Crushing On A Madrigal | 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜

·18·

"At La Casa Madrigal"

"A seven-foot frame, huh?" Estella asked, nudging Camilo as the two of them stare and watch Bruno, a cotton ball plugged into one of her nasal holes.

Camilo let out a short laugh, "Did Antonio's rats really act the whole song out?" He asked, remembering how they talked about it a few days ago, before Dolores caught up with them and before the catastrophic events occurred.

"The rats performed the whole song to him. He just told me about it the next day." She tells him, shrugging. "He looked pretty tall to me when I last saw him." Camilo shrugged back, smiling.

"Were you just trying to scare Mirabel?" Estella questioned, scooting closer with her arms behind her back, narrowing her eyes at him. "What? It was an attempt to not make her talk about Tio Bruno." He chuckled, while she only rolled her eyes at him, still smiling. "Yeah, right."

"So, it seems like you're not going to be homeless anymore. Congratulations," She joked, making him scoff. The new house is already halfway done even though it's only been a few days.

How long would you have guessed for almost the whole town to finish helping build the new house?

"All I know is I miss having my own bed," He sighed, already daydreaming about sleeping alone in his room without getting hit in the middle of the night by a heavy hand out of nowhere, sleeping next to his siblings these past few nights.

After saying that, the two noticed how Antonio was excitedly running toward them with the cutest grin on his face. Both Estella and Camilo couldn't help but smile at the sight of the small ball of sunshine. Although Camilo did feel a little betrayed when his little brother came running to Estella first.

But he understood why he did what he did, even he would come running towards the pretty girl first.

"We're making something for Mirabel," Antonio whispered to them, piquing their interest. "Well then, how can I help?" Estella asked, crouching a little, giggling excitedly with Antonio as she softly pinched his cute face while Camilo stood there and stared at his brother in envy.

★  ★  ★

Estella's mother had just arrived a little earlier, to see how her two favorite people were doing after they managed to help out in rebuilding the house. And apparently, she arrived just in the nick of time to witness a new miracle come to life.

Everyone was ushered in by Casita's tiles, right after the house came back to life with Mirabel's touch. The Encanto was back, along with the Madrigals' gifts and the patched-up mountain – its gap, completely fixed as nothing happened along with the broken cracks in the street.

The people made their way inside the house as the Madrigals decided to throw a party to celebrate their new, fresh start as a complete and perfectly imperfect family.

Just as the dark started enveloping the sky, showcasing the beautiful stars, Estella finds herself getting spotted by Camilo, who was carrying a plate piled up with food.

"I know you have an enormous appetite but isn't that a little too much?" Estella joked, gasping in surprise as she felt Camilo's hand snake around her waist. "It's a plate for two, Querida." He said close to her ear, slowly guiding her away from the crowd or any disturbances.

Feeling his breath make friction with her skin, and how his voice sounded so flirtatious when he said those words to her ear made her brain shut down and stop working.

By the time she got back to her senses, she found herself sitting on the steps of one of the casa's staircases. "What? Huh?" She exhaled, turning her head in different directions and wondering how she got there without remembering.

Estella opened her mouth, hoping she could get a word out but failed when Camilo plugged a buñuelo into it. He snickered at her as she looks at him with a slightly displeased face. But it is food, so she isn't that angry.

"I never saw you eat anything close to a real meal earlier." He tells her, "Be grateful I didn't snitch on your parents. They would've probably kept you inside the house for not taking care of yourself." He smiled, knowing how she disliked staying inside when she could be helping out other people besides herself.

Estella swallowed, opening her mouth to shout something back at him only for it to get plugged by an arepa this time. Estella grumbled at Camilo as he laughs at her, very amused.

She rolls her eyes at him as she chews, not being able to talk with food in her mouth since it's considered rude and since she thinks it would be embarrassing if she accidentally spewed her half-chewed food at him or something. Estella looks at the boy unamused, the complete opposite of what he's feeling, and shoots him a sarcastic look.

Ha-ha, very funny, was what she was trying to tell him.

"Camilo!" A voice yelled from just in the hallway upstairs along with the sound of thunder, shocking the two, and making them stand up all of a sudden.

"What have I told you about sneaking food from your Tia?" Pepa scolded, the cloud above her head getting bigger and darker before noticing the surprised girl beside her son, holding a bitten arepa con queso.

"Oh, Estella." Pepa smiled, her cloud disappearing like it was never there. "You never told me it was for Estella," She tells her son, narrowing her eyes at him as he sheepishly smiles at her.

"There you are, you–" Felix piped in, popping up from the side of the hallway where Pepa came from, cutting himself off as his eyes landed on his wife beside the girl his son keeps flirting with.

"Estella, you hungry? I could get Camilo here another plate for you." He says, walking down a few steps to go beside his son and placing an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh, no, it's alright I'm not really that hungry Señor–" Estella spoke, turning into the bashful and awkward state she goes in whenever she talks to literally anyone she isn't close with.

Felix waved his hand at the girl and sputtered while his wife snakes her arms around Estella's, locking them together, making her freeze up, and catching her off guard. "Scratch Señor and Señora, Tio and Tia would be more than fine." Pepa smile, walking her down the stairs while she offers her another arepa she took from Camilo's plate.

"In-laws wouldn't be that bad too, eh?" Felix whispered, teasing his son and giving him a little nudge before grabbing something to eat from his plate and following the two women downstairs.

Both surprised and confused, Camilo looked into the crowd and made eye contact with his sister whose arms were intertwined with Mariano Guzman's. He gave her a look that asked for an answer, suspicious about how their parents are acting.

"Do they know?" He hissed under his breath, knowing Dolores would hear. She only shrugged in response before breaking eye contact, her attention back to the man she was with.

Camilo didn't think Dolores could've snitched on him after she's been doing so well in keeping his little crush a secret. He wondered if he was being a bit obvious about it.

The boy was busy entertaining the crowd at this moment. Although his mind was still focused on Estella. His parents – no, scratch that, his whole family has been dragging her around the place ever since earlier at the staircase.

Camilo crosses paths with one of his older cousins, Isabela, smiling triumphantly at Dolores and Mariano, seeing as she wouldn't have to marry someone she doesn't love anymore and that her cousin is finally living her dream of romance.

"Feeling a little jealous, Isabela?" He teased, changing into Dolores and batting his eyes at her as she rolls hers at him. "Please," She said.

"If anyone's jealous here, it's you." She grinned, a flower popping up in front of Camilo's face, painting his face with green pigment.

"Oh, Estellaaa!" Isabela said in a sing-song voice as soon as she saw the girl in the distance with Mirabel, trying to tease Camilo back as the boy grumbles in defeat.

"What's up with them anyway?" He muttered, leaning against a wall as he tries wiping his face with his hands.

Casita moved their tiles at him in a shrugging motion, I don't know, they wanted to address.