A Camilo Madrigal Story: Josephine's Dream

Chapter 7: Josephine

 Josephine was scared half to death to find herself all on Camilo's walls. She didn't know if she should be flattered or concerned, but the color scheme of the room was nice.

If it were Josephine's room, she would have been very happy.

But it wasn't her room, it was Camilo Madrigal's room, the boy who she was looking for at the moment. He wasn't in the room, and she guessed it was because the room looked like Josephine's number one fan had thrown up all over it.

Come to think of it, maybe Camilo was Josephine's number one fan. She didn't know if she should gag or blush, so she did something in between, and then ran out of his room, determined to find the shapeshifting boy.

If I were Camilo, where would I go? Josephine wondered, and the one place she could think of was Dolores's bedroom. She knew he often went there when he was having a hard time falling asleep, so maybe he'd needed some comfort and had sought refuge in his sister's empty room.

She tried the doorknob. It opened soundlessly, and Josephine found Camilo lying on Dolores's bed, curled up in a ball and crying audibly.

"Hey..." Josephine started, and Camilo immediately sat up, wiping his nose on his yellow poncho. He didn't look up as he said,

"Hi."

There was a quietness that followed, and Josephine walked over and sat down on the bed beside Camilo. He sniffled awkwardly and turned his head away, embarrassed that she had caught him crying.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, his voice breaking slightly. He took a shuddering breath before he said,

"I didn't want to hurt her." Josephine knew he didn't, she knew it wasn't his fault that Mabel liked him, but she also knew that she couldn't like him back. The number one rule of having a sister: never, under any circumstance, go for the boy your sister claimed.

Josephine couldn't break that rule.

"You know what I'm going to say." She said quietly, and Camilo nodded. He still wasn't looking at her. Josephine wished he would look at her.

"Camilo, you are my best friend. I love you, you know that. But I can't love you like you want me to. Not now, at least." She said. Camilo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and then looked at Josephine through his brown curls,

"If she didn't... would you?" He whispered. The question was vague, but Josephine knew exactly what it meant. She took a deep breath,

"Yeah, I think I would." Josephine said finally. Camilo looked heartbroken and relieved at the same time, and it broke Josephine's heart. He chewed on his bottom lip, and Josephine guessed something was on his mind. He turned his head to face her fully,

"Can... can I kiss you?" He asked. Josephine knew it wouldn't change anything, she knew that if she let him kiss her then she still couldn't have him, even if she really, really wanted to. Camilo looked nervous, and when Josephine slowly nodded her head, he gave her a pained smile.

Even he knew the kiss wouldn't change anything.

He leaned in, and without putting his hands on her, he lightly touched his lips to hers. It was only for a second, but in that one second, Josephine kissed him back.

Camilo pulled away and smiled. A single teardrop fell from his cheek, and he brushed it away with his hand. Camilo slowly reached out and cupped Josephine's cheek,

"Thank you." He breathed, and Josephine felt herself turn red as Camilo retraced his hand. He turned to look away again, and his voice was low as he said,

"You should go."

Josephine nodded, and got up from the bed. She walked to the front of the room, and her hand was lingering on the doorknob. Josephine hated to leave him, she hated that she wished she could have him, but now she had made her point, and now there was no turning back.

But she did look back, just once, to see Camilo staring down at the floor, looking sadder than Josephine felt. Josephine stood there for a moment more,

"Are we good?" She called, sounding more desperate than she had intended. And Camilo hesitated a long time before responding with,

"Yeah, we're good."

And Josephine left the room feeling empty, but a little bit satisfied.

well camilo finally got what he wanted: a kiss from josephine! hope this won't make things weird between them now... 

please comment, i would love to hear y'all's opinions!!

stay safeeee and i love you guys! <3