chapter seventeen

"How are you holding up, mija?" Pepa approached Carla after she saw her daughter walking away from a woman she was previously helping carry some stuff.

Carla looked up to see her mami and smiled. "Surprisingly fine." Was her short reply before she was suddenly pulled into a hug.

"I'll say. Oh, corazón, I'm just so proud of you." Pepa said, smothering her daughter with kisses all over the face before giving a final one on the crown of her head.

Carla hissed as she felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

Pepa ignored her comment but still pulled away to look at her daughter with a wide smile on her face — Carla was pretty sure a rainbow would've appeared over their heads if they still had their gifts. "Dolores told me about what you guys did yesterday and oh, I just wished I could've been there too."

Her cheeks still slightly red from her mother's rather display of affection, she turned away so she had a view of all her siblings scattered around, helping and doing their tasks. A fond smile made its way onto her face.

"It's because I have awesome siblings."

She and Pepa then saw Camilo drop the shovel Mirabel gave him after he tried — and failed — to do some sort of trick with it.

Carla made a face. "Most of the time."

After a few more minutes of talking with her mother and Pepa absolutely smothering her with more hugs and kisses, saying how proud she was that she was making progress, Carla finally managed to escape only to stumble upon the sight of another townsfolk struggling to carry of equipment at once.

Carla closed her eyes and took a deep breath to collect herself before carefully approaching the poor guy.

"Do you need any help?" She'd lost the stutter after the first few people she offered to help — although her voice did still carry a hint of hesitation and unease.

Startled, the guy jumped back, causing some of the stuff that had been piled up to lean dangerously to the side. Carla immediately went to straighten them up, before ultimately deciding to just take the stuff for herself to carry, lessening the guy's burdens.

She heard the guy sigh in relief. "Thank you." He said.

Carla, who was busy adjusting her grip on the equipment, was about to reply back a 'no problem', but was cut off when the guy suddenly gasped causing her to look up at him in alarm.

She was instantly met with a familiar pair of hazel eyes.

She realized, her eyes widening.

The two stood there for a few moments, staring at each other in shock before they both realized they were staring and immediately looked away, an awkward silence falling upon the two.

"So uh," the guy cleared his thought, "should we get going?"

Carla hastily nodded before she started speed-walking forward.

"Wait! I was actually headed that way." The guy said pointing to his left.

Carla blushed.

-

Meanwhile, Camilo and all three of his primas were there at the side, witnesses to the whole thing.

Camilo groaned. "Great. A guy our age. Just perfect!"

He then started to march his way over towards the pair that were walking towards the people that were working on the second floor.

"Camilo, where are you going?" Isabela asked.

"Where else? To save my sister from that vicious predator, of course!" He said before he started grumbling under his breath about him 'not having to deal with these types of issues before'.

"Oh no you don't!" Isabela exclaimed. "Luisa, get him."

Now, Luisa may not possess her gift of super strength anymore, but all that working out was definitely not for nothing. She ran after Camilo, plucked him off the ground, before carrying him back towards her sisters — one of which was trying so hard not to laugh, while the other had a stern expression on her face.

"Luisa! No! Put me down! I have to go and save my sister!"

"No can do, primo pequeño. Let Carla make new friends on her own, and that fellow is hardly a " Luisa replied as he put him down in front of Isabela and Mirabel.

"But— but– does her new friend really have to be a guy though!?"

"That makes it even better." Isabela said, a smirk growing on her face. Mirabel saw this and couldn't fight back the smirk of her own.

Camilo only looked horrified.

"No! Let me go! I need to save Carla, now!"

-

Apparently, the guy earlier was Nicolas Alvarez, the eldest child of the extremely friendly family that Carla led into Encanto a year ago.

After a few minutes of just silence — as the two were sent out to fetch more supplies — Nicolas decided to introduce himself, followed by an apology about openly staring at her the other night. He explained that he and his entire family were amzaed with Encanto and the Madrigals with their gifts, and that they all met everyone except for her and Bruno. They only heard stories about the both of them and they only had an idea of what she looked like because of the mural. He then told her that the reason he was staring was because he thought that the mural gave her beauty no justice which, of course, caused Carla to turn into a tomato that had arms and legs.

They were both silent the whole time after that. Mostly because Carla was still flustered about the sudden compliment and because Nicolas was extremely embarrassed that he blurted that out without thinking.

So after they fulfilled the tasks given to them, they didn't waste any time in going opposite directions, desperate to not embarrass themselves any further.

-

Mirabel was just about to go and look for others that might need her assistance when she came across a sullen Mariano by the front steps of Casita.

She asked approaching him.

Said man replied, earning a weirded out look from Mirabel. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at her ar that moment.

She shook her head before she helped him stand up.

She asked with a suggestive look on her face.

As if summoned, Dolores suddenly popped up, startling the both of them. She then proceeded to yeet her prima away, wasting no time in taking her place.

She recited in one breath, effectively taking his breath away as Mariano started looking at her in a new light.

Mariano said, making her to smile.

Dolores replied.

"Yes!" Mirabel and Isabela cheered from behind a donkey, high-fiving.

"No more late night whining and complaining!" A third voice cheered from behind them.

Isabela and Mirabel raised a brow after they turned and saw that it was Carla who had exclaimed the last sentence.

"What? I love my sister, really, I do, but if I have to endure one more night of her basically professing her love for Mariano, I might just drown myself in the river nearby."