Hey guys, I got some really amazing reviews on the last chapter, so thank you so much! I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story. I haven't said it in a while so just a quick reminder that the plot is not mine and belongs to the brilliant Tyne O'Connell, and the characters to the brilliant Lisi Harrison. Here's part 1 of their time in Barcelona. Sorry if a lot of the sites aren't described well; I've never been to Europe so I found these on a tourist website. Anyway, enjoy...

**Cam**

The shouts of excitement from the guys as we pulled up to the stadium were slightly overwhelming. I'd spent the ride—and the whole night before, come to think of it—hitting myself over the head for not using my time with Claire better. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to be nice about Massie when she asked. Maybe I should've blurted what came to mind first, that it was horrible spending time with Massie when all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and stay there forever. Whoa, I thought to myself, I've never been that gushy about a girl, ever.

We piled out of the bus and stood in front of the stadium. We were told to separate into groups, so Massie immediately grabbed Claire and Alicia, who grabbed Dylan, and they stood off to the side. Josh and Plovert said something to their respective girls, and then hugged them before walking over to stand with some other guys from the soccer team.

Derrick pulled me over to the girls though, and before I knew it he was wrapped in a big hug from Claire. I almost could have punched him, I was so jealous. Massie came and gave me a similar hug, which I returned. I couldn't be outright rude to her, even if I'd wanted to.

"You guys aren't on the soccer team?" Dylan asked curiously as we made our way into the line.

"Nope," Derrick responded cheerily. "I played when I was younger, but now I just run in the morning." I nodded in agreement. I'd never played soccer in my life, but the World Cup was always a big deal in my family, especially having cousins in Spain.

"How about you, Cam?" Alicia asked, genuinely curious.

"I played tennis for a while, but that's pretty much it" I answered. Derrick and I had always been more into artsy-er stuff growing up; he'd always been super focused on photography, and I wasn't half bad at painting. But we always ran together in the mornings to stay in shape.

"First half of the line, follow me!" Mr. Gelt yelled, "We are going on the stadium tour first. "Everyone else go with Ginnah to look at the museum first! Then we will switch."

We moved over to where Ginnah and Mr. Myner were standing, discussing something. Then, horror of horrors, Ginnah giggled. A girly sort of, cutesy laugh. And Mr. Myner laughed back! Derrick and I shared a look. We rarely heard Ginnah laugh, and we had never heard her giggle. The girls seemed oblivious, not realizing how this was not normal teacher behavior. From the exchange Massie and Mr. Myner shared on the first night, I assumed that they'd seen him be very social before.

They led us into the stadium's museum, which was filled with displays celebrating the history of the franchise. I looked around in awe. I may not be as invested in soccer as Plovert or Josh, but that didn't stop me from being interested.

We wandered around looking at vintage jerseys and black and white photographs for a while, and got an informal lecture on the history of the building. I heard Derrick and Claire whispering to each other during some of it, and was surprised and impressed at how much she knew about soccer.

Then we were led out into the stadium, which was amazing to look at. The grass was that picture-perfect green, and the place was just huge. This time I smiled at the excited chatter of my classmates, and we started off on our tour.

**Massie**

Touring the stadium had been fun, but it was more fun to catch up with Leesh and Dyl. Having been so focused on the guys the past few days meant I'd barely spoken to them since we boarded the ship. They gushed about their relationships with Josh and Plovert respectively, and how much fun they'd had getting to know some of the other guys, like Danny and Kemp. I told them all about Cam, but I might have fabricated some of the affection a bit, to make it seem more serious than it was. Also I filled them in a bit on how I'd set up Claire and Derrick, but I almost didn't have to because anyone could tell just by looking at them that they were super close.

As we boarded back on the bus to head to the shopping street, Claire sent me and apologetic grin before sitting next to Derrick, who had sat with Cam on the ride over. I just grinned hugely back, I was glad to see them getting along so well. At this point they were almost acting on the border of more than friends. I also was happy for an excuse to sit next to Cam. He greeted me with an easy smile as I slid in the seat beside him, glad that we were starting off well today.

