Camilo's chest was heaving, he was angry, upset, sad, disappointed. He felt a lot of things especially now when he can't even see you
Your drawings were fading, as if whatever brought you to him was making sure there was no remnants of you, the drawings that you made that had your face were blurred, he could barely recognize it anymore. He panicked when he realized it, like you were literally disappearing
He stood infront of the painting of his family, the one where you painted, the one with you. You were still intact, he could see you, it calmed him down
"Camilo stop looking at that painting of me," You laughed, sitting beside him a basket of clothes you were helping Dolores with was discarded to the side "Please, I can't look at myself when I draw them I look so weird"
He blinks as the memory resurfaces, all before you disappeared again, he screams in frustration. He misses you. He needs you. He looks up being greeted by the painting he stood up, kicking the table his family set up a couple of hours ago, shattering some of the glass they placed there, toppling over one that had juice in it (something Dolores told him to drink since he hasn't eaten in days), destroying the sketch he placed on the table, anger washing over him that he didn't even realize until it was too late
He quickly took it, desperately trying to dry it, using his ruana to wipe it "No no no no no" He murmurs aggressively trying to dry it, smudging, destroying the paper in the process, he couldn't see anymore, tears blocking his view "Y/n" he called out in pain staring at the painting, maybe you'll return and tell him its ok, that this could be fixed, maybe even hug him and tell him this was a prank, a very cruel prank. He wanted to hear you again, to see you and hug you, to watch you sketch or paint again.
He yells again, ripping it completely, before aggressively scratching out your face from the painting.
Seeing you hurts.
Seeing this painting hurts.
Not seeing you hurts.
He refuses to stop not until he can't see you anymore.
Until he finally got rid of you.
His hands started hurting and he falls to his knees, covering his face as he sobs. He misses you. "Y/n please" he pleads in between sobs "comeback"
The world was crashing down on him.
He felt helpless
He felt broken
The girl he loves, the one who wanted to stay with him, the one who helped him remmeber who he is, is no where to be found
You left him
You are the reason why he feels helpless
You are the reason why he feels broken
"Camilo" Pepa whispers and he looks at his mother who hugs him
"She's not coming back is she?" He asks voice cracking
"I don't know" she answers "I'm so sorry"
"Arthur!" Arthur stands up at the sound of his name, exiting his game and hiding both his phone and earphones, and started stretching faster than his mother who opened the door "What are you doing?"
He yawns "I was asleep" He lies "You scared me" He says and places a hand on his chest "What's wrong?"
"Where's your Ate?" His mom asks
"Isn't she asleep?" He asks and looked to the side (Your hotel room is a total of three the living room and two adjacent room one of which you share with your brother the other is your parent's room) where your bed is but it was empty "joke?" He says confused and sits on his bed, wondering where you could be
"Dala ba ng Ate mo cellphone niya?" His mom asks and Arthur looks up from his thoughts, mouth parted as a silent sign for her to repeat her words "Did Y/n bring her phone?"
"I'll call her" he assured with a nod and grabbed his phone from under his pillow without his mom noticing
But thunder strikes loud enough that it made his dad who was scrolling through his phone as he passing by (He doesn't usually join the conversation unless he really has too) "Is it raining?"
They all went silent to listen, and there it was the sound of rain falling and Arthur sighs finally seeing the text you left:
Dude tell mami and dadi Im in the rain
"Ate's playing" He relays after reading the text
His mom sighs "Don't you think she's a little too old for that?"
"Let her be" His dad adds "If that's how she relaxes let he do what she wants beside I don't think our daughter is stupid enough to embarrass the family name by playing under the rain and tracking mud and water in this luxurious hotel"
You sat at a bench under a roof, placing your hand out to catch some of the rain on to your skin. You don't understand why but all of a sudden you felt overwhelmingly sad, the rain seemed to have made it worse
"Hey" Says a familiar voice and you looked at hi, the boy from yesterday, the one who gave you such a longing, sad look when your brother pulled you away. He was under the rain, his tied curly hair was dripping water from the rain, he had a button up and a pair of jeans that were drenched but he didn't seem all that bothered "Your the girl from yesterday"
"The guy who gave me water" You greeted and he laughs nodding
"Glad to see that I left an impression on you" You shrugged and he motions to the extra space by your side "Can I join you? I'm a bit wet though, you ok with that?"
"Sure" You nod "I'm not afraid of water"
"Really?" He asks sitting beside you, a bit far away out of respect into not getting wet. You nod "If you're not then why aren't you under the rain?"
"I have no clothes, it'll be rude of me to walk into the hotel soaking wet"
"Well if that's the problem I can tell the staff to treat you with care"
"That kinda sounds arrogant" You murmured
"Within my rights" He smiles "I'm the heir for the hotel"
You laughed "Of course you are"
He stood up, returning under the rain infront of you, splashing against him slightly wetting your clothes "Wanna join me?"
"Under the rain?"
