This was requested by @dlamp_fander. I had so much fun writing this, so thank you for the request. I'm really sorry it took me this long to write, but here it is! I hope everyone enjoys this!!

Little nine year old Deceit woke up one day with an unrelenting itch on the left side of his face, he scratched at it but it just wouldn't go away. He got up and looked in his mirror only to gasp and back away at the sight, the left side of his face was turning a sort of brownish-greenish color and there were even bumps. What was happening to him? He cautiously walked closer to his reflection to examine it better, he could see faint outlines in the color, like they were snake scales. And his eye! The pupil in his left eye was starting to slit and the normal rich brown color of his eye was fading.

'What do I do?!' Deceit wasn't - w̷̩͆ȧ̴̭s̷͔̿n̷̯̈ - was freaking out, he looked so hideous, so strange, he looked like a monster. Even his top canines were sharpening into fangs, and his tongue was splitting.

"Guys, breakfast!" Deceit stayed perfectly calm - s̸̻̅ẗ̴̟́ă̴͔y̸̙̅ë̸ͅd̴͍̉ ̵̺͛c̴̻̈a̸̮͑l̵̯͠m̶͂ͅ  - jumped at the shout, Patton was calling everyone down to breakfast. He could hear Remus and Roman racing each other to the table - by this time Creativity was already split by Patton purposefully - p̵͔͒ù̴̳r̷̳͂p̵͈̅  - accidentally - Deceit could hear Anxiety's shuffling footsteps and Logan's regular ones. He looked back at his reflection and sighed in defeat, the others can - č̸͓ȃ̵͈n̶͇̎  - can't see him like this, they'll fear him. He'll just wait till everyone's gone before he can grab something and take it to his room. A few minutes passed and Deceit felt fine - h̴̡̾ḙ̵̊ ̶͎̽f̸̼̕ë̵̯́ľ̵̦t̷̮͛ ̵̟̔n̴͉͛o̴̠̕t̶̩͠h̵̨̾i̴̫͝n̴̪͝g̸̻̐ - felt a stabbing pain in his chest, they haven't come for him. Have they forgotten him already? He just saw them all yesterday. Did he not matter to them?

There was a knock at his door. Deceit perked up, but then shrunk back down, remembering he looks normal - f̷͎̀i̷̙̒n̶̤͑ē̶̘  - like a monster, a villain, something evil.

"Kiddo? It's time for breakfast." It was Patton. Deceit feels happy - g̵̤̽ĺ̴̜ā̵̲d̷̢̒  - horrible about turning Patton away, but he doesn't want anyone to see him like this.

"Come in - ĉ̷̙o̶̝̍m̷̱͌e̴͚̒ - go away!" Deceit finally managed to get out, he seemed to be lying less - l̶̻̽ė̸̩s̶͎̀s̴̤̽ - more than usual. What is going on with him? Deceit could hear Patton's footsteps walking away, but he left something at the door. Deceit decided to leave it closed - n̸͕̔ö̵͚ț̷̃ ̶̺́g̴̱̔ō̴̝ - open the door, and he saw Patton left a plate of waffles for him. Deceit closed and locked his door, he wasn't seen for the entire day.

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This has gone on for a three weeks. Deceit has found little patches of scales forming on his whole body, everything's been getting colder, half his face is now covered in scales, his eye is now yellow and the pupil is slitted to look like a snake's, his tongue is now forked, and his fangs are now fully formed. He usually sits in his room, curled up on his bed, and refuses to let any side come in. They can't see him like this, everyone will stay - ŝ̸̲t̴͎̃ạ̷̀y̸̜̅ - leave him if he's seen. Maybe it will go away? Deceit has stolen some yellow gloves from the kitchen a few nights ago, and he used them to cover up the scales on his hands.

The others were getting very worried about him, they tried to talking to him, they tried to get in, but Deceit wouldn't budge. Roman was getting very worried about him, he would sometimes hear, when he's falling asleep, Deceit's footsteps sneaking past his door and towards the kitchen. Patton was very distressed, thinking it was something he did, and Anxiety and Remus were just as worried, even Logan outwardly expressed his unease. But no matter how long they sit outside his door, begging to be let in, Deceit doesn't move, not even for Thomas's tenth birthday.

Deceit knows that they're not going away, the scales are staying. Deceit wishes they could stay - ŝ̸̲t̴͎̃ạ̷̀y̸̜̅ - be gone, he doesn't want - r̴̭̈́ē̷̫j̵̡̎e̴͕̎c̶̮̒t̸̥̂s̵̠̽ - wants to feel warm again, he wants to see the others, but he can't because if everyone saw him like this they'll welcome him with open - k̷̺̈e̵̊͜e̶͙͛p̵̩̉ ̴̝͌h̵̖̔i̸̦͘m̸͍̊ - keep him away out of fear. Deceit shivered, getting cold once again. He slowly moved to the heater with a blanket wrapped around him, warming back up in a few minutes.

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"I can't believe I'm the first one to say this out loud, but someone needs to talk to Deceit." Logan says, him, along with the four other sides, were sitting in the living room at nine in the afternoon, their eyes the size of the moon - I'm just kidding, it's only three in the afternoon.

