((Ngl, I wanna make a book on this, like the spin off gay version of Wonder 🥺 I'm having flashbacks to that one scientist character from Villainous but I can't remember his name. Enjoy y'all, requests are hopefully gonna start publishing out more))

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There once was a sweet boy who wore a paper bag over his head, shutting his identity from the world, drawing a fake smile on the brown material with a Sharpie to cover his face. He was young, vital, and had so much potential in his body, greeting everyone with a delightful voice every single day on college campus.

As some cliché stories like to be, he was bullied from time to time, but on the other half, those who didn't care about the paper bag over his head were his true friends. A young man by the name of Scar, stuck inside a wheelchair, was one of the kid's best friends. Lots of students tend to call them misfits, but it wasn't necessarily a horrible thing since some students encourage their nice behavior and appreciate both of the characters.

"Grian, what is the answer to the equation about proportional logarithm to the base 10?" The professor asks solemnly, taking a glance down at the study guide packet laying out in front of him. Some of the students in that calculus class have no idea what the female professor is asking, some don't even know what the mathematical terms are.

The boy looks up at her towering body. He doesn't generally speak often, typically does a few greetings to fellow friends or acquaintances, but he keeps his words short and sweet unless he is forced to speak so he doesn't seem rude. The bottom edges of the bag crinkles as he looks down at his perfect work.

Grian doesn't want to answer out loud, so he makes a first attempt at pointing down at his answer in hopes that she will understand. But alas, the professor wasn't budging on the idea so he released a tiny sigh since he didn't want to agitate her.

His words spoke fluently, girls and boys in the surrounding room leaning in their seats to listen closely, some of the people in the room even swooning under his silk driven words. Under the paper mask, his cheeks scorch with heat at all the eyeballs staring at him. From across the polished wooden table, Scar gives a bright thumbs-up, beaming to give reassurance that he did fantastic.

"Outstanding answer, Grian. Jevin!" The young adult in a white hoodie flinched from across the room "What is the answer to question three about numerical values and their purpose?" The professor strolls away from Grian, giving his tense body some time to relax. Scar leans forward to catch Grian's attention.

"You did great, Grian!" Scar whispers, giving yet another thumbs-up and a little wink. Grian could've sworn he saw a miniature cartoon star next to Scar's small wink.

"Thanks, Scar," Grian sighs again, tugging his attention back down to his work so he can listen to the correct answers.

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"Mumbo, we've been friends for almost three years, right?" Grian questions, looking down at the ground while holding useless college textbooks close to his chest. Beside him, a tall attractive man with a strong jawline and cute raven stubble is walking at his exact pace. Mumbo smiles down at Grian, intertwining his hand with Grian's free one.

Just strong platonic friends, Grian would always have to remind himself.

"Now that I think about it, yeah, that sounds about right," Mumbo swings their arms loosely, a little flutter tugging on Grian's heart. No matter all the countless times girls have asked Grian out with a giggle, he would always have his heart settled on Mumbo, whether Mumbo sees them as friends or not. Why would a handsome young man such as Mumbo want to date a freak like Grian?

They walk in comfortable silence, well, comfortable for Mumbo at least as Grian can feel his inward emotions dying, or as he likes to describe it, 'Mental health gradually decaying under the sweet smile of this man'.

For all the years Grian has been friends with Xisuma, Scar or Mumbo (there are plenty of other people he is friends with, that is just naming a good few) he has never divulged his face or any sort of facial recognition. The only people who see his face are his parents, not even his little sister, who is currently attending middle school.

Should he reveal his face to Mumbo? He has considered it multiple times since he greatly trusts Mumbo but at the same time... one of his greatest fears is abandonment from the one person he deeply loves. Mumbo isn't one to judge people by their looks often, it would only make sense if he stays. But there is another section of Grian's brain that keeps telling him to never reveal his face for the sake of his friendship.

Grian can sense Mumbo taking a deep breath to release it, as if he is nervous. The boy looks up, not bothered by the sun's brilliant glints passing in between the branches and leaves. The two don't go to the same college, so they would walk through Craft Beach Park near the outskirts of town to catch up on any recent news in person.

"Mumbo, is everything alright?" Grian tilts his head, one side of his paper bag winkling as it presses against his shoulder. Mumbo gives another smile to silently reassure Grian that he is alright and definitely not on the edge of a massive gay panic. His palms becoming sweaty and his smile falling apart says otherwise.

Mumbo wants to see what is under that signature bag super badly, his curious nature was always hitting him in the back of his head. He is a nice young man though, respecting Grian's privacy and will only take the bag off once he gets consent. If he gets consent, excuse the author's poor grammar choice.

Or so Mumbo thought.

He couldn't control himself anymore, love consuming his heart as his innocent fantasies dominate his mind. His fingers let go of Grian's before gently pushing Grian onto a nearby oak tree, entitling Grian to drop all of his books. Mumbo lifts the bag enough so he can see Grian's lips. Grian was still, utterly silent except for when his breath took a painful hitch at the back of his throat.

Mumbo presses his lips on Grian's, his eyes fluttering shut, living in a tiny moment of bliss as huge sparks of massive emotions burst in his chest. He always imagined Grian's lips being soft, but now his questions about them are answered. Grian grips onto Mumbo's black sweater while passionately kissing him back.

