Chapter Text
While lying down on your bed, you stare at the ceiling of your room, waiting on your sister to be done changing.
Tonight there's a festival at the Madrigal'sCasita.Anyone who wanted to go was invited. Although, you didn't want to go; your sister still begged you, saying how it's 'necessary to show up to such special events.' You just weren't feeling it tonight.
Finally, (S/N) steps out of the bathroom, her hair styled perfectly, and her makeup on just for a natural look. She smiles and hurries over to you, her colourful dress swishing every-which-way.
"Get up, (Y/N)! You still need to fix your hair and we should've left five minutes ago!" Your sister huffs, tugging on your arm to pull you off the bed.
Rolling your eyes, you mumble under your breath. "Well, if you weren't in the bathroom so long..."
(S/N) gives you a mock-offended look, rolling her eyes as well. "Well, when going to a festival, you need to look presentable. Now, vamos!"
You allow your sister to pull you up, though try to protest as she pulls you into the bathroom, saying how she needs to fix your hair. Deciding you won't be able to win, you give up, letting her style your hair. To your surprise, you actually really like it. You wouldn't have thought this kind of look would fit you perfectly.
However, when she pulls out a small bag of makeup, you absolutely refuse.
"Come on, just a little makeup?"
"No." You give her a stern look and she huffs, pushing a tube of lip balm towards your hands.
"At least put on some lip balm?"
As much as you wanted to say no, you thought you'd at least give her this, so, albeit reluctantly, you agreed.
Standing to your feet, you follow her out of the room, grabbing anything necessary. As you walk out of the house, your sister grabs your arm, rushing you to catch up. "Come on,hermana, we're already late!"
You snort, forcing yourself to pick up speed in order to keep up with her. "And whose fault is that?" You snark, smiling in satisfaction at her disapproving look.
Soon enough, the two of you arrive at theCasita.Lots of people were already present, making the place seem full and lively. As you're examining the surroundings thoughtfully, your sister nudges your arm, motioning towards Isabella Madrigal, who's currently blooming flowers left and right for people as they arrive. "Hey, if you need me, I'll be getting a flower crown from Isabella."
(S/N) walks off, leaving you to look around uneasily. You aren't one for social events much, and when you do go, it's always to stick to the shadows, only attending because of a friend of family.
Letting your gaze drift across everyone's face, you sigh in disappointment. Of course. You can't see anyone else you talk to, and you don't prefer talking to strangers as most of these people seem to enjoy doing. So, you decide to accept defeat, listening to the music playing andsauntering over to a table covered with all different types of foods, most cooked by Julieta Madrigal, meaning it was bound to be delicious.
As you do, you can feel someone's gaze on you. Turning around slightly, you see Maria, the last person you'd like to see, staring right at you, a disgusted look on her face. You try to ignore her by turning back around, grabbing a churro before trying to leave, only for her to stop right in front of you.
"What are you doing here?" She crosses her arms, scoffing lightly. Let's just say, there's a small past between the two of you.
Sighing through your nose, you have to refrain from rolling your eyes. "Well, anyoneisinvited, believe it or not, so..."
At your words, her expression darkens and you know she doesn't appreciate the sarcasm. You do though, as it at least offers you some sort of win between her.
Just as she opens her mouth to say something, her eyes dart over to the table behind you. Her eyebrows raise and the glint in her eye tells you she's up to no good.
"Whatever," she spits, stepping to the side and grabbing something from the table.
You let out a breath of relief at her passiveness, happy to avoid confrontation tonight. Stepping forward, you begin to walk away, only for Maria to walk out right in front of you once more, only this time, she carries a drink. You stumble back, and she dumps the liquid all over the front of your dress, acting like it was completely accidental.
"Oh my gosh, (Y/N), I'msosorry! I wasn't paying attention, my bad."
Staring at your dress, your lips parted in shock, you find yourself wanting to do something, but you feel frozen. It takes you a few seconds to breathe again, before you shove your way out of the crowd. As you do, you can hear Maria laughing.
Tears sting your eyes from your mounting frustration. Doing your best to force it back, you make your way towards a back garden through the dark.
The music from the festival is still clear, and you decide to sit down on a small concrete-type bench, staring at the beautiful flowers, no doubt grown by Isabella herself. You take a few deep breaths, eventually calming down as you zone out. Of course, your day justhadto get worse.
You look down at your hands, folded on your lap, fidgeting slightly. As you look back up, eyes drifting up towards the beautiful night sky, someone behind you speaks. "Hola."
The suddenness and close proximity makes you jump, and you whip around the face the person.
The guy offers you a smile, laughing during his apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Relaxing once more, you give him a short nod before looking back up to the stars. "It's okay." You can feel his gaze lingering on you, but you don't glance at him, not feeling in the mood to talk.
