Together. (Camilo x OC)

Chapter 1

Present day
Mara sleepily opened her eyes, instantly realizing she was not in her bedroom.
At least not in her parent's house.
She looked to the side, and saw Mirabel snoring away up on her bed. Mara, on the other hand, was on mattress.
On the floor.
"I must've slept over again,"
She thought to herself, getting up and stretching. She looked over to the other bed where Antonio slept soundly. She smiled, remembering today was his gift ceremony.

Wait.
TODAY WAS HIS GIFT CEREMONY!
Abuela probably had so many chores lined up for Mara, and she knew she couldn't spend any more time being idle. She had to start working before anyone else even woke up.
Pulling open the clothes drawer in the corner of the room, she yanked out her spare dress and hurriedly put it on.
Hopping on one leg, Mara slid her sandals onto her feet. Reaching for the door she thought today was going to a great day-

Hair. She forgot her hair.
Slowly backing up towards the mirror, Mara grimaced at her large mass of kinky hair, the hair Abuela had told her a few years ago to 'keep under control.'
Sighing, she combed it down, into an 'acceptable' hairstyle. She couldn't be caught with it out again.
Not after what happened last time.

Mara reluctantly opened the door and left the nursery, careful to not wake Mirabel or Antonio. It was far too early in the morning for all of that.

The rising sun shone and somehow made the flowers around Isabela's door even more attractive, temporarily distracting Mara as she made her way down to the kitchen to start setting out ingredients for tonight's event. Senora Julieta would be down soon, she thought, and would do the cooking.
Just as she opened one of the cupboards, Mara heard a noise from the pantry.
"Who's there?!" She yelled.
A very familiar faced popped out the pantry door, smirking and holding a plate of arepas.
"Camilo, c'mon. Put them down."
"Or what? You gonna hit me with a spoon or something?" He said, laughing.

Mara rolled her eyes and turned back to what she was doing.
"I swear, you're so uptight nowadays, cariño." He muttered.
"No seas tonto, cambiaformas."(Don't be silly, shapeshifter.), she snapped.
Camilo's expression suddenly became very serious, so serious it alarmed Mara a bit.
Slowly setting down the plate of arepas, Camilo started to approach her, a sly smile spreading across his face.
Mara kept edging back, away from him, until she was against the wall.

"What are you doing, Camilo?"
Camilo was coming closer and closer, until his face was almost touching Mara's.
He whispered in her ear,"Te ves linda cuando estás enojada."
You look cute when you're angry.
Slowly reaching into her pocket. Mara pulled out a spoon and hit Camilo's forehead with it.
"Ow!" He shouted, rubbing where he had been hit.
"The hell was that for?"
"Stop practicing all your pick-up lines on me and use it on whatever girl or boy you're after this week."

He laughed. "Ahhh, you got me."
Mara made no reply, and went back to setting out ingredients.
"What are you doing up so damn early, anyway?" He asked, picking up the plate of arepas.
"It's your brother's gift ceremony today, and, as the unofficial househelp of the Madrigal household, it's my duty to start preparing before everyone else wakes up. Did you not remember?" Mara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I remembered. Ain't got nothin' else on my mind."

They both knew he was lying about the last part.

"You've been... feeling yourself lately?" Mara asked slowly, putting the tomatoes in her hand on the kitchen counter.
Camilo looked away.
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"But-"
"Lo digo en serio. Yo no." ( I mean it. I don't. )

Mara continued getting more ingredients, after the heavy mood had settled in the dim kitchen.
"Mara, I didnt mean-"
"It's fine." She said.
"Y'know, after the gift ceremony we're probably gonna have a special breakfast the day after to celebrate. You should come." Camilo, said, changing the subject.
"You know I'd rather be anywhere than my house, Camilo. Of course I'll be there."
"Alright! Don't forget, though."
"Forget what?"Mara inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"You haven't smiled today. And you know what Mirabel says I do when you haven't smiled."
"You won't stop fooling around until I do. I know." She said, finding herself smiling already.

Now, readers, I will stop at this scene, because there is something I must address. Camilo has known Mara for quite a while now, and usually feels happy for her when she smiles, because she is his bestfriend, but on this particular morning, the sun rising and hitting her dark skin, her eyes, made her smile seem different. It made him feel different, in a way he didn't recognize, in a way that made his heart beat a little faster and his skin flush a little redder, this feeling causing him to grab the plate of arepas and leave the kitchen as fast as possible.
***