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Disclaimer: The Selection belongs to the one and only Kiera Cass.
"Uno," Marlee sighed, chucking her second last card down onto the table.
"I can't even play anymore," I said, pushing my cards away. "Should we check on the guys?"
Before any of us could reply, a large thump came from the living room.
"Eadlyn? Marlee? America? Can you help me pick up my book?" Eikko whined.
"Get it yourself!" Eadlyn shouted from the kitchen.
"I can't! I'm too cold and my butt is frozen...please? With a cherry on top?"
This is what we had to endure for the entire morning. Whines and complains. Rolling my eyes, I walked into the living room. The four boys were all huddled together in a huge pile of blankets, sweatshirts, and pillows.
"Here you go," I said, dropping the heavy book onto his stomach. It landed with an 'Oomph' and the whining started again.
"My stomach hurts! I need water! I think I'm going to die!"
Gritting my teeth, I snapped, "deal with it," before stomping up the stairs. Finally. Some silence.
"America?"
"What is it now?" I groaned, turning around. Oh. It was Lucy.
"Hey can we talk?" She whispered, twisting the ends of hair.
"Sure."
As soon as we entered the room, Lucy chucked a duffel bag at me, "There's been a break-in at the Academy. We need to get there now."
"What happened?" I asked, surprised.
"I don't know, but it's a good thing that you guys came here," she replied, scribbling something down on a piece of paper, "I've written a note so the others won't worry."
"Great, let's go!" We silently tip-toed down the stairs, making sure that we didn't attract attention.
"I've got a car waiting for us," Lucy informed, jerking her head towards the beach trail, "listen, I'm sorry about this morning. I was being a total bitch, can you forgive me?"
I was a bit skeptical but I decided to give her the benefit of doubt, "it's ok."
She gave me a small smile before hopping into the car. A few minutes later, we were at the Academy. Georgia was outside, pacing up and down the perfectly manicured lawn, "Thank God you're here! Follow me!"
"What happened?" I asked, handing the office lady my ID card.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Georgia sighed, "There was a break-in one hour ago. Maxon's room was ransacked, graffiti everywhere. The principal has been informed..."
"Wait, does that mean..."
"He knows about your mission. Principal Schreave has been sworn to secrecy," A knock sounded, "come in."
Principal Schreave walked in, a large shadow that was as hard as rock. It was hard to imagine him as Maxon's father. By his side stood a petite woman, tears streaking down her pretty face.
"Girls, this is Principal Schreave and his wife, Lady Amberly," Georgia stood up and shook hands with the other adults.
"Oh my! Is my dear Maxon ok?" Lady Amberly wept, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief.
"I can assure you, Lady Amberly, Maxon is perfectly safe," I said, offering her my seat.
"Oh no! Please sit! It's Amberly to you," she smiled gently, patting my shoulder. Principal Clarkson ignored me.
"Can we hurry this up? I have a meeting with the Mayor of Zuni in half an hour," he snapped, checking his watch.
"Clarkson! How could you! This is your son's life on the line!" Amberly hissed, thwacking her husband's shoulder. I stifled a laugh.
"It's fine, Maxon is in good hands. I'm sending the two girls to his room to survey the damage," Georgia escorted us to the door, "bring back any evidence. After you've finished, you can leave."
Lucy and I snapped on our gloves before we entered the room. The sight was horrifying. Spray paint. Feathers. Shreds of fabric. Smashed glass. Splinters of wood and...blood.
"My god. Who on earth..." Lucy gasped, prodding a piece of wood.
"We're going to need to install a security system," I sighed, inspecting the writing on the wall. WATCH YOUR BACK. The message gave me shivers, what did it mean?
Suddenly, a bright flash distracted me. "Lucy, come look,"
A little, red button sat among the debris. It was in the shape of a red flag, I slipped it into a small plastic sleeve.
"What is it?" Lucy frowned, fingering the plastic sleeve.
"Evidence."
We left the room, shutting the door behind us.
...
"WHERE WERE YOU!" It was late at night, and apparently, we had been kidnapped.
"Didn't you read our note?" I asked, flopping onto the couch.
"NO! GOSH AMERICA! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE!" Eadlyn sobbed, trapping me a death lock.
"What were you thinking?" Maxon asked, his voice annoyed.
"No! What were you guys thinking!? Did you even think logically?" I snapped, breaking free of all the hugs. They all stared at me in shock.
"Did you guys seriously think Lucy and I got kidnapped? One, we are in the middle of nowhere. Two, I do martial arts for a reason. Three, did you even bother to check the room?" I was seriously pissed and tired. No one replied.
"You know what? You can come and talk to me in the morning. I'm going to bed," I sighed, walking into the bathroom.
Once I finished brushing my teeth, I changed into my pajamas and collapsed on the bed.
"By the way, Georgia said well done. Finding that button was another step closer to finding our criminal," Lucy announced, flicking off her lamp light.
"Oh. Ok. Thank you," I murmured, drifting off to sleep.
...
The next morning was awkward. It seemed as though my friends were walking on eggshells every time they were near me.
Fed up, I decided to go the beach. The only place I could rest and think.
Obviously, somebody else had the same idea.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hey America, I thought I'd see you here," Maxon grinned, patting the ground next to him.
"Can you leave? I need to think."
"About what? Your stupid stunt last night?"
Oh. no. he. didn't.
"Excuse me? How dare you! You are such a jerk! It's not my fault none of you had the brains to check my room!"
