How'd you like the sneak preview of the One? - I loved it! My excitement can barely be contained. Plus it really pushed me to really focus on this story. I'm working on another fanfic right now for the Hunger Games. it's not published because I don't know if I'm going to finish it or not but I have like, twelve chapters done for it.

What are you looking most forward to in the One? - the ending, obviously! Kiera has definitely talked it up a lot and I cannot wait to see what she wrote that made her cry so much during those last couple chapters!

Who's your favorite character of all time? - Um, that's a really hard question for me. I love everyone. but one character I really like is Haymitch from the Hunger Games. I loved him more and more with each book, especially in Mockingjay. I also loved Draco Malfoy. I don't love these guys because they're good people but just because their stories are so sick and twisted and I love to see how they grow and evolve in the series.

What is your favorite movie? - Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 and 2, Catching Fire, P.S. I Love You, Man of Honor, Rush, Fast Girls, Art of Flight, Moulin Rouge, Chalet Girl, Divergent (even though it hasn't come out yet) and many, many more!

Thank you S for the awesome questions!

"The scariest thing about distance is you don't know if they'll miss you or forget about you." - The Notebook

America sat stiffly in the back of the Jeep with the blanket from Kota wrapped around her shoulders. The Jeep didn't have doors on it and the cold night air swept in and raised goose bumps on her legs. She avoided making eye contact with Kota. He repeatedly asked her if she was okay and she was starting to get annoyed by it but she still assured him that she was doing okay.

When they finally reached the White House, she didn't expect everything to be so calm. It was almost as calm as it was the night before when she and Maxon stood on the porch and made the deal with Aspen except that every window was lit with light from within the mansion. "Maxon isn't here, is he?" she asked Kota sadly as they walked up the steps.

Kota shook his head. "He took his troops and moved out. I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't apologize when you don't even know what you're apologizing for," she snapped.

He sighed and stopped walking in the foyer. "Fine, you wanna know how I really feel? I'm pissed because here I am, saving you from some crazy pervert and you don't even have the decency to thank me for it. I'm pissed because you haven't talked to me in years. I'm sorry that I removed myself from the family but you did the same thing! Mom and Dad didn't even know that your husband had died until the day of his funeral and you didn't even think to invite them."

"I'm sorry! I wasn't exactly in top form that week!"

"Not even for you to call your father who loves you and would do anything for you? How could you be so selfish?" he demanded.

She laughed. "I'm being selfish?" she repeated in exasperation. "You're the one who as soon as you got your big break, you packed your bags and abandoned your whole family! You could have at least sent money but no, we barely heard from you for what, two years?"

"Like you're one to talk! Admit it, as soon as you were part of the Selection you left their world and turned into a self-entitled, lazy, arrogant, and greedy Three!"

"You did too!"

He shook his head. "No, for me it was different. I didn't forget where I came from. You may think that I abandoned you all but you know as well as I do that I just didn't fit in with our family anymore. But see, every day when I was working in my studio I remembered those nights spent huddled next to you and Kenna in front of the dying fire, having no idea when we'd eat again…I can still remember the cold from those winters without heat, those weeks where we lived on bread and water. You become a Three and I see your face plastered on the front covers of tabloids, partying with princes, ignoring your family…all while pretending to be a saint and teaching kids about music."

She was taken aback by his honesty but even more so by the realization that she could not deny any of it. She was guilty of everything he had accused her of. "I'm an awful person," she whispered to herself. "Kota, who am I? I'm a monster. I nearly just slept with a guy because he was blackmailing me, I'm trying to start a revolution, I…I killed a man!"

He sighed and approached her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "We're getting you to safety. Taking you to Honduragua. The warm air can maybe do you some good, help clear your head."

She nodded. "Are you coming?"

He shook his head. "No. I have to take care of stuff back here."

He started to walk away from her, leaving her feeling more vulnerable than ever. He had just torn her self-respect to shreds but it was completely justifiable. "Kota!" she called. He turned back to her with an expectant look on his face. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "For everything."

He nodded and waved before disappearing behind a closed door.

America sighed as she stood in the window overlooking the streets on Honduragua. The breeze from the sea swept through, blowing the billowy curtains around her. She crossed her arms and watched a couple walk back to their apartment quickly, keeping their heads down and avoiding eye contact with those they passed. There were even more Eights sitting on the streets than when America was there last, more than a month ago.

So this is what anarchy is like, she thought to herself, fiddling with her recovered wedding ring. As betrayed as she felt with Maxon leaving her behind, she didn't have the emotional endurance to deal with him and Aspen.

"Your Majesty," a voice called from behind her. It was Marcus, who had received instruction from Maxon to rescue America and then take her to Honduragua for protection.

She turned and smiled to him. "Yes, Marcus?" She saw Sawyer wandering around the kitchen, picking at the stack of empanadas to get the ones that weren't burnt on the edges. Naturally Sawyer followed them down south.

"We believe we have a lead on your son," Marcus said confidently.

Her heart skipped a beat. "Christian?" she asked. "What…how?"

