It all started with a Mariposa

Camilo's Hidden Emotions

Mirabel and I dashed after the rats. They were carrying the pieces of the vision! We had to get it back. Plus, we don't even know where they were going. Maybe they were going to lead us to some sort of clue to save the miracle! 

We turned, following them around a corner... but they were gone. "I could've sworn that I saw them come over here." I heard Mirabel mutter. Just then, thunder and lightning crashed from the opposite side, echoing throughout the house. I turned to see that it was coming from a room below us. 

It must've been Pepa. 

Mirabel saw it too, and it looked like she was debating on whether she should check on Pepa and lose the rats or follow the rats without checking on Pepa. She seemed torn. It didn't help that some of her family weren't too eager to see her moments ago. 

I caught sight of the rats squeezing behind a portrait. "You go." I told her. "I'll check up on Senora and catch up with you." 

She smiled gratefully. "Thanks (Y/n)." She said, before lifting up the portrait and following the stolen vision shards. 

I ran around a corner, darted down the stairs and jogged over to the room. And just in time too. Pepa was pacing around in circles, a small tornado similar to the one that she created before Antonio's ceremony was surrounding her. 

I heard a loud bang that seemed to frighten her, causing a loud crash of thunder to occur from behind her. I turned. The kitchen was that way, wasn't it? 

Deciding it would be better to get rid of what was frightening Pepa rather than scare her myself and get zapped by lightning, I walked into the kitchen. "What's going on in here?" I asked. "Is everything alright?" 

Pots and pans were scattered across the floor. A small, grey kettle seemed to be boiling water, and there was Camilo, frozen for a second. His hands were holding some sort of tea bag. 

He 'unfroze' from his position and continued with what he was doing, ignoring the items on the floor and pouring the boiled water into a cup. 

"Oh. It's just you." He muttered. What was that supposed to mean?

I ignored his comment and picked up the pots and pans on the floor. Though it was obvious, I asked him what he was doing. 

"My mom's been frantic because of what happened earlier." He explained. "It was a hassle just trying to get her here. I'm making tea for her to calm her nerves." 

"Ah. I see." I said as he started to sprinkle some sugar into the beverage. That was sweet of him. 

"A lot of weird things have been happening so I thought I'd take matters into my own hands." Camilo muttered. 

I hummed a response, picking up the last pan and placing it into its proper drawer. 

Camilo just seemed to notice that I was helping him clean up. "Hey, don't touch that." He said sharply. 

I quickly pulled my hands away from the drawer, bringing them to my face in a surrendering gesture. "Oh. Why not?"

"I don't want things to get messed up." He mumbled. "Like I said, weird things have been happening around here without explanation. Gotta be careful."

I lowered my hands to my sides and looked at the drawer. What he said made sense, but something about his tone made me feel like he was talking about more than just the weird events. 

"...Right..." I let out. "Then, is there anything I can help with?" 

"No." He said softly, shutting down the topic as soon as it came up.