With Love And War- Book Five In The United Series

Chapter Two

-Four (hehe) hours later-

John's POV:

Max, Reyna, Clarisse, and One arrived a minute ago. Max and Percy are feeding their horse, Blackjack, a box of doughnuts Percy bought for him. I walk up to Max when they're done and hug her from behind. She yelps in surprise and I chuckle into her half-black, half-bright red hair. It's quickly fading into its original color, and it's growing to be curlier the more Max grows it out. Now it reaches just below her shoulders and it starts curling near her neck.

Max places her arms on mine and leans her head back on my chest. I kiss her head and she smiles warmly.

"I missed you, Max," I tell her, my head buried into her hair.

"I missed you too, John," she replies then turns her head and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I love the way she says my name. She says it more like 'Jaune ' without the French accent than John. I love it.

I can feel someone staring at us so I look to the side and catch Leo's eye, staring at Max and I jealously. The moment I catch his eye he looks away, but I know how he's feeling. I know he still loves Max.

But does Max still love him?

"Oh, and Max?" I ask her politely.

"Hm?" She asks, her lips still lightly pressing onto my cheek.

"We have to go through a truth serum in front of everyone and I'm the one asking you questions," I tell her hesitantly. She pauses, thinking this over.

"Okay," she responds bluntly.

"Y-You're not nervous or anything?" I ask her, confused on why she'd agree with it so quickly.

"I have nothing to hide," she replies. I smile warmly and give her another kiss on the head.

-One (Week later I'm writing a letter nightly) Hour Later-

Max's POV:

"Okay Max. We're up," John informs me, giving me a small smile. I smile back at him and nod my head.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks me, now giving me a slightly worried look.

"Don't worry, John, I'm fine," I comfort him, then softly grab his hand as we make our way to the stage. Everyone else is turned around so we don't have a hundred people staring at us.

But to be honest, I am most definitely not fine.

What if I spill out my secret about the burns Octavian gave me? I already healed all the burns and changed my shirt in New Mexico, but still. There are still scars on my back, stomach. and sides. What if John finds out about those? Gods I'm so nervous, but I don't want to seem suspicious about all this.

What if I tell them about the testing? What if John asks why my eyes changed color?

"Okay, Max. You ready?" Reynolds asks me as I step onto the stage. He's holding a small syringe half-full with a blueish liquid. I fake a smile and he smiles back. "Alright, let's get started," Reynolds says. I nod my head, praying that John doesn't ask any personal questions.

"Okay, come up here," Reynolds orders John and I. We step onto the stage and I tilt my head to the side as Reynolds plunges the syringe into my neck.

"Good luck," Reynolds quickly adds and presses down on the shot. I automatically feel like my whole body is full with lead and I feel heavy and sleepy.

I face John as Reynolds goes to sit with the others. We're on a small stage in the John Hancock building and I'm extremely nervous.

"Okay, you two. Begin," we hear Reynolds' voice call to us from the chair he's sitting in with everyone else, facing away from us to spare us more humiliation.

John looks back at me and notices I look tired, so he softly grabs my waist and helps me stand straighter. I smile at him gratefully, then the questions come in.

"You're working with the Lorics, right?" John asks me. I smile warmly at him.

"Yes, I am," I answer simply. Wow, that's it? Just proving our loyalty? In that case, I have nothing to worry about.

"And you never thought and working with the Mogs?" John continues.

"Never," I reply. I don't feel anything but tired. John smiles warmly, but his smile slightly flickers.

"Do you love me, Max?" John asks me, looking slightly worried.

"Of course I do," I answer honestly. Of course I love John. He's my boyfriend, he was my first crush, and he's the most amazing guy I've met.

I glance at the crowd, who are listening intently, and spot a certain Latino Santa's elf.

Okay, John is one of the most amazing guys I've met.

John hugs me, filling my body up with warmth. I automatically hug him back, my head resting on his shoulder. There's a pause before John asks me a shocking question next, a question that I never wanted to be asked by John.

"Do you still love Leo?"

I freeze up, unsure of what to say. There's a few gasps from the crowd but I don't say a word. John is still hugging me, so I can't see the expression on his face. Good. I don't want to.

I try my best to not say anything but after a few seconds, there's a horrible, sharp pain shooting up my back, and it doesn't stop. Reynolds explains to me why this is happening.

"The more you try to resist the serum, the more painful it'll be."

I bite my lip, almost whimpering in pain. It's so bad it's almost like Octavian is torturing me again. The pain slowly grows worse and worse by every passing second. I have to answer, the pain is so horrible. But do I love Leo? Well, there's only one way to find out. This serum can tell if I'm lying or not, so if I'm lying, it'll hurt even more. Time to see if I truly still love Leo or not.

"Y-Yes," I stutter, a few tears of pain sliding down my cheeks from the pain, but it doesn't last long. The moment I say the word 'Yes', the pain subsides as quickly as it came.

I do love Leo.

Emotions and memories flood my mind, remembering me and Leo's first kiss, when I had to leave the demigods for the Garde. I remember how passionate I felt when I was kissing him, all the love in my heart.

Then I remember reuniting with him in Chicago after saving Eight from being killed by Five in Florida. We hugged each other and he told me he keeps his promises, but then he introduced me to Calypso as his new girlfriend. I've never felt so heartbroken and I've never felt worse. Honestly, I'd rather let John find out about my burns than have that ever happen again with Leo and Calypso.

I look up, facing the crowd, who all look shocked, but still looking away from John and I. I spot Leo again, who looks the most surprised, but I can tell from the angle I'm at, he's smiling. Calypso is sitting right next to him, looking surprised and even a little angry, but Leo looks slightly hopeful. Does he still love me?

All I know is that I love him.

I'm just wondering how that's going to affect John.

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