Chapter 5 The New neighbors?
Carlos stares at them for a while, when Camille and Jo share a look of amusement.
"Well, don't we get one of your famous Carlitos hugs?" Camille asks and holds her arms open. This seems to wake the Latino from his trance. A huge smile makes it way to his features.
"I… Yeah, of course…" He mumbles and hurries over to pull each woman into a tight hug, which makes them both giggle. Delilah just eyes the moment in confusion.
"Uh, wait, let me get this straight. You know our new neighbors?" She asks her husband, who stands across from her with his arms around the two smiling women.
"You remember how I told you about Palm Woods?" he asks her.
"You mean that apartment complex for the future famous?" She says with an amused smile.
"Yeah, they used to live there too as actresses." He says, looking at both of them with a grin.
"Those were the good old days." Jo muses and Camille nods in agreement. Carlos furrows his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" He asks them.
"Well, I'm drama teacher at Duluth high now." Camille tells him.
"And I'm a kindergarten teacher." Jo adds. Carlos' darts his eyes from Camille to Jo in confusion.
"But you were both doing so well. What happened?" He asks them in genuine concern.
"Well, when I got back from New Zealand, Hollywood wasn't very interested anymore." Jo explains.
"Yeah and I just decided that it wasn't me anymore." Camille adds, not saying anything else.
"So you both just up and moved to Minnesota?" the Latino asks them, sounding confused. Camille and Jo exchange looks and then hold out their hands. He stares at them when it seems to dawn on him. He drops his arms from their shoulders and moves to stand beside his wife.
"Right, I should have known about that." He states and gives a small smile. An awkward silence follows. "You married Kendall and Logan…" He quietly mentions and the two women nod semi happily. "Of course you did."
"You know, we always wondered what happened that day. I mean, you guys were suddenly gone. You never said goodbye." Camille tells him with a sad smile.
"Yeah… I uh… I had my reasons…" Carlos tells them with his head down.
Delilah watches the awkward exchange for a moment, before clearing her throat.
"Okay uh, who is up for some sandwiches?" She announces excitedly and clasps her hands together.
"Uh, I could go for one." Jo answers, holding up her hand. Camille still eyes Carlos, who is still looking down and seems to be lost in thought.
"Honey, would you like one?" Delilah asks him quietly. He looks up.
"Huh, what?" She smiles at him.
"You want a sandwich?" She asks again sweetly. He looks up with childlike eyes.
"With grilled chicken?" He asks hopefully. She chuckles.
"Yes, I'll put grilled chicken on it." She tells him and pecks his cheek. He smiles warmly and watches her walk towards the fridge. He casts his eyes down again. When he looks up he finds Camille staring at him with a smile.
"What?" He asks her.
"The way you look at her. You really love her, don't you?" She asks. He looks towards his wife again, who is animatedly talking to Jo and smiles.
"The moment I met her I knew she was the one." He tells her as he keeps his eyes on his girl.
"I'm so glad to see you so happy, Carlos. I really am." She says in return.
"And you?" He asks her.
"What?"
"Are you happy?" He asks her. She looks at him in surprise, while he watches her with concerned eyes.
But before she has a chance to answer, Delilah and Jo suddenly whip out a plate of sandwiches and hand them to the two. Carlos and Camille keep their eyes locked, until the curly haired brunette looks away thoughtfully.
"So, where did you guys live before this?" Jo suddenly asks while everyone enjoys their sandwich.
"Oh, we lived in New York when we went to college and after graduating we just didn't want to leave." Delilah tells them as she lovingly leans into Carlos.
"But you left now..." Camille starts, when Jo interrupts.
"Hold on, hold on. Before we go there… Carlos. You went to college?" The blond asks in feigned shock. Delilah starts to laugh, while Carlos smiles and shakes his head.
"Yes, I went to college." He defends, while Delilah keeps laughing. He sends her a mock glare.
"What did you study?" Camille asks. He sends a small glare towards his wife when she snickers.
