A Million Dreams

Ch 24. Henry

  "Éppy, sit down, you'll get swellings in your ankles." He said, trying to come up with the best excuse for her to sit.

"I'm fine Enjy, shut up." She snapped, not responding to his gentle touch on her shoulder. "You see her once and declare your love, you declare your love because of her beauty. But when you met prior, she didn't have the beauty she has now, so you ignored her. And now you both love each other, but was it a pretty, rich face that made you realize of this admiration?" She asked, fists curling at her side. Even with the long ruffled sleeve, her fists were still visible.

  "Éppy, wait-"

"Enjy, no."

  "Éponine." Enjolras said, gently taking both of her hands. He was in front of her now, his back facing Enjolras. Éponine's glare was looking over Enjolras's shoulder to the fretful Marius. Even in her angered state, Enjolras couldn't help but admire her. A girl who she loathed was hurt in the same way she was, by the same boy, and she was trying to create a friendship with the girl. Marius broke Éponine's heart, and everyone saw it happened. Everyone except for Marius.

"I don't understand, 'Ponnie, why do you keep on throwing yourself at Pontmercy?" Jehan asked, braiding Éponine's hair. "It seems futile."

"I don't know." She admitted, looking down at her hands in her lap. "I feel so stupid. But I can't help but keeping going for him, and only him." Enjolras heard Éponine's words.

  "And I can't help but keeping going for you, and only you." He muttered to himself.

  "You okay, Enj?" Combeferre asked, going through an old plan for the rebellion. Enjorlas nodded.

  "Why would anything be wrong?"

   The bell dinged at the Café door. "Marius, you're late. Grantaire! Put the bottle down!" Enjorlas said. Grantaire smirked, sloppily and put the bottle down, only to raise a shot glass. Combeferre sighed. Éponine seemed to frown upon Marius's  entrance.

  "Oh, Enjorlas! You should have seen her. Her golden hair was like sun beams, and her blue eyes was like a clear sky. Her smile lit up my world, oh how I wish I could met her... 'Ponnie? Did you find her yet?"

  Éponine weakly smiled, undoing the braid Jehan did. She held a small flower in her hand, a rose. "Not yet, Monsieur. But I'll get too it." Her eyes looked desperate for Marius's attention. Marius beamed and when he turned around, the Rose fell from Éponine's hand as her foot came down to crush the petals. Her eyes looked broken, and filled with a sudden sadness. The way her bottom lip poured out ever so slightly. The bags were dark beneath her brilliant eyes, the brilliant eyes that seemed to be reflecting her shattered heart.

  No one else seemed to take notice of her bittersweet action, but like always, Enjolras did. He looked at Éponine, and his friend just sighed.

  "He made you look for the girl he is fancying?" Enjolras  asked, silencing the Musain. He hasn't realized he said it aloud. Éponine's face darkened, as she looked down. Enjolras  cleared his throat. "Anyway, Marius, we must get down to business. As always, who cares about your lonely soul, we strive towards a goal that is large than life itself! We simply shouldn't dally on some school boy's affections." Éponine cracked a small smile, and if Enjolras was being honest, he almost did too. Just because he saw her smile.

  He looked at Éponine again. Her hair was longer now, ending in a curl at her stomach or the small of her back. Her curls were full of much more life, and her cheeks were pink. She no longer had  those dark bags beneath her eyes and looked so... alive. Her eyes were full with such determination and anger that Enjolras understood. "Éponine." He managed to breathe out again. He hadn't used her full name since he first met her. He only called her 'Éponine' once.

   The ghost of a playful smile danced on her lips, but her face remained in the expression of a scowl. "Yes, Gabriel?" She asked. He kept his stone expression on, trying to keep it up for the sake of the meeting.

  "Ok, what the hell is happening right now?" Courfeyrac asked, louder than he anticipated. Combeferre just laughed at his friend, pushing him off the chair. "What! I mean they are using their actual names!"

  "We have a meeting going on, would you please not kill one of our fighters for the Barricade before the Barricade even rises?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Éponine's glare was still tracked on Marius. The poor boy managed to regain his train of thought, and dignity.

  "'Ponnie, I promise to apologize to Cosette." Marius said, trying to keep his voice calm. Marius was such a wimp sometimes. Enjolras looked into Éponine's eyes, trying to find some part of her that would just agree and sit down. Her hand clenched into a fist at her side, the other one going to her stomach.

  "Éppy? Are you ok?" Enjolras asked, pulling a chair for Éponine up. A miscarriage? Oh he prayed to whatever god that that wouldn't happen. He wondered if the mother could die in a miscarriage to. "Éppy?"

  Éponine was beaming up at him, a wide smile on her face. It as if all of her anger towards Marius disappeared. She began giggling, a strange sound for anyone to hear from Éponine. Of course, Enjolras  heard it like a little bell. "Come on," She said, taking Enjolras's hand and leading it towards her growing stomach. He felt a little kick.

  "Oh my god." Grantaire said. "The Marble Man smiles!" The Café erupted in a mocking applause as Grantaire, Who was now zero days sober, bowed.

  "Oh my god, that's our baby, that's our baby." Enjolras muttered as he felt the Baby kick again. "Can we please name her 'Patria'? " He asked with pleading eyes. Éponine laughed.

  "How do you know it's a She?" Éponine asked. "Your mother thinks it's a boy, if I recall correctly." Enjolras chuckled, feeling the fetus kick once more. "What would we name him?"

  "Henry is a nice name."

  "Yeah, I like that. And why do I feel like we had this conversation before?"

  "We probably did."

  They laughed. "I'm going to go find Cosette and make it up to her!" Marius declared, racing out of the Musain to find his oh one true love. Éponine and Enjolras chuckled once more.

  "Oh, and, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier today." Éponine said, holding his hand that was placed on her stomach. He shook his head.

  "No, it's ok. You have every right to yell at me." He whispered. He looked up at her, smiling weakly. She just laughed as she pulled him into a hug.

  "Let's do it. Right now, let's get married right now."

"But-I don't even have the rings-"

  "I know you do, I was here when you walked in Remember?"