Work Text:
Camilo felt nervous as he creeped out the door. If Casita felt like being rude that day, it would spell doom for his plan. Luckily, Casita was rather quiet.
After leaving Angelo earlier in the day, he found himself exploring the town again. And eventually he found himself back at the bakery where the day began. He wasn’t exactly there for no reason - there was a certain pair of girls he wanted to talk to. And lo and behold, there they were, talking about none other than Angelo Martínez.
“I’m worried he won’t actually be able to do it.” Eliza muttered, earning a scoff out of Maria.
“You worry about everything. He’ll be fine. You know he doesn’t actually care about making friends, yeah?”
“I just hope he doesn’t think we’re throwing this onto him so suddenly.”
“You guys are talking about Angelo?” Camilo asked, appearing from the crowd. Maria stared at him as Eliza jumped.
“Woah. It’s a Madrigal.” Maria noted. “And the one Angelo talked to, at that.”
“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Camilo sighed. “We’ve talked before, guys.”
“Where did you…?” Eliza whispered in response, staring at the crowd.
“You guys are Angelo’s friends, right?”
“Yeah?” Maria affirmed with an expression that seemed to think it was obvious.
“What’s the matter? Is Angelo in trouble? Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have said anything!”
“No, no! He’s fine! It’s just… Did you really tell him to make friends? I mean, he managed to pull me in. I don’t think he needs to make other friends.”
“...”
Eliza and Maria looked at each other, before a knowing smile appeared on Eliza's face. Maria averted her eyes.
“I see how it is.” Eliza snickered to herself, earning Camilo’s confusion.
“What? What is it?”
“You like him, right?”
“Wh at ?! What are you talking about?!”
Eliza sighed with a smile.
“You can’t hide this kind of stuff from girls, you know?”
“I just met him! I don’t like him!”
“Oh, but you will .” Eliza whispered with a conspiratorial look in her eye. “Tell him, Maria.”
“You’re such a hopeless romantic, Liza. I’m sure the numbskull can go and find it himself.”
“Just tell him.”
“...Look.” Maria began, crossing her arms. “On the weekends, after most people go to bed, the Martínez family likes to play a little performance. Old man Julio on the drums, Señora Martinez singing, the little kids dancing. And... Angelo on the piano.”
“He’s very good at it.” Eliza chimed in. “But he never plays in front of people.”
“Now, we’re not telling you to go listen or anything, but… well, today’s Sábado , yeah?”
Camilo stared in surprise, but nodded slowly.
Camilo was more curious than anything, so there he was. He had already planned to sneak out that night, and after the… chaos that was the engagement dinner, Camilo had a feeling the others would be too focused on themselves to even notice he was gone. And he was right - everyone was locked up in their rooms while Camilo made his way out. Not even Casita bothered to humble him.
As he walked through the empty streets, he shivered in unsettled fear. He’s never seen the streets this empty. Of course, usually no one’s awake around this time, but it still felt eerie to see a new side to the Encanto. The feeling went away when he heard a sound amidst the silence - drums, faint piano, and what sounded like voices. With newfound courage, he followed the noise.
There were lights in the backyard of Angelo’s house, and the hushed whispers of some adults. The Martinez’s were a large family. It wasn’t a surprise to see a few familiar faces in the crowd. Quickly, Camilo ran to the back and leaned against the wall without anyone noticing them.
The main family at the front of the crowd seemed to be chatting with some other people, having finished the previous song. The old man sat at the drums was in a heated debate with an uncle, while the younger children were chasing around their cousins. Angelo himself seemed to be chatting with a much, much older lady - around the same age as Abuela, Camilo reckoned. Maybe that was the matriarch of the Martinez family?
A middle-aged woman, sharing the matriarch’s features and charisma, clapped her hands.
“Ya! No more chit-chat! Let’s do another song.” She beamed, earning the cheers of the younger children.
The uncle who was talking to the old man stepped back into the crowd, calling out.
“Do the one without the old guy!”
“Aye, Pedro, you are so boring!” The old man barked in laughter as Angelo laughed.
“Calm down, dad. This isn’t your show. You can stand to not play the drums for one song.” Angelo grinned, stretching out his arms. The family laughed at that.
“Sorry!” the woman, likely Señora Martinez, added. “You want Martinez, you have to stick it out with Julio. Angelo?”
“Si, Mamá.”
The crowd cheered as Angelo began to play a little song on the piano. Something bouncy and danceable, with his father coming in with the drums. As Señora Martinez sang, Angelo seemed to move with the music. In the light of the candles, his dark skin seemed to shine with an almost ethereal glow. It was hard to deny it. Camilo couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Camilo hadn’t even noticed how much he had been staring until someone moved in front of him. Now that his view was obscured, he was able to snap out of his trance. And a short miercoles slipped through his mind. Because they were right. He totally had a crush on Angelo Martinez, and he didn’t even know him that well.
He wanted to stay longer, but when someone almost bumped into him, he realized he couldn’t stay behind for long. So just as easily as he slipped in, he left the crowd and ran back home, a mixture of giddyness and uncertainty in his giggle.