The Real You (Camilo x Reader)

(2) Imagine

After giving the basket to Mirabel's mom, I stroll around the courtyard in Casa Madrigal, admiring the beautiful building in awe. It was so bright and colorful! Flowers and ribbons hung from the banisters, the tiles and brick were polished and cleaned, and the magical candle, burning brighter than ever, was sitting in Alma's windowsill, watching over the citizens of Encanto. I could feel my lips curving into a grin as I gazed at the beauty of the miracle.

I continue walking around when I trip over a loose brick in the floor, falling forward and into a familiar boy, who I land right on top of. Camilo looks up at me and smirks. "Do you keep knocking me over on purpose or..."

My cheeks become hot, and I get off of Camilo in less than a millisecond. "Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I tripped on a loose brick in the ground." I turn around to point it out to Camilo, but the brick readjusted all by itself, so it was fixed. "What the...?"

Camilo tilts his head. "Are you blaming your clumsiness on Casita?" He asks with a chuckle.

"W-What? No! I swear it moved on its own! ...Wait, who's Casita?"

"Casita's the house. It's magical."

"Whoa..." My eyes sparkle with wonder. I could almost feel the magic of the house within me. Camilo must have noticed this, as he held his hand out to me.

"Come with me. I want to show you something." He softly says. Hesitantly, I take it, and Camilo gently pulls me through the crowded courtyard, and up the staircase to the second floor. He leads me to a ladder and gestures to it. "After you."

I begin climbing upwards and eventually reach the top, which was blocked by a trapdoor. I push it open, and I'm hit by the golden light of the setting sun. I climb onto the roof of the house and smile as the cool evening breeze ruffles my hair. Camilo joins me a few moments later.

"This is...amazing," I say just above a whisper.

Camilo smiles as he walks to the edge of the roof and sits down, dangling his feet off the side. "My mom would probably kill me if she knew I came up here." he chuckles as I walk over and sit down next to him. "I like to escape up here because it's the only place I can go where I know that I won't be interrupted by my family. Sometimes it's nice to imagine-ah, never mind. It's dumb." Camilo shakes his head.

"What? You can tell me. I won't judge."

"Well, sometimes I-" Camilo is cut off by a woman wearing a yellow dress and bright hair tied in a braid. "CAMILO MADRIGAL, WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!!" She screeches from the ground below us. "You're going to break your neck!!" I notice a dark storm cloud forming above her head as she stares at us.

"I'll be fine, mami! Last time I checked I have an aunt who can heal anyone!" Camilo yells down as he crosses his arms over his chest.

I giggle.

"DO NOT MAKE ME SEND YOUR FATHER UP THERE!" Camilo's mom threatens.

Camilo's eyes widen and he quickly stands up. "Okay okay...we're coming...yeesh." He holds his hand out to me and helps me up.

As we climb down the ladder, I can't help but wonder about what Camilo was so hesitant to tell me. Why did he think it was dumb? What other secrets was he hiding?

:-:-:-:-:

After Camilo was lectured about how 'dangerous' his actions were and how it was 'wasn't responsible' for him to take someone else onto the roof with him, I was reunited with my parents, who luckily weren't told about the roof incident.

We were currently standing in the courtyard, waiting for the gifting ceremony to begin. The crowd had formed a path leading to the stairs, so Antonio wouldn't have to fight his way through the jam-packed room. Suddenly, tiny Antonio appeared in the doorway, ready to walk down the path to receive his gift. He nervously wrings his hands together and looks around the room with wide and worried eyes.

I see him look off to the side. He says something (I don't know what) and holds out his small hand. A few moments later, Mirabel joins him and takes his hand. I can hear the crowd murmuring to one another.

"Not her."

"What if she brings bad luck to the gift?"

"She's going to jinx it!"

I feel my fists ball up in anger. If this wasn't such a sacred occasion, I'd go over there and give those jerks a piece of my mind.

Mirabel and Antonio slowly walk down the path together, and I gently wave at Mirabel as she walks by. She smiles back at me. They make their way up the stairs, and finally, reach Antonio's door. As he reaches for the doorknob, I see Camilo out of the corner of my eye, nervously biting his lip. The entire room holds a collective breath, everyone's eyes locked on Antonio. Suddenly, a door forms and a toucan swoops down to Antonio, perching on his arm. I couldn't hear from where I stood, but they almost appeared to be communicating. My theory was proven right as only a couple of seconds later, a flock of toucans soar through the room and up to Antonio, who giggles. Other creatures from the jungle follow, all rushing to Antonio's door.

I smile brightly as I see fireworks going off to celebrate a new gift in the Madrigal family. Bright colors shoot across the sky as the citizens of Encanto all run up to Antionio to congratulate him. I follow the crowd, feeling just as excited as they are.

:-:-:-:-:-:

Mirabel and I sit in the nursery, AKA, Mirabel's room. She was never allowed to move out as she didn't have her own bedroom from receiving a gift. Mirabel groans and holds her head in her hands. "I just don't understand...how did those cracks just fix themselves? Cracks don't just magically repair."

A little while ago, Mirabel had interrupted the party saying that the magic was fading, and the miracle was in danger. After terrifying the entire town, she led everyone outside only for the house to be in the same condition it had always been in. Alma was able to calm down everyone after making a couple of jokes and leading everyone back to Antonio's room, but now everyone seemed to think Mirabel was trying to drag the attention away from Antonio out of jealousy. I honestly didn't know what I believed. "Mirabel, are you sure that you aren't just a teensy bit jealous of Antionio?" I pinch my fingers together, leaving only a small gap between them.

Mirabel shoots me a glare.

"Okay, Okay! You aren't jealous." I place my hand on Mirabel's shoulder. "But if the miracle really is in danger, how do you plan on fixing it?"

The brunette takes off her bright green glasses and cleans them off using her skirt. "I have no clue." She says sounding defeated.

I think for a moment. "Maybe someone in your family has seen something? I doubt that in a household this big nobody's seen anything."

Mirabel's eyes light up. "Of course! You could even ask around in town tomorrow and see if you can pick up on anything unusual."

"Oh...great idea!" I nervously chuckle. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of wandering around talking to random people. I normally try to stay relatively out of people's way, but I could tell Mirabel needed help, and after everything she's done for me, it's the least I could do. "I'm on it!" I give her a thumbs up.

"Thanks (yn)." Mirabel tightly hugs me. "Do you think you could come back tomorrow around late afternoon and let me know if you've found anything?"

"Yeah, I should be free by then."

"Great!" Mirabel smiles. "Thanks for believing in me."