Hi there!
If you're rereading, then you'll notice quite a few changes to the story. I won't spoil it for those who are new, but you'll notice changes to the length of chapters and my original plot. Story starts before the movie.
Enjoy and consider leaving a comment! I love feedback.
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"Song in spanish."
Thought and spanish convo.
"(English translation of song)"
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Chapter One
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Once every four years, the people of Encanto would forget their worries and allow themselves to have fun. El Festival de Luces, it was called. There was music, lights, dancing, food, and merriment all around. The townspeople enjoyed The Madrigal's coming to mingle, too.
"Julieta, why—um—why do I have to be here? These people don't exactly like me…" whined Bruno Madrigal as he carried a plate of bandeja paisa. Julieta scoffed with a smile at her brother's complaint.
"We do so much for these people, Bruno. The least we can do is party with them. Make friends, you know?" she elbowed him lightly, nearly throwing him off balance. "Besides, Pepa wants us to say hi to her secret novio."
A storm cloud quickly appeared over their third sibling, "He's not my boyfriend!"
"You're not good at lying," Bruno sighed. He raised a brow questioningly at the food he was carrying. "Who's the extra plate for, anyway?"
"Oh, the Ruiz family; Lupita y su hija, Katerina. They're...a special case," Julieta's smile saddened slightly. Bruno and Pepa exchanged looks before shrugging in unison.
"Well, I guess I'll—uhm—just tough it out…" the male of the trio muttered.
When the three of them got to the city square, they were greeted by folks dancing, singing, and carrying paper lanterns. Julieta, Pepa and Bruno stopped at the fireworks stand first.
"¡Hola, Seńora Ruiz!" Julieta beamed up at the darker woman. Her black hair cascaded down her back like a river of coal. Bruno furrowed his brows at her appearance, wondering if he had ever seen the woman before, but to no avail.
"Hello there, Julieta," Lupita chuckled, "My, how you all have grown! Brunito, ¡muy guapo! Pepa, que hermosa." Bruno's cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment and Pepa beamed brightly.
"I brought a plate for you and Katerina, just in case you need it," Julieta clarified quietly. Lupita nodded understandingly, hiding the food behind the firework stand.
"Muchas gracias, cariño," she pinched the girl's cheek for a second. "Katerina is off painting near the fountain. Fèlix should be there, too, Pepa." The older woman winked in the redhead's direction before turning back to her stall. Pepa snatched up Bruno and Julieta's hands and pulled them along.
Near a stone fountain was a small group of kids around their age, swinging and dancing to the beat of the music. Bruno flipped his hood on and tried to sneak away but his sisters pulled him into the crowd. Pepa managed to grab ahold of her "boyfriend" and pull him close. Julieta and Bruno said their hellos then were left to their own devices as Pepa went off to dance with her partner.
"Are you sure I can't just...leave?" Bruno fidgeted nervously. Julieta shook her head and giggled.
"Lighten up, Bruno. Go decorate a lantern or something while I hand out food," she shooed the boy away. He sat there innocently, emerald eyes widened in both shock and horror at the fact he had just been ditched by both his siblings at a party. A good five minutes later, he took Julieta's advice and went off to find a lantern to paint.
The festivities only seemed to grow more spirited as dawn faded into night and the sky turned deep blue and black. Bruno had been looking for a quiet place to sit but had no luck as there seemed to be people in every nook and cranny of the town.
Just as he began to question whether he should just go home or hide under a table, he noticed a strange girl sitting on the rim of the fountain. Not strange in her looks, but strange in the sense he had never seen her before. Then again, he rarely left the house these days.
A few strands of her raven hair draped over her face as her pale blue eyes concentrated on the lantern she was painting. Unconsciously, Bruno found himself walking towards her to take a closer look. A finely detailed dragon of deep blue winded around the black paper that had been speckled with white like stars in the night sky.
"Beautiful…"
The Madrigal boy flinched when he realized the voice he heard was his own. The girl peeked up at him through thick lashes that made her azure eyes that much prettier.
"Your paint...Your painting, it's – uh – beautiful," he cleared his throat. The girl stared for a beat, almost as if she wasn't sure he was talking to her.
"Thank you," she finally answered after a long moment of awkward silence. She nodded towards his paper lantern, "Yours is blank."
