Heyo! This chapter is in your P.O.V. and nothing heated happens. Enjoy!
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We’re just about to sit down for dinner when Camilo pulls me aside. “Can I talk to you, man?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” I ask and he takes me into another room by the elbow.
“I know it’s your birthday. I assume Mirabel didn’t want me to go with you guys ‘cause she was giving you your gift.” I smile bashfully and hold up my hand with the ring on it.
“Guilty as charged.” I giggle softly.
“Well, I got you something too.” He says, taking a pair of earrings out from his pocket. They’re small studs and just like the ring, they’re silver with red gems. I take them graciously and hug him as well, my eyes starting to tear up again.
“Thank you so much.”
“Well, no one else is gonna remember our actual birthdays.” He says. We linger there for a moment and he’s taking deeper breaths than normal. We only pull away when Abuela calls us from the other room.
“¡A la mesa! ¡Vamos!” (To the table, c’mon!) We make our way back to the table and the first thing I do when I sit down is put my earrings in. “What is that?” Abuela asks, turning my head to get a better look at them.
“Just some earrings I picked up while I was out.” I smile. “You like them?”
“Definitely more ladylike.”
“Mamá,” mami sighs, pulling her away from me. She takes her aside and I can see them arguing softly. Eventually, they come and sit back down and we all begin to eat silently.
“I know I ask this a lot, but the year’s almost over.” Tía breaks the silence and we all look to her. “Do you kids know what you want for your birthday?” At the beginning of each year, everyone celebrates Mirabel’s, Camilo’s, and my birthdays because they don’t want to hold three parties for kids turning the same age. It’s been happening for so long that the only people who actually remember our birthdays are each other. It hurts a lot to all of us but we never say anything, this system is better for the family.
“As a matter of fact, tía, we do.” Mirabel smiles. “We have all decided that we want our hair bleached.” She does jazz hands excitedly and Camilo and I sit and laugh at her.
“Even Camilo?” Abuela asks after choking on her wine.
“We talked him into it.” I giggle.
“Fully bleached or highlights or…” Mami trails off, looking to us for answers.
“Balayage.” Camilo explains.
“I’ll take you tomorrow then.” Tía shrugs, continuing to eat.
“Camilo, darling, are you sure you want that?” Abuela asks, wiping her mouth with her napkin.
“What do you mean?” He asks, looking up at her.
“Well, it’s not very… manly.”
“Ay, mamá …” Tía sighs. “He doesn’t need to look like your definition of manly just to be a man. He could wear a dress and still be considered a man.”
“I can make you one.” Mirabel offers.
“Wear mine, you’d look cute.” Isabela smiles.
“It wouldn’t fit him, you’re too tall.” Dolores rolls her eyes.
“Your dress would look ugly on me anyway. I’m so hot that everything looks terrible on me in comparison.” Camilo smiles.
“He is not wearing a dress.” Abuela says with a note of finality. We sit in silence for a few more moments before tía breaks it again.
“So, everyone is sure they want a balayage?” We all nod and she shrugs. “Then I’ll take you tomorrow.”
The next morning, I wake up to my alarm clock again. “What the fuck.” I groan, holding my hand out. It floats into my hand and I smash it to the ground with all of my might. I roll over to find it laying on the floor in pieces. Goddammit. At least it stopped. I pull myself out of bed and stumble to the bathroom where Camilo is brushing his teeth. I bump him out of the way with my hip and grab my toothbrush. “Scootch.” He spits into the sink.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” He rolls his eyes.
“Whatever.” I put toothpaste on the brush and look at him in the mirror. “Why are you even up this early? You always miss half of breakfast because you sleep in.” I start brushing my teeth.
“Your fucking alarm clock was going off for ten minutes before you actually woke up. I can hear it all the way in my room.” He nudges me out of the way to try and brush his teeth. I spit into the sink and look at myself in the mirror.
“God, I’m a mess.” I mumble. He spits again and comes up, looking at me in the mirror.
“I think you look fine.” He shrugs.
“Unexpected compliment from such an asshole.” I laugh.
“You always look good.” He drops his toothbrush back in the holder, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and walking out. I finish brushing my teeth and stand in the mirror, thinking about his words. Does he really think that or is he just being an ass?
“Out.” Isa says from the doorway and I hold my hands up in surrender, stepping out of her way. I go back to my room and choose an outfit. As it’s floating down into my hand, Mirabel appears in my doorway.
“You ready to get your hair dyed, amiga?” She drums happily on my open door.
“Yep!” I smile cheerfully. “Makes me a little unhappy that it’s for our quote unquote ‘birthday’, though.” I shrug, turning away from her and sliding my binder on. Camilo and Mirabel pitched in for it last year after I told them I was nonbinary and I love them for it.
“Yeah.” I can feel her eyes on me as I change. “You’re binding safely, right?” She asks in a motherly tone.
“Yes, mom.” I groan. “I only wear it for eight hours max and I wash it when needed.”
“Good.” She smiles.
“¡Niños, desayuno!” (Kids, breakfast!) Abuela calls from downstairs. After we all finish, tía stands and looks between Camilo, Mirabel, and I.
“You guys ready?” She asks excitedly.
“Mhm.” I hum happily and she takes us out. It takes about two hours but eventually, we’re all done.
“You look amazing!” They both gush over me.
“So do you guys!” I smile, admiring both of their heads full of bouncy curls.
“Best birthday gift ever. Thank you, tía!” Mirabel smiles up at her.
“Of course, darling. We just needed you guys to pick one before the year ended..” She mumbles the last part, forking over the cash to the salon attendant. Mirabel starts running her hands through my hair, admiring it with great detail.
“Get your dusty ass hands out my hair.” We both giggle.
“Your hair is too soft!” She defends herself and Camilo runs a hand through my hair once slowly.
“Woah, she’s right!” He chuckles, doing it again.
“Crusty and dusty hands in my perfect hair. Nice.” I giggle, showing it’s a joke. “Mirabel, you shouldn’t be surprised. I know for a fact that you use my shampoo and conditioner.”
“Who else’s am I supposed to use? Isa’s? She’d have my head on a stick.”
“Hmm… maybe your own?” I suggest and we all laugh.
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Word Count: 1,230
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Stay safe, my dudes <3
Published: (1/28/22) (Month/Day/Year)
Final Word Count: 1,259