"Yeah" He offers his hand
You stared at it "My clothes though"
"I'll lend you some clothes" He assures, flicking his hand to show you again
"And my phone?" You were just muttering excuses now, you wanted to join him, for some reason you found yourself relaxing in his presence, almost as if you knew him. Despite wanting to be by his side it made your heart clench, he keeps looking at you like someone you hurt, like someone you forgot and even if you have no idea why, you felt guilty
"Here" he offers you one of his waterproof phone cases, you take it staring at the case questioningly "Usually my sister joins me but she's busy so it became a habit of mine to bring an extra one"
You hummed and placed your phone inside the case before taking his hand and he pulls you up and under the rain "holy shit" you gasped "cold, cold, cold, cold, cold" You chanted, panicking
He laughs and looks up into the sky, hand still in yours, feeling the drops of rain against his face, waiting 'till you've calmed down enough before he speaks "Better?" He asks
You huffed, tucking your hair behind your ear "Its surprising"
"Lets go for a walk" He says and lead you by the hand around the Encanto
You stared at your intertwined hands. The pain in your chest seemed to have subsided, a sense of deja vu rushed over you:
"If we run I think I can take the last arepa from Isabela," Says a boy with curly hair, he was familiar but you have no idea who he is, his eyes weren't seen like a memory that you can't access, taking your hand in his and locking your fingers together "Don't look at me like that, its fun messing with her"
You blinked, the memory disappearing. What the heck was that? You think
He leads you around the Encanto no one really talking, you were still upset you don't remember what happened the past thirteen hours since you were so sure that you haven't seen the whole Encanto since you have never been here before (even if Arthur told you, you left him to go exploring yourself), you only saw the buildings and the stores and the announcement of the invite only party for tonight, he then leads you to Casa de Madrigal the place where you first met him yesterday, standing infront of the family portrait with the unknown painter "I just realized something" You began and he stops walking "I'm really familiar with you but I don't know your name"
He blinks "Really?" You nod, pulling your hand away "I thought we were already quite close, but apparently we don't even know each others names"
You offered your hand for him to shake "I'm Y/n L/n" You smile
He takes it and smiles back "Camilo Madrigal" You blinked and looked at the family portrait at the portrait of Camilo Madrigal, he follows your line of sight and snorts "the third"
"The third?" You asked "So that means—"
"He's my grandfather" He explains, "Camilo madrigal Senior, then my dad Camilo Madrigal Junior and then me Camilo madrigal the third. I don't usually add the suffix when I introduce myself"
"You're a direct descendant?"
He nods
"That's really cool" You praised and he stares at you, a sad smile coming from him
"Are you ok?" You asked and he looks away "You look sad all of a sudden"
He smiles "Yeah, I just remembered someone"
You hummed "Is this someone a she?" He nods "lucky girl"
He pauses and looks at you, thinking if he should go this far "I don't know where she is"
"Oh," You began when you realized "I'm so sorry" you reached out to pat his shoulder "First love?" He nods "They don't usually work out, so its fine"
He stares at you, his heart aching, he wanted to cry, to hug you, but for now he'll have to just live with the fact that you don't remember him "Have you fallen in love before?"
You think for a second, Have I? You thought, you don't remember falling in love before, you don't think you've ever fallen in love before
"I love you" A curly haired boy from a while ago, says out of the blue as he sits on a sofa, chin resting on his palm as he looks at you lovingly, "Say it back" He whines
You blinked the memory disappearing before shaking your head "No I don't think so"
He chuckles sadly "Is that so?" he looks away, tears streaming down his tears, thankful for the rain who washed it away
"Yeah" You answered watching his body language "But its weird, it feels like I know you," You answered and then shook your head "I'm— I'm not flirting with you" You quickly disclaimed hands out and up in surrender, he smiles softly "Its just that, you're really familiar, like we've met before?" You made a face "No wait, that doesn't make sense. But um, its like I've known you for years. I'm really comfortable around you, and I can read your body language really easily, like I had practice" You've fiddled with your phone, not having the courage to look up at him, going to your gallery "Did we hang out yesterday? I have no memory of yesterday, if I was rude for asking your name twice" You smiled sheepishly
"Its fine" he says and nods "I'm glad I give off this kind if relaxing aura, Mariposa" Your smile drops
"Why? Mariposa is a good nickname" Says the boy that keeps popping up in your head, he laughs "You're as pretty as one"
"Y/n?" Camilo wakes you from your thoughts, waving his hands infront of your face "You whispered my name"
"I did?" You asked and he nods "I'm sorry I don't know why I said that"
"Its ok" He smiles "You spaced out a bit, but you should be fine"
"Its weird, but I feel like I lost something" You said softly
"Oh Hermosa" He whispers sadly and you looked at him making him flinch realizing how relaxed he was in your company that he accidentally called you by the nicknames he gave you back then
You blinked another memory resurfacing:
"Hermosa," Says the boy in your memories, offering you a bite of the sweets in his hand "Stop sketching for a second and eat something, you'll need it since we have chores tomorrow" He smiles
You blinked the memory of the boy morphing with a smiling Camilo like he was one person. You took a step forward and grabbed Camilo's arm "Who are you? Why do I have memories of you that aren't you? Why do I have these memories? I don't even know where I got them"
He takes your hand in an attempt to calm you down "Y/n" He began "I need to tell you something" You looked at your hands before looking up at him "Honestly, do you really not remember anything?"
"Remember what?"
"Me?" He asks softly
"We met yesterday" You said in disbelief
"We met way before that"
"What do you mean?"
He swallows "We met back then when—"
He was cut off when someone called for him "Camilo!"
He clicks his tongue in response "Shit, right now?" He looks at you who was desperately trying to dig through your memories, he reaches out to cup your cheek so you'll look at him and you both flinched, he pulls away "Sorry, force of habit"
"Habit?" You asked "Who are you? Do I know you?"
"Camilo!" someone called out to him again
"Are you coming to the party tonight?" he asks
You blinked and shook your head "Isn't that invite only?"
He takes his phone out from the waterproof case, dialing something and placing it in speaker so you can hear "Sir?" The man on the other line answers
"Lucas add Y/n L/n to the VIP section of the guest list" Camilo answers
"What? VIP? Sir really?"