"Yeah, well, I'm not the artistic type," Bruno chuckled at his own joke. He felt a bead of sweat roll off his temple when she didn't laugh back. Instead, she gave the stone next to her a little pat.
"You don't have to be artistic to paint. Just put what you feel on the paper and let the colours do all the talking," she explained optimistically. Bruno paused, wondering if her offer was true or if she was going to play some mean prank on him.
"What I feel, huh?" he mumbled thoughtfully. The girl handed him a paintbrush then watched him pause above the pallets. "How do I draw existential dread?"
The stranger was quiet for a second before bursting into a fit of laughter. Bruno let the melodic giggles fill his ears and ring in his head until he couldn't help but join in.
"Maybe start with a flower or something," the girl smiled brightly as she finished up the tail of her dragon. Bruno chuckled nervously as he dipped his brush in the paint and created random strokes along the paper.
While his hands worked, he found himself sneaking glances in the direction of the girl. Her curls bounced as she suddenly let out an airy laugh.
"If you want help, all you have to do is ask," she sat her own lantern down and shifted so she could see his work better. Bruno's eyes widened a fraction as he stared at her hands that sat atop his. She guided him for a bit, stopping when Bruno whispered something under his breath.
"I...um, I said that you're—well, your hands are like really soft," he said nervously. After a second, a small smile graced the girl's features.
"Gracias, Madrigal," she hummed.
"H-How did you…You know who I am?" Bruno's big doe eyes brought a smirk to the girl's lips. Her answer was interrupted by the rough clearing of a throat.
She held her lantern close as a tall, dark man stood in front of her. Bruno felt his throat dry up as he recognized the man as a local bartender. Scary, he thought. El hombre stared at the girl with a strange glint in his blue eyes, causing her smile to fade.
"Sorry, Madrigal, I've got to go," she kept her eyes on the ground as every muscle in her body tensed up. "Buenas noches."
"Uh, yeah, right…Buenas noches," Bruno waved nervously. The girl's wrist was grabbed by the man, who led her away from the dancing folk. As he watched the two of them walk away, Pepa, Fèlix and Julieta snuck up behind him.
"Does Brunito have a new girlfriend?" Pepa wiggled her eyebrows and elbowed him in the ribs.
"Pepa! I — What?! — No, it's not like that, I just met her!" stammered the curly-haired fortune-teller. Fèlix and Pepa shared a knowing look, having said the same thing before. Bruno hid under his hood and looked to the ground, cheeks bright red from embarrassment.
In just a few minutes, he found himself fascinated and captivated by this strange girl and trying to remember every little detail he had learned during their encounter. She was mysterious but inadvertently so, only making him want to learn everything about her even more. It didn't hit him until the end of the festival that he was so caught up in the moment that he forgot to get her name.
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The next day, Bruno uncharacteristically offered to help Julieta carry some food down to the town. She didn't need the help and knew he hated being around all those people who would only say mean things about him, but she almost could see the excitement in his eyes as he slowly walked beside her.
"Go find her," she said, startling her brother.
"W - Who? Oh, the girl from last night?! I came here to help you not go chase some…" He stopped talking when he noticed the expectant look on Julieta's face. "Alright, alright, I'm going."
Bruno wandered through the town by himself. It was something he hated to do, but he thought it was worth it to find his mystery girl. First, he wanted to figure out her name, since none of his siblings would tell him.
His luck turned around when he noticed the woman who received food from Julieta shopping for groceries. Lupita Ruiz was a close family friend, having immigrated with Alma Madrigal all those years ago. A spunky woman who was one of the few to actually treat Bruno with kindness.
"Perdóname, Señora, do you remember me…?" Bruno fidgeted under his poncho as the woman raised a delicate brow. Her smile was just like the girl's.
"Yes, Brunito," she laughed, "I couldn't forget someone as cute as you." Just like the other night, she pinched his cheeks so hard she might have been able to just rip them off.
"Señora Lupita, I sorta need your help," Bruno said as he massaged his cheeks. Lupita motioned for him to continue as she continued her shopping. "You see, there was this girl at the festival last night – "
"Oh? A girl? Was little Bruno Madrigal flirting?" she drew out her words in a very suggestive manner. Bruno shook his head.
"N-No, I just…" he narrowed his eyes confusedly before shaking his head. "I need help finding her. I never got her name."
"What did she look like?" Lupita asked, smiling from the cuteness before her. Bruno unknowingly quit fidgeting as he recalled every detail about the girl that he had noticed the night before.
