Chapter 14
Weaving between the crazed fans, Cyborg found a comfortable spot to stand right in front of the stage. She'd never been on this side of the setup, so she wasn't entirely sure what was what. There was a line of security defending the stage, which was - as it had been for a while - empty.
Regardless, the fans surrounding the robot were kicking up a storm. Cyborg thought she'd spotted 2-D amid the crowd, but it had probably been a fan in a silly costume. Eventually, the lights dimmed and a set of four spotlights lit up: one blue, one red, one green, and one yellow. If Cyborg had to guess, the blue probably represented Gorillaz's singer, the red was Noodle, the yellow was Russel and the green was Murdoc (naturally).
The curtain at the very back of the stage slid open and the four circles of light focused on the far wall. Nobody was standing there. Assuming it was part of the act, the audience cheered, although the roars settled when nothing happened.
They rose again when 2-D clumsily stumbled into view, looking quite disorientated. Murdoc was quick to follow, shoving the singer out onto the stage and forcing a mic into his grip. Exchanging annoyed looks, Noodle and Russel trailed behind the others.
The rabid roomful of fans didn't seem to notice the discourse, the room erupting in excitement as the opening notes of Slow Country sounded.
Noodle didn't seem invested in her playing. Instead, she was scanning the faces in the sea of fans. Her eyes finally settled on Cyborg and her face formed into a smile. Of course, Cyborg smiled back, unconsciously bouncing up and down.
"Hey, nice cosplay," someone commented.
"Huh? Me?" Cyborg turned her head towards the voice. Someone with a Demon Dayz shirt had addressed her. "No, I'm not a... I mean... thanks. Nice shirt."
The concert seemed to end pretty quickly, although Cyborg's built-in clock told her it had been going for two hours - the intended length. Maybe "time flies when you're having fun" really was true. Or maybe it was because Cyborg had been grinning at Noodle the entire time, and had otherwise zoned out completely, as she hadn't noticed the massive riot that had broken out.
As the guy that had complimented Cyborg's "cosplay" fended off a sea of fans with a chair leg, Cyborg climbed over the fence between her and the stage, as the guards were too busy fighting off the riot.
"You were so good!" the robot called over the screaming and shouting, leaping up to meet the band.
She had directed her compliment towards Noodle, but Murdoc slid past, offering a sly, "Thank you."
Murdoc, grunting at the lack of response, wandered backstage, where Russel and 2-D had already headed. "Thanks," Noodle grinned, "I thought it was a bit sloppy."
"What? No way, you were great," Cyborg insisted.
Noodle began leading Cyborg through the heavy red curtains. "Murdoc has his drinking money, so I doubt we'll be doing another concert soon."
"That's a shame. It really is cool to watch you perform."
"We could always go to a show together."
"It's just not the same. Hey, did you say you had another surprise?"
"Oh yeah. Almost forgot, actually," Noodle snapped her fingers, "It's back in our room."
Cyborg heard an obnoxious "har har," somewhere in the distance, but she shrugged it off. "Can you tell me what it is this time?" she asked, "Ooh, is it that we're going swimming?"
"No, but that's a good idea," Noodle snapped her fingers, "You'll see."
Cyborg groaned. "I wish you'd tell me."
"Alright. My friends has a nightclub around here somewhere and I told him we'd be performing nearby, so he said we should go over."
"Uh-huh?"
"So... I was going to take you."
"Oh. To the nightclub? What's there to do?"
"Dance," Noodle shrugged. She rested her guitar against a wall, then continued, "Watch people trip over themselves while they try to dance, try the weird drinks they've got."
"Alcohol doesn't work for me, really."
"That's a good thing, actually."
"Oh."
"Can I come?" Murdoc suddenly appeared from around a corner, "Or do I have to bring my own pet?"
"Stop saying that!" Cyborg jumped at Noodle's sudden outburst.
Murdoc chuckled, then disappeared again. "It's okay, he's just being mean," Cyborg gulped.
"I know, but he was saying all this... stuff about you before we started."
"Oh yeah, you looked a bit angry when you came out. What did he say?"
"Nothing I want to repeat," Noodle sighed.
"Okay."
Cyborg clicked her tongue, sitting on a nearby table as Noodle sighed and headed into a dressing room to change out of her stage outfit. When she returned, her makeup scrubbed away and her stylized costume replaced with a look made up of items from her wardrobe, Cyborg gave her a smile.
"Sorry," Noodle scratched her arm.
"It's okay. You don't hate Murdoc, do you?"
"No. He's just frustrating."
Cyborg wanted to say, "Well, I hate him," along with a few remarks on how green he was, but the thought that he could pop up from around any corner made her stop herself. Instead, she said, "So, who's your friend with the club?"
"His name's Ace. It's called the 'Gangreen Lounge'. Inviting, I know."
"That doesn't sound inviting at all. Actually, I'd rather we not go."
"It's just a silly name."
Cyborg tried to stick her tongue out in disgust, but the gun barrel in her mouth clicked into place instead.
"Oops," she poked it back under her tongue.
"Can you actually shoot with that thing?" Noodle sat beside Cyborg.
"Not anymore. It broke a while ago," Cyborg sighed, "I think someone must've hit me really hard and the barrel snapped."
Noodle cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Oh well."
"Club?"
"Yeah, I wanna see why it's called that."
A/N: I hate doing author's notes.
Anyway, sorry for lack of updates. It was exam week here, but with those over I'll try to update more. This fic was supposed to be a shorter collection of one shots before I started a longer story, but I really enjoy writing for it, so I guess it's here to stay.
I might go ahead and start the other fic I wanted to write even with this one ongoing (and have this be more of a side thingy).
Anyway, thanks for reading this far despite my horrible writing and inconsistent update schedule.