"Yes, Y/n L/n" He answers again
"Done sir, she has been added"
Camilo ends the call "You're invited to the party" He says softly "You'll come right? I wanted to tell you all this now but—"
"Camilo Madrigal!" The voice called again more authoritively
"I'm coming!" He yells back and sighs, looking at you "I'll wait for you," He assures and hands you a card "Give this to anyone on the staff from the hotel and they'll give you something to change into, I'll see you tonight" he says and slowly, reluctantly took a step back away from you
You watched him leave, confused. Not knowing why you suddenly felt that, or why you did that but your thoughts were cut short when he returned
"Here" He says "I can't tell you all of it now but," He taps your temple with his finger "I can give you something small"
You gasped when he touched your temple, a memory (You didn't know existed) resurfacing
"His name is Camilo" Says a curly haired girl with glasses "He was the one who carried you" She motioned to a curly haired boy who was in the middle of a conversation with someone else
"Miss are you alright?" Asks one of the staff when she sees you drenched
You repeated the new memory that resurface, confused on how you suddenly have that in your head, then smiled softly and nodded "Yeah, I'm alright" You waved her off
"Can I help you with anything?" She asks
You pursed your lips looking down at your hand to see the card "Actually" You offered it to her whose mouth parts in realization
"Oh you must be one of Sir Camilo's friends" She smiles when she read the card, leading you to the side "Please follow me, I'm Valentina Hernandez by the way"
"Y/n L/n" You smiled and nodded in greeting "Does this happen often?" You asked, hugging yourself when the breeze from the air conditioner
"Not really" She chuckles and leads you in a room, lined up with so many clothes lining up against the wall and shelves full of towels "Sir Camilo like the rain so he often just stays under it whenever he gets a chance, he hasn't given anyone this card since he was ten years old" She chuckles, grabbing a towel and some clothes "Now that I think about it, you're probably the first girl Sir Camilo ever let in to this place"
"That can't be right" You murmured "Someone as good looking as him?"
She laughs and hands you the clothes "Its true that sir Camilo's charm is insanely high" She agrees "But I haven't ever seen him ever be with a girl that seriously" She pauses and looks at one of the staff "Did Sir Camilo have a girlfriend before by any chance?"
They think for a moment before shaking their head "Honestly, he's been single all his life as far as I know of, He kind of resembles Sir Camilo Senior that way"
Another worker pops out of no where chuckling "Well Sir Camilo Senior did end up having a don so probably not single all his life"
"Didn't you know that he was still very much in love with his first love despite her disappearance?" Replied the other "I heard this rumor that after she disappeared he refused to date, isn't that romantic?"
Valentina sighs "Those two have the attention span of a guppy" She points at the corner room "Shower before anything." She reminds and chuckles "That's something Sir Camilo always says" you paused at her words "The shower room is right there" She points to the side and you nod going to where she pointed, you always say that, Shower before anything, you thought its your words. You looked back at her to ask her a question but she already left to scold the other two "Camila! Sara!" She began in a hushed whisper "Stop gossiping!"
You sighed and moved to take a shower and change into a new pair of clothes. Except the shirt that was lent to you was a couple of sizes to big on you but it didn't bother you that much just reminded you of the clothes you used to arbor (tagalog slang for take) from your older cousin. You hummed and left the room
"Miss Valentina?" You called out
"Please just call me Valentina" She says and smiles in greeting "Oh, I'll take the old clothes, I'll have them sent to your room all cleaned"
"Um, Valentina" You corrected "You don't have to, I can do that myself"
She shakes her head "Don't worry Sir Camilo contacted us while you were in the bathroom and already told us what to do"
"Camilo?" You repeated
She nods "Its seems like the young sir cares about you a lot, miss"
"Th-then the clothes I'm wearing" You murmured
"Sir Camilo told me to tell you that you do not need to return those, they're yours now" She smiled
"Thank you" You said softly, reluctantly
"Would you like any help to return to your room?" She offers
"No, thank you" You politely declined "I can do it myself"
"Jesus Ate" Arthur says in surprise when you walked in the hotel room, with him standing up to his feet "I thought you were mom for a second, almost had a heart attack" He says and grabs his phone from underneath the couch cushions. "Should I get you a bell for your birthday, so atleast I get notified when you appear
"If you're going to hide your phone atleast do it better," You began "And try not to be jumpy whenever you do" You pointed out "Its obvious your hiding something, didn't I already teach you that?"
He rolls his eyes, looking at you to reply something snarky but paused when he saw your clothes "That's not your shirt"
"Someone lent it to me" You explained and he stares at you "What?"
"Who?"
"The guy from yesterday?" You offered and dug your phone out from your pocket, flopping down on the sofa
"The one who gave us water?"
You nod
"Why would he give you clothes?" Your brother asks crossing his arms "is he some sort of pervert?" He murmurs "I knew you were stupid but not that stupid"
You grabbed a pillow and threw it at him but he dodges "Don't think weird"
"This is child abuse" He states and looks at you "Ate"
"Piss off, dude" You huffed and he grins
"But seriously, He's good?" He asks and you nod "Scale of one to ten?"
You think for a second "I'd go with a solid eight"
He stares at you "I'm not asking you to rate his looks"
You narrowed your eyes at him, grabbing another pillow to throw it at him but he avoids it "I know that, if I was rating his looks it would be a nine." he makes a gagging sound "But you asked if he's good so yeah, I think he's good"
"At eight?" He asks crossing his arms "You don't sound sure"
You looked at your phone screen, the memory from a while ago still in your head "I have some questions that I'd like him to answer"
"Or you could just say you fell in love with him and wanna see him again" He teases
You hissed, throwing another pillow but he dodges, this time you accidentally shot it at your father who was walking into the room
You and Arthur froze, "Dadi" You began walking towards him, passing your phone to Arthur who takes it and hides it in his pocket, so that your dad won't suddenly confiscate it, before he looks at your dad who was glaring at you "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it"
He clicks his tongue and you and Arthur flinched "Aren't you two a little too old to be playing with pillows like this?"
"We got a bit carried away" Arthur adds "Sorry, we'll clean up"
You nod and start retrieving all the pillows before he could say another word
"Arthur Y/n" Your father calls and you both froze from your place in the bedroom, out of his sight
You pointed at him a sign he understood: Did you do something to upset him?
