CATRACHA ━ marcel ruiz

xvi. feel a certain way.

*✲ﾟ*｡⋆ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐀 *✲ﾟ*｡⋆
[ xvi. chapter sixteen; feel a certain way. ]

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        The day Elle and Amir were dreading had finally arrived. They were leaving. They were only supposed to go for a week, especially because their school was putting on a special show for the end of the year. Ana had been down the whole day and Elle was still thinking about what Marcel had said earlier. His words echoed in her brain endlessly. "It's not a thing, it never will be." Engraved into her mind, his voice clear as day.

Elle and Amir were packing up their things, already cringing when they thought about all the attention they'd get at school. "Oh, god, a bunch of girls are gonna ask me for his number!"

"I know, and they're just gonna ask if they can come to set or something," Amir added, his tone bitter. "All these fake people."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and into the room stepped Ana. She was biting her lip, a method she used to prevent her from crying. Elle and Amir immediately stood up, hugging her. Elle wrapped her arms around her left side and Amir around her right. Ana's arms were around both of them, a long overdue group hug between the three. The two heard a sniffle, looking up to find that Ana was crying.

"I'm sorry, it's just – you're leaving me." Ana managed to speak, her voice breaking.

"We're not even going to college yet," Elle joked, "but I'll miss you too."

"Aw, who knew Elle had a heart?" Amir teased, a mocking expression on his features.

"Just saying, don't say I didn't warn you when you find a honey badger in your room," Elle threatened, making Ana laugh and Amir whine.

"Okay, um, I was going to tell you," Ana said to Elle, "Marcel's here. He told me he wanted to tell you something before you left."

"Oh," was all Elle could say at the moment. It was a while before she continued. "Bring him up, then."

"Alright, be right back." Ana wiped her tears off her face, knowing more would come when her two best friends would actually leave. Amir disappeared along with her, and moments later, Marcel appeared in the doorway.

Elle was zipping up her suitcase when she heard, "Hey, mi corazón."

She really didn't mean to sound so bitter, but she did. "Hi."

It didn't take an expert to know something was wrong. "I just wanted to say goodbye, since you're leaving and I probably won't see you until June. Hopefully, not that I want you to come. I mean, I do, but you don't have to come because I told you. I just wanted to say bye, why am I still talking?"

Elle laughed softly, her eyes meeting his. "It's fine." She paused, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Cute, actually."

His cheeks heated up, turning a light shade of pink. "Oh, uh, this is new."

"What is?"

"Usually, I'm saying something like that, but now it's you," Marcel explained, sitting down on the couch in the room, "you're pretty good, princesa."

"Thanks." Elle sat down beside him, the small space making them closer than normal. They were like sardines, close enough to feel the rapid heartbeat of the other. A short silence followed, in which Elle mustered up the courage to ask the one thing she'd been pondering the past week. "Did you really mean it when you said we could never become a thing?"

This had taken Marcel back, his head snapped to look at her, but she was looking down at her hands. "What?"

Elle's head turned upward, their faces inches away from each other. "Do you really think we could never be a thing?"

"What do you mean, thing?" He asked, his voice low. "A thing as in..." his eyes widened when he realized what she meant. "I don't know...what do you think?"

"I feel a certain way about you."

Elle Velázquez had never in her life been that brave. Sure, she'd carried a raccoon before, and eaten whatever it was that Amir called soup when she was sick with the flu. But she'd never done anything make that, express herself the way she wanted to. It was hard for her since the only thing she felt most of the time was anger. Anger for not being good enough and anger that she couldn't do things right.

Marcel smiled at her, gazing at her admiringly. "I do, too."

Elle was quiet, a silent celebration going through her. That was another thing that had never happened to her, expressing herself and getting a positive response back. Elle broke out into a smile, one that just wouldn't go away. Then, Marcel was suddenly getting closer to her, a flash of nervousness in his eyes.

She couldn't stand the anticipation of what could be anymore, so she did the dumbest thing she'd ever done. Elle grabbed his face in her small hands, her heart thumping wildly.

"What are you–"

Elle leaned in, cutting him off. Her lips were pressed onto his in an instant. At first, Marcel's eyes were wide with surprise, but after realizing that it was actually happening, his eyes fluttered shut. Elle's hands moved to the back of his neck, feeling his on her cheeks. Fireworks were going off inside them both. The moments leading up to this one finally paying off.

They pulled away, large grins on both their faces. Cheeks rosy, they stood up. Elle was suddenly nervous. "So, this thing between us...you wanna give it a try?"

Marcel grinned down at her, planting a peck on her lips. "What do you think?"

Elle sighed happily, taking his hand. "Wow, Ruiz, never took you for a lady's man."

"This?" He gestured toward himself. "No, I'm Elle's man."

Elle laughed, picking up her suitcase as they made their way out. "If whatever this is goes alright, then you are."

"A guy can dream."

The two made their way downstairs, where their friends were waiting for them. They'd agreed to keep things secret, just in case anything between them went wrong. But they were something at least, and that was enough for them.

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idk what this is but check out my gotham fic after the storm thotties