A solemn promise.
Hummingbird- this is just a sweet little fanfic that I did while Tigerlily was in Croatia. Yes, she abandoned me to go on some random school trip. Oh well. So needless to say I wrote this by myself. I hope you like It. Twas inspired by a dream I had where Noodle and I were eating gross porridge so we went out for pretzels. Mmm... Pretzels. That reminds me, I need to clear the cookie crumbs out my keyboard.
Noodle- Izzy?
Hummingbird- Yes?
Noodle- Rambling.
Hummingbird- Ooops. Read away. PS, I OWN NOTHING ESPECIALLY NOT THE GORILLAZ OK?!?!?
Noodle slurped her runny porridge. The guys had gone out late last night and all had hangovers. She could hear Russel vomiting from her room. She took her porridge into the kitchen and tried to swallow her mouthful.
"EW!" she moaned quietly and the nauseating sounds from Russel's room continued.
She went back into her room to get dressed. Picking out her favourite black and white striped top and black mini skirt from her wardrobe, she called good morning to Shaun, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. She crept down the hall to the lift where she went to the ground floor. She daren't watch TV for fear of waking an angry, hung over 2D. Curling up on the sofa she felt lonely and alone. But then, she had a sudden idea. Slipping on her shoes, she opened the front door and went onto the small balcony piece with the connecting stairs to the landfill. Looking tentatively around, she spotted one, lone zombie, out in the daylight. Sighing, she went back inside, up to the kitchen and pocketed a knife.
"Take no chances," she whispered, echoing what Murdoc had told her one-day.
Going out into the landfill again, she legged it all the way out to the gates, where she was safe. Looking around at the empty road, she decided to turn left. And so she walked. She had some money in her pocket, along with her cell phone and the knife. She also had a watch so she decided to give the guys a call after lunch. After a while a young couple with a poodle passed her. They knew who she was but decided not to bother her. Instead, they greeted her.
"Konnichiwa!" they grinned.
"Konnichiwa," she replied, feeling a lot less lonely.
She kept walking until she reached a town.
"Mmmm, Subway," she drooled. But it wasn't open yet.
At last she came to an open pretzel shop where she purchased one very large vanilla sugar pretzel. It was indescribably better than the gone-off, badly made porridge that she had prepared for herself earlier. It was nice because the girl at the counter handed her the pretzel, checked her boss was gone, whispered, "No charge" and pushed a free drink into Noodle's hand as well. Noodle thanked her, but asked her to take the money, just in case her boss found out. The girl smiled at her and asked her to take the drink free. She looked so desperate that she did. She felt better, but still lonely.
Noodle looked for a place to sit down and eat her pretzel. It was spilling sugar all over her skirt. Looking around in vain for a wall or something, she spied a park, where she concluded she must be able to find a bench.
She crossed the dead morning road to the park where she entered, closing the squeaky, fluorescent orange gate behind her. The park was much bigger than it had seemed, it went on with three parts, one with a large pond and lots of seats and benches, another with a large adventure park on bark that stretched up to 8 feet high, and a furthest bit with swings and roundabouts. Noodle walked past the pond where a small duckling watched her intently. She crossed through a large arch in the adventure park and went on to sit on one of the swings. As she munched, she thought she heard someone walking on metal with squeaky shoes so she looked over to the adventure park. There was no one there so she continued to eat, a little faster than before. Just in case.
Throwing the napkin and coke can in the bin, she licked her fingers (waste not, want not!) and then brushed them off on her skirt. Walking back through the arch, a face suddenly popped down into the archway, facing her. Noodle jumped, drawing the knife from her pocket until she realised the face belonged to a girl the same age as her.
"Wassup," she said, flipping over the bar she was leaning over and landing at the end of the archway.
Noodle put the knife away, quickly, just in case she had scared the girl.
"I said, 'wassup'!" the girl continued, brushing her pink hair off her face. Her eyes were misty grey and big. She was wearing pink cords and a strapless, black corset with pink lacing. The make-up around her eyes was Mars black and really thick.
"Um, hi," Noodle said, staring in awe at her hair, suddenly very aware of her own. She felt boring in comparison to this outgoing, brazen rebel. She tucked her own, raven black hair behind her ears.
"Hey," the girl continued, putting her hands on her hips, "do I know you? You look Soo familiar!" she laughed; pink hair bouncing on her shoulders.
"No!" Noodle jumped, "My name's er… Natalie!" she lied.
"Yeah, right, that's a really Japanese name!" the girl continued to laugh. It was unnerving, "But my name's Zee-Zee. Well, not for real, my real name is Zita, but people call me Zee-Zee." She held out her hand so Noodle shook it.
"So, you from round here?" Noodle asked.
"Yeah, I live just a few miles down the road. Weird little bright pink cottage in between these big apartment blocks. Tres weird. And you? You certainly don't look like you are."
"I'm from Japan, but uh," Noodle stumbled, suddenly forgetting all her English, "Ah, gomen-nasai!" she said, exasperated.
"No probs," Zee-Zee said, "Je peux parle francais, if that helps."
Noodle shook her head.
"Come on! Let's sit on the top of this thing, it's a well good look out!"
The Noodle placed it.
"Your Liverpool accent!" she gasped, suddenly incompetent at English, Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!!! She thought.
"Yep, didn't say I'd lived here all my life did I?" Zee-Zee replied, jumping up to grab onto a rope that hung from the adventure park, "Catch!" she said, throwing it to Noodle who scaled it in a flash.
"Nice," Zee-Zee grinned, impressed.
"I practice," Noodle said, sticking out her tongue.
"Oi! You're not wearing any make-up?!" Zee-Zee's eyes twinkled, "Let me do yours please! You'll look so cool when I'm done!"
