That morning I woke up hungry, but I forced myself to ignore it. If I thought of it too much, it would only make things worse for me.

I got ready for a day in the streets. I tried to clean stains I had off of my dress and I also pinned my long dark hair up the best I could. I wiped off the dirt and June heat that accumulated all across my face. After a couple more little things, I was ready to go out. I kissed Clémence and my mama goodbye. And I was off.

You might say walking through the streets of St. Michele sounds fun, but it's more depressing than anything. Every corner you turn there's always a child or an elderly man begging you for bread. The worse part is when you have to say that you don't have any and watch their defeated faces deflate a little more.

I walked my fastest so that I wouldn't miss the speech Enjolras was talking about, and my pace soon turned into a slight jog. I was sure it was going be amazing; I wouldn't want to be late. I had to hear every word Enjolras and his friends had to say, even though I wasn't sure what they were even going to be speaking about.

"Adéle? Is that you?" A voice caused me to turn around. It was a boy. He walked closer and I realized who it was. Enjolras! I tried to stay calm even though I was exploding inside from joy.

"Bonjour à nouveau, mademoiselle," He greeted politely. "You look more beautiful than ever."

"Merci, Enjolras," I grinned.

"What are you doing here, my lady?" he smiled back.

"I have come to listen to your speech," I replied.

"You have?"

I nodded. Enjolras's face looked intrigued at me and there was an awkward quietness. But his face contorted, a serious expression replacing the happy one.

"That's great. We need all the believers in my cause as possible," he took my hand and kissed it lightly. "Excuse me, Mademoiselle, I must be leaving." He began to turn around, but I stopped him.

"Wait, Enjolras. Where is the speech?"

"In front of General Lamarque's home," And with that, he jogged off.

I didn't take it too personally, he probably had planning that he had to take care of. I guess his 'cause' makes people busy. I started walking again the way I usually took to work. If I followed this way, that meant I would get to General Lamarque's home where the speech was apparently being held.

After being stopped by two more children and one middle-aged man asking for bread, I was in the common area. I didn't usually come here a lot, but it was where most people sold their products of all kinds to make some extra francs. Most sellers don't normally do well since so many people here are too poor to even buy bread. There was quite a crowd. I was happy with the turnout for Enjolras's sake. As he said, he needs all the recruits he can get.

I shoved my way through the people to get to the front. I had a hard time trying to get through, but I finally managed to get to the edge of the stage.

"People of Saint Michele, an uprising is underway." The boy named Marius was talking now. After a while of talking, Enjolras concluded the speech.

"We'll cut the fat ones down a size!" hearing this, the crowd slammed their fists through the air and the shouting began.

"Vive la France! Vive la France!" the people started to chant. I joined them, punching my fists through the air, just as Enjolras was doing.

Then, police officers on horses began to disperse the people. I saw on man get the butt of a gun slapped against his face. I watched in horror as I saw him lay motionless on the ground. Blood was pouring out from his wound.

Before I knew it, a police officer came up to me. He gave me a stern look.

"You best be getting home, pretty Mademoiselle." his voice was deep and demanding.

"Vive la France." I chanted again, even though most people were running and screaming. The police officer pointed his musket up at me and I yelped.

All of a sudden, someone or something tackled me. I fell to the ground hitting my head. Everything went black.

---

I woke up with a terrible headache. It hurt to keep my eyes open but it also hurt to close them. I would never wish this pain on anybody.

I sat up from the thin blanket I was laying on. I rubbed my face and stood up. The room was small with wooden chairs in each and every corner.

"Where am I?" I whispered to nobody in particular. I heard people talking outside-boys I'm guessing due to the low-pitched voices.

I walked out of the room and into a larger one. I was correct.

There were young men spread out all across the room. Some of them were sitting at tables, and some of them were sitting at a bar. But they all had one thing in common: they were drinking wine. The smell of wine lingered throughout the bar. I'll say, it wasn't the most pleasant smell to wake up to.

"Hey, Enjolras, she's awake." I heard somebody say. I turned in the direction of the voice; it looked as if nobody even spoke.

"Oh, Adéle! You're awake at last." Enjolras stepped down from his bar stool and stepped over to me. He was walking perfectly straight, so I assumed he wasn't drinking as much as the others were.

"Enjolras, what happened? My head hurts terribly. Where am I?" I asked, confused.

