The Selection without America?

The Garden

Maxon's POV
America got water in her eyes I could see it. How the light reflected off her eyes from the water. And how her cheeks turned a little flushed. A tear rolled down her cheek. She choked. I looked down. Her voice went hoarse and her voice cracked. I closed my eyes tight and winced. I looked up to see her cover her mouth with her hand. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and stared at her. The band stopped playing. I urged them to go on. Everyone looked at her and I could see her eyes scour the room. People started whispering. I ignored them and pleaded her to look in my direction. She didn't. She just cried. Harder. And harder. And harder. She wiped her tears away. She ran off stage with Kamber calling her name behind her.

I ran after Kamber. Kamber was less than ten feet away from me with America no where in sight. Kamber fell because of her long dress and high shoes.
"Kamber are you alright?" I asked worried.
"Yeah I'm fine. Go. Go now. Please. Make sure America is okay. I can't walk with my ankle like this. Go. Go talk to her please" she begged of me.
"Okay. Let me first call a guard over to help you." I said getting a guards attention and he ran over and helped Kamber up.

I ran down the hall not knowing where America was. I tried to get in her mind set, didn't work that well because I barley knew the girl. What would it feel like being in a fancy new place. With your best friend getting all the attention? Where would you go to get away from it all? From the bright lights to the guards, to the palace walls? I thought. It struck me. The gardens. If I were in a place I didn't know that well, and if I was America. I would go to the gardens. I saw her the first day looking at the blue sky and the gardens and she was taking every little detail in. Like she was creating a memory. She was drawing a picture of it in her mind to keep forever with her.

I ran towards the garden doors. I raced out and searched the wide garden for flaming read hair. I saw nothing. Right before I turned to go back in and admit I was wrong for thinking the gardens I heard a sniffle. A little cry. I turn and I could just see the top of someone's head. She was sitting on the ground with her back to me and leaning against the bench. I slowly walked towards her like she was bomb that was going to explode.

"America?" I asked tentatively.
"Yu-"hiccup"p I'm here" she said.
"Are you alright?"
"Does it look like I'm alright?!" She Asked with such force that I was scared for a moment.
"Well no. But... you maybe wanna talk about it?" I asked hoping she would say yes.
"I don't know."
I rounded her so I could face her, face to face. I sat down on one of the benches opposite of her. "I won't tell. Princes honor" I said and held up my palm. She sniffles a laugh.
"But I haven't even told Kamber yet..." she confessed.
"Oh..." I didn't know what to say. I guessed that Kamber and America usually told each other everything.
"But I feel like I need to tell someone here. I don't know" America shrugged.
"I really do promise if you tell me that I will not tell anyone else.
"And I believe that." America smiled up at me.
"Good." I said relieved she trusted me.

She told me about her childhood crush, Aspen. She told me about the treehouse. About the sneaking out. About the jar of pennies. The good times in life. But then her story took a turn that I didn't expect coming. This Aspen guy, he broke up with her so she would try and enter the selection. My question was answered this was why America entered the selection. She told me about how long she cried. She told me about why he broke up with her. I was about crying myself. Why? Why would this dude give up on Love that America knew they had, so fast? America even said she would wait for him. I couldn't help thinking it was my fault. He broke her heart to become a guard. At my castle. My home. Even though I liked how America was mysterious and kind. Someone I would love to get to know. She wasn't a selected, and she had someone else already. I was okay with that. I think.

"Wow. That sucks" I said looked down at my shoes.
"Yeah. It really does." She said looking down at her dress.
I got up and held my hand for her to grab. She grabbed it and I pulled her off the ground.
"Thanks Maxo- I mean Prince Maxon, oh no wait is it your highness? I don't know" she said exasperated and put her hands up to her face. I gently pulled them away.
"It's fine" I laughed which made her smile. "Call me Maxon. But just saying your highness would be the correct term unless you got to know me to call me by my name and title." I stated. She got lost, I could tell.
"Okay?" She said and raised an eyebrow. I laughed once again and we walked inside the castle.
"So that's the reason why you ran?" I asked. "Because Of him?" I didn't dare say his name.
"Basically yeah. But it was kinda a chain reaction. I thought about being alone up there on the stage, no one but me. I thought about how I would always lay on my bed. Alone. And just sing. My bed was the place Aspen told me that he was breaking it off. I thought of Aspen. I thought about the break up. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I burst." America explained.
"Oh. Well this Aspen dude. Why did you not tell Kamber about him?" I asked.
"Because Aspen is Kamber's brother" she blurted. Then covered her mouth.