Part 1

"Oh God above, please no! This cannot be true!" wailed Marius Pontmercy, as he gripped the delicate letter that had just arrived for him. Tears began streaming down his face, blurring the beautiful handwriting of his beloved Cosette, as they fell upon the page. He crumpled it in his fist and bolted up the stairs, into his bedroom, and woke everyone in the house with the slam of his door. The whole ordeal resembled that of a child who was angry at his parents, throwing a tantrum. Marius collapsed onto his bed in a mound of self-pity, and wept.

"First, my friends... Enjolras... all of them... dead! She cannot possibly abandon me now!" the young man sobbed, gripping the edge of his sheets. He was truly a sorry sight to behold. It was not long before there was a timid knock on the door.

"Leave me to myself, Grandfather! I do not wish to speak with anyone." There was a brief moment of silence, before a soft voice replied.

"Marius?" whispered Eponine, opening the door, very slightly, but just enough to see inside. When she saw him, her initial thought was that he was feeling yet another wave of remorse, for leaving the students at the barricade when he carried her off to the doctor, after she had been shot in the stomach. Although he may have saved her, the devastating carnage that ensued in his absence managed to take everyone of his companion's lives, and he felt like he was somehow responsible. Since then, both of them had been staying with Marius' wealthy Grandfather, so Eponine could recover in a safe environment, rather than the disgusting slum that was her usual residence. She had been up and walking for days now, but was still in a very tender condition, and wore a tight wrap around her abdomen. When Marius did not answer her, she quietly entered the room, and closed the door.

"Marius, if this is about the students-"

"No, 'Ponine." he interrupted. "It's about my love. My Cosette." She immediately felt her heart sink, and began wishing that she had just stayed in the guest room. The last thing she wanted to do was listen to the man she loved bleating over another woman. Eponine let out a long, audible sigh.

"Well, what has she done?"

"This." he whimpered, as he tossed the crumpled letter in her direction. Holding her wound tightly, she bent down to pick it up. After a lot of smoothing, it was at least somewhat legible. She discovered that not only had Cosette traveled far away with her father, but she was also asking, much to Eponine's surprise, that Marius try to forget they had ever met each other. She explained how she had been caught up in a wave of emotion, and had ultimately confused a feeling of sudden excitement with that of love. She gave her thanks for the experience, and apologized for hurting him. The final lined ended with the promise of perpetual separation. The entire letter seemed rather rushed, as if it had been written in a very short amount of time.

"How horrible I am." thought Eponine. "That I am actually pleased at this outcome. It is sickening." Suddenly, she looked up to see that Marius had gotten off the bed, and was now standing. But he was not facing her, and instead seemed to be silently staring at something on the floor. Eponine realized that his object of fascination was the small brown box she had seen him going through earlier that month. He continued to gaze at it, with a terrified look in his eyes, and she pressed her brain, trying to remember what she had seen in it.

"Think, 'Ponine. It was the day before the Revolution started... he took off his ring... and pulled out... a pistol." Shocked, the girl darted for the case and snatched it off the floor. Marius simply watched her with an unchanging expression, his tears continuing to fall. A pathetic smiled appeared on his face.

"No 'Ponine... I wasn't. Not when there's still a chance she'll return to me."

"You're not thinking straight. I don't want to leave you alone right now." Eponine said, hesitantly.

"I'll be fine. This nightmare will be over soon, I'm sure." He dropped back onto his bed, looking up at the ceiling, and rubbing his forehead. "Please, I'd like to be by myself. To think."

Eponine gave him a pained expression, and then turned to go.

"Marius, you know, I'll be here for you. Like you were for me." she mumbled. Again, he did not grace her with a response, and she left. Standing outside the door she heard the sobbing resume, and thought about how unimpressed the other students would have been with him. Only she could truly understand what it was like to have your heart broken on such a scale.