He scoffs, taking his hand, placing it infront of his face: You think its cause of the pillow thing?
You shrugged: How am I supposed to know?
He balled his fist and hands it to you: Rock, paper, scissors?
You made a face and motioned to the both of you: He called for us both, dimwit
He offers the balled fist again before pointing to where your father was waiting: Loser gets to go out first
You balled your hand and hammered it against your temple: Are you dumb?
He stares at you, shooting a finger gun, hi thumb, pointer and middle finger being the only ones spread out, and pointing it at you, cocking the gun by curling his pointer finger leaving only his middle and thumb out before winking at you: shut the fuck up. You rolled your eyes (Arthur was quite known for his shoot the fuck up joke since he was in fifth grade)
"Don't make me call you again" Your father warns
You and Arthur sighed and walked out after shoving your phones under your pillow
"What took you both so long?" Your father asks raising an eyebrow
"I was fixing my bed" Arthur lies
"I was answering emails for my school Dadi" You lied
You both watch as your father lights up at your lie "What did they say?"
Your brother's jaw tightens, only then did you realize that it was a mistake to mention your school "Something about my applicant screening for the next semester" You hummed
"How about your scholarship?" He asks leaning forward in anticipation, Your eyes widened, you should've known not to mention anything school related if you've been putting off telling them about the scholarship so they can atleast focus on your brother this vacation. You looked at your brother from the corner of your eyes, who did exactly the same to you.
You shifted in place "Its still in deliberation" You lied again
"Inform us when it has been announced" He reminds and you nod, he looks at Arthur "And you? Why don't you try joining an organization so you can atleast have something to write when you fill up the form for your senior highschool"
You watched as he clenches and unclenches his jaw saw he can talk without making it look he was angry or else that'll only make the conversation between the three of you go on longer then he'd like to admit "I am Dadi" He answered "I'm the President for my school's multimedia club and a member of the journalism club, not to mention I'm part of the student council as the grade ten representative" he crosses his arm
Your father hums in approval "Y/n aren't you part of the student council?"
Your eyes widened at the way he just moved the attention to you, you brother looks away with a scoff. You nod "VP for activities"
He laughs, amused clasping his hands "As expected of you!"
"Why did you call us here dad?" Arthur cuts in, you froze, shooting him a warning gaze but he scoffs at you
"Right" he says and clears his throat, as if realizing why he called you both "I wanted to say that you both should clear your schedules for tonight" He leans forward, taking his glasses off and wiping them against his shirt "We have a business meeting, dinner, with one of our business partners who I bumped into yesterday" He taps his chin "The Cruz's," He says "Y/n do you remember them? their son was very fond of you back then. It would be great to see you two again"
You blinked and shook your head "I can't" You quickly spoke up
He pauses from wiping, looking up at you "What do you mean you can't?" he asks deadly calm (which only proves to you how he did not like that answer) that it made you shudder
You took a step back from him, but Arthur took a step forward "I can't either" he says making your father look at him instead "there's this party tonight, invite only" He answers "It'd be a shame not to go, don't you think dad?"
Your father sighs "Both of you?"
You nod "I'm on the guest list" you said letting out a shaky sigh
"Can we go dad?" Arthur asks
"If you two are so adamant about going to the party then who am I to stop you both"
You both bowed in thanks as your father takes a cigarette out and lights it, inhaling deeply before exhaling "You're both dismissed"
And only then did you both stand straight up straight and returned to the bedroom. "Arthur" You began
"Don't" He warns and points a finger at you "I'm not in the mood" he huffs and you sat on your bed "Can you believe that? He's always focused on you, Doesn't even know what clubs I'm in, and then had the audacity to rub it in and don't even get me started on that Cruz kid, what even is his name?" he growls
"I think it starts with an E" You answered "Evan?"
"Why are they always on your case?" He asks and glares at you making you stop talking
"So that they don't force these responsibilities on you" You reminded
He blinks, realizing that he took out the anger on you "I didn't mean—"
"I know" You smile and his heart broke "Its ok"
He sits beside you "Sometimes, I forget that you don't like your life, that you became an over achiever" You looked at him "That you took so much of their expectations and criticism, to study a course you don't even like, for me"
You chuckled and pinched his cheeks "Its ok, I'm the eldest. Its my job" You pulled away "besides if you think about it, because of that you try to exceed me by being an over achiever yourself"
"That isn't healthy" He replies rubbing his cheeks
You nod, agreeing with him "But hey atleast, they're not forcing you to get the course they want you to get" You smiled "So no pressure little brother" You called him by the nickname you called him whenever you wanted be serious "Whatever you want to be, your Ate is one hundred percent behind you, so choose what you really like"
"Stop sacrificing so much for me" He says softly
"Name?" Says the security personnel by the door of the party
"Arthur L/n" Your brother answers, his hair brushed back, framing his face more and exposing his glasses, he was wearing a plain white shirt underneath his blazer and a pair of jeans, really opting for a more casual look
"Y/n L/n" You answered, tucking your hair behind your ears to expose the cartilage earing you wanted to wear, the gold color matching extremely well to the brown colored long sleeved top and jeans
The security guy nods his head "Sir Arthur L/n please come in" He says and resumes looking through the list for your name "And.. Miss Y/n L/n.." He pauses "Oh My god I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait so long, Miss, I didn't see your name in the VIP section. Please come in" He quickly ushers you and your brother in
"VIP?" He asks in shock, you winked "Who the hell invited you?"
"Secret" You teased and jabbed his side "wait," You paused "when did you get your name on the guest list?"
"Secret" He mocks then wiggles his eyebrows at you "Well your dumb ass drained the batteries of your phone" he grins "I tried calling you so we can eat lunch together, but you didn't pick up so I met someone"
"Will you tell me if I ask for her name?"