"She had dark, curly hair tied into a bun with a ribbon that had butterflies painted on it, eyes as blue as the sky — when Pepa's having a good day, of course — soft hands…" his voice trailed off when he saw the knowing look Lupita gave him. "Yeah...That's, uh, that's it," he reverted to his old self.
"I know exactly who you're talking about, cariño. Her not introducing herself is her way of telling you to find her," Lupita placed a hand on Bruno's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
"Do you know how I can do that?" the brown-eyed boy asked. Lupita's lips curled into an even bigger smile.
"In the forest, mijo. You'll hear her singing," she said as she pointed him in the right direction. A small, hopeful smile grew on his young face.
"Muchas Gracias, Señora Lupita!" he shouted before running off into the forest surrounding Encanto. She stayed smiling as his figure disappeared but was saddened a bit once he was completely gone.
"She's going to eat him alive."
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When Bruno stepped into the brush of the forest, he wished that he had a gift that helped him to ward off bugs. There were so many goddamn mosquitos. Nevertheless, he continued his hunt for la chica misteriosa.
He walked for about ten minutes before reevaluating his scenario. Had Lupita lied? No, she was always nice, like an aunt. Another family member who wasn't actually a Madrigal. Bruno furrowed his brows until his mind was forced to abandon his thoughts.
Was someone...singing?
He widened his evergreen eyes when he remembered what Lupita had told him. "You'll hear her singing."
His stroll turned into a quick walk as he picked up his pace and moved in the direction of the enchanting voice. It was soft but alluring in a way. When he got close enough, he could make out the words.
"La vida nos cruzó,
De un modo muy casual.
Llegaste como el sol
Robándome la sombra de forma gradual."
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"(Life weaved our paths,
In a very casual way.
You arrived like the sun,
Robbing me of shadow so gradually.)"
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He was right beside her now, he was sure of it. Carefully, he pushed back the foliage and peeked through the opening. There was a clearing next to the stream that appeared to be ripped right out of a fairytale: perfect streams of light leaking through the tall trees, the sound of the flowing water, the flowers and mushrooms that had no real pattern in their placement…
Wow, Bruno mouthed, eyes finally falling upon the girl he had been wanting to see since she left last night. Her hair was let loose now, a wild mess that ran down her back despite being pulled into a ponytail. Her eyes were focused on her painting, just as it had been the night prior. Painting was her world.
"Cualquier fuga de luz,
Todo era una señal.
Diez pasos hacia ti.
Mil dudas sobre mi.
Y el miedo natural."
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"(Every leak of light,
Was like a signal.
Ten steps to reach you.
A thousand doubts about me
And the natural fear.)"
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"Me hacías temblar así.
Como la luna sobre el agua
Y entonces me solté…
Para abrazarme a tu mirada.
Y así te descubrí.
Pero en un beso fue que yo te conocí."
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"(You made me tremble like that,
Like the moon reflected on the water.
And then I let go…
To hold on to your gaze.
And that's how I found you.
But it was during a kiss that I met you.)"
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The sound stopped when the girl stopped moving her paintbrush and sighed. Bruno shook his head when she moved her head in his direction, glancing back at him over her shoulder.
"You're really bad at sneaking around, you know?"
"R-Really? I thought I was doing a pretty good job."
The girl smiled and turned back to her painting. Bruno took this as a sign to join her. When he sat down next to her on a tree that had grown close to the ground, he noticed what she had been painting. His eyes widened a fraction and looked up to meet hers.
"You drew…me?" he asked. The mystery girl smiled and nodded.
"I'm learning how to draw people and this seemed like a fun project," she giggled, rotating the portrait. His face flushed a bit, unbeknownst to him.
"Thank you," he returned the warm smile with an awkward one of his own. The girl stared at a bird that landed on the forest floor, searching for bugs to eat while being admired.
"So, you're the infamous Bad Luck Bruno, huh? The one that everyone in Encanto is so afraid of?" She raised one of her dark brows on her lightly freckled face. Bruno winced at the name, ducking his head in shame.
"Yeah…That's me," he grumbled. I knew it, he reprimanded himself, she only brought me here to make fun of me. He glanced around nervously as if he expected someone hidden in the bushes to jump out and laugh at his horrid attempt at making a friend.
