✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

CAMILO WAS OUT AND about, searching for the "exciting place" that he had promised to bring felicia to.

     lo and behold, while he was searching for places to take his crush out on a date, he had actually spotted her with nicolas.

     "ugh, where's dolores when you need her?", camilo muttered beneath his breath, as he shape-shifted into a random villager in attempts to get closer to them.

     "are you sure that we don't have to get anything else? I keep feeling like we're forgetting something...", felicia stated.

     "nahh~ I'm sure mama and papa's got everything prepared already. they just needed some extra beef", nicolas assured.

     "ah okay..."

only hearing bits and pieces, camilo shuffled a little closer without being aware of the rest of his surroundings. accidentally getting shoved by a by-passer, the madrigal had unfortunately bumped into felicia.

     "¡¡ay, lo siento!!", the by-passer apologized, as they quickly scurried off, meanwhile camilo had groaned and pushed himself off the ground with both hands.

     "felicia! are you okay?", nicolas worried, helping the girl up, as he secured the diaz's weight by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

     "y-yeah...are you okay, sir?", felicia questioned, making camilo confused, until he had realized that he was still transformed as one of the townspeople.

     "I-I'm okay! I'm great! are you guys okay? sorry about that", camilo apologized.

felicia just nodded, as nicolas held the basket of beef in his other hand. his arm had then slid down to hold felicia's waist, causing the sixteen year-old to slightly flinched at the closeness.

"we should get back soon. they're probably all waiting", felicia suggested, as camilo just stood there, staring.

'the sooner we get back, the sooner he can take his hand off me...', felicia prayed.

"for sure", nicolas smiled, swindling the girl away, as felicia spared the "townsman" one last glance.

for some reason, she swore that she felt some familiarity within those eyes. her eyes squinted as she thought that she had briefly saw the eye color of the man change from brown to toad-green, then flickering back to brown. however, she didn't get to look too long, and simply brushed it off, as nicolas started asking her about her date with the madrigal.

     camilo started dragging his feet back home, where he had shifted back to himself once he reached the front door.

though just before he had placed his hand on the doorknob, he spun on his heels and trekked towards the river.

     softly panting from speed walking so quickly, camilo decided to take a short break by sitting on a random patch of grass. the edge of the river nearly soaked the brim of his sandals, as he curled up into a ball and stared at his own reflection. 

     "what's so good about him anyways?", camilo grumbled. shapeshifting into nicolas for a split moment, he tugged on "his" dark ebony hair and poked "his" clear fawn-colored skin.

"okay...so he's pretty good looking, but not better looking than me!", camilo grinned, reverting back to himself, as he dramatically placed his right fingers upon his chest in a prideful manner.

though when a minute of silence had passed, the madrigal was back to moping.

"tch, who does he think he is...putting his arm around her like that. and where are they even going?"

when given no answer, the boy had only become more paranoid, picking the grass near him and throwing pebbles into the shallow waters.

"they're probably having dinner together...", camilo muttered to himself, as he noticed them mentioning beef.

"and they're probably eating with each other's families...", the boy mumbled, reminding himself that it was about to be dinner time for him as well.

     making no move to head back, camilo had just sat there for a good while, until the sun had started setting.

camilo suddenly remembered that notebook girl had told him to come here if he ever needed to relax. and he supposed that this was why his feet had unintentionally driven him here.

"it's actually quite calming..."

even though the palm trees stuck out from behind the fluffy bushes that were across the river like a sore thumb, the sun's rays had illuminated the serene waters — giving it a golden glow.

magenta flowers that bloomed near the area were also reflected upon the river, which were accompanied by the thin white clouds that barely shielded the lavender-pink sky.

slightly smiling, an idea had suddenly popped into his mind.

     "I'll bring her here...yeah, she'll definitely like it here..."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     'dear mariposa,

heeding to your advice, I've visited the river where it all first started. it was wonderful — soothing and a scene that's incomparable!

although I did not spot a deer, perhaps I'll have better luck the next time I visit.

also, my crush and I have decided to meet up again, thanks to my family's nosiness. however, I have a feeling that perhaps I'm not her exact type...I unconventionally saw her with a guy's hand around her waist, and she didn't even bother pushing it away. what's your viewpoint on this?

     and I hope you don't brood too much over the guy. if he hasn't made any efforts of asking you out again, he's probably not worth your time!'

     felicia smiled at that, as camilo did in fact ask to take her out a second time, so she can conclude that he is worthy of her time.