"Nope"
"Enjoy the party, we regroup at eleven om so we can go back?"
He nods "Sounds like a plan. Mami did say she wanted us to join her for some late night snack" He agrees scanning the ground for someone "Raquel!" He calls and disappears from your sight
You hummed and walked around the party bowing in greeting to anyone you pass by. Your eyes scanned the guests to see if you could spot Camilo, that was until you felt someone stare at you, you spun in place looking for whoever is looking at you
You don't spot anyone who seemed to be looking at you, nor do you Camilo anywhere. You remembered the lesson one of your professors said about the contagious yawning and its mirroring effect so you lifted your hand to yawn into it, making one of the guests yawn aswell who was hiding behind one of the pillars.
"Camilo" You walked up to a boy who had his hair tied in a half "I know its you"
He freezes, looking at you "You do?"
You hummed "I figured as much I guess" You tilted your head "You ok?"
He quickly wiped his tears "Sorry" He looks away as if thinking what he could say or do in order to atleast break the ice, you looked deep in thought, "Did you like my parting gift?"
You looked at him "parting gift?"
"The memory" He clarifies
"You gave me that memory?" You asked
He smiles softly "I see" he tilts his head "You didn't know I returned them?"
"How can you return a memory?" You asked crossing your arms "You can't return something that isn't mine. That memory had me talking to people I never met, here in the Encanto but I an only came here the otherday!" You said upset "That isn't my memory"
"Calm down" He says reaching out to you but you take a step back and away from him "I know its upsetting but its the truth"
"You expect me to actually believe that?" You asked angrily
"Trust me" He says softly before reaching out to hold your hand "Look, There is something your missing," He looked down at his hand the familiar feeling returning to you "I can tell you what you lost. He tugs on your hand "But you need to trust me"
You slowly nodded "But only when you can make it all make sense"
He nods "I'll tell you everything" He answers, readjusting his hand to hold your hand by locking them together then lead you away from the crowd to the secluded part of the party, towards a bench. When you sat down he starts to let go of your hand but you chased after it "Y/n?" He asks surprised
You quickly let go "sorry" You whispered "I don't know why I did that. It just felt safe"
He sat beside you and offered his hand "Would you like to keep holding it then?"
You reached out trace his pointer finger before locking your hand together and he smiles softly. It was basically the two of you just looking at your hands before he spoke up "That this I wanted to tell you" He began and you looked at him "Its a bit harder to explain now that I'm here" nerves numbing his senses
"Take your time" You murmured "But I only have 'till eleven tonight though"
He blinks and laughs, nodding "That made me feel better" He thinks for a second on how to explain to you "What's the farthest back you remember?"
You tilted your head "In my memories?" He nods "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just do it" he says softly
You think for a second going back to the farthest you can remember "I think I was five years old, I climbed a tree and I lost my footing, I had a concussion" You answered "Yeah, I think that how far I can remember"
He looks at you worried "What did your parents say?"
"Yelled at me," You answered "What else?" you paused "Don't tell anyone I told you the last part"
He nods, before releasing a shaky breath "For me, the farthest I remember is when I met you the first time"
"Yesterday?" You asked amused
"No" he answers "Seventy years ago"
You stared at him and pulled your hand away "What?"
He closes his eyes, not wanting you to see how upset and hurt he was when you pulled away from him "I remember it very clearly, except you probably won't, after all you were unconscious"
"Why would I be unconscious?" You asked and he opens his eyes "You know you're not making any sense"
"You had a panic attack" He answers "You hyperventilated, and you fainted. But its probably because of when you travelled through time"
"Through?" You scoffed and stood "I've heard enough, thank you for your kindness, and the clothes but don't ever talk to me again" You moved to walk away from him
He panics, he lost you then, he couldn't do anything then, but now he finally found you, he can't loose you, he refuses to loose you again. Never again, He doesn't want to feel all that pain again so he stands up grabbing your wrist, "Y/n please"
You spun around and flicked his hand away "Don't come near me"
"I can help you remember but you have to let me"
"I don't even know who you are!"
"You do" He says "I'm Camilo Madrigal. You said I can go to you when I forget who I am, I haven't seen you in years, please you have to believe me"
You shake your head "Don't ever talk to me again"
He panics even more, blocking your way "You— You ran away from home when you were thirteen"
You paused, looking at him in surprise "I have no idea what your talking about" You moved to walk past him
"You do" He says and follows after you "You left in the middle of the night and came back six months later to your mother being the only one who happily accepted you, your brother ignored you for a week, your father disciplined you and threatened to kick you out of you ever did something like that again" he went on
You stared at him "How did you know about that?" You asked confused "the only one who knew this was my family"
"And me," He holds your hands and you don't push him away "You told me so I wouldn't fight with my family too much"
"Why would I tell you this?" You asked confused and he stares at you
"Because you trusted me" He answers "If you let me I can you give you back your memories"
"How?" You asked confused
"The Family archives was tampered, we never lost are gifts to be honest" He began "Over time people needed us less and so we stopped using it as much"
"Camilo" You began but he ignores you and speaks up again
"We still have them right now" He answers and looks at you "Ask me what my gift is in this life"
"What is it?"
"Time" He answers "Because of this gift I got the chance to see you again and again and again, the memories I was so afraid I'd loose cause I haven't seen you in so long, I get to see you again." he pulls his hand away to take his phone out and show you pictures of sketches all signed by you all extremely familiar. One of the pictures was a painting that seemed faded and blurred
"What happened?" sadness ripping through your heart as you looked through the photos
"You lived in a time that wasn't yours" he answers "So when you left every trace of you was taken away. You lived on in our memories, anything else like that painting was taken away"
"I don't understand" You said sniffing as tears escaped your eyes "But why do I feel so sad?"
