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playιng: [Best Friend] - [Rex Orange County]
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The night was going smoothly. The guests were entertained, and the Madrigals didn't have a hair out of place. Everything was perfect.
Camilo was thoroughly exhausted. He was grateful that Abuela made him memorize everyone in town for these kinds of dates, but shifting from one person to another and going off purely on muscle memory was tiring.
But now, with everyone inside and having the time of their lives, the boy had just one thing in mind: to find you.
There weren't many people in Encanto, and everyone seemed to belong to Isabela's age range or Antonio's. Teenagers were rare, and Camilo didn't get along with most of them because they thought of him as too much of a goody-two-shoes. His prima Mirabel is the closest thing Camilo has to a friend his age, and that was only because they lived in the same house!
With you, however, he could have a friend! And for a whole summer at that! He just had to find you again and hope you actually wanted to hang out. Easy, right?
"You know, it's really cool that they get a door with their powers. It would have been nice to get a giant room of my own when we found out mine"
Yep, super easy. Especially after overhearing your conversation with Mariano while trying to talk to you before the ceremony.
"Yeah, but what would it even be? Yours is a whole mental thing, so how would that even work?" Mariano asked from next to you, his back against a wall.
"Maybe it could have been, like, a huge music room. That way people would hear me without getting scared they're gonna leave while standing on their heads" You gave out a small laugh.
To say Camilo was confused was an understatement. He was extremely confused, bamboozled, bewildered, and any other synonym to confused he could think of. He was pretty sure his family was the only one with powers ever! So you two must have been joking, right?
Camilo stood in front of the duo, feigning not having heard a thing while "talking" to one of the kids.
"Maybe," the man looked around before separating himself from the wall. "Hey, we should go find mom. It looks like the ceremony is about to start"
"I'll catch up. I want to get my bag from the hangers first," You said while also heading away from the wall. "See you close to the stairs?"
"Yeah, mind brining moms coat with you? My hijo senses are telling me that she's going to ask for mine," Mariano joked before waving off, you answering with a small nod.
You made way towards the front of the house, Camilo staring at you from a few feet away before following behind. He honestly had no idea why he was doing so, however. He just knew he had to ask you about what he just heard.
You, on the other hand, just wanted to get ahold of your bag because you had left your hair tie inside, and your (h/l) hair was getting annoying.
When the both of you got to the hangers on the wall, you tiptoed slightly before reaching out for your bag. However, before your fingers could even touch the soft cloth, another pair of hands took it with ease and lowered it to your height. You quickly turned towards the person behind you with a startled look; and there was Camilo, shifted into Mariano to help with your bag because he was one of the tallest people he knew of.
"Oh, Mariano, it's just you," you gave out a relieved sigh before letting out a chuckle. "You scared me! Hadn't you gone with Tía Rosa?" While "Mariano" stood frozen with your bag hanging from his hand, you got closer and took it from him. Once in your hands, you looked for the hair tie.
"Y-yeah, but I thought you would get lost so..." Camilo answered with his most Mariano voice possible. It was slightly hoarser than your friend's was, so your eyes widened slightly before staring at "Mariano" dumbfounded.
"Camilo?" You asked. The man in front of you suddenly de-transformed and turned into the shorter, curly-haired boy you met at the entrance, a slight blush on his ears.
"Sorry about that, I just wanted to help with your bag because I saw you were struggling a little so I turned into Mariano but when you thought I was him I panicked and thought to roll with it but then you found out and- "
"Hey, easy," you said with a laugh. "It's alright."
Camilo stood, looking at you embarrassed, and having completely forgotten why he had come after you. On the other hand, you couldn't help but laugh at the situation so as to not admit that the teenager had startled you.
"Well, thank you for my bag. See you later rulitos," you said before walking past him, ruffling his hair on the way before disappearing among the crowd.
Did she just ruffle my hair? She did. Oh my god, she ruffled my hair! Her hands were soft, and that felt nice. Was it soft? Why'd she do that? And rulitos? Are we friends enough to give each other nicknames? Are we friends? She seemed nice, but what if she was just making fun of me for my hair-
When Camilo had finally snapped out of his thoughts, a hand placed itself on his shoulder as the lights dimmed out.
"Mijo, its time" Felix said, giving the boy a slight smile before pulling him along the room.
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Finally having reached the Guzmán's, you stood beside Tía Rosa while standing on the edge of your toes to try to get a better view of what was happening. Why did we have to stand at the back of everyone else?
As the lights went out, you stared in awe as the house made a small child stand under the spotlight. The kid looked ready to run the other way, the villagers at the front moving away from the middle to make a pathway to get to the stairs. You were slightly pushed, the person in front of you murmuring a small "Sorry" while no one else even batted an eye.
