BECAUSE OF 100,000 READS, WHICH I AM SO VERY INSANELY HAPPY ABOUT, I'VE DECIDED TO GIVE YOU A CHAPTER OF EVERYONE'S POINT OF VIEW. Yes, even Logan's. That should be interesting.
(Sorry for this taking so long. I wanted it to be quality work.)
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-AMERICA'S POV-
Young love is truly a beautiful thing. I went through it once- well, twice- and I didn't realize how precious it was back then. Now that I'm older and I'm seeing it from an outsider's prospective, it seems more passionate and amazing than I remember.
Being in love with Aspen was a little frightening. I never knew whether he would bail on me one day, say he was over me; and he eventually did. But he was my first love, and first loves in general are terrifying. But being in love with Maxon was even more frightening. Because that time there was always doubt in my mind that he didn't love me back.
Seeing my first born child in love at nineteen is scary, too; I'm not going to lie. Everything love related is always risky. He was already heartbroken when Breanne was killed, and if Gwen does anything to hurt him, he'll be devastated. I have liked Gwen for a while now, but I have to admit I didn't always. When she first entered our lives she was mischievous and almost flirty. I didn't think she was capable of deep feelings.
Gerad told me I was wrong. He told me she was strong and smart, but I didn't believe it. Now there's no doubt in my mind about what a great girl she is.
Of course Maxon will always be mine. Our relationship has been strained at times, but now we're stronger than ever. The world will always be bearing down on us, but we have each other to lift us back up.
Love wasn't always my anchor. But now I finally understand that everyone needs it to survive.
-MAXON'S POV-
I'd like to think that Gerad Jr. has grown up to be a little like me. A strong, honest man, but still has a soft spot for women crying. Maybe he's even confused by women crying.
But he's finally found the one. The people weren't happy; Gwendolyn wasn't even part of the Selection, after all. But as long as my son is happy, I could care less what everyone else thinks.
America's obviously pleased. She's always been such a great mother. Amberly is happy as well. She seems convinced that Gwen and Gerad are the most beautiful and most perfect couple ever created. Logan on the other hand isn't happy at all. He's fallen for Ashlyn, who must go back to Britain to become queen in their kingdom. Though he's very young and she's even younger, it's not hard to tell they care for each other.
Though Gerad has been a little separated from his siblings from day one due to his duties as the next in line for the throne, Amberly and Logan still look up to him. He's a great role model and an even better man. He grew up to be exactly what I wanted him to be. Fair, caring, kind, determined, intelligent. Five traits everyone should have.
And until the last breath I take, I will forever be proud of my children, and the girl I fell in love with so many years ago.
My beautiful America. I'll love her a day more than forever.
-LOGAN'S POV-
Ashlyn.
Everyone has totally misinterpreted our relationship. No, we're not in love. We're not even old enough to fully understand what that means. Gerad and Gwen are in love. They're ready for a life together, to devote themselves to each other. That's not at all what Ashlyn and I want.
She finally understands how I feel. I've always wanted Gerad to notice me, to be the big brother I always wanted. But he's always been too busy being readied for the duties ahead. And Amberly... Amberly's great, but she's always doing her own thing and in her own world.
I'm pretty sure everyone on this planet thinks Amberly and I are close as we can be. Maybe even Amberly herself.
But Ashlyn. She understands. She feels that way with Gwen, too.
I just needed someone to connect to. And it was great, the months we had together. But all good things come to an end. Maybe I'll be able to visit her, when she's queen of England and has a family of her own.
Ashlyn and I went along with the whole in love thing because no one would give it up. And we were just pretending, and then making fun of it, until.
Until.
Until I kissed her.
I didn't mean to do it. It just kind of felt natural, that night we stayed up late because she was having trouble sleeping. I had stayed up with her because we had become close and I figured it was the right thing to do.
And it just kind of happened.
To this moment I still don't know if it meant anything. And I probably never will.
But I just had to do it once.
-AMBERLY'S POV-
Can I just say, so much has changed since we were first introduced to Gwen. First the rules of the Selection were either bent or broken- I can't tell anymore. And now Gerad is marrying a princess. An actual princess. She doesn't seem like one, but deep inside her I can see some queen-like qualities. Hopefully she'll step up to the plate.
But in better news, Gerad is always happy now. Whenever he's with Gwen, he can't stop smiling.
