47. Twitterpated

I wrote this chapter when I realized I was writing too much Angst. It helped me remember what this story is about. Also, who doesn't love the shenanigans these three get into, even as adults and parents?! XD

In other news, I just spent the entire day reading a webcomic called Mercenary Enrollment. No regrets, but I'm all caught up and now ai have to wait for updates. Ugh lol at least I update more than once a week! XD

Anyways, enjoy!

~Star

One day, Julieta noticed something…off about two of her hijas. Both Luisa and Mirabel had been acting strange recently. Nothing concerning, just spacier than normal—distracted. In her room, she had brought this up to Pepa and Bruno, and they had their own complaints.

"Camilo has been acting the same way!" Pepa gestured wildly with her hands, her cloud stormy. "I ask him to do something, and I have to ask three times. I don't know what's going on with that chico."

"Diego's been distracted, too." Bruno frowned. "He almost walked into the wall last night when he was heading to his room."

Julieta fidgeted with her hands, worry starting to fill her. "Do you think something's happened? They may seem alright, pero so did we when we were younger, and we hid a lot from Mamá."

The three of them fell silent at that, a very real fear settling over them.

"Are they keeping things from us?"

"We told them they can tell us anything!"

"I know, pero Julieta has a point!"

"We need to talk to them—"

"Obviously they don't want to—"

"¡No me importa!"

"Hey!" Julieta said sharply, silencing her siblings. "I know we're worried, pero fighting isn't going to solve anything."

"Then what do you suggest we do, Juli?" Pepa demanded near tears, her cloud drizzling. Bruno leaned to the side to knock on her wooden bedframe three times.

Julieta was very serious when she said, "We spy on them."

Silence.

"Juli, you're a goddamn genius!"

"Aren't we a bit old for stuff like that?" Bruno shrunk back at their piercing glares. "Alright, alright, fine!"

Pepa scoffed. "Don't act like you've never spied in your life."

"Not as much as you and Juli."

Before any further arguments could happen, Julieta quickly refocused Pepa and Bruno to the real issue: figuring out what was bothering their niños!

~o.8.o~

Parents they might now be, the townsfolk knew the Madrigal Trillizos were up to no good when they snuck around like they were doing right now. It was almost hard to believe they were in their forties.

"Okay, this is ridiculous." Bruno complained. "We're never going to find them like this." They had been sneaking around every corner for the past hour, and haven't seen a trace of their niños they were looking for.

"It's because you suck at this."

"I resent that!" Normally he'd trigger a vision, but they'd been harder to direct since Antonio's ceremony, so he relied solely on involuntary ones and Flickers lately. It would be just his luck that none would happen when he needed it.

Julieta tuned out of their bickering, looking around for some type of indication her niñas were near, when she found one. Not the ones she was currently looking for, but it still counted!

Isabela was on the other side of the street, hands on her hips, and glaring at someone. When she looked closer, Julieta found it to be the young man that had somehow secured a friendship with her eldest despite Isabela's 'dislike' of him.

Joaquín Sánchez was a tall dark-skinned young man a shade darker than Félix, his afro cut closer to his head. He never grew tired of messing with Isabela, not since primary school, and had managed to survive into young adulthood after 'poking the beast', as Camilo liked to call it. Repeatedly.

Julieta thought it was cute, and the two might have been cute together if they didn't annoy each other so much.

"Isa!" Julieta suddenly called, surprising her siblings and her daughter at the same time. She quickly approached the pair.

"Hi, Mamá."

"¡Hola, Señora Madrigal!" Joaquín greeted easily, pulling her into a hug.

"Mamá! Don't hug him!" Isabela gasped, scandalized. "You'll catch his stupid! Not even your food can cure that."

"Oo, ouch. That really hurt, Isa." Joaquín mockingly clutched at his chest after he let go of Julieta. "Is that the best you can do?" He teased with a smirk.

Isabela just rolled her eyes, holding her tongue in front of her mamá. She didn't dare curse in front of Julieta Madrigal. "Were you looking for me?"

"Oh no, I don't mean to bother you, mija. I was just wondering if you knew where your hermanas are? Abuela needed them for a task and I couldn't find Dolores." Julieta said it as innocently as possible.

Isabela thought for a moment. "I think Mira said she was going to get some material for a project. I'm not sure about Luisa. She kinda does her own thing."

Julieta smiled and took her face in both her hands, pulling her down to kiss her cheek. "Gracias, mija. I'll see you at dinner." Isabela smiled back at her before she turned. Julieta didn't see Isabela flick a handful of flowers into Joaquín's face, but Pepa and Bruno did and they snickered.

"So?" Pepa asked.

"No luck on Luisa, though Mira said she was getting fabric today." Julieta said excitedly. "There's only one place in town for that, and that's the García's Shop!"