"Um, I dunno, my band might not be too happy," Noodle replied, thinking what Murdoc might say if she came home looking like Zee-Zee gone wrong.
"Your Band?!" Zee-Zee laughed, "I think you mean parents, love!"
"Yeah, obviously," Noodle replied, quickly, going a bit red.
"Please Natalie! You'll look really great, and I saw you staring at my hair, well you can't have hair like this without make-up that goes," she wheedled.
"Ok," Noodle gave in; she could've fought, but just wanted someone to talk to.
As Zee-Zee fished underneath a plank of wood where they were sitting, Noodle looked around at the view. She could only just see the tip of Kong in the distance. She wondered whether they had woken up yet. Probably not, she thought, they would call me if they had.
"Ok! Here we go!" Zee-Zee beamed in triumph as she produced a large make-up bad from under the plank, "Ok, Nats, what's your fave colour?"
Noodle thought. Running through a rainbow in her head.
"Purple," she decided after a while. Before the word had even hit the air, in front of them on the murky wood was a purple lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow and even purple nail polish.
"Right," Zee-Zee contemplated, as if it was a big job, "I'll start with your eyes, big and green, that's ok, it just means I'll have to use a little less around the base of your eyes, stop them from clashing with the purple, you know? Now, close your eyes, eye shadow first."
Noodle felt a soft brush with powder touch at her eyelids. While Zee-Zee worked she began to hum.
"Hey I know that tune!" Noodle jumped in, "I can play it on the guitar!"
"What, Re-Hash? That's a well cool song! I can't remember who it's by, though, do you know?" Zee-Zee asked.
"No, I dunno," Noodle lied. If she did say, Zee-Zee might make the connection between the Japanese origin and a Japanese guitarist. It was nice to know she thought it was cool, though.
"Ok," Zee-Zee continued, "eyeliner! Now stay still or I'll muck it up!"
Noodle sat as still as possible.
"Hey," Zee-Zee said, "You're lonely. Why, I mean, I saw you eating that pretzel and I just knew. What's up? You're giving off this strange little vibe like you're the only little girl in the world or something."
Noodle sighed.
"I am not called Natalie," Noodle confessed, "I'm called Noodle."
"Go on," Zee-Zee said, seriously.
"I woke up this morning and all of the others, they had all gone out when I was asleep, leaving me to wake up with them all with hang-overs this morning! I was just sitting thinking, they're the only family I have, and somedays…" Noodle trailed off.
"It's like they pretend you're not there," Zee-Zee finished.
"How you know?" Noodle asked.
"Vibes, hun, vibes. You mean the world to them, but you just want your…"
"Parents," they said in unison.
"I can't even remember them," Noodle sighed, "the earliest thing I remember is those three opening the box I was stuffed in. I was scared, new country I didn't speak the language, I couldn't remember anything, I just wanted to go home," by this point Noodle was fighting off tears, but as she usually did, she won. She took a deep breath.
"Feral children hear what no one knows. There's no word for the infinity of ghosts," Zee-Zee sang, still wiping purple eyeliner over Noodle's eyelids.
"Who sang that?" Noodle asked.
"Beth Orton. I just thought it fits. Do you know what Feral means?"
Noodle shook her head.
"It means wild. Feral children live alone. No parents, but they're the strongest of us all. They'll come back, one day, Noodle. If they don't, they didn't deserve you."
Noodle smiled.
Zee-Zee finished her make-up in silence.
"Done!" she smiled at last. Noodle opened her eyes. Zee-Zee was holding a mirror in front of her.
"Wow! It's so great!" Noodle laughed.
Zee-Zee produced a bag of sugar bombs from the bag and offered one to Noodle. They slurped on raw sugar for a while, talking about all sorts of random things. But the one subject Zee-Zee didn't touch on, Noodle's fame. They talked as if they were both nameless strangers from off the street. Chatting about movies, games, life and everything little girls would.
"Zee-Zee?" Noodle said, after a while.
"Yes?"
"Promise to tell no one that I'm lonely sometimes?"
"I solemnly promise, Nood, I solemnly promise," and Zee-Zee gave her a hug.
"Hey, look!" Zee-Zee said, pointing to the park gate.
"Oh no," Noodle buried her head in her hands.
"The twerp brigade?" Zee-Zee asked.
"Nope, just the singer, bassist and drummer!" they cracked up as 2D; Murdoc and Russel sloped through the park.
"Where is she then?" 2D asked.
"I dunno!!" Murdoc grumbled.
They continued to walk in silence towards the adventure park. As they got through the other end of the arch two faces popped out from the ceiling.
"Waargh!" they yelled as 2D collapsed onto Russel who crushed Murdoc.
The girls laughed and pulled their heads up into the ceiling. After a few seconds they appeared at the end of the archway, still laughing. They pulled the boys to their feet.
"Where the hell have you been!?!?" 2D yelled, scooping Noodle up and hugging her.
"Jesus!!!" Murdoc said, "What happened to your face!?!"
"It's called make-up," Zee-Zee laughed as 2D put Noodle back on the ground.
"And who are you, little miss?" Russel asked, shaking Zee-Zee's hand, "looked after our Noodle did you?"
"Ta," 2D said, shaking her hand too.
"I'm Zee-Zee," she said, smiling.
"Come on!" Murdoc grumbled loudly, "Let's go! I've already got a splitting headache."
"I've got to go, Zee," Noodle said, hugging her.
"I'll still be living here next week, Noods! Let's catch up sometime!" she called as they walked out the park, leaving Zee-Zee alone in the archway.
"Remember!" Noodle called back, waving.
"A solemn promise!" they yelled in unison.
Hummingbird- aw! I hope you liked that, please review, I beg of the good person in your soul! Anyhoo, 'til nxt time!!
XxX H XxX