Chapter One
She didn't know what to make of the drink before her. It was one of those brightly colored neon drinks. It probably glowed in the dark, too, for all she knew. She was pretty certain that whomever bought it and had it brought to her was behind her and saying something to her, but between the dizzying lights of the club, the loud eardrum bursting music and the multitude of voices around her, she couldn't hear a damned thing.
"You gonna drink it or what?" came a husky male voice from behind her, so close she could feel his breath in her ear. She wanted to smile at the half-hearted attempt to get her attention. Funny how things seem to work like that. She was hardly the prettiest woman in the club. She saw numerous plastic bimbos prancing around without someone attached to them. Dressed in their little skin-tight skirts and cleavage exposing tops. How was she noticeable in this mess? She was dressed in jeans, boots and a plain clingy sweater. The voice behind seemed to grow more irritated with her silence and hesitation to take the drink. "C'mon now, love. That was a bloody expensive drink. At least humor me an' take a few sips from it, yeah?"
Hailey slowly peered over her shoulder. The man who stood there barely stood taller than her sitting at the bar stool. Five foot seven, maybe five foot eight tops. Slim stature. Small framed. Rather squared features, shadow of dark stubble on his face. His hair was an outdated sort of cut she hadn't seen on a man in probably a good fifteen, twenty years. Did men even sport haircuts with bangs anymore? The thing that stood out about the man the most was his twisted nose. Broken a few times, no doubt. Never given a chance to heal right. His hair was either a very dark brown or black. Hard to tell in the crappy-ass lighting of the club. The other thing that seemed to stand out was his accent. A wiry little Brit, most likely a tourist traveling around the states, taking in some of the sights. What the hell could possibly be so great about Seattle?
"Well?" he asked, knuckly hands on his narrow hips. "You gonna take the drink or should I find some other lovely little bird t' take it?"
"You've barely given me a minute to answer you," Hailey said, flashing an annoyed smile. "But, sure, why not? Can't go wrong with a free drink, dude." A small laugh erupted from her as she took the neon green drink and took a sip. "Cop a squat, I suppose. Nice enough to buy me a drink, so I suppose I could tolerate your company."
The man grinned broadly, flashing a mouthful of horribly twisted teeth. This almost made Hailey cringe. She thought the whole thing about the British having bad teeth was nothing but a stereotype. Well, apparently not. He sat down in the vacant stool next to her, gesturing at the bartender and ordering a straight whiskey with ice.
"You here 'lone?" he asked.
"No," Hailey said, taking another drink from the glass. "I'm here with some friends. Alicia and her boyfriend, Jason. They're around somewhere, I'm sure. Out back, maybe, making out or something."
"No boyfriend, eh?"
She had trouble meeting the man's gaze. Upon close inspection, she realized he had some pretty gorgeous brown eyes. But the look was wrong. There was an almost predatory gleam to the eyes as they scanned her over. "Nope, no boyfriend. Most men can't handle me," she said with a coy smile.
The man's odd little smirk broadened into another snaggle-toothed grin. "You dun' look like the wild type, love. But I s'pose it's a given, yeah? It's always the quiet ones." He accepted his drink from the bartender with a half muttered thanks and drank more than half with one swallow, barely wincing. Setting the glass down, he gestured over his shoulder. "I'm here with a mate of mine. Would you care t' join us?"
Hailey glanced over at the dancefloor, seeing her friend Alicia dancing away with her boyfriend. They were so preoccupied with each other, they may not even notice her disappearing. It was tempting. The guy wasn't all that attractive, but he did smell rather good. And his accent was intriguing. With a shrug, she grabbed her brightly colored drink and slid from the stool.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw both Alicia and Jason stop in their dancing to watch her follow the man towards the back of the club. Ignoring their surprised expressions, her gaze fell onto the man who walked ahead of her. Something appealing in the way he walked. Almost a swagger. "My name's Hailey, by the way," she said as she trailed behind him.
"Eugh...oh...yeah...M'name's Murdoc," he said over his shoulder. "And the blue haired twerp over there is 2D." He raised a thin arm, pointing towards the booth table in the back. Sitting there, looking around with a sort of dazed expression, was a slim and lanky looking man with a mop of unruly blue hair and two black pits in his face where his eyes would have been. He was definitely the cuter of the pair. Almost a child-like cuteness about him. There was also something familiar about him that she couldn't quite place. He flashed a small smile at the man who called himself Murdoc, but the smile collapsed a bit when Hailey came up from behind. Was she actually seeing something close to worry?