The triplets quickly made their way there, only to find no Mirabel in sight. They looked around a little more, only to come up empty-handed. By this point, Julieta was in tears. The younger two quickly moved their hermana to a secluded bench a few blocks from the shop.

"Ay Dios, we were so terrible to Mamá." Julieta almost sobbed. "Mi bebé won't tell me what's wrong." She gasped in horror, a hand coming to her mouth. "What if one of the villagers is using her?!" It was one of her greatest fears ever since her Gift was revealed.

"That won't happen." Pepa thunder, expression fierce. "Lolo would have told me."

Bruno placed a hand on Julieta's back and opened his mouth to say something when movement caught his eye and he paused. Then his mouth hung open.

"Then why would she lie?" Julieta nearly wailed.

"I think I know why."

Both hermanas turned to Bruno, only to see him looking at something in bewilderment. They then followed his line of sight and Julieta gasped—this time in delight.

Not too far from them stood Mirabel, and the angle allowed them to see her but not vice versa. She was leaning her back against a stone fence, hands behind her back. Her head was angled upward, smiling at something.

At someone.

To Mirabel's right, Javier Suarez stood very close to her. He had an arm propped up against the stone fence as he leaned towards her, yet still respectful of her space. His other hand gestured in the air as he talked. He was a tall and lanky teen that was in Mirabel's class, and very fond of hyperboles. Julieta knew of him because her hija talked about him all the time, but it had only been in a casual manner. She had never suspected this!

Julieta excitedly patted Pepa's arm in quick succession when Javier flicked her glasses playfully, earning him a jab to his ribs that made the boy flinch away with a laugh. "Did you see that?!" She whisper-hissed, not taking her eyes off the sight of her bebita flirting! It was freaking adorable!

"I did!" Pepa hissed, doing her best to contain a squeal.

Bruno couldn't help but squint his eyes. "Isn't she a bit too…young?"

"Nonsense! You introduced me to Félix when I was sixteen!"

"Point taken."

The three watched a little longer before they decided to leave, letting the two have their moment away from family.

Julieta felt much better as they walked down the street. "Ay, I can't tell if I'm really happy, or just glad it isn't something bad."

"Probably a bit of both." Pepa and Bruno said at the same time. Julieta had to agree with them.

She suddenly paused, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Bruno asked, concerned. Julieta was usually the calm one of the three. Seeing her so emotional in such a short timeframe showed just how strongly she felt about all this.

"All of our chicos have been distracted recently." Julieta began.

Pepa's eyes widened, rainbows appearing over her head. "You don't think they could all—"

"That's completely unlikely!" Bruno butt in. "….right?"

They shared a look with each other, realization settling upon them. At once, all three exclaimed, "¡Ay Dios mio!"

~o.8.o~

Luisa was the next Madrigal niña they set out to find, but instead found the tallest nieto and Bruno's eldest. Diego, for some reason, was hiding under the bridge. The only thing that stopped Bruno from going over to make sure he was okay was Diego's constant peeking of the upper level, as if he were waiting for someone. So they waited in turn.

They weren't disappointed.

After five minutes of waiting, a teen girl around Diego's age approached the bridge. Her skin was similar in shade to Mirabel, her dark wavy hair in a single braid that reached her middle back. Dressed in a red skirt and white frilled shirt, she began to cross the bridge and Diego ducked back under and out of sight.

"I know her!" Pepa squealed. "That's Romera López!"

Bruno groaned. "Señora Juana López's youngest? The woman who still hates me for 'killing' her daughter's fish?" He did air quotation marks when he said 'kill'.

"That's the one!"

"Of course it is." Bruno grumbled before Julieta shushed them.

They refocused on the scene before them. The entire time she was crossing the bridge, Diego looked to be crossing his fingers and holding his breath. Once she was on the other side, he poked his head out to watch her go. There was no denying the lovesick look on his face, his cheeks clearly tinted for all to see, even from their distance.

Julieta and Pepa turned to Bruno at the same time, a charmed and teasing glint in their eyes. Bruno blushed.

"The mango doesn't seem to fall too far from the tree, eh, hermanito?"

"Ugh, cállate."

Julieta giggled. "He really is adorable, Brunito. Just like his papá." She moved to pinch his cheeks and he slapped her hands away.

Bruno glanced back at his hijo, who was now sitting on the ground with a flower in his hand, a faraway look on his face. He hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I should have a talk with him, help him find the confidence to at least talk to her."

Pepa nodded. "That seems like a good idea."

~o.8.o~

The Madrigal Trillizos decided to get something to eat before continuing their search for their suspicious niños. Now that it was two-for-two, they were really hoping young love was the only reason they were acting this way.

They didn't really want to think about the other reasons until they knew for sure.

Heading to the market, they picked up some lechona and a couple patacones and buñuelos to enjoy for a late lunch. They went to find some seating when Julieta stopped suddenly. The street was packed and they had been walking single-file, so Pepa and Bruno nearly ran into her.