"Fine. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he backpedaled.
"You're right. You shouldn't have," The silence between us was heavy.
After a few uncomfortable minutes, he spoke up, "Can we start again?"
I cocked my eyebrow at him, was he funny in the head?
"I'll take that as a yes. Hi, my name is Maxon Schreave and I am 19 years old. I attend the Illean Royal Academy, I love sport and I enjoy spending time with my friends."
Oh well, I may as well go along with it, "Hi, I'm America Singer. I'm 17 years old, I come from Carolina and I love music. I do taekwondo, yoga and I like my friends, when they're not making me feel like an fool."
Maxon nodded grimly, sensing my annoyed mood.
"You really don't like me do you?"
"No. I just simply don't enjoy your existence."
Actually, I did. Sometimes. When he wasn't being an ass.
"Ouch. How about we get to know each other better, let's play 20 questions!" This guy was really persistent. It was either that or he was an idiot.
"Fine. What's your family like?" I asked, doodling in the sand.
"Ummmmm, they're ok. My mom's great, she's always been there for me. My dad...says he supports me. I mean...I know he cares for me, but I don't know if it's because I'm his son or his heir. He was never a big part of my childhood, it was always my mom watching over me. She would be at every performance, school dance or presentation. It was only 'till I was 11 when my dad stepped in. He taught me about politics and leadership. He was strict and harsh. I never felt any emotion from him, it was like he was a robot. What about you?"
"Oh," I had to use my fake story, "Well, my dad is a painter. He's one of the most caring people I now. He would always bring us to the park, get us ice cream and make us laugh. My mom is a pianist, she's more fierce. I have 4 siblings-"
"FOUR!" Maxon exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting up.
"Yup! There's Kenna, she's a preschool teacher, Kota; a sculptor, May; a singer and Gerard; a football coach."
"Are you the youngest?"
"Yes...well. May is my twin, so I guess we're the babies of the group," It was true, I actually did have a sister called May. In real life, she was younger than me. In real life, we haven't spoken since I was 15.
"What's it like having siblings?" Maxon asked, his eyes filled with longing and sadness, "my mom miscarried 3 times before she had me."
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. I could now see why Maxon was such a wild child. Ever since he was young, all he's known was rejection and loneliness.
"It's not your fault."
"Yeah well, a little sympathy never hurts."
"I must seem like a jerk to you."
"You can be, but sometimes you're actually nice." WOAH. Did I just compliment him?
"Thanks," he snorted, "you know, you're different to other girls."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're strong, independent, sarcastic...and you don't try to get my attention."
"I don't want to get your attention. I hate being in the spotlight, I'm more used to being under the radar," that was true. As a spy, we had to blend in with our surroundings. If we were put under the spotlight, people could become instantly suspicious.
"Exactly, that's why you're so different."
I turned my head and our eyes met. His eyes were warm and gentle, like liquid chocolate.
"America...would you like to go out with me?" he asked, tucking a strand of red hair behind my ear. I froze, a million thoughts running through my head.
"What about Celeste?" I blurted out, blushing.
"Celeste and I never really dated, we're just friends," Maxon frowned.
"But...the rumors..."
"Are just rumors."
Resting my chin on my knees, I sighed. What was I getting myself into? I was a spy, once Maxon was 100% safe I would be working on a different assignment. Could I trust this guy? Sure, I was a little bit attracted to him...ok...maybe a bit more than a little. Would he break my heart? Would I break his?
"I don't know..." I mumbled, watching as the waves crashed onto the shore.
"It's ok..." Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could still hear the hurt and disappointment in his voice.
"Ok..." I sighed. I mentally cursed, what was I doing? He'll probably forget about me anyways.
Maxon's face was radiant, "Really?"
"Yes. Really," I gave him small smile, he looked so happy...it made me happy. I was so confused, I've never felt this way before.
"We can go out when we get back to school," he suggested, looking at me for confirmation.
"Sounds good," I smiled, surprised at his enthusiasm.
The rest of the day was all smiles, Maxon and I walked back to cabin grinning like idiots.
By the time dinner finished, Marlee and Eadlyn dragged me to the room.
"What's up?" Marlee asked, slamming her book down on the table.
"Oh...nothing," I said, feigning innocence.
"Nothing my ass, spill."
"Well, I woke, ate breakfast..."
"AMERICA! Seriously," Eadlyn snapped. I swear steam shot out of her ears.
"Your brother asked me out," I blocked my ears quickly, protecting them from the deafening shrieks.
"REALLY! OH MY GOSH!"
"NO FREAKING WAY!"
I rolled my eyes and nodded, "yes way."
"Gosh, he must like you a lot! He's never really asked someone out before," Eadlyn mused.
"I don't think so...he probably thinks we're just friends spending some time with each other."
"America. Are you blind? Have you seen the way the guy looks at you?" Marlee cocked her eyebrow at me.
"He looks at me like a friend. Nothing more."
"America..."
"No more. It's late and I'm really tired. Goodnight," the girls huffed and walked over to their beds.
"Goodnight."
The light went off and I rolled over so that I was facing the window. Moonlight streamed through the thin curtains and a cool breeze entered the room. I began to doze off, the waves and wind offering a calming lullaby.
IMPORTANT! Hey guys! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I just wanted to let you know that from now on I might not update as often. The reason is because my homework load is getting bigger and bigger. But...to make up for the slower updates, I will be posting larger chapters. I will not abandon this story. Anyways, please leave a review! Bye! See you next update!