"Well, you don't seem so scary to me. If anything I could eat you up," The brunette girl poked at his side, drawing out uncontrollable laughter from the miserable boy. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as his shoulders shook and his stomach began to ache.
"H-Hey!" He swatted her hands away playfully, earning another one of her melodic fits of laughter. When the moment passed, they were both left smiling at one another.
"You know, this was kind of like a scavenger hunt?" the artist looked down at her reflection in the water and threw a stone at it. The ripples distorted the image until she was no longer recognizable.
"Yeah, I guess so. It was fun, though!" Bruno tightened his grip on his portrait. He wanted to return the gift but wasn't sure how. "Lupita helped me out, though, so I can't take all the credit."
"Ah, of course, she did. She's always trying to ruin my games. That woman's impossible," the girl beside him joked. She hopped down from the low-hanging tree and spun around on her heels, stopping when she was facing Bruno again. "So…are you gonna ask me?" she asked, startling her guest. He gave her a confused look that prompted her to continue, "My name, Madrigal. Are you gonna ask me my name?"
"Oh, right!" the dark-haired boy straightened his posture a bit. He met her blue eyes and felt some of his nervousness drain away.
"I'm Bruno. What's your name?"
"Katerina, but you can call me Kat."
"Nice to meet you, Katerina."
"Likewise, Bruno."
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Bruno and Katerina had been nearly inseparable since they became friends. While Mamá Alma stayed oblivious to their year-long platonic relationship, others in the town quietly suspected the two. If Pepa could find love in Encanto, Bruno could make a friend.
For the most part, Bruno got along well with Fèlix. Both boys were friends with Katerina, although Fèlix had admitted that no one in the town knew who the girl's parents were. Apparently, she just sort of existed in the village fading in and out of people's memories. Sometimes she was there and sometimes she wasn't.
"He called me a ghost?" Katerina's lips pursed into a thin line as she walked through the forest with Bruno.
"Well, not exactly. He just said that no one really knows you or your parents. I take it people don't know Lupita is your mother?" he asked while crunching autumn leaves under his feet. The sound was soothing but he never understood why Kat took her shoes off when she walked in the forest. He shoved the observation into the back of his mind for later use.
Katerina stopped right in front of the boy, cutting off his path. She crossed her arms and pouted like a kid who had just gotten robbed of their candy.
"No one's supposed to know who my parents are. No one," she leaned forward a bit, forcing Bruno back as she poked his chest. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone!"
"Okay, okay, I promise!" He wasn't going to tell her that he could just use his gift to find out anyway. He respected her privacy and pinky-promised that he wouldn't say anything. It's better that he not incur her wrath.
Moving out of his way, the noirette allowed herself to smile again and changed the topic, "I've always wanted to go to your house, though. I hear that the tiles move by themselves and the windows open and close on command!" She threw her arms up wildly, imitating what she thought it would be like to live in Casita.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Bruno hummed. Thinking about her words made him scrunch up his face in thought, catching the attention of his friend.
"I made it awkward didn't I?" she let her arms drop and swing at her sides. Bruno shook his head, curls bouncing as if they had a mind of their own.
"No, it's just…" He took Katerina's hands and smiled hopefully. "What if I snuck you in?" The shorter girl beside him tilted her head with a confused furrow of her brows.
"Can't I just walk through the front door?" She felt stupid asking. If she could, he wouldn't have suggested sneaking.
"W-Well, mi mamá is very strict and she just caught Pepa with Fèlix a week ago..." Bruno shivered at the memory of Pepa and Alma shouting at one another across the dinner table.
"That's why we had that flood," Katerina couldn't help but laugh. Her giggles once again calmed his nerves.
"Ya'know, I could get Casita to lift you up to my room once Mamá is asleep. That way, you don't have to sneak around and we can still hang out," he suggested with a hopeful glint in his emerald eyes. Katerina looked down at the fallen leaves on the trail ahead, thinking through the scenario in her mind.
"Yeah," she smiled after a minute or two, "It sounds like fun!" Her giddy expression left Bruno with a warm feeling in his chest. That same sensation felt like it multiplied when Kat took his sweaty hands and dashed through the forest. She never could have a serious conversation for too long, he reminded himself as he nearly tripped over a tree root that stuck out of the ground. God was she fast.