He reaches out to wipe them "Time took away your memories" He bean "So with your permission, I can give them back"
"Why didn't you give it back then?"
"Cause if your body resists these memories will never return to you" he wipes your face lovingly an action all to familiar with you "Do you want them back?"
You nod "Give them back, I want my memories back"
"If it hurts tell me" He murmurs "Do you understand?" you nod and closed your eyes, as he presses his hand to your temple like a in the afternoon
The next thing you felt was a sharp pain in your chest, like a panic attack, you felt helpless and it hurts it really hurts, you fell to your knees to atleast control the pain.
Then it disappeared. You looked up to see a rat and you moved to kick it only for a young boy with curly hair to grab the rat, "No! Their friendly"
"Its a rat" You replied
He nods "His name is Betty"
"Cute?" You murmured unsure
The pain returned gripping your shirt tightly, Eyes squeezing shut until you felt someone place their palms flat against your forehead and pushed you back 'till you lied down on a bed, you opened your eyes to be greeted by the boy in your memories, the same curly haired and caring look "Just sleep"
"Why are you doing this?" You asked
"I don't know" He answers after a moments thought "honestly I'm just curious about you"
"Then ask" You replied
"That's not my point, just get some rest ok?"
You felt it again when the scene changed into you sitting on a rock, digging a stick to the ground, a hand placed on the nape of the boy in your memories "Stay still Camilo" You instructed and resumed drawing him
"S-so close" He mutters
"What?" You asked finishing up and he shakes his head, you smile "Here" You said and pulled away handing him the stick "You decide what to do with it"
You gasped and coughed when the pain appeared once more only to disappear when he returns to your view as rain falls, holding your hands "I like you a lot" He took a deep breath "Honestly I think, saying I like you doesn't justify how I feel for you, you mean the absolute world to me and I finally found the courage to tell you that" He continues on "So I hope you accept me still, and not avoid me afterwards." He swallows "Cause I really like you, I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my girlfriend?"
You felt your heart drop, "No" You answered pulling away and turning around only to find yourself in a familiar room
The boy from a while ago sitting on a bed looking at you as he clicks his tongue as if saying he's not done "I admire you even more now," he admits "How could you keep this big of a secret by yourself? All these years? You're not alone anymore. I'm here now, and I know, and I'll never make you question anything, I'll always be by your side and defend you"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Please give me a chance" He answers "Let me court you"
You walked up to him to hold his hands and the desperate look in his eyes changed into curiosity as rain drenched you both while Your chest was heaving, you were about to complain not believing him when he told you to say it, but you nodded, he needed to hear it from you, you knew that much "I love you" You said softly eyes slowly opening "So please stop courting me, and just ask me to be your girlfriend again"
He smiles and nods "Be my girlfriend?" He asks
You nod "Yes" You answered right before he tackles you, not caring how drenched you both are
You felt extremely happy when you relieved this memory just as it fades making you turn around to kiss the boy "Good Morning" You greet
"Good morning" he greets back and hugs you, happily receiving the kiss. "How'd you sleep?" He asks
"I overselpt" You answered,
"Its not that late" He says and smiles, you felt happy seeing him lie that.
Then you screamed an overwhelming sense of pain enveloped your sense making you double over in pain, tears leaving your eyes as you held on to someone desperately "Ma-Making me go back!" You managed to cry out, You hugged him not wanting to leave and it seemed that he realizes what you meant and he holds you "I don't want to go back!"
"You won't" he assures
You shake your head, opening your mouth to speak but you ended up crying out from the pain, "it hurts!" You cried "I don't want to go! I want to stay! Let me stay!" You begged, not knowing who you were begging to exactly.
Everyone watched as you pulled away from him when the pain in your chest tripled, placing your hand on your chest as you dug your hand on the ground. Your crying wasn't helping with the lack of oxygen "I don't wanna go" You cried right before your brother's voice gently guides you back to reality
"Breathe Y/n" Camilo says, and you looked around to see that you fell to your knees, crying, cling on to his arm "You're back" he says softly
"Camilo" You cried once the person infront of you registers, the memories finally making sense, your Camilo who waited for you, who was hurt by your disappearance yet he's still here "I'm so sorry" You cried "I'm so sorry" You moved to hug him. He freezes, surprised "I didn't mean to disappear like that!"
He looks up to not cry but sobbed, wrapping his arms around your waist to hold your hand and hug you back as he cried to the crook of your neck "Please don't disappear again" He pleads
You both sat across from each other on a bench as he cups your cheek "Are you really ok?" he asks
You nod "Really"
"Doesn't your head hurt?" He asks and tilts your head to the side to examine you, "I just gave you three years worth of your memories back, are you sure nothing hurts?"
You placed your hand over his "I swear" You assured
He stares at you for a second and nods, leaning his forehead against yours "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure"
"I know" You said softly
He moves to wrap his arms around you "I really thought I wouldn't be able to hold you like this anymore" he whispers "I miss you so much, so so so much"
You hugged him back "How did you do this?" You asked softly "How did you see me yesterday morning and not break down?"
He shrugs "I thought I would never see you again and then I saw you I was just in so much shock" He visibly relaxes when hummed, he was still afraid like this was just one of his dreams that if he isn't careful you'll forget again or disappear again but here you were assuring him
"Stop crying" You whispered and pulled away to wipe the tears he didn't even realize he was shedding "It breaks my heart to see you cry then, ofcourse it'll hurt even now"
He nods but the tears won't stop and you only brushed them away, he reaches out to hold you hand, needing to feel you physically just so he can assure himself you won't disappear again
"I'm so sorry for hurting you this much" You said softly and he shakes his head
"You're with me now, that's what I care about" He answers "You didn't have a choice, I was angry but I knew that you didn't want to go"
"You went through so much" You murmured "And even after all of that I lost my memory"
"You didn't have a choice" He assures "I don't care that you lost your memories or that I had to wait for you, you're here now, you remember me now, why would I complain"
You paused "How long did you wait for me exactly?"
