𓈊 The Red on My Face is Matching You

2

TW: mention of death/hanging and murder

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"How was school today?" Pearl asked Mumbo as he entered the kitchen for a snack. She was baking something (very obviously; she was covered in flour and cocoa powder) and it smelled amazing, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

He shrugged. "It was okay," he said. "I made a couple new friends. Their names are Bdubs and Grian." He sighed, thinking about the latter. "They're so cute..."

Pearl giggled. "A crush already? It's only the first day of the semester," she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

"They're really pretty, okay?" he mumbled, blushing.

"Tell me about them," Pearl said after giggling again.

Mumbo sighed, smiling softly. "Well, they have dirty blonde hair," he said, "and grey eyes. Oh, their eyes are so pretty..."

"Sounds like you're in love," she said, turning around to wash her hands. "Are they nice?"

"I mean..." Mumbo sighed, closing the refrigerator after grabbing an apple. "They seem nice, but apparently they have a, uh, reputation?"

"Uh oh."

Mumbo bit into the apple, not waiting until he was finished chewing to speak. "I think it's just a misunderstanding, to be honest," he said. "They probably have DID."

Pearl sighed. "Mumbo, as long as they're nice to you and they make you happy, I'll support you," she said. "But be careful. I don't like that 'reputation' thing."

Mumbo groaned. "They're not that bad," he said, and Pearl gave him a look. "Seriously."

"I'm just saying." Pearl held her hands up placatingly. "Be careful."

Mumbo rolled his eyes and walked away. "Whatever."

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"Mumbo!" Grian called from down the hallway, waving their hand high in the air. Their hair was brown and much longer than the day before and they had sunglasses on top of their head. "Hey, Mumbo!"

Mumbo chuckled. "Hey, Grian."

Grian frowned for a split second, then shook themselves and smiled again. "I go by Ren today," they said sweetly. Mumbo couldn't help but notice their eyes had changed colour, too.

"Oh, alright," Mumbo said, causing Ren to making a surprised face. "How are you, Ren?"

Ren blinked. "Wait, you- you're... you're actually calling me Ren?" they asked, shocked. "Like, for real?"

"Uh... yeah? Why wouldn't I? If you're going by Ren today, then I have no right to call you anything else."

"Oh." They paused. "Well... people don't usually do that," they mumbled, wrapping their arms around themselves. "Thank you."

Mumbo shrugged and waved a hand at them. "There's no need to thank me," he said. "I'm only doing what you asked me to."

Ren blinked. "You are," they said quietly. "You're listening to me... Do you-" They stopped and shook their head. "Never mind. Do you want to walk to class together?"

Mumbo smiled. "Yeah," he breathed. "I'd love to."

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"Hi, Bdubs!" Ren said excitedly at lunch, waving at Bdubs like a child would.

Bdubs sighed, not sparing them a glance as he sat down with his food. "Hey, Grian."

Ren frowned. "It's Ren today," they said.

Mumbo watched awkwardly as Bdubs froze and slowly looked up at Ren. The look on his face could only be described as pure horror. He didn't say anything as he stared at Ren, who looked confused. The longer Bdubs stared, the more horrified he looked. He studied Ren's features incredibly closely, tears prickling his eyes.

"I fucking hate you," he said whispered, then got up and ran out of the cafeteria.

Ren's lower lip trembled as tears flooded their eyes. "What did I do wrong?" they asked. "I just-" They cut themself off with a soft sob. "I just told him my name..." Covering their face with their hands, they sat down at the table and continued to cry. "Why does everybody hate me?"

Mumbo was at a loss. He had no idea what had just happened and every part of it was unsettling. He was beginning to think maybe Ren wasn't a good person after all.

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Mumbo found Bdubs sitting outside in the courtyard, crying.

"Hey, B-"

"Leave me alone," Bdubs snapped. "I'm not interested in talking to you right now."

Mumbo sighed. "You might be upset at Ren, but-" He stopped when Bdubs glared up at him.

"Do not call them that," Bdubs said, tears streaming consistently down his cheeks. "I don't care if they want to go by Grian or Xelqua or fucking A-b-c-d-e-f-g, but they can not steal my boyfriend's identity like that!"

Mumbo blinked. "What? Your boyfriend?"

Bdubs sighed. "You weren't here last year," he began, "but I had a wonderful boyfriend named Ren. He had long, brown hair that he always kept in a ponytail, he always had those dumb sunglasses, and his eyes were... so beautiful-" He sobbed and covered his face with his hands. "Then he became friends with a dumb new student named Xelqua and all of a sudden he went missing- And the police found him hanging from a fucking power line."

"Oh my god," Mumbo breathed. "Bdubs, I'm so sorry-"

"If you're sorry, you'll cut them off," he said, looking up at him now.

Mumbo shook his head. "No, they- they're my friend-"

"They killed my boyfriend and now they're pretending to be him!" Bdubs shouted.

"How do you know they're the one that killed him?"

"Because it's happened more than once." Bdubs leaned against the back of the bench. "They invited multiple people over to their house and each time that person went missing. Then they were found dead."

Mumbo took a deep breath. "Maybe it's just a coincidence," he offered.

Bdubs huffed and stood up from the bench. "See, they've already got you wrapped around their bloody fingers," he sighed. "Next thing you know, you'll be invited over to meet their nonexistent parents and you'll go missing for days before your dead body shows up in the city somewhere." He started to walk away, glancing over his shoulder to say, "Don't come crying to me when they want to skin you alive."