·35·

"How To Speedrun a Confession"

By the time the two got back to the Marquez's house, the others arrived almost the same time they did, just a few minutes earlier.

Ines and Enrique bid their guests goodbye, along with Bubo who sends his farewells through his wife since he needed to go back to his job, and the Madrigals along with Estella did the same – thanking the family for taking care of them.

Walking along the woods, Estella was found up front, leading the way since she vaguely remembers the path she and Enrique took. The three Madrigals, however, who were walking behind her mostly just chit-chatted as they hiked.

Soon, the mountains of the Encanto became more visible and apparent to the four's eyes as they continued to march forward, following the focused, teenage girl.

"Hm, I think we're making pretty good time since we actually know where we're going," Isabela mentioned, glancing at her sister.

"Hey, at least I got us there," She said with a pout, adding, "and don't jinx it, the sun looks like it's going to set soon."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have had to worry about that if someone didn't spend way too much time gossiping with their new bestie," Camilo chimes in, he and Mirabel taking glances at each other and snickering.

"Please, we weren't gossiping, we were just sharing ideas," Isabela corrected, "You wouldn't understand our connection even if you tried," She added, huffing, making Mirabel laugh and Camilo scoff as the three of them slowly start to get close to bickering.

"I'm pretty sure I can understand, I'm not the twenty-one-year-old single female here after all," The boy says in a teasing tone.

"Ho-kay, that is a low blow," Mirabel snorted, stifling her laughter.

"Why excuse me, I'm actually single by choice. Unlike you," Isabela shoots back, "Who'd date fifteen-year-old, little, you?"

"I would," The three of them heard a voice say along with soft and faint chuckling, their heads jerking up to look at Estella who was still walking along as if nothing happened.

Thinking that she just thought about what she accidentally blurted out, she continues to move on without turning back, saying: "Be careful with these rocks, by the way."

Isabela, Mirabel, and Camilo blinked multiple times at each other, wondering if their ears just played with them for that specific moment or what.

"You..." Camilo whispered, his ears starting to get red, "You guys heard that, right?"

Isabela and Mirabel exchanged looks at each other before shrugging at the same time.

"Should I ask?" Isabela grinned, prepared to get her revenge on Camilo and ruin his entire flipping career.

Mirabel nudged her sister, "Ask when Dolores is near so the word spreads fast," She said, the two of them snickering at the blushing boy whose teasing immediately just backfired on him.

Inside the Encanto, Dolores has been getting a lot of attention these past few days ever since their family caught on to the Madrigal grandchildren's plans.

I mean, who wouldn't when there are literally three grown people missing from their household? 

Every hour of the day, she would be asked the same questions by her worried family members, especially her mother, Pepa. She's been worried and anxious about Camilo and her nieces – even the little teenage Cortez that caused all of this mayhem, which is why the weather in the Encanto has been. . . Well, chaotic.

There would be heavy rainfall, light rainfall, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and she even almost made a hurricane.

Then, there's Julieta who's been healing herself a lot, 'cause being absent-minded in the kitchen isn't exactly a good thing.

Dolores herself was pretty anxious as well, always listening carefully in case the four of them would come back. Until of course she finally heard what she wanted. Faintly, since they were still climbing up the mountain with Isabela's help.

"You know," Estella started, playing around with the hem of her blouse nervously. "I feel like I'm going to be in more trouble than I originally anticipated," She says, laughing nervously as they approach the other side of the mountains.

"Why would you think that?" Mirabel asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, I don't know," Estella shrugged, still letting out awkward, nervous laughs. "Maybe just the fact that I snuck out without saying anything to anyone, and then later figuring out the fact that I actually didn't think things through but still went on with it. Therefore, worrying a lot of people and my pregnant mother who I'm supposed not to stress out since it's bad for the babies?"

Mirabel simply blinked at her friend, who was slowly starting to look like her aunt whenever she gets really anxious.

"Sorry, sorry," Estella exhaled, trying to calm down, "I just really didn't think things through when I left."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, you really didn't," Isabela chimed in, making Camilo and Mirabel look at her and sigh.