"So, what's your name?" He asks after a moment, much to your displeasure.
You continue to stare at the sky, offering no sort of emotion through your answer. "(Y/N)."
Immediately, he notices your mood, and he sits down next to you. "What's wrong?" When he only receives silence, he questions again. "Is it why you're sitting out here instead of being at the festival?"
Your gaze flickers to meet his briefly, answering his question. Even though you don't want to talk, his company seems...inviting."What's your name?"
You can almost hear his smile at you engaging in the conversation. "Camilo."
Upon hearing his name, you realize why his voice sounds so familiar. He's Camilo Madrigal. The shapeshifter.
"Why are you sitting out here?"
His persistence makes you want to be annoyed, but for some reason, you can't find yourself to be annoyed with him. He's only trying to help. Even so, you decide to not to answer. "I could ask you the same question."
He laughs at your comment, nodding. "Yeah you could. I just wanted to get away from all the music and entertaining for a minute. Take a moment to breathe, you know?"
Looking over at him, you give him an understanding nod.
"Now it's your turn. Why are you out here?"
Sighing deeply, you agree to go along with his logic and explain. "Well... I've never been one to particularly enjoy social gatherings, and besides, I've just... had a stressful day today. To top it off, this girl that I don't really get along with dumped her entire drink on me, so... I just thought I'd take a moment to breathe... you know?"
His expression softens under the moon's light and he nods slowly. After a few moments of silence, he speaks up. "Why don't you like events like this?"
Though the question is quite simple, you have to think about how to answer it. "I don't know. I just, never cared for large crowds. Everyone's watching, listening to what's around them, and it's just draining to keep up an act for awhile. Plus," you shrug, leaning back on your hands, "I'm not the 'dancing' or 'partying' type."
Camilo tilts his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why not? It's fun, and relaxing, and it's kind of a way to express yourself."
Offering another unsure shrug of your shoulders, you look down at your lap. "I don't know. I guess I just don't see it that way."
He looks down at the ground for a few seconds, only the festival's music playing in the air. Finally, he seems to decide something, standing to his feet and offering you his hand. "Dance with me."
You look up at him, confusion and slight nervousness in your expression. "What?"
"Dance with me," he restates, a small grin appearing on his face. "I promise, it's fun. And look, there's no one else around. It's just good to let loose once in awhile."
You can feel your heart skip a beat and you laugh nervously, giving him a shy smile. "I don't know..."
"Come on, trust me." His words seem genuine, and you can't help but to slowly take his hand, allowing him to pull you to your feet. As you do, he gestures his head in the direction the music is playing from. "Just listen to the music and move. It's that easy, whatever feels right."
Biting your lip lightly, you nod, taking in a breath before focusing solely on the music. It's upbeat tune is easy to move to and you find yourself moving your hips and feet in sync with it, along with Camilo.
In no time, a smile is adorning your features, earning a happy look from Camilo. "See? Fun isn't it?"
You chuckle, nodding your confirmation. "Yeah, you're right. It is."
His smile only seems to grow wider and as the two of you dance, laughing and oblivious to the world, the music slows down, to a more of a slow-dance type of theme, presenting itself unusual than the normal music.
Recognizing the music, you stop, taking a step back and giving Camilo a smile, expecting to sit back down. To your surprise, he doesn't. He simply walks towards you, leaning closer and softly taking your hand in his, the other on your waist. Your eyes widen and you can feel your face heat up. Struggling with coming up for some sort of excuse, your eyes dart across his face. "I- I can't dance."
The clichéexcuse makes you want to smack yourself, but Camilo only gives you an encouraging smile, trying to reassure you. "It's okay,hermosa, just follow my lead."
You swallow, trying to ignore the growing butterflies in your stomach. "Okay."
He leads you through the dance, occasionally twirling you around. By the time the song comes to an end, you realize the two of you had physically gotten closer than when the song began. The thought sends electricity down your spine. Finally, the song ends, and Camilo dips you down, leaning over your face.
In the darkness, what little light reflects off of his eyes seems hypnotising. You can see yourself getting lost in his gaze. Without realizing it, the two of you still, searching the other's eyes.
The moment is interrupted suddenly by (S/N) calling for you. "(Y/N)! Where are- oh."
Camilo and you jump, and your grip tightens around his arms in an attempt not to fall. After balancing yourself, you stand up straight, Camilo helping you, and the two of you separate immediately.
Your sister's smirk seems almost tangible through the darkness and you find your face burning with embarrassment. "I-"
Your sister cuts you off, her smirk growing. "Oh, well, I'll leave you two be for a bit. Take your time."
If it were even possible, you felt even more embarrassed, your stomach doing flips and you turn to Camilo, seeing a similar expression on his face.
At least you aren't alone.
