"change" - [c.madrigal]

twelve

[ a/n: if you're rereading this, or reading the comments, this is an edited chapter. i was influenced a lot by popular headcannons at the time and decided to assume the character's sexualities, but looking back on it i'd rather not do that, so some things are edited <3 ]

"Cami, you start," I told him, sitting down beside Mirabel and crossing my legs. My fingers toyed aimlessly with the embroidered blue and white flowers on my sea-green skirt.

"Uh, okay..." the boy said nervously. "Y/N, truth or dare?"

I considered it briefly, deciding to go with the lesser of the two evils. "Truth, I guess."

Camilo hung his head, thinking. He laced his fingers together, biting his lip as he concentrated. I found that annoyingly attractive.

"Do you like anyone?" he asked me finally.

I was about to reply with a definite 'no', but something made me pause. I kinda did like someone, and that someone was sitting right in front of me, asking me if I liked anyone, in a game where I was supposed to tell the truth. "No," I replied, swallowing the bitter taste in my mouth. "No, I barely even know anyone in this place."

"What about in your old town?" Camilo asked. "Surely there was a special guy back there, where you used to live."

I shook my head. "No, not really... I mostly just stayed in my room back at my old home, reading or painting or sewing... I kept to myself. I don't like people much."

Camilo raised his eyebrows a little. "Okay, whatever you say, carino, I just figured any girl as pretty as you would have at least one guy, if not more, hanging off her."

My face flushed. Had Camilo Madrigal just call me pretty? To my face?

"Uh, anyway," I said quickly, feeling flustered. I wanted to change the subject as quickly as I could.

"Mirabel, truth or dare?" I asked, turning to look at my friend.

Her glasses glinted in the dim room, and her dark eyes glittered. Her curls fell around her face in perfect ringlets, and her white and blue top-and-skirt combo were stunning.

I suddenly felt self-conscious. Mirabel was so pretty, and beside her, I felt bland and boring. My curly hair was roughly the same length as hers, but the colour of my H/C curls were far less pretty. I had no glasses, and my eyes had always been the wrong colour. They didn't compliment my skin tone as much as I might've liked.

Even though I wore bright colours, trying to add even more vibrance to my clothes with pretty, embroidered pictures, I still felt like I was always just a background character, serving no real purpose and being inadequate to the rest of society. My pale pink top and sea-green skirt would never fill the empty hole in my heart.

I hadn't felt whole since he had died.

"Y/N," Mirabel said, waving her hand in front of my face.

I blinked. "Sorry, what?"

Mirabel frowned a little. "I said 'truth'. You... you kind of zoned out a little."

I shook my head, refocusing. "R-right. Sorry."

Camilo smirked, trying to stifle an amused laugh. I sent a pointed glare his way, and he swallowed back the laugh.

"Okay," I told Mirabel. "Do you have a crush on any guy at the moment?"

Her face reddened, at least, from what could tell in the dark room, with only the green glowing bits of prophecy for light. "Well, not exactly, but ..."

I raised an eyebrow. "But...?"

She flushed again. "Can I have a pass?"

"No." Camilo frowned. "You gotta tell us, Bel."

Mirabel shot him a quick glare, but she sighs. "Okay. Fine. I kind of have a crush, but it's very, very new."

I'm about to ask who, but then there's a bunch of light flooding the cavern. Dolores, Antonio, and a whole lot of animals are standing there.

"Come on, idiots," Dolores said, her hands on her hips. "Get outta there."

<3