"Y/N?"

You glance over to see Vanessa, looking really confused.

The strange thing was, despite the heat and how uncomfortable it had made you before, you liked the heat you were getting from Usnavi. It made you feel blissfully warm and sent butterflies all through you.

But you shouldn't be on him. It's not like it was on purpose in the first place- but everyone here didn't know that. And he was still on a date with Vanessa, one of your good friends.

Too embarrassed to look at Usnavi, you mumble, "Sorry," then scramble off of him quickly and keep your eyes on the ground. You know your face is red. You know everyone is looking. You just don't want to face the reality of what had just happened- that you had fallen on top of Usnavi, and all anyone had seen was you on him. You feel your face heat more as you imagine what people thought had been happening.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Usnavi get up too as "ohh"s, laughs, and many inappropriate things come from the crowd.

"Why were you on top of him?", Vanessa asks. Her dark hair sticks to the side of her face from the heat, and her tan cheeks were tinted pink. Confusion and something else that you couldn't quite place shine in her brown eyes.

"I-it was just an accident. It was dark, and I couldn't see where I was going-"

"Then this guy hit her, causing her to fall down and take me with her," Usnavi interrupted.

You slowly lift your gaze and see Benny standing next to Nina, and they were whispering to each other with sly smiles, you guessed about you and Usnavi.

"Nothing happened, Vanessa," you say, finally looking her in the eye.

She gives a small nod. "I know. You wouldn't do that," she replies, but still looks troubled.

The lights flicker, then go out again.

Not wanting anything to happen again, you carefully make your way through the dark and stuffy club, feel relief spread through you when you see the green exit sign.

You push the door open, and your eyes hurt against the bright light. Hoping Benny, Vanessa, or Usnavi didn't follow you, you hurry down the street, away from the club.

"Abuela, I don't know what to do," you sigh ten minutes later. "I like Usnavi so much, but it's pretty clear he likes Vanessa. And that she likes him."

"Paciencia y fe," she responds, taking a small bite of her cherry piragua.

"But how can I have faith when he likes someone else?" You groan, then take a huge bite out of your passion fruit (parcha) piragua. "Why is romance so hard?"

Abuela looks at you, a bit tired. "Y/N, you need to talk to Usnavi."

"I have. Many times. Maybe I should just... move on."

Abuela shook her head, a discreet movement. "I need to rest, but please feel free to talk to me whenever you need it. I would again recommend having an honest conversation with Usnavi."

You nod. "Gracias, Abuela."

"De nada."

You begin to walk away.

"Oh, Y/N?"

You glance over your shoulder.

"Paciencia y fe."

You smile and nod, then continue down the street.

You weren't ready to talk to Usnavi about how you felt. Even though you knew it was what would be best for you, you just couldn't yet. So you decided to go to the one place where you could always count on to give you answers.

"Y/N!", yells Daniella and Carla as you walk into the salon.

"Come, sit," Daniella says, gesturing to an open seat.

You sit down, and she continues. "Would you like a trim?"

"No thanks, Dani." Despite what you said, Carla picks up a spray bottle and Daniella picks up a hairbrush. As they start to brush through your hair, you continue. "Actually, I was hoping for some... information on, uh, someone."

"Oh, you want some gossip?", Carla asks.

"On who?", Daniella asks.

"Um, Usnavi," you reply hesitantly, not sure what they would do with that.

They both stop what they're doing at the same time, and spin your chair around so that you're facing them.

"Do you like him?", Daniella demands.

"Um..."

"You can trust us," Carla says.

"Kind of," you mutter.

"No me diga!", they both exclaim.

"So you want some dirt on your little hat-wearing boyfriend, huh?", Daniella asks slyly.

"He likes Va-"

"Shh. I have some info," she interrupts. "So some little birdie told me he just got a little crush on someone he's known forever."

Your heart rate increases, but you try not to get too much hope. Daniella could be talking about Vanessa.

"How recent?"

"Preeeetty recent. Within the last few days, I think." Daniella studies you. "How long have you liked Usnavi?"

"Pretty much since I first met him."

"Which was when?"

"When I was thirteen."

Both Daniella and Carla open their mouthes in surprise.

"For nine years?," Carla asks in unbelief.

You realize how pathetic that sounds. "I guess."

"Oh, honey," Daniella says sympathetically. "Why haven't you asked him out?"

"He was always busy with his bodega, and I never really thought he liked me. I was about to ask him out today, because something happened that made me think that maybe he did like me." You sigh, thinking back to that moment two days ago...

