It is midday at the Café Musain when a young girl suddenly bursts through the doors. Cheeks flushed, she frantically scans the room. It's Enjolras who first addresses her. "Mademoiselle, are you lost?"
He is cut off by her urgent speaking. "There is a man chasing me, Monsieur, I beg of you please tell him I am not here." At this, she jumps behind the bar, drawing her knees to her chest. Enjolras doesn't even have a moment to react before a very angry looking young man storms in. His dark hair is flying and his green eyes shoot daggers at everyone present. "I'm looking for a girl. Young, scrawny thing. Dark hair. Has she been here? You see, she's my sister. She ran off, she's always causing trouble, and I need to find her soon or her, our, father will be very, very upset." He says, emphasizing the upset. Enjolras sees the girl cringe at this, and he immediately knows what he has to do.
"I'm terribly sorry, but there has been no one by that description who has been at this café." Enjolras lies, hoping his voice, his best asset, will make this man leave. Whoever this man was, if he terrified the young girl so, he was not welcome. "Best of luck finding her though. Good day."
The man scowls as he turns to leave, mumbling words Enjolras couldn't understand. Once he is out of sight, Enjolras turns to the girl. Looking closer, she was vaguely familiar. He recognized her as the girl who came with Marius to many of their meetings. She always sat in the corner silently, talking only to Marius. If he remembered correctly, her name is Eponine.
Enjolras clears his throat. "Mademoiselle, I believe it is safe now." Eponine cautiously stands up from her hiding spot, her large brown eyes still full of fear.
"Thank you Monsieur. I will be going now." She tried to hurry out, but without thinking, Enjolras grabs her wrist to stop her. She lets out a small yelp of pain, and he immediately releases her. She tries to hide it, but to no avail.
"Did he hurt you?" Enjolras demands.
"Monsieur, it really isn't your concern." She again tries to leave, but Enjolras steps in front if her, but is careful not to touch her. He gently pulls up her sleeve, much to her protest, and reveals several handprint shaped bruises.
"Did he do this?" Enjolras has a fire in his eyes now, and Eponine can see it.
"I must be going now." Eponine responds, quickly sidestepping around Enjolras, who stands confused. Before he even has a moment to call out to her, she is gone.
"Wasn't that the girl that's always with Marius?" Grantaire asks, eyes never leaving the bottle in front of him.
"Yes, I believe it was. I'm very concerned, whoever that man was, he obviously injured her. I do not understand why she was in such a hurry to leave." Enjolras responded, both confused and irritated. He only wanted to help, but she would not allow even that. Although he has a speech to prepare for tonight's meeting, he could not keep his thoughts from trailing back to Eponine. He could only hope he would get a moment to speak with her tonight.
Several hours later, Marius arrives at the café. Several of the other students began filing in, in preparation for the meeting. Enjolras desperately wanted to pull Marius aside and ask him about Eponine, but unfortunately did not get the chance. Right before the meeting officially was to begin, Enjolras spotted Eponine slinking through the door. She made her way to where Marius was seated and smiled excitedly as he greeted her. Throughout his speech, he couldn't keep his eyes from constantly wandering back to where the two were sitting. He couldn't help but notice the way Eponine acted around Marius. She would smile and her eyes would light up. She would lean into him, hanging onto every word. The most intriguing thing was how happy she looked, as if there were no place in the world she would rather be.
After he finished his speech, Enjolras made his way to where Marius and Eponine were sitting. "Good even Marius, Eponine." Enjolras greeted them, somewhat hesitant, curious as to how Eponine would react.
"You two are acquainted?" Marius asks, brows furrowing together.
"Did she not not tell you about this afternoon?" It is Enjolras' turn to be surprised. Her and Marius seemed very close, so surely she would have told him of her experience earlier.
"No. 'Ponine?" Marius turns to Eponine who is staring off into space. She snaps back into attention when he says her name.
"I simply stopped by the café this afternoon to see if you were here. I was greeted by..." She trails off realizing she had not even caught the name of the man who had tried to help her.
"Enjolras." Enjolras wants to ask her a million questions, and he finally gets the opportunity when Marius excuses himself to say hello to Joly and Combeferre. "Are you okay?" He asks, hoping for a decent answer.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She raises her eyes to his, challenging him. Has she truly forgotten the afternoon's events, or did she simply not want to talk about it? Either way, Enjolras is determined for an answer.
"You know perfectly well why. Who was that man? The one who stormed into the café looking for you? Is he really your brother?"
Eponine let's out a little chuckle at this. "No, he is not my brother. I do have a brother actually, but he is about half of his height." She changes to a more serious tone. "His name is Montparnasse. He works for my father. It really isn't anything to worry yourself with."
"If he is harming you then I will worry. He has no right to do that!"
"There's nothing you or I will be able to do about it. And why does this concern you so much? You hardly know me."
"I will not stand to see anyone in harm, and I know Marius would not like to see you in any danger either." At this, Eponine gazes off to where Marius is sitting. Her expression expresses both hopefulness and sadness. It is fairly obvious that she has feelings of more than friendship for him.
"Do not concern yourself with me, you have more important things to busy yourself with." She stands and glances around. Suddenly, her face visibly pales. "What time is it?" She asks, voice shaking.
The meeting had run longer than usual, and their conversation had also lasted a good amount if time. "It is about half past ten." Enjolras tells her, noting her concerned expression.
"Dear God! I need to leave now!" Eponine sprints out if the café, once again leaving Enjolras alone and with more questions than answers.
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