A/N So this is an excerpt from the first chapter of my new Selection FanFiction, The Truth. It is a continuation of The Elite, as I don't know how I can wait til May 6th for The One! In advance, sorry for the cliffhanger at the end. Enjoy!

The Truth

"Lucy, how did you make this dress?" I ask, incredulous. "It's fantastic!"

She blushes. "Thank you, my lady. Practice, I suppose."

"Please." I chastise. "Just call me America. Not Lady, or Lady America, just plain America."

She gives a small nod of the head and lets out a small smile. "Okay, America." But then a hand flies to her mouth. "Oh! Oh. I really shouldn't be talking to you like this, if the head maid found out…"

I rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Lucy, Lucy. It'll be fine, I don't want you to feel like you're my maid, I want you to be my friend."

She gives her head a miniscule shake. "I-I-I would like that very much, America, but I can't. If they ever found out, well, then there'd be trouble."

"You can blame it on me?"

She lets out a little laugh, her voice all musical and innocent. "Deal."

I hold out my and she shakes it, adjusting the final touches to my new day dress.

"That looks great, thanks Lucy." I say, twirling around in front of the mirror so that the skirt of the dress splays out around me in a swirl of cloud.

I can feel myself getting dizzy, and reach out a hand to rest on the edge of the piano, but instead it grips onto an arm. I steady myself and blink up into the eyes of Maxon.

"You should be more careful!" He jokes, as I stumble a little to regain my balance.

"Hey." I say softly, looking up at him. His gaze meets mine and we stay there for a moment, unblinking, unmoving, waiting for something to happen. I can feel Lucy silently slipping away, no doubt in a rush of excitement to tell Anne and Mary that I have a date.

"So," I prompt, after a little while.

Maxon blinks once or twice and seems to come back to the present. "Oh, sorry! I daydreamed off just there. I came to say whether you wanted to go out for a walk in the gardens? I don't want you to feel left out, and I'll admit I have been spending quite a while with the other girls this week."

"Sure." I take his arm with a smile – though I feel a little annoyed that he has only just noticed his neglect of me. We walk out my room and around the corner, and I bump straight away into none other than Aspen.

"Oh, sorry!" He cries, sending me a small smile.

Maxon notices and frowns. "That's alright, now move along please Officer Leger." He says, a touch of cold hinting in his tone.

Aspen picks himself up and scurries on past, and to my great surprise I find myself not wanting or needing to glance back at him.

Instead, I continue on with Maxon as we stroll towards the garden in a comfortable silence. When we reach what I have come to think of as "our" bench, Maxon takes my hand and sits down, pulling me gently beside him.

"How have you been?" He asks, sending a dazzling smile towards me. I can see in his eyes that he is genuinely interested, so I reply with the truth.

"Not too brilliant, actually. I mean, I am so happy and all that you let me stay, but it is a little lonely without Marlee and none of the other girls like me. Not to mention the looks your father sends me!"

He casts his eyes downward, apologetically. "I'm sorry. What about Kriss, though? She likes you."

"Not really." I tell him. "She sees me as competition."

"And do you see her that way?"

"No."

He looks up at me, surprise evident on his face. "Really? Are you that confident?"

I laugh. "No, no, not at all! I just think that even though we are competing for the same thing, there is nothing I can do to stop you from choosing her, so I might as well not argue about it."

He smiles warmly. "Actually, there is one thing you could do."

"What?"

"This."

He leans down and presses his lips to mine, sending a warm flow of energy through me. I kiss him back and soon I have my hands tangled in his hair, his hands on my waist. He deepens the kiss and I oblige, until I pull away gently.

"Maxon."

"Yes?"

"We have to talk."

He sighs. "I know. Do you want to start or shall I?"

"I will. Firstly, I am sorry for not being more understanding about Kriss, it's just my feelings for you were growing stronger than mine for Aspen here-"

"Wait, what?" He demands. "Who is Aspen?"