Words Can Hurt

Chapter 5

Guapo lay down on the grass, lost in his own world. Bones and Ferdinand watched from afar.

"For someone who can't fly, he's sure got his head in the clouds a good chunk of the time, lemme tell ya." Bones joked.

Ferdinand giggled.

"You're only laughing cause you didn't have to deal with it for two years."

"I wonder what he thinks about when he spaces out like that."

Bones smirked. "Oh, I think I have an idea."

"Did Guapo ever end up telling him?"

Bones shook his head. "But he didn't chicken out this time. Nina needed his help with the groceries."

"Makes sense." But, in reality, it didn't. Guapo already has a soulmate. Why is he pining over Valiente?

Guapo rolled onto his stomach, rose to his feet, and joined Valiente at the water trough. As they drank, Ferdinand noticed that their soulmate strings were connected. Valiente and Guapo didn't have soulmates-they were soulmates!

Ferdinand gasped, his jaw almost hitting the floor.

"What is it, Ferd?"

"OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshIcan'tbelieveit!ValienteandGuapoaresoulmates!!"

Ferdinand squealed happily and skipped away.

Bones tilted his head in confusion, then went in the opposite direction.
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Ferdinand made a bee line for the stables.

"HedgehogsIhavesomethingreallyexcitingtotellyou!"

A pink hedgehog climbed one of the banisters, jumped off, and landed on Ferdinand's nose.

"Where's the fire, big guy?"

If it wasn't for Una sitting on his nose, Ferdinand would've started jumping for joy. "I just learned that Guapo has the biggest crush on Valiente!"

"Well, yeah, dude. It's kinda obvious."

"Tres, what are you talking about?"

Tres rolled his eyes. "Seriously, does no one tell this guy anything?"

"So, what's the plan for getting Guapo and Valiente together?" Una asked, changing the subject.

"I was kinda hoping you guys had one...." Ferdinand sheepishly admitted as a blush began to form. "To be honest, I didn't think that far ahead...."

Ferdinand and the hedgehogs brainstormed for a few minutes. A light bulb went off in Ferdinand's head. "I got it! What if Guapo gave Valiente a flower at the Flower Festival?"

"I dunno, Ferd. Val doesn't really seem like the flower kinda guy." Una reasoned.

Ferdinand nodded. "True. Alright, let's keep brainstorming."
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"Trust me, Bones, Guapo does not want pick up lines from Ferdinand." Paco warned.

"Nah, probably not. Guapo's screwed if they're anything like his jokes."

"Oh, Guapo's so screwed." Paco laughed.

"You better go stop him before he makes a fool of himself." Paco advised as he noticed Bones had begun to leave.

Bones turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I mean, more than he already has."

"Oh, this is my best friend we're talking about. That is definitely what you meant." The playful smirk on Bones' face implied experience when it came to Guapo embarrassing himself, but Paco chose not to ask.
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"Operation Matchmaking is a go!"