As if they got hit on the head by a hammer, the two immediately sprung up on their feet and distanced themselves.
"OH MY DEAR!!" The girl who ruined the mood squealed even more when she confirmed that it was really the ill-famous actress and the hot-in-topic new heir. She ran back to her friends and told them about the scene she just saw.
Of course, people heard the girl, and one by one began to come to the hallway to witness the messy drama. But before any of them could see a glimpse, the couple was gone like a bird feather in the wind, leaving nothing behind.
"What the heck?! There's no one here!"
"Attention seeker!"
"What's happening?"
"I gotta get the heir's number!!"
"I mean, if it's Eirene Queen, then I won't stand a chance against her in everything... I wish you the best of luck, Eirene and Ares Queen. You are gonna make a great couple!"
People said whatever they wanted when they saw the empty corridor and went back into the hall as they fussed.
The girl blinked her eyes and pointed at the spot the two were squatting just seconds before. "But I swear I saw them!! KISSING!!"
One of the male guests patted her on the shoulder as he passed. "You are being delusional."
His friend shook his head, "There is no way the Queen would do something that stupid in public. You know she hasn't had a single scandal in the past six years, or so. She is cautious."
"But..." The girl tried to explain but began to doubt if she really saw them. Maybe she was delusional...
Man number one just held his hand in front of her. "Just stop. I get why you'd want to see two beautiful people together, but the two wouldn't make a good match considering how the actress is a complete mess."
The last three remaining people went back to the hall to dance, not believing in the crazy story of the girl. The four people in the dark breathed a sigh of relief when Eirene's heels weren't found.
----
"...There is noway the Queen would do something that stupid in public..."
Jaxon smirked and faced the actress in front of him, "Even I thought the same."
Eirene simply looked away from him and crossed her arms.
As soon as the two were caught, Jaxon spurted out of nowhere and quickly brought the actress to the emergency staircase. The duo weren't together with the Queens as they hid in the entrance of the washrooms.
The four had to stay hidden until the commotion was gone, but the mood was already long ruined, and there was no way for the actress to bring back those feelings.
Jaxon carefully opened the door leading to the floor to see the grandmother noticing him and giving him a thumbs up. Everything was clear.
The two at the staircase saw the pair of grandmother and grandson sneakingly coming to their side and so opened the door to the extent to welcome them.
Scarlet flipped her shoulder-length silver hair and sighed, "That was close. You almost gave this old grandma a heart attack." The four then walked up the stairs to avoid the possibility of being found easily.
Eirene and Ares were naturally close to each other and blushed briefly when it was mentioned.
"Anyway..." The manager and the grandmother stood arm to arm in front of the young couple while giving them a smirk and wiggling eyebrows. "Did you really kiss?"
The former actress added, "We weren't there to not disturb you, so we couldn't see."
Jaxon then continued, "So. Did you share a passionate first kiss?"
The older ones faced the young ones like excited puppies, waiting for their snacks to be given.
The couple exchanged a look before the actress answered, "No. We were... just talking. I don't know why that person thought that way..."
Eirene dropped her hand to the side. Accidentally making a contact with the boy's hand. As if a bolt of lightning went through, they both retracted their hands and held them over their chests while touching the spot.
Seeing the virgin kind of reaction, the elders lost interest faster than an asteroid that hit the earth and moved away from the couple. In the corner, they made a friendly chat about how the young ones these days were too boring and didn't give any candies.
Once again, the actress and the heir were left alone with nothing to do.
"Do you not need to go back?" The actress asked.
The boy shook his head, avoiding his crush's gaze. "No. If I'm supposed to, then the guards would have called me. Also, it's at the end and I don't have a role to play."
"I see."
"..."
"..."
The silence was torturous. They had only confessed their feelings a minute ago and didn't know much about the other.
As Ares looked for a topic to discuss, he heard the actress murmur to herself, "It's cold..." And saw her doing little jumps on tiptoes to escape from the coldness of the tiled floor. She wasn't feeling the cold when they were dancing in the hallway because the floor had carpets.
"I'll go get your heels." He immediately said and turned his back on her to go down the stairs to get to the door.
