Camilo's Journey

Chapter 36:

Camilo and Spencer's room was a flurry of their friends getting ready for prom. Alex and Claudia chattered loudly about how how they matched each other so perfectly.

"It's a cerulean dream!" Claudia swooned and twirled in her dress, fit for the princess she was, as Alex propped themselves on Spencer's bed.
"Sorta like Spencer's eyes?" They said and stared mock dreamily at Spencer who blushed adorably. Alex stood up on the bed and turned Camilo to face her by his shoulders.

"That is so much easier to do now that the crutches are gone, and before you complain the moonboot looks fine." Alex teased.
Camilo shape shifted into Alex and repeated their words back to them in his best sarcastic tone.
Alex laughed.
"I still love that you can do that. But why doesn't Spencer just heal your ankle?" Alex asked.
Spencer sighed and sat down on the bed.
"I can't heal bone.." he sighed. "Of all things he injures himself in the only way I can't help him."
Alex laughed and poked Spencer's cheek. He smiled and shrugged.

"How are you doing anyway?" Claudia asked as she sat on the bed beside him.
"Better, mum got me into this councillor and from there I should get a psychologist. Slowly but surely dealing with all of my issues." Spencer said as he laid his head on Claudia's lap. She sighed and patted his head.
"I'm happy for you." Claudia said.

Alex pulled Camilo's wrist and he let himself be dragged to the mirror.
"Two things, you should wear this." Alex said and started putting a cerulean bow tie on him. He smiled and nodded. "So you're matching us and your dates eyes." They winked. Alex finished tying the bow tie for him then took both of his hands.
"I want you to promise me you'll stay in contact with all of us." They said. Then they dropped two glowing stones one yellow and one red into Camilo's palms.

"I know you don't believe in colours meaning different things, but yellow is for friendship, especially meant for someone with a bright and lively personality. So that one is for you." They said and slipped it into Camilo's blazer pocket.

"The red one if for you to give to Spencer. We all know what red means."
"Love." Camilo squeaked and Alex laughed. He was touched by their gesture.
"Yes, love. I know how hard it's going to be for all of us when you go home tomorrow." Alex, a usually feisty person who hid their feelings well was standing in front of him trying to collect their emotions.

"But there is one person that this is going to be even harder on, and that's Spence. I know this won't fix everything but maybe it will help him to have something with him that reminds him you love him." Alex said and Camilo was so touched that he leaped forward and hugged them.
"You're a big softie." He teased her.
"Yeah yeah, no crying Madrigal or I'll start too and ruin my make up." They slapped his arm sort of playfully. He laughed.
"I love you, you idiot." He said. Alex laughed.
"Love you more, loser."

At that moment Noah and Eric came through the door bickering about something.. matching ties?

"I just want us to match, Noah." Eric pleaded with him.
"What does it matter if I don't get to see it too, and the chances are they going to turn us a way at the door." Noah snapped back and Camilo noticed Noah's signs, he remembered them well from when he found Noah, beside him in a cell. He also remembered what Noah did to calm down. Camilo demonstrated to Eric the touching foreheads thing that Noah and him did between their cells. Eric nodded as the realisation dawned on his face like he knew that's what helped Noah, he just hadn't thought of it yet.

He took Noah's hands and guided him so they were sitting on the floor. Eric pressed his forehead to Noah's, they joined hands and crossed their legs so their knees touched. Noah let out a breath and as a few tears rolled onto his cheeks he said in calm but sad tone.
"Why does everything I do have to be met with some sort of resistance, all I want to do is go to the prom with my boyfriend and my friends. All I want is for something to be easy, just once." He said as Eric wiped his eyes.

Camilo flopped onto the bed with Claudia and Spencer. They pulled him between them and hugged him. Noah's words hitting them all hard he assumed. He found Spencer's hand and held on tightly.

"I know, Noah. You and all of us deserve something to be easy. And who knows maybe one day it will be." Eric said.

The six of them then ended up all laying on Spencer's bed. Limbs intertwined, heads on laps and chests. All joined, maybe for one last time.

Camilo breathed a bit heavier trying not to let the fact that he was seconds away from tears ruin this moment. But they were already all onto him. They all shoved him into the middle and basically bombarded him with hugs. He was overcome by emotion by then, but Spencer kissed his forehead somehow among the craziness of it all.

"It's not too late for you to move in with mum, Noah and I. You could come work with us at the centre, we could.. we could.." but then Spencer was overcome, a crying mess too. Camilo couldn't get to him but felt better when Noah hugged him tightly.

"He has to go home Spence, his family need him at least for a little while to help in the village, to get things going again after his Abuela." Noah said. "But you'll have a friend beside you until Camilo can come back okay?"
Spencer nodded but Camilo knew his tells too. The fidgeting of his fingers had already started, the gasps for air would be next.
So Camilo tapped the rhythm they did each time into the mattress, slowly they all joined Camilo's rhythm, taping where ever their fingers laid.

A huge smile finally found Spencer's face.
"I love you guys." He sighed.
"Wherever we are, Spence. We will always love you and you'll never be far from our minds." Camilo said but he knew that Spencer would know he meant that Camilo loved him, and he would never be far from Camilo's mind.