We made small talk about sports and the world cup until we arrived at La Rambla, a famous street lined with stores and vendors. Leesh and I exchanged excited looks across the aisle of the bus; out of the four girls we were definitely the most into shopping. Cam and I got off the bus and stood to the side to wait for the others. As Alicia got off, I saw her exchange a laugh with Danny Robbins, and wished I'd been getting to know other guys too. But as long as I had Cam, it was worth it to spend all of my time with him, right?

About an hour and a half later, my feet were tired and I was ready for a lunch break. Josh and Plovert had dutifully carried all of Alicia and Dylan's shopping bags, and I coerced Cam into doing the same. Claire only had one shopping bag, a couple of touristy souvenirs for her brother and dad, and a really nice scarf for her mom. She carried it herself, but she and Derrick walked together; they occasionally interacted with one of us, but mostly kept to themselves.

"Hey, anyone else hungry?" Derrick asked, and I sighed in relief. I hadn't wanted to be the one to suggest stopping for lunch.

"I am," I answered, and the guys nodded.

"Hey, there's a nice looking restaurant just down there," Claire suggested, pointing to where umbrellas and tables lined a patio. We all agreed and went to get food.

The lunch conversation pretty much consisted of trading stories from our home schools, us girls telling about how Mr. Myner broke the overhead projector once, and them telling us about all of Ginnah's "go green!" initiatives and other odd classroom rituals, like voting on essay topics. I looked around and was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves. This is exactly what I'd always wanted: all my friends in one place with guys who adored us by our sides. I was so glad Claire had finally loosened up around someone I chose for her.

After lunch we wandered up and down the street, not really stopping in any stores, but just joking around and people watching. Then when we headed back to the bus to go to the next tourist stop, the guys introduced me and Claire to Danny Robbins, Kemp Hurley, and Dempsey Solomon. I was glad to meet more people even if I probably wouldn't be able to get to know them too well. We boarded the bus together and sat in a clump, Danny, Kemp, and Dempsey sitting next to girls they had ended up with. As we rode to the next attraction, I could only hope that it would be as perfect as the last one.

**Claire**

The morning had been perfect. The stadium had been awesome, and we'd had so much fun as a group on the shopping street. Also I'd had some great conversation with Derrick. I loved that I could just be myself around him; he was truly a great friend. I could only hope all my plans to help him would work, because I could tell he'd be so crushed if they didn't.

I didn't know how much if any he'd told Cam about my plan and helping him to get Massie, but on the offchance that it wasn't much, I tried to be a little flirty with Derrick, just in case. But halfway through lunch I realized that first of all, that might throw off Massie when she realized she liked Derrick more, and second, that I didn't care if Cam was jealous. It didn't matter. Nope. Not at all.

We got to Tibidabo Hill and piled out of the bus. I ended up walking with Derrick, Dylan, and Plovert. We had a great conversation; Derrick and Plovert were hilarious together. I realized that I didn't know if I've ever laughed harder in my life than I did that day, both at lunch and while climbing the hill. I was so glad to get to know Plovert better because he was super funny and the nicest guy, and I could tell he really liked Dylan.

When we were nearing the top, I heard Massie mutter something about getting tired of walking. She'd been behind us, with Cam, Alicia, and Josh. I shot Derrick a look, but he just looked back with a confused stare.

"My feeeeeeeeet," Massie let out again, and I nudged Derrick with my elbow.

"Give her a piggyback. We're starting the plan early. There's an amusement park at the top of the hill. You're getting on a ride with her. Do it. Now," I commanded in barely above a whisper. He let out a soft laugh, and turned to talk to Plovert. I was a bit confused. Hadn't my advice worked so far? I guess we couldn't really tell. Maybe he was tired of the lack of results. But I'd at least thought he liked hanging out with me and respected me as a person…

Within the next minute, Massie had complained once again, and Derrick shot me a wink.