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That evening, when his mother had gone to bed, Bruno snuck into the kitchen for snacks. His throat went dry when he found Julieta still cleaning up from dinner. He stuffed leftovers and some food from the pantry under his poncho but was inevitably seen.
"Are you feeding the rats again, Bruno?" his sister asked with a raised brow. He coughed awkwardly for a second, somehow thinking it would help him out of the conversation.
"Uh yeah, rats, sure," he chuckled nervously and began to slowly back away. Before he could make his great escape, Pepa and Fèlix emerged with more dishes in their hands for the Kitchen Queen.
"Uh oh, I know that look. Someone's hiding something," Fèlix sang. Bruno blanched.
"Hiding? Someon—thing? Me? No, no no, Fèlix, estás loco," he waved his hand dismissively.
"It's not nice to call people crazy, you know?"
This time, Bruno swore he was going to faint. He dropped the snacks and rushed to the window to stand in front of Katerina, who was leaning into the kitchen window with the help of the house.
"See? Nothing!" the young boy's voice failed him, causing him to wince almost painfully. Julieta, Pepa and Fèlix shared knowing glances.
"If you wanted to sneak Kat in, all you had to do was ask," Julieta smiled. With a silent nod, Casita followed her command and brought Katerina completely inside the house. The two girls shared a tight hug.
"But, I—" "No but's! She's welcome any time," Pepa laughed, wrapping her arms around the visitor.
Kat was closest to Bruno but that didn't mean she wasn't going to become friends with the rest of the Madrigal family. Especially not if Fèlix was also in the picture. He was one of the few who actually enjoyed her company, God bless his soul.
"You know you could have used the front door?" the shorter boy mumbled, elbowing her in the side.
"I don't want to cause trouble. It's better if Bruno sneaks me in so that I don't have to face Alma," Katerina was only half-joking about the fact that Alma scared her to death.
"Speaking of…" Bruno butted in. "Do you wanna get going?"
"Hell yeah!" she hooted in a hushed voice.
"Going where?" Julieta asked, one hand on her hip and a freshly washed spoon in the other. Bruno's face flushed a bit as Katerina took his hand and nodded to the space outside the kitchen.
"Bruno said he'd show me his room!" she beamed. Then, after changing her expression in a fraction of a second, she stared at her best friend dangerously. "If it's not something dark and creepy, then I will be thoroughly disappointed."
"I, uh…I make no promises," he chuckled to cover up the nervousness he was filled with mere moments ago. He wasn't sure if it was just him or if it had gotten hotter.
Without another word, the two were off. The duo ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Bruno's tower, Katerina giggling the whole way like some giddy schoolgirl.
"They're definitely going to end up together," Pepa sighed, a small smile on her face. Fèlix laughed and shook his head while Julieta returned to the rest of the unwashed dishes, a worried frown contracting her sweet features.
When Bruno and Katerina got to the door that glowed in his likeness, evergreen eyes stared at the wood nervously. Kat gave his clammy hand a light squeeze before opening it up. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers once she had stepped inside.
"Woah," she gasped. Her hands cupped and sat under the wall of sand that blocked their entrance, collecting grains until they overflowed.
"Yeah, there's a lot of that in here," Bruno smirked, pulling his friend further inside. The way her face lit up when she saw the mounds of sand and the giant staircase in the spacious room made that soft feeling in his chest reappear.
"It's bigger on the inside?! I've never cared much for sand since it gets in everything, but just look at it!" she bounced around ecstatically. Bruno watched on with a warmth in his chest as she dove into a nearby pile of sand, only to have Casita throw her out of it. She giggled like a toddler and repeated the process.
"Ha, you seem to like it more than I do," Bruno chuckled. "No offence, Casita." Katerina shook the sand out of her messy locks, creating an aura of golden grains around her. Bruno wish he had a camera to save this moment forever. When Katerina spun around to face him (silky voice still echoing through the tall room) some strange feeling welled up within the Madrigal boy.
"Do you have an actual bed or do you just sleep on the sand?" Kat asked, still giggling. Bruno shook his head free from whatever trance he had put himself in and nodded.
"It's a few flights up, so let me know if you want to stop," he offered as they began to ascend the winding stairs. Surprisingly enough, Katerina never did. She soldiered through the whole eight flights without a complaint and still had the energy of a caffeinated toddler.
