Maxon's PoV

My week with Celeste drags on. Whenever we're alone she is there, right there. But finally the week is up and we are in a car pulling up to the castle. I was told that none of the other elite would know when I would be back so I don't expect America to be waiting at the door.

Much to my disappointment she wasn't but then I think better of it because if she was it wouldn't look good.

Kriss however is standing at the door. I tense immediately when I see this. She smiles when she sees the car pull up and I'm tempted to tell the driver to turn around. This girl, this girl who seems so innocent, almost ruined my relationship with America.

As soon as I climb out of the car she breaks into a grin. When I reach the top of the stairs she runs up to me and throws her arms around my neck.

"Oh Maxon! I missed you so much!"

I pull back and give her a tight smile. "Well I am back now my dear." America wanted me to forgive her so I'll try. For America.

"Oh I'm so glad!" She squeals. "I was so worried about you!"

"I was perfectly safe," I say. "There was nothing to be scared of."

"But Maxon I'll always be worried about you!"

America's PoV

I sit in my room waiting. Maxon's due back some time today but I don't know when. He promised to see me before he left again so all I can do is wait.

I sit and sit and finally decide to sit by the front windows to see when he gets here. I find a window seat at the front of the palace to wait and just look out the window.

It was two o'clock when I left my room and it's probably been about twenty minutes when a car pulls up. My face breaks into a smile when I see Maxon get out of the car. He walks up the steps and I watch as he hugs someone, most likely his mother. As I look closer though I see that the girl is too young to be his mother. My eyes widen when she pulls back and I see it's Kriss. I squint, trying to see Maxon's face and I see he has a tight smile. I start to regret asking him to try to forgive Kriss because by the look on her face, she could begin to be a threat, in more ways than one.

I get up and turn away the second I see her go in for a kiss. I know it's not fair after I was the the one who asked Maxon to try exculpate her, even if what she said was by no means fair or okay for her to say.

But after the way she spoke to me and has been treating me for the past week, I'm beginning to wish Maxon would just send her home.

But I can't make that decision for him, and even if I could, I wouldn't. If Maxon chooses me as the One it has to be because he loves me, not because he doesn't love my competition.

After returning to my room I take a seat at the piano, in an attempt to busy myself while waiting for my visit from Maxon.

I play an old song, one of the first complex ones I learned, letting my fingers dance elegantly across the keyboard.

Under no circumstances am I a graceful person. I trip, I stumble, I bump into things, but when I play music, I know what I am doing, and I can finally do something I am good at.

I am interrupted by a knock on my door. Standing, I open it a crack and peak out. When I see who it is I grin and swing open the door.

"Hope I didn't disrupt anything?" Comes the deep voice belonging to the man standing in the hall.

"Never!" I laugh, throwing my arms around his shoulders.

He stumbles back slightly, laughing, and puts his arms around my waist, kissing the top of my head. "I missed you."

I grin, pulling back and grabbing his hand before towing Maxon into my room and shutting the door.

"Let's hear it," I demand, pulling him down to sit next to me on the bed as I cross my legs and lean forward, towards him. "All the gory details of staying with Celeste and her family in their gigantic house."

"How do you know it's gigantic?" Maxon teases.

"She once told us she had her own modeling studio, in her house. That can only mean her house is huge."

He laughs. "Alright, you got me. But it wasn't too bad."

I stare at him blankly.

"Really!" He insists through a laugh. "Her father was actually very nice. Though you could tell that he had sort of been married for his money, poor man."

I giggle, which is very unlike me. "So she is a lot like her mother then?"

He shrugs. "In a way I guess. They both obviously want the same thing in life."

"Money and fame?" I suggest.

This makes him laugh. "I was going to say comfort and prosperity."

"Because that's any better!" I snicker making him laugh.

"I guess you're right then."

Smiling, I turn so I'm sitting beside him and rest my head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around me and presses a kiss to my forehead, making me smile.

"I hate to say this," He mumbles a few minutes of comfortable silence later, "But I really have to leave with Elise soon."

I nod and stand, going to my door. "I guess I shouldn't come down, seeing as I wasn't even supposed to know you were back."

He shakes his head and wraps me in a hug, pressing his nose to my hair line. "We really need to talk about this shampoo you've been using, He mumbles. "It smells much too good. It's making it too hard to say goodbye."

