What is Love?

Prologue

Éponine Thenardier paced the bathroom floor for what seemed like the hundredth time before facing the mirror. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw what she looked like. The markings along her face looked so familiar, yet they felt so different. The purple and blue blotches outlined her eye and cheek.

She sighed, this hadn't happened for a long time, not since she left her house. She pulled out get concealer and began to apply it to the markings. She had become really good at applying it from the 14 years she had spent with her parents.

However, now it wasn't them, it was him. He did this, but she always forced his hand, always. She deserved what she had gotten, he does it for a reason, unlike her parents. She finished applying and she looked absolutely normal again.

She tried to force a smile on her face, but it wouldn't come. She was different now, her enthusiasm seemed drained.

Her best friend world notice, after all she lived in his house. They've known each other since they were children and know everything about each other. No matter how hard one tries to keep a secret from the other, they always find out. It was only a matter of time until he knew about this. She had to find a way to convince him that nothing was wrong, because nothing was. She had just been an awful girlfriend, but he still loved her, and she loved him. End of story. Her friend had nothing to worry about.

He promised he wouldn't do it again, it was just this once. Just this once. She exhaled sending a wave of relief through her body. He still loved her, he still loved her. She was lucky he was even going to stay with her after what she did. She had been stupid and careless. He had plenty of other girls to choose from, most of them prettier than her anyway. Yet, he still stayed. He really loved her, she reminded herself, he really did.