Chapter Text
Hermit University was, quite possibly, the most prestigious arts school in the country. Only the most motivated and skilled stood a chance at getting in, and Grian was no exception. He just barely scraped by, but as he stood with his acceptance letter in hand mere months ago, he knew the strife and agony had been worth it.
He got to share a dorm with Jimmy, one of his two best friends, and he was privileged enough to meet many interesting and friendly people along the way. Now, three months into the first semester, Grian could even say he had a bit of a crush. The object of his affections, Mumbo, shared a table with him in his Composition Studies class. The class met every Friday, and that alone was enough to get Grian through the week. As he sat with his pen in his right hand and a piece of paper in his left, he contemplated how to rope Mumbo into a conversation this week.
It wasn't that Mumbo didn't like to talk, or that he disliked Grian—at least, he didn't think so. Mumbo just seemed very shy, slow to open up. Regardless, Grian cleared his throat and reached across the empty aisle to the occupied table on his left. He tapped his classmate, Skizz, on the shoulder.
"What do you suppose is the best kind of bridge?" Grian asked. Skizz turned away from his deskmate to face Grian.
"Best… kind of bridge? Are there multiple kinds?" he asked, slightly dumbfounded and wholly confused. "You know I'm not an engineering major. Remember when I tried to build that giraffe out of Legos?" Grian snickered at the memory.
"Maybe it would've looked right if you hadn't used the flesh colored blocks on it." From the table behind Skizz, one of their other friends spoke up.
"You have got to be the worst builder I've ever seen, Skizz," Gem teased. She played with her orange braid as she talked.
As the class settled down, the professor cleared his throat and started explaining the next project grade.
"This will be your final project for the semester, so pay attention," he started, glaring daggers at Tango (who was in the middle of throwing a paper airplane to Jimmy). "This project will test everything you've learned thus far. To put it simply, it is focused around image composition.
"You are to create a series of photos that have a central theme. They should be artistically unified and there should be a clear focal point to each image. Additionally, there is a minimum of three attachments. The finer details will be presented in the rubric online." Grian twirled his pencil between his fingers as he listened. This professor's voice wasn't monotone by any means, but he was still having trouble focusing. After a beat of silence, the professor scanned the room to ensure that everyone paid attention. In those few moments, Grian heard a rustling from his right. His face heated when he realized Mumbo was passing him a note, and he eagerly unfolded it.
I do believe that Cantilever bridges are quite impressive. Though draw bridges are always fun! They add a nice medieval feel to any build. I hope this answer suffices!
Grian bit back laughter at Mumbo's earnest nature and stifled his smile in the sleeve of his red jumper. He nodded slightly, indicating that the answer did suffice. He also cheered internally, proud of himself for getting Mumbo involved in a conversation. Before he could think any harder on it, he quietly tore out a piece of paper and scribbled down a new train of thought.
Do you know what you're going to do for this project?
He slid the paper back to Mumbo, who gently nudged aside his composition notebook in favor of responding to Grian.
I'm a bit stumped, to be honest! I'm afraid I don't have anyone I could use for a subject. My roommates are all so busy with their own schedules and I'd feel terribly guilty pestering them.
As Grian's eyes skimmed the paper, his two braincells rubbed together to form a genius idea. Eagerly, he scrawled his thoughts down under Mumbo's last note.
I'm also in need of a model! We should help each other out!
As the teacher stepped down from his podium forty five minutes later, Mumbo turned with wide eyes to look at Grian. Grian, who had been sweating through his jumper out of sheer anticipation the entire rest of the period.
"You would really be my subject? You do realize that you would need to let me take pictures of you, correct? You're not camera shy?" Mumbo asked. He seemed nervous, but not uncomfortable in any sense of the word. In fact, Grian would describe him as absolutely glowing.
"Yeah, of course! I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it, Mumbo. Would you like to exchange phone numbers to keep in contact?" Grian felt his heartbeat in his ears. He honestly planned for this moment to be more romantic, maybe with a bouquet of flowers. He even asked his close friend and classmate, Scar, what flowers he would recommend ("Lilacs and poppies are great! I think a bouquet of those would win over your mystery man.")
"Erm- yes! Absolutely!" Mumbo stumbled slightly over his words as he fished his phone out of his pocket. He stood and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and handed his phone over to Grian.
"Alright, I just put my cell in! Um… text me to schedule something!" With that, Grian stood, turned on his heel, and promptly booked it out of the class. He could hear two sets of fast footsteps behind him, undoubtedly Jimmy and Joel.
"What a lad, boys!" Joel commented once they were safely out of Mumbo's earshot.
"You got his number? That's rad, boys!" Jimmy added, laughter bubbling up in his throat. Grian affectionately rolled his eyes and shoved Jimmy's shoulder. Joel looked at him expectantly and Grian sighed in exasperation.
"Yes, I got his number. I'm so glad, boys." Despite Grian's annoyed exterior, his best friends knew he was secretly amused.
"Tell us when he texts you, yeah?" Jimmy asked. Grian nodded and opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He retrieved it and grinned when he saw the unknown number.
Unknown: Hello! Is this Grian?
Unknown: Oh, this is Mumbo! From your composition studies class?
Unknown: Would you like to meet up tomorrow, maybe?
Grian's voice caught in his throat as he stared at the disappearing and reappearing text bubble. Before he could overthink it, he saved the number and responded to the onslaught of texts.
