The two girls walked quietly through the town, though Isabela constantly threw up a fake smile when the people around them continuously smiled and offered her greetings. They gave a few to Carla as well who only seemed to wave, but kept her eyes on Isabela who was still ahead of her.

"Mi bebé!" Carla didn't seem to notice they were actually at her home until her mother called out to her, which of course lead her to smile.

"Mamí…" she let out a groan as she watched the woman who raised her come over before quickly pulling both girls into a tight hug.

"Nice to see you Isabela, you don't visit often. You really should." She pinched her cheek for a second before pulling away and suddenly throwing an apron on her daughters face.

"Mama!" She yelled and pulled it off only to see both her best friend and her mother laughing at her. She quickly glared at Isa before giving her mom a look, who simply chuckled more before tilting her head and leading them inside the house. It wasn't anywhere near the size of Isabela's casita, but it was more than enough space for Carla and her parents.

"Okay mija, why don't you and your dear Isa go finish the meal I was making while I head to the shop?"

"Ah wait, we came to help with the shop…" Carla stopped when her mama just went to the kitchen to fetch another apron.

"You know how I feel about you being there unsupervised. I already started cooking so someone needs to finish it, besides, no offense to you cariño," she looked at Isabela with a small smile before turning back to her daughter, "but we both know we couldn't leave her in the kitchen. Despite her mother being Julieta, she has absolutely no cooking skills."

At that Carla cracked a smile before laughing, ignoring the way Isa rolled her eyes but she also couldn't help but smile. Seeing Carla laugh always lightened her own mood, even at her own expense sometimes.

"Well, since we've agreed…"

"We didn't."

"You both can stay here and finish up while I head out." The older woman leaned closer to kiss them both on the head before leaving.

"Well, I guess I'm cooking. You can be my moral support." Carla chuckled and put the apron on while heading into the kitchen and Isa just rolled her eyes again before following her.

Once they were there they both saw the ingredients on the table, along with the brewing pot on the stove.

Carla shrugged and walked over to the pot and looked inside. Isabela watched as her eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it just looks like mamí was making some ajiaco. But it's already finished? What did she want us to add?"

Isabela chuckled, "Maybe she just wanted to keep you out of the shop?" She joked and Carla gave her a playful glare before sighing.

"Whatever, I guess we can add some chontaduro maybe?" She asked and Isa perked up at that, making her best friend chuckle. It was one of her favorite fruits after all.

"Do you think you can cut them up and remove the pit while I start up the pan so we can make chips." As soon as she finished talking Isabela quickly nodded and went into their fridge.

The two girls worked together pretty easily, making small jokes every now and then, but mostly focused on their tasks. Once Isabela had finished cutting up the chontaduros she just sat and watched her best friend fry the fruit.

She couldn't help but admire her though, this was the very girl that so many people in town disliked because of how 'wild' and 'unpredictable' she was, and yet, Isa never thought of Carla that way. The girl was extremely predictable, and despite her love of dirt and messes, she could be extremely feminine when she wanted and really soft and adorable. They were sides of her that Isabela was glad she got to see often.

Her thoughts were cut short when a small plate is placed in front of her, making her look up at Carla's smiling face. Her face flushed as she quickly looked down at the plate so she didn't start to stare. Honestly she wondered how she doesn't have heart problems with how often her heart rate spikes whenever she sees Carla up close.

"I made a small plate for you."

Isa had a small plate of the chontaduro chips they just made, but she didn't even notice when Carla made her a small bowl of the ajiaco too. She didn't hesitate to bite into one of the chips, and wasn't surprised by how good they were. She let out a small moan and looked back at Carla who had pulled back and had a small blush on her cheeks with her smile.

"I'm happy you like it." She took off her apron and started to make herself a small bowl of ajiaco before sitting next to Isabela so they could eat together.

"After we finish eating we should probably go meet Mariano." It was an offhand comment but it caught the flower girl completely off guard after she had just taken a bite of her soup. She started to choke a bit and Carla looked at her confused and concerned until she cleared her throat.

"Are you okay?" The 18 year old asked quickly,her hand on the other's back, ready to pat if she started to choke again.

"Yeah, I just didn't know you wanted to see Mariano is all…"

At that, Carla gave her an even more confused look.

