Hey guys, my sincerest apologies. I know it's been forever since I updated this. I really need to re-check the book out from the library to remember what happens next, so hang in there with me. Also, do you guys think I'm screwing up the timing? I just realized mid typing this chapter that they've only been on the boat for 4 days and so much has happened... Anyway. Please enjoy!
**Massie**
It was after breakfast and Claire and I stood by the rail on the main deck, breathing in the fresh sea air and chattering about France. Spain I had been psyched to see, but France was a different type of excitement, because I'd never been there before. Sure, I'd stopped in the Paris airport once or twice, but that barely counted. My parents had always promised that someday they'd take me to St. Tropez to cross France off my travel list, but it hadn't happened yet. I was hoping a romantic country like France could get things going again with Cam before I had time to think about whatever had happened last night with Derrick.
I honestly wasn't sure what had happened. It was like, one minute things were great and I was finally getting to know him as more than a perfect guy for Claire, and the next, I wanted to kiss him. The feeling had passed ever so briefly, but I couldn't help wondering about it. I really liked Cam. He was drop dead gorgeous, the sweetest guy I knew, and a great kisser to boot. Not much of a conversationalist, but that wasn't too big of an issue…
And then there was Derrick. Goofy, adorable, outgoing, loyal Derrick. He was totally the kind of guy Claire should like, and it seemed like she did. Maybe not as more than friends… yet. I decided in that moment that I wouldn't let a brief lapse in judgment keep me from my goal of getting them together, and it wouldn't get in the way of what Cam and I had. It had just been late and I was tired and it was a romantic and magical setting and Derrick had been there and Cam had not. That's all. No biggie.
"I dunno, Mass, I'm not feeling too well today," Claire was saying, snapping me out of my thoughts. She was clutching her stomach, and her face did look a little green. The boat had been rocking a little more than normal, and I guess it had affected her. I did my best not to crinkle my nose in disgust.
"Here, let me… let me help you down stairs. You should probably stay in today, you look really queasy…" I tried my best to be supportive, and she just nodded. I grabbed her arm and helped her back to our room. On the landing for the teacher's deck we bumped into Ginnah.
"Hey Ginnah," I greeted, "Claire's not feeling to great today, so I think she's gonna sit this one out."
"Oh, Claire honey, I'm sorry," Ginnah replied sounding truly apologetic. Claire had that effect on teachers; they always believed her when she said she felt sick, or if she missed a homework assignment (which happened, like, once). So there was good reason for Mr. Myner to trust her, but even Ginnah seemed to have fallen for her good girl charms. And she thought I had it easy with the teachers? She didn't even have to bat an eyelash.
Ginnah was wrapping up telling Claire the best ways to get over nausea when I tuned back in.
"You take care, alright? The boat will be docked for a while, and it seems to be pretty calm out now. We'll be back by six tonight. If you feel better, you have the itinerary. Meet us anywhere along the road. I trust you. Massie, you take Claire downstairs, and then meet us upstairs in ten minutes. Feel better," She waved, and headed up to the main deck.
"How do you do it?" I asked playfully, but Claire just glared at me.
"Maybe I'm actually sick!" She snapped, and I let it go. I suppose she must be if she was acting this way; she was never snappy, ever.
"Okay, well, here we are," I mumbled as we reached our room.
"Thanks," she mumbled back, sounding apologetic. I brought the trashcan over to near her bed.
"Get some rest," I reminded her as she climbed into bed in her PJs. She just nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. I shut the door as quietly as I could before going to rejoin everyone to go into Perpignan.
"Hey, Massie," Derrick grinned broadly when I emerged from the staircase.
"Hey," I casually waved back, and he pulled me into a quick hug once I got to him.
"Where's Claire today?" he asked, looking around. Were we really that inseparable? Yea, ok, we definitely were.
"Um, she's not feeling well this morning. Seasickness or something? Said she was gonna stay in today," I explained, surprise when a brief look of curiosity crossed his face.
"Let's head down to the dock," Derrick suggested, gesturing.
"Yea, definitely," I nodded and followed him, but I was looking around for Cam. I really had hoped to spend some time with him today.
