Whenever I think of you,
How I wish you only knew,
That you might be my dream come true.
But what do I have to do to make you notice me?

-

In truth, he felt more anger than pity for you. The sight alone made him want to gag, watching you chase your tail, hoping for something that will never happen. It drove him crazy seeing the way you looked at his brother, eyes so soft, full of warmth, what's worse, is when he found himself wanting that very same look.

-

Carlos  stood  up  on  the second  floor, arms  perched  on  the railing, his eyes peered down,  looking  at  his  brother as    he  was     swarmed   with  people, 'happy  birthday'   they    kept   saying, giving   gifts,  exchanging  smiles  and hugs.

"Buenas   Tardes,  Matias!" A    joyful voice muttered. "Say, have you  seen Carlos  anywhere?"

Carlos  turned  to  see  his own father, he   smiled  with  a nod. "Si Señor." He began    mimicking   someone    else's voice.  "I  saw  him  walking outside a few minutes ago."

"Gracias, parce!" Felíx   muttered, giving him a pat on the shoulder before  descending down the flight of stairs.

Carlos grinned, content.  One  of  the things he was better at than his twin was imitating others. Camilo made it a point to be noticed, to   be  seen  as someone else, while maintaining  his carefree attitude. Carlos wanted to be hidden, unseen, he took pride in not being recognized, a true chameleon, his mother had said.

His  thoughts  were  interrupted  by a small chuckle,  he  cocked  his head to the side - and there you were, smiling at him, hands behind your back.

"Tricking your own father?" You muttered, with a playful smile. "How cruel."

He stepped forward, taking away the distance   between   you.   "What   a strange way to say 'Happy Birthday'." Carlos uttered with a laugh.

You hummed, tilting your head to the side. "Happy Birthday, Carlos." - sometimes it was annoying how you would easily figure out it was him, no matter what he did, he just couldn't seem to fool you.

"Lemme guess." Carlos began, leaning  forward, trying to  take  a   peek   over your shoulder. "You have my present behind your back?"

"Maybe." You raised a brow,  grinning. "Though I can't exactly give  it  to  you. That'll be too suspicious, Don't you think so, Matias?"

Carlos   shifted   back  to himself  -  his hair bouncing with him as he did. The two of you stood within arms reach. "I believe you have what's mine."

You   let  out  a  laugh,   shaking   your head, bringing  your hands forward; a small gift box now in view, pushing it towards him. ". . . It's not exactly much, but I hope you like it."

He wraps his hands around the box, fingers skimming over your own, and even if he doesn't want to, you quickly retract your hands away from him and back to your sides.

Carlos looked back at you, wanting to say something but was stopped as you let out a hum of surprise, you turned towards the railing, your fingers curled around the wooden banister - gripping tightly, knuckles turning white.

Carlos followed your gaze, quickly seeing what had set off such  a reaction from you - there stood his brother, arms wrapped around a girl, who's name Carlos couldn't bothered to remember.

He watched as your expression soured, lips twisting into a frown, eyes narrowed tightly, you were jealous that much was clear - all of a sudden, you turned back towards him, with a forced smile.

"Happy Birthday again, I have to get something – I'll,   uh, see   you    later though!".  Not  even  waiting    for     a response, you left, hurrying down the stairs all to see his precious twin brother.

He looked down at the box, his grip growing tighter, once again, he was left alone.

______________________________________

Carlos had his fair share of admirers, surely not as much as his brother did, but still enough that he had to turn them down every now and then, and one of those times was right now.

The girl, who's name was Silvia, Sofia – just something with an S – he didn't know and he didn't care, balled her eyes out at his rejection. Carlos looked at her unamused, unsure of what exactly she was expecting. They had spoken twice, at most, and here she was crying, as if she was expecting him to proclaim his love to her.

Finally, she left, tears still cascading down her face.

Carlos let out a sigh, tired, running his fingers through his hair.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Your voice called out behind him, he turned, and while he was happy to see you - it seemed like you didn't return that sentiment.

"What else could I have said?" He said  with a huff. "I couldn't lie, and leading her on seems pretty cruel, even for me."

"Still." You began, rolling your eyes. "You could have been a lot  nicer in saying it." You   crossed  your  arms together,  almost  protectively,  eyes drifting  down  towards  the  ground. ". . .You don't know what it's like for the person you love not to love you back."

Carlos wanted to laugh at that, really he did.

He knew exactly how it felt.

_________________________________

   Carlos was tired of this whole fucking thing. Tired of being ignored, of being shoved aside as if he was nothing more than just spare parts, most of all, he was tired of seeing you get hurt.

You should be smiling, you should be happy — you deserved to be. The moment he saw those tears falling from eyes, something inside of him snapped, he wanted to rip his brother apart, but was stopping himself knowing that wasn't what you wanted.

Carlos stood by, unable to give you the comfort you needed. You sat, hidden in the shadows of the building, your choked sobs reaching his ears, it tore at him.

Why couldn't you just have met him before his brother?

Why couldn't you just love him instead?

______________________________________

"That . . . " You began when everything he said finally sunk in,  you looked up with a mix of confusion, shock and  most of all  dumfoundedness. "How exactly would that help?"

"Simple." Carlos grinned. "Me and him are twins, we've always wanted what the other has –     believe me,     I'm speaking from seventeen years of experience here."

"I, I don't."   You said,  your eyebrows knitting together.   "I don't think your plan is going to work."

