Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Chapter 3: THUD
By the time the car rolled back to the curb of the Gorillaz' new home, 2D was barely awake. Noodle's body was tucked comfortably into his side, her warmth lulling him to sleep despite the fact that it was now almost noon. As the car jerked to a stop, the singer's eyelids fluttered before wincing at the glare of sunlight reflecting off the house's windows. His nerves began to tingle with unease as he stared up at the daunting spirit house.
The warmth beside him was suddenly gone as Noodle hopped out of the car, and it was with the utmost reluctance that 2D followed. He lagged behind his bandmates as they approached the door, watching warily as Murdoc reached for the handle. The singer tensed as his bandmate opened the door, then watched as they filed in: Murdoc, then Russel, then Noodle. Noodle turned when she was halfway through the doorway, smiling encouragingly and beckoning for 2D to follow before she disappeared from view. 2D began to shuffle hesitantly towards the door.
"GET IN HERE, FACEACHE! YOU'RE LETTING THE BREEZE IN!"
2D jumped, sprinted up the steps, and launched himself into the house so quickly that he tripped over the doorframe and landed with a crash face-first into the carpet.
"Owww…" 2D moaned, raising a hand to touch his sore cheekbones. He felt a hand on his shoulder and wearily glanced up to find Noodle kneeling beside him, looking worried. As her eyes scanned his face for injuries, their bandmate's voices drifted into the room.
"Is he bleeding? I don't want and blood on my carpet!"
"Shut up, Muds. Go rest your eye or drink orsomethin'. I'm gonna go take a nap."
Their bandmates dispersed as Noodle offered 2D her hand and helped him stand. "Are you feeling all right, Stuart?"
"I'm fine, love," he replied with a sad smile. "Just a bit sore."
"Well, your pills might be in that box," Noodle said, motioning towards one of a couple of large cardboard boxes stacked against the foyer wall. The FedEx workers must have dropped their stuff off while they were at breakfast. "You should probably take some and go rest. Russel said that there was a room you could use upstairs, second door on the left. I'm going to go change into something comfortable, but if you need me, just shout."
Noodle gave him one last parting smile, then picked up a box with a Japanese character scrawled on the side before skipping off to the basement. The basement door slammed behind her, leaving 2D alone in the foyer.
2D opened the door to his new room slowly, peeking around the edge to make sure nothing… unexpected… was inside. A part of him wished that he had asked Noodle to check the room with him. After all, hadn't the first incident in this house started while they were all split up? But it was too late now; 2D wasn't about to go look for her in the basement. Besides, he didn't want to be a burden to his bandmate. He would just have to suck up his fear and be brave.
Picking up his large box, 2D stepped carefully into the room, observing an old, twin-sized bed in the far corner, a cracked window with tattered green curtains, a worn rug whose color couldn't be made out for all the dirt and dust layered upon it, and a matching nightstand-desk-wardrobe set made of deep mahogany wood. The desk rested in front of the window, the nightstand at the bedside, and the wardrobe on the near wall. 2D walked across the room and dropped his box upon the desk. Finding a rusty pocket knife lodged into the window frame, he pulled it loose, cut the tape, and opened his box. He rooted through a mess of clothes and trinkets until he found a small suitcase which he heaved out and threw onto his bed. His pills would be in there.
2D felt his nerves subsiding as he looked around the empty, quiet room. As dingy, creepy-looking, and sinister as it may be, the furniture wasn't attacking him, no spirits were popping out of the drawers, and no spiders were crawling out from beneath the floorboards. 2D let out a long breath and felt the tension leaving his body and his mind. Leaning forward with his palms pressed against the faded bedsheets and his head bowed, he allowed his eyes to close and the world around him to vanish. He focused on the sound of his steady breaths as they were drawn in… and out… and in… and out… and in… and out.
The room was silent, peaceful even. Maybe, 2D thought, I judged this place too quickly. There are no zombies in the yard, no pirate jets in the sky… This is actually quite nice. Dirty, but nice. And I've got all of my bandmates back around me. For once, we're all fine.
He smiled softly to himself. This could turn out to be one of the most calm places I've ever lived in.
THUD.
2D spun around. His gaze fell upon the wardrobe. His pulse began to quicken, and he kept his eyes locked on the tall wooden structure, his thoughts racing.
It was nothing… It was probably nothing… but maybe it was something! Just when I thought I could relax, this house has to start being scary again! 2D struggled to keep his breathing even, to swallow the fear he felt rising in his throat. I was probably just hearing things… yeah, just hearing things. Nothing's wrong, I'm safe, everything's okay-
THUD.