He smiled and stepped closer to her. "One of our messengers up north reported increased guard activity and believes that your son and the king are in the area. We are still waiting for confirmation but I would like to send troops there now so that they don't have as much time to run away."

"Of course, of course!" America exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart. "This is great news; the first time I've heard anything of it. Go, now!" She practically pushed him out the door.

"And if Maxon is there already?"

America nodded, understanding the question. "Tell him that I think it's best for our son to come down here. He is much safer here than with Maxon. He should be understanding of that."

Marcus nodded and walked out. The phone rang in the kitchen, prompting America to walk and stand in the doorway. Per instruction, Sawyer answered it. "Hello?...Okay, put him on," his eyes flicked up to meet her gaze. "Why not?...Okay, okay…when do you want to do that?...Wait, where?...I don't think…yes, I know…okay, fine. She'll be there." He hung up the phone and walked past her to the bedroom.

"Who was that?" she demanded, following him to the closet.

"Are there any dresses or anything of the sort in here?" he asked, ignoring her question. He rooted through the clothes Maxon had left in there and then found some of her dresses buried in the back. They were simple, airy little garments. He took them off the rack and laid them on the bed.

She crossed her arms. "Why do I need to look nice?"

He smiled and lifted a dress to hold it in a different light. "You have a hot date tonight," he said simply. She got the impression that had they met before her world came crashing down, they could have been good friends.

"With who?" she asked, growing curious. She fingered the hem of a light green dress.

"You know I can't say. But you'll want to look nice."

She rolled her eyes. "It's Maxon, isn't it?"

He said nothing. He held up another dress and held it in front of her. "He likes you in blue, right?" he asked her. "Go shower and let your hair dry naturally. It looks very nice that way." When she didn't move, he pointed to the bathroom. "Go."

America stood in the courtyard, checking her watch nervously. No one seemed to be recognizing her but the longer she was there, the more nervous she became. Finally, after several minutes of waiting, she heard someone whistling a familiar tune behind her. She instantly recognized it as the song she and Maxon first danced to at their wedding.

She turned and saw him walking casually up the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets. He almost looked like a king again, clean-shaven and wearing khakis. But she could see that they were not custom tailored to his perfect body and his shirt needed to be steamed. She still felt a twinge of anger though. He had run away again, after all.

She stayed nonchalant as he approached her, stopping just a few feet short. "Thanks for coming," he said, breaking the awkward silence. "You look beautiful."

"I know how much you like me in this color and apparently Sawyer does too; he chose the dress," she explained. "Did you think I wouldn't come?"

He shrugged and answered reluctantly, "I wasn't sure how mad you are at me."

"Well I'm not furious," she clarified. "I just feel a little betrayed. We agreed that when I got back from Aspen's, you'd be there to help me, to comfort me. Instead I got back to the house and Marcus and Sawyer were telling me that we had to go and I had to run away again." She decided to leave out her argument with Kota to stop her husband from hating him even more. "Thank the Lord we came here because another new place would have completely overwhelmed me. You weren't there though. You weren't there when I needed you." Before she knew it she was crying.

He closed the distance between them in just a couple strides, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes intently. "I know I can't apologize to you enough and that apologizing won't make this all better. But you had to know that I wouldn't be sitting at the house twiddling my thumbs while you were off with…" he paused, reigning in his emotions before continuing. "With the caves done, I had to get my troops moving."

She nodded, understanding. A pitiful sob escaped her and soon he was pulling her close, kissing her passionately. "Don't you ever leave me again without telling me first," she half-whispered, half-sobbed. "Do you hear me?"

"Never," he promised, wiping her tears away from her cheek with his thumbs.

She collected herself with a few more sniffs and then looked around. "So what are we doing here?"

"I got us a room in that hotel there. I figured we could have a night to ourselves before the imminent arrival of our son."

"He's really coming?" she asked, her eyes lighting up.

He nodded. "Yep. But I want to take this time to focus on us. How does that sound?" He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist.

"Sounds perfect," she whispered against his lips.

They walked hand-in-hand to their room on the top floor. Inside the walls were blue, the richest shade of turquoise she'd ever seen. The bed was huge and white with red throw pillows. Champagne and chocolates were waiting in the corner.

She looked around in awe. "You really went all out," she told him.

He smiled bashfully. "For you, it's worth it." He swept her into his arms and threw her down on the bed. "Can we just be Maxon and America for tonight?" he asked, sweeping a hand across her face.

"I guess," she conceded, shifting underneath him. She winked as she pulled the strap of her dress down her shoulder. "Do me a favor and love me forever."

He growled against her neck, kissing his way down her shoulder. "Done," he whispered.

I gave you guys some Maxerica! Don't worry, there's more where that came from! I had yet another snow day so I figured I'd be awesome and update for you guys. I just wrote another really good chapter for this book! A quick explanation: I started publishing this when I was on chapter 10 or so of writing this and when I finish writing another chapter, I publish another one. so this is Chapter 16 (technically 17 because of the Christmas bonus) but I just finished writing chapter 24. and maybe I lied when I said it would be about 25 chapters; now I'm looking at about 30-32. anyway, thanks for reading guys!

review and ask!