"Juli! I nearly spilled my food on you!" Pepa protested as she tried and succeeded in saving her food from falling to the ground. Looking around her hermana to see what stopped her, Pepa squeaked.

Seated not too far from where they were standing, Camilo sat with another teen—a girl. They both had notebooks and pencils on the table, but they weren't paying attention to them. Camilo was currently gesturing wildly with his hands, his expressive face shifting to convey whatever he was talking about. The near constant smile on his face spoke volumes, as did the dreamy look on the girl's face as she watched him. Chin resting in the palm of her hand, the brown-haired, fair-skinned teen just watched him with a smitten look, a silly grin on her lips. Noticing her look, Camilo paused before rubbing the back of his neck, blushing. She shook her head fondly before leaning forward, lips slightly puckered. Camilo grinned and met her halfway, pecking her on the lips in a chaste kiss.

Julieta and Bruno had to all but manhandle Pepa away as she seemed to burst at the seams with rainbows and sunshine.

"That's Nohelly Echevarria." Bruno said when they were safe enough away. "She attends the puppet shows every Tuesday almost religiously and loves acting almost as much as Camilo."

"You haven't had a vision, have you?" Pepa asked eagerly. She deflated a little when he shook his head.

"No, pero, that doesn't mean nothing will happen. Or that it won't last." He grinned. "I think we just needed the extra push when we were younger. Our niños—they're too confident for their own good."

Julieta laughed. "There's for sure!"

~o.8.o~

By evening, Julieta was once again getting worried. They had been out for most of the day, and while they found most of their twitterpated niños, they had not found hide nor hair of Luisa, and it made her think of the worse.

Where was her hija?

"I'm sure she's alright, Juli." Pepa soothed, rubbing her back lightly. "How about we ask her when we get back to Casita?" Honestly, they could have done that from the beginning, but the triplets never thought to ask first—that was always the last resort. Plus, it wasn't as fun.

Julieta nodded, letting out a soft sigh. Reaching Casita, they went straight for the stairs. It had been a long day, and they were exhausted—she was so thankful it was Félix's turn to cook dinner tonight.

Julieta had just taken a step when Casita's door opened and in walked Luisa. "Luisa!" She ran straight to her daughter, Pepa and Bruno right behind her, exhaustion forgotten.

"Mamá!" Luisa greeted with a startled smile. She then frowned when she took in her madre's worried face, the same reflected on her tío's and tía's faces. "Did something happen?"

"Where were you, mija? I've been looking for you all day!" Julieta fretted over her hija, becoming more and more concerned when she noticed the state of being—Luisa looked as if she had been working hard all day. "Did someone make you work for them?! Today's one of your off days!"

Luisa blinked, shocked at her normally calm and level-headed mamá's erratic behavior. "Uh, n-no, lo prometo. No one had me working for them."

"Then why do you look like you've been in a field all day?" Julieta was starting to get mad now. 'Who the fuck is pushing mi hija so hard?!'

Luisa noticed this, and panicked. "I was practicing!"

Silence.

"Practicing?" Julieta repeated slowly. She watched as her tallest hija blushed and took hold of her left arm with her right hand.

"Sí, practicing." She shrugged. "You know, dancing."

"Oh." Then, "what for?"

Here, Luisa ducked her head bashfully. "I wanted to do something for you and Papí's anniversary, pero I'm not talented at making things like Mira, and I can't make pretty things like Isa, pero I can dance really well, so I wanted to…do a performance…for you." The last few words came out in a whisper.

Julieta's hands came up to cover her mouth in awe, before she pulled her hija into a hug. "Oh, that's so sweet, mija." She kissed her cheek and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I ruined the surprise. I can't wait to see it."

As madre and hija had a moment, Bruno and Pepa shared a look, soft smiles on their faces. Young love may not be the reason Luisa had been distracted recently, but they were all relieved it wasn't a reason they were familiar with.

They couldn't wait to see her performance.

After dinner, Bruno had a talk with Diego out back. Rico laughed when his hermano nearly fainted from embarrassment, before joining in. Diego was sure he'd die that night, he'd never been so mortified.

Marlena and Ofelia could only look on fondly, knowing smiles on their faces.

There you have it! Puppy loooove! Lol it was actually fun writing this chapter. I missed their mischievous sides. Your reactions to Dolores' chapter also made me realize I need to write chapters for any romance the kids have lol oy ve. This story will never end, will it? XD

Still in the roadblock because I was reading webcomics the whole day lol will fix that tonight, promise…or not. I might open art commissions cause ai need to save up for a new snake enclosure. We'll see.

I changed my lock screen on my phone to glowing yellow butterflies. An obsession, guys, IT'S AN OBSESSION!

Until next time, ¡adiós!

~Star