Russel Hobbs swung his fist at Murdoc Niccals without hesitation. He was infuriated at what he had just seen. His two band mates having sex in the bathroom. . . The only problem was, the girl, Paula, already had a boyfriend living in the very same building. Currently, she was cowering behind a stall door as Murdoc's nose released a puddle of crimson blood onto the tile floor beneath him. He yelled in pain and gripped his nose tightly. Paula stared with the most frightful and sinless look on her face. But playing innocent wasn''t going to help her now. She was caught in the act. She looked up at Russel, covered only by Murdoc's shirt.
"How could you do that to him?" she yelled at Russel, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Russel snarled. What kind of trash was that?
"What do you mean, 'How could I do that to him?'" he snapped. "How could you do this to D?"
She was lost for words. No denying that she had cheated on her boyfriend. "I. . . I didn't. . . "
"Save it," he growled. "Go pack your bags. You're out of here."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"You heard me! Get out!"
She delayed for a few seconds, but ran out of the bathroom after seeing the cruel look in his white eyes. As she left, Russel looked down at Murdoc, still writhing on the floor in agony.
"You're lucky," he said. "That nose is going to be punishment enough." And with that, he stormed out.
Truly disgusting, what they had done. How the hell was 2D going to take this in?
Stuart Tusspot turned around the corridor, running down the hall to see what all the comotion was about. Within yards of the toilets, he bumped in the drummer of their band, Russel. His shoulders heaved as he panted his words.
"I heard Murdoc scream," he said. "What's - "
"I just caught Paula having an affair with Murdoc," Russel interrupted.
It hit Stuart like a blow to the stomach. He shifted away from Russel a bit. It was a while before he actually answered. "Th-that's rubbish. She wouldn't do that."
Denial. Russel expected such.
"I'm not lying, 2D," he said, a bit more seriously.
Stuart frowned. "I don't believe you!"
He tore past him and sprinted down the hall. He wouldn't believe him. Not without proof, that is. He stopped at Paula's door, but didn't bother knocking. He walked in. She was in her normal clothes again, but she was packing the rest in her suitcase.
"What happened?" he demanded, stepping closer.
She didn't answer. She tore down all the pictures on her wall, sweeped her things off her desk, and stashed it all into her bag.
"What happened?" he said louder.
This time she stopped and turned around to look at him. The very sight of his puzzled expression brought tears to her eyes. She collapsed onto her knees, and weeped into her hands. It looked simple pathetic, to see one break down so easily. But he wasn't shedding pity. He crouched down next to her and picked her chin up to see her face.
"Was Russel telling the truth?" he asked slowly.
She didn't say anything. She was cornered, yet did not want to admit the truth.
"Tell me," he said sternly.
She shut her eyes tight and nodded mechanicaly. He stood up and backed away from her.
"B-but I still love you!" she choked, grabbing his hand.
What lies, he thought. He pulled it away quickly and turned his back on her, walking towards the doorway.
He muttered before leaving, "Then you wouldn't have done this. . ."
He slammed the door behind him and walked down the corridor with his head down and his face curtained by his hair. He still couldn't believe this. He would have never seen it coming. . . Not in a million years. But now that he was finished talking to Paula, he wanted to confront Murdoc. He clenched his fists. He wanted to beat him to a pulp for doing this. He reached the toilets and looked inside. Nothing but a small puddle of blood on the floor. He checked the stalls and still there was no one there.
"If you're looking for Murdoc, he's already on his way to the hospital."
2D turned around. Russel was leaning against the wall, watching him search.
"Why? What happened to him?" Stuart asked.
Russel closed his eyes, reflecting upon the moment. "When I caught them, I socked him in the nose. I think I broke it or something."
He had stood up for him? 2D was touched in an odd way. He was about to leave when he turned to Russel again.
"Uhh, thanks," he said quietly, "for doing that."
Russel looked at him and gave him a small smile. Something he thought he wouldn't be doing for a long time. "No problem, D."
They embraced each other speedily and Stuart walked back to his bedroom silently. He opened the door and a picture on his nightstand caught his eye first thing. He picked up the picture frame and looked at it with a frown. Paula and him were posing for the camera goofily and laughing. . . So happy at the time. Oh, how tremendously things could change in only a single night. He gripped the edges of the frame and threw it against the wall, too frustrated to even look at the photo. He sat on the edge of his bed and gathered his thoughts. And Murdoc. . . He had idolized Murdoc. He looked up to him and this was how he was repaying the comment? He clenched his teeth angrily. He would never forgive either of them for what they had done. Murdoc seldom says sorry anyway. Nevertheless, what they had done was unforgivable. Simple unforgivable. He fell back on his bed