"Hey, Mass, you need a piggyback?" He asked, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"That'd be great, Derrick, thanks!" She replied enthusiastically. He grinned at me as she hopped on his back, and I returned it. I suddenly got it—he just hadn't wanted to make it obvious what we'd been talking about by turning around and offering her a piggyback right when I told him to.

I smiled as he practically ran the rest of the way up the hill with her on his back, zigzagging through the others on our tour group. Massie's giggle rang out as he sped up, and I couldn't stop smiling. This was it. Maybe she'd finally start to realize. Just as long as Derrick took my advice and only tried to be her friend at first, things should work out. And as long as Cam stayed out of her way…

"Wow, he's such a gentleman," I commented casually to Cam. I figured if I kept him busy by trying to be his friend, he wouldn't get in the way of Derrick and Massie. But instead of sighing and saying he wished he'd thought of carrying Massie first like I thought he would, he turned to me and offered a half grin.

"Do you want a piggyback?" He looked straight into my eyes. I was taken aback, not having expected it.

"I'm good, thanks. I actually really like walking," I declined as politely as I could. "Sorry I ran away last night," I continued cheerfully, "I really was tired." I offered an apologetic smile. I didn't want things to be awkward. If I was going to have to hang out with him—for the sake of Derrick and Massie's progress of course—he couldn't know how upset I'd been at him. That'd just be awkward.

"It's cool," he said, and it was his turn to look surprised. I guess he had good reason; I hadn't exactly been friendly to him after finding him with Massie that first night. I'd been spending so much time with Derrick, that I hadn't taken the initiative to start a conversation with him at all.

"Good." I smiled at him as we reached the top of the hill. I heard calliope music and the delighted screams of people on amusement park rides. "Wanna go on the Ferris Wheel?" I asked, pointing to where Massie and Derrick were at the front of the line, and where Alicia, Dylan, Josh, and Chris were headed.

"Actually," Cam said slowly, almost nervously. I hoped he wasn't going to say he had no interest in going on a ride with me, and that he wanted to go knock Derrick out and continue his day with Massie, and— "I prefer the merry-go-round myself. Would you want to go on that with me?" He sounded like he was sure I would say no, so I just shrugged and grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the carousel.

We rode a number of other rides together, and I never stopped to think that maybe we should go join the others. As hard as I tried not to enjoy myself with Cam, it was impossible. We laughed about nothing and everything, screamed at the top of our lungs on the rollercoaster, and got completely soaked on a water ride.

As we walked back towards where our group was meeting to leave for the next place, I was brought back down to earth. Cam didn't like me, he just thought of me as a friend. And I couldn't let me distract him from my mission of getting Derrick and Massie together. I made up my mind to remain friendly but also stay a bit distant. It was probably what was best for the situation.

We kept up the conversation as we waited for others to come, but I was much less enthusiastic. It was harder to interact with him when I had to… think about it.

I heard Massie's giggle and Derrick's hearty laugh and turned immediately. They approached slowly, tagging along behind Josh, Plovert, Alicia, and Dylan. Once they joined the growing group of students, I was surprised to be pulled into an enormous bear hug from Derrick. I grinned into his shoulder where my face was smooshed and returned the hug.

"Thanks," he whispered super softly, "I had the best afternoon."

I nodded in agreement, still in the hug. When I pulled away, he gave me the goofiest grin, which I returned wholeheartedly. Then we returned our attention to the rest of the group. Massie and Cam had started talking, but Cam stole a glance at me, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked away quickly when he saw I noticed him looking. Huh. Derrick slipped his arm around me and we boarded the bus in the same seats as before, to make our way to the Spanish Village.

So I hope that was alright. I sort of stopped it at an awkward spot. Oh well. I have started the next chapter so hopefully it will be up soon!

Hugs, Sky