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CAMILO WANTED TO SCREAM. why in the world did he ask that? and the fact that felicia had taken him seriously and conjoined their hands, left camilo speechless and blushing.

the usual freckles across the boy's cheeks and nose were now dusted with a layer of pink, and it didn't seem like it was going to disappear anytime soon.

     felicia's other hand found it's comfort against the upper half of camilo's arm, her body almost subtly behind his, as she watched various animals squawk and swing from branch to branch.

     "can we sit down somewhere first?", felicia whispered, her breath fanning a little too close to the boy's ear, causing an uprise in color.

     "y-yeah, of course!", camilo quickly agreed, bringing the other two diazs towards the middle of the tree, where lights hung beautifully across each branch, illuminating the seating area.

     phoebe had promptly climbed down and crawled onto her sister's lap, peeking through the strands of hair, as she watched antonio and her other sister swish through the jungle.

"phoebe, do you want to go join them?", felicia quietly asked, to which the five year-old had just shook her head, content with where she is.

     felicia had then soothingly rubbed the little girl's back, meanwhile camilo had tapped phoebe's shoulder, causing the five year-old to turn around and look up.

"phoebe, look! it's chispi the capybara! I think she wants to play with you", camilo smiled, petting the ochre animal while extending his other hand out.

"do you want to go pet her? she looks very nice and calm", felicia stated, noticing the capybara's half-lidded eyes and peaceful demeanor.

phoebe held her breath, as she hesitantly accepted camilo's hand, to which it had led the girl's own hand towards the furry mammal.

after a couple of pats, phoebe started smiling at the fact that the capybara had laid down beside her. the fifteen year-old madrigal had then handed the younger diaz some leaves that he had torn from the nearby branches.

phoebe watched as the capybara devoured the snack with no haste, meanwhile camilo — who was sitting with one of his legs bent in an acute angle — had propped his elbow against his knee. his charming face rested against his palm, displaying a gentle stillness that had given felicia an idea.

the oldest diaz shuffled through her bag that she had brought along, taking out a box-like structure that was neatly wrapped by a satiny fabric.

     felicia absolutely loved her kodak brownie, the camera that her dad had left behind for her.

     stealthily placing the box camera right before her eyes, felicia had snapped a picture of the two, alerting them with a quick flash.

     "hey! what was that for?", camilo questioned, not even realizing that he had zoned out for a moment.

     phoebe was already used to it, as felicia took many pictures of the twins and their mother. whether it be their first opening day at the café, or just the twins matching outfits and eating cake, there was always a camera present at the event.

     "it's for the memories. apologies, I should've asked first. would you like for me to get rid of it?", felicia asked, setting the camera onto her lap, as camilo just shrugged.

     "I don't mind. I was just wondering. have you always had that camera?", the boy curiously inquired, to which the sixteen year-old had nodded with excitement.

     "it's a kodak brownie. it takes two and one-fourth inched square pictures, and has one-hundred-and-seventeen roll films. sometimes I like to take pictures of the pretty nature, but mostly of my family!", felicia exclaimed, her smile suddenly dropping, as she realized that camilo probably didn't care.

     "I...yeah, I've always had this camera...since I was seven...", the sixteen year-old bashfully answered, as camilo just lightly chuckled, admiring how the girl had lit up when talking about her box camera.

     "aw, don't be shy, princesa! say, who takes your pictures if you're always the one taking other's?", camilo questioned.

"oh...I don't really do good in front of cameras...I wouldn't want to waste the film just because I can't pose", felicia explained with a fiddly expression.

"nonsense! everyone and anyone can pose; just watch!", camilo proclaimed, as he stood up and transformed into felicia — proceeding to lift his arms up and pretending that he was on a runway.

felicia couldn't help but feel embarrassed yet silly at the same time. it was like watching her own reflection, yet the reflection was vastly different from herself.

"oh dios mío, camilo! please stop before I cry", felicia giggled, wheezing, as a sly camilo had suddenly snatched the camera from the girl's lap and snapped a picture of her.

     "camilo!!", felicia gasped with surprise, standing up and chasing after the perky boy, who had only grinned in victory.