Murdoc stopped just at the side of their table, gesturing a knuckly hand towards the dark haired woman. "This here is Hailey, face-ache," he grumbled. "She's gonna join us."
2D looked at the woman carefully. The lighting in the club made it hard to really get a good look at people. She seemed pretty. Dark brown hair that rested just past her shoulder blades, slim but still a little curvy, light touch of make up on her face. She was dressed in plain jeans, boots and a simple little clingy sweater to combat the wet Seattle fall. She didn't seem like the type that Murdoc would normally pick up while they were out enjoying the night-life of whichever city they found themselves in. He had certainly noticed a few women that fit Murdoc's criteria within the club. Flakey, scantily clad with lots of fake parts.
Hailey slid down into the booth, Murdoc sliding in next to her. She looked across the table at the blue haired man, smiling. "So, what brings you two around here? I've never seen you here before."
Now 2D had to blink. Even Murdoc was looking at her with a touch of amazement. She really didn't recognize them? "Err...we're here for the Escape To Plastic Beach tour," 2D said, flashing a grin that exposed two missing front teeth.
"Tour...?" Hailey looked at the two men. "What kind of tour?" Something about them was nagging at her memory. Even the dark haired man, Murdoc, now seemed a bit more familiar looking upon more closer examination.
Murdoc chuckled, slamming his fist into the table. "This is hilarious, mate! She doesn't recognize us!" He looked at Hailey, still grinning. "Ever hear of Gorillaz, love?"
Hailey wanted to do a palm to face. Of course! That's what was so familiar about the two men. But she had no idea they were on tour. Not that she had followed them. She had heard a few of their songs, found them good but that was about it. The only songs that came to mind were two, maybe three. A song about sunshine in a bag, another about windmills and wasn't there a video that featured a girl dancing in her room with a weird singing head in her closet? She hadn't heard any new songs from them in like a good five years. "Wow, I feel a little stupid now," she muttered, grinning. "When did you put out a new album? I haven't heard anything on the radio from you guys, let alone hear about a concert around here."
Murdoc shrugged. "Dunno...March or April, I think. We've been tourin' all over the states since 'round July."
"We're gonna be at the Key Arena," 2D said, taking a drink from his beer. "Show is 'bout sold out."
"When is it going to be?" Hailey asked, smiling at at the waitress who set more drinks before them.
Murdoc leaned back in the booth. "Couple a days, give or take. November second."
Hailey wondered why they weren't at the arena practicing. The show was only four days away and two of the band members were here at some little dive club? What happened to the other two. Wasn't there a girl and some big guy? "Where's the other two?" she asked. "There's four of you, right?"
2D turned his gaze to the table top. Something she said upset him? She could swear that she was seeing tears in his eyes. Murdoc merely shot the man a venomous look, silent communication passing between the two men. 2D abruptly sat up, a weird look of fear on his face.
"Our guitarist, Noodle, is back at the hotel," Murdoc said. "Russell, the drummer, had a breakdown an' we haven't seen him since our Apollo Show back in 2006."
"You haven't seen him since?" Hailey asked, looking at both of them with confusion. "Aren't you worried?"
2D was chewing on his lower lip, his gaze falling back to the table. "Considerin' how we parted ways, I doubt he would want an'fink t' do wiff us."
Hailey drew back, pressing her frame into the cold vinyl of the booth seat. "It wasn't good, then?"
Murdoc took a drink from his fresh glass. "No," he muttered. "But he can sod off for all we care, love. I managed to put together a decent 'nough replacement."
2D was now looking at his older band-mate with a gaze full of fire. "It's not the same, Murdoc, an' you know this!"
Murdoc glared across the table at the blue haired man. "It's good 'nough for now, face-ache. Now shut your face."
Hailey didn't know what to make of their hissed conversation. Whatever it was they were talking about clearly rubbed the singer the wrong way. She had heard a while back that the group was a little off, but she didn't expect this.
Murdoc quickly changed the conversation, gesturing towards the dancefloor. "Go an' dance your arse off or somethin'," he hissed at 2D. "Be happy I even let you come with." He fixed his dark eyes on the lanky man as he slowly got to his feet. "Dun' you dare try t' make a run for it, either. Unless you want me t' send her after you 'gain?"
