Well, here's your Maxerica to all you fans of that ship! Don't hate me Americott fans. Please. :(


Maxon's POV

I leaned back and tried to remember the times when everything was simple and the Selection was still going on. There were so many secrets going on back then that I couldn't even have imagined. Had all of these girls lied to me? Kept things that would have effected part of my decision from me and snuck around at every chance that they could. The only person who had ever been honest with their intentions of coming to the palace had been America. And at that, she had kept a secret from me. As the time had passed, I started to understand why she had kept it and I knew that I had been dating multiple other girls—she had a right to feel like she needed a backup plan. The only person whose secret was understandable, the only person who had always found a way to earn back my trust after she had blown it out of the water. I ran my hand through my hair—that was definitely my trade mark habit. I still loved Kriss despite her betrayal, the way that I loved America no matter what she had done or said. I just didn't know how to forgive her for this. True, the Northern Rebels were led by my cousin who only wanted to bring a change to his country and restore some sort of balance but I hadn't known that when I started to date Kriss. Were any of the other girls' part of the Rebels? I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose.

I had to talk to her, I had to talk to America. No matter what problems we had when we were getting to know each other and dating, she and I could always talk through the hardest of situations. The things that she had told me about her castes and the lower ones, the assuring me that she thought I was a better person than my father, everything that she had always told me had always put me back into my place. I had learned to grow because of her and it had taught me so much about myself. I needed to talk to her again, I needed to have her help me work through the problems I was having. I knew that she would be able to convince me the things that I needed to know about Kriss. She was my rock no matter how much I needed or when I needed it. I couldn't talk through my problems with Kriss, my anger towards her was too high. My anger directed towards Scott wasn't helping either. The way that she had rushed in to defend him for his decisions. Did no one really trust me to be able to keep their secrets and understand their reasoning?

I walked down the hallway to America's room and heard some angry shouts coming from inside the doors. I watched as Scott walked out, his head in his hands as he looked at the ground and headed down in the opposite end of the hallway from where I stood. Had they broke up? I walked down another hall figuring that she would need a little space if they had broken up. I needed to decide what I wanted to say to her anyway. I didn't want to go into her room without a plan and have my whole defense fall apart. I needed her to actually understand what I was trying to say. I looked up at the night sky and remembered the first time that I had met her out in the gardens. I couldn't forget how she had yelled at me, no one had ever treated me like this before. It was the first time that I realized how much fight she had and that I needed to keep her around for as long as I could.

I got back up after an hour and walked into her room. Apparently, something had happened between the two of them if she was yelling at him to go away. I had to chuckle to myself, remembering that she used to do the same to me whenever we would have a fight. Such spirit, it truly was admirable. "I'm not Scott," I replied to her snapping at me. I stood quietly in the doorframe, afraid that she might send me away. I hoped that she wouldn't but that I could understand how she might need some space at the moment. I still had to try thought. "May I come in? I could use a friend, America. Please, can we talk?" I asked her humbly, playing with my thumbs as I waited for her answer. I didn't think that I had ever been so nervous about asking her permission for something.

"He compared you to your father," she whispered as she turned to look at me. "I couldn't handle it at all Maxon. You are so much better than that man." I was completely taken back by what she had just told me. She had defended me to her boyfriend? My heart did a small flip into my stomach. I walked towards her and she almost collapsed into my arms once I had gotten closer to where she was sitting. I held her while she simply held me back. We relaxed into each other's arms and just sat there for a moment. "I don't know if we are broken up or not Maxon, but I slapped him."

I snickered, that was the America that I had always known. "He defended Kriss like she was a perfect saint. No one had ever defended you when you betrayed my trust. It was a little weird for me, finding out what she was and why she had come here to the palace."

"But she loves you now Maxon. She might have come here for those reasons but she definitely is in love with you now." She replied quietly against my ear. My ear. I couldn't help but remember what it was like when I would tug my ear to have secret meetings with her. I pulled her over the sofa and she rested her head against my shoulder, my hand lightly on her thigh and hers on mine. This was the most comforting thing that I had ever experienced.

We sat there for a few moments in silence, just sitting there. I had forgotten that her head fit almost perfectly against my chest. In many ways, America was completely opposite of the things that I now felt for Kriss. Where Kriss fit in my arms, America felt good at my side. She had her own backbone that kept her strong. While Kriss could make me special for being around her, America reminded me that I had all of these qualities on my own and I just needed a little reminder sometimes. Kriss was a deeper kind of love, but America was friendlier and had been much stronger. Both had been good to me but both had always betrayed me in ways that I had always struggled to accept. Perhaps she was right, perhaps I should just forgive her and move on like I should have done when I was still in love with America.

"I know that she loves me now and I love her too, but Ames, she was August's planted person. I didn't want someone who had been forced on me the way the Elise, Celeste, and Natalie had been. I wanted to be able to choose. And she couldn't come clean with me! You know how much that irritates me!"

America's POV

I lightly placed my hand on Maxon's, trying to calm him down. I understood his pain and the reasons that he was angered. But he was only going to stress himself out more if he didn't work on controlling his temper. I didn't know what kind of revolt would happen if he ended his relationship with her and found someone else to marry. The tradition was that he would marry a true daughter of Illéa like everyone else before him. In all the trouble that I was sure he was having convincing people to end the Caste System, I knew that he didn't need any more pressure from breaking additional tradition.

"Maxon, you have to calm down. I know that you're upset right now but you have fallen in love with her. You want to ruin your engagement as King? Your council will never let you make another decision again if you do that. I feel like you just need to relax and give yourself some space but don't overreact."

He sighed, his chest puffing against my body. This was nice but I couldn't help to feel like it was borderline cheating on Kriss and Scott. I locked my mind on that thought and decided that we couldn't keep going in any other direction. I tried getting up by his hand kept me pressed against his body. "America, please. I just need to be held right now and I can't going running to Kriss. I'm so confused right now and I just need you. I was always able to rely on you and I need that now."

"You weren't always able to rely on me though, Maxon." I whispered.

He let out a soft chuckle as if he were remembering every single time that I had let him down. "No, I suppose that's true America." He leaned forward letting go of me as he kept laughing. "We were always such a mess weren't we? No matter how come we couldn't work through our problems and get married."

I smiled softly—and a little sadly—back at him. It was true though. Kriss was going to be able to use her words and not feel as if she was scared. She had rushed into defend Scott, unafraid of the consequences of telling Maxon the truth because she hoped that he would listen to her side of the story. I had kept the truth from Maxon because I had thought he wouldn't understand and would punish us the same way Marlee and Carter had. I had one foot in the door and one foot out when it came to Maxon and Kriss just wasn't that way. I let out my own soft chuckle. We were just too much of a wreck to ever pull off a real relationship and get married. But, we could be best friends.

"We were a mess, Maxon." I replied, looking over at him and smiling. He looked back over at me and we both started slowly to lean in towards each other. His head turned slowly and mine moved in the opposite direction. That moment was blissful and I knew what was going to happen next. Then, almost as he realized what was going on, he jumped back and fell against the front door.

"I have to leave. Thanks for talking to me," he said, coughing out the words as he scrambled to quickly get out of my room as quickly as he could. I was glad that he had. I didn't want him to cheat on Kriss with me and I didn't want to cheat on Scott. We had just gotten caught up in the moment, enjoying the memories that we had made together. There wasn't anything else that would have explained it. I jumped up and ran back to my bed, wanting to forget what we had almost done and be able to return to our newly established friendship. I slept restlessly that night.


Oops, crazy cliffhanger? :) Next up Aspen and Lucy's wedding!