The bag slips off, elegantly landing on the gravel trail provided by the park.

Grian's eyes shot open before he pushed Mumbo off harshly. He couldn't move backwards since his back is flatly against the trunk of a tree. Mumbo grabs Grian's red sleeves, pausing Grian in his tracks after ready to grab his bag and dart out of the park.

They stood completely still.

The first thing Mumbo notices are the thick strands of golden curly locks flowing down the sides of Grian's head.

Mumbo's sparkling eyes then stare at Grian's frightened ones, a pair of eyes Mumbo has never seen for the three years he has been around them. He has never met such a beautiful pair before in his life. Heterochomia. One shining emerald eye and one ocean blue eye stare up at him, but the blue one is lacking color with a scar striking across it. Dull, faded, pale...

Blind.

Mumbo's perplexed gaze dances across Grian's face. A cute, red button nose and adorable chubby cheeks, but his cheeks hold multiple patches of white bandages. Based on the parts where the square patches couldn't cover his cheeks, Mumbo can tell that the flesh on his cheeks is missing, leaving only muscle to be bandaged.

If he takes off the bandages, he knew the muscles underneath would get revealed, possibly get infected. And everyone would get disgusted by the exposed torn flesh of his face.

It was clicking for Mumbo on why Grian has so many insecurities now. He was scared that people would find him both disgusting and a freak. There was so much history written on Grian's face, it was hard to read it all with one single glimpse. Not only is there one scar carved along his blue eye, but there are mini hidden ones lining his face...

Like he got surgery.

All the years that Grian has hidden face has been completely wasted. The entire time he has been hidden came to this point, showing off his face, one that he has kept hidden from everyone with no exceptions.

It was terrifying, opening to the outside world for the very first time in what feels like dragging centuries since he has always been treated as a shadow. Sure he has some popularity, but who's to say it's always good popularity? Despite some people liking him, they have never seen his physical appearance under the paper mask and he wanted to keep it that way.

What startled Mumbo next was when Grian abruptly burst into tears. All the tears dribbled down to latch onto his bandages and seeped through the material. Grian never wanted to get revealed to the outside world like this, even if people were not around, he still felt like his bare face was never meant to be uncovered.

His sobbing was loud without shame, like he has been keeping his emotions tucked in a tiny box for too long. Mumbo wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he knew doing something would be better than nothing. His arms hug around Grian's waist securely so he can pull Grian close to his chest.

The boy wraps his arms around Mumbo's broad shoulders, gripping onto his sweatshirt near his lower neck, sobbing harder as his nose digs into Mumbo's chest. His lips part open as he gasps for air in between his pitiless cries. His shoulders bounced every time he breathed in air sharply.

The intense sobbing lasted for a long time. Luckily, no individuals came by or passed, considering it's a weekday where it's most likely going to be busy on the roads. Mumbo pulls away, small enough for Grian to keep a clutch on his clothes. The raven warmly smiles, rubbing his thumb across Grian's roughly patched cheeks. He holds Grian's face gently, Grian grabbing onto Mumbo's wrist as he opens his red eyes to stare at him.

Grian tries to speak but his massive stuttering caught his words. Mumbo can only keep his forgiving smile, delivering a small peck on Grian's forehead before giving out a few more. He trails pepper kisses on Grian's face, dotting them down to his swollen cheeks very gently and adding an additional kiss on the tip of his button nose.

"You're so beautiful," Mumbo was merely breathless, stunned by Grian's wonderful features. Just as he thought Grian's sobbing was getting lighter, he erupted into another set of thick tears while grasping Mumbo with an unbelievably tight grip. Has he never received a compliment before? Surely with all the people that have asked Grian out, Mumbo would've thought he had gotten at least one compliment in his life, whether it was for his personality or something other than his face.

Mumbo tightly hugs Grian again as the boy shoves his face into Mumbo's sweater wrinkles to hide his face from the open air. "Grian, what's wrong?" The question slipped past his lips before he had the chance to rethink. He knew damn well that Grian hates his facial features, but he doesn't understand why Grian would break down with his simple gesture of kindness.

"I just-" he sniffs vigorously. "Not- Not even my parents like to- to see my face! Why are you different!? Why aren't you calling me a freak, Mumbo?! Why won't you run away from a- a monster such as m-" Mumbo vehemently kissing his lips. He releases slightly, keeping his lips brushing against Grian's.

"I want you to be comfortable around me. I don't want you to think that you are a freak, especially when I am around," he plants another kiss on Grian's lips. "You're gorgeous and I don't care if it takes me a decade for you to see that. I wish you can see yourself the same way that I do, marvelous," and before he had the chance to reconsider his own words, the vowels slipped past his tongue's grasp as he whispers a delicate "I love you."

Grian smiles, tears still streaking down his flushed face as he glimpses at Mumbo. The raven male looks back down, both of them locking eyes. Another tear slips out of the corner of his green eye.

"I love you, too," Grian giggles weakly, heart hammering inside of his chest with great emotions flooding in. Mumbo gives Grian a bundle more kisses across his precious face while saying sweet nothings to him, holding him in his arms gently, willing to take care of the shredded pieces of his fragile emotions. Grian in return gives a kiss back, staring at his eyes clearly, both of them holding one another closely to embrace this special moment.

And that, my fellow readers, is how the paper boy reached into a new chapter of his book while falling in love.