Ernesto stared at Héctor coldly, trying to hide his shock and the uncomfortable feeling building inside of him. He never thought that he would see the face of his former friend staring at him, and he hadn't prepared himself for that happening. He thought that he'd gotten rid of Héctor forever, that he'd banished the man's existence for good. He thought that coming here would mean that he could avoid all of his problems for awhile.
But it turned out he was wrong. His problems weren't gone; in fact, the main one was staring at him uneasily from just six feet away. Ernesto hated this moment almost more than he hated coming down here in the first place.
The man standing next to Héctor cleared his throat abruptly. "I think you two should be alone for a few minutes," he said, clearly uncomfortable from the way he ran a hand through his hair and continued to stare at the ground intensely. He hurried past Ernesto with a pace in between a walk and a run, still averting his eyes from both Héctor and Ernesto's faces as he picked up his speed and dashed away from them.
When a tense silence had hung in the air for at least three minutes after his absence, the only sounds being the lights flickering overhead and the sound of loud alebrije calls in the distance, Héctor tilted his head and halfheartedly grinned at Ernesto again.
"So, why are you here?" he repeated. His eyes traveled down to Ernesto's ribcage, and he widened his eyes at the several cracks. "And who did that to you?!"
Ernesto rolled his eyes and exhaled sharply. "Why should I tell you?" he snapped.
Héctor flinched, but otherwise was unscathed by Ernesto's comment. His grin faded and he crossed his arms, giving Ernesto a firm look. "I was just asking, Ernesto," he replied with cut in his voice. "Just making sure you're okay like how a person is supposed to do when their mejor amigo dies unexpectedly." He raised an eyebrow. "You certainly forgot to do that when I died years ago. I know you don't like showing your feelings very often, but you didn't have to cut me off completely."
Ernesto scowled at him. "Who are you to accuse me like that, Héctor? Have you forgotten what happened the last time you blamed me for something?"
Héctor matched Ernesto's stare with a steaming and wounded look of his own. "I never forgot anything about you, Superhero," he said. His voice cracked. "I made sure that I never forgot anything about you." The words unlike you hung in the middle of his scentence, adding to Ernesto's fury.
"Well, not everyone can be as nice as you, Héctor. Some of us aren't afraid to upset people."
"You could've at least told Imelda and Coco why I didn't return to them. I know Imelda's still upset with me."
"Are you blaming me again? What makes you think I didn't tell her? You know she never listens to me. What would make telling her about your death any different?"
Héctor cringed again, and Ernesto was satisfied that he still had the ability to twist his words so they cut as deep as a knife.
Sharp laughter was heard in the distance, followed by cheering. The lamposts overhead flickered off at the same time, shrouding the area in momentary darkness that made Héctor's hurt and twisted expression look the slightest bit frightening.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the upper parts of the city?" Héctor asked after the laughing faded. Even in the dark Ernesto could see Héctor's anger shift to confusion. "No one ever comes down here. I though that you would be partying in the upper towers, hanging out with your friends. Is there something wrong?"
Ernesto grimmaced. He knew the question was coming eventually, and he despised the worry in his amigo's voice.
"Eh... they don't have my mansion completely ready yet," he replied after a moment. His voice hardened. "Lazy idiotas didn't even start building it before I came here. They said at least five months before it could be done, maybe eight or ten if people really can't get their acts together. And no person who respected their image and cared about their lives would be seen up there without a proper living space."
"So you'd rather be seen down here?" Héctor asked with a slight joking tone. "In case you haven't looked around, the houses here are terrible. And everyone thinks we're criminals and crazy people who deserve rejection, so won't that harm you, too? If people see you down here?"
Ernesto shrugged, even though he knew Héctor might not make it out in the dark. "You said that no one from the city ever travels down here. So this is as good a place to stay as any."
Héctor gave a small laugh. "Alright. You can stay here. No one here ever turns anyone away. We... we all know what it fells like to be rejected and left behind."
"Which makes this the perfect place for you," Ernesto remarked.
The lights still hadn't turned back on, but Ernesto swore he saw Héctor glaring at him-- or at least looking very affected by that statement, like Ernesto had planned.
Héctor turned around and started to walk off. "Follow me. I'll tell everyone you'll be staying with us."
Exactly what Ernesto didn't want, but he didn't argue.
The lamps flickered back on again as Ernesto followed Héctor back to where most of the town's residents were gathered. Ernesto glared at the ground and dread filled him again as he thought of how long he'd be here, stuck with all of the problems he thought he'd gotten rid of a long time ago.