The Man Behind The Beast (BWWM) ✓

Chapter 22: Prepare The Food At The Ball pt. 2

I just want to say sorry for the sporadic uploads lately, and thank you all for being so understanding! I had to train a new employee in, so I couldn't use my breaks to write like I usually do. I'll be shooting for every other day now since school is starting and I'm sure y'all got shit to do for that too.
Thank you all again for understanding, and enjoy the chapter!

Stephan's POV
Bloody hell.

I literally couldn't take my eyes off of Elle as I approached her near the front entrance of the ballroom. She looked even more stellar in the dress she was currently wear, than I could ever imagine... And I had seen her in the same thing only yesterday. I tried to act nonchalant about how devastatingly attracted I was to her right now, but that all went out the window when she looked t me with the same hunger in her eyes.

"You look-"

"Wow." She breathed in a response.

"That glittery shit was an amazing invested." I nodded breathlessly, taking another step closer as she did the same. My hands reached out and grabbed her hips roughly before pulling her completely into me.

"I love how you call this highlighter, glittery shit." She whispered, her face only a hairs length away from mine.

"I like how you breathe oxygen. And how your existence just makes my existence more bearable." I whispered back unfiltered, as I started to lean into her.

"Ditto-" she started, but we were quickly cut off by loud footsteps echoing off the walls. Elle hesitantly pulled away from me as we glanced over to find Cogsworth speed walking towards us.

"Why in God's name are you two still standing around for? The dance will be starting any minute! Jesus, do you need me to get the doors for you, too?" He grumbled. I couldn't help but smile.

I know it must seem weird that I allowed Cogsworth to act like this, but in all honesty, he was more like a friend than anything else. I had known him for as long as I could remember, and the fact that he was one of the few people who wasn't  afraid to tell me when I needed to hop off my high horse, or when I had spinach in my teeth, made all the difference in my life.

I expected nothing less than elevated stress levels from him tonight though. It was his first official day back, and I had sprung quite a few things on him... Like Elle for instance.

"Rich people, I swear." He grumbled again.

"Hey hey hey, should we talk bout how much I'm paying you? I think those hefty paychecks qualify you for the ARPA. Arrogant Rich People Association. We welcome you with open arms my brother." I joked.

"Ta, very funny." He replied, trying to conceal his knowing smile as he approached the double doors. "Are you ready?" He asked. I glanced over at Elle.

"As ready as I'll honestly ever be." She replied.

With that, Cogsworth pulled on the heavy doors as the hinges roared to life and the music over flooded the lobby. Conversations quickly died down as many eyes turned to the doors. I could practically feel Elle shaking as I firmly grabbed her side and pulled her into mine.

I bent down and whispered in her ear. " if you loose your footing for any reason, lean into me and I'll support you, okay?"

She nodded in understanding.

The music hadn't stopped, as I gave Elle a quick squeeze, and we descended down the stairs of the entrance.

"Breathe." I whispered a reminder to her, while we were passing through a parted sea of people to the middle of the ballroom floor. All eyes were quite literally on us.

"I'm super duper nervous now." She whispered to me, as the orchestra got ready for the First Dance.

"Is it because of all the people, or because you currently have the broken off nose of a Greek god statue from the lobby, sitting in your pocket?" I asked.

Her eyes grew wide with mortification. "You saw." She whispered back at me.

"It was quite the scene." I admitted, smiling to myself when I remembered how her eyes had literally popped out of her eye sockets when the piece broke off into her hand.

"Do I even want to know how much it was?" She asked nervously.

"No. I don't want you fainting on me. It's not a big deal either. Totally worth it." I replied.

I backed away from Elle slightly, as my hand went out. "May I have this dance?"

"Yes." She whispered back, as her small hand slid into my large one. The song that was playing, was something I hadn't recognized, but it was extremely beautiful. I could tell Elle was falling for the enchantment of its melody as well, as she swayed slightly to the music.

"I'm not sure if I mentioned this before Elle, but you are the most stunning woman I have ever been graced with the pleasure of meeting." I whispered slightly huskily into her ear as I watched her body trembled in front of me.

"T-T-Thank you." She whispered back, diverting her eyes from mine as her cheeks heated up.

-

Elle's POV
The dances had gone so much better than I had even hoped for. After the first dance, people had joined in, so it wasn't as awkward and nerve racking anymore.

Stefan had drifted us through, and introduced me to a few of his colleagues. One of them was a little to friendly my way, but Stefan was having none of that and shut that shit down immediately.

"Shall I show you the best part of this place?" Stefan whisper into my ear, as he led me away from the dense crowd of people. I nodded to him.

We slipped through a door that I hadn't noticed was present in the farthest side of the room, and was quickly exposed to a balcony that was enclosed by glass. In this small room, you could see the entire city and forest as the passed through beautifully behind the long window panels. The room didn't have any furniture.

"Woah." I whispered, approaching the glass as I was mesmerized by the lit up night.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, as he wrapped his arm around from behind me. I shuddered at his breath on my neck. Without even knowing how, he had turned us around so his back was now facing the glass and he greedily brought his lips down to mine.

A satisfied moan erupted from the both of us.

My suddenly eyes whipped open as I felt Stefan awkwardly pull away. "What's wrong?" I asked, glancing up at him.

I saw his body begin to tip before he stumbled towards me, and collapsed into my side. I couldn't hold him up so we both lost our balance and tumbled to the floor.

"Elle." He whispered, his voice strained as, he looked up at me with pain etched into his face. I glanced back up at the large glass window, to find a shattering where a bullet had pierced through. I glanced down again to see an entrance hole through his back jacket.

"Stefan!" I called again, frantically. Trying to search for my phone in this fucking dress, and blood began to pool out from the gunshot wound, onto the carpeted floor.

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