Don't wanna sound full of myself or rude, but you ain't looking at no other dudes 'cause you love me. So you think about a chance, you find yourself trying to do my dance, maybe 'cause you love me (Uh, you do it well…)
The upbeat and catchy tune of Pharrell's and Jay-Z's track Frontin' sounded through the cluttered and messy room that belonged to Russel Hobbs, the drummer of the well known pop band, Gorillaz. The radio played on as he lay in bed under a mountain of blankets, snoring heavily.
I know that I'm carrying on, never mind if I'm showing off, I was just fronting (you know I want you babe). I'm ready to bet it all; unless you don't care at all, but you know I want you (you should stop fronting babe…)
The heavy man regained consciousness and lifted himself out from under the blankets, switching off his radio before sitting up and swinging his legs out over the edge of his bed. He yawned and let his head hang lazily to collect his senses, then finally raising himself off the bed. Stretching profoundly, he craned his neck and stumbled over to his dresser, where he choose a shirt at random and pulled it over his head. Then he found a pair of baggy jeans lying on the floor and put them on before heading out the door into the hallway, making his way to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, Russel looked into the mirror and sighed. A pair of white beaming eyes reflected back at him. He hadn't shaved in a week and it showed, running his hand over his prickly white facial hair before grabbing a washcloth. after letting it soak under water, he smothered his hot face with the cool cloth.
He sighed in sorrow. Del was gone, he could hardly believe it. Years ago, after the band was put on hiatus, Russel and Del went back to Brooklyn to visit old friends and family, he would've never gone back had he knew the reaper was waiting for both of them. When Russel encountered the cloaked man, the last thing he remembered was his head spinning, and Del's panicked words screaming in the inside of his mind. "Russel! I can't leave you just yet, please! I love you man! I fucking love you!" When he came round Del was gone. He had been exorcised from the drummer's body and he would never see the ghost rapper again.
Russel squeezed his eyes, attempting to hold back tears. He felt like an absolute wreck. He was tired of his anxiety, tired of his lifelong depression. For once he wanted to leave his past behind him and start brand new, and now that the Gorillaz have come back together, he had a feeling things were looking up.
After washing his face and shaving, he headed down to the kitchen with a big breakfast on his mind. As he walked in, he was surprised to see 2D was at the table, awake and dressed, munching on a piece of burnt toast while reading the newspaper. Usually the singer wasn't up until about one in the afternoon. Russel sighed and went to sort through the food pantry to see what could satisfy his hunger. 2D looked up from his paper and smirked.
"Well, I wonder who woke th' sleeping giant." He chuckled at the large man. Russel ignored him as he found an old box of pancake mix in the back of the pantry. After taking out a frying pan by the stove, he went to the fridge to grab some other ingredients. 2D looked over at the drummer and raised an eyebrow. "Hey mate, why you so quiet? You're usually full o' hot air about demons and stuff" He snickered. Russel exhaled through his teeth, finding the strength not to snap at the blue haired man.
After the band went their separate ways, 2D basically became a town celebrity in Eastbourne where his family fairground was, being able to make the ladies swoon while collecting money and new friends from the fairground. He finally got the attention and respect he never got from his bandmates, but once he heard the Gorillaz was reuniting, he knew he would be the key to their success. The singer adapted a Teddy boy style from one of his mates Shane Lynch, and returned to Essex with nothing but a pocket full of cash, a flick comb, and a conceited smile on his face.
Despite his new found attitude towards the other members, 2D couldn't help but still feel a bit insecure about himself. He certainly wouldn't be the first to admit he was quite a weakling. Although yes the ladies loved him, he certainly didn't fit the "ideal image" of a man. No muscles, no tanned skin, no deep emphatic voice (at least, when he's not singing), nothing. This was what 2D thought was his biggest weakness besides his lack of ambition. He wanted to be respected, to be strong and the man no one would dare try to mess with, namely Murdoc. 2D could hide it well, but he always felt anxious around the drummer. He really did have a lot of respect for him, knowing he never took shit from anyone and no one dared try to step in his way either. Yes, he was a bit… unstable, and temperamental at times, but despite this, the man had talent, rhythm, and best of all, a damn good amount of strength, what 2D wanted in himself. Because of this, 2D really longed to be sort of a companion to Russel. He wanted to take on some of his most noble masculinity traits and be able to learn how to defend himself. Besides, who would ever dare mess with 2D with a 6'ft 400 pound, spirit inhabiting musician at his side? Definitely not Murdoc. Unfortunately, it was obvious the drummer was indifferent, annoyed even, by his very existence. All he needed was to give the man a good impression. 2D looked over his newspaper at the heavy man and grinned, oh how wonderful it would be if he could be as strong as him.
After flipping some fluffy pancakes onto his plate, Russel glanced at the clearly dazed singer and grunted. "You find something funny about me, dents?" slightly sneering in annoyance, 2D's grin faded. "No mate! I was just…finking." The lanky man hesitated. Russel made his way over to the table with a plate full of pancakes and sat next to him.
"About what?" he asked. 2D bit his lip and focused his black eyes back on the newspaper. "Jus' about personnel stuff, nof'ing you'd be interested in." he murmured. Grabbing the paper, he decided to head to his room instead. "See ya later, Russ." He said in a sarcastic tone before leaving.
Russel ran his hand over his face; he was getting real tired of 2D's attitude. Until he returned, he never realized what a self-absorbed little shit the blue-haired man could be, going through a complete change since the band split. Russel always fondly remembered the singer always willing to help him and Del care for Noodle when she was young, he really could connect with her zen side. Now he barley pays any mind to her. The closest thing to bonding he had with the girl lately was handing her a cassette sample of his keyboard riffs for the album, not even passing her a friendly look when he did.
Speaking of which, Russel felt a little surprised he hadn't seen much of the teen yesterday, or the day before. Was that girl up to anything other than working on her musical project? After finishing his breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, he decided it was best to check up on her. He headed over to the recording studio to see the 14-year-old sitting at a desk scribbling down lyrics, just what she was doing yesterday.
"Hey baby girl, everything okay?" he piped up, standing behind her. Noodle jumped a bit not expecting to hear the drummer's deep voice. Looking up from her work, she focused on the giant and smiled. "Just fine, I've got some great demos here we could go over later." She said wearily, her eyes indicating she didn't get much sleep. Russel chuckled at patted the girl's head. "That sounds great darlin', but maybe you should take a little break from workin', don't cha think?" he offered warmly. Noodle shook her head. "No, I mustn't! The ideas just keep flowing! Everything that I've been through and all that has happened as of now, it just inspires me!" the guitarist insisted, looking back down to scribble something on her notepad. Russel sighed and gave Noodle a small kiss on her head.
"A'ight, just wanted to check up on ya. You need anythin' I'll be in my room." He wearied before walking away. Noodle suddenly felt pained at Russel's tone and glanced back at him. "Wait! Russel...maybe I can take a short break." she spoke up. "We could go to my room and practice some meditation for a bit?" the girl suggested, feeling a bit bad for not spending much time with her father figure, especially since he came back such a mess ever since Del was lost, she should be there for him since he was there for her all those years.
Russel formed a soft smile. "I'd like that. I have been feelin' some stress lately." Noodle nodded in agreement. "I as well, what with all the zombies running around and what not." She chuckled. Russel chuckled with her as the guitarist got up from her seat and grabbed his hand. They both walked out into the hallway and headed over to Noodle's personal Meditation room. As they both got settled, Noodle turned on some background music filled with nature sounds that reverberated through the room. Russel sighed calmly, "Finally, I can chill'ax fo' a bit." He murmured at himself as he let his mind drifted into bliss.