He looks away "Not that long"
"Really?" You asked and he nods "You do know you're the third generation Camilo right despite reincarnating and having your memories"
He smiles
"You're not gonna tell me anything are you?"
He shakes his head "Why? Do you plan on making it up to me?"
"If I could" You nodded
"Then," He began "Do you want to go back?"
You looked at him with a tilt of your head "Back?"
"In time, to be with me?" He asks "If you really want to, and I have this gift, if you want to go back, I can send you back, it won't be as painful"
"You can really send someone back?"
He nods "If you really want me too"
"Won't you be lonely here, If I do?"
He smiles "But I'll have you then" He hums "And I'd be happy"
"Did I go back?" You asked him "I mean you lived through it, did I go back?"
He stares at you for a second before answering "I can't answer that"
"Why not?"
"Because depending on your answer to my question will I be able to give you an answer" He answers and you made a face "I mean, if you choose to go or stay here, then my memories will adapt to your answer"
"So in the end its all up to me" You answered and he nods
"You don't have to answer me now" He answers and holds your hand "I know this is a big decision and I won't blame you for choosing to stay but I told you this cause I wanted you to know you had a choice, this time, you have a choice"
You opened your mouth to reply only to stop when a voice pierced your ears "Ate! There you are!"
You looked to the side to see your brother, walking up to you with a girl beside him and you slowly pulled your hand away from Camilo's when you spotted Arthur raised his eyebrow at you message clear: Hand holding really?
You smiled sweetly at him, wrapping your hand around your neck before tapping the side of your neck with a finger, his eyes widened and adjusted his blazer: Nice hickey
"Camilo" says the girl in greeting
"Raquel" He greets
"You know her?" You asked Camilo
"Younger cousin" He answers
She smiles at you taking her hand out "Raquel Madrigal"
You took it and nodded "Y/n L/n"
"L/n?" She says looking at Arthur who was still trying to cover up the marks (you can guess) that Raquel left on him
"My sister" He answers, finally satisfied with covering the hickey, he offers his hand to Camilo "I'm Arthur by the way, this like our third meeting, right?"
"Yeah that's right" Camilo nods and takes it "Camilo Madrigal"
He looks at you as if confirming what he said "the third"
"Ooooh" He says and snaps his fingers "this is the first time I met someone with that suffix"
You made a face "Didn't you used to have a classmate?"
"He doesn't count" He replies and shows you his phone "Ate it's time," You looked at it to see its ten fifty and you hummed in disappointment "Unless you want mami to nag"
You nodded and stood up, offering your phone to Camilo who stared at it in surprise "Can I have your number?"
He smiles and nods, taking it to add his number into your contacts "Call me?" He asks and hands it back to you
You nod, smiling softly before spinning around to go to your brother
"Ready Mary Sue?" He teases
"Hickey, Casanova" You announced and tapped your neck
"Shit" He murmurs and readjusts his blazer
"That's not gonna work" You spoke and pulled the blazer down so he can stop adjusting it "Haven't you ever made out with anyone before?"
"I'm usually the one who leaves the hickey" He mutters
You made a face "Ew" You shuddered
"Oh your such a saint, I know you leave hickeys on other people" He hisses and You smiled at him making him shudder "Oh that's disgusting, should not have opened my mouth" You laughed and he elbows you "Wild" He jokes and you laughed even more while he nods "Yeah go on keep laughing as long as you help me get rid if it"
You grabbed his arm to lead him away "Come on, lets get you a cold spoon" You turned around to smile and wave at Camilo before turning back to drag your brother back into the hotel
You lied down in bed with your brother across the room playing a game on his phone, with his friends headphones plugged in. You had your phone pressed against your cheek as Camilo spoke on the other end "I miss you"
You laughed quietly, so you won't alert your parents "We saw each other an hour ago"
"That's not what I mean, Mi Princesa" He says "You and I would sleep in the same the same room most days, sometimes I'd even convince you to sleep with me at night"
You laugh "Tia Pepa would always look so surprised when we leave at the same time" There was silence for a bit, "Camilo?"
"Sorry" He spoke up, voice cracking "I haven't heard anyone calm mami in so long"
"You must miss them"
"Of course" he answers "but I love my family now aswell" He answers and hums "Come to think of it why didn't you call her mami?"
"Cause that's what I call my mom, Arthur might react"
"Boo" He teases
"Have you made a decision yet?" He asks a bit later "About what I offered on going back"
"No, I'm still thinking" You admit "Like, What of my family? what would happen to Arthur?"
"Ate you called?" Arthur asks, pulling one of the headphones so he could hear you, you shake your head and resumed playing
"Like I said, you don't have to accept it, I just wanted to give you the choice you never got back then" He answers with a hum "I'm willing to wait 'till whenever you can give an answer"
You looked to the side at your brother "Thank you"
"I love you, Mi Reina" He says softly "The only one I had ever loved"
And you smiled, heart doing a backflip at his words "I love you too, Mi Rey"
You can practically feel how happy he got from your words and he nods "You should sleep, its late, see its twelve thirty"
"You're awake too" You hummed "You sleep aswell"
"Alright, Good Night" He chuckles
"Good night" You ended the phone call and turned to see your brother who was still playing
"Bobo ka ba? Sabi ko kaliwa, Yawa ka?" He asks his teammate, angrily "You dumb shit I said go left, the fuck?" He says again and you smile
"Arthur?" You called he doesn't reply still too into his game "Arthur" You called again
He pushes one head phone off his ear so he can hear you, meeting your eyes a bit before returning to the game "Yes?"
You tapped your bed as you tried to form words "What would you do if I disappear?"
