Chapter 58 | Nothing

                                    

                                          

"Damn, I am so sorry!" a hand was suddenly extended towards Mia and she grabbed it, using it to help herself up. 
                          
Euphemia came to be face to face with the brown haired boy that had stormed out of the cafe on her and Charlus' date on that fateful Valentine's day where Mary lost her life and Mia lost everyone and everything that mattered to her. 
                          
"It's okay," she mumbled, going to move on past him but he stopped her, glancing at her curiously because he was pretty sure that he knew her from somewhere. 
                          
"You're Mia, right?" David asked her, having heard about her from Florean and he recognised her from the cafe where his date with Faye, Charis' friend, had completely failed. 
                          
Euphemia blinked at him in surprise because she didn't even know his name and yet he knew hers which was confusing. "Yes. Do I know you or something?" she asked. 
                          
Before he could answer, she quickly added, "I mean, I do recognise you as Faye's date from last Valentine's Day, did you ever patch things up with her?" Mia asked, watching as he flushed a little and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. 
                          
"Uh, no. She doesn't really like me," David chuckled a little awkwardly, not mentioning the fact to Euphemia that he was actually secretly dating one of Mia's best friends. 
                          
"Anyway, I'm David Anderson, I'm friends with Florean," he introduced himself, putting out his hand for her to shake, which she did, her face brightening at the sound of Florean's name. 
                          
"Nice to meet you, David. Sorry for bumping into you...literally," Euphemia apologised - a thing she seemed to be doing a lot lately but David waved her apology off, claiming that it was also his fault and so she carried on talking. 
                          
"I'm actually looking for Florean, do you know where he is?" Mia asked David, noting that he was in Hufflepuff by his scarf that was wrapped around his neck which made sense as to how he knew Florean. 
                          
David smiled sheepishly, running a hand over the back of his neck as he hadn't actually seen Florean yet -  though the two had been exchanging slightly...uh..romantic letters over the summer holidays. 
                          
"I'm assuming that he's in his usual compartment," he told her and Euphemia thanked him for his help and carried on walking, still limping. 
                          
"What's wrong with your ankle?" David suddenly asked her, slightly worried as he had also seen her black eye and had noticed that she was holding herself rather stiffly, as if she was hurt somewhere else. 
                          
Mia froze, her eyes widening as she turned around slowly and fixed a fake, reassuring smile on her face that David saw through immediately, not buying it. 
                          
"Nothing, it's nothing," she replied, her heart hammering in her chest as David raised an eyebrow sceptically, leaning against the wall casually. 
                          
"Doesn't look like nothing," David pointed out and Euphemia sighed, choosing not to listen to him and carried on limping down the corridor while he watched her in concern. 
                          
Florean had mentioned something to him about Mia's family being dark but David didn't think they would take it as far as to actually beat up one of their own. 
                          
Then again, he did know what Druella Rosier (though he supposed now it was Black - everyone knew she had gotten married over the summer) was capable of and he reckoned that the rest of them could easily be just as cruel. 
                          
David watched carefully as Euphemia hobbled to the compartment that Florean and his friends often frequented and she paused outside of it, evidently nervous. 
                          
"Alright, Euphemia?" he called to Mia and she gave him a slight look of irritation but she mostly looked extremely scared of how she was going to approach those inside.