The four of them were already so close to their town that Estella had to take in a deep breath to help calm and prepare herself.

And guess who the people she saw first?

Her parents along with Alma Madrigal herself.

"Oh boy."

★ ★ ★

"I'm sorry," Estella said with her head down, repeating those two words since the start of her lectures.

Alma sighed, looking at the girl with tender eyes, whose face and demeanor are making it clear that she was really sorry.

"Listen, Estella," She says more gently, Estella's head slowly tilting upward to look at her.

"I know children can be," She paused, "A bit curious at times," Alma finally said, giving her a small smile. "Maybe just... Try telling at least one person next time."

"Si, Señora," Estella answered, nodding as a sign that she understands what she was trying to say.

After that small lecture from Alma and a few short scoldings from her parents, the Cortez family was just on their way back home, when all of a sudden Camilo asked if he could have a word with h̶i̶s̶ g̶i̶r̶l̶ their daughter, Estella.

"Sorry for the trouble," She immediately says, apologizing right away which catches Camilo off guard even though it was expected from her.

"What? No, no, it's okay. We aren't in that much trouble," He tells her reassuringly, letting her let out a breath of relief.

That was it was one heavy thing lifted off her chest.

"It's just," He said, his cheeks starting to flush while his hand travels to his nape, embarrassedly. "About the thing earlier. When you said you'd go– uh– you'd da– uhm..." He cut himself off, about to break down with a mix of nervous and anxious laughing.

With a sense of familiarity, Estella couldn't help but be a little bewildered about the fact that he's looking a lot like how she thinks she looks whenever he says or does something that pulls her heartstrings. Only then that it hit her.

What's he talking about? "Earlier"? Did I say something earlier that I–

Oh, shit.

"Actually, you know what? Maybe this isn't a good time. Let's just forget it," He says, looking like a complete, red, hot, mess that would most likely knock himself out voluntarily just so he could avoid being in this situation anymore.

"No, wait, uhmm," Estella said, putting her hands up, and starting to do weird hand gestures as she continued to speak. "I didn't mean to say what I said aloud, but it's not like I didn't mean it. Uh, Eh, 'Cuz if you're asking if I'd go," She paused, the other words not being able to go beyond her throat, so she simply gestures for the continuation, hoping he'd understand which he did.

"With you," She continued, blushing intensely, "I'd– yeah, I would. Because, y'know," The girl took in a deep breath, before rapping out words out of her mouth like lightning as if she was the 1950s, Colombian, female version of Eminem.

"Just in case you haven't noticed or caught in with it but I've actually liked you for some time now, but it's not like I had the guts to confess so I don't know why I'm just saying all this now all of a sudden just because I blurted something out earlier. Anyway, have a good night, bye."

Camilo stood there in his spot, frozen as he watched her skedaddle just after spewing out a confession like a machine gun shooting out words for bullets.

Blushing intensely, the situation finally sinking in his mind, Camilo covers his face with his hands and starts hiccuping from the embarrassment especially since he knows for a fact that there would always be someone listening or watching. Or both.

He turns around and notices a figure or two upstairs quickly hiding behind the walls. The boy groans and drags himself into his room – giddy from his crush's confession, but not so much about the invasion of privacy he's going to get.

Able to get into his room using his stealth and of course, his shapeshifting powers, he lets out a sigh of relief as he closes his door behind him. He turns his head to the side, facing one of his mirrors, and notices how red he is.

Camilo smiles at himself, and out of nowhere suddenly starts jumping around and hitting the air, a little too happy about the outcome of the past hour's events.

Meanwhile, there's Estella in her room. Desperate for sleep, wishing she'd never wake up anymore. Good thing her mother grounded her.

She knows she should feel bad that she's grounded and that she should contemplate what she's doing with her life, but after what she just did earlier she's just relieved that she has a good reason not to show face to anyone. Especially the Madrigals.

Especially that one specific teenage grandson of Alma Madrigal, named Camilo.

Estella covers her face with her pillow and proceeds to squeal and scream on it, wishing that sleep would pay her a visit.