     'signed by camaleón.

     p.s. I choose dare ᕙ('▿')ᕗ'.

"dare...ah! I have just the perfect one for him!!", felicia grinned. though just before she could start writing, penelope had barged into her room, causing her to shut the journal and slip it between the other books on her desk.

"penelope, I thought I told you to knock before coming in first?", felicia sighed.

"well, maybe next time!", the little girl shrugged.

"but you say that every time...", felicia replied.

"ANYWAYS, I came to tell you that your prince charming is waiting downstairs with flowers", penelope teased.

     "h-he's here?? already?!"

     "yeah, I bet it's because he ran all the way here", the younger diaz giggled, earning her a pinch to the cheeks by her older sister.

     "oh hush! let me braid my hair real quick before going. could you tell him to wait a few minutes please?", felicia asked, to which penelope obnoxiously groaned, complying anyways.

     meanwhile felicia split her hair in half and tied them into dutch braids, the younger diaz jumped down the spiraling staircase to meet an anticipating camilo.

     "so...where's your sister?", camilo asked, as phoebe had offered the boy a cup of water, per her mother's instructions.

     "she said that she's not coming", penelope bluntly lied.

"w-wait, what?? what do you mean she's not coming? did I do something?"

"I wouldn't listen to her, camilo. penelope likes to prank people sometimes", phoebe exposed.

penelope gasped at the betrayal from her own twin.

"phoebe, you're supposed to be my partner-in-crime!"

camilo had then ruffled penelope's hair, causing her to slap the boy's hand away.

     "you know I hate when people ruin my hair!"

     "and that's for playing with my weak heart", camilo retorted, earning a huff, as a snicker was heard from the bottom of the stairs.

with all three shifting their attention towards one direction, felicia had proceeded to make her way towards camilo, who had straightened his posture out of nerves.

     "I'm glad you're getting along with my siblings, camilo. sorry about penelope though", felicia apologized, to which the middle madrigal had just shook his head.

     "no need. I like playing pranks too, isn't that right, penelope?"

     "yeah, antonio tells me alllllll about it", the five year-old exaggerated.

     felicia only lightly chuckled, as camilo handed her a petite bouquet of pink tulips that matched her skirt.

     per camilo's request, felicia had worn a short skirt that only went slightly past her knees, accompanied by her usual white top with ruffles. though of course, she also had camilo's yellow ruana draped over her arm, ready to be returned to its original owner — with a mochila bag slung across her shoulders.

"thank you. they're very pretty", felicia smiled, hugging the bouquet, as she had given camilo his ruana back.

easily slipping it back on, he had never been more grateful for the bright colored clothing, for the other ones were just not the same.

"okay okay, now go!! have fun and make sure you come back before the magic wears off, felicia!!", penelope laughed.

felicia waved goodbye to her sisters, as camilo had offered his hand out for the sixteen year-old to take.

hesitantly, felicia allowed the tips of her fingers to shyly brush against camilo's palm, to which the boy had boldly held the girl's hand with conviction.

     as he guided her through the village and into the forest, she had started to recognize where they were heading.

     "how...how did you find this place?", felicia softly questioned, starting to gain a few suspicions.

     "a-ah, well...this is where the miracle was born, and I am a madrigal, so..."

     "oh, right...", felicia responded, her inkling dissipating with camilo's reasonable answer.

     once the two had halted in their tracks, felicia had awed at the view. no matter the amount of times that she's seen it, she still could not get over how aesthetic everything was.

     camilo, who believed that this was felicia's first time seeing this place, praised himself internally for bringing her here.

     'and now, all I have to do is act more mature...'

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     AUTHOR'S NOTE: my writing will never do justice to the beauty of this place-

     also, thank you for reading my dearies! much love to y'all <33