March, 1832, Paris
Enjolras POV
(The meeting)
"Enjolras."
"Just a moment..." Enjolras replied, completely absorbed in the tax reports he was reading.
Marius rolled his eyes. "Would you please be polite and notice the new people in this room?" He whispered harshly.
Reluctantly, the blue-eyed man dragged his gaze from the papers and looked at the small figure who seemed to be hiding in his shadow. Now he was confused.
"You brought a woman?" he asked lazily. Why all the fuss? The only women that came in the back room had been a scullery maid. Apparently, Marius had decided to change that.
"He brought two!" Joly shouted.
Fantastic.
Only then did he look around the room and notice all his men clustered around a brown-haired girl, in a simple, blue dress. Then she looked up and her hazel eyes met his.
Oh.
Good lord.
He thought he had already seen attractive women before, but apparently, he had not. The girl met his gaze with a level, confident stare. She was very easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He could feel a pounding in his ears and the blood rushing to his cheeks. He swallowed as he struggled to keep his composure. Then finally looking away at the same time as her. But quickly gave in to the temptation to look back again. He felt his heart jump as he noted the pink on her cheeks. She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and it made him feel things he had never felt before. Clearing his throat, he struggled to keep his self-control.
Should I go introduce myself? No. It's too late for that, you idiot.
As he was mentally contemplating his sanity, Combeferre spoke up.
"Now that everyone is here, shouldn't we get started?"
It took Enjolras a haft a second too long to realize he was talking to him.
"Uh- Yeah. Yes, we should." He stammered.
Standing up and tidying his papers, he addressed Courfeyrac about the pins.
"Actually, the tailor said he'll be delivering them this morning. So.." Courfeyrac informed him.
"Alright."
What am I doing? Get it together.
He went on with what he had prepared to talk about. "The people in the streets are getting more restless as the weeks pass by. General Lamarque has again asked the monarchy for consideration of the poor, to which he was given the same response, which we know means absolutely nothing."
He paused as they took the news in.
Just as he was about to continue, a confident but feminine voice rose above the others.
"But.. why? Why would they allow their own people suffer and starve?" The Girl asked. (He had decided to nickname her "The Girl" for the time being).
Everyone turned to look at her, and Enjolras was secretly pleased to have an excuse to look at her as well.
"They view the poor no higher than dirt."
"They tax us relentlessly."
"And treat us like trash!" his men answered her.
The Girl nodded. "So, what are you all going to do about it?" she asked.
Everyone looked to him.
"We're going to start a revolution."
Sitting back down, he covertly observed The Girl's reaction to his declaration. She smiled to herself and developed a distant look in her eyes. He wondered if she had the same passion for the cause as him.
The knock at the door broke him from his stupor, and he watched as Joly received the package Madame was delivering. As he sat it on their leader's desk, everyone went silent. Enjolras opened the box and called Gavroche forward. After the little boy strutted around showing off the pin, Enjolras stood up and started passing them out. He went around and placed them in front of all his supporters. He tried to skip Grantaire, but the drunk noticed and demanded one for himself. He'll just lose it. Enjolras sighed and reluctantly placed one on his table anyway.
Then he got to The Girl's table. Then one table he'd subconsciously saved for last. He placed one if front of Courfeyrac but paused when he got to The Girl. He didn't want to be rude and assume she was joining. But would she still be here if she wasn't?
"Are you.." He cleared his throat "Are you planning on joining?" he asked, hesitantly.
That sounded ridiculous.
Thankfully, The Girl didn't seem to notice his tension.
"I agree with what you all were saying, and I've never thought the way the monarchy treats the lower classes is fair or humane, they are people, and they deserve rights of their own" she paused "I support the cause wholeheartedly. I just.. I'm not sure what I can do to help."
She agrees! Don't screw this up.
Summoning the courage he didn't know he possessed, he met her eyes.
"Your presence is more than enough."
What was that?
Instantly kicking himself for the forward and plain cringy reply he placed the pin in front of her and moved on. He was surprised that she only smiled and picked up the pin, examining it. He'd have expected her to cringe and laugh at him for his ridiculous reply.
Though, he meant what he had said. Her presence was plenty, it improved the numbers, and she could later prove to be invaluable through some means. Her presence did also seem to lift the spirits of those around her.. And.. He stopped that train of thought. He had only one priority. Justice for France, for the poor. The revolution. That is his purpose, and he would see it through.
No distractions.
As the day continued, the group went about their normal routine. Discussing the topics brought to the table and so on. He couldn't help but observe The Girl's reaction to some of the things that were said. She then brought her gaze to his and he held it until she flushed slightly and looked down and swished her hair to the side revealing her neck. His gaze didn't waver as he took that in.
What am I doing.
He had absolutely no experience with flirting. There had been incidences of random women speaking persuasively with him, but he'd only ignored them. Not even politely.
She then stood up abruptly, eyes wide.
"What time is it?" She asked, panicked.
"it's almost four thirty." Marius replied.
Her face fell and she began murmuring to herself while collecting her things. She then exchanged a few hurried words with.. Eponine.. Was it? And they started making their way to the door together.
"Wait, where are you going?" questioned Gavroche, speaking Enjolras' exact thoughts.