**Cam**
When I overheard Massie saying that Claire was feeling sick today, I got the crazy idea to stay behind and keep her company. But I would have to get away before anyone saw me, so I slipped back downstairs to my room and texted Derrick my plan.
Cam: Hey man, I'm gonna stay behind and try to comfort Claire. Cover for me?
Derrick: Of course. But are you so sure that's a good idea?
Cam: No. But I'm going to do it anyway.
Derrick: Haha, alright. Good luck!
I waited until I was sure that everyone was off the boat, and then waited ten minutes more, just in case. Finally I got off my bed and made my way down the hall to Claire and Massie's room. I knocked a couple of times, but there was no answer. I thought maybe she was asleep, but tried the doorknob anyway. Surprised to find it unlocked, I slowly opened it.
I glanced around the room and saw that both beds were empty; one was made impeccably and one just had the covers pulled up, as if whoever left it had been in a rush. The trashcan was where it was supposed to be, under the desk by the door. What was going on?
"Looking for Massie?" A voice behind me nearly made me jump out of my skin.
"Oh, hey Claire," I greeted her, my cheeks burning. After a beat I realized her hair was wet and she was in nothing but a towel, shower caddy in hand. Well, that can go on my list of most embarrassing moments…
"What are you doing here?" She asked, partly curious, but mostly just cold.
"Uhm, I am, uh…" looking for you, I wanted to answer, "what are you doing here?" I asked back, flustered.
"I asked you first," she replied childishly, her eyebrows raised.
"Well. I was seeing if anyone else was on the boat still?" I answered lamely.
She rolled her eyes and pushed past me into their room. "Yup, I'm here. No, I'm not sick. Yes, I lied to Ginnah and told her I was. Yes, I feel horrible about it. No, I don't want you here right now. No, I can't even find it in me right now to say thanks for checking up on me. Yes, it's time for you to go. Go see Perpignan!" The door shut in my face.
Well, ego bruise right there. But it only made me more determined to make things right with her. She clearly was not pleased with me after the events of the previous night, but
I was almost tempted to get off the boat and join the group, as I loved the smaller places and thought this would be a cool place to tour. But instead I went to my room and pulled out my sketchbook and colored pencils, and sat on the very upper deck to draw the view.
I don't know how long I was up there, but I knew my sketch was coming out really well. I had gotten just the right color for the sky, and the scenery just blended really well on paper.
Suddenly I heard the deck below me creak. Looking over the edge, I saw Claire walking across the deck in a very attractive baby blue bikini, but she didn't see me. She had her iPod in hand, and the notebook I saw her writing in on the very first day. I wonder if she was starting a new song, or continuing the one she'd been working on then. She laid out on a chaise on the far side of the boat from where I was, so I turned my attention back to my drawing, stealing peeks at her every once in a while.
**Derrick**
I laughed as I go Cam's text messages; that was totally the type of thing that he would do. I had wondered if Claire was staying in on purpose to avoid him, after what he told me went down the night before. I hoped he was making progress.
I took the opportunity to hang out with Massie. She was totally confusing though… one minute she was laughing at all my jokes and the next she was blocking me out.
I got a chance to catch up with Josh and Plovert which was nice, and we at lunch with the girls, talking as a group. I caught Massie looking at me a few times, but she always blinked, or slowly moved her gaze elsewhere so as not to make it obvious.
I impressed the group by ordering lunch in French, and even flirted with a few pretty French girls, just for fun. I wasn't into them at all like I was with Massie, but as far as I was concerned, she still liked Cam. So I figured it was ok to have a few laughs.
When we got to the Le Palais des Rois de Majorque, Massie escaped to go explore it with the girls, so I wandered around with Plovert and Josh. We didn't really look at the place at all; we just wandered through, chatting. We walked by Ginnah and Mr. Myner once and pretended to be interested in the palace, but we shouldn't have bothered. They were too busy flirting to even notice us. The boys and I shared a glance, unsure of what was going on. We were pretty sure this was the first time Ginnah had ever been sociable with a guy in her life.
