separate groups so that they would not gain too many odd glances. We knew where the funeral was to be held, it was a few blocks ahead, in the town square, where we had held our protests.

"I'm worried." I had hardly realized what I was saying as I said it,

"As am I, I'm worried for my brother, for Enj, for my friends." Her voice quavers slightly, it is obvious that she's trying to conceal as much emotion as possible.

"I don't know what would happen if we lacked any one of them. The cafe would grow so much quieter." I spoke slowly, controlling my voice. We moved to the location of the funeral and I immediately spotted the boys. They were positioned just as I had instructed them to, at this I was relieved.

We waited, and waited, and waited in near silence for the next two hours. Many people had gathered but we were the first to come. When the men marched out with the coffin my stomach churned. I felt as if this were a musical number, where one person had to start it off and everyone else had to follow. I found Enjolras in the group of people, directly opposite to us, I avoided his eye, staring placidly forward, praying he didn't recognize us.

As soon as the coffin came in front Enjolras ran forward, leaping up onto the surface as he began chanting. The people looked shocked at this. He began yelling, waving the French flag into the cool air as we all surged forward. Eponine and I stayed side by side as we skirted around the column, our chants rose into the air like smoke. They were driven with passion and power, something the people had to acknowledge. The barricade boys joined Enjolras on top of the coffin, Marius shouting in the air, his eyes wide with excitement and desperation. Gavroche was also on top of the coffin, looking more delighted than ever. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. I joined in on the chants, my voice rising and rising in volume, we felt strong, unstoppable almost, as if we truly believed nothing could get in our way. But we were wrong, and that was exhibited in seconds when opposing soldiers came into the clearing. They were on horseback, carrying muskets and wearing helmets. The guns were aimed towards the crowd. I glanced to Eponine who stared at the soldiers awestruck. The first shot was fired. I could hear the rough snapping of the gun as the bullet burst through the air, striking a woman who fell backwards, into the arms of a few men.

"Murderer! You shot an innocent woman!" A familiar voice called, I believed it was Joly's. I looked to Eponine, who wore a panicked expression. The soldiers on horseback didn't look sorry at all, they trekked forward, crushing rock underfoot. My stomach churned, it was starting. For the first time since these dreams started I felt as if I were in a nightmare. For a moment I wanted to wake up desperately but I immediately shook the thought from my head, no, I need to help, I need to protect my friends.

"THE BARRICADES!" Enjolras' voice rose above all others as we sprinted, we had already designated our location to build the barricade earlier, we all rushed in that direction. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that anything could stop us from fighting. I just hoped the people came, with cannons, and maybe we could win. When I reached the location of our barricade I was met with the sight of people running around, throwing chairs and furniture into the cobblestone street. The barricades were arising.

A/N: Oh noes it's starting :O It's 11 o'clock at night but who needs sleep lol... I loved writing this chapter! I can't decide if I like chapters or dreams better because whenever I'm writing one of them I claim that I like it more. Thanks so much for reading! This chapter is dedicated to @-jasmini- because I adore their books and they're awesome!