"Guess you're stuck with me."

The word stuck would be putting it lightly, your fingers fiddled with the hem of your skirt, bunching up the fabric as uneasiness flowed through your nerves. It'll be okay - he won't do anything as long as everyone is here. You thought, trying to calm down.

You hear your name being called, whipping your eyes towards the head of the table, you see The Madrigals Matriarch - Alma, flash you a gentle smile. "It's been a while since you've last joined us, we're happy to have you back."

You quickly mustered up a smile, fixing your posture. "Thank you for having me."

Alma nodded. "Of course, You're always welcomed here, child." Her eyes shifted, looking over the three of you. "It's so nice to see all of you together again, isn't that right?" Her smile tightened as she glanced over towards her children - Pepa's eyes narrowed slightly as if unsure of what to say before she nodded. "Right, Mama."

Julieta smiled, face holding it's usual warmness. "Just like when you three were little." She let out a soft chuckle, her eyes drifted towards you. "I still remember how Mirabel and Carlos would always fight over who gets to sit next to you and Mirabel would-"

"Moommm." Mirabel groaned, sinking her face into her hands, embarrassed. Her mom only laughed in response.

Beside you, Carlos clicks his tongue in annoyance.

"We better start eating before anyone here pulls out any embarrassing childhood photos." Isabela suddenly muttered, with a small smirk.

Everyone seemed to agree, as they all started digging in, idly chatting amongst themselves. You stared at the food in front of you, fingers curled around the spoon but unable to move - your mind wandered towards what Julieta had said; Mirabel and Camilo had done the same when you were little.

You wondered how similar this world would actually be to yours. And if it was so similar, how exactly did Carlos become like how he is now?

You found yourself looking at him through the corner of your eye, examining how his lips curled into a tight frown, eyes a bit more sunken. You choke on air as his eyes suddenly shift - looking down at you, whatever semblance of a frown disappearing from his face, replaced with a lopsided grin.

You quickly turned your attention back towards your plate and actually started eating, awkwardly munching on your food, still feeling his eyes on you. Leave me alone - go eat your food. Shoo. Shoo.

Mirabel gently tapped your shoulder. "You alright?" She asked, with a worried smile.

You nodded rather stiffly. "You look great." She said, grinning proudly. "Just like I knew you would."

"Thanks, Mirabel." You replied with a small smile. "I'm sure whoever wears this will look great due to your amazing skills of course." Her smile brightened. "Stop it." She laughed - "But go on." With a free hand she jokingly waved to you to continue.

Your brows narrowed playfully before you laughed with her, but the moment was quickly interrupted when something nudged at your side, your eyes hardened -

"Carlos."

"Hmm?" He hummed in mock surprise, turning towards you. "What is it?" He asked, faking innocence.

You rolled your eyes, letting out a groan, turning back towards your food. "Nevermind, I don't wanna look at your face anymore - it's gonna make me lose my appetite. "

"Oh." You could practically hear his grin stretching. "You say that now but. . . you said something else when you kissed me."

If there was food in your mouth - it was safe to say you would have been absolutely choking on it right about now. You froze in your seat, a voice inside your head repeating what he just said over and over like a broken record. Did. . . did the other-you kiss him? No, that, no way!

He's lying. You thought. He's just trying to get a reaction out of me again. You gently placed the spoon down. "And--" You say, biting back the urge to throw up. "I've lost my appetite."

"Well." He laughed. "If you don't want to eat it - then just give it to me. "

There's a flash of familiarity that makes you feel like you're back in your own world, with Camilo pestering you about food - how he always seemed to convince you to admit that you wanted seconds to his Tia Julieta so you could sneak off and eat them together.

You found yourself looking back at him, Camilo's name escaping your lips before you could stop yourself.

Carlos raised an eyebrow, but smiled. "I thought you didn't want to call me that anymore, hermosa?"

You shook your head, feeling your heart hammer loudly against your chest. Of course, He's not here. You told yourself, trying to calm down. I. . . I'll never see him again. You feel tears brimming at your eyes, you stand up from your chair.

"Please excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

You quickly left, unknowing of the worried eyes that followed you.

___

You hurriedly splashed some water on to your face, droplets cascaded down your face - quickly staining your clothes but it went unnoticed as you stared at the mirror in front of you.

You didn't even have the energy to cry anymore.

You let out a defeated huff, pressing your back against the wall and looking up at the ceiling. ". . .Casita, what am I going to do?" You groaned out, taking another deep breath stopping yourself from rambling - knowing full well that Dolores would hear you.

The Encanto was born out of magic, it was a miracle. Your situation, on the other hand , was the farthest thing from a miracle - a nightmare perhaps. The worst part of it being you didn't even know how you got here, one random day you woke up and here you were, thrown into a strange replica of your home.

You sighed. I don't know what to do - all I want is to go home, my home.

A knock interrupted your train of thought, you tried to fix your attire and hair, trying to look presentable - slowly you opened the door, and the town's seer greeted you with a small wave. "You okay kid?" He asked. "You've been in there a long time."

"Uh, I'm fine."

"Got stomach problems?"

"N-no--"

"It's okay, kid. Everybody gets them."

You sighed, accepting the fact that some stomach issues are better than an existential crisis - especially since you were only seventeen. You stepped out of the bathroom, making way for him to go inside.

"You should head back, they're serving dessert!" He said happily, and stepped into the room, he moved to close the door but you stopped him. "Uh, kid, are you not done yet? Hold on, I just gotta wash my hands again, Julieta says it's because I touched Galeno, oh, he's one of my pet rats--"

"Can you show me a vision?" You interrupted him.

His face scrunched up, before he quickly shook his head. "Uhhhh - No." Bruno said. "You know I don't do those anymore."

You seemed to shrink under his gaze. "I- I know but please?" You asked. "I feel like I really need this." I just need something - a sign, anything, that I won't be here forever.

He sighed, opening the door widely and placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. "Look - I'm not sure what's going on, kid. . . But it's best if you just leave the future, uh in the future, whatever's meant to happen will happen."

Was me being stuck here supposed to happen? You pushed that thought away. Of course not, this whole situation didn't make any sense.

". . .I understand." You relented with a defeated nod, there was no way you could force him to do it.

"Thanks, kid and whatever you're worried about - it'll turn out okay, I promise." You hope that what he was saying was true. "Now, go and enjoy your dessert!"

You returned to the dining room, trying your best to avoid eye contact with him, sitting down, your eyes widened and a smile made its way to your lips - the dessert in that table was your absolute favorite.

"You okay?" Mirabel piped up from beside you. "I was about to come get you --"

"I appreciate it but really you didn't have to ask your mom to make my favorite." You said with a smile.

She blinked, then smiled nervously.

"Oh, uh. . . that wasn't me."

The smile on your face slowly fizzled away, confused. Then the sudden realization hit you - with a quick glance to your side - your suspicions were confirmed.

Oh.

Wow, it's our first real hint of Carlos not being a total asshole! Yay! >3

Anyways, as always, thank you all so much for reading! If you guys like this, then you might like my other Encanto fics!

That's all, see you next chapter!