"Would you stop?" He asks between chuckles of his own and turns his attention to the other two women. "I went to the NYU for a design course."
"Design, huh? So what do you do now?" Jo asks him with curiosity.
"I design comic books." He tells them. Their smiles fade and they watch him carefully.
"Are you serious?" Camille asks. He frowns.
"Yeah, I am." They still stare in slight shock. "What?"
"I just… I don't…" Jo stammers.
"You actually became a superhero." Camille blurts out. Delilah bursts out laughing, while Carlos smiles with furrowed eyebrows.
"What?"
"Well, you always said you were going to become a superhero after Big Time Rush. I never thought you'd actually do it." She explains, while Jo nods in agreement.
Carlos looks towards his wife in confusion, but she just continues to laugh.
"So, which comic book is it? Is it in stores yet? Is it famous?" Jo and Camille ask him and he chuckles.
"Uh, it is in stores actually." He says, biting his lip, while Delilah grabs something from a box inside the kitchen. She pulls out a comic book and hands it to Jo and Camille. Their eyes grow big as they look at it.
"You're kidding, right?" Jo asks him.
"You designed this?" Camille asks. He nods sheepishly. "You designed this comic?" She asks.
He looks down, blushing, while his wife puts her arms around his waist and leans into the crook of his neck.
"Oh my god… My kids are going to scream when they find out I know the guy who designed their favorite comic." Jo tells him. He just blushes more.
"I can't believe you are behind the Monkey Dogs comics. I mean, even my students talk about these. They're hilarious." Camille tells him.
"So if this is what you were doing in New York, why would you move here?" Jo asks. Carlos and Delilah exchange a glance.
"Well, we just wanted to go somewhere quieter to raise our family. I mean, since it keeps expanding and all." He mentions before kissing his wife on the forehead and putting a hand on her growing stomach.
The two women gush.
"You guys are so cute together." Jo comments, while Camille just nods.
"Oh, I have an idea." Delilah suddenly pipes up. "Let's all have dinner tonight. You guys can bring your families and we can all sit around and get to know each…" She trails off when she notices everyone's smiles wearing off at once. "What?"
The women look at Carlos, who is looking away again. "Uh, you know what? I'm afraid we can't make it tonight. I mean, I'd be available, but my husband is very busy." Jo mentions.
"Yeah, my husband works in the hospital. You know doctors, always busy." Camille adds in agreement.
"Oh. Right. I just thought it would be fun. But I guess we could do it another time." Delilah mentions, sounding a little disappointed, but putting on a smile nonetheless.
"Yeah. Or we could have dinner with just us." Jo offers.
"Yeah." Camille nods in agreement. "We could just leave our husbands to their busy lives and have dinner between the four of us."
Delilah looks at Carlos, who gives a small smile, but they can all tell he's struggling with something.
"Uh, you know what? Maybe we should do that, but another night then if you don't mind. We still have a lot of unpacking to do. It wouldn't be very cozy to have dinner among stacks of boxes, right?" She jokes with the women. They smile, but throw Carlos a worried look.
"Of course, that's fine." Jo says, nodding her head and waving her hand.
"Totally fine. Any other night is fine with us. We live on the same street, so, you know, we can visit one another whenever we want." Camille mentions. She wants to slap herself when she sees Carlos' eyes widen in slight shock at that. "Or you know, we could just come over here." She laughs awkwardly.
"yeah, absolutely. You can come over anytime you want." Delilah offers as she walks them to the door.
"Maybe next time we can meet the kids." Camille suddenly mentions. Jo throws her a look, but she ignores it and smiles at Delilah.
"Definitely. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to meet everyone in the neighbourhood. I mean, they do take after Carlos, so they like people." She says with a smirk as she opens the door. Carlos comes to stand behind her and wraps his arms around her. She puts her hands on his and sighs in content when he puts his head on her shoulder.
The two women stare for a moment, before really turning around.