"What did I say? Dark and creepy," she poked her best friend in the side when she looked around his room. In the dark cave-like section of Bruno's tower, there was a queen-sized bed, unmade and comfortable-looking with little food bowls along the ground around it.
"Sorry, it's a mess. Veronica and her family use it when I'm out," the bed's owner hurried over. Kat gave him a puzzled stare at the mention of someone named — Wait, what is that?
Bruno pulled back the covers to reveal a chunky rat and several of its babies snuggled up together. Kat gasped, a hand flying over her agape mouth. Bruno expected her to be grossed out or scream, but she did neither. Instead, she scooped them up and danced around the room with them.
"¡Bruno, son adorables!" she cried. The mama rat, Veronica, sniffed her curiously before settling on a warm spot in the space between her neck and shoulder. The babies crawled into her hair and nestled themselves into her curls, making her nearly melt at the cuteness.
"You really like them? I've never met anyone who didn't get freaked out by them. Pepa always says they're what make me creepy," Bruno scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"I love Pepa, but don't listen to her. These babies are the cutest thing ever and if you get rid of them, I will never forgive you," Katerina whined as she dropped her sand-filled shoes on the floor. She quickly hopped into Bruno's bed with the rats curling up beside her warm body. "This is heaven," she admitted with a long exhale.
"Well…you could stay," Bruno cleared his throat, awkwardly standing beside the bed. "Only if you want, of course." He slowly moved to sit down, almost testing to see if she was going to move away from him. Her form stilled for a moment but there were no complaints. His cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink when she rolled over to face him, an appreciative smile on her sun-kissed face.
"A sleepover sounds great, Bruno," she chuckled with her eyes closed. Bruno reached his hand out and slowly picked the rat babies out of her hair so that they could scurry off with Mamá Veronica.
"Y-Yeah, sure, I'll just take the— uh —the sand or the guest room," he fidgeted nervously while using his hands to gesture what he was trying to say. Kat's expression was hard to read but seemed to be some mix of confusion, sadness, and disappointment
"What do you mean? We can both sleep here, dummy," she pointed out with a somewhat hurt look in her ocean eyes. Bruno froze. He did not dare move a muscle as his eyes scanned her face for any signs of deceit. There was none. She was being serious? He shook the thoughts from his head, deciding that his mind was just in the gutter.
"Kat, I uh...I mean do you—'' "Quit whining and get over here before I change my mind," Kat cackled as she grabbed the hem of his poncho and pulled him onto the bed. With a small 'oof' he fell face-first into the mattress.
Instantly, the poor boy was attacked with a barrage of tickles, pokes and prods to his ribs and stomach. His cries for mercy through uncontrollable laughter went unanswered as Kat crawled on top of him to keep him in place.
"Are you going to quit moping like a scared puppy, Bruno Madrigal?" she paused for a moment, allowing him to catch his breath. Bruno went to sit up, only to have her push him back down. "Nope, none of that, now," she chastised playfully.
Bruno stared up at her with his big, round eyes. There were a few beats of anxiety-filled silence as he thought of anything to say. He wanted to speak but all the words faded on his tongue.
Sensing that Bruno was growing flustered, she rolled off of him and laid down next to him. Her eyes glanced up at the intricate carvings along the walls and roof. She reached her hand towards them as if she were going to grab one of the stars she knew was hidden behind the brick.
"You know, I usually sleep on the floor, so this is pretty nice," she spoke softly. Bruno smiled at her words before frowning in thought. They echoed through his mind until he sat up and turned towards her.
"You never talk about your home life," he noted with a dismal tone. Katerina's hand clenched into a fist then collapsed to her side.
"Mi papá would kill me if he found out I was here." It was obvious to Bruno that her laugh was forced. Worry grew in his heart when Kat went quiet for a long while. She took a deep breath then smiled as if she hadn't heard the words that came from her own lips.
"How about another game?" The raven-haired girl allowed the sheet to fall off of her while she sat up. Her ocean eyes stared into Bruno's evergreen irises with a sincerity he almost mistook for a plea. "You figure out my biggest secret and I'll give you a prize, okay?"
His breath hitched in his throat. Her biggest secret? He shouldn't be surprised that she had a lot of things to hide, she was already lying to the town. Then again, does it count as lying if no one ever asks? Bruno shook his head free of the intrusive thoughts and gained a determined expression. He decided right then and there that he would learn everything about this strange yet exciting girl.
"You're on."