WARNING: LONG A/N. MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES.

Hey guys! Thank you for all of the (mostly) lovely reviews! I love y'all so much. But I just wanted to point out that while constructive criticism is welcome and makes me a better writer, criticizing my actual writing just isn't okay with me. If you you're reading my story and think my writing is "overwhelmingly" sweet and fluffy, and you don't like it, then it's really simple: just don't read it. I love when you guys give me suggestions and helpful advice, but this message I received was actually really hurtful and made me really upset. I'm not asking anyone to try to make me feel better, I just want these sort of readers to please, keep their overly critical comments to themselves. This is fanfiction, and at the end of the day, I can write whatever I want. I mean, I could make Aspen and Maxon fall in love and leave America by herself if I wanted! So thanks for listening, and to those absolutely WONDERFUL people who reviewed, thank you :)

Okay so anywayyys...

As usual, I've had terrible writers' block, and I just wasn't satisfied with anything I wrote. I'm not completely happy with what I have here, but I thought you guys deserved a chapter from me since THE ONE IS COMING OUT TOMORROW! (BTW, who read the Unlock The One chapters, and aren't they FANTASTIC?!) I'm trying to condense the province visit, so hopefully I'll get a new chapter out ASAP. Like really really soon.

Thank you all for staying with me through this story. It means so much to have you amazing people read my story and fangirl with me :) I hope you all stay with me after The One comes out, because yes, I'm going to try to finish this fanfiction. I hope :) Just don't forget about me, and I won't forget about you! I love you.

So this chapter IS pretty Maxerica fluffy goodness, but once we get back to the palace it'll get a lot more action-y and stuff :)

So anyways, thank you for reading, reviewing, and being awesome.

Until next time,

xoxo, Lily

America:

My room was exactly how I had left it. My window was open, and the plain white curtains fluttered in the warm breeze. Every step gave me a flashback. Aspen sneaking through the window after curfew. May running to my room during a thunderstorm, begging me to let her sleep in my bed. The spot where my jar of pennies had sat.

I swallowed back the memories and turned to face Maxon. "Little different from the palace, huh?" I said jokingly.

He wasn't looking at me. He was very carefully inspecting the few things in my room, picking up objects and setting them down in the way someone would handle a precious jewel.

"I love it," he replied, turning to me, as if my room wasn't the size of his closet back home.

"You do?" I asked carefully, confused. He smiled.

"America, I wouldn't care if you lived in a cardboard box. I love it because everything in here… It's just you." I blushed, unsure of what to say. "What did you think I was going to say?"

"Nothing I just… I don't know. You've lived in luxury your whole life, Maxon. I haven't. We're just so different."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

In one swift movement, he was across my room, taking my face in his hands and kissing me. I was caught by a moment of surprise, but immediately wound my arms around him.

"I don't care about the past, America. I like you exactly the way you are. Okay?"

I nodded, a little breathless.

"America, dinner's ready!" My mom called. I pulled back from Maxon, trying to catch my breath.

"Be right down!" I called, but neither of us ready to make a move.

"America!"

I groaned.

"Come on, my mom will burst a vein if we don't get down there in exactly five seconds." I said, pulling Maxon along with me. I pushed open the door, and in my race to get downstairs, crashed into someone on the way.

"Ouch!" I muttered. My head had hit someone's elbow, and my vision went black at the edges. I felt Maxon's arms around me immediately, holding me up. How did I always end up hurting myself in front of him?

"America, are you –" he trailed off as he noticed who the person was. I rubbed my head, my vision clearing.

I gasped.

"Aspen?"

Maxon:

Aspen. Otherwise known as the man who broke America's heart. The same man who had also risked her life to meet her in the palace. And the same man for whom I felt the overwhelming urge to strangle right then and there.

"Aspen?" America's voice was laced with surprise. Had she forgotten that she asked me to send him back here to protect her family?

"Officer Leger," I growled, balling my hands into fists. America glanced back at me, giving me a warning look. I kept staring at Leger.

"Your Majesty, Lady America, how nice to see you again," Aspen said in a monotone.

"It's certainly a pleasure," I replied coldly, causing America to jab me in the side.