"NOODLE!" 2D cried out, scrambling backwards in fear as he watched the wardrobe doors shake as though something were trying to break free. The back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell upon the duvets, his back slamming roughly into his suitcase in the process. To his horror, the handle of the wardrobe began to twist madly back and forth. 2D's heart was pounding so hard that he almost didn't hear the pounding of feet coming from the stairway. 2D jumped when Noodle burst into the room. Her glasses were gone, revealing shining green eyes. She wore a magenta tank top with a black trousers and had a look of panic on her face.
"Toochi? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Th-th-the w-w-wardrobe!" 2D stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the ominous piece of furniture. "Th-th-there was a n-noise, a-and sh-shaking, and-"
THUD.
"AAAAHHHH!" 2D squealed, scrambling over his suitcase to tremble behind what little protection it offered him. Noodle faced the wardrobe tensely as it continued to shake. She took a small step forward, only to freeze when the handle began to twist madly once more. Her gaze locked on the twitching brass handle, Noodle waited to see if the door would open. However, after a few seconds, it became clear that the door was stuck. Noodle took slow, careful steps towards the wardrobe, not stopping until she stood directly in front of the doors. After a moment's hesitation, she reached slowly for the handle.
"N-n-noodle?" 2D squeaked, peering at the guitarist from behind the suitcase. "Wh-wh-what are you d-doing?"
Noodle grasped the handle, and it stopped jerking. The force within the wardrobe seemed to be waiting. The young guitarist closed her eyes briefly, steeling herself to unveil 2D's tormentor.
"N-noods… P-please don't-"
Noodle yanked the door open. 2D screeched in fear as a small, dark shape darted out from the shadowy space and towards the bed. Reacting immediately, Noodle's arm flashed out to seize the attacker before it reached 2D, and she found herself holding onto a tail… a ringed tail.
Noodle let out a breath as she moved her other hand to grasp the struggling creature by its scruff. "It's okay, 2D. It's just a raccoon."
"KILL IT! KILL IT!" 2D wailed. "It wants to kill me!"
"What's going on in here?" Russel rubbed his eyes as he strolled drowsily into the room to behold 2D trembling behind a suitcase and Noodle holding a struggling raccoon. "Where'd you find a raccoon?"
"It was hiding in 2D's wardrobe," Noodle responded, sparing a glance for the terrified singer before turning back to Russel. "It was scaring him."
2D muttered something about the demon raccoons before hiding his face behind the suitcase. Russel shook his head out of exasperation for his high-strung bandmate, then turned to observe the raccoon.
"Noodle-girl, that thing looks old and sick. You'd better give him to me, I'll put him out of his misery. Maybe I'll even make him into a hat for 2D."
Noodle sighed. Russel was right; despite its fevered struggling, the ragged animal looked like it was half-dead already. As its thrashing slowed, Noodle held out the raccoon for Russel to take. "Alright. You can have him."
Russel accepted the raccoon and turned to leave the room. He glanced back over his shoulder when he heard whimpering coming from behind the suitcase, then looked at Noodle. Speaking softly, he said, "Hey, you should probably stick around to make sure 'D calms down properly. It sounds like he could use some company."
Noodle nodded. "Of course. I've been meaning to spend some time with him anyway." Russel smiled in thanks then left the room, closing the door softly behind him. As his footsteps faded down the stairway and into the distance, the room went silent. The only sounds to be heard were the whimpers and sniffles coming from 2D.
2D was curled up as tightly as he could manage, hands grasping either side of his head and eyes squeezed shut. A stream of terrified whimpers escaped him as horrifying images flashed across his mind: the fangs of a snarling raccoon, the cold fury in the animal's dead eyes, claws reaching towards him… He willed those images away only to receive a vision of himself in a dark room surrounded by ominous, rattling doors. Their knobs and handles twisted and squeaked as, one by one, they opened around him to reveal scary faces, screeching monsters with sharp teeth, howling spirits which lunged towards him. The sound of malevolent laughter echoed through his brain as he lay there quivering. 2D thought to himself, I was right about this place… It wants to hurt me… It's going to kill me… Tucking his knees more tightly into his chest, 2D tried to shut out the visions, and to make himself invisible behind his suitcase.
The evil laughter in his head was getting louder, so loud that he couldn't hear himself think. When his bed jerked suddenly beneath him, he let out a small cry of fright and felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The bed creaked, and he felt his stomach drop as he realized something was crawling towards him. He sensed it creep up to his back and loom over him, felt it's warm breath against his ear. He froze as it whispered…
"Toochi… Calm down, Toochi… Shhh… It's okay. I'm right here; I won't let anything hurt you."