     "camilo, give me back my camera!", felicia demanded, attempting to reach for it, as the two were basically the same height.

     though the fifteen year-old madrigal had leaned his right hand backwards, felicia pushed forwards, causing their faces to be too close for their comfort.

     in the heat of the moment, camilo had lost his balance and caused the two teenagers to fall onto the ground, resulting in the three children to look over.

     "OOOHH!! FELICIA AND CAMILO LIKE EACH OTHER!!", penelope shouted, to which felicia had immediately pried herself off of the middle madrigal.

     "penelope!! what're you saying?!", felicia flustered, as she nervously checked to see if camilo was okay.

     "are you okay, camilo?? you didn't hit your head, did you? should I ask señora julieta to make you some arepas??", felicia worried, helping the teenage boy sit up, as she also carefully checked on her camera, just to make sure that nothing was broken.

     camilo simply facepalmed, as if groaning at the fact that he had tipped over, when in actuality, the boy was desperately trying to shield his ongoing blush.

     after setting aside her prized possession, she had called out for camilo once again, with penelope and antonio joining phoebe and the capybara.

     "camilo, are you seriously okay?", felicia softly mumbled, kneeling in front of the fifteen year-old, who had to clear his throat before answering.

"yeah, I'll...I'll be back", he replied, hastily standing up and striding out of antonio's room, leaving felicia with the three kids.

"don't worry, felicia. I think camilo's just going to get some arepas from tía julieta. he looks like he bonked his head pretty hard", antonio chimed in.

"thank you, antonio", felicia smiled, patting his head, as penelope had tugged on her older sister's other arm.

"felicia, can you read us a story please??", penelope begged.

"for sure, but is that okay with antonio and phoebe?", the oldest diaz questioned.

"yes!", the other two children replied in sync.

"alright, let me take out the book then. pick a spot to relax against", felicia instructed, shuffling through her bag once more.

as the sixteen year-old leaned against a thick trunk with a children's picture book laid across her lap, phoebe and penelope immediately took their place beside their sister.

noticing that antonio was still awkwardly standing and fiddling with his fingers, felicia had brightly smiled and offered for him to take a seat on her lap.

"can I really??", antonio asked.

"of course, antonio! come", felicia ushered, allowing the five year-old madrigal to get comfortable, as she placed the book in front of him — opening it wide enough for all four of them to see.

"okay, are we all set and ready?", felicia asked.

"yep!!", penelope loudly chirped, meanwhile antonio and phoebe had just silently nodded.

"okay! once upon a time..."

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camilo nearly tumbled down the stairs with how fast he was trying to escape from the room. thankfully casita was there to catch him on his last step.

"too close...too close, too close, TOO CLOSE!", camilo repeated.

"what's too close?", bruno questioned, seemingly to have just appeared from behind camilo, causing the boy to shortly shriek.

"¡¡ay cielos, tío bruno!! are you trying to scare me??", camilo heavily exhaled, grabbing a leftover arepa that was placed on the counter from julieta's morning baking.

"lo siento, camilo. but are you alright? I heard you muttering the same phrase to yourself over and over again. and meanwhile I do the same thing...well...you didn't live alone in the walls for ten years...", bruno dryly joked.

"I'm okay. I just fell and hit my head", camilo briefly explained, not wanting to go into detail about how his newfound crush had—

     'wait, crush? do I—'

     "ah, well...bye then!", bruno replied, having to have had enough social interaction for the day.

     camilo hastily finished the arepa in his hand before aggressively scratching his head and tangling his curls even more.

     "I don't have a crush. I don't have a crush. I don't have a crush!", camilo muttered to himself, stomping up the stairs, as he placed his hand on antonio's doorknob.

     taking a deep breath in and out, camilo gently peeled open the door, only to find the twins and antonio half awake, all tilting against felicia — who was reading a fairytale with a lulling voice.

     feeling someone's stare, felicia had taken a moment to glance upwards, meeting camilo's startled expression, resulting in the slamming of antonio's door.

     raising a brow, felicia continued reading, as the three kids were slightly shaken from the sudden loudness.

     meanwhile, camilo's back was pressed against the other side of his brother's door. gradually sliding downwards, camilo had clutched his chest as if he were in pain.

a moment of silence ensued as camilo used his other hand to cover his mouth from the instant realization.

     "well shit! I think I have a crush..."

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