Chameleon - Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Distant

You begrudgingly get off your bed, rubbing your eyes as you walk to your drawers.

Pepa had asked you to watch over Antonio for a short while, which you were more than happy to do.  Since Antonio had just gotten his gift, Alma still hasn't decided how he can help the town. That being said, while everyone else is working he would just be home.

Antonio is a sweet kid. You watched him grow from a newborn baby to the adorable kid he is now. You loved Antonio, so when Pepa asked you to be his babysitter for today, 'no' wasn't really an option.

Throwing on some clothes, you rush over to casita. You were running late.

Time seems to be going by so fast lately.

Maybe it's because you've got things to do. Maybe it's because you've got someone to help occupy yourself when you did have a break.

All though, lately, that person hasn't been Camilo as it once was.

He's been distant.

Really distant.

It hurt. You would attempt to wave over to him, but he would ignore you and walk away. You went up to his room once, trying to see what was up with him, but the door wouldn't budge. You could see the light reflecting off of his door, signaling he was using his gift before you knocked. Once your hand came in contact with the door, the yellow glow disappeared. The perfect timing confirmed he was in his room, listening to you call out for him and deciding to not answer or let you in the room.

You tried so hard to figure out why he was acting this way. What did you do?

But you couldn't. Nothing you thought of made enough sense to actually be the reason he's avoiding you.

"Hola mija!" Pepa greets you with cheek kisses as she answers the door. "Hola Pepa!" you giggle at the burst of affection.

Letting you inside the house she says, "Thank you for taking the time to come over. Tonito is in his room, we won't be gone for long. Some of the kids are expected to return early today so you two won't be alone."

"Great to know. Antonio is in good hands." She smiles at you, beginning to walk out the door. "I don't doubt that at all. If you need something I'll be down near the river. Or yell out for Dolores and she'll come find me." she says the last bit with a small chuckle. "Bye mija! Thank you again!"

You rush up the stairs after saying goodbye, ready to play silly little games with your favorite 5-year-old.

You knock on the door that was opened within seconds, a tiny figure grasping your leg as he yelped out your name.

"Hola Antonio!" you greet him, picking him up with a giggle. "So, what do you want to do today?"

This left the little guy thinking. What should you guys do today?

He decided to go with the old classic, something you two always seemed to do whenever you played with him.

"Hide and seek!"

You playfully groan. Antonio was always super good at the game, after all, it took you a great deal to find him almost every time.

"Let me guess, you want to hide first?" you sigh, earning an eager nod from him. "Alright!" you exclaim turning to one of the seemingly only 3 walls in his room and covering your eyes.

"1"

You hear a scuffle as Antonio begins searching for his hiding spot.

"2"

His footsteps begin growing farther away.

"3"

His room is so big, there are so many places this kid could hide.

"4"

The realization hits that you never told him to only hide in the room.

"5"

Dios this game is going to last forever.

After finally counting to 20, you turn around. Just looking at the room gives you a headache. How are you supposed to find him when he could be anywhere in the house?

You begin to search the main area of his room, the large tree. No one there.

If he was hiding in his room, the animals would be sure to give it away somehow. There weren't any animals in sight.

You spent a good hour scanning the room for any trace of Antonio before ultimately deciding he wasn't in there.

One room ruled out, like more than a dozen more to go...

You decided to check the main rooms next, starting with the dining room. Looking under the table, in the cupboards, and even behind the piano that was still left from the failed proposal a few months ago.

Nope. Maybe Bruno's old living area? You went back upstairs and through the hole.

As your feet hit the edge of the small board under the pit of fog, you realized the dust was perfectly laid. No footprints. He's not in here either.

At this point another hour or so passed, it's been around 2 hours since the game started and you still haven't found Antonio.

You go back downstairs, passing the kitchen doorway. You hear movement and sounds of chewing coming from inside.

You turn the corner and into the kitchen. "Gotcha!" you exclaim, causing the tiny boy to jump and almost drop the arepa he was holding.

He froze, you going over with a roll of the eyes. "I hate playing this game with you y'know. You're too good at this."

He was unusually... quiet. No happy dance, no bragging about how long he managed to be hidden.

Instead he glared at you.

"Uh Tonito? Is everything okay?"

He didn't say a word, leaving you concerned. "Antonio." you began getting closer, only for the boy to get taller. His clothes turned into a yellow chameleon ruana.

You stood face to face with Camilo, who still, didn't say a word. He walked away, leaving you dumbfounded.

You tried calling out his name, but as he had been doing recently, he ignored you.

Although unknowingly to you, this occurrence left him with an idea.

words: 1013

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