Everything (Nothing) Keeps us Apart (Bruno Madrigal/ Original Character)

Chapter 1

Bruno was always in his tower. Except for the meals and times he had to go to the village with his Mama and sisters, the family rarely saw him.

Which was why Julieta was confused when he sat in the kitchen, staring at the window. His smaller body leaned on the window frame as he stared outside, his seventeen year old mind likely wandering, Julieta assumed.

She smiled at the awe that filled his eyes as she walked across the room and set down the dirty plates she had collected from breakfast, joining him beside the window.

"What's up, Bruno? See anything interesting?"

Bruno shrugged, and Julieta wasn't surprised. Her brother didn't talk very much. She glanced out the window herself and saw a couple of girls braiding each other's hair, all of them beaming. Bruno smiled when the one with black hair laughed.

"Ooh. I see." Julieta said with a mischievous grin. Bruno's eyes widened and he whipped around to face her.

"It's not what it looks like!" He exclaimed, but she shushed him.

"It looks like you have a crush on her. I can see why, she looks nice."

Bruno blushed, playing with his ruana. "It's stupid, but she's so pretty. I...I think I like her."

"It's not stupid. I've been dating Agustín for a year now. And Pepa is seeing that guy...Félix? She totally has a crush on him."

"Yes, but this is different! The village hates me! She'll hate me! There is no way that she'll like me back!"

"You don't know that."

Bruno sighed. "I'm a curse, Julieta. No one would fall in love with a curse."

She took his hands gently, placing an arepa in his palm. "You're not a curse, and you need to go and talk to her if you want to know how she feels. You should just go for it."

He ate the food slowly, considering. She could feel the fear radiating off of him in waves, but knew that he had to come out of his shell. And, if he needed to do that, falling in love with a village girl might just be the trick.

Bruno's fingers broke off a piece of the arepa and fed it to a rat hiding in his clothes, Julieta frowning at the realization that the animal was there the whole time. She gripped his shoulders eagerly.

"Bruno. Go wash your face, maybe fix your hair, and go talk to her."

Bruno nodded hesitantly and began to walk away, but she pulled him back.

"And leave the rats at home."

His eyes met hers, and she gestured to his ruana. With a sigh, he took the rat carefully from his clothes and placed it on the counter, grabbing another one from the other side, and two that were hiding on his back.

"I'll see you guys later." He mumbled, petting one lovingly before heading towards his tower. Julieta watched him walk away, proud that he was getting out of his comfort zone for the first time in a long time. The rats sniffed the air around them, until they fixed their eyes on Julieta, and she crossed her arms in defiance.

"Did you really think that clinging to Bruno when he tried to talk to a girl was a good idea?"

"Bruno's going to talk to a girl?" Pepa asked, walking in with a rainbow over her head. "And, why are you talking to his rats?"

"They seem confused. Or angry, I can't tell. And, Bruno's just getting cleaned up and then he's going to talk to her."

"Finally." Pepa said, grabbing some food and shoving it into her mouth. "He hasn't stopped staring at her for days."