[ uno ]

They were able to weave through the crowd of people expertly, since they had already done it countless times before. Now the masses of paparazzi were bigger than they used to be. Back then, they would only follow the family for Toni Kroos, the famous German footballer, and his beautiful wife Valerie, a wealthy Irish-Spanish socialite.

Now the cameras focused more on the new generation of people, the Kroos kids, who weren't exactly kids anymore. Leon was a successful footballer for Real Madrid and German National squad, both teams that his father had once represented. Aimée Aticza was also a footballer who played for Real Madrid Femenino. She was very skilled and was being sought after by three countries that she was eligible to play for; Ireland, Germany, and Spain. Ariadne was the sweetheart of the family, had started modeling and acting at a young age and was still known as the little girl who used to be in chocolate bar commercials. And last was Aidé, whose naturally bright red hair distinguised her from her sisters. But all she wanted was to be like them. She was a singer and yearned for the same attention her older sisters got.

Toni, who was now working as a sports analyst on a popular Spanish television show called Deportes Club, had called a car to pick them up at the airport in Barcelona. And they would head to Marc and Ashley's house. They were close friends with Toni and Valerie and wanted to celebrate their return.

Leon and Aimée would be meeting them there.

They arrived an hour past noon to see Marc and Ashley's place was decorated with balloons and banners all over the place and other colorful party decorations. "They really must have missed us." Valerie said to Toni as they rang the doorbell at the front gate and waited for one of them to come to the door. At that moment, Leon and Aimée had pulled up together in a rental from the airport as well. They got out of the car and were about to greet their parents just as someone came to the gate.

It was Ashley who smiled wide when she saw them. "Hey!" She said, clicking some buttons on a number pad to unlock the gate.

Valerie smiled just as big and when the door opened, she jumped on her friend. "I missed you." The blonde said, pulling Ashley in for a warm hug.

"Its so great to see you." Ashley gushed with excitemet. "But come in. Marc and the kids are in the back yard, finishing up with the decorations." She pulled away from Valerie and gestured into her house. The family followed her down a small path by the side of the house that led to the back. There were four tables there, only one was empty. On the far side were three long tables with buffet styles trays on them, and pitchers full of different kinds of drinks.

On each of the other tables sat friends of the family. There was Lionel, his wife Antonella, and their two sons Thiago and Benjamin. Leo wanted every chance he could get for his son Thiago to spend time with Marc's daughter Elionor. And when he found out that Kroos had three daughters, he thought that his other son Benjamin could date one of them. Benjamin was always keeping a low profile. He played for RCD Espanyol, while Thiago played in FC Barcelona where Lionel was the current team manager. Both were professional footballers, though Thiago was more successful. Lionel wanted to take his younger son to Barcelona as well, but Benjamin was perfectly happy at Espanyol where there was no pressure to follow in his father's footsteps, and thus always being kept in his shadow. 

On the next table were Gerard and his wife Shakira, with one of their sons. He was Sasha, who hadn't wanted to go into the same career as his father and decided to go into music instead. Milan would be arriving from football practice later on. Though Gerard didn't say it, Sasha knew his father had been a bit disappointed that he hadn't gone into football like his older brother. But football just wasn't something he loved enough to make a career in, not like Milan and Gerard. Sasha did love football, and supported his brother, as well as the Spanish and Colombian National teams, but his calling had been music from the very beginning and his mother was thrilled about it. 

For the young musician, it had been like love at first sight for him when he saw Aimée Aticza Kroos. They had met a few times when they were children, but he didn't really remember it and had never talked enough to have become friends. She was as beautiful as an angel and he felt the corners of his mouth pushing up into an involuntary smile. It was the reaction her beauty caused in him, and he wanted to meet her.

At one point, he had been staring so long that she caught him and smiled back politely. This made Sasha blush in embarrassment and he looked away, scratching the back of his head. In the next minute, he later went back to watching her.

At the last table next to the empty one were Marc, his daughter Elionor, and his son Pol.

Eli grinned when she saw Aimée and rushed to her side. "I haven't seen you in so long!" She said, and linked arms with the blonde. There, Sasha saw the chance to talk to her escape him. With Elionor in the way, he wouldn't probably dare to approach his angel. He was already a bit hesitant to approach her by herself, much less in the company of someone else.

If only Milan were here, Sasha thought to himself.

His older brother Milan, and his friend Thiago were constantly fighting over Elionor's attention. Both Gerard and Leo wanted the brunette for their sons, but she didn't seem interested in them. Sasha thought the two boys weren't interested in Eli that way either, but they tried to win her over to please their fathers.

Elionor took her friend to her table where she was sat with her younger brother Pol, and the girls talked for a while. Sasha watched them intently, though trying to be discreet. He was waiting for his chance to approach her, and he would wait all day if he had to.

His chance finally came an hour later, after the families had eaten and Elionor had excused herself for a moment. Since Aimée didn't know Pol, Ashley, and Marc too well, she excused herself as well and left her seat. She walked a few feet off, where there was a beautiful garden of roses. Her arms around herself as she felt a cool breeze hitting her. 

He approached her, asking with a smile. "Are you an angel?"

She turned to him, her blue eyes full of confusion at the young man standing before her. "What?" She let out a light laugh that was like the best composed melody to his ears. If it were a song, Sasha knew it would be his favorite.

"Are you an angel?" The young musician repeated. "Have I died and gone to heaven? Please tell me this is so."

For a brief instant, she looked at him like he was crazy.

When she said nothing, he added, "I'm almost certain you're an angel because my eyes have not seen a more beautiful woman than you, querida."

"You must be the musician." Aimée finally guessed, looking him over.

He raised an eyebrow at her, the enamoured smile still present on his face. "You have heard of me?"

"I was told one of the guys at this reunion party was a musician. Judging by the way in which you speak, I guessed you're into poetry. Music is just poetry accompanied by a beat." She explained her reasoning. And she also remembered seeing his picture on a billboard on the highway as she and her brother Leon drove to their destination. When they arrived, she had also seen him sitting next to Shakira, and it was a given that the musician was her son.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Music is more than just that, querida. But I'll tell you more about it if you'll agree to go on a date with me." His brown eyes looked into her blue ones and she found herself unable to resist him. 

"You're in luck." She winked. "I think Barcelona boys are kinda cute."

"And Madrid girls drive me crazy." He grinned.

"Its a date then." She told him with a nod of her head. He was handsome, charming, and talented. What more could she ask for?

And it seemed it had taken him a great deal of courage to approach her, since she had caught him staring at her all through lunch.

Sasha couldn't have been happier in that moment.

That is, until his older brother arrived.

-

oooh, i smell trouble brewing. but isn't sasha a sweetheart? so here is the first chapter of madrid girls, i hope you enjoy reading it, as much as im enjoying writing it. i'm posting a collage of the cast on the media bar on top, so you can see them.

thank you, i love you!

-clary xx