Chapter Six
Disclaimer: I do not own Gorillaz.
A/N: Ah, reviews! Danke! I have responded to a select few of them. Also, if you can't tell, every other chapter is a memory, like this one, until the end. To stop confusion, the whole story runs from March to July, and all the memories are scattered around in there, and they are not posted in order. 2D's POV. Kind of short.
April
A warm, sunny day, probably the second week in April. Russel is cooking, and burning, lunch, Muds is sleeping, and Noodle and I are on the Island, chillin'. Our spot. We are talking about anything that comes to mind, everything under the sun. She is wearing a sundress Muds calls the teapot dress, although why, I don't know. It is short and puffs out a bit, maybe that's why? I am in my usual garb.
Noodle sits on the very edge of the island, strumming her guitar while I hum along, planning how we are to make one of the songs for our new album. When she puts it down, she sighs. "I love it up here. It's always so nice."
I nod, looking on like a parent. She's kind of my responsibility, y'know? I brought her to the group, we bonded, it's my job. She's mine to take care of. No strings attached.
She dangles her feet over the edge, a few loose stones and dirt tumbling to their earthy grave. Danger zone. I scoot over, closer to her, ready to spring at a moment's notice... just in case. She glances over and sees me all tensed and looks away and laughs, a belting kind of laugh I've never heard her make. Like a bark."Don't worry," she says, motioning me over, "I don't ever lose my balance."
"Ya neva' know..."
"I do." Again, her confidence reassures me, but the voice in my head said to be careful, she doesn't have the better judgement. Actually, she does. I sigh.
"Ah, this is so cool!" she exclaims, stretching her arms highabove her head, "This island, the whole place, being with you guys, and how I can get so close and never fall off." Noodle truley did love the simple things in life, things I would never in a million years notice or pick out.
I grin. "Don' jump, then."
She stands up and looks me straight in the eye. I feel a tingle down my back, like she zapped me with an electric current.
"I never would."
She is standing at the very edge, the VERY edge. She's testing me. Knowing she can't scare herself, she's trying it on me.
Well, it's working.
Her hair blows, and she peers over the edge, eyeing it like she's fixing to free fall.
"The only way you could get me away from this place," she mutters, and pauses. "...You'd have to kill me."
"Well," I quote, "Once ya're in the Gorillaz, ya stay in it faw life..." But my heart begins to thump. She's going to--
Suddenly, the rock under her feet gives way. A flash, and the stone is falling, falling, crumbling... and Noodle is gone. I hear myselfscream, and run to the edge.
"NOODLE!"
She isn't there.
"2D...?"
I spin around, my heart pounding in my chest. Tears begin to pop into my eyes, and adrenaline pumps through my veins. Noodle is standing behind me, unfazed, not showing really any emotions except for the 'Huh?' look. I wonder if she had even blinked when the rock slipped.
I grab her, shivering. Suddenly my legs are weak. No time for explanations. She places a hand against my chest, uncertainly.
"What're ya thinking! Ya coulda died!"
"I told you, 2D-ku', I never fall off. All I have to do is take a step back."
" Ya tryna give me a 'eart attack? Don' eva pull summfink like tha' again, unnerstand?" I breathe, trying to calm down.
"Sorry you're upset..."
I gather my breath. "Whateva," I say, and let her go, "An' I'm not upset." Of course not.
"You're such a liar! Feel the way your heart is beating."
And, looking back, I wonder - Was fear the only thing making it?