He leaned closer, wrapping  an   arm around you.      "What do you have to lose? Trust me, once he sees how good you are to me, my  brother   will  want you more than anyone else in Encanto."

Your eyes seemed to light up of Camilo wanting you, your eyes drifted down, you were thinking about, there was pause, a quiet moment before you said –

"Alright, I agree to your deal."

Camilo smiled, beaming with happiness. He looked between the two of you, before his eyes landed on his brother. "Can't believe you got a novia before I did!" He laughed, and clasped his hand on his twin's shoulder, shaking him slightly.

Carlos smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I did, I'm pretty lucky aren't I?"   He    looked   towards  you, catching the way your  lips  quivered slightly,  clearly    this      wasn't     the response  you  expected,    or   rather, wanted, from his brother.

A painful prick, a stab in the heart, a reminder that Camilo only saw you as a friend.

Carlos watched as his brother turned his attention towards you. Camilo placed a gentle hand on both of your shoulders - catching you off caught. He smiled warmly, saying your name with softness. "I'm happy for you two, I know my brother can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he's a real softy. He'll try his best to make you happy – I just know it!"

You looked at him, eyes a bit shaky, your lips pulled into a thin line, pushing up a wavering smile.  Carlos could see you were holding something back.

Camilo flashed you another bright smile, giving you a pat on the shoulder - before pulling away. "I'll leave you two then!"

The moment his brother was gone, Carlos turned to you, seeing tears brimming your eyes as you glanced at him, with a smile so . . . broken.

In that moment, Carlos didn't just want to hurt his brother, he wanted to hurt himself, if he was the cause of your pain – he would.

__________________________________

     Carlos would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy this play you and he had agreed to do, he knew it was all fake: from the way you gently pulled him into an embrace, the soft looks you exchanged, the way your hand caressed his, all of it was fake, but he pushed those thoughts away, even if it was pretend, as long as he had you, even for a short moment, that would be enough for him.

He watched as your gaze still lingered on his brother, it always did, no matter what was happening, you always seemed to find him in the crowd, drawn to him like a magnet.

He could never understand why.

What made his brother so special?

They shared almost everything – what made you fall for his brother ?

Carlos always observed people, it was of the things that made his mimicking almost perfect; from their mannerisms, to the way they said certain words, but he never liked observing his brother, people always compared them, urging him to be more like Camilo – he hated it.

But you, not once had you ever compared the two of them. You saw the things in him that no one ever seemed to see, the same way he saw you. He noticed the little things you did, they were things he kept to himself, unsure how to even say them.

All of a sudden, you turned back towards him, the warmth of your smile catches him off guard.

"You're. . . wearing it."

"Hmm?" Carlos muttered, looking down, a handmade bracelet tied tightly around his wrist. He brought it closer towards his face, glancing back at you with a playful smile. "I always wear it, I just hide it well." He laughed. "What came over your mind when you made it so . . . pink? and full of tiny hearts?"

You chuckled, having a hard time containing your laughter. "I - I didn't think you'd actually wear it! "

". . . It was included in your gift box."

"--as a joke!" You grinned.

Carlos wanted to hit his head on the nearest wall, the teasing he got from his siblings , cousins and his parents just from seeing it once was enough embarrassment for a whole entire year, but seeing the look on your face, the smile you held, a smile because of him.

It was all worth it.

He let out a laugh, and moved to pinch your cheeks, much to your resistance. "Okay, you little brat, you better make and wear a matching pair, or else."

You laughed, grinning  as you  tried to swat his hands away. "Alright! Alright! I will!"

As the two of you looked at each other with carefree smiles, Carlos wished it was always like this.

______________________________________

Everyone had a breaking point, Carlos was no different.

"I love you." The words seemed   to escaped from his mouth,   before  he could even stop himself. He watched as your expression twisted, between confusion and disbelief – you stared at him.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, you laughed, a  dry  and      humorless laugh. "That's a cruel joke, even for you, Carlos."

"It's not a joke." Carlos said, desperation clinging to his voice. . "Why can't you just love me instead? Camilo and I  share the same face."

You glared at him, biting back the vile that rose to your throat. "You think I'm that vain?"

"No." He was quick to answer, now unable to look at you directly.  "I'm that selfish."               An eerie silence enveloped the two of you, it made it hard to breathe. Carlos wished you would just say something - anything.

". . . After everything I've done." You began, tears streaming down your face. "You can still say that?" Your voice cracked, you shook your head, eyes avoiding his. "You deserve someone better, Carlos."

He stepped forward, wanting to tell you that he didn't. All he ever wanted was you. His    hand   reached out to touch you – but you took a step back.

"There's someone for you, Carlos. Someone who will love every bit of you, who will make you so happy." You looked at him, smiling.

"---But I don't think that person is me."

In that moment, Carlos felt his world shatter right in front of him, he wanted to say something but his body betrayed him, unable to utter a single word, he watched as you turned, and left him all alone.

He wished that you knew that you were the only one he would ever love.

-----

Yayyy, hope you guys like that! >3
I'm sorry if it's not good or anything, I don't really do angst, my specialty is fluff and (attempts at) humor!

Thanks for reading! (*˘︶˘*).｡*♡
This was way shorter than what I originally wanted so I'll probably do an extension of this (good ending maybe?) when I get some motivation.

I just realized the song above could apply to the Carlos and reader -- wahhh, anyways the lines are from "Dream Come True" by Cassie Williams. it's a real nice and upbeat song about unrequited love, that if you really listen as some yandere-ish undertones.