CAMILO

"Mirabel, wait! " He called out as he ran after Mirabel.

Mirabel walked briskly ahead of him that he barely kept up. He kept calling her but she completely ignored him, until he caught up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked, pushing him away.

"Mirabel, please let me explain," He pleaded.

His cousin entered the Casita through the front door, and not her bedroom window. He didn't know why, but he still followed her. And there might be a chance that Camilo's sister, Dolores might hear them, but at that moment, he didn't care. He just wanted to talk to Mirabel and explain.

Mirabel tried slamming her bedroom door behind her, but Camilo was able to stop it from slamming into his face by kicking it with his foot.

"Mirabel, please," Camilo called out as he entered and closed the door behind him.

Mirabel glanced out her bedroom window with her fists clenched, and she was not facing him.

"Mira-" He started to say.

"How long?" She finally spoke up.

"What?" He asked as if he'd misheard her.

"How long have you been pretending to be Santiago?" Mirabel demanded.

Camilo looked down in shame and guilt.

Mirabel finally faced him. "Camilo, how long?" She asked again.

Camilo was quiet for a few seconds before finally answering his prima. "Since the first night beyond the pass." He admitted.

His prima's jaw dropped as tears streamed down her eyes. "Wha-what did-is all of these a joke to you?" She asked. "Is this some sort of prank or an ongoing bet with some of your friends? Mirabel's so gullible, let's mess with her."

"It's not that, Mimi, I swear." He tried to explain. "At first, it was simply just to cheer you up but then—"

"But then what?"

Camilo took a deep breath before speaking. "I saw the way you were looking at Santiago. How you're so happy and smiling all the time whenever he's around and whenever you're with him. I guess…I was kinda jealous of the attention you're giving him. And when he suddenly left Encanto with his brothers, I just…saw my chance."

Mirabel's expression was a mix of anger and disgust.

"I saw you heading to the Calle where the dela Cuestas live," Camilo recalled. "The way you were looking around, I knew you were up to something so I followed you. You gave Santiago that piece of paper and he nodded. I didn't understand it at first but when Javi came with urgent news, a family emergency. Santiago apologized to you even though you weren't there. I was curious about what's written on that piece of paper you gave him, so I…shapeshifted into someone else and took the paper from him."

His prima's reaction turned even angrier.

"I swear it was just to cheer you up," He said again. "Then I'd reveal myself and explain why Santiago couldn't come to see you, but I got carried away. I love spending time with you and that meeting beyond the Pass was a way I could get to know you without you seeing me as your primo, and that we could finally talk without anyone listening."

Mirabel glared at him, her facial expression displayed a look of betrayal. She never said anything, which made Camilo nervous. Because he knew Mirabel was never quiet when she was upset or frustrated or sad. She'd either lock herself in her room and keep herself busy with her little sewing projects or rant about it. And he was usually the person she vented out to.

"I know I crossed a line that I shouldn't have," He said, gently. "And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mirabel."

Mirabel shook her head in disbelief. "You still pretended to be someone else, Camilo! And you expect me to be okay about it?!" She shrieked. "To just forgive you with a simple I'm sorry?"

"Mirabel—"

"You took advantage of me!" She screamed.

Camilo took her hand, but she swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" She insisted.

"I did it because…" Camilo stammered. "Because I love you." He blurted out. "I always have, and not just because we're primos. Seeing you with Santiago just made me realize how I really feel about you."

"No, you did it because you're selfish and possessive," She corrected. "Not because of love."

"Mimi—" Camilo started to approach her.

"I just can't believe someone would ever do this to me," Mirabel ranted. "And you of all people!" She sniffled.

"I know I lied, but all those times we spent together," He insisted. "I swear, those were real."

"Big or small, a lie is a lie," Mirabel said. "You still lied to me. The worst part was that you made me—" She faltered as she stepped back, trying to get away from him as possible. "Just get out."

"Mirabel, please," Camilo pleaded, tears now streaming down his cheeks.

"Get. Out." Mirabel said in a steely calm tone that he had never heard before.

Camilo stared at her for a second before turning his back on her and left the room, not knowing what else to do. He didn't even bother to pick up the picnic basket on his way out.

That night, he never slept. He lie on his bed and cried his eyes out from all the guilt and conscience. I did go too far, Camilo pondered. There's no excuse for it. But only because I love her too much to lose her to another.

He was so screwed. If Mirabel would tell anyone in the family, he didn't know what's gonna happen to him, honestly. He's gonna get punished for sure, but he didn't know how.

Camilo stared at the ceiling for far too long and barely noticed the sun rising outside his window. He was only snapped back to reality when he heard a knock on his door.

"Camilo, breakfast!" His Papa, Felix called.

He didn't have the energy to do his morning routine: do impressions in front of his walkway of mirrors, or adlibbing lines from his Tio Bruno's rat telenovelas on his personal stage, lights and dramatic music and all.

Camilo simply got up from his bed, put on his clothes, and went to the dining room to eat breakfast.

Normally, he'd be excited during meal times. He'd often pretend to be someone else just so he could get a second plate of food. But then again, he's too tired and upset to do all those things.