I hope one day I find the guy of my dreams. Someone who will not only be my boyfriend, but my best friend. That's the kind of guy I want.
I have a feeling Gwen and I will be good friends. But she can't get enough of Gerad at the moment, so I won't be able to act on that friendship.
Gerad has Gwen and Logan has Ashlyn, and here I am with no one.
But I am a princess and I must do what a princess does; act cheerful, elegant, never showing any signs of unhappiness. I can't say it's easy, but it's what I have to do. So I pretend, and I do as best I can.
I'll never be queen, but maybe I'll be important to Gerad one day. Maybe in the future, he won't shut me out when I try to help. Maybe he'll smile and laugh with me, let his guard down and actually act like I'm more than a stranger.
But until then, I think I'll live in my own world. The world where I'm important; I actually matter. Where I dance and sing like I've always wanted to do.
Don't get me wrong- I still love my family more than anything, and I'm positive they love me back.
Everyone mistakes what being a royal really is.
They think it's all fun and games. Everyone is well fed, wears fancy clothes, and can act rotten and mean to anyone they want because they're better than everyone else.
It's the exact opposite.
I have to keep it slim. I can't eat too much, or I won't look graceful as a princess should.
My clothes are tight and uncomfortable. Everything to make me look composed and elegant in front of my country.
I must always keep a smile on my face and sweet, wise words on my lips. No rude behavior, no harsh language. Everything kind and happy.
Sometimes I wish I was just a normal girl that no one knew and could keep quiet and to herself.
But then I realize that life has its challenges.
And if you can get by them and learn to enjoy life,
you'll get the most out of it in the long run.
-ASHLYN'S POV-
My sister hasn't been this happy in a long time. Her life has been a burden up until she met her true love, Gerad Schreave.
Personally, I don't see what she sees in him. I mean- no offense to him, but really? He's not even that good looking. I'm sure she could do a lot better.
But as long as she's happy, I guess I'll learn to live with him. He's not a bad guy, really. I mean, he is a prince.
I've tried to support my sister all these years. I've been kind to her. I've been her shoulder to cry on, the one who she always can talk to. But I'm not enough to make her happy.
It seems like she has multiple personalities, if that's even possible. In front of Gerad she's someone totally different than who she is in front of me.
Or maybe she just changed. Into a more mature, kind person. One who cares and has deep feelings. One who can deal with her emotions in a good way.
Back in England, she was a wreck. Always stressed about something, always complaining about something... always something.
And I would deal with it.
But now, Logan has given me another perspective on life. He's taught me that life is all about what you make of it. No one can have their paths laid out for them. You get to decide who you want to do, and no one can stop you. Someone can give you guidelines; I'm going to become a queen. And yes, I must do that for my country. But there's no one to tell me what to do once I'm queen. I'll make good decisions for the sake of the people, but what if I twist it up a bit?
Eventually I'll have a boyfriend, and then a husband, and then children. And they'll make my life something special, something real.
And for now, I get to enjoy my life with little responsibilities and freedom. I won't always have that, but I'll have the memories of what it was like.
I'll never forget his kiss. Logan's. It was so mysterious, so gentle, as if he was worried I wouldn't accept it. But I did, but I don't know what it means. I don't know what he thinks it means, or what it truly does mean. But all I know is that it was a magical moment.
One I'll never forget.
-GWEN'S POV-
"Gerad?" I whisper, reaching out to him in the darkness.
"Yes? Is everything okay?" he replies softly, wrapping his strong arms around me.
"Of course it is." I pause for a moment. "Gerad, I want to tell you something."
"What is it?" he asks, turning on the light. I close my eyes for a moment, waiting for them to adjust to the sudden brightness.
My stomach suddenly churns, twisting in knots as I begin to tell him.
"I... I was in the bathroom the other day, and I pulled out a, well, as pregnancy test, just to check." As the words spill out awkwardly, I search his eyes for signs of emotions. Sure enough, they're sparkling with joy. He knows what's coming.
"So I checked, and..." I swallow. "Gerad, I'm pregnant."
He throws his arms around me, embracing me tightly. I squeeze back, a tear slowly rolling down my cheek.
"Are you upset, Gwen? This is wonderful!" he says, wiping the tear from my eyes.
