Enchanted feelings

Dusk

Her hair was almost dry by the time Isabela went back to her room, after a long shower she had gone to the roof and counted the stars hoping to stop time.

But now here she was quietly opening her door, hoping to find Elena sleeping, but of course an easy route was not in her cards.

"Hey" Isabela gave her a small smile

Elena sat on the bed reading a book "Hi" She looked up with a bit of surprise and swiftly put the book away
"Uh can I use your shower?" She asked after a long beat of silence

"Of course, do you-want my company?"

"In the shower?" Elena raised an eyebrow confused

"No! Just outside...Uh what I meant-" Isabela cleared her throat flustered "I mean if you need help finding the bathroom with this little of light I can accompany you"

"Oh" Elena's gave her an understanding nod "It's okay, I'll find my way"

"Okay" Isabela's cheeks were still burning "I'll be here if you need anything"

"Thank you"

Once Elena left, Isabela let out a sigh of relief and rapidly began lining up the extra pillows in the middle of her bed to create a barrier

The thought of sleeping that close to Elena was making her hands sweat, the division would at least ease her heart a little.

And when she was done with that...She just paced anxiously around the room waiting for Elena to be back from the shower...It was the only thing she could muster the courage to do.

After a while Elena came back in, her hair was still slightly wet and clinging to her neck, her night gown was light and airy and when Isabela caught sight of her below the moonlight her heart skipped a beat, she looked utterly ethereal.

"Uh...you look-" Isabela stared at her for what seemed like for ever, but for her time actually stopped.

"Isabela?" Isabela came back into her senses and Elena was looking at her strangely "Are you okay? Your face is quite red"

"Yes- I...I'm good. Um we should get some sleep...It's late!" Isabela turned away trying to hide her flushed appearance

"Yeah" Elena glanced at the bed "We should" She didn't seem to have questions regarding the pillow wall set in the middle of the mattress 

Elena walked to the bed and slowly settled in on her side staying as close to the edge as possible, Isabela after a moment of hesitation did the same.

There was that awkward feeling between them

"Are...You feeling alright here with us?" Isabela finally spared a glance over the pillows

Elena turned to face her "I am"

Isabela smiled timidly "I'm glad"

"Goodnight" Elena was the first one to break eye contact "Descansa" She added the last part with a softer voice

"Goodnight" Isabela was feeling more awake than ever "You too"

The last candle was put off and the bedroom was almost swallowed by darkness.

The moon illuminated exactly in the right places, creating a soft peaceful glow.

Isabela tried to close her eyes but the tingle in her chest was too distracting

And after an hour of shifting around and trying to count donkeys jumping over fences she finally sat up with a groan. It was impossible to sleep.

"Hey"

Isabela startled at the sound of a quiet voice, she wasn't expecting Elena to be awake.

"You can't sleep? Isabela recovered in time to ask

Elena shook her head "Often... I uh have trouble sleeping"

Isabela looked up at the ceiling, thinking about some things...She knew the risks of being friendly towards the girl next to her, but she couldn't give her the cold shoulder anymore.

"My father used to tell me a story whenever I had trouble sleeping...He said that I needed to be asleep in order to travel into that story" Isabela smiled at the memory "I had dreams that had nothing to do with the story, but it always put me to sleep regardless" She chuckled

Elena listened in

"When I became too old for that, I would grow a blanket of lavender...Sometimes I would end up creating something else by accident" Isabela paused and looked at Elena "One night...I pulled my supposedly lavender blanket over my whole body...And well it wasn't exactly calming, I'd grown poison ivy instead!"

Elena was guarded but she let out a soft laugh

"And one time I climbed the roof and fell asleep there, abuela was so mad preoccupied when no one could find me that morning that she grounded me for a month..."
Isabela kept talking about many things up until she heard Elena's slow and even breathing.

With the little light, Isabela could still see Elena's rosy cheeks and tinted lips. She was radiant and full of peace.

Things weren't so complicated after all.

The feeling in her chest didn't go away but she finally was able to close her eyes and soon drifted off into a sleep full of weird dreams. In which she danced in the clouds with Elena to the sound of singing donkeys.

But it was the first night in a long time that she had a restful and fulfilling sleep nevertheless.

By the time her eyes opened again light was heavily pouring in through her window, everything was so bright and she was still a bit drowsy...But there was something warm and secure and-

"Shi-" Isabela bit down on her tongue

Her arms and legs were intertwined with Elena's, the pillow barrier was no longer standing and keeping them apart, their faces were just inches away from each other and Isabela could see every faint freckle on her cheeks, Elena's arm was around her waist sending a million butterflies to her stomach.

It was a nice feeling, but she couldn't let herself enjoy something that was completely one-sided

So she held in her breath as she began slowly pulling herself away from the embrace, but in the middle of doing so Elena started stirring and in Isabela's panic she pushed her away with enough force to make Elena fall off the bed.

"I'm sorry!" Isabela squeaked

"I'm good" Elena's disoriented and groggy voice came from the ground

"Uh I'll be downstairs!" Isabela quickly stood from the bed and grabbed some fresh clothes, too embarrassed to look at Elena.

"Wait-" Elena began but Isabela was already out the door

In her hurry to get away she crashed into her little sister in the hallway "Good morning" Mirabel gave her an easy smile although she was very much questioning her state of distress

"No" Isabela groaned

"What's the matter?"

"I'm a mess" Isabela sheepishly looked at her "I...Pushed her off the bed"

"Oh...You took my advice?" Mirabel raised an eyebrow holding in her laughter

"It's not funny!"

"I mean..." Mirabel giggled

"I'm going to go change" Isabela glared before scratching her neck "Um...Can I change in your room?"

"Of course" Mirabel chuckled "Oh and by the way it's just us Madrigal grandkids in the house today...Everyone else had some matters to attend, so get ready for some fun chaos to begin!"