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     'DEAR MARIPOSA,

     I'm glad that you enjoyed the gathering on friday. what can I say? I'm never wrong'.

felicia scoffed at the boy's confidence, but she couldn't say that she disagreed with his assessment.

'as always, I will be choosing dare. let's see what you've got brewing for me this time.

     oh! and I just finished the second book from the tiffany raquel series. I must say, never thought that I'd find myself reading so much. I'm starting to understand why my cousin always sticks her nose in one.

     and recently, I've met a girl that's very much like the boy that you had described — charming. her genuine smiles come very rarely, but when they do appear, it's the most conspicuous (another word that I've learned) one in the entire room. although I'm not saying her awkward and bashful smiles aren't beautiful too...anyways, I hope you don't find this too cheesy.

     I suppose that since this is anonymous, it makes it a lot easier to confess things over paper, right?

     regardless, I look forward to hearing back from you.

     signed by camaleón'.

felicia smiled at the fact that she wasn't the only one who felt that they could spill their heartfelt thoughts through paper.

although one may find it embarrassing to share their deepest darkest secrets with a stranger, part of it felt exhilarating. knowing that they may never come across them, their secret is safe forever, because the opposing person doesn't know who the secret belongs to in the first place.

"how sweet of him...I wonder if someone would ever think of me like that as well...", the oldest diaz muttered, flipping to the next empty page, as she conjured up some ideas for a dare.

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'dear camaleón,

I'm pleased to hear that you're doing well. I most definitely do not find your confession cheesy. in fact, I find it very endearing and am almost envious of the girl that you're mentioning.

     please, feel free to tell me more if you'd like, as I will do the same on my end. though perhaps it'd be more about my other friends than him in particular...'

"well at least she doesn't find it weird", camilo snorted to himself, feeling a sort of relief.

     'nevertheless, your dare for this round will be to paint a picture of your utmost favorite infrastructure in encanto. once you're done within the allotted week, place the journal and painting at paulina's painting parlor — along with a brief description of what you painted and why.

I look forward to seeing your finished artwork. best of luck!

signed by mariposa'.

     a sigh escaped from the middle madrigal's lips.

     "guess I'm painting this week. oh, what a time to be alive~", the boy sarcastically grumbled, closing the journal and slyly hiding it under one of the books that he had borrowed from señora gloria, as he stood up to leave.

     though just before he had fully exited his room, he had decided to change out of his usual ruana. going with an olive green that he didn't wear often, camilo had finally left his room knowing that he'd be fine if paint had tainted this ruana.

"ah camilo, mi sobrino! a-are you busy right now?", bruno asked, noticing the boy's change of wardrobe.

     "uhh...I was just about to go out and paint. did you need something?", camilo honestly replied.

     "w-well...", bruno started, fidgeting with the hem of his ruana, as he casted his usual awkward smile.

     "I was wondering if you could go get some coffee for me", he mumbled, "at daniela's café!"

     camilo raised a brow in suspicion, though bruno had ceased his concern with his next sentence.

     "b-because you know! I...uhh...I'm not really good with talking to people, but I heard that their coffee's good, so I..."

     the younger madrigal just shrugged.

     "alright! I suppose painting could wait a little longer then. meet you at the kitchen, I'll be right back!", camilo promised, as he skipped down the stairs with casita waving its windows at him — signaling goodbye.

     bruno sighed a breath of relief, as isabela, dolores, and mirabel had all popped out of their hiding spots, joining their uncle.

     "that was GREAT, tío bruno!! maybe you are born to act!", mirabel complimented, meanwhile dolores had nodded in agreement.

     "are you guys sure that this is okay?? camilo seemed like he had something to do", bruno guiltily responded.

     "he'll be okay", isabela assured, "now, let's all go and get some coffee".

"huh? but I just told him to—"

"shh, it's okay, tío bruno~ we'll defend you if camilo says anything", mirabel smiled, as the three girls had dragged their uncle towards daniela's café.

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"mamá, how does it taste?", felicia asked, as recently, she's been helping her mother experiment with baking other flavored cakes.

     "mm! very good for your first attempt without supervision, felicia! not too much whip cream and thinly cut strawberry slices in between the layers", her mother praised.

     "I'm going to go bring a slice to your sisters. would you mind watching the front real quick? it's always pretty slow in the afternoon anyways", daniela stated.

     "go ahead! I'm just going to clean all this up first", felicia replied, gesturing to all the dirtied baking utensils.

     daniela nodded as she cut another slice of her daughter's strawberry cake, heading upstairs with it, as felicia started transferring all the appliances into the sink.

     just as she was about to start cleaning, the bell of the store had chimed, alerting her of an incoming customer.

     "hello! welcome to dani—oh, camilo!"

     camilo froze up at the presence of felicia, not realizing that she was an employee here.

     "princesa! how coincidental! I didn't know you worked here", he awkwardly chuckled, sluggishly dragging his feet towards the counter, as felicia had explained how her mother was the owner of this establishment.