"Enjolras saved you because he loves you!" a mocking voice came from one of the boys at the table. He looked like he's been drinking a lot.

"Shut up, Combeferre. Go back to your wine." Enjolras chided. He paused for a second before he set his gaze upon me again. "You're at the Amis de ABC. A police officer at the speech was about to shoot you, so I got you out of the way. The fall knocked you out, so I took you here." He looked down again, his cheeks flaming red.

"Merci, Enjolras." I said trying to hug him. He gave me a hug back but kept it shorter than expected. Just like before, I didn't let myself take it personally. He probably was in a rush to get back to talking about the revolution that was going to happen. He walked to the front of the room where everybody could see him.

"We need a sign. To rally the people, to bring them in line!" He threw his fist in the air. The rest of the men in the room joined him, yelling words that were unable to be defined. I did not join the chants, for I only looked at Enjolras in wonder.

Why did he seem embarrassed of me? Is he ashamed of me?

He looked at me for a short second, then blinked and looked away. I frowned.

Why was he all the sudden acting like this?

"They come when we call!" he shouted, punching the air above him. And then I remembered something.

Mother! She's going to be so mad! I haven't bought any bread to eat. They're going to be starving!

"What's wrong with the girl?" someone said. I must have looked as bad as I felt.

"I'm alright." I managed to say despite my sudden dizziness. I grabbed a chair at the center table. I reached my hand back to my wound and I felt a sudden burst of pain. I winced and let my hand drop. Combeferre slid a bottle of wine to me from across the table.

"There you go," He said. I looked at him, confused. "put some hair on your chest."

I was reluctant at first, but I decided to take a sip. I picked up the bottle by its neck and lifted it to my lips. I took a drink. My immediate want was to spit it out, but I refused to do this in front of these boys, and I forced the liquid down my throat. I didn't understand how people could drink so much of something so terrible of taste. When I slammed the bottle down on the wooden table, the boys cheered and clapped. I smiled and wiped my lips.

"I probably should get going," I said, standing up. The chair behind my squeaked as the legs moved across the floor. I walked over to Enjolras. "See you tomorrow." I attempted to exit through the door but he stopped me.

"Wait, Mademoiselle!"

"What?" It came out harsher than I meant for it to. A flash of insult spread across his face. "I'm sorry. I'm just not really feeling well tonight." I tried to sound sincere, surprised at my own sudden change in mood. I started for the door again, stepping into the cool air of the night.

"Well, where are you going?" Enjolras tried to catch up with me. He brushed his long, curly locks out of his eyes.

"Home," I said flatly. I didn't make eye contact with him. He wrapped his warm fingers around my bare arm, stopping me in my tracks.

"What if I took you back to my apartment?" he asked, his voice was low. I was very taken aback at the question that I physically took a small step away from him.

"What?"

"J-" he paused, taking a glance at his surroundings to make sure nobody was listening in. "Just for some wine. It's pretty evident that you are not really going home." He moved another inch closer to me.

He was right. I didn't know it was that obvious. I thought about seeing my papa and how he would just verbally abuse me the entire night until he passed out in his own drunkenness. It definitely was not something I wanted to deal with. I didn't know where I was going to go but definitely not home.

"I suppose I could come over for just a little while," I looked him in the eyes.

___

The moon was awake and bright when we arrived at Enjolras' apartment. He pulled his key out and unlocked the door, pushing it open. It slightly squeaked, echoing throughout the long hall.

"You can come in," he said in almost a whisper. "But stay right here while I find some candles." With this, he continued into the darkness of the apartment as I waited by the front door, standing in the dim yellow light of the hallway lamps. I heard some stamping of Enjolras' shoes on the floor before there was a sudden drag of the lighting of a match. It crackled as he held it to the candles. A few moments later, the candles were lit, warming up the room with orange flames.

It was the nicest apartment I had ever seen. Despite the poor lighting, I could see the sleek tan walls. A bed sat in the corner with soft-looking blankets and pillows. A small sofa was in the opposite corner, green silk fabric decorating it. Wood cabinets that looked untouched. The most captivating thing in the room was the bookshelf. It was stuffed with hundreds of books, some spilling over onto the floor.

"So, what do you think?" he opened one of the cabinets and pulled out what seemed to be an unopened wine bottle. I observed him as he also took out two metal cups and began pouring the wine gingerly.

