silent movies || encanto X female reader

25. the problems you ignore 'til you can't anymore

You anxiously stand on the first floor balcony, watching the candle peacefully burn, as usual.

"What ?" Mirabel speaks up. "No, that's... The cracks were there, they were... everywhere. The house was in trouble, the, the candle was..."

But there were no cracks to be seen. And you felt your heart clutch even more as you watched most of the guests react to your little sister's worries with annoyance. You see Leta amongst the crowd. She seemed more confused than anything. You then turn to Luca behind you, who was busy focusing on the scene that was playing. His brows were furrowed in concern, and you could tell he was taking this matter seriously.

Unlike Isabela, who rolled her eyes and scoffed as Mirabel pleaded for them to believe her.

"Abuela, I promise-"

"That's enough." Your grandmother stops her, and some nervous whispers start travelling from guest to guest. She puts on a confident face to turn to them and try to reassure the anxious ones. "There is nothing wrong with La Casa Madrigal. The magic is strong ! And so are the drinks ! Please, music ! A bailar, a bailar !"

"She's so very funny." You plainly ironize as your father starts to play the piano Luisa had brought him to divert the crowd's attention from Mirabel. After watching Julieta approach Mirabel, you look up at the candle, bubbles of anxiety tickling your stomach. "What's wrong with the magic ?"

"Watch out !" A man exclaims as he walks by Luca and you, a child running in his legs and making him lose his balance. He unfortunately fails to regain it and bumps into your friend's back, propelling him forwards.

You tense up for a second as Luca's hand grabs the railing in front of you and his chin softly bumps into the back of your head. His chest hits your back as well, pushing you into the fence. You try to make yourself as small as possible so that nobody notices the invisible figure Luca seemed to have crashed into, avoiding to think about the way his forearms grazed your waist as he tried to push away from this very embarrassing situation.

The man that fell on your friend's back eventually gets to his feet, brushing some dust off his pants.

"Dios mío ! I'm so sorry ! This kid came out of nowhere... Are you alright ? Young man ?"

Luca was finally able to turn around and take a step away, but apparently talking was still too difficult for him. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out except a strangled rattle. He was blushing madly, too, but you couldn't see it, too busy trying to cover your own embarrassment by making a dramatically offended face that only he could see, of course. That didn't make his situation better. He giggled, still dazed, and for no reason, at least to the man's eyes.

"Young man ? Are you hurt somewhere ? Did you happen to hit your head ?"

Still no reaction from your friend. It seemed the accident had broken him. And there's only one way you knew to fix things that didn't work.

You quietly stepped closer and hit the back of his head.

"Ow ! I mean, I mean, wow ! Sorry, Señor, I... I was just so worried about this 'cracks' story and everything, I was lost in thoughts."

You give him a judgemental look, disappointed with the lie he came up with. It seemed to work nevertheless, the man giving him a wide smile and putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't you worry, kiddo ! Abuela Madrigal herself said everything was fine. That poor girl must have dreamed, or found the adults' booze stash, who knows !"

Luca chuckles nervously, leaning on the railing to put his arm between you and the unaware man. Was he accusing your sister of drinking ? You would have tolerated it, or found it funny even, if you weren't so touched about reality matters. But the scene Mirabel had caused made you oh-so-nervous and jumpy. You immediately calm your murdering intentions about this man when a familiar person walks behind him, a person whose conversation you can't help but eavesdrop.