"I.. erm..forgot about the curfew I was given." The Girl shrugged. He hated that he still didn't know her name.
"But will you come back?" Joly asked hopefully.
It's like they can read my mind.
"Pshaw! She's a Lady! She can't fight! Bet the wench can't even swig whiskey!" announced Grantaire.
Enjolras personally despised that human, and his disgust only grew in that moment. Grantaire reminded him of a fly. He just buzzes around with no purpose but to annoy the being he was buzzing around. For some odd reason he was drawn to Enjolras. He was contemplating speaking up when The Girl frowned.
She apparently was not having it either.
Forgetting that she was supposed to be leaving, she walked right over to Grantaire's table in the corner. Drawing every set of eyes in the room to her. Enjolras found himself hoping she might smack him. Instead of violence, she took on a haughty air and snatched the unopened bottle of whiskey from his table.
"Go ahead! You won't be able to even manage a drop." The drunk taunted her.
Allete.. don't" pleaded her friend who was still waiting at the door.
Allete! Her name is Allete.
Pushing down the joy that overcame him just from learning her name, he continued watching the scene unfold.
The Girl- Allete only shook her head, seemingly amusing by their statements. She uncorked the bottle and pressed it to her full lips, sipping it in an unladylike matter that was glorious in Enjolras' opinion.
When she finished, haft the bottle was gone. Allete wiped her mouth and set the bottle down in front of a very humbled Grantaire. Everyone cheered and it brought Enjolras out of his stupor.
That was.. again, glorious.
He couldn't think of a better word.
That's the kind of defiance he wanted in his group.
Allete's friend made her way threw the bunch of young men gathered around Allete and spoke to her in a rushed manner. She paled, then replied franticly. The pair started making their way to the door when they were interrupted yet again.
"Wait but, are you coming back?" The youngest boy asked again.
Allete paused. "whenever I can get away, I'll do my best to show up.." she shrugged.
That was enough for Enjolras. The fact that she'd even make an effort to come again filled him with a satisfaction he couldn't describe.
Then he noticed she left her pin behind.
Did she not want it? Or did it only slip her mind..? She was in a rush..
He wanted her to have it. It would maybe remind her to come back-
"Wait" he called to her.
She turned around in surprise as he walked over to the table and retrieved the pin and brought it right to her. Handing it to her, he met her brownish green eyes.
"Oh. Thanks." She stammered in a tone that spread warmth in his chest.
Not trusting himself to speak, he bowed his head slightly and turned and walked back to his desk.
What an idiot. Why didn't introduce myself.. Tell her my name?
Before he could even try to speak again, Eponine, her friend, took ahold of her arm and guided her out the door.
Pushing away his disappointment in himself, and the strange displeasure he felt at Allete's departure, he continued with the meeting with a somewhat clear head.
After the meeting was drawing to a close, Enjolras turned to Marius and Courfeyrac.
"The girl... who was in earlier." he prompted, playing as though he hadn't gone through every syllable in her name.
"Oh.. Eponine?" asked Marius.
No you fool, the beautiful one that drained almost a pint of Grantaire's whiskey without even flinching.
"No, the other." He said merely.
Courfeyrac laughed "Ah Allete! Now there's lively lass."
Gavroche joined the circle of men. "She's real pretty too! And she's nice."
Joly entered the group "Ha! Sounds like you fancy her, Gavroche."
The little boy turned bright red, stuttering. "No I don't! You fancy her!"
Jehan spoke up "I think we all might fancy her.. she's as pretty as they come!"
No one denied this statement.
Enjolras didn't want to think very hard on the uncomfortable feeling he felt growing in his chest while the other men discussed Allete's beauty. He felt as though they were taking something he cherished from him. He felt very protective over the girl he had hardly even spoken to. He decided to call them out.
"You lot better give the girl space if she does come back, not hovering around her like a bunch of flies." He said pointedly.
"Aww but we were just having a little fun" Joly whined.
"I'll have none of it." Their leader replied with a tone of finality.
"And Grantaire.." He acknowledged the drunkard in the corner. "Speak that way to a woman in my presence ever- and I'll make sure you never see another drop of ale." He scolded harshly.
Ignoring the looks of surprise sent his way, Enjolras gathered his things and left. His friend Combeferre trotted after him and caught up with him on the street.
"What was that all about..?" his friend asked.
"He regarded her in a disrespectful manner, and I'll not have it." He responded simply.
"Well.. Yeah, I know that. But you never get so worked up about things.. Why- "
Enjolras interrupted him "It's not your concern." He said it a little more rashly than he meant. The hurt and surprise were evident on Combeferre's face. They walked the rest of the way in silence and parted without a word.
He knew he should've apologized, but his mind was still so consumed with trying to identify the different emotions coursing through his veins. One was most obviously jealousy. Hence the queasy feeling in his gut when the men were discussing Allete. Another was a light, airy, pleasant feeling, a sort of bliss he had never known.
A feeling that came from thoughts only of the girl with the messy braid and blue dress.
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OKKAYY here's an overthinking Enjolras pov.. your welcome. It's a smaller chapter, i know.. but the next one will be out soon ;)