"Hey, Usnavi," you said as you entered his bodega.

His face lit up as he looked up from the coffee he was making. "Hola, Y/N."

"So-"

"Y/N!"

You freeze when you heard the familiar voice.

You turned around and saw Carlos, the guy who had bullied you as a kid. He had pretty much left you alone until a few days ago, when you had run into him at the piragua stand. He said something rude about finally growing up and that he might even consider letting you kiss him. You got so mad that you were at last able to shoot him a retort, in which all his friends laughed at him. You walked away before he could say anything else, but now he was back.

You slowly turned around. "Carlos," you said flatly, trying to not let your fear show.

"Y/N. You will pay for being a brat." Carlos took a step closer to you, and you took a step back.

His two friends were on the left and right side of him, and had stone expressions, while Carlos was smiling- in the creepiest way possible.

"For being the most annoying person in my life for twelve years." He took another step closer, and you backed into the wall. "For never knowing when to shut up." One more step. There was only a foot in between you and him.

Now, you weren't defenseless. You knew how to fight. But Carlos was strong- and his friends were stronger.

"For being the ugliest person in existence, almost just to mock me." Another step, and there were only a few inches separating you two.

Anxiety and panic spread through you. Were you going to get a bloody nose? A black eye? A million bruises? All three?

He pulled back his fist, you squeezed your eyes shut in anticipation.

Suddenly, you heard a lot of grunting, and opened your eyes to see Usnavi on top of Carlos, fire shining in his eyes.

Usnavi was kind of a scrawny person, but right then, he looked as if he had the strength of all three of them.

One of the guys was moving towards him to get him off of Carlos, and you ran over and punched them in the throat- an extremely painful spot to be injured in. He fell to the ground in pain.

Seeing the largest of the three with his gaze trapped on him, you ran over, pulled Usnavi off of Carlos, and holding his hand, ran out of the bodega.

You both ran, as fast as you could, breathing hard, and not wanting to turn around.

Finally, you made it to a park a few blocks away, and stopped to breathe.

After a minute, you both were at a normal breathing pace, and sat down on a bench together.

Before you could thank him, Usnavi turned to you and asked, "Who were those guys?"

"The guy that was about to punch me was Carlos. He's always hated me for some reason. I told him off in the park a couple days ago, and I guess he came back from revenge," you explained.

He shook his head. "That guy is a total jerk. All the stuff he said..." He looked into your eyes, and you felt captured by his intense stare. "You know that none of it was true, right?"

You looked away. "I used to let it get to me when I was young. My parents had left me when I was seven. I'd lived with my uncle ever since, and I had so many insecurities. Did my parents leave because of me? Was I just not enough? But after a while, I got real friends who told me that what he was saying was crap. I never really let it get to me that much as I got older." Why had you told him that much? Only Benny knew that, and that was because he was like a brother to you.

He didn't say anything for a moment, then wrapped his arms around you. Warmth spread through you. "You are the opposite of everything he said. You are selfless, kind, patient, and beautiful. Don't forget it."

Your heart beat fast as his amazingly sweet words. Usnavi was the greatest person in the world.

"Thank you," you whispered back.

He let go of you, keeping his hands on your arms. You looked at his handsome face, and wished you could tell what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he began to lean in, and you freaked out inside.

This time, you waited in hopeful anticipation.

Just as you could feel the steady pace of his breathing on your lips, someone cleared their throat.

"Ahem."

You broke apart quickly, heat rising to your cheeks.

Sonny was standing there with a smirk. "Am I interrupting something, cus?"

Usnavi didn't say anything.

You quickly stood up. "Thank you so much for what you did, Usnavi. I'll never forget it. But um, I need to go now," you said awkwardly, then rushed off.

Why did you always have the worst luck?

You snap back to the present when Daniella says, "And?"

You quickly finish your story. "But just as I was about to, Sonny asked out Vanessa for Usnavi."

They both just stare at you compassionately, and you squirm under their gaze. People looking at you for too long made you feel self conscious.

Suddenly, Daniella's face lights up. "I have an idea," she sings, excited.

"What?", Carla asks, equally as excited.

"Makeover!"

Uh oh. You didn't like the sound of that. "Makeover?"

"They're having a big 4th of July party tonight, right? You need to impress him!", Daniella says.

You think about it for a moment. What's the worst that could happen?

"Okay," you say cautiously.

"Yay!", squeals Daniella and Carla.

You regretted it already.