Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Hey

"Camilo, what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you," he responded firmly, placing his hands on your shoulders. "It must be something wrong with the magic - a flaw, or something."

You stared at the ground, unable to meet his eye.

"I shouldn't be here," you finally whispered.

A long silence stretched.

"(Y/N)?" he asked, so quietly you almost thought you imagined it. "I'm scared for you."

Your heart broke.

"I'm sorry," you said, quickly pushing away. "I'm not supposed to talk to you, or any Madrigals in general - I have to go home."

"Why can't this be your home?" he called softly after you, but you simply walked faster so you wouldn't be tempted to return. You passed Mirabel, who was sitting in a corner, sniffling. You slowed, your conscience battling your common sense.

Papa will be mad if he finds out. But Mirabel is your friend - this is more important.

With a sigh, you approached her.

"What's wrong?" you questioned, gently taking her hand. She looked up with a start, her teary brown eyes widening when she saw the greenish mark on your face. "Oh, right... got in a fight with my brother. He didn't mean to." The lie slipped out easily, too easily.

"Oh," Mirabel murmured, looking back at the floor. "Well, I hope it gets better soon. I just ruined everyone's night, and... I'm doomed to ruin Casita, too."

"What?" you breathed, plucking a toucan feather out of her hair. "No you aren't."

"Yes I am. The vision showed me standing in front of Casita, and if you turned it one way, Casita was fine, but if you turned it the other way, it was broken. Isabela's proposal was ruined - no way will Mariano want to marry her anymore - and Abuela is so, so mad at me. I'm tired of people always being mad at me!" She let out a sob, before sniffling and wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Sorry."

"I get it," you said, soothingly rubbing her back. "I mean, I don't know what you're going through, but I know it must be tough. And I'll make sure that you save Casita, all right? You won't break it, I promise." You placed your hands on her cheeks and raised her head up. "You got that?"

She nodded slowly, before pulling you into a hug. You fought a scream, the bruises on your back aching horribly, and force yourself to embrace her in return.

"I'll find you tomorrow," she promised. "In the market."

You nodded and left, hot tears streaking down your face. Thank goodness Mirabel hadn't seen your bruises -

"(Y/N)? What are you doing here?"

You scrambled backwards, breathing a sigh of relief when you realized it was just Luisa.

"And what's wrong with your face? Why are you crying?" Her expression grew concerned, and she bent over to look you in the eyes, grabbing your chin and examining your face.

"Uh," you said. "Nice chat." Then you were running for the doors, bursting out into the fresh night air.

"Finally," you breathed, starting on the path back home. "I need to get to bed."

"Who ya talking to?" Your heart skipped a beat before you realized it was just Jude. "Papa wouldn't be happy to know you're out here this late."

He emerged from the shadows, a scowl on his face, and you found one growing on yours too.

"Same for you!" You exploded, fury taking over. "Guess who had to take the brunt of his anger? Where were you, Jude? Where were you?" Unable to take it anymore, you crumpled to the ground, crying into your hands. You let the anger and the sadness and the regret and heartbreak bleed from your eyes into the street.

"Hey, hey... (Y/N)," Jude breathed, crouching next to you. "I'm sorry, I-"

When you looked up to meet his eye, he stopped talking, standing up slowly.

"Papa did that?"

You ignored him, standing back up and wiping your face.

"Bye, Jude."

You walked off, leaving him confused and upset in the middle of the street.

When you got back, your heart split all over again at the sight of the windowsill Camilo had stood at. You couldn't be with Camilo - never. You would help Mirabel get through this mess, because she was your friend, and then you would go back to life as it had been. As it always would be.

You heaved yourself through the window, landing on the other side with a grunt, wincing at the pain from your back.

You turned to look out the window one more time.

"Goodnight, Camilo," you whispered.

———————————————————————

The next morning arrived, and you headed for the village, carrying your goods in the same basket as always.

Like promised, Mirabel found you, just as business was picking up.

"Sorry," you apologized quickly, packing your things up and walking over to Mirabel, who looked more determined than ever. "What's the plan?"

She paused, deflating a bit.

"I'm not sure yet. But for now, let's just look for clues. I need to at least feel like I'm doing something productive," she admitted sheepishly.

"Understood," you said with a smile. "But let's try to... avoid Camilo, if possible."

She raised an eyebrow at you before nodding.

"Of course."

The two of you were soon roaming Casita's halls, looking for anything that might be a clue. Camilo was still out doing chores, apparently, so you were safe from him for a while.

"Squeak, squeak," you heard, and let out a screech, jumping quickly to avoid three mice running by your feet.

"Hold on," Mirabel said, following them. "They have pieces of Bruno's vision!"

Suddenly they were climbing the wall and slipping behind a painting.

"What?" Mirabel asked, confused, as she stood where they had just seemingly disappeared.

You rapped on the wall softly, and when you heard a hollow sound, you moved the painting to the side.

"Whoa," the two of you breathed, staring down a long passageway. You both automatically clambered in, determined to explore.

"Pepa's upset because of last night, so that's why it's-"

As if on cue, lighting struck suddenly, illuminating a dark figure holding a rat at the end of the hallway.

You gasped, terrified, before the flash disappeared, along with the person.

"Let's go!" Mirabel cried, chasing after him. "Hey! Wait up!" she called.

As you ran, you realized that there was another set of footsteps behind you.

"Shoot," you breathed, speeding up and nearly flat-tiring Mirabel.

"Whoa!" she cried, suddenly coming to a stop - but you weren't so lucky. You went flying over the edge of a seemingly bottomless foggy pit. You hit the bottom way sooner than expected. As soon as you collided with the floor, landing on your bruised back, you let out a groan and clenched your fists.

"That hurt," you mumbled to nobody. And then somebody else was shouting, a distinctly male voice. When you opened your eyes next, the boy you had been trying to avoid all day had fallen on top of you, his hands on either side of your head, and his beautiful forest-green eyes only inches away from yours.

"Hey," he breathed.