"Señora Alma told you to see him today remember? You said you would."

"Ah, yes, of course."

After that they ate quietly in silence, though Carla didn't like the way Isabela seemed to not want to look at her. Once they both finished she took a deep breath before getting up and taking their dishes to the sink to wash them. Even while doing so Isa didn't say anything and she knew something was wrong. Once the dishes were washed she put them away and then proceeded to wrap the chontaduro chips up and sat them on the counter next to the ajiaco she had already placed in a bowl for her mama.

Even after all that Isabela was still sitting down and looking at the table with her eyebrows furrowed together which just irritated the other girl.

"This is ridiculous…" She mumbled before practically stomping over to her best friend, turning her chair around and then quickly cupping the 19 year olds face in her hands.

She would've laughed at how startled the other looked if she wasn't upset.

"Isabela Madrigal." At her full name Isa quickly sat up straighter, which was weird since she was already sitting up straight, it was like a habit she had. Sometimes Carla wondered if she even knew how to relax, but then she remembers how she always seems to be watched and used as an example for everyone else in the village and she always lets it go. The same way she let go of the fact that she knew that when they were kids, Isabela wanted nothing more than to join her whenever she got messy or played however she wanted. Isa always had this look of longing when she saw how messy her clothes were from actually planting her own flowers, or from playing with paints or colors to make a picture.

"Isa, mi encantadora Isa, will you talk to me? Do you not want to see Mariano? Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry if I did." Carla watched as Isabela bit her lip and slowly removed her hands from her face which only made her worry more that she had upset her best friend somehow, but instead of dropping them she just held both of her hands in her own for a few seconds before she then brought one hand to her face and placed a kiss on it.

In that moment Carla felt herself freeze and her entire body shutting down. Her cheeks were practically glowing, but right after she was snapped from her embarrassment by Isa.

"I'm sorry. Lo siento, lo siento…" She was muttering apologies and it just made Carla more worried.

"Isa? Why are you sorry?" It seemed as if her question would be ignored as Isa simply apologized some more and offered another kiss to her other hand.

"Te quiero mucho…" It was mumbled and so quiet that Carla wouldn't have heard it if there was any other noise in the house. Her eyes snapped down to her best friend of 11 years.

"I know, me too." She smiled and hoped that it would be enough to calm the other girl down, but she seemed to just shake her head as if that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Isa? We talked about this last week didn't we? You said…" It seemed the more Carla spoke the more Isa shook her head as if she wanted her to stop talking.

"Lo siento, lo siento, perdóname por favor."

Carla didn't say anything this time, she didn't know what Isa was apologizing for and it seemed she couldn't make it better by saying anything. She took a deep breath before quickly pulling her up into a hug. She wrapped her arms around Isabela completely, not letting her go and just rested her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"I'll forgive you. I don't know what you did, but I'll forgive you. We don't have to talk about it right now. We don't even have to see Mariano right now. How about we just go visit my mama in the shop right now? Or we can even just go back to the casita and hide away in your room."

It seemed like that finally pulled the older girl out of whatever she was thinking about because she nodded and offered a smile.

"We should probably fix you up." Isa spoke when they pulled away to reach for her hair.

"Me? You're the one who just had a break down all of a sudden!"

Isabela rolled her eyes and gave her a look. "And yet I still look perfect, your hair on the other hand…" She trailed off and Carla reached up to her braids and felt how messy they actually were.

"When did they… The apron!" She realized that it must've gotten messed up when her mom threw the apron on her head and she pulled it off. She then glared at Isa who was grinning.

"You've let me go this long without fixing my hair? What kind of friend are you?" She asked sarcastically and Isa offered her a blowing kiss.

"The best kind." They both giggled at that before Isa actually came over and started to take out the braids so she could redo them. When Carla first started wearing her hair in styles Isa was disappointed, but she soon came to realize that her styles rarely lasted through a full day without her messing it up one way or another. That's when she started to ask Carla's mom to show her how she actually did her hair. Whenever the two weren't busy they would just spend time playing in each other's hair.