"But how? He hasn't come out of his room in weeks, and when we try to talk to him through his door, he doesn't respond." Patton says, tearing up a little worrying about Deceit.

"Ooh! What if he actually died of starvation and we've just been talking to his rotting corpse? That's why he's not responding, because he's dead!" Remus shouts like he's having a eureka moment, but that almost made Patton break down.

"He - he can't be dead. Right Logan? He can't b - be, right?" Patton sniffles, Logan straightens his glasses and sits up a bit gayer - all the sides knew it, Thomas wasn't really fooling himself.

"No, Patton, he is not dead, we have given him food and water at his door, and he always takes it. And we'll talk to him when he sneaks out at night to get food. We've tried to be gentle with him and talk to him through the door, but enough is enough, he will have to be forcefully confronted face to face." Logan declares, "Roman, you will do it since you seem to be a bit closer to Deceit." It's true, Roman has been at his door the most, trying to get him to talk, drops off food and water when Patton can't do it. Roman nods, up to the task.

"I'll do it tonight." He says, ignoring Logan saying that he was going to have Roman do it tonight anyway.

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He checked the clock, it was 11. Everyone is probably asleep by now, he could sneak down to the kitchen and eat something. Deceit quietly opened his door and crept down the hall to the kitchen, they always leave a plate out for him. They cover it in foil so the meal won't go cold, Deceit took it off the table and was about to go back when he heard Roman behind him, his voice made Deceit's heart soar.

"Dee, can you please talk to us?" He was desperate, Deceit didn't - w̵̪̚ȯ̷͉ũ̸̬l̴̞̾d̸͚̕ ̴̮̚ṇ̵̓e̴̦̓v̴̨̊e̴̺̎r̷̭̄ - felt sorry for him. He wanted to talk to Roman, but what will he think of Deceit when he sees the side like this? He covered the left half of his face and was very careful to keep his back to the flamboyant side.

"At least talk to me. Please, Deceit, I miss having you around, just tell me what's wrong and I'll help you." Help? Ha! There's no helping him with this. Roman was so desperate, Deceit felt his heart flutter when he heard Roman say he missed having him around.

"No," Deceit finally spoke after what seemed like a decade of silence, "you can't help me, not with my predicament." Deceit's voice cracked in a few spots from lack of use, he was also avoiding words with 's' in them.

"Yes I can, just tell me what's wrong." Roman begged, Deceit loved - r̴̲̅é̸̠l̷̺̐ȉ̷̳s̴̢̑h̸̛͈e̵͔̒ḋ̴̹ - hated when Roman begged to him. Roman took a few steps closer to Deceit, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Please." Deceit squeezed his eyes shut. Don't do it, don't do it, he'll leave. Deceit sighs, he took the plate in his hand and walked out of the kitchen. Roman lowers his head in defeat, his heart slightly breaking, he thought he could get through to Deceit and help him. How can he be a prince when he can't help his friends?

"Are you coming, Roman?" Deceit whispers, backing into the kitchen. Roman looks up and a grin spreads on his face, Deceit tip-toed back down the hall and entered his room with Roman close behind. Deceit went to his desk in the corner of the room to eat while Roman looked around, he notes that it's warmer than it would usually be, the heater must be on. There were blankets piled on Deceit's bed, and now that they're in the faint light of Deceit's room Roman can see Deceit has a few layers on.

"Dee, why are you avoiding us? Does it have something to do with why your room is so hot and why you're covering your skin? And why did you cover the left side of your face?" The questions tumbled out of Roman's mouth, he was seriously worried about Deceit, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for answers.

Deceit was debating whether he shouldn't - ṡ̶͕h̸̄͜o̴͜͝ù̶̙l̵͔̿d̷̦͂ - should just throw Roman out, or don't let - d̷̩͝o̵͖̿n̴͉͘'̷̖͝t̴̠͑ - let the princely side see him like this. Pros: Roman couldn't - c̶͔̅ọ̵̋ū̷̺l̴̮͠ḓ̶̄n̷̡͑ - could help, he could accept Deceit in this monstrous state. Cons: Roman wouldn't - w̸̨̾o̸̮̓n̵̞̑'̴̠͂t̷̥͝ - will tell the others and they'll be afraid of him, even better - e̶̞͗v̴͉͛e̶̞͠n̵̻̂ ̴̰̕g̵̭̿r̴̮̾e̵̡̅a̵̦̐t̴̬́e̶̛͇r̴̻̐ - even worse, they could isolate him, they could make him duck out and then Thomas won't have any more self preservation.

"I'm a monssster, Roman." Deceit winced as he hissed out the "s", he didn't feel hungry anymore. Deceit stood up and faced Roman, keeping the left side of his face covered, swallowing the lump in his throat he spoke again.