When he got to the dining room, everyone was already there.

"Cami!" Antonio stood from his seat, pulled Camilo's hand, and drag him to sit right next to him. "I saved you a seat."

Camilo managed a smile. "Thank you, Toñito."

He didn't know what to make of that breakfast after realizing the seat Antonio saved him was directly across Mirabel's.

Mirabel completely ignored him. She also acted like nothing had happened and judging from the expressions of their family, it seemed like she had never told anyone about it.

Camilo got buñuelos and arepas on his plate, but the fact that Mirabel was sitting right across from him just reminded him of the things that happened the night before, making him lose his appetite.

His mother noticed that he wasn't eating and of course, immediately thought something was wrong.

"Camilo, are you okay?" Pepa asked, placing a hand on Camilo's shoulder. "You barely touched your food."

"I'm not hungry, Mamí," Camilo replied sullenly.

Then his Mamí Pepa's soft voice changed to an aggressive tone. "Mijo, what's wrong?" She demanded, dark clouds were now surrounding above her.

"It's nothing, Mamí," He sighed. "I just…I just had trouble sleeping last night."

Pepa took a deep breath. "I keep telling you about those lights glaring at your bed."

Camilo simply shrugged. "That's probably it," He said. "I'm sorry."

"Alright, mijo," Pepa said. "I think you should rest and be free from all your chores for the day."

Abuela cleared her throat. "Your mother is right, Camilito," She agreed. "You'll have some of your Tía's food and then rest. You can go back to doing your chores tomorrow when you feel better."

Camilo forced out a smile. "Uh, thank you."

"Don't worry, Cami," His Tía Julieta assured. "I already have arepas in the kitchen for the people in town. I'll have Mirabel send—"

"No!" Camilo interjected, speaking louder than he intended. "Um, I mean, no, I-I can get some myself and then take them to my room. Thank you, Tia."

Tía Julieta simply smiled. "They're on the counter." She pointed out. "Leave some for the people in town, though."

Camilo stood from his seat. He quickly glanced at Mirabel, who was focused on her plateful of food, then he walked out and went directly to his room.

He lie on his bed and stared up at the ceiling wondering how he will get out of this mess and if Mirabel would ever forgive him.

Camilo didn't know how much time had passed, but he flinched when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. In his peripheral vision, he could see his sister, Dolores enter his room carrying a tray of food.

"I'm not hungry, Dolores," Camilo said, turning his back from his sister.

"Oh, cut the crap, Cami," Dolores spoke up as she placed the tray on his nightstand. "You don't need to lie about it." She revealed. "I know what you did."

Camilo then sat up and faced Dolores. "What are you talking about?"

"I heard stomps last night," Dolores recalled. "Angry ones, which I assumed were Mirabel's. Then another set of footsteps followed, which I assumed were yours. And I heard a door open and heard it hit the door jamb, which I also assumed was when you tried to close it. But it was never closed."

Camilo's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"That's right," She said. "I heard everything."

Camilo only looked down in shame.

Dolores shrugged. "She was practically screaming at you last night. But seriously? You shapeshifted into Santiago to be close to her? Cami, what is wrong with you?!" She demanded.

Camilo frowned. "Wait, how did you know about that? We were-" He almost forgot that he should never mention them meeting beyond the Pass at night, so he cleared his throat. "We were in Mirabel's room." He said instead.

Dolores squeaked. "Yes, I figured." She said. "But you have no excuse. What you did was wrong."

"Really?" Camilo raised an eyebrow at her. "Like the same way you purposely told everyone in the family that Mirabel broke into Tío Bruno's tower and found his vision right in the middle of dinner with the Guzmans? You're one to talk, hermana."

"I'll agree it's not my finest moment," Dolores admitted. "But for the record, that dinner was already a disaster before it even started."

They were quiet for a moment, then Dolores sat on the foot of his bed.

"Why did you do it?" Dolores asked.

Camilo sighed. "I love her," He blurted out. "And seeing her with Santiago made me realize that I had real feelings for her that were already there and I just didn't know it yet."

When his sister didn't say anything, he continued. "I know it's a selfish answer but, I really do love her."

"What do you hope to achieve here?"

"At this point, I just need her to forgive me," Camilo said. "I've tried apologizing, but she won't even talk to me. What do I do?" He asked, desperately.

"Apologizing isn't enough, hermanito," Dolores explained. "Just saying the words, I'm sorry is never enough. Actions speak louder than words, Cami. If you want her to forgive you, you need to prove to her that you really are sorry."

"But how do I do that?" He asked again.

"That, I don't know," Dolores stood, getting ready to leave. "You'll have to figure it out on your own."

The talk with his sister did not make him feel any better. If possible, it made him feel guiltier than ever. Guilty that he lied to the person he loves, and guilty that he had betrayed her trust.

Camilo suddenly had tears streaming down his cheeks again. For some reason, he could not shake the heavy feeling on his chest so he grabbed one of the arepas Dolores had brought him.

He took a bite hoping his Tía Julieta's food would make the pain go away.

It didn't.

And that's how Camilo figured out his Tía Julieta's food can't heal everything. Sure, it could heal cuts, bruises, and broken limbs, but not a broken heart. Never a broken heart.

