Make You Smile (Camilo Madrigal x Reader)

Never Gone

Mirabel grinned as she raised her eyebrows in agreement, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "More time to think, then."

You felt your heavy eyes slowly lift themselves open to a figure looming over you. You jumped awake, startled, and heard familiar laughter ring out.

"Didn't mean to scare you," Mirabel said through her chuckles. "Time for breakfast!"

She turned around to her dresser and threw you some more clothes to change into.

It was like nothing happened.

"You really trust me, Mirabel?" Your question filled every possible space in the air, every crack, every crevice.

She turned around, her face stern. She was sure of herself.

"Of course I do," she assured.

You closed your eyes, taking a shaky breath in.

"Thank you," you said with a calm quietness. "Not everyone is so understanding."

Her brows furrowed as she processed your statement.

"I'm sure he'll come around, Y/N," she said as she realized who you were referring to. "He's just scared."

"I know," you replied, beginning to put on the clothes that Mirabel had thrown you.

"Come on," she proposed with a sudden smile, "let's get to breakfast."

You nodded in agreement as the two of you made your way out of the nursery and down the stairs.

You felt every inch of your body begin to tighten as you made your way closer to the table.

What if they know? What if I'm not innocent? Do I have to face Camilo?

The fear took hold of your heart, clawing its way up into your throat. 

As you turned the corner, you came to realize Camilo wasn't there.

You weren't sure whether to be upset or relieved, but either way, you took your regular spot at the table with a smile as casita pushed a plate of food towards you.

No one mentioned anything. Nothing was amiss.

You felt yourself calm down with every bite you took. As the commemoration for Pedro, plus the anniversary of the miracle was tomorrow, most of the chatter was about the planning for the event. You were assigned to help Mirabel with some 'decorating', although you knew she wasn't going to be allowed to do much, so you assumed you didn't have much on your plate either.

You drew a sharp breath in as you were about to take another bite, almost choking on the crumbs that shot down your throat.

There he was.

Camilo came around the corner, lifeless. He let his hair dangle in front of his face, hiding the dark circles under his red, puffy eyes. He took his place across from you, his stare cold and dull. It didn't take long before he pulled his gaze completely away from you, leaving no chance of him looking back. Not a single word was uttered by him the entirety of breakfast.

This was a Camilo you didn't recognize. This wasn't the fun-loving, teenage boy that did anything he could to make your day even a little better. No, this was a spiritless, scared, hurt boy.

---

As everyone finished up and it was time to be excused from the table, Camilo promptly stood up without hesitation, making his way over to the kitchen.

Mirabel turned to you, her face full of ideas. "Alright, so I was thinking-"

You didn't face her. Instead, you focused your sights on somebody who should probably be left on his own.

"Yeah, for sure," you mumbled in the middle of her sentence. "Hey, uh, hold that thought Mira, okay?" You said as you stood up, walking towards the kitchen. You were already too far before you could hear her reply.

Your footsteps lightened as you got closer to the entrance, peeking your head around the corner. You saw Camilo pumping the water on, holding a glass near the pipe as the water began to run.

His head popped up for just a moment to see who was entering his vicinity, his head quickly hanging forward once again as he realized it was you.

"Hey," you softly greeted him.

He said nothing.

"Can we talk?" You weren't sure why you kept speaking. You knew you weren't going to get a response.

After another few moments of silence, he harshly set his glass on the counter before beginning to walk towards you.

"So you're just going to give me the silent treatment now?" You couldn't help your frustration. You knew your truth, and it killed you that he wasn't convinced. You needed him back.

"Yep," he muttered as he made his way by you.

You were astonished he said something. Was it progress? Not necessarily, but at this point, you'd take anything you could get.

You turned around to face him as he continued to walk away.

"Can we at least talk about what you sai-"

"Nope," he immediately interrupted, turning the corner and leaving your sight.

You took in an acute breath as you clenched your hands into a fist, your face heating up.

Don't start, you thought to yourself, unclenching the grip you had on the insides of your palms and exhaling the tense breath.

You quickly made your way out of the kitchen, setting off to help Mirabel with her plans. As you turned the corner without looking, you crashed into a figure headed directly your way.

"Sorry Dolores!" You examined your surroundings, making sure you weren't the cause of any damage.

"You're alright, Y/N," she politely replied. "Good thing you didn't catch me when I had Abuelo's things," she joked. You felt your face turn red. 

That would have been bad, you realized. I can't spend all this time letting Camilo flood my thoughts.

"Right," you responded. "That reminds me, I better go help Mirabel," you mentioned as a way to say goodbye.

Dolores nodded as she continued walking to her destination.

As you watched her walk away, you remembered how she took you in. How she knew every word of your most vulnerable moment. Every word. 

An urge came over you. You just had to know.

"Wait," you called out. Dolores stopped in place and looked back at you in questioning.

You hesitated, not knowing if you really wanted to find out. "Is my má still here?"

Dolores didn't say anything as she took a moment to focus her listening, shifting through the village trying to find an indication that your mother was here.

You could tell when she had caught something, her face fixing towards you.

"Yes," she answered. "She's getting goods at the market."

Dolores began walking once again as you stood there frozen. You weren't surprised that she wasn't gone, but... you were. 

There was too much going on. You could feel yourself spiralling, like watching a glass fall off the edge of a table in slow motion.

"Hey, there you are," you felt a hand brightly touch your shoulder from behind. "Come look at my plans!"

You turned your gaze to Mirabel, relief washing over your face.

"Sure, of course, Mirabel. Let's go."