Roland, she thinks at once, of course. I'll wish I'd chosen Roland.

And then she rebels against that thought, with a fury that overwhelms doubt. Fuck that. She isn't buying into this. She won't let Eponine sell herself so cheap, not like this. She grabs the other girl's bony shoulders, holding her eyes, and there's a sharp intensity in her look.

"Ye listen to me, Eponine. That ain't how this goes. I don't care how many times it's gone that way for 'ee before, that ain't how it goes now. I won't hate 'ee, no matter how angry I get. I don't hate easy." And that's true, she realises; it's why it comes so deep and so all-encompassing when she does hate someone. She gets angry, sure, gets to dislike folk, but hate? Hate's a strong thing, and one she's only ever saved for those who killed what she loved. "So ye quit that talk, alright? I'm your friend whether ye want it or no, and ye're stuck with me, so ye are. Aught else, we'll just... we'll take as it comes."