The Real You (Camilo x Reader)

(6) Lightning

Hey Everyone!
I know you're all here for Camilo (Who isn't at this point😏) but I wanted to quickly say Thankyou all for such positive feedback on this story. I literally posted the first chapter a few days ago and now we're already at 1k readers!
So Thankyou so much! Your support means the world to me! 💛🧡

...Alright back to Camilo

"(Yn)! Oh, thank heavens you're alright!" My mother exclaims, hugging me tightly in her arms. "After you didn't come home for dinner your father and I were so worried! You need to give us a warning when you decide to go hang out with your friends."

"Mom, I'm fine, really." I chuckle, trying to wriggle out of my mother's strong grasp.

"That's not what it sounded like from our neighbors. They said Casa Madrigal's magic was out of control!" My dad chimes in. "You could've been hurt, sweetie!"

After the fiasco with dinner, the word about the magic fading was spreading through the town like a wildfire. My parents rushed over to Casa Madrigal as quickly as they could and scooped me up so fast that I could hardly say goodbye to Mirabel or Camilo. Now I was sitting on a wooden bench in our living room, listening to the two of them fawning over and lecturing me. As much as I loved my parents, they were extremely worried about my safety, especially back when we lived in our past home. I guess I could understand why, because we didn't exactly live in the safest place before coming to Encanto.

I sigh. "Dad, I'm perfectly fine. I'm not hurt anywhere."

"This time," Dad mutters. He glances over at my mom, who slightly nods her head. Dad sighs. "(Yn), until the Madrigal family figures out what's going on with the miracle, you are not allowed to leave this house."

I quickly stand up. "No! You can't do that! The Madrigals helped us in our time of need, we should be doing the same for them!" I cry.

"Our top priority is your safety, (Yn)." My mother says.

"Nobody in this town is safe if the miracle dies! How can you only think about yourselves?!"

My dad stomps his foot on the stone floor and points to the stairs. "You know better than to speak to your mother that way! Go to your room."

I let out a huff of anger. Fighting with them was no use. I run up the stairs and into my room. I look out my window out towards Casa Madrigal. I could see lighting going off from inside the house, and dark clouds were forming in the atmosphere. This isn't good.

I go back into my bedroom and open my trunk of clothes. I begin knotting skirts, shirts, and anything else I could find into a makeshift rope, and once I'm satisfied with its length, I pull out the only pair of pants I own. They were just an old, worn pair of brown work pants, that belonged to my dad. They were covered in bright colors of paint from when we painted our house. I figured that it would be easier to climb down a rope in pants rather than a skirt (and I would take any opportunity I was given to wear pants). I put on a pair of old boots, a white off-the-shoulder top, and a belt. I walk to the window ready to make my escape when a small stone hits the side of the wall, only inches away from the window. I peek down and see Camilo, who's about to throw another rock to get my attention. "I thought you would never come." He wittily remarks, placing his hands on his hips.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

Camilo tosses the rock up into the air and catches it. "What does it look like, señorita? I'm busting you out."

My cheeks turn pink. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Camilo shapeshifts into a strong-muscular man and holds his arms out. "By catching you?"

I look back at my rope. I guess my idea wasn't that much safer, not to even mention the fact that if I were to get down safely, the rope hanging out of my window would be a dead giveaway that I was gone. I look back down at Camilo. "Alright! Just wait one second!"

I rush over to my bed and stuff some of my pillows under the sheets to make it look like I was sleeping under the covers. That should buy me some time I think, admiring my work. I kick my clothes-rope under my bed and go back to the window. "How do I know that you won't let me fall?" I ask Camilo.

"You're going to have to trust me!"

I take a deep breath. "Now or never," I mutter to myself. I hop out the window and hold in my scream as I plummet towards the ground.

I suddenly land in a pair of muscular arms, and Camilo shapeshifts back into himself and grins at me. "Told ya I wouldn't let you fall."

I catch my breath. "Thanks." I softly say, still trying to collect myself after my near-death experience. I had to admit, it felt nice to be in his arms again.

Camilo and I both stare at each other for a moment, our faces only inches away from one another's. We both turn equally red upon realizing this.

Camilo gently sets me down. "C-C'mon, we need to find Mirabel if we're going to have a shot at saving this miracle." He says.

"Let's go!"

:-:-:-:-:-:

"Mirabel!"

"Mirabel?"

"Mirabel!"

I sigh in frustration. "It's no use! She could be anywhere...Argh, this is all my fault! I shouldn't have left her all alone during dinner last night!" We had been searching for Mirabel for what felt like a lifetime, with no luck.

Camilo puts his hands on my shoulders. "Look, it's not your fault. I mean, you're not even in this family, why do you care about it so much?"

"The Madrigal family helped me and my family when we had nowhere to go. Your family was there for us in our time of need, so it's only fair that I repay the favor." I explain. I leave out the little detail about how helping Camilo find Mirabel gives me an excuse to hang out with him more.

Camilo gives me a small smile. "Let's go check by Abuela's room."

The two of us slowly walk up the staircase towards Alma's bedroom. I gaze over at the pictures hanging on the walls, all of which were of the Madrigal family. "Are we even allowed up here?" I ask in a hushed voice.

Camilo looks over at me and smirks. "Well, technically she never said that you weren't allowed up here."

I playfully roll my eyes. "You're a bad influence."

Camilo shrugs. "Eh." He replies.

We finally reach Alma's door. Camilo slowly opens up the door and peeks inside. "Mirabel? You in here-" Camilo stops talking.

"Did you find her?" I ask, pushing through the door. "Oh my goodness..." I mutter.

Both pairs of our eyes were set on Alma's windowsill, where the magical candle stood. I had only seen it once before-at Antonio's gifting ceremony-but even I could tell its magic was running out. "Was it always that short?" I softly ask, afraid to learn the answer.

Camilo only shakes his head.

The candle suddenly flickers, causing Camilo's magic to go out of wack, his face going from that of an old man to an infant in seconds. Camilo shakes his head to put his face back to normal and glances over at me while I'm trying to hold in a giggle. "Not a word." He mutters.