We walked past a small room with amazing windows, and I did a double take. Massie was in there alone, staring up at the stained glass. I told the guys I'd catch up with them later, and slipped quietly into the room.
Not quietly enough, apparently, because she turned around quickly.
"Oh, hey there, Derrick," her expression softened.
"Hey! Wow, this is amazing," I commented, looking around at how the light danced in colors through the window.
"Yeah," she replied softly, nodding. It was pretty much the only time I'd seen her thoughtful and quiet this entire trip.
"So what's up? Where are Alicia and Dylan?"
"Mmmm, I wanted to be alone. It's beautiful in here. I was… well, I was kind of hoping Cam would come and find me here. I haven't seen him all day," she replied. I think maybe my heart dropped when she said that. Ok, actually that's being a bit over-dramatic and girly, but yea. Claire had warned me that Massie was still into Cam, and I had assured her that I wouldn't rush the process. But still… it was hard to take.
"Yea, I haven't seen him much today either," I threw out casually as I brought out my camera to try and capture the beauty of the window.
"Can you imagine doing something amazing enough to get a stained-glass window made with your picture in it?" I asked after a couple failed attempts with the camera. The light was just only something you could see in person.
She giggled and shook her head. "No, I've never thought about that," she replied, her serious mood gone. We left the room together and walked around until it was time to board the boat for dinner. We had a great time again, but the mood had changed. Massie was not only keeping me at a distance mentally, but spatially as well. As we boarded the boat, I made a mental note to discuss this with Claire later.
**Claire**
Ok. I admit it. I am a better actress than often given credit for, and managed to fool even Massie into thinking I was sick. I just needed a day off from seeing Cam. His actions last night confused me to no end, and I spent half the night tossing and turning over his intent. So this morning, when I woke up, I was too tired to sight see and trudge around the city, even if I would regret missing our first stop in France.
Still, once everyone was gone, I was grateful for the silence and a moment alone. I crawled out of bed and went to take a shower at the bathroom down the hall. Feeling refreshed afterwards, I nearly skipped down the hall back to my room, looking forward to a peaceful day alone, until I saw someone standing in the doorway to our room, the door open wide. My first instinct was panic, but then I realized it was just Cam, and got mad. What was he doing there?
I lashed out at him a bit and slammed the door in his face before flopping down on my bed. I didn't know what he had been here for, so I covered all the bases. What was his problem? Why did he think it was ok to be all nice and sweet with Massie one minute, and then trying to convince me he liked me the next? Hadn't he ever heard of girl code? Or forgetting that, just plain morals? No girl in her right mind goes after her best friend's crush, no matter what he says. Especially not if he is a douche.
After a while of just staring at the ceiling, not even thinking about anything, I decided to venture up onto the main deck. I would just pray that Cam had taken my advice and gone to join the group, and go work on my song. I figured since the words I'd been working on just didn't seem to fit, I could write new lyrics about this boat trip but keep the same tune I loved.
As I reached the top landing of the stairs, I froze a moment and silently cursed, because Cam was sitting on the small upper deck and… writing something? I couldn't quite tell what he was doing, but he often looked up and stared at the shoreline.
I shrugged before sliding on my shades and stepping out of the stairwell into the sun and making my way to the set of chairs Massie and I had sat in on the first day, pretending I hadn't seen Cam at all. I refused to let him bother me. I settled into the lounge chair and drifted off into music-land for the rest of the afternoon.
So. There's chapter 11. Things still aren't worked out, but what can I do? Actually, I guess since I'm the author I could make it all work out next chapter, but where would be the fun in that? Haha. Alsoooo I wrote a oneshot for Ana's birthday, if anyone feels like checking it out. But it actually might suck. I'm not fishing for compliments here, I honestly can't decide if I feel like it's decent, or if I absolutely hate it. But. I suppose that isn't good advertising. Anywayyyyy sorry for rambling. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but no promises.
I hope you all have an amazing fourth of July weekend! (or, you know, just an awesome weekend for those of you outside the U.S. I think it is so cool that this story has international readers!)
Hugs, Sky