In all truth, she wasn't sure why she had come.
Perhaps it was the crowds of adoring fans with pens and photos ready. Perhaps it was the hum in her chest from the infectious beats. Or maybe the numbing burn from her latest sip of whiskey that tore a trail down her throat.
Whatever the reason, it was enough to allow herself the company of her bandmate. Her least favorite one to boot. The two had had a strained relationship for quite some time ever since his attempt on her life left her with four years of Hell, both literally and figuratively. It was hard to experience it to begin with, but upon returning and realizing she had been replaced, she never walked the same way again.
Presently, her companion was mucking about in the opposite corner of the pub, his snake-like tongue wriggling out like a crazed dog as he made a royal fool of himself.
Dumbass Murdoc.
Earlier that day had put a real strain on all of them. Amidst the success of their latest album and the return of their mastermind bassist, the creativity well had run dry. It seemed as if mentally, she was constantly glancing at the space beneath her fingernails to make sure she didn't have any rubbish left from scraping the bottom of the barrel. None of them seemed to be able to pull a decent lyric out if their lives depended on it.
It wasn't as if they hadn't been through hard times before. Hell, the group seemed to attract it like flies to honey. Between death scares, bodily harm, and constant curses of the supernatural, one would think adversity was their norm. And yet, with the particularly violent altercation of shards of glass sprinkling everywhere between the table and the floor, all four band members decided to go their separate ways for the remainder of the daylight hours. However, she would have been a fool to believe that the setting of the sun would in any way hinder her radical bassist's behavior. Truthfully, it seemed to only ignite it even further.
2D and Russel had elected to stay behind at their current dive. A shabby three bedroom apartment in the ass-crack of London's project district. It was truly the only place that had been willing to house the band within 100 miles. The fame did not seem to treat them kindly in that aspect, especially with Murdoc's incessant desire to waste their earned money on booze and drugs. Not that any of the others were any less guilty. He just seemed to be the most brash about it. The most unphased.
Idiot. She muttered internally, giving a wince as the green skinned man tumbled from his spot atop the bar and smacking rather unceremoniously onto the cement floor. She could have sworn to hear a crack somewhere within his aged body, but she chose to not pursue the idea any further as two girls started hanging themselves off of him. She scowled.
"Making a right fool o' himself, that one is."
Noodle chuckled at the man seated next to her, downing another shot before clearing her throat.
"Something tells me he doesn't care." She retaliated, and the young man nodded.
"Perhaps not. But at least some of us have some sense."
Again, the young woman chuckled. She didn't know much about him, but he had made a point to sit next to her and keep her company the majority of the evening. She hadn't even bothered asking him for his name, for she knew how trivial they could be at times. He could call himself anything to her and she would never know the difference. Waste of time.
But for the sake of the evening and the sake of her current state, she elected to have a good time no matter what. Forget about the reality of her life and let go for a while. Even if it was with a complete stranger.
She had always put entirely too much faith in people she didn't know. It was one of her less-than-amiable traits. Hell, she had put everything she had into the three strangers she had met first, and they became her family. She wasn't entirely optimistic, as one should never be, but in this regard she had more than enough hope to go around.
"Does he always act like this?"
The man's question knocked her out of her daze, and Noodle clicked her tongue. She shifted in her chair to adjust herself.
"'Fraid so. He's a nitwit." This earned her a full-gut laugh.
"Amazing. From the music videos, he looks to have a pretty good head on his shoulders."
"Looks can be deceiving." She retorted effortlessly. As she took another swig of her drink of choice, the air instantly felt cooler around her. She felt a pair of eyes boring into her.
"Indeed they can be." The moment she turned to look at him, the stranger's expression instantly fell to one of humor and gentle intent. It left a strange weight in her stomach.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Crickets chirped outside the paint-chipped back door, the low hum of the radio making a rather unsynchronized duet with it. Smoke clouded the air as a man of tall, skinny stature sat hunched over the kitchen table trying to make sense of the scribbles he had conjured up in the past three hours. The rhythmic thump of footsteps sounded behind him, and he spoke without looking up.
"I jus' can't put m' finger on it, Russ. The songs used t' come so easy." 2D mumbled frustratingly. The hulking man shook his head.
"No use milling about it now, 'D. It's way too late."
The blue haired singer lifted his eyes to the night outside their window, soaking in the glittering flickers of fireflies before his mind wandered to their missing bandmates. More specifically, the youngest one.
"Y'think she's alright ou' there wif 'im?" His next question caused the drummer to look at him in sympathy. He knew all too well that out of all of them, 2D was the one to worry about Noodle the most. Something he had always found admirable about the otherwise careless singer. Even so, his lips pursed for a moment.
