CATRACHA ━ marcel ruiz

vii. supportive girlfriend.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐀 *✲ﾟ*｡⋆
[ vii. chapter seven; supportive girlfriend. ]

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Elle nearly slammed herself into the wall due to Amir. They were watching some of his old singing performances. To be fair, he was five, but that didn't stop Elle from laughing so hard she almost peed herself. Amir was laughing too, since he hadn't had much practice back then and they only let him perform so he wouldn't cry. Elle's grandmother, Lucero, even said she'd "heard horses sing better back in the streets of Honduras." Her mother, Imelda, laughed along with Elle and agreed with Lucero. Amir agreed too, because even he couldn't hold back his laughter at how terrible he was.

When the performance was done, Amir was looking for something else to put on. After digging around for a few moments, he found a CD labeled "ELLE'S FIRST AUDITION" in wobbly black letters. He had never heard about this, so he put it in the old CD player they'd found in the garage. Elle was bringing in a bowl of popcorn covered in Tapatío and lime when she heard the opening music to Crazy in Love by Beyoncé. She walked in to find her four year old self dancing to get into some fancy school in Utah. But since she was four, not white and came from a dysfunctional family, she didn't get in and her spot was given to a rich girl named Chelsea Smith.

Elle remembered that day as if it were yesterday. She remembered how disappointed she'd been after finding out that she wasn't getting in, but it wasn't as disappointing as the night her father left her mother. Those two memories were ones that Elle was definitely not fond of, so she pushed them aside. With an all too familiar pang in her heart, Elle walked over to the couch, setting the bowl down on the coffee table in front. Amir moved over so she could sit with him.

"Wow, you were pretty great for a four year old," Amir complimented.

Elle laughed, shaking her head. "Nah, not really. My sissone was terrible. It's supposed to go like this."

The girl stood up from her seat. She got into position, then performed the move a lot better than in the video. Amir and the other two members of her audience clapped, making Elle curtsy jokingly. The rest of the video played out, which Elle was cringing for during a lot of it. When the audition video was over, Imelda went over and gave Elle a hug and told her she was proud of her no matter what. The girl smiled at her, watching her grab her car keys.

"I'm going to get some groceries," Imelda called, "your abuela and I will be back soon, mija."

"Okay, love you!" Elle blew a kiss to Imelda.

"Te amo también!" Imelda blew a kiss back to her, waving as she and Lucero exited the house.

Elle and Amir were officially home alone. The two decided that they wouldn't watch anymore embarrassing childhood videos that should definitely remain in the past. Elle was raised on the idea that if the house wasn't clean and she was bored, there'd be the house to clean. But Lucero already did that in the morning when Elle had gone to school to practice for their final performance.

Amir had no ideas either, but he went to go look for whatever he could eat. Elle caught him grabbing a tub of vanilla ice cream, taking it from him.

"Get two bowls," Elle said, grabbing two spoons and using one to scoop some ice cream into her mouth and eat it.

"Hey, not fair!" Amir whined, handing her a bowl. He took out an ice cream scooper and put the ice cream into their bowls. Elle decided to get more behind his back, but he wouldn't have noticed anyway. The two went back into the living room after putting the tub back into the freezer.

"What do you wanna watch?" Elle asked, switching to Netflix. "We could start another show."

"We have to watch your boyfriend's show," Amir answered, shrugging, "I can't believe you haven't seen it yet. Show some support for your man, Elle."

"Amir, do you know how much I want to punch you again?" Elle raised her brow. "But we could watch that."

"Alright, I live for supportive girlfriend Elle," Amir teased while Elle flung ice cream at him. "That's cold! Get it? 'Cause it's ice cream. I'm so funny, how are you not laughing?"

"Because you're not." Elle shrugged, about to play the first episode. "You wanna watch it or not?"

"Yes, put it on." Amir nodded, eating a spoonful of ice cream. "I was gonna rewatch it anyway."

"Ay, no spoilers," Elle commented, "swear it, Amir. You have the biggest mouth and I don't want you to spoil this for me."

"Okay, I swear I won't spoil it for you," Amir said, "now, put it on, Elle!"

Elle pressed play, watching Amir get excited in a few seconds. She began eating her half melted ice cream, choking on her ice cream a few minutes in at the sight of Marcel from the past. Amir laughed at her, and if she weren't eating, she would have found something to throw at him.

"We love a supportive girlfriend."

"Amir!"

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here's another two am chapter as a result of my sleeping problems