I manage to laugh into his chest. "Promise you'll come and visit me before you leave with Elise." I don't say it as a question, but almost a demand.

"Of course my dear," He vows.

Seeing Elise and Maxon sitting together while they're interviewed in her hometown is hard. Not as hard though, as seeing Celeste drape herself over him or, I'm sure, as hard as it will be to see Kriss try to win him back.

"I'm surprised, you know," Celeste says one day, as we sit in the womens room, me reading a book as she flips through another gossip magazine from her seemingly endless supply. I briefly wonder where she keeps getting them. "You are taking this all surprisingly well." She drops her magazine onto the coffee table in front of her before turning to look at me. "First, you are attacked, by rebels of all things. Maxon stays with you for a few hours, then insists he has to go to a meeting, instead though, he goes to his father, practically begging to go on these trips, you, being the last he sees."

I sigh and put my book down. "What are you insinuating Celeste?"

She shrugs, picking up another magazine and flipping through it. "Oh just seems like he's looking for excuses to leave you doesn't it?"

I roll my eyes. "You would absolutely love that wouldn't you?"

"Oh honey," She laughs. "I'm not so much the one who would love it as she would." She flips her magazine around, holding it up so I could see the page. There's a picture of Kriss, practically hanging off Maxon's arm, laughing at something he must've said.

Part of me wonders when this was taken. Sometime before she was sent home, I'm sure. Refusing to let my guard down around Celeste, I shrug. "Kriss is as little my problem as she is yours. Maxon doesn't trust her so why should I care that they went on a date most likely months ago?"

Celeste laughs the high pitched, fake laugh of hers. "Honey, this was taken two weeks ago."

I sigh. There's not much I can really say in response to that. I'm the one who asked Maxon to try and forgive her and I don't want a repeat of before.

"I think I'll go finish this book in my room," I announce, standing. Celeste smiles slyly at me, assuming she's won. Turning, I roll my eyes, refusing to put up with any of her crap.

I don't read when I get to my room though. Instead I go to my balcony, or rather the locked doors to my balcony, staring out. After a while I give up, deciding it's not worth torturing myself. Instead I ring for my maids and we spend the rest of the afternoon playing cards.

Unfortunately I don't know for sure what time Maxon is getting back today. I don't want to leave my room in case he gets here in the morning but I also find I have nothing to do.

By the end of lunch there's still no sign of Maxon or Elise and I can't bear going back to my room so instead I walk toward the gardens, requesting a guard I know by name to escort me.

The guard, Lanson, agrees happily, glad to have something to do other than wander the empty halls on patrol. When he holds open the door for me I think him, addressing him by name, causing him to smile.

"You're the only person, besides staff, in this entire castle that knows my name," He tells me.

I shake my head. "That's ridiculous. They all see you everyday! How could they not remember it?"

"They don't know it to remember it," Is his reply. When he sees my questioning look he shrugs. "They just have never asked."

I sigh. "That' so wrong."

He lets out a hearty laugh. "It's just the way things work here. It's the same for all the staff."

"Well if by some miracle I win this and marry Ma - The Prince, that's the first thing that would change," I assure him.

"Well then I'm confident things will change," He smiles down at me. "I'll stay here and you can go do what you would like," He tells me. "Just stay in the gardens and yell if there's a problem."

I offer him a wave. "Thanks."

Wandering through the garden I come to, by almost default, the bench Maxon and I first spoke at. I collapsed onto it, reaching down and pulling off my uncomfortable heels. I have never been directly told that I'm short but I'm also very aware that I am by no means tall, hence the heels. But couldn't they be made any more comfortable?

I sit for a while, trying not to think about still not having seen Maxon and the fact that he should be leaving soon with Kriss. Looking up I see the sun starting to set so I get up, deciding I should get inside before it gets completely dark. Slipping on my shoes I start doing up the strap when it catches on my bracelet. Swearing under my breath I try to tug away my arm but one tug too strong and the strap snaps. I stare at it in shock for a minute before groaning.

By now it's almost completely dark and I'm glad that the grounds are kept well lit. Yanking off my other shoe I stand, barefoot, and start towards the guard when I hear rustling behind me. Whipping around I search through the dark for the source but find nothing. Internally groaning I turn around and begin walking again.

But I stop dead when I hear footsteps.