2D shook his head violently. He didn't want to deal with that again. The monstrosity that Murdoc had created was not known for kindness.
Hailey was horribly confused. Something was really off about all of this. She almost could sense that the singer was being held against his will. It certainly appeared that way. But what the hell were they talking about? Send her after him again?
With 2D now gone, Murdoc stretched his arms and folded one around Hailey's waist, pulling her closer. "So...I take it you an' your friend come here often?"
She felt a shiver run through her. While he certainly was intriguing, all of her internal warnings were going off like crazy. Instinct was saying get far far away. She felt a calloused finger slide between her sweater and jeans, brushing softly against the exposed skin. Acting on reflex, she tried to scoot away, only to feel his hand clamp down against her side, holding her there. Slowly, she turned her head to look at him, trying to ignore the screaming alarms in her brain. He merely looked at her with raised eyebrows and that odd little smirk. Most of the guys she had encountered from clubbing were never this aggressive. And the ones who dared often got a good hard slap or even a punch from her as payback for their efforts.
"I asked a question, love," he said, fixing his gaze with hers. "Rather rude not t' answer, yeah?"
"You're the one who won't let me move, dude. Who's the rude one now?" she whispered back, narrowing her green eyes.
He erupted into a barking laugh, squeezing her side a bit before letting his hand drop beside her. "Am I too forward for you, love? I thought your complaint was that men couldn't handle you?"
"Most of them aren't stupid enough to be this aggressive," she said flatly. "The last creep who wouldn't let me move got his teeth punched in. It would give you the much needed excuse to go to the dentist and fix them nasty ass teeth."
His smirk collapsed, replaced by a sour look. "Look, you're the one who agreed t' come over here an' sit with me. I didn't force you. I would assume that you're lookin' for the same thin' I am." His hand came back against her side again, only this time moving up slowly, pausing just at her bra.
"And what were you looking for?" she asked, shoving his hand away. It wasn't even a real question. She already knew full well what he was hoping to accomplish tonight.
"What do you think?" he snapped, scowling at her. "Pretty girl lets me buy her a drink, takes up my invitation t' sit with me an' me band-mate..."
"And you thought it was an open invitation to get down my pants, right?" she said, looking towards the dancefloor.
"Not ever'day an American bird can claim they shagged a member of Gorillaz," he said with a chuckle. "An' not ever'day can a bird claim they got their narrow little world rocked by the one an' only Murdoc Niccals."
"Wow, you're something else, dude. Is there enough room is that little ass body for all that ego?" she laughed, flashing a dark smile. "They say that men who are this full of themselves are often lacking in some areas, if you catch my meaning."
"Sweetie, you dun' know what you're missin'," he hissed with a sneer. "Go on 'head an' reach down there, love...You'll see I'm hardly lackin'."
"Wow, how charming," she hissed back. "How do you keep the women away?"
"I beat them off with a stick," he muttered, grabbing her around the side again and pulling her against him. "If you're scared of me breakin' you, love, I can always order 'nother drink t' calm your nerves..."
"You're too old for me," she said coyly. "I have a max age difference of ten years. You're what...? Forty eight? Forty nine?"
"Forty four," he murmured, his face moving in closer to hers. He paused when she drew back, moving her mouth out of proximity of his. "You're serious? I can't be that much older than you, girl."
"Almost eleven years, man. Your loss," she snickered. In spite of the fact that something just seemed really off about all of this, she had to admit that the guy was entertaining in his apparent desperation. She certainly wasn't one that would be considered a cock-tease, but he almost seemed more turned on by her refusal and resistance.
"Ten...eleven...what's age? We're both adults, yeah?" he snickered, leaning in towards her again. This time, he moved his arm further up, practically pinning her against him. She wanted to play hard to get, that was all fine and dandy, but he wasn't about to give up. Show her just how determined he could be. She wasn't screaming and hollering about him holding her like he was. Clearly, she was intrigued enough to remain there without storming off.