MIRABEL

The main reason Mirabel liked Santiago dela Cuesta was that he was like her primo, Camilo.

But after everything, especially finding out that the "Santiago" she had spent time with beyond the Pass was actually Camilo in disguise, Mirabel didn't know what to feel.

She was so confused, angry, and betrayed that she couldn't remember some of the things she had said to her primo.

Mirabel left him beyond the Pass after Camilo revealed himself to her. He followed after her, of course. But she was too angry to care.

Camilo had explained that he had always liked her and had been in love with her. He hated seeing her with Santiago, so he took the chance to spend time with her when Santiago left Encanto.

"You still lied to me," She insisted. "The worst part was that you made me—" She choked on her words. "Get out! Just get out!"

What she meant to say was, You made me fall in love with you. But she was so furious and scared that she might hit him so she only asked him to leave her bedroom, which he did.

Mirabel felt so betrayed. Camilo was the one person she trusted with her secrets in her entire family, the one she vented to, and the one who would understand her the most. But he ended up betraying her trust.

She had cried herself to sleep that night and woke up tired. But she forced herself to get up and freshen up in the baño, cleaning up all the stench and bad energy from the night before.

Mirabel went directly to the kitchen and found her Mamá, Julieta preparing their breakfast.

"Buenos días, Mamá," She greeted, forcing out a smile as she took batches of food from the kitchen counter.

But of course, her mother could always tell if there was something wrong.

"Corazón, is everything alright?" Her Mamá, Julieta asked.

"Uh, sí, Mamá," Mirabel replied as she made her way to the dining room.

That morning, Camilo was the last to the table, which was a surprise to everyone. Sure, he'll take a while when you wake him up. But when it comes to food, he's always the first one on the table. He'd even pretend to be someone else just so he could get seconds.

But the Camilo that came to the dining room was not the same Camilo. He had bags under his eyes like he hasn't slept at all, and he barely ate his food.

Of course, they noticed something was wrong, but luckily for hers and Camilo's sakes, her primo was able to convince everyone that he just didn't sleep well the night before.

Or did he? Because when her Mamá Julieta suggested that Mirabel herself should deliver food to Camilo's room, her primo declined. And she could also hear the slight panicky tone in his voice when he did.

But that was not what tipped Mirabel off. Because Camilo sat right across her on the table, she didn't dare look past her plate in that direction. But when her primo left and Mirabel finally glanced at the empty seat across her, she could see her prima, Dolores, eyeing her suspiciously.

When Mirabel did make eye contact with her prima, Dolores never looked away and maintained eye contact for a few seconds before going back to eating her food.

I know, Dolores seemed to say.

Mierda, Mirabel cursed mentally. Her prima's onto her now.

Dolores cornered her when she did the dishes after eating their breakfast. "I'm sorry for what he did." She spoke up.

Mirabel turned to her, before turning back to washing the dishes. "You don't need to apologize for your brother, Lola."

"I'm not," Dolores replied. "El es un idiota for doing so. I mean, I know he's a troublemaker and loves to play pranks on people, but this is way too far."

Mirabel never answered, not knowing what to say.

"Look, I know you're really mad at him," She continued as she picked up a tray and placed a plateful of food on it. "And you have every right to be. Even I'm mad at him." She sighed. "Camilo might be sociable and confident, but deep down, he just doesn't know how to express his feelings."

"What are you trying to say exactly?" Mirabel asked.

"I think you two need to talk," Dolores suggested. "Sincerely and truthfully."

Mirabel shook her head. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Dolores simply shrugged as she took the tray. "Communication is key," She said as she made her way out of the kitchen. "You made me realize that, and I hope you realize it too."

Her prima's words somehow got to her. It was Mirabel herself who got Dolores to confess her feelings to Mariano in the first place. And now they are getting married in a few months.

But at the moment, Mirabel was still overwhelmed by what Camilo did and she was not ready to talk to him. Yet.

Afterwards, Mirabel had to help her Mamá at her booth in town. And when her Mamá asked her to get another batch of arepas from the kitchen, she ran into a problem.

"Mirabel," She could hear Camilo's voice call out.

Mirabel's eyes widened. She tried to evade him, but her primo blocked her way out of the kitchen.

Camilo looked even worse than he did at breakfast. His eyes were bloodshot either from crying or lack of sleep or both.

"Mirabel, wait!" He called. "Please, I-I just want to talk."

"I don't have time for this, Camilo," She said. "I have to help Mamá."

"Thank you," Camilo blurted out. "For, you know, not telling on me."

Mirabel rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't do it for you." She explained. "I just don't want drama and I don't want anyone to worry."

"I'm really sorry for what I did," He apologized. "I didn't mean to go that far-"

"But you did," She replied as she picked up the basketful of buñuelos from the kitchen counter. "So it doesn't matter anymore."

"So you're just gonna ignore me?"

"You've ignored me for ten years after your gift ceremony," Mirabel pointed out as she walked past him. "This shouldn't be any different."

Mirabel left her primo in the kitchen. She didn't dare say any more words to him as she's afraid she might hurt him more than she did the night before.