Maria

I'll be there for you

Bruno doesn't see her again for a few more days.

He had just had a sleepover with Gus, and was walking with him back to his house.

Gus was talking to him about the latest rat telenovela, and Bruno was paying attention.

Really, he was.

But there was a happy shout and he turned his head in alarm.

The source of the noise was Maria...

Who was running as fast as she could before collapsing in the center of town.

"Hello...Brun....oh." Gus caught sight of where he was looking.

"Go talk to her."

"Que?!"

"Go talk to her, you obviously want to, your staring at her."

"I am not!"

"Oh please, that's the same look you say I get when I think about your sister..."

Bruno tried to think of a comeback, that won't result in him losing his friend, but before he could, he's pushed towards Maria.

Maria who's still laying down on the ground.

He steeled himself to talk to her.

"Oh Bruno!" She sees him and says something before he says anything.

His voice didn't seem to work, so he just grabbed her hand to help her up.

He absently noticed her hand was calloused, probably from tree climbing.

He dusted off her dress, before he realized how close they were and he blushed.

"Sorry if I bothered you, I just had energy. You know how it goes, you've got a bunch of built up energy and..."

Bruno was just nodding. He didn't really get it but he still couldn't find his voice.

Maria's hair was a mess, the ponytail half falling out and dirt and leaves and grass sprinkled throughout.

Bruno heard a whistle and he turned to see Gus giving him a thumbs up before he trips over a beehive.

"Is he okay?" Maria looked to.

"He's fine, he's fine..." Bruno looked away from her to hide his blush. He hoped Maria wouldn't figure out why Gus had sent him a thumbs up.

When he looked back there was a stern looking older woman, who looked like Maria, except she seemed to be made of ice.

Maria was made of fire.

Bruno shook those thoughts away and tried to smile at the woman.

Who's expression became more strict. "Excuse me Senor Madrigal, but Maria has to help me in the market."

Maria winced and he noticed that. Just like he noticed how tight Maria's mother's grip was on Maria's shirt collar.

Gus would be being healed by his sister since he found the bees, so...

Bruno trailed after them, becoming Hernando, and hiding as best as he could.

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Maria waited for her mother to start yelling.

But she wasn't. That's almost worse. She was probably waiting for the best time to do it, which meant she was really mad at her.