"Carlos, it was really great to see you again. Next time, I want some details on what you've been up to these past ten years." Jo tells him and he just grins. "And Delilah, it was great meeting you. I'm looking forward to having that dinner and gossiping about Carlitos here." Delilah laughs at that.
"Well, there is plenty to talk about then." She says and chuckles when she sees the playful pout on his face. The women walk ahead and they all wave, before the couple closes the door.
Camille and Jo walk further a little bit and then stop.
"Wow… I can't believe that was Carlos…" Jo mentions.
"I know. In ten years, you'd think he'd look a little different. But it's same old Carlos." Camille agrees.
"Well, minus the helmet." Jo adds, when Camille looks up in realization.
"You're right. I can't believe I didn't even notice that." She tells her friend.
"There were too many other things going on. I mean, his wife is absolutely beautiful and she seems really nice." Jo gushes.
"She really does. They are such a cute couple. I wonder how long they've been married?" Camille wonders.
"Who knows. We'll find out next time. But he seems so happy. It's just so great… I mean, they don't seem to have any problems. It's like they're leading this perfect life." Jo says, sounding a little bitter.
"I don't know about that. I mean, you saw how upset he got at even the mention of Kendall and Logan." The brunette contemplates. "After all these years, I still have no idea what happened that day. But I have a feeling Carlos hasn't been able to let go."
"That's for sure." Jo agrees. "Hey, do you really believe that they moved out here to settle down?" She asks and both friends turn around and look towards the house again.
"Not for a second…" Camille mentions.
"Yeah, me neither…" Jo says in agreement. They both ponder over the subject a little. "Well, I better get home, before Kendall starts to freak out."
"Yeah and I should get started on dinner. Not that I'm cooking for more than one person, but still." Camille says before sighing. Jo eyes her friend with sympathy.
"Hey, remember that you're always welcome to come and eat with us, Cammy." She says, putting an arm around her friend's shoulder and squeezing it affectionately.
"I know, but seeing as how Kendall doesn't react positively to me anymore, I'd rather not impose." Jo nods in understanding and draws her friend into a hug, before both head for their own houses.
Back at the new Garcia residence, Delilah has gone back to unpacking boxes in the kitchen, while Carlos has started in the living room. They are close to each other still.
"So uh, do you think we should tell them the real reason we moved here?" Delilah asks her husband. He looks up for a second, before reaching back inside a box and pulling out some candlesticks.
"It's not exactly a conversation starter, is it?" He says with a chuckle. His wife doesn't join him.
"Would you rather have them find out in another way?" She asks him. He looks up, smile wiped off his features and sighs.
"It's been ten years. I didn't even know they were living here." He defends.
"Carlos, you grew up here. There were bound to be people in this neighborhood who know you." She tells him.
"Yes, I know that. I was just hoping I wouldn't run into anyone this soon." He explains and Delilah sighs this time.
"Just don't forget, we have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday." She reminds him.
"Yeah, I know…" He says softly. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck, before kissing his forehead. He closes his eyes for a moment.
"It's gonna be okay." She quietly tells him. He nods and smiles a little, before sharing a sweet kiss with her. They put their foreheads together and stay like that for a moment, before she suddenly licks his cheek. He looks at her in amusement and wipes his cheek in an exaggerating manner. She looks at him challengingly, slowly walking away. He starts to walk towards her and in one moment, sweeps her off her feet and to the ground. She squeals and starts to laugh as he tickles her, while he just laughs with her.
A/N Hm… can anyone guess what that is about? I'll give you Carlos' phone number and have him call you maybe? ;)
Anyway, a little shorter chapter than usual, but a lot more to come next time. Let me know who you want the next chapter to focus on and I'll do my best to comply! And if you have suggestions, criticism, ideas, whatever, or just want to talk to someone, just leave me a PM or review
Or, you know, go to .com/ and talk to me there ;)
Until next time guys, all your support makes me smile I'll get right on to replying to your messages this week, but I'll be working, so it might take some time. Thank you to everyone and have a good week and enjoy the concerts some of you are going to go to!
Love, Baxxie