The quiet murmur tingled in the singer's ears. His whimpers paused as he listened, and he found the cacophony of angry noises in his head subsiding as the voice drew his focus, washing over him and absorbing him in its calming hum. His visions flickered like a dying candle, the nightmarish monsters backed into their dark doorways and faded into nothing as the doors closed upon them. He felt a hand come to rest gently on his back; instead of recoiling, 2D relaxed as it caressed him, rubbing small circles over his spine through the thin fabric or his shirt. The tension in his back dissipated under the hand's warm touch. 2D felt the warmth spreading from the skin of his back into his chest as his heart rate gradually slowed, easing back into a calm and steady pattern.
2D opened his eyes. Bedsheets obscured his view until he lifted his gaze to find Noodle leaning over him, watching him with her vivid green eyes. She smiled.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah," 2D sighed. "Thanks, love. Is… Is the monster gone? The one that was in the closet?"
"Yes, 2D. It was just a raccoon, and it's gone now."
2D shuddered. "It wasn't just a raccoon… Did you see its eyes? It was… It was angry… at me…"
"Hush, 2D," Noodle crooned soothingly, continuing to rub soft circles into his back. "Why would a raccoon be angry at you? It was just a sick, scared animal, trying to run away. It never meant to scare you."
2D frowned sadly and lowered his gaze to the bedsheets. I'm sure I saw something in the creature's eyes, he thought. They were red, and angry, and violent. And it had this feeling coming off of it… like an aura of malevolence... And it had been reaching towards me, with those awful claws… Like it wanted to tear me apart… 2D let out another whimper.
A hand snaked beneath his chin as Noodle gently forced him to look up at her. "It's gone now, Stuart. It's just you and me in here. There's nothing to worry about."
2D relaxed. It is gone now, and as long as Noodle's here, I should be safe. He sent Noodle a small grin and received a radiant smile in return, lifting his spirits and causing him to grin all the wider. Noodle removed her hand from his back and scooted away from him so that she could sit while leaning against the wall, her legs splayed over the bedspread. She patted the space next to her and 2D, receiving the message eagerly, rose from his curled position and scooted back so that he could lean against the wall with her. Noodle leaned into his side, and 2D, after a moment's hesitation, wrapped an arm gingerly around her shoulders. They sat silently for a minute, sharing each other's warmth.
"Hey, Noodle?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for helping me with the raccoon."
"Anytime, 2D." She smiled. "That's what friends are for."
2D sighed sorrowfully. "It seems like I never really help you much anymore. I'm the only one who needs taking care of here." He cast his gaze down to his lap. "I'm sorry for being such a burden."
Noodle nudged him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "You're not a burden, 2D. You're my friend, and I like spending time with you. Besides, you've helped me out plenty in the past. I've got years of childhood care to get even with."
2D chuckled slightly. "Childhood doesn't count. Besides, it was Russel who did most of the important stuff. I just liked to mess around."
"Yes, and that made you my favorite playmate."
"Being a playmate isn't the same as helping out and being a true friend."
"Different friends express their care in different ways," Noodle explained. "You may have never been able to cook me a decent breakfast or help me with school, but anyone could tell that you cared, and you helped however you could." She closed her eyes wistfully as she reminisced. "I always felt the most comfortable around you. You were the one who was always ready to have fun, who would never shout, who I could go to when I had a nightmare… When we were on tour, you were always there when I was stressed. Even when you couldn't quite understand why, you were there. And then, after plastic beach…" 2D felt Noodle tense momentarily beside him and sensed a flash of pain at the memory coming from her. He tightened his grip around her shoulders, and she relaxed. "You were there. Murdoc was always drunk, and Russel was always yelling at Murdoc, but you just wanted to make sure everyone was okay." 2D remembered that time. He remembered being simultaneously confused and overjoyed to have all of his friends back around him, and he remembered wishing, through all of their squabbling, that they could just stay together, once and for all, and be safe and happy. And he remembered watching Noodle in particular, since she had seemed so damaged, and she had been gone for so long…"
"I noticed, you know," Noodle said with a hint of mischief in her voice. "The way you'd check in on me before you went to work each morning."
2D felt his cheeks go pink, thinking back to Wobble Street. "I'm sorry… I tried to open the door quietly, so I wouldn't wake you-"
"It's okay, 2D," Noodle laughed. "It was cute. Endearing. And it was comforting to know that there was still someone looking out for me."
2D smiled broadly. It was nice to think that he had done something right during that time, that he had helped his friend. He leaned his head onto hers so that his cheek rested against her soft, tousled hair. "I'll always look out for you, love. I'll always try, anyways. If nothing else, the zombies will probably eat me before they eat you."