Isa couldn't help but love the way Carla completely relaxed while she redid her braids. Her hair was extremely easy to manage, despite the loose curls that never seemed to go away no matter how much you brush it. She also liked that Carla kept her hair shorter than most other girls in the encanto (not counting Mirabel), it reached a bit past her shoulders, but she found it easier to manage that way. Isa couldn't help but agree since she knew the hassle of keeping up with her long hair.

"Alright, that's better." She made sure to still leave a strand out the way Carla always has it. Carla turned to face her and smiled.

"You're so helpful Isa. The Madrigals should watch out, I might steal you and keep you all to myself." After that she giggled and headed to the door, not noticing the way Isa's smile fell a bit before she plastered another onto her face.

Carla would never realize how much she wished for just that to happen.

"Come on let's head back to the casita." Isabela followed behind her as they left, Carla deciding not to lock the door while her mom was just at the shop which was technically a part of the house, but also kind of connected the same way a garage is on the side of a house.

They passed by a few people who were just walking around, and some who were heading to the shop. Both girls waved as they walked by. The benefits of living farther from the casita meant fewer people in the area, though the closer they got, the more people started to notice Isabela and give her attention. Some stopping to have small conversations with her, others asking her to make certain types of flowers for them.

Carla was used to this type of thing so she didn't say anything as she watched a new person come up to them and only speak to Isabela every few feet. Her eyes couldn't help but dart to the men and boys whose eyes would linger on them longer than she would like. She wanted nothing more than to grab Isa's hands and show everyone that they're together, even if they can't say romantically, maybe some people would stop pushing her to the side if they were obviously travelling together.

She silently sulked to herself before she noticed Mariano approaching from the corner of her eyes. She looked back at her best friend who was preoccupied by the single mother who had asked for roses for her daughter. Her eyes widened as she noticed there suddenly was a line around them. It only had about 7 people, but Isa would not be able to get away from Mariano if she did all their requests.

When Carla looked back for Mariano, he seemed to have noticed them. In all honesty she didn't mind the boy that much. He was only 2 years older than herself, and he was always nice to everyone, including herself. She hadn't talked to him much since they were younger truthfully, she spent most of her time with Isa, but she doubted that he changed much. He just always seemed like a really dependable young man.

He was walking over to them and Carla was conflicted. She still didn't know what caused the breakdown earlier, but it might've had something to do with Mariano. It also probably had something to do with her, but she wasn't sure exactly. Before she could do anything, it had seemed that Isa noticed him herself, if the more forced than usual smile on her face was anything to go by.

It seemed she could do nothing but watch as Isabela stepped away from the crowd and towards the young man who had a smile on his face. Her best friend gave her a glance that seemed to convey so many emotions, but the most prominent was guilt, but afterwards her face went right back to practiced smiles.

Carla sighed because most likely that meant Isabela would be preoccupied for the rest of the day. She turned to head back to her house but suddenly froze as she heard Mariano actually speak.

"I'm so happy I found you Isabela. Señora Alma told me that you were free tonight for a date, and I was hoping that we could walk around the town together and get to know each other more." He sounded so hopeful but Carla couldn't focus on that. She turned back around and saw Isabela just as frozen as she was. She was silent for a few moments and Mariano's face shifted with worry.

"Isabela?" He called her name softly and she just nodded. Carla felt her heart stutter as Isabela didn't even look back at her as the young man started to beam at her.

"That's wonderful! Señora told me to be there by 5, I'll see you then." He walked away but neither girl moved. Isabela was still facing the way that Mariano left, and Carla was still staring at her.

"Isa?" She asked softly, confused, and hurt. A date? Why would she go on a date with Mariano? Weren't they together? They weren't official but still. This was a mistake, it had to be.

"Isabela." She took a step forward and called her name again, this time more clearly, but that seemed to be a mistake. It seemed to make people realize that she was no longer busy talking with Mariano and they could get her attention again. The line quickly reformed with even more people than before and Carla felt frustrated beyond belief at the obviously fake smile on Isabela's face as she was ignored.

"Fine." She mumbled before she stalked back off to her own house. If Isabela wanted to ignore her and go on a date with stupid Mariano then who was she to stop her. Obviously her feelings didn't matter to the other girl anyway.

While Isabela stood in a crowd of people with a familiar and overused smile on her face, her eyes lingered sadly on her best friend angrily leaving her behind.