"What did you say you do again?" I asked, walking over to the bookshelf. I didn't mean to ignore his previous question but the shelf captivated me to such an extent that I almost felt like it was calling my name.

He set the bottle down on the counter, "I'm a student. A full time one. I'm planning to be a scholar." He paced over to me, two cups in hand. He offered me one and I took it from him gladly.

"You're a student...?" I found it hard to believe as he seemed much too old to be anything of the sort.

"Yes," he took a sip from his cup, looking at me. His curly blond hair cast twisted shadows on his face in the weak candlelight. He let out a light chortle, "Why do you sound so disbelieving? Do I act too foolish?" he gulped down another drink of his wine to his self-inflicted insult.

"No, not at all," I exhaled with a small giggle. "I just find it hard to believe that you are a schoolboy who's trying to lead a rebellion," I looked into his eyes, bringing my wine cup up to my lips. "How would you have time to worry about anything besides your studies?"

"People find time for the things they desire in life." he gave a little grin. He turned and walked over to the couch, sitting down. He tinkered with the buttons on his crimson red jacket, eventually pulling off the garment and laying it across the arm of the sofa. "Come. Sit." He offered, lightly tapping the cushion next to him. I did as he asked and placed myself on the couch. I cleared my throat as the result of a nervous habit. I couldn't tell myself why I was nervous. I turned to him and noticed he was staring at me. I put my face back into my cup. For some reason, the taste no longer bothered me.

"You must like wine, huh?" he broke the silence.

"I had never had it before tonight," I admitted, feeling slightly ashamed.

"You haven't?"

"No."

"How has a pretty lady like you never had any wine?" he chuckled. I didn't respond, for I didn't know what to say. The silence returned. "I apologize. That was inappropriate of me to say." he let his eyes drop to his lap.

"It's alright." I placed my hand on his broad shoulder in reassurance. He shifted to my hand on his shoulder. His eyes fixed with mine for what seemed like years. It was then that I realized how intriguing his face was. Ever-so-slight freckles, deep earthy eyes, thick, expressive brows. His lips were pink and plump. I found myself staring at those the most.

He suddenly blinked his eyes with rapidness, asking, "Would you like some more wine?" my cup was not empty, but he was most likely looking for an excuse to get up from the situation.

"Yes, but I'll get it myself. Would you like some, too?" I rose from the sofa and turned to him.

"Oh...why the hell not," he laughed and I joined him in the comedic moment. I took his cup from his grasp and sauntered over to the shadowy counter. I picked up the wine bottle and watched as the purple-bloody liquid bubbled into the metal cups. I had never drank this much before. Well, I had never drunk before tonight.

And now you're drinking with a man...alone. A real man. What are you doing?

I finished pouring ourselves some more wine and turned to see that Enjolras was now sitting on the bed, observing the, based on his facial expressions, riveting words of a book with a golden sheen cover. I rejoined him, sitting beside him on the plush and extremely comfortable mattress.

"What's that?" I questioned, squinting at the small dots that made no sense to me. I felt stupid for being illiterate and being in the presence of someone who was studying to be a scholar.

"Perhaps my most favorite book!" his dimples dug crescents into his cheeks and I couldn't help but smile with him. "What is your favorite book?" he asked innocently.

I turned my face away from him, trying to hide the fact that my cheeks were turning tomato red. "I don't have any."

"Oh. Is it because you're-"

"-Yes," I interjected, not wanting to hear him speak the word that I knew was coming.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." he said, his voice dropping off near the end of his sentence. He closed the book and placed it back on the bookshelf, sliding it back into its slot.

Scratching my arm, my gaze rested on the wooden plank floor, "I—I should be heading home." I found the courage to stand up and step over to the door.

"Adéle, wait," Enjolras clutched my wrist, causing me to face him again. "Please...stay." his eyebrows dropped and his voice was begging.

"I should-" I gripped the door knob.

"Please." he gave one last attempt, and I couldn't turn him down.

"Okay. I'll stay," I released my hand from the knob and stepped back into the room. His hand didn't drop from my arm, however. I let my eyes bounce back and forth from his wrist to his eyes. He had the most intense stare that penetrated into me in a way that made my body feel limp.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're just...so beautiful." his voice had a sultry tone to it.