"There aren't - a̷͜͝r̷̖͛e̸̺̍ ̴̙͛n̵̺̄o̶̞̕ - are thesssse thingsss all over me and they will - ǐ̷̧t̷̠̀ ̶͉̈́d̷̻̿e̶̤̍s̵̘̋i̶̧͑ŕ̸̠ē̴͍s̴̛͉s̷̮̒s̵̺̊ - won't go away. I'm not - i̸͓͊n̷͇͛ ̷̛̹n̸̟͗o̷̢͛ ̶̡͊w̸̰̆å̴̻ÿ̸̨́ - I'm sssscared of what you and everyone elssse will think of me." Deceit admits, correcting his lies as he spoke.

"Dee, we won't think of you as a monster, you'll still be a side." Roman comforts Deceit, but something in Deceit refused to believe it.

"How do you know that?" Deceit spat out, his uncovered eye shooting glares at Roman.

"I don't, but I do know that you're still one of us, and if the others don't believe it then you'll still have me." Deceit can't - č̵̹a̵͍̽͑͠ň̶̨̯̝ - can tell Roman's telling the truth, but he continues to believe Roman's lying. Deceit's divided into two; one part of him doesn't want - ȑ̸̠ė̸̻f̵̗̈́u̵͖̿s̷̥̏ẽ̷̞d̴͇̃ ̷̾ͅt̴̺͝ô̸͓ - wants to open up to Roman and run to him, but the other part of him is the opposite. The other part of him wants to throw Roman out and never leave his room again. Deceit dropped his arm, making up his mind, and looked Roman in the eyes.

"Do you ssstill think I'm not a monsster now?" Deceit asked, making sure his fangs and forked tongue showed. Roman was rendered speechless for a moment, Deceit's left eye glowed a golden yellow, the left side of his face was covered in scales, and his fangs and forked tongue glinted in the light. Deceit turned away, fearing the worst, that broke Roman from his trance.

"No, Dee, I don't. Did you think of Remus and I as monsters when we were split? I'm 90% sure you didn't, and neither did anyone else. What you look like doesn't matter, you're still Deceit, the tricky side we all know and love. You help Thomas just like the rest of us." Roman says, he didn't expect Deceit to abruptly turn around and hug him, but when Deceit did that Roman hugged him back. Roman sat down on Deceit's bed, said side still clinging to him, and the both of them just sat there for a few minutes in silence, nothing needed to be said.

"Love you too, Ro." Deceit mumbled, the comfort of being in the princely side's arms was making him drowsy. Roman kissed the top of his head in response, hearing how tired Deceit is.

"You should go to sleep." Roman softly says, picking Deceit up and off of him and placing him in his bed. You know, I could write the classic "person a grabs person b's arm and mumbles/whines for them to stay and person b complies," but I won't. Instead, Roman climbs in next to Deceit, because he's not walking all the way back down the hallway and getting into his probably now cold bed, and the both of them fall asleep cuddled up to each other.

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The next morning Deceit woke up and found Roman was still asleep next to him. Oh! This will solve the problem nicely! Roman let out a startled yelp as he was hit in the head with... something, he didn't know what. It was a pillow, Deceit hit Roman with a pillow to wake him up. Roman squinted up at Deceit, thinking to himself: 'whyyyy....whyyy do I do this to myself?'

"Oh good, you're awake." Deceit responded to Roman's weak glare in his most sarcastic voice, but he did give Roman a few minutes to fully wake up. After that Roman, somewhat thoughtlessly, asked the question Deceit had somewhat expected and dreaded.

"Are you gonna go to breakfast?" Deceit didn't - ẅ̸̙o̷̭̊u̵̲͌l̸̲̈́d̷͉̓ ̸̜͝ņ̸̏e̸̤͠v̸̪͐e̸͔͑r̸̲̐ - wanted to, he really did, but he didn't feel ready to face the others.

"Not yet," Deceit shakes his head, "I was wondering if you'd just have breakfast with me?" He hesitated asking that question, but was disappointed - l̵̝̰̍̔ē̷̢̓͆ẗ̸̹̫ ̶̝̖̗̓̑̈́d̷̡̰̹̀ö̴͕̤́͑̎͜w̵̧̰̕ņ̵͍͉͒̄͐ - relieved when Roman said yes to his request. Deceit had really come far, he was so close to turning Roman away, but he didn't, and that will help when confessing to the other sides. But Deceit doesn't want to think of that now, right now he wants to focus on Roman eating breakfast with him, telling him a made up story. His voice captivating Deceit into a trance, he can't think of anything, he can't focus on anything else but Roman and his story.

2326 words

Time finished: 9:20 P.M., Feb. 2, 2020
I greatly apologize, once again, to @dlamp_fander for this being so late. But I got it done, I really hope you liked it!

I'm really sorry I'm sorry I'm not updating a lot! I'm still lacking motivation, and school isn't helping at all. But there is some good news! I'm now not sitting alone at lunch four out of the five school days (I had one friend to sit with on even day because he's in my class we have lunch) and my friends make sure I actually eat during lunch, so not having to sit alone, dreading eating lunch, has actually made me a bit happier.

Is there really a moral to this story? I don't think I did one in a while. I guess this moral is to never assume what those close to you will think if you change. Don't shut them out, especially ones who are super supportive and always there for you. And that's all.

Love you all~
Xxx