Sam was not having a good day. Her parents finally returned from their own vacation and were still upset that she didn't go with them. Then they found out that she spent most of the summer over at Fenton Works, which in turn had them saying degrading things about Danny. As a result, she just left the mansion to meet up with the others to avoid listening to her parents' superiority complexes.

Unfortunately she left one superiority complex to run right into another when she arrived at Fenton Works.

"What are you doing here, Paulina?" demanded the Goth as she glared at the other rich girl.

But Paulina just gave off a smug smirk, not seeing her rival in love as a threat. "Isn't it obvious, Goth Geek? I'm here to see my beloved Ghost Boy! He hasn't been seen around here all summer and I miss him."

Sam let out a low growl. She would have thought Paulina would be too shallow and stupid to realize Danny hasn't shown his face around town, but it seems that she underestimated the Latina.

"Probably because you're a creepy stalker and he doesn't want to run into you!" snapped Sam, her glare becoming fiercer.

"You're one to talk, Goth Geek. You've been stalking the Ghost Boy since the beginning, but unlike you, I am his soulmate and the one he will pick in the end," replied Paulina, her smirk widening.

Grinding her teeth, Sam wanted nothing more than to slap that smirk right off of Paulina's face. Like hell would she ever allow Danny anywhere near this pink parasite. Before Sam could tell her off, the door opened, revealing Maddie standing there.

"Hello? Can I help you?" questioned Maddie, looking at Paulina.

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton! Is Danny home? I was hoping to talk to him," stated Paulina, trying to look as innocent as possible while Sam continued to glare at her.

Warning bells were going off in Maddie's head as her maternal instincts were telling her not to trust this girl.

"I'm sorry, but Danny's not feeling well right now, so we're trying to keep visitors to a minimum," replied the Fenton matriarch with a frown.

Paulina pouted at being denied. "But I really need to talk to him! It's important!"

"It's just going to have to wait," countered Maddie, putting her hands on her hips.

It was clear that Paulina wanted to argue. She was not used to not getting her way. She was about to start yelling and making demands when a large green mass phased through the wall and caused her to lock up in fear.

"Grr," growled Cujo as he glared down at what he perceived as a threat to his master.

"…I th-think I'll come b-back another time," said Paulina, backing away a few steps before turning around and running as fast as she could.

With the threat gone, Cujo reverted back to his puppy form where he panted and wagged his tail happily.

"Good boy, Cujo," said Maddie with a beaming smile.

"Arf!"

Maddie then turned to Sam. "You arrived just in time, Sam. Danny just sent a message saying where he's been."

The Goth followed the mother inside where everyone else was waiting. Once Sam was there, and noticed that Jazz was still upset from last time, Tucker opened up the message from Danny.

Took the bull by the horns when I visited this place and took in all of the sights. Ole!

Along with the message were photos of Plaza de Cibeles, Las Ventas, the Statue of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree, the Royal House of the Post Office, the Puerta de Alcala, the Palacio de Cristal, and the Fountain of the Fallen Angel.

"Oh, he went to Madrid," said Valerie, impressed.

"Think he took in a bullfight or two if his message is anything to go by?" questioned Johnny with a slight grin.

"He better not have! Do you have any idea how much suffering those bulls go through just so people can be entertained?!" replied Sam with a hiss.

"Eh, it can't be that bad if all they do is go after guys waving around red capes," said Tucker with a shrug. This earned him a glare from Sam.

This also caused Sam to go into a tirade about the horrors of bullfighting and why it should be outlawed, but the other teens have learned how to ignore her when she got into one of her bouts of activism. They just hoped this wouldn't go on for hours.

INTERLUDE END

-:-

Paulina makes an appearance, but unlike the others she's not welcomed in the Fenton homestead.