The meeting that evening had ended early. Everyone assumed Enjolras was either overly irritated with them for skipping or had fallen ill because it was out of character to let them leave early. In reality, the revolutionary leader found that his every thought was no longer the revolution, but those sapphire eyes. Maybe he had fallen ill. This had never happened to him before. He was never one to even give women a chance and now he was captivated by one of them. He had fallen into her trap and there was only one way out of it...or so he thought.
Enjolras removed his head from his hands after his failed attempt at planning and grabbed his red jacket hastily and threw it on. He couldn't help but think of the red dress she wore that evening and her red hair. He shook his head, his blonde curls bouncing as he did so as if trying to shake the woman from his mind. He had a plan. Was it a good one? Most certainly not. In fact, it was quite possibly one of the worst and least thought-through ideas he had in his life, but it didn't matter. Without sparing a glance at any of the students remaining in the room, he left for the cabaret. He had to speak with her. Maybe seeing her in person would make him realize she wasn't worth thinking about. He would see her and his thoughts would return to his revolution.
When he opened the door and saw her from across the room, he realized how awful his idea had been. She looked even more beautiful than she had just a few hours earlier. She sat at the bar with a man talking to her, her sapphire eyes focused on the glass of wine in her hand. She looked so pensive that he found himself wanting to know why. He shook the idea from his mind and forced his feet forward. He had to speak to her. What he was going to say he wasn't quite sure, but he knew he needed to. As he stormed over to her, she looked up from the glass of wine and for the first time made eye contact with him.
Throughout his entire life, Enjolras found time went too fast. He felt like he was a kid just yesterday and now he was planning a revolution. Time flew by without him. Never in his life had he ever felt it stop. Well, until now. Nothing else existed outside of those sapphire blue eyes. Somehow seeing them up close he felt as if he could see into her soul. The room melted away and all that mattered was her. Part of him wanted to run from her and another needed to know if she felt the same way.
"Bonne nuit, monsieur." Her voice snapped him from his daze. He felt as if his heart clenched just having her speak to him. This wasn't supposed to happen. He never thought he would ever feel this way about someone and then he met her. It wasn't right. He didn't understand what made her so special that he felt as if he had known her for a lifetime just from three words. It was those sapphire eyes. It was as if they screamed every thought that went across her mind.
"Bonne nuit, mademoiselle. Could I have a word with you in private?" A small smile spread across her lips as she placed the glass back on the bar and stood from the stool without sparing a glance at the man who was talking to her.
"Of course, right this way." She led him backstage to a small room that had a desk and a couch. She sat down behind her desk and nervously organized the papers on it. He sat down on the couch, trying to plan what exactly he wanted to say to her. "What can I help you with, monsieur?"
"I am the leader of a-" He pursed his lips for a moment, trying to come up with a word for his revolutionary group that kept her from knowing the truth. "Let's call it a club. The issue is, all of the men in my club are so mesmerized by you that they won't bother to listen to a word that comes out of my mouth."
"So you're jealous?" It took him a moment to realize that she meant jealous of the fact she had their attention and he did not. He could see the gears working in her mind through her eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?" Enjolras reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of coins. Her face remained the same blank expression but her eyes turned cold. "I am not a prostitute. I will not be sleeping with them." A small gasp escaped his lips, realizing how bad he made this look.
"No, no I don't want you to sleep with them. If anything, it's the opposite. I will pay you to stay away from this cabaret for a month. That way, if they return, you won't be here and they'll have no reason to skip meetings."
"I don't want your money."
"I assume you get paid to work here?" She nodded, a look of skepticism in her eyes. "Let this act as your wage for the next month. I want you to stay away from my club, away from my men, and away from the cabaret." He didn't know what possessed him, but he stood and walked over to the desk. He grabbed one of her hands that rested on it and placed the bag of coins in it. A shock shot through his hand and up his arm, but he ignored it. Without another word, he turned and left the room. She assumed it was because his business was done, but in reality, he didn't trust himself to not reveal the way he felt right then and there.
The woman remained in her chair watching after the man in the red jacket. She didn't know how to feel about the entire conversation. When he walked over to her, it was as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Those ocean-blue eyes of his looked directly into her soul and she felt more exposed than she ever had in any of the outfits the cabaret had her wear. It had to be entirely in her head but she never felt as if someone understood her just from one look. When he pulled out the bag of money, her heart dropped. For some reason, all she could think was she didn't want just one night with him and to be forgotten; she wanted a lifetime. It was such a stupid thought, she just met him after all. But those ocean-blue eyes would not be forgotten anytime soon.
YOU ARE READING
Smoke Screens
Fanfiction"How am I supposed to die at the barricades when I see my future in your eyes?" Love had never been in the cards for Enjolras. He could never take his eyes away from his beloved Patria for long enough to notice women around him. At least, that was...
