The Elite (Where the King is Nice)

Chapter 18

(Maxon's POV)
I sit with America for awhile in the hospital. I can't believe all of this has happened to me. No, to her. It must've been so hard on her. But I know she can push through it. Because she's strong. After awhile, she falls asleep and I walk out to the dining room. Nobody is there, so I take a seat.
"Maxon?" Someone says shyly. I turn around to see a smiling Kriss.
"Hey! What's up?" I ask her. Recently, we had become a lot closer, and I could talk to her as a best friend.
She was no America though.
"Hey! Nothing much. I came to give you this." She hands me a gift box and my heart swells. Maybe I should give this girl a chance.
"Thank you, Kriss," I say genuinely and smile at her. She smiles back and shuffles nervously.
"So do you want to uhh... um, come to the pool with me?" I internally debate with myself on this. Part of me says, no, stay back with America. But another part of me says, yes, give her a chance. I look up at her.
"Sure! I'll meet you at the pool in 20?" She nods eagerly and runs out of the room. I go back to my room to change. But as I'm changing, my heart is yelling,
How dare you? America is in the hospital, recovering, and what are you doing? Ditching her. Why?
But another part of me says,
You've hardly given any girl a chance here except for America.
I already have my bathing suit on, so I can't back down. And plus, I already told Kriss I'd be there. I sprint down to the pool and see Kriss waiting for me. When she catches my eye, we both smile. She looks really nice. Kriss is wearing a light blue bikini that has some ruffles and sparkles slightly in the light.
I have to say, it looks good on her.
"So, wanna race?" I say slyly. She giggles.
"Of course!" Luckily, nobody else is in the pool so we have it all to ourselves. I jump into the pool.
"3,2,1, GO!" I yell and we start swimming like crazy across the pool. I, of course, get back first.
"Hahaha beat you!" I brag and she rolls her eyes.
"Show off!" I lean closer to her.
"Excuse me?" I say jokingly and she laughs.
"It's so on!"
We spend the entire afternoon together, and I do have to say, I had an amazing time. Right now, we are sitting out in the gardens eating dinner together.
"This is nice," Kriss sighs and leans on my shoulder. I chuckle and stare up at the sky.
"I had a nice time today," I comment as a light breeze whispers in the air.
"I had a great time!" Kriss says. The trees sway in the wind and leaves dance down to the ground. The breeze slightly blows Kriss' hair as she sits up. I don't know why I've never noticed this before, but she's beautiful. Her light brown hair flows behind her back and her care-free smile is amazing.
"You're beautiful," I say subconsciously and then blush afterwards.
"You're handsome," she flirts and I hold her hand in mine. Suddenly she stiffens.
"D-Do I have a chance?" She murmurs, her words almost getting lost in the wind.
"A chance of what?" I ask cautiously.
"Of winning the Selection," she says quietly and looks deeply into my eyes. I don't know. Any other day, I would've said no, I only have feelings for America. But after today, I don't know. I had a wonderful time. We had fun, we laughed, we enjoyed each other's company. So I simply say,
"Yes." She seems satisfied and gazes back at the stars.
I really did have a great day today. But it's getting dark so I think we have to go inside.
"Kriss?"
"Mm?" She responds.
"Can we, um, have a, uhh, date tomorrow?" I ask. She smiles a pretty smile at me.
"Of course! What time?"
"I was thinking that we could have lunch together?" It was nice tonight, not having anybody else to bother us.
"Sure!" I smile and look deeply into her eyes.
"It's a date then," I say, and she giggles.
"Ye-" But I cut her off by lightly pressing my lips to hers. Immediately, she puts her arms around my neck and kisses me back. I rest my hands on her hips and smile into the kiss. After a minute, she pulls away for air.
"See you tomorrow," Kriss says shyly and walks back into the palace. I smile to myself. Now, what to do. Oh my God. I just realized that I was supposed to visit America hours ago. Suddenly, my heart screams at me again.
I can't believe you did that! You ditched America for Kriss, and on top of it you kissed Kriss, too. Who do you really love, Maxon?
Pain coarses through me. Of course it's going to come down to this. America or Kriss? Kriss or America? I sigh and walk down to the hospital, feeling extremely guilty. Should I even see America after today? I'd just make myself feel worse. And plus, if America finds out, she'll be upset.
I can't ditch America for a second time, so I decide to go.
"I'm here to see America, please." I say to the receptionist.
"Room 26A, to your left," she nods at me and then goes back to working. I open the door and see that she's awake. However, she's not facing me.
"Hey America." I say softly. She turns around and smiles at me. I can't help but notice that it doesn't reach her eyes. But I don't press her on it.
"I came to say goodnight," I say softly to her. She just nods. I go to kiss her but she moves back.
"P-Please, not n-now. I, err. Don't feel well!" she stutters. I feel horrible. First, I kiss Kriss, and now I go to kiss America. I have no shame! I feel so bad.
"I hope you feel better!" I say, giving her my most convincing smile and then walk out the door. I wonder what's going on. I could tell she was lying back there, but what was she trying to hide?
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Ooooo, drama! Do you think America knows about Maxon and Kriss?