The actress realised the boy noticed her discomfort and tried to stop him. "It's fine. I can get them myself." She pulled the edge of the suit jacket lightly with her fingers, halting Ares's action.
She didn't know why she did what she did, but when she registered where her hand was, she let go of the clothing as if it didn't happen.
Another wave of awkwardness and embarrassment went through the woman. She didn't know she'd do something that she didn't like.
Eirene despised girls and women doing that to their male counterparts, especially on TV. She thought it was immature and cringy. But unlike her, her aunties said their hearts crunched seeing such a romantic moment. And just now that she did exactly that, she had to find an excuse for her actions for herself.
"T-there was something white on it. So I removed it." She stuttered and rubbed her fingers to show that she threw away the imaginary object.
Ares nodded with surprise and a smile. "Thank you for removing. But please stay here and I'll go get them." With that he ran down the stairs, slipping on one, and went out to get the actress's heels clumsily.
Eirene chuckled at the boy's attempt in trying to look cool but failing and patiently waited for him to come back.
"What kind of dog food were we fed just now?" Jaxon audibly asked the grandmother when they were three.
"Surely it wasn't seasoned." The grandmother replied and carried on with their conversation before Eirene could retort.
Just as expected, Ares came back to the landing in less than a minute with a pair of navy blue pin-heels in his hand.
"Thank you." The actress thanked her as she received her shoes.
"No need to say that. I'm the one who made you remove them in the first place." His height hadn't changed ever since he left the countryside and stopped drinking fresh milk from the neighbour farmers. Maybe that was the reason for the stop in growth.
Eirene shook her head. "It was by my choice."
"And I gave you that choice." The boy replied. "Do you need a help wearing those?"
"I appreciate it but I can handle them."
"Okay." Although the actress told him she could do it by herself, he still held out his arm for her for support which she hesitantly used.
As soon as Eirene finished, the two faced each other. She was standing a step below the boy and they were finally at the same level, making them smile in happiness.
Before a second could pass, they heard the disappointed, "Ahhh." Followed by, "I thought we were going to watch live-action Cinderella. What a waste of time."
It came from, of course, Jaxon and Scarlet in the corner.
"I'm not blonde to begin with." The actress commented.
"And they are not made of glass." Ares pointed out as a matter of fact.
Scarlet sighed, "That is not the point..." The duo joined the couple.
Jaxon disinterestedly asked, "Anyway, so what's your relationship now?"
The expressions the younger ones made were interesting. They both looked at the other with pure shock and confusion, like they hadn't thought about that.
"So?" Jaxon encouraged.
Eirene covered her mouth, and Ares frowned deeply. They were wondering what kind of relationship they were in. They both knew they liked each other, and that alone would have been considered a lover stage, but the problem was the lack of knowledge of each other.
"Why don't you start with being friends and exchanging phone numbers?" Scarlet suggested when she had enough of waiting.
The actress nodded. "That sounds reasonable." The heir agreed.
-----
"The heck is wrong with baby number one?"
Omal asked the person next to him, Karson, as they watched Ares staring at his phone with a smile, wider than a clown.
It was a peaceful lunch hour at the university and the three were waiting on the other two.
"He got Eirene Queen's phone number and now they text each other," Karson answered calmly and took a sip of his iced coffee with milk.
"EXCUSE YOU, WHAT?! NOBODY TOLD ME THAT!!" The model of the group shouted as he faced his friend.
Even with his loud voice, Ares didn't flinch a bit and continued to smile like an idiot, helplessly in love.
Karson gestured for him to sit down. "You were out of the country."
"SO?!"
"I thought you knew." Karson shrugged without a hint of apology and received an angry, entire upper body shake from the angry one.
"I swear..." Omal let go of his hands and directly sat in front of the lover boy. After he knocked on the wooden table and got attention, he impatiently asked, "So where have you reached with Ms Queen?"
Ares flushed as he tried to hide his phone. He then mumbled, "Stop saying that."
"Why?"
The boy looked up and said, "You make it as if we are already a married couple!" He said those words himself and blushed more furiously.
There was no need to mention that the expressions Omal and Karson held, represented the whole singleton community all over the world.