"Maxon, can I have a minute alone with Aspen?" she said quietly, nodding at her room. He gave us one last look and disappeared inside. I turned to her in outrage.

"You're kidding right?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes. We never really had come to terms about how much I hated her ex. I just wanted to move past it at the time. She looked up at me defiantly.

"Would you calm down? It's fine, I just-"

"You're forgetting I let him come back here. There are still worse things I could have done to that b–"

"Maxon, his mother is dying and I just want to see how he's doing," she said. "I know you still hold things against him, but I don't."

I glanced at her door, the muscles in my jaw contracting. She could tell that I still didn't like this, and put her palm to my cheek. "You're still my choice, Maxon. A conversation in my room isn't going to change that, okay?"

I gritted my teeth, glaring at the door. "Fine."

She reached up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to my lips. "I love you."

That might have been true, but it didn't mean she didn't still love Leger, too.

I brushed a stray hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead. "I'll be waiting down the hall."

America:

"Your Prince is pretty territorial, huh?" Aspen commented as I walked into the room. I rolled my eyes.

"He's… protective."

"He hates me."

"No, he doesn't."

"Mer."

"Okay… yeah he does."

Aspen smirked a little. "Well, at least I can have the pleasure of making him angry." I shot him a look. "I'm kidding."

I softened when I heard the slight hollowness in his tone, and noticed the bags under his eyes. "How have you been?" I asked.

"How have I been?" he repeated, shaking his head. "Just grand. What do you think, Mer?"

I looked down. "Sorry."

There were still a good couple feet between us, but it felt like we were separated by miles. "And… I'm sorry about Lena."

He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, clearly exhausted. "Yeah. She's holding up pretty well, but I don't know how much time we have left. Without the surgery, she can't keep herself going forever."

I looked at him. He was so broken. His shoulders hung limply, and his green eyes had lost their sparkle. In that second, I knew exactly what I could do. I rummaged through a pile of papers on my dresser, and found what I was looking for: a plain, thick white envelope, with no address on the front.

"Here," I told him, holding it out. He eyed it dubiously, and I raised an eyebrow. "Aspen, take the envelope."

He took it slowly, and opened it up. As soon as he saw the contents, his eyes widened and he handed it right back to me.

"Mer, I thought we were past this – I don't take handouts." Yeah, had I learned that the hard way.

"You don't, but you can't speak for your whole family. We're getting by fine here, better than fine, really, and Lena's like a second mother to me. I don't want to see her go, Aspen." He pressed his lips together, staring at me hard. "Please. Put your pride aside for once, and take this."

I pressed the envelope filled with a month's compensation into his hands.

"I can't repay this, America," he whispered, his eyes filled with pain.

"You don't have to. Just because we're over doesn't mean I'll stop caring about you." He looked so small standing there, even though I knew he had filled out from all of his training as a guard. The weight of the situation was crushing him, suffocating him. It hurt to see the person that I had leaned on for so long to not even be able to hold up himself. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and let his silent tears fall on my shoulders.

"I always knew I wasn't good enough for you, Mer. I shouldn't have said those things about you not being able to be a princess. You're the best thing this country could ever hope for."

"Thank you," I whispered, surprised and taken aback. He pulled away then, his mouth pulling up in half a smile.

"You better get downstairs. I know your mom, and I'd bet if you aren't there in thirty seconds, she'll be coming for you with that frying pan of hers."

I laughed, pausing by my door, watching Aspen. "I'm still here for you, you know."

His green eyes met mine. Before The Selection, that alone would have brought butterflies to my stomach, and I would have looked away. Now, we just studied each other. We were so different, yet I knew neither of us was ready to stop caring for the other.

"Yeah. I know."

***Day 2***

I woke up to a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Yeah, Mom was definitely trying extra hard to impress Maxon.

Kenna and James had left with Astra last night. I'd still see them at the ball at mayor's mansion at the end of the week. I wished I could spend some more time with my perfect niece, though.

"I'll be at the Richards' luncheon today, America. I'll be home in time to make dinner, alright?"

"Okay, Mom." We exchanged goodbyes, and soon after, everyone starting picking up and getting to work.