Noodle laughed out loud and 2D joined her. The sound of their glee filled the room, making it seem brighter. 2D could almost imagine that they were two normal people in a normal house, living normal lives and laughing over things that normal friends laughed over. He looked down at the girl sitting beside him and thanked fate that after all this time, this wonderful person was still in his life. Goodness knows why she's still here, the way Murdoc treats her, the way he treats all of us… Honestly, this whole band is a mess. Why did she come back after Plastic Beach? Heck, why didn't I leave before Plastic Beach? 2D thought for a moment, trying to understand his twisted life. Oh yeah… I got kidnapped. 2D sighed inwardly. But Noodle didn't get kidnapped. Why's she still hanging around with us?
2D's train of thought was suddenly derailed as the bedroom door flew open with a bang, ricocheting off the wall and causing 2D to jump. Murdoc strutted into the room, brandishing a bottle of hard lemonade. He waved it through the air as he announced, "Alright, mates. New plans for tonight. Unpack your best clothes quickly, 'cause we're going clubbing!"
"Ummm… Murdoc? Sh-shouldn't we get settled in first? Take some time to get used to this place?"
"Nope. You said yourself that you didn't want to be in this house, so you can't object to a bit of fun. We're going to a club called Strobelite. A bunch of our collaborators will be there, we'll meet up and have a great time and get smashed!" Murdoc emphasized this point by swinging his bottle into a nearby lamp, which promptly fell over with a crash.
Come to think of it, 2D thought, that's not a bad idea. A bit of fun might help me with my nerves.
Noodle's voice broke through his thoughts. "Okay, Murdoc. We'll be ready by evening. Why don't you stop drinking now so that you'll have a braincell left when we meet our collaborators?
Murdoc threw her a cold look. "I'll stop when I'm dead." He took a large swig of his drink, emptying it in the process, then tossed the bottle through the doorway behind him. They heard it clinking as it fell down the stairway. "I don't suppose either of you two know where we packed the rest of the alcohol?"
2D and Noodle both shook their heads, and Murdoc stumbled sourly out of the room, muttering something about useless bandmates. The pair watched him disappear through the doorway and heard multiple thuds as he apparently tripped down the staircase. 2D winced as a final loud bam indicated that the bassist has reached the bottom of the stairs, and Noodle called out, "Murdoc? Are you okay?"
An angry stream of curses responded, followed by a terse shout, "Be ready to go by nine!"
As the sound of his muttered curses receded, 2D and Noodle glanced at each other. 2D noticed an odd glint in here eye, a curious edge to her smile. He tilted his head for a moment, pondering her expression, before his mouth curved into a knowing smirk.
"You know where his alcohol is, don't you?"
Noodle winked at him. "Maybe. But I think he's had enough for now."
2D was impressed. The clever guitarist always seemed to be two steps ahead of Murdoc's antics. If I'd tried to hide his alcohol, 2D thought, he'd see right through me. Without really thinking about it,2D ruffled his bandmate's hair fondly. It occurred to him a moment later that the mature guitarist might not appreciate having her hair messed with like a child's, but rather than swatting his hand away, Noodle simply smiled and allowed him to continue. 2D felt a beam of happiness strike his heart; he was glad that Noodle welcomed his attention. After all these years, their Zen bond was still holding strong.
Noodle sighed, closing her eyes at his touch. When she re-opened her eyes, there was a trace of resignation in her expression. "I'd better go, 2D. I need to figure out which box I put my good outfits in." She scooted away from him and off the bed. 2D sighed inwardly; he was sad to lose her company, even if she would only be two floors away. Before leaving entirely, Noodle cast the singer a final parting grin. "Get some rest now 'D. You will be expected to dance tonight!" With that, she skipped out the door.
Although sorrowful at her absence, 2D felt a glimmer of excitement building in his chest. A night out… This is going to be fun! He imagined himself on a dancefloor filled with flashing, colorful lights and young people having the times of their lives… His bandmates dancing around him… And Noodle would be on the floor somewhere. Would she be dancing near him? 2D mulled over Noodle's parting words. I'll be expected to dance… Of course, I'm the 'pretty boy' of the band, it'll be good for publicity to have me out dancing. But will Noodle want to dance with me? 2D shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Noodle can dance with whoever she wants. Probably with someone closer to her own age. But… 2D felt a strange desire tug at his heart. It would be nice to spend some time dancing with my Zen buddy…
Author's note: Coming up next, a chapter based on one of my favorite songs from the album, Strobelite!
So, I just finished my plot outline of this story as a whole and have 2 pieces of news to give: First off, my current projection predicts that this story will have 14 chapters. Second, the chapters are going to be longer than the first two, like this one. So, if you like long stories with planned, well-constructed plots, give a cheer! If you hate stories which take forever to finish, then go ahead and start crying now!
That being said, I am still open to suggestions in regards to what you all want to see in this story. If there's something you want to happen or a song from the new album you want me to weave into the storyline, let me know! Review! And listen to Strobelite!