"I'm not upset, Gerad. I just- I just haven't ever loved someone this much. I didn't think I was capable of loving someone as much as I love you. And now, we're going to have a child which is going to prove my love for you and I just... I can't believe this is actually happening."
"Are you that surprised?" he murmurs, cupping my cheeks in his hands. "You're so beautiful, Gwen. So insanely beautiful. But then, deeper, you're also incredibly smart. And don't forget how strong and brave you are." He smiles, a tear in his eye. "I couldn't help but fall in love with you. It was the best mistake I ever made." He laughs, and I laugh with him.
He moves his hand toward my stomach, keeping his other arm around my shoulders. "Hello, baby," he says. "Well, almost baby. I don't know if you're there yet or not." I giggle as he speaks. "Well, whether you're there or not, I want to tell you something." He clears his throat. "You're going to be our little baby. We'll take care of you no matter what, and we'll love you more than is humanely possible." He looks up at me and smiles. "You're going to have the best mother ever. She'll take good care of you. And I'll be here too, your daddy. We'll probably make mistakes, since we're new at this. But if you put aside those mistakes, I think we'll be pretty good parents."
He leans down and kisses my stomach. "I already love you, my little baby."
More tears stream down my face, and I cover my mouth with one hand to keep from sobbing. He's too sweet and adorable. I almost can't take it.
"And I will always love you too, baby," he says, leaning in towards me. Our lips meet softly at first, and then gradually harder and more passionately. I pull away, though I don't want to.
"Gerad," I say, looking up at him. "I love you."
-GERAD'S POV-
You know, my life hasn't been perfect. But I'd say it's been pretty damn good.
"I love you too, Gwendolyn. I always will."
We lay back down, her laying in my arms. She falls asleep like that, but I find myself wide awake.
Being married is better than I thought it would be. At first, all I could think about is all that commitment and too much responsibility.
But I didn't know back then that the person you're getting married to is worth all that commitment and responsibility. They're worth everything. They stole your heart and will not give it back.
I didn't know that then.
Now I know.
Gwendolyn and our baby will be my entire life, I can already see it. Sure, running a country is important. But having a family that you can't explain your love for in words is crucial.
It must've been on her birthday, the day that this happened. When we went to her room and didn't come back out- even for cake.
And I have never been so glad that something happened.
Some people will say it's too soon. We should've waited. We're too young.
But you know what?
I don't care. Not one bit. They can say what they want but now me and Gwen have what we want, which means more.
My mother told me the same thing happened with her and my father. They didn't wait. And I was born.
So I guess it's not such a bad thing. Though we're young, we can still be good parents. I'm sure of it.
It'll be stressful, of course. I'll always be worried that I'll do the wrong thing, that my children won't be happy.
But Gwen is here, and she'll be great. She's become so much more mature than she was, and she's ready to be a mother. And finally ready to be a queen. I can see it in the way she walks, stands, smiles. She's wiser now.
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Life isn't about doing everything right. In fact, it's all about making mistakes. That's what makes it interesting.
And though making mistakes turns out to be scary and frightening, we get through it. Because we're strong.
Not everyone sees life the same way. I'm sure my family sees it a lot differently than I do. But that's okay, because that's what makes us all unique. Logan is funny and witty, Amberly is bright and quirky, and I'm... me. Whatever that means.
Differences either push us apart or bring us together.
And I'm happy to say, I think they've brought us together.
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There, my friends, is the story of America and Maxon, their children, and their future.
It'll be a beautiful story, no matter what your interpretation of it is. All of this is what I saw in my head when I envisioned the future of Maxerica.
I hope I did this story justice, because it's an amazing story. It really is.
This fanfiction started as a coping mechanism for me after I finished The One. It was one of my favorite series, and even though Maxon and America ended up together, I wasn't satisfied by the ending. This is where my fanfiction came along.
I never expected it to be read or liked. I liked it, and that's all that matters.
I love to write, and fanfictions are really a great way to start.
As you can tell, my writing skills have become so much better due to this fanfiction. It's a long process, but 100% worth it in the long run.
So I have to thank you. I've gotten over 100,000 reads on this story since I first started writing it, which has made be more happy than you could believe.
But I'm not in in for the reads or votes or any other of that crap. It's just a bonus.
What I really care about was if you liked it. I really hope you did.
Thank you for giving me feedback, even if it was negative. It only makes the story better.