"For the rest of the day, we all usually go off to practice our own skills," I told him as my dad excused himself and disappeared into his office. May and Gerad followed. "My dad and May paint, and music is my mom and I. Gerad still hasn't found his skill."

"Will you show me?" he asked, his expression interested.

"Sure." I pushed back my chair, and picked up my plate. I led Maxon to the work area of our house. The room was filled with an old but well loved grand piano, and various instruments. The other was covered in countless canvases and paints. I spotted May's red head bouncing around among our selection of paints, picking out colors. She heard us come in and turned with a huge grin on her face, noticing our joined hands.

"Good morning!" she chirped.

"You working on anything?" I asked. She nodded to a canvas and continued with her paints, sneaking glances at me and Maxon every five seconds.

"This is beautiful, May," Maxon commented. "You're very talented." Her painting of some of the wildflowers from our garden really was extraordinary. She was really following my dad's footsteps.

"Thank you," she said, her cheeks flushing almost as deep as mine did when I blushed. "But Ames is, like, a hundred times more talented than I am."

"May," I scolded.

"What? It's true. You should hear this song she wrote a couple months ago, it's just incred-"

"It's not that great," I said through my teeth, eyeing May.

"Can you play it for me?" Maxon gave me a goofy grin.

"It's really, really good," May seconded, practically bouncing on her toes.

I sighed. "Okay." I retreated back to the piano, sitting down in the familiar seat with Maxon next to me. I realized that May had probably planned this all out, because my piece was right on top.

"May," I muttered. She was poking her head around the corner of the doorframe, but as soon as I made eye contact with her, widened her eyes and ducked behind it. Only my boy crazy sister would spend time planning something like this.

I glanced at Maxon. He seemed amused. I inwardly groaned. "It's really not that good."

Without another word I started playing the piece. Truthfully, it had taken me quite a bit of time to compose, and I actually was pretty proud of it. I just hated sharing my work. I would most definitely turn bright red at any compliment, and I didn't want anyone's compliments. Well, okay, maybe I did want Maxon's.

I played the last note, and it hung in the air. There was a pause.

"First violin, then your voice, and now this? What's next, don't tell me you're secretly a rock star, too?"

"No, I think that's you, My Beloved Rock God Maxon," I said, trying not to laugh. He laughed, throwing his head back, and I had to join in, too.

"Oh, now I regret telling you that secret pet name."

"Don't worry. It'll stay a secret," I said, and he gave me a smile.

"Hey, May?" I shouted. Maxon looked confused. May popped her head around the corner, which made it obvious that she had still been spying on us.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna know Maxon's secret-" Maxon covered my mouth with his hand.

"Nevermind, May, nothing to hear here."

***Day Three***

After a full day of walking around Carolina, at some point in the afternoon, Maxon had offered to play ball with Gerad. It made me smile knowing that he had remembered me telling him about my family, even the smallest things like their likes and dislikes. It was adorable watching my little brother running around in our backyard with him, his tie loosened and his shirtsleeves rolled up. We made eye contact and he smiled at me, an easy, carefree smile.

My dad and May were out at an art show, and my mom was inside on the phone, looking stressed. I decided to check on her.

"No, no, I'm not booked for anything but… Yes I understand, thank you for the offer. Yes… I'll see what I can do."

My mom put down the phone with an anxious expression on her face.

"Everything all right?" I asked. She shook her head.

"That was the Patricia Michaelson. The entertainment for their party cancelled at the last minute, and they asked if I could substitute," she said, wringing her hands. The money I sent home had definitely helped a lot, but my mother would be crazy to turn down the Michaelsons. They were a family of Twos that occasionally hired Fives to play at their huge parties. "Everyone's out tonight, and there's no one to make dinner for you and the Prince."

"Mom, really, it's fine. Maxon can help me make dinner," I told her. She looked aghast.

"America, I really don't think –"

"I'd be happy to help, Mrs. Singer." Maxon said, walking in the door. My mom glanced from me to him.

"I don't know…"

"Mom, seriously. We can handle it."

"Well… All right. I'll take Gerad with me, maybe he can learn from this experience. I'll be home in a couple hours." She left, with Gerad in tow, and Maxon and I were alone in the kitchen. I turned to Maxon, tying my hair into a long ponytail.

