Disclaimer: I do not own the Gorillaz, so don't sue me. :P Uhm, I did quite a bit of research on them Gorillaz; read interviews, biographies, and that sort of junk. What I'm about to write is what I think could have happened, though, from what I read, everything seemed quite sketchy. So, the stuff I have written may be inaccurate to say the least. For instance, I have no true idea of the character Paula's personality, so I'm wingin' it. I'm basing this story on interviews I've read and of some of the stuff I gathered from the forums. Enough of my chit-chat, on with the story! D

Days Before Noodle:

Paula

The day had begun just as any other. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just as any other day, 2D had awoken around ten o' clock in the morning only to find Paula missing from his bedside. Paula, she was an early riser most days, unlike 2D or Muds. Muds, he could sleep for hours, at times only waking at three in the afternoon.

2D raised his head and gave his room a glance before he rubbed the side of his bed, where Paula had slept the night before. It was still warm, she hadn't been up for very long. He rested his head back on his pillow and sighed. It'd be nice if he could wake up just once to see her comforting face staring back at him, or to wake up and still see her sleeping. Paula…

Pulling himself lazily from his bed, he went to his dresser and pulled open the drawers. He tossed a few clothes aside as he looked for a decent pair of jeans to wear and a good shirt. Finding what he wanted, he pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt over a white one, bearing the words 'SWELL MAPS'

He made his way into the kitchen, his mind filled with the thought of breakfast. Opening a cabinet, he stood looking dazed, staring at his options that lay before him. Paula…

"2D, hello? I said g'mornin'. Damn, you're such a space case." Rang Paula's familiar voice.

This brought him from his thoughts, back down to reality. It seemed he was always doing this, spacing out, not paying attention. A reason he rarely drove; never could concentrate.

"Mornin'" he mumbled tiredly. He rubbed one of his eyes with a hand in a tired gesture. "How has your day-"

"Good." She interrupted, already knowing what he was about to say. Before he could get another word out, she slipped past him and was gone.

"…that's good…" 2D muttered to himself as he grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet.

What was with her? She'd been different lately, at least since last night. Their relationship always seemed a little distant, but never like this. He had not seen hide nor tail of Muds since last night either. Probably still asleep at this hour.

He jerked back into reality when he felt something cold and wet collide with his hand. Looking down, he realized he'd poured too much milk in his cereal and it had over flown. Weird how he had been so out of it, he didn't even recall grabbing the milk or even seating himself at the table.

For the rest of the afternoon he busied himself with a zombie game or some other meaningless task. Even as the afternoon passed by, he didn't question Muds or Paula's absence. Sure, it was unusual, at least for Paula, but the realization that she was absent never kicked in. Perhaps due to his current obsession with the task before him.

He didn't even grow suspicious when Murdoc finally arrived in the room with a bad looking nose. 2D had completely stopped his current task to stare at Muds. It looked like he'd smashed his nose.

"What're ya starin' at faceache?" Muds growled when 2D caught his eye.

"What happened to your-"

"Is it any of yer business?" Murdoc shot back before 2D could even finish. His reaction hadn't been a surprise to 2D. He had grown quite used to the fact that Murdoc was, as he said, moody.

Turning back to his task of killing zombies, 2D gave it no more thought. Muds had probably just picked a fight he couldn't handle.

Mud had not stayed long. And not long after Muds had left the room had 2D retreated back to his own room. Though, he'd stopped at the door, hearing voices coming from his bedroom. What was Russel doing in there? 2D put his ear close to the door and listened; he wasn't one to eavesdrop, but…

"Quit packing my stuff up! I'm not going anywhere!" Paula's voice rang through 2Ds ears. What could she mean by that? Was she going on vacation or something?

"I can't believe you…and after what you dun'!" Russel's voice roared over Paula's.

2D listened hard; he heard Russel's giant steps and then the sound of a drawer being ripped open.

"It was only once! I-"

Cutting her off, Russel yelled back, "And with Murdoc, of all the people! Were you trying to tear this band apart!"

2D felt his throat tightening, but was unsure why. What did Paula and Murdoc do to make Russel so…angry? He was always such a mellow guy, but now…

"I only slept with Murdoc once…and 2D doesn't know, why can't this be kept a secret?" Paula asked with an oddly cool voice.

2D took a step back from the door; had he heard right? Was this some kind of joke?

The door opened, Paula appearing at the doorway. A look of surprise swept across her face. "2D…I-"

He had already started walking away with no idea of where he was going. It felt as if he had a migraine; his head ached, and at times, it seemed as if he were just going to black out from the pain.

2D stopped at the only place he didn't want to be, Murdoc's Winnebago. He paused, only a few feet away, his migraine was growing worse; he was starting to feel dizzy. This didn't stop him however. Knocking hard on the door, he took a couple steps back and waited. As was expected, the door slammed open with Murdoc standing at the doorway.

"What!" Murdoc growled. It was more of a command than a question. 2D remained silent, staring back at him, clutching something in his hand tight. "What is it faceache?" he asked, again, though not yelling, still impatient.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was almost face to face with Muds, swinging, not a fist, but a knife at him. He didn't remember where he'd gotten the knife, or that he'd even picked it up for that matter.

2D ended up lying on the ground with a hand held to his mouth. His knife attack had been unsuccessful, not causing any injury to Muds, but quite the opposite. His whole head throbbed now and he could taste the metallic taste of his blood in his mouth.

"What's gotten into you?" Murdoc questioned, still standing at the doorway, waiting for some sort of answer. He did not receive one though.

Leaving the knife on the ground where it'd flown out of his hand, he managed to get to his feet. Slower than he'd been at getting here, he left the parking lot. He didn't return to his bedroom, he didn't want to face Paula, instead he went to the public restroom they had in the studio.

Pausing at one of the mirrors, he opened his mouth and gawked at the sight. He was now missing his two front teeth. With his migraine growing worse, and wanting to be alone, he pulled out several pain killers from his pocket. After swallowing them all, he sat in a corner of the bathroom, his head in his hands.

Raising his head, he wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting here, but it must've been a while; his neck felt stiff. The memories of the day before were very sketchy. He could only remember Paula packing, and receiving the gap between his teeth from Murdoc. Everything else had been forgotten.

Now he wondered if Paula was still around. He could only hope she hadn't actually left. He half dragged himself from the bathroom and to his room. When he got to his room, the door was wide open. Stepping inside, the drawers on their dresser had been left open, some completely empty. Nothing that belonged to her remained. The only thing left behind to remind him of her was a picture lying on his nightstand.

So this was it, she was gone, perhaps for good. 2D plopped himself down on his bed. That's when he noticed the note. He picked it up and looked it over. He had to read the note over several times to finally realize why she had left.

She had left because…she had slept with Murdoc, and no longer felt welcome. She hadn't apologized in the note, but 2D forgave her anyways. He couldn't hold a grudge against her.

2D's hands tightened into fists, but he made no move to leave. He would never see her again. Paula…