Grian: Yeah, it's Grian! That sounds great. 5:30?
Jimmy and Joel's whoops and hollers echoed in the crowded hallway, and Grian's ears reddened in embarrassment.
5:30 on Saturday afternoon came much faster than Grian could have possibly imagined. As he stood outside the door to Mumbo's apartment, he started to regret being so forward. He momentarily contemplated backing out, saying he got sick. He could just retreat down the stairs and sprint all the way back to his dorm—
"Hey, Grian! Don't think you can run away just like that, buddy." Grian blinked. Joel stood before him, door hanging wide open. The scent of black coffee wafted from inside. Right. Joel lives here, too. Grian adusted his messenger bag on his shoulder.
"I didn't think you were home today. Didn't you have a date with Lizzie?" he asked. Joel nodded excitedly, forgetting his nonchalant attitude.
"Yeah, but that isn't until seven. Come in, Mumbo's been wearing a groove into the carpet from his pacing." With that clear instruction, Grian stepped over the threshold. From what Joel had said, there were two other roommates that shared their apartment. Pearl and… Bdubs? Grian shook his head and looked around in search of Mumbo. Joel jabbed his thumb towards the hallway and said, "Last door on the right."
Grian hesitated minutely as he held his hand up to the door. Holding his breath, he knocked in rapid succession and waited nervously for Mumbo to answer. He didn't need to wait for very long, though, as Mumbo flung the door open almost immediately. His eyes locked on Grian and he smiled, albeit lopsidedly.
"Hello, Grian! Erm- oh, where are my manners? Please, come in!" Mumbo stepped away from the door, allowing Grian to pass through, and then cracked it slightly. Grian took in his surroundings and smiled at the sheer character of the room. There was a wooden sign that read 'peace, love, and plants' hanging on the wall, as well as a few potted succulents and a bonsai tree. The closet door was ajar, revealing a collection of starched and pressed suits of varying expense. Lastly, there were black-out curtains on the window (though they were currently pulled to the side for the plants' sake).
"This is somehow both exactly what I expected and nothing like I would have imagined from you," Grian commented, trying to tease. Mumbo raised a curious eyebrow and chuckled slightly.
"What's out of the ordinary?"
"I just didn't expect you to be so fond of gardening, that's all! I never had much of a green thumb myself."
"I actually had a bit of a potato farm back home! It gives me something to do during the day. My roommates like to think I'm a bit of a vampire, whatwith my hatred of the sun and outdoors." Mumbo laughed a little more freely, moving to toy with the curtains. Grian giggled before he remembered himself and why he was here. As much as he was enjoying being in Mumbo's room, he didn't want to overstay his welcome. He quickly removed his bag from his shoulder and lifted the flap, revealing his printed copy of the rubric.
"I thought this might be easier for us. So… you're a photography major, yeah?" Grian asked, though he was almost entirely sure he was correct. Mumbo nodded and moved to pull out his chair from his desk for Grian to sit on.
"I am! And you're a fine arts major, if I remember correctly." Grian's face flushed slightly and he sat down on the chair. Mumbo remembered that? I told him that months ago!
"Yeah, that's right. So—erm. What are you thinking for your photos?" Mumbo lit up at the change of topic, excited to share his ideas. He spoke quickly, trying to push out his thoughts in one breath.
"I know this is a tad ambitious, but I was considering utilizing a different composition technique in each of my three photos. I want to have you as the main subject, of course, but possibly use paint to my advantage—er, if you're okay with giving me pointers, that is. I don't know the first bit about paint!" He laughed breathlessly, and Grian joined in.
"I can do that. Maybe we could use negative space in the first photo," Grian suggested. Mumbo nodded excitedly, expressing his agreement. "What do you think of us using a white backdrop? Perhaps with a random splash of paint on it?"
"Oh, that is quite interesting! Perhaps we use red paint to create unity with your jumper?" Mumbo bounced off of Grian's idea. It was only then that Grian realized he should've asked Mumbo what clothing to wear beforehand. Ah, well, too late now, I suppose.
"That's amazing! We can angle the camera straight ahead and have the paint splash behind my hair, like a halo," Grian reasoned, smiling once more. As he talked, his eyes followed Mumbo flitting around the room. He grabbed his camera case from atop his desk and sat down on the bed across from Grian, fiddling with the lens.
"That sounds fantastic. You really are an artistic genius, Grian. I'm kicking myself for not asking you to help me sooner!" He held the camera up to his face, closed his right eye, and aimed it at Grian's flushed face.
"Ah, this is a wide angle. Let me switch it," Mumbo muttered. He returned the camera back to his lap and switched the lens. Grian breathed a sigh of relief at Mumbo's obliviousness, only to straighten back up and awkwardly smile as Mumbo pointed the camera at him once more.
"I've got to say, I know absolutely nothing about cameras. What did you just switch out?" Grian asked.
"Oh, that's the lens! Different lenses are better for different photographs. I just put on an eighty-five millimeter. This one is good for half-body and headshot portraits, which I assume is our goal?"
"Er— I think so? That's what I had in mind, at least. Do you have red paint and a backdrop here? Or do we need to go to the arts and crafts store?"
A beat of silence.
"Ah! Silly me, that completely slipped my mind! I'm afraid we'll have to go to the store. I'm sorry, Grian!" Mumbo apologized. Grian shook his head and grinned.
"No need to apologize! We can go now." It gives me more time with you.
And with that, their first official outing had begun.