Hailey tasted whiskey and cigarettes when his mouth pressed to hers. There was an eager and greedy feel to the kiss, almost as if it were something he hadn't had in a while. Hardly bad at it, though, she realized. In spite of the numerous alarms going off in her head, her body was betraying her. Her hand was now on his neck, thumb grazing at his jawline. His own hands hand moved and were now holding her face, sudden electric sensation as his tongue pushed her mouth open, sliding in a far as it dared. Moment of panic when she realized that it had gone further into her mouth than what she was accustomed to. She felt his hand slide around her head, fingers tangling into her hair, grasping tight. She made a noise against his mouth, but made no effort to pull away. His other hand was sliding beneath her sweater, circling around her back. He was good, she had to give him that. She couldn't remember the last time she had encountered someone who had kissed this good.
Alicia pulled away from Jason, staring across the club. The statuesque blond gestured towards where her dark haired friend was at. "She's nuts," she whispered, staring at the spectacle that played out in the dark little corner. "That creep's been eye-balling her since we walked in."
Jason shrugged his shoulders. "Let her be, Ali. She clearly appears to be enjoying herself." He chuckled, trying to pull Alicia back to him. She was already slipping from his limp grasp, moving towards the back of the club. "Ali!" Jason cried out, barely heard over the loud music. "Do you know who that is? It's one of the band members for Gorillaz." He found himself half jogging to keep up with the woman's long strides.
"I know who it is," Alicia muttered once he was right beside her. "And I also know which one it is. He's the last celebrity on this planet I want to see my best friend making out with, Jason." Alicia took it slower as they approached the booth. While there had been a shiver of excitement about the two men who had dropped into the club to unwind before their show, there had also been apprehension. It may have been a good five years since the last time the band had toured, but Murdoc's reputation for destruction and womanizing still carried on to this day.
Murdoc pulled her closer, his mouth traveling along her jawline, down her neck. Christ, she tasted good. Smelled good, too. Her hands were on his back, nails digging against his shoulder blades. He lingered over a spot at her throat, sucking gently on the exposed skin. Carefully, he brought his teeth down, just barely catching at the skin, chewing softly. Not hard enough to break the skin or cause pain. Women were fickle creatures and while some didn't mind what he affectionately called lovebites, others usually went right mental once they felt teeth hit skin. It took him a moment to realize that the noise he had heard was his own moan as she shuddered against him, her arms tightening around his shoulders.
"Having fun?" asked an unfamiliar female voice.
Both Murdoc and Hailey paused, pulling away from each other. Blooming purple mark now on the woman's neck, faint imprint of teeth. Her face was flushed, green eyes almost glazed. Scowling, realizing that they had been quite rudely interrupted, Murdoc turned a little in the booth, staring up at a tall and someone annoyed looking blond woman. Lingering behind her, looking right embarrassed, was the bloke he assumed was her boyfriend. These must be the two Hailey mentioned coming in with. He certainly recalled the blond woman coming in with the little brunette, but the dark haired gentleman who stood in the distance must have arrived just before they had arrived or shortly after. Murdoc had been too preoccupied with the dark haired girl to notice anything much after their arrival. Murdoc tried to keep his gaze on the blond's face, dully noting that she was actually quite pretty, and not focus on her enormous set of knockers. Sweet bloody Satan, those things were huge. As much as he loved a woman with big tits, there was always that lingering fear of suffocation. Flashing a weird little smirk, he fixed his gaze with the blond's saucer sized blue eyes. "Actually, we were, love. You lot go an' have your own fun. She's in good hands."
Hailey looked up at her friend, frowning. "I'm fine, Ali. I'll find my own way home."
Murdoc let out a deep chuckle, moving back in towards her. "Who said an'thin' 'bout you goin' home tonight?"
Alicia made a noise of disgust as the two resumed their exploration. She could feel Jason tugging on her arm, trying to pull her away. It certainly wasn't all that uncommon for Hailey to target someone for the night, but Alicia couldn't remember a time ever when Hailey was this blind to the fact that she had been openly pursued. The slimy little man had been watching her since she had walked in barely a hour prior.
"C'mon, Ali," Jason said sternly. "Let's just go. She'll be fine, alright!"
Alicia narrowed her eyes at the back of Murdoc's head as she was led away to the other side of the club. She caught a glimpse of the blue haired 2D dancing with a few women. Oblivious what was taking place at his table. Jason continued to pull her across the club, all but shoving her down into the booth they had originally claimed. Alicia kept shooting glances across the hazy establishment, only catching glimpses of her best friend and the bassist, still pretty well wrapped up on one another. "She better be careful," Alicia hissed. "He's got to be a walking disease."