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     IT WAS A NO BRAINER that camilo had picked dare once again, but what had surprised the boy was the fact that the journal was a bit thicker than usual.

hurrying towards the corner of the library that had a comfortable beanbag and a curtain for those who wished to read alone without others seeing, camilo had plopped onto the seat, prying open the notebook.

     inside, not only did he find the usual message from the mysterious girl, but clamped in between the pages was a neatly folded piece of fabric.

     "what the hell?", the fifteen year-old muttered to himself, unfolding the square cloth that was silky soft, revealing it to be a handkerchief.

looking more closely, a green chameleon had been sewed onto the bottom right corner of the hanky.

'dear camaleón,

from your previous message, it seems to me that you're more of the mischievous, life-of-the-party type of boy.

so for your dare this time round, you're to head to the amaro's embroidery shop and attempt to sew a butterfly of your desired color'.

"pft! sewing's easy! if mirabel can do it, then so can I!", camilo haughtily proclaimed.

'sewing's not as easy as you may think', felicia had wrote, causing camilo to frown.

'and to heighten your motivation, I have decided to give you an incentive. if I approve of your finished product, I will allow you to give me a dare next round'.

at that paragraph, the middle madrigal had widely grinned, feeling a wave of determination bubble from his pit of his heart.

     'best of luck, camaleón — three days time.

     signed by mariposa'.

     slamming the journal shut, camilo had held up the handkerchief with his right hand and dangled it in front of his overconfident expression.

"I'll be sewing the best butterfly that you'll ever see. just you wait, mariposa!"

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valentina was much less to say shocked at the fact that the camilo madrigal had arrived in front of her parents' shop after his morning shift of babysitting.

well, mirabel was there as well, but it wasn't unusual for the girl to be there, for she loved spending her free time embroidering.

     "welcome mirabel! oh, I see that you've brought your cousin as well!", valentina's mom noticed.

     "yeah...I hope you don't mind. camilo's been wanting to get into sewing. isn't that right, camilo?", mirabel smirked, gently elbowing her cousin from the side.

     camilo coughed a little, as he cleared his throat, simply nodding.

"oh, well, welcome in then! valentina, could you guide them to the crafting room please?", mrs. amaro called out.

"of course mamá. right this way mirabel and...camilo...", the fifteen year-old amaro gestured.

     the two madrigals then followed valentina, who had left them by themselves, as she didn't wish to intrude by inviting herself.

     "so first, you must choose a color. which one do you want to go with?", mirabel questioned.

     camilo hummed, as he spread all the spool holders across the table.

the fifteen year-old boy originally didn't want to ask mirabel for help, but seeing that she was his only cousin that he knew enjoyed such activities, he had set aside his pride for a brief moment to ask her for assistance.

     and mirabel? well, it didn't take her long to figure out why her cousin was doing this. she just pretended that she didn't know the real reason behind all this.

     "umm...pink? I don't know...I think this color's pretty", camilo pointed out, picking up the rosy string that was tightly wrapped around a spool holder.

     "okay, now what design are you trying to make?", mirabel asked.

     "a butterfly", camilo straightforwardly answered.

     "a butterfly? really? are you sure?", mirabel teased, lightly chuckling at her glaring cousin.

     "what? can't a boy like butterflies too?!"

     "they can. I'm just worried that the person you're gifting this to won't recognize it as one", mirabel snorted, to which camilo's jaw had dropped in disbelief.

"WHO SAID THAT I'M GIFTING THIS TO SOMEONE?! AND I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I'LL BE SEWING THE BEST DAMN BUTTERFLY YOU'VE EVER SEEN!", camilo declared.

"geez! I was just joking, camilo. no need to get so defensive", mirabel coughed, hiding her laughter, as she mentally noted to make sure that camilo suffers during this lesson.

"anyways, you then have to thread the spool through the tip of the needle", mirabel started, showing camilo how simple it was by doing it herself.

     the fifteen year-old boy determinedly nodded, as he squinted his eyes, attempting to get the string through the puny hole, only for him to continuously fail.

     holding the two objects under the direct sunlight, camilo began getting impatient, meanwhile mirabel simply observed with a shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

     'it was genius of felicia to put him through this', mirabel complimented.

     "not as easy as you thought, huh?"

     "shut up!", camilo snapped back, grumbling to himself, as he plotted the mystery girl's dare.

     "just you wait! I'm coming for you, mariposa", he seethed.

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     'dear mariposa,

     you must really like making me suffer. not only did I have to shake away my dignity and ask my cousin for help, but it took me nearly fifteen minutes just to get the thread through the needle!'

     felicia lightly chuckled at that, to which mirabel — who was sitting right beside her with a book open at hand — had slyly glanced over and cracked a small smile.

     'anyways, with great resolution and the thought of you completing the lovely dare that I've written down below, I persevered'.

     felicia snorted at that paragraph.

     'the cockiness of this boy...'

     she had then unfolded the same fabric that she had used to sew the chameleon on. surprisingly, the butterfly on the right corner of the handkerchief was actually quite delicate.

though the backside had many knots and messed up stitches, the frontside didn't look half bad — for a beginner that is.

"what's that, felicia? did your book friend give you a gift?", mirabel questioned, feigning innocence.

felicia nodded.

"yeah...pretty, right?", the sixteen year-old genuinely smiled, showing off the piece of artwork to her friend.

"sure. anyways, what's your truth this time?", mirabel asked.

"ah, well...I said that if he did good enough, that I'd accept his dare...", felicia explained.

mirabel flinched at that comment. if she knew that felicia was going to be completing a dare based on how well camilo had sewn, she wouldn't have only made him start over six times!

"w-what's the dare then?", mirabel awkwardly chuckled, internally apologizing to her friend, as she knew that camilo could be a little petty for revenge — just like herself.

"mm...let me read it first", felicia replied.

'for your dare, you're to dance at the center of the town's party this friday'.

felicia's heart dropped at that particular sentence. she had heard about the villagers forming a gathering every friday evening to celebrate their hard work throughout the week, but she certainly didn't expect her dare to be so audacious.

"felicia, are you alright?? you look a little pale", mirabel noticed.

the sixteen year-old had continued reading, meekly giving mirabel an uncertain hum, as she felt the air in her throat clog.

     'and to end this off, you must write about your experience: the song, how the music made you feel, the people you danced with, the before and after.

     you strike me as the reserved, I'd-rather-be-home-reading-a-book type of girl. hence I hope this helps you get out of your shell.

signed by camaleón.

p.s. deep breaths in; deep breaths out. it surprisingly helps (>‿◠)✌︎'.

     though the little drawing at the end was adorable, felicia couldn't help but cringe at the thought of dancing in the center of everybody.

     'what if they think I'm a bad dancer? do I even remember how to dance? when was the last time I danced?? what if people think I look weird? what if I trip and plummet to the ground? what if I—'

     "felicia!", mirabel harshly whispered, nudging her friend, who had slowly resurfaced back to reality.

     "yes?", the sixteen year-old managed to squeak out.

     "so? what's the dare?"

     "to...dance...", felicia dryly replied, "in front of everybody...at the center of friday's gathering".

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