Just as the house tried pushing him forward, Antonio reached a hand out to someone from behind the curtain. You couldn't really see whom it was from where you stood, but once his hands were holding this person tightly, he started heading towards the door. It was only when they were climbing the stairs that you were able to notice the person who he was walking with was Mirabel.
You and Mirabel got along well, having talked on multiple occasions whenever you came over for the summer. You would usually meet up at the plaza, going around different bits of the forest while complaining subtly about each other's home life. However, you didn't talk long distance like you did with Mariano, so you had a lot to catch up on.
When they finally reached the door, you could see how Antonio looked nervous. With everyone watching him, you know you would also be nervous if you were in his shoes. Mirabel was standing behind a column, so you couldn't see her. Still, when the kid reached out for the door, the doorknob started glowing a bright gold, and suddenly it was decorated with the image of a child surrounded by animals.
"We have a new gift!" Alma Madrigal said after over a dozen animals of all kinds barged into the house and went up the stairs.
Were you startled by the small bird that flew right past your ear? Pshh, of course not.
And nobody would have to find out otherwise.
Everyone was quickly invited inside the boy's room, people pushing and shoving to have a chance of heading inside and seeing what Casita had made of Antonio's room. You went in with the Guzmáns, right behind the last of the masses, and what you saw left you awestruck.
No matter how small the room looked from outside the house, inside was a full blown jungle, filled to the brim with plants, trees, and even a waterfall! When looking around, you could make out Antonio riding a jaguar around and up a tree, you normal folk being given a shortcut to the place of the party by simply climbing a small pathway towards de center of the room.
As you got closer to where the villagers were, you could hear the traditional music, a little bit of cumbia, tango, salsa, and more. You tried sticking as close as you could to Mariano, but you quickly went towards the food table when he asked Isabela for a dance. You did not come to a party to have to third-wheel your best friend.
You took a bite of your newly acquired Arepa, savoring the cheesy after-taste of the corn bread, when you turned to look at the dance floor once again. Everyone was dancing, and those who weren't were either talking with someone or snogging them.
You felt... left out, alone even. Not an extreme kind, but you felt as if you didn't belong at the party anymore, as if nobody would notice if you disappeared for the night. You knew loneliness very well, more than most would. You also knew what it felt like being left out.
Back in the city, it's all you've ever known since finding out about your curse; the power of controlling others, putting them into a trance and forcing them to do as you said. You and your parents had learnt about it when you were barely five years old, when you were having a small tantrum about ice-cream.
Since then, your mother has shut you out of her life, forcing you to always be silent because of not knowing how your power worked. You had tried to explain it to her, tell her that it only worked when you asked a question and wanted to control the person, but she didn't care. You were a burden, a curse, a stain in her perfect slate.
It didn't take long for people back home to find out about your abilities. Kids stopped playing with you, accusing you of cheating. Adults sent you to the furthest seat in the back at school, never asking for you to answer a question or to go up to the board. As you grew older, the kids would make up rumors about why you stayed silent, calling you mean nicknames in the process. Whenever you tried to make them shut up about it, however, consequences would be worse at home.
It all went on with you not opening your mouth unless you were alone in your room. You liked to use the little moments you had to yourself to talk as much as you'd like, singing, yelling, making funny noises, and so much more. You liked having the house to yourself, it meant you could express yourself freely.
However, when you turned twelve, an ex-friend of your moms who lived in a faraway town reached out after years of not talking with the family. Tía Rosa had written in a letter about how she would come pick you up for a summer, taking full responsibility of you until you had to start school again. You were... surprised, to say the least, as well as a little scared. You didn't know the woman, only remembering your mother talking about her with anger and venom in her tongue.
Still, you went to the train station and waited for the short woman with your bag in hand and a small suitcase at your side. You had been told to take the train until the fifth stop, right next to a large forest and a few mountains. After that, you would have to walk for a bit through a forest path until you found your aunt.
You thought you had been set up by your mother to finally get rid of you, but, when you finally arrived from the long walk towards a small, lively village, you found Tía Rosa with a smaller Mariano at her side. They greeted you happily, and Tía Rosa insisted on you telling her about everything in your life; your likes, dislikes, favorite snacks, favorite music, your trips, everything. You knew she knew about your power, so you were slightly taken aback when she chose to talk to you either way, but you didn't mind.
You had found a small place where you could be yourself, have a loving family for a summer, and make friends without being afraid of being left out from society once again. All with the small catch of not speaking about your power to the other villagers, because she didn't want anyone tearing away the chance of you having a normal life like they had back in the city.
Tía Rosa really is the best... you thought to yourself, taking another bite of the Arepa. You were done sulking in a corner of the room. You didn't come all the way to your favorite place on the globe to not have a bit of fun at a party.
You took a step towards the dance floor. And another. And another. And another, until you stood almost dead center dancing your heart out with a smile.
"Can I have this dance, bonita?"