     "oh...well, I'll be sure to stop by more often then", camilo muttered to himself.

     "sorry, what was that?", felicia asked, taking out a disposable glove, as she easily slipped it on.

     "ah, I was just asking if you guys had any coffee. mi tío bruno asked for me to—"

     just then, the door had opened once more, revealing bruno, isabela, dolores, and mirabel.

"oh, welcome!! I didn't know you'd all be visiting today", felicia greeted.

camilo had a look of betrayal etched onto his face. bruno simply avoided his nephew's stare, as he internally monologued about how pretty the tiles were.

     "we heard that your mother owned a coffee shop, and we just thought that we'd visit. plus, our tío bruno doesn't get out often, so this was a win-win opportunity", isabela smoothly explained.

     "well take a seat! let me start you all off with some coffee and water", felicia replied, as dolores suddenly gasped, feigning astonishment at her brother's presence.

     "camilo?? and what are you doing here?", dolores asked, causing the boy to bitterly glare at his older sister.

"oh I don't know", the middle madrigal mockingly answered, "perhaps I'm here because TÍO BRUNO SAID THAT HE—"

"would you guys like to try the strawberry cake that I just made? it's on me", felicia interrupted, as she brought over some warm lattes and water.

"aw, how sweet of you, felicia! do you need any help? because I'm sure camilo wouldn't mind", isabela volunteered.

     camilo had then realized that he had fallen into their trap, but nevertheless, offered up his services.

     "yeah, let me help carry some of those plates", camilo smiled, already standing up and walking towards the back area, as felicia followed.

     mirabel softly snickered, as bruno mused at how the coffee wasn't too bitter and even had a bit of sweetness to it.

"this is really good...", their uncle mumbled, to which another voice had piped in, causing the oldest madrigal to slightly flinch.

"I'm glad you like it. my daughter would be happy to hear so", daniela smiled.

"o-oh, yeah! it's...it's great!", bruno managed to stutter out.

"hola mrs. diaz!", mirabel greeted, as the twenty-one year-olds just waved.

"hola mirabel! would you mind introducing me to the rest of your family? I know you're dolores, right?", daniela asked, looking over at the recently engaged madrigal.

"yep, that's me", she squeaked.

"the one on my right is isabela, my oldest sister. and to my left is our tío bruno", mirabel informed.

"ah, bruno as in the one that can tell the future, right?", daniela exclaimed, resulting in bruno to cringe a little, as he worried that she had already heard all the horrendous rumors about him.

"yep, that's the one!", mirabel proudly proclaimed.

"oh, mamá, how did the twins like the cake?", felicia asked, coming out of the kitchen with a plate in each hand, as camilo did the same — except he had an extra one balancing on top of his head.

the boy insisted that he was capable of carrying all three to the table, despite felicia's concerns.

"they loved it! anyways, I'll leave you all to talk. call me if you need anything", daniela declared, as bruno sighed a soft breath of relief.

     once felicia placed all the plates down, she had went back to go retrieve some utensils.

     "so...heard you got a crush, huh?", isabela smirked, nudging the fifteen year-old boy, who just groaned in agony.

     "shut up", he grumbled, wishing just for once that dolores didn't hear everything.

     "now now, this is simply revenge for all the pranks that you pulled on us. and plus, I can see why you'd like her. she's a nice and pretty girl — an exceptional friend too", mirabel chimed in, meanwhile dolores sipped her cup of latte in agreement.

     "leave me alone", camilo moodily murmured, "I don't need any of you guys' help".

     "oh really? well, I don't remember giving you a choice", isabela huffed, crossing her arms, as felicia had swiftly returned.

     "what do you mea—"

     "hey felicia? do you mind if we ask you for a favor?", mirabel questioned.

"not at all! what can I help you guys with?", the girl charmingly replied.

"ah, well mi papá's birthday is coming up soon, and camilo wanted to bake him a cake as a present. would you mind teaching him?", dolores asked.

camilo dramatically turned his head towards his sister, eyes widening with disbelief — as if saying, "excuse me?!"

"oh...well...I wouldn't say that I'm the best baker in tow—"

"don't be humble, felicia! your cake's delicious!", isabela complimented, having to have finished her slice already.

bruno nodded in agreement, as he even sneakily fed some to his rat friends.

"please don't feel pressured, princ—felicia! they're just—"

"well...I mean I could, since it's for señor félix...", felicia said, to which camilo had immediately shut his trap and nodded.

"great! when do we start?", he asked, earning a few snickers from the rest of his family.

"would tomorrow afternoon be good? after dinner?"

     "yep! sounds like a da—plan!", camilo agreed.

     meanwhile bruno had manifested enough courage to ask for another latte, the three girls all shared the same look towards camilo.

     "you're welcome~", they whispered in sync.

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     AUTHOR'S NOTE: okay, so this chapter definitely turned out to be a bit longer than I expected. BUT, this story overall will probably be shorter.

     thank you all for the support <3