hermosa - ruby martinez

02.5

HERMOSA !

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

"HI LITTLE COUSIN." Camila's eye's lit up as she saw her favorite cousin, just a bit older than her. Camila has spent the entire summer with Marco, who had nothing better to do than to visit his mother, who had sent Marco to live with his aunt for the school years since New York had an endless amount of crime. He was not thrilled about his trip, his relationship with his mother faltering from the distance, making arguments over curfew more awkward than they needed to be. Camila's aunt's plan, however, was not full proof. The new area wasn't so good either.

Cami ran to her older cousin, Dani, a beautiful raven-haired short girl, with blooming brown eyes. Dani, unlike her twin brother, stayed in LA on a modeling gig. She luckily got out of the rough town they lived in and made it to the big city, where big-name brand YouTubers lived. Dani was shocked at her thin-waisted cousin, clearly influenced by the city's style. A pair of low-waisted bootcut jeans rested on the girl's thick things, which a thing spaghetti strap tank, adorned with jewels, finishing it off with a new pair of Jordan 4s. It was nothing like how she left. 

"Whoa, what happened to you in the big city?" Camila laughed, stroking the kinky curls that were now a lighter brown. Her eyelashes were adorned with a thick layer of black mascara, gold glitter eyeshadow lightly applied on her eyelids, nicely aligning with her shiny Glossier lipgloss.

"Auntie took me on a shopping spree, decided to change a few things. Also lost a few pounds, say 30?" Camila always liked to keep things literal, rarely asking rhetorical questions, never expecting answers she already knew. The transformation she had was small, essentially, she was anything but fat. A bit more skin, her mother would say whenever her aunt had taken the liberty to use the word fat to describe her niece. Dani ignored the portion of Camila losing weight, nodding tightly before grabbing her other white suitcase before they walked to the pickup area, where Monse, Ruby, and Jamal were waiting.

Monse, who had been waiting to see the crew, especially Camila, excitedly jumped with anticipation, her brace-free smile beaming, and her new grown chacha bingos accentuated to earn glances from guys. Despite their various requests, Monse denied any sweaters from Jamal and Ruby, focused solely on seeing her best friend.

Jamal had never really gotten too close with Camila, only growing a connection to her gorgeous, and slightly older cousin. Despite his fear of what seemed like older teens, he felt safe and happy with Daniella. Jamal was absolutely whipped for the young girl, texting her almost every day while she modeled, and hyped her up on every post. Some of her new model friends saw Jamal as a fanboy, which of course she'd never tell him that they said that, while she saw his hyping up as an incredibly sweet thing to do. Even her boyfriend didn't do that. Ah, yes, the boyfriend, Miles. He sees Jamal as a pest.

Ruby, however, shifting from foot to foot, fluffing his hair constantly, and the tip of his nose was red with anger. He had not talked to Camila since their big blowout before she left. No texts or calls, not even a like on Instagram, or a view on her snap story. He had no reason to be angry with her but felt that if she was angry with him, he should be too.

The small teens waited as they saw Daniella's shiny silver flip flops walk through the airport doors, a girl almost unrecognizable walking right behind her. Almost.

"Is that...?" Jamal whispered, having no filter, and was pleasantly surprised by the girl with small amounts of makeup and good style. Camila, unaware, gracefully took her hair down and let it flow to her shoulders. Everyone in the group gasped, shaking their head. "Oh my god." Jamal's loud voice echoed as he ran to Camila, his long legs striding softly against the air conditioning coming from the airport.

Practically jumping on her, he grinned, both of them beginning to laugh as they slowly molded into a long, sweet, and sensual hug, ignoring the heated glare on them from Dani. Pulling away, Jamal held her. "I thought I'd never see you again!" Jamal joked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Well she's back, so maybe let her go to say hi to her other friends." Dani groaned, jealousy waving through her. She knew her cousin would appeal to the boys more, and her almost violent crush on Jamal would be ruined if her beautiful cousin appealed to him in such away.

Letting go of Camila, Jamal gave Dani a confused look as Camila went to hug Monse. The best friends were incredibly close and were sorrowful when they had to be torn apart for the summer. Finally back, they knew they would rule the boys this year.

Lastly, Ruby stood, just taller than Camila, his curly brown hair damp with sweat and a hidden smile on his face. Camila, who had worked her best to forgive Ruby for the terrible joke that he made, missed her best friend, but was hesitant to approach with a hug. She bit her lip, looking at her new sneakers.

"You look different," Ruby stated softly.

"Lost some weight."

"You didn't need to, Cami." Camila shrugged, pulling a single curl down and letting it bounce. "Sorry 'bout what I said."

Nodding, Camila shrugged slightly, kicking her feet. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course not."

____

"Saw Mario when I arrived."

The walk had been silent for a while until Monse spoke up. Accompanied with pearl teeth and a new set of boobs, she had been catching the eyes of many of the men in the neighborhood. Now, Camila had been catching eyes too.

"You just reminded me I have my own room!"

"Now you can get with girls at any time Ruby!" Jamal exclaimed, smiling. Camila scoffed, rubbing her arm slightly. Ruby gave Jamal a stern look, smacking his arm before talking again, though they all knew that it was Camila he was talking to.

"I don't just want to get with girls, Jamal. I need my own space, it's not all about sex."

"It always is with you boys." Camila had her fair amount of run-ins with city boys, who smoked in abandoned buildings and had larger friend groups but never actually considered them friends. These interferences plagued her ideas, annoying her when it came down to the boys she has known her own life, truly showing off just how much testosterone plagued their small bodies. Camila shook her head before hearing a plethora of whistles. The group turned to see the bright red car that Oscar drove around, Cesar in the passenger seat.

"There's Cesar, I should go talk to him." Jamal and Ruby became alert quickly at Monse's words, shaking their heads as she walked over to him. Camila, who had no idea of what had happened this summer, walked with Monse as well. They went to the red car, smiling brightly at their friend.

Oscar commented on Monse's new look, before staring down Camila. "Ay, mámi. You look muy fantastico." Camila, with an angry glare, rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, looking to Cesar. Cesar and his older brother never seemed as close, but then again, Camila was never watching Cesar, and his background life, as much as the others did. She looked at him with almost a plea: say something. However, he let his boyish ways overcome him, his eyes widening at what seemed like a new person, and he smirked before biting his lip. Monse noticed the interaction, glaring at Cesar. Her usual self, in the privacy of a moment shared with just him and her, would be to throw a fit, shedding her kind skin to her aggressive, jealous self, before being peppered with kisses. However, with the state of her and Cesar's relationship being unknown to Camila, she gave a curt teeth sucking before speaking. .

"Hi, Cesar." A small two sentences, causing a slight flare-up on Cesar's ears before he audibly sighed, looking towards the dashboard.

He ignored her, and they continued to drive, leaving Camila and Monse to jump back before the car could roll over their feet. "What the hell was that?" Camila looked to Monse, then back at the car gliding down the street. Monse, who was equally confused shrugged, staying silent. "Okay, how much have I missed?"