Tacenda || Carlos Madrigal x Reader

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"You're Camilo's twin brother, right?"

It was always been like that, never the other way around. Camilo's twin was all Carlos was known as. He hated that golden child with a burning passion.

   "The one and only." Carlos bowed down to introduce himself, his signature grin never leaving his face. He didn't break eye contact with you as he dipped down and stood back up. "I have a name."

   "I know," you crossed your arms over your chest. You didn't exactly like his sass or the way he looked at you. He stared you down as if he was a hawk hunting prey. "Carlos."

   You never met the boy in person. You've seen him around, heard stories that Camilo would tell you, but you never spoke to him.

   You were a busy person. Taking care of your three younger siblings at home because your parents were busy managing the family bakery while still having two other jobs on the side. Whenever you had free time, you spent it with your best friend; Camilo Madrigal.

   You don't even recall how you two became friends. It was a little over two years ago and the earliest memory you had was nighttime when he offered to walk you home in the dark.

   Camilo was such a sweetheart. He was the best boy you've never met, and the boy that held your heart in his hands without even knowing it.

   "Camilo talks about you." Carlos said nonchalantly, mimicking your stance.

   "Funny, he talks about you, too." You dropped your hands to your sides, pushing past him. "What are you even doing here? You don't even know me and you're standing in my way." You walked up to the various stands in the farmer's market, eyes scanning the different baked goods and fruit.

"He talks about me?" Carlos caught up with you, curiosity lacing his voice. He ignored the fact that you pushed him out of the way, he ignored your disinterest. He didn't care, all he wanted was to know what his brother said. It couldn't have been good. For all he knows, Camilo could've exaggerated and lied.

"What's it to you?"

   "Excuse me?" He scoffed as he took a seat directly in front of you, blocking your view. "He was talking about me. I have every right to know what he said."

   "Out of the way, Carlos Madrigal." You moved to the left, only for him to move along with you. The way his movement was completely in sync with yours pissed you off. You didn't know how in the world you'd get this boy off your back. All you knew was that he was Camilo's twin brother, and from what the other twin as told you, he's a bit of a jerk. You could already tell from mere seconds of this first interaction.

"Tell me what he said."

   "You're a menace to society and you aren't worth my time." You didn't use Camilo's words, you summed up his hour and a half rant in one sentence. You said all that with a calm and collected smile which slowly turned into a smirk as you watched his facial expression change. "Excuse me." You ushered him out of the way and picked a few pieces of corn and bread, along with some pork for tonight's dinner.

   Carlos was shocked to say the least, shaking his head violently and snapping back into reality. No one has even dared to treat him like this. "Really? He said that?" He emitted a low chuckle, "of course... typical Camilo."

   "Mhm," you hummed, paying for the stuff you had bought before walking onto the path that lead to your home. In the corner of your eye, you could see the boy follow you.

   "Stop following me, Carlos Madrigal." You didn't turn your body to face him, you just kept walking. With no response from the boy, you assumed he had listened and left. That was until you turned around and found him directly in front of you, almost pushing you over. "Carlos Madrigal!"

"Why are you referring me as my first and last name? It's weird!" He rose his voice and took a step back, slapping the basket out of your hand in annoyance. "Can we just talk about Camilo? For one second, let me have my moment. That stupid... golden child. Irresponsible and so god damn ugly."

"You're identical twins." You said, letting him soak in that information. It took longer than you thought it would. That's when you realized how stupid he is. "This is why this is our first time talking to each other." You shoved him over with your shoulder and hip, taking the basket and cringing at the vegetables that fell to the ground.

"I meant--" Carlos sighed, rolling his eyes as he fell over. He rubbed his elbow and stood back up, fixing his hair quickly. "He's different, trust me."

"Oh, I know," you said, peering at him with sharp eyes, "he's better." You walked towards your neighbourhood and placed the basket onto your doorstep. "Did you really just follow me home?"

"Yes."

"And he doesn't deny it," you didn't understand him. You didn't understand why he walked up to you in the first place. The last time he walked up to someone, he made them scream and cry out of fear and hatred. You knew that he didn't have good intentions. "Leave."

   "Make me," he crossed his arms and shifted his weight over to one leg. Oh, how you wanted to wipe that smug smirk right off his face. He was being arrogant and immature, not to mention annoying.

   "Carlos Madrigal..." you sighed once more with a shake of your head. You walked over to him grabbing the collar of his white shirt and tugging on it. "Don't make me repeat myself."

   Carlos didn't know what he was expecting, but it surely wasn't this. No one has ever approached him like this; anyone else would've scurried away to avoid getting hurt. They wouldn't have even spoke back to him the way you did.

   Truth be told, Carlos wouldn't ever hit a stranger without a damn good reason. He didn't know where or how that rumour started. Sure, he's threatened to punch others without reason but he's never actually done it. He was frozen in place, shaking his head viciously once to snap out of his daydream. Carlos was met with a new situation, a new person. He couldn't tell if he liked it or not.

   With one swift movement, he grabbed your neck. His shit-eating grin didn't falter as his face inched closer to yours. "What'll you do?"

   You choked on a gasp, eyes going wide as you pressed both of your hands on his chest and pushed him away.

   Carlos stumbled over, catching himself before he fell. He could've kept a firm hold on your neck, but he let go.

"I-I don't--" you stared at his one visible eye before turning around, taking the basket and walking into your house. Without a word, you walked through the door and slammed it shut with the kick of your foot.

"Hey."

You jumped at the sound of your younger sister's voice, taking a heavy breath as you walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Anita."

"Was that Camilo's twin brother?" She asked as she followed you into the kitchen.

"Yes," you thought that by the time you were in the house, you'd forget about him and go on with your day. But of course your sister had to bring it up.

You didn't know how to feel about that boy. He was agitating, arrogant and rude. That's how you'd summarize his entire existence. You couldn't tell if it was his lopsided smirk and hair intimidated you or made you feel like you could take him on in a fist-fight. Maybe he was all bark and no bite. You didn't care.

At least... you hoped you didn't.

"When is Camilo coming?" Your sister snapped you out of your thoughts, tugging on the sleeves of your shirt.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.