"Noods ain't no kid anymore, 'D. She can handle her own. Even if she is with Muds." He didn't like disagreeing with his friend, but after the events of Plastic Beach and how long their baby bandmate had gone surviving on her own, he was less inclined to worry about her these days.
2D gave a short grunt in reply, taking another drag of his cigarette.
In time, he supposed that they would find out which of them were correct.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The music bumped onwards into the night. Sweat and spilled spirits littered the floor and everyone's skin. Blaring beams of green and pink strobed across every nook and cranny. If it wasn't for the brick walls that firmly held the commotion in place, one would think the entire city would hear its noise.
She blinked rapidly.
Her eyes began scanning the crowds of people for her companion. It was well past midnight now, and she was getting tired. It hit her rapidly, filling her brain with visions of clouds and swirls of colors. The neon lights above melted into the walls, the lattice pattern turning watery…..
What is happening?
She could hear her heart in her ears, and her skin prickled as a large hand gripped her arm. She jerked her back in preparation to fight them off, but found that the action only threw her off balance. She effectively collapsed into the arms of her assailant.
Her head pounded, her ears becoming fuzzy to the music.
A scarred pair of green eyes glared back at her.
What is happening?
Her body screamed to move, to run away, to kick at the vice-like hold this stranger had on her small body. It seemed as if paralysis had taken over everything from the neck down, and she struggled to remain focused on the situation at hand. Her mouth was filled with cotton as she drew in a breath to speak.
"Where are you-?" She squeaked, immediately reeling at the sound of her own voice. There was a round of chuckles. She felt her boots scrape against the floor as the arms dragged her towards the shadiest section of the tavern, void of any and all light.
Her fingertips started to tingle.
"Don't worry, Miss Noodle. The boys and I are going to take very good care of you."
The statement seemed almost ghostly to her psyche, all focus turning to staying awake. The darkness enveloped her almost completely, the traces of civilization becoming questionable. Her eyelids pulled at her relentlessly, and she felt a hand begin to slide up into her inner thigh….
"HEY!"
White light.
Gusts of wind streaking past her face.
Shouts of anger and shock.
A gentle, more dainty hand taking ahold of her arm before roughly yanking her back into the hallway.
"Sod off, you pieces of rubbish!" The ghosts in her head echoed, her vision trying desperately to center in on who was screaming at the group of men. Hurried footsteps echoed off to her right, and Noodle felt the soft and harrowing support of a cushioned armchair push against her back and legs, her head drooping to the side as she took in short, labored breaths.
Warmth pressed against her cheek, and for a split second, she had a moment of clarity.
I've been drugged.
"Are you alright, lass? Those vultures were about two minutes away from giving you their worst." A pale face appeared in front of her, though the person's features seemed about as clear as mud. In desperation, she groaned loudly, reaching out to the ghost in hopes of grasping onto reality. Instead, the figure came to her and hugged her tightly. It only further lulled her into a state of wooziness.
"Sh,sh,sh. It's alright. Are you here with anyone?" The voice asked. With a weary turn of her head, Noodle lifted a shaking finger in the direction of the main gaggle across the way, and she felt the eyes of her rescuer lift momentarily to hone in on the selected person. She felt their neck muscles jerk back to her in shock.
"That asshole is your friend?" A lazy nod was the only thing she could offer as a response to the figure. A judgmental push of air through their lips.
"Love, you need new friends."
The battle for consciousness was becoming too much, and Noodle felt the person tug at their arm once more, slinging it across their shoulders and half-carrying her out into the stuffy summer night. The humid air hit her face with surprising abruptness, and before she knew it, she was smelling lilacs. Vinyl brushed against her shorts and stuck to her thighs as the short gust of air smacked her arm at the slam of a car door.
The entire vehicle creaked in protest as her rescuer plopped down into the driver's seat, twisting the key in the ignition just enough to start up her radio.
"Now. How's about we wait out here until your 'friend' is through with meddling, eh?"
The stars hung above them like cheap string lights. Nothing seemed to matter to Noodle anymore but sleep. Her body was numb, but with her last waking moment, her eyes managed to form a shape in the seat next to her. Whomever had placed her in their car, they had quite pale skin.
The familiar melody of Always on My Mind suddenly began thrumming through the car.
"Y'like Elvis?" The stranger asked with a smile.
She finally surrendered to the dark. To the sweet comfort of paralysis, her eyelids closing and her breathing falling to a steady pace….
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello to you all!
I'm celestialdreams57, and I want to thank you for reading the first chapter to my very first fanfiction for Gorillaz! I hope I meet some great people in this fandom and I look forward to writing again!
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Sorry if it seemed a bit rushed and there were a few typos, I'll try to work on that starting on the next chapter.
Toodles!
Celestialdreams57