Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit. This fic is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: Oh my God, people. I totally meant to post this first, but I made a dumb mistake and posted the WRONG THING! Oh well. At least you got a little preview. And you'll see the rest again soon.

Prologue

Éponine could pinpoint the exact moment when she fell in love with Marius Pontmercy. That gold louis he had given her was like manna from heaven. Even then, she'd known he would never return her feelings, but foolishly she fell in love anyway. She knew why it wouldn't be returned, and it wasn't just because of the class difference. Men like Marius loved the chase, and Cosette was the chase. It was as simple as that. She made him feel important, powerful, like they were the center of the world. If there was no chase, there was no reason, no object for his affection. She, Éponine, was too easy, too close, too desperate, to be exciting for him.

The love Éponine had for Marius, it wasn't the kind of love you could tell people about. Oh no. It was the kind of love you kept to yourself at all costs, the way you would an imaginary friend. If you told anyone, they'd call you crazy. So you just sat on it, day after day, poring over it with your imagination.

But what if you did act on it? What if one day, you were so desperate that you found the nerve to do what you never thought you could? Éponine, for one, could never stop wondering what might have been. And, though he never admitted it, neither could Marius.