𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧, c.m

03

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HEAVEN SENT

IN WHICH—
feelings are acknowledged

CAMILO MADRIGAL COULDN'T be happier, spinning and laughing along with his favorite girl. As soon as it became time, he happily dipped her, locking eyes with her and sharing a laugh.

Angel's laugh was an addicting melody, a tune he would never be able erase from his mind. If only she knew of the iron grip she had on his heart.

He adored the way she would consistently fiddle with the sunflower charm on her long golden necklace whenever she was concentrated, the same necklace he had gifted to her for her thirteenth birthday. The way her eyes sparkled when she talked about something she enjoyed. He loved the mischievous that grew upon her face as soon as causing trouble was mentioned.

Camilo loved the way Angel said his name. He loved the way she knew so much about him.

He had never experienced butterflies with anyone else but her, they fluttered and fought in his stomach anytime he caught her eye.

He delicately took her soft hand in his and spun her to the music, smiling when she looked up at him with her incredible brown eyes like pools of honey.

It could've been a coincidence that his hand fit perfectly in the small of her back, and hers sliding neatly into his hands, but he liked to believe it wasn't.

Camilo pulled her slightly closer to him, their chests pressing together, just enough for both of them to notice. The wide grin on Angel's face slowly faded as she noticed his unfaltering gaze. He gulped, feeling his hands get clammy. The music seemed to die down, the loud conversations dissolved into white noise, and the two remained with their faces inches away from each other.

"The house is breaking!" Mirabel's voice rang throughout the room, halting the chatter and music. Camilo was suddenly aware of everyone around him.

His cousin came rushing through the crowd to his abuela, panicking and trying to catch her breath.

"There were cracks in the walls and the tiles were falling... and the candle almost went out," she panted, looking sadly at Abuela Alma.

"Show me," Abuela insisted, barely above a whisper.

The two headed out of the room followed by everyone else and Camilo and Angel.

They looked worriedly at each other as they rushed out of the room, still holding each other's hand, to find no sign of any cracks and the candle still burning just as powerfully.

"What..?" Mirabel gasped. "The cracks were there," she pointed to a wall, still intact, "and there," yet again, she pointed to an undamaged wall.

Camilo heard Abuela quietly scold Mirabel, before turning back to the crowd of people surrounding the stairs. "Everything is fine. The magic is strong!" Abuela assured, "and so are the drinks." she remarked, earning a few chuckles from the crowd.

"Please, continue, continue! Music!"

Luisa rushed over to Augustine with a piano, as he lightheartedly played a tune. The crowd flowed back into Antonio's room, all except for Camilo and Angel.

He stared at the candle, worry evident in his glossy eyes. His lip quivered slightly at the thought of the candle going out, losing his home, his powers, and potentially causing harm to his family.

"Everything will be fine, I promise," Angel's voice whispered soothingly, stroking her thumb across Camilo's hand.
"Your magic is more than strong, even if not, you are still Camilo, with or without powers. Always."

He could immediately tell she was worried as well, for she was slowly rising off the ground. He chuckled, planting her back on the floor before being pulled back into the party.

They didn't go back and dance just then, they had gone the whole night without causing trouble, and Angel assured him they'd only pull a few pranks. Classics.

Each time someone reached for their plastic cup, it mysteriously moved just a few inches out of their reach, forcing them to move forward and try to pick it up when the same thing happened again.

"Oh hello, Angel. Enjoying yourself?" greeted Felix, spotting the girl in front of him before taking a sip of his drink.

"Angel? Really, papa? We don't even look alike."

Felix's eyes widened. "Camilo? I meant to say your name," he corrected, looking to the side ashamedly.

"Sorry, Felix, I'm Angel..?"

"Camilo!" Felix shouted, pointing at the boy as he returned to his regular form. The man couldn't help but laugh at his son and his friend's innocent jokes.

After the night ended and everyone had left, the Romero children returned to Casita in their pajamas and bags in their hands for the traditional sleepover.

"Angel! Do mine!" Camilo pleaded. He sat down on the floor of Antonio's huge tree and turned his back towards her while she scooted closer to him. Angel had just finished getting her hair braided by Isabela and he wanted his done too.

"You'll look so pretty," Angel commented, sitting on her knees behind him.

Camilo could hardly hear her, the only thing he was aware of was the soft pads of her fingers softly tracing his scalp as she carefully played with the curls. He melted into her touch, fluttering his eyes closed while she braided his brown hair into two pigtails.

It was over sooner than he would've liked it to be. Camilo turned so he could face her and she smiled at him.

"I'm so good at this," she giggled, taking his face in between her hands and squeezing his cheeks. She turned her head, staring wide eyed at Mirabel. "Your turn!"

Angel had left his side and was now braiding his cousin's hair, he couldn't help but envy Mirabel as they giggled about something or other. She got to feel the soothing touch of Angel's fingers tangled in her hair.

As soon as Antonio drifted off to sleep on a pillow further into the night, everyone took that as a sign to head to bed as well. The lights went out, the only source of brightness being the hanging fairy lights swooped throughout the tree.

"Camilo?" Angel's voice whispered over to the person next to her, laying on her side to face him.

"Angel?" Camilo responded, turning to face her as well with a smile on his face. He really hoped everyone else was asleep, which was more than likely due to the light snoring from others around him.

"I don't want you to worry about the candle, or the magic, or anything else."

Camilo hesitated, why would she just bring that up out of the blue? Did he look upset still? He hoped his emotions weren't showing through his facial expressions. He looked confused, until it finally hit him.

"Are you worried..?" he questioned, reaching out to intertwine their fingers.

Angel looked at him with sad eyes. "A little... but-"

"It's okay, I'm fine. I want you to be fine, Angel."

"I am fine."

Camilo pulled the girl into a long hug, her head tucking into the crook of his neck as he rubbed her back. He wished they could have sleepovers more often.

HEAVEN SENT
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