His fingers stopped moving and he looks at you "Bad joke" He says and resumes playing
"I'm just saying, what if I just" You shrugged "disappear"
He stops playing, pulling his headphones off, you can hear his team mates curse at him for abandoning his posts but he exits the game to cross his arms at you
"Did something happen?"
You shake your head "Its just a thought" You lied
"Of course something happened" he hums "Why else would you think like that?" You shrugged "You ran away back then, you already know how hard it is"
You narrowed your eyes at him, "Don't talk about that"
"Then don't act like that" He says "As if you're leaving me again"
"And if I say this will make me happy?"
He scoffs
"I want to tell you something" You began "Something about the thirteen hours I was out exploring on my own, yesterday"
Your brother was now sitting on the foot of your bed after you told him the what happened, covering his face as he silently cried "Did you really go through all that?" He asks and you reached out to pinch his cheeks "Ate" He says wanting you to take him seriously
You nod "It was an eventful three years"
He stares at you "Is that why you asked me?" he asked "Cause you want to return there?"
You nod "I hate it here" You said softly
"I hate it here too" He reminds
"Then come with me"
He stares at you "You know when you disappear I'm going to destroy this whole place looking for you"
"Even if you know where I am?"
"Why would you tell me this?" He asks back "If you really wanted to go back you could just go by yourself"
"If I chose to go, I wanted to say goodbye"
He looks up, trying to stop the tears "have you decided yet?"
"No" You admit "There are still things I have to consider"
"Me?"
You nod
He stays still silently thinking "Were you happy there?"
You nod again
He sighs "Then don't think about anything else and just think about yourself"
"Will you be ok if I go?"
He stands up and hugs you "For once in your life Ate," He says "I wish you'd focus on yourself" he pulls away
"That wasn't an answer"
"I'll figure it out" He answers and you narrowed your eyes "I'm your brother, my job is to make sure you're happy with your choice, So I hope you'd say goodbye atleast if you do decide to leave" You moved to hug him and he hugs you back "Sleep on it" he instructs "you're probably really confused"
You nod and went to bed, he goes to his bed to lie down aswell "Ate" He calls
"Yeah?"
"I love you"
You looked at him and smiled "I love you too"
You turned your head to grab your phone
Arthur woke up the following day, scared. Scrambling to look for his phone to check the time, he was blinded by how high he set his brightness, but when his eyes finally adjusted, he ignored the unholy amount of notifications as he read the time: four thirty-seven am
He doesn't usually wake up this early, its you who usually wakes up this early cause you'd rather study at the ass crack of dawn then care for your mental and physical health to sleep in a little bit more. He pretends to not know but he knows you sleep at midnight since you ten to be more comfortable in playing around at night as compared to the morning where you have to be wary of your own father
He turns his head to where your bed is, expecting to see you there.
You weren't.
He got up, spotting a piece of paper on your pillow, signed with his name. He can tell you wrote it, he can spot your chicken scratch from a mile away. So with a heavy heart, he opens it:
Dear Arthur my little Brother,
Hey. So I made my choice, and I did what you advised, to choose something that can benefit me. I know its probably cruel to say goodbye with a letter. I love you Arthur. I don't say that often but I want you to know, I love you so so so much, my little brother.
Do you remember when you got lost the first time? I think you were six years old then, I had a panic attack the cause the only thing that went through my my mind was, how scared you might've been but when you finally managed to get home I saw that you were ok, you were so strong, you only broke down when you saw me. And I immediately thought that you'd be hopeless without me
But I'd be just as hopeless without you, we'd fight and throw punches at each other but in the end we are all what each other have and I am more than happy to sacrifice so many things for you as you already know
You're so strong, so independent. And despite being older than you you would always take care of me. Arthur out of everything here I'm going to miss you.
Don't blame yourself ok? I know that you hate seeing me wake up so early, or force myself to do things that only scare me, I did them for you, everything I have done was for you. I don't regret anything cause its my job as your sister to make you have a comfortable life
And hey, think about it, because of that, your childhood was a lot longer than mine ahahaha
Do you still not want to come? Just say the word and you can come with me. But that doesn't matter, if you want to stay there then stay there, be happy Arthur that's all I ask
I Sent you a shit ton of messages and left voice messages aswell cause I know you'd miss me. Don't cry ok? But I actually uploaded every picture and video I took of us to a drive and sent you the link, just so you have memories of me
And this is where I have to conclude this letter, I'm running out of paper. I love you, Arthur.
Good Bye
Lots of Love, Ate Y/n
Mwah
Arthur couldn't see anymore, he cried out to you. His older sister who did nothing but think of him, the older sister who sacrificed her whole being just so his parents can focus on you and remove the pressure from him
The older sister that he might never see again
He stood up and grabbed a jacket to take a walk, needing to clear his head.
"You're the one who sent her back" Arthur states when he spots Camilo staring up at the portrait you painted, the one where you were scratched out
Camilo looks at him "You're up early"
Arthur shows the letter you left behind
"Ahh"
Arthur nods and looks up at the painting "Did Ate really paint this?"
He nods "A gift for Abuela"
Arthur was quiet, before looking at Camilo "How is she?" Camilo turns at the sound of his voice "Your memories should've accommodated how ate came back, so how is she?" He asks again "Is she going to be ok?"
Camilo smiles softly "She's going to be ok" He nods
"Right?" Arthur swallows and nods "She's my sister after all" he says and looks down, "Thank God" he whispers and cries
Camilo reaches out to pat his back before looking back at the painting and smiling "Arthur look" he calls
Arthur looks up to see the portrait had doubled over, if before it was just the main Madrigal family and a scratched out portrait of a girl. Now it shows a clearer one, it was you, beside Camilo Madrigal, you fixed the painting, and beside every Madrigal child was their own kids and then their husbands or wives