Hephaestion- Survivor

Chapter 4

Y/N's POV

I was kind of nervous because of a particular aspect of this party so I had to ask him.

"There will be dancing?"

"Mhhh yes. But don't worry about the partner. I will be with you the whole time." He said.

"It's not the partner I'm worrying about, Hephaestion. It's the dance itself." I laughed. "I don't know how to dance."

"Haven't you dance before?" he asked.

"The men that danced with me weren't exactly the best dancers." I said. "Or sober enough to teach me. There is a lot off alcohol at the parties held in my country." I said.

He got up and gave me his hand. "I'll teach you."

I looked amused at him. "You won't succeed, Hephaestion."

"I love a challenge. The result is more satisfying if you put a lot of effort." He winked and pulled me up. He wrapped an arm around my waist while I put my hand on his shoulder. The other one was in his hand.

"You just have to follow me." He said as he guided me. I tried to do as he said but I just couldn't guess the steps.

"Stop." He chuckled.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You're pushing me."

"No, I'm not."

"Look, I try to go in that direction but then you go in the opposite." He said.

"And how am I supposed to know where you want to go?" I asked making him laugh.

"Don't think too much. Just relax." He said. Once again I tried to go in a certain way but he wanted the other way and we bumped our legs. I sighed and this time I tried to follow him. I looked down, attempting to coordinate my steps but the only thing I did was tripping.

I huffed and left his arms. "It's impossible. I'm a lost cause."

"Let's try one more time." He said and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. "Look at me." He whispered. I moved my attention to his gorgeous blue eyes. I felt completely mesmerized by their beauty and above all the tenderness. It was still a little hard to let him guide me but we managed.

"See? It's not that hard. You need a partner that knows how to dance and everything will be fine. And lucky for you I know" He said smiling. I nodded.

"I still think I will mess this by having different moves." I laughed.

"Then I will adapt to you." He answered with a warm smile.

—–

I was standing in front of the mirror putting my earrings. I settled for a dark blue dress with a silver belt. I heard a knock on the door and then Jade came in.

"I know you are almost ready but I think I have the final piece." She said and gave me a bracelet. "I was searching through my jewelry box and I thought that it fits with the dress you chose." She said.

"It really does and it's beautiful. Thank you." I said and clasped it around my upper arm.

"You didn't do your make up." She stated.

"I can't say that I'm really fond of make up. And I don't even know how to apply it." I shrugged it off.

"Don't you want me to help. At least a little eye liner. It would look good on you." Jade offered.

"Does it take long?" I asked.

"Not at all." She said excited.

"Let's try." I sighed.

10 minutes later

"Stop blinking." She said exasperated after a few useless attempts.

"It's annoying." I whined.

After a few more minutes which seemed like an eternity for me, she finally managed to get it done. I looked in the mirror and I was shocked when I saw how cute it looked.

"So what do you say? It's a little detail but it can make a difference. And it brings out your eyes." Jade said.

"Hephaestion is ready?" I asked.

"He is waiting downstairs." She said. "I want to see his face when he sees you." She said. I rolled my eyes. "For the millionth time. We are just friends."

"Mhhhm, sure. That's how all love stories begin. Now go. You don't want to make him wait too long."

Hephaestion's POV

I was talking to Nicholas when I heard steps. I turned around and saw her descending the stairs. The only thing I could do was staring at her elegant figure.

"Wow." I said making her blush.

"I could say the same thing." She said.

"Shall we go?" I offered her my hand which she gladly took.

.......................

Y/N's POV

"You're nervous." He said as we approached the palace.

"You are the only one I know. Of course I am nervous." I said.

"Don't worry. Like I've said, I won't leave your side." He said.

As soon as we entered the palace we could hear the music coming from the ballroom. It was full of people laughing, dancing and drinking. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it before guiding me through the crowd. He greeted his friends and then he introduced me to them.

We were laughing and talking when a new song started. Hephaestion put down the cup of wine and asked me to dance. Every ounce of nervousness faded when I felt his hand on my lower back. Once it started, our gaze remained locked . We danced to the soft flow of music, our feet, surprisingly, in perfect sync. Hephaestion guided me across the dance floor. Despite keeping his eyes on me the whole time, he still knew exactly where to take me. Every moment, every step, every twirl seemed to be planned in advanced.

For a brief moment I moved my stare around the dance floor, noticing that we were the only one on it. The rest of the people were watching us from afar.

"Everyone is staring at us." I said looking at him.

"I've seen. I guess we make a good dancing pair." He said.

In my whole existence I had a few moments when I felt that I was living not just existing. This was one of them. There was nothing else in my mind except from us, the dance floor and the rhythm of the music.

When the music stopped and we separated I felt a little bit of sadness. I didn't acknowledged the applauds because I was too busy staring at him as he kissed my hand.

"I told you it will be fine." He whispered as we went outside. Some fresh air was everything I needed right now. Some of his friends followed us returning to their previous discussion but not before congratulating us.

"It's really not a big deal. When you have an expert like her as your partner... it's impossible to fail." Hephaestion said winking at me.

Everyone was having a good time until a woman came to Hephaestion. She completely ignored me as she pressed her body against his side and asked him to dance.