"Okay, you ready?" I asked. He looked nervous.

"Uhh… I'm not sure I should touch anything. I'd probably burn it." I turned away, rolling my eyes and grabbing an apron. I tied it around my waist and started sifting through cupboards for ingredients.

"In a couple years, you'll be running a country, and you're afraid to make dinner?" I raised an eyebrow at him over my shoulder, my back still facing him. He walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"No. But if I burn your house down, remember, you were the one who thought it was a good idea for me to cook." He pressed a kiss against the side of my neck.

"Well then, we better get to work," I replied, pushing him away from me with a laugh.

"At your service, Lady Singer," he said with a bow.

We got to work making simple chicken, vegetables, and rice. A dinner like this used to be for very special occasions only. It made me happy that my family could finally afford to have a good dinner every night.

I set Maxon to simple tasks, like measuring amounts. With the two of us, dinner was in the oven and cooking in no time.

My mom had left us ingredients to make dessert, too. I turned my back to grab a pan, and heard a bag rip and Maxon cough. I spun around, only to find Maxon in a cloud of flour from opening the bag too fast. His face was so surprised that I couldn't control myself, and starting cracking up. I doubled over laughing.

Suddenly a handful of flour was on my head.

I stood up with an expression of mock outrage to see Maxon cracking up, and reached for the bag. I tossed a handful of flour at his head. He threw an arm over his face, but couldn't stop the flour from getting all over his hair. He gave me a wicked smile, and smeared flour along my arm, catching my wrist at the end. I reached around him to the bag with my other hand, sprinkling flour across his chest and shoulders. We were soon engaged in an all out flour war, throwing the white powder at each other, our laughs ringing out across the kitchen.

Maxon caught my arms as I was in mid-throw, and I was frozen in his strong grip. I struggled against him, but he held my arms there and suddenly pressed his lips to mine, slowly bringing my arms around his neck as we kissed. My back was to the counter as he held me by the waist and dipped me back ever so slightly.

I hopped up on the countertop, facing Maxon, whose hair was so covered with flour that its golden color was no longer visible. Suddenly, all of my laughter faded as Maxon put his hands on my waist and tugged me towards the edge of the counter. He attempted to brush the flour off my face with a crooked grin. I wound my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his. I wrapped my legs around his lower back, and pressed myself closer to him. He pulled my hair out of its messy bun without breaking the kiss, sending my hair tumbling down my back.

Our breathing got heavier, and the kiss deepened. I lost all track of time, and I couldn't think straight. Maxon's hands gripped my thighs, and my fingers were knotted in his hair at the base of his neck.

The timer dinged loudly, making us both jump. We shared a look and took in each other,

"Oh, my god, my mom is going to murder me!" I gasped, laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe.

"Mm, this wasn't very proper of us, was it?" Maxon's mouth curled up into a smirk.

"And now we have no pie," I pouted, not too upset about that fact.

"I probably would've burned it anyways."

"Probably." I smiled at my prince, who for once, was just as big of a mess as I was.

Woooooo fluff! Next chapter is gonna have some intense sh** go down, I promise. BE PREPARED.

And yes, this is fluff, because you guys told me to :)

Okay so if anyone wants to hear my theories on The One, stick around.

I was analyzing the covers, and I figured out something. Look at the covers. Now just picture, on either side of the cover, that Aspen is on the left, and Maxon is on the right of America. In the first cover, America is turned to the left, (towards ASPEN) and is hiding her face, showing that she isn't yet open to Maxon. On The Elite cover, she is more facing the right (Maxon) but still isn't completely turned to him, and looks like she's walking away (like the end, she almost walked away?). Now on The One, she is facing completely to the right (MAXON) and her arm is lower than her arm in The Selection, and it looks like she's kind of bringing her guard down. So in the three covers, she does a turn from Aspen slowly towards Maxon. Which is WHY Maxerica is definitely endgame and everything will all work out :)

Yes I know that sounded crazy, but hey, IT COULD WORK.

So yeah. Also I think Lucy and Aspen are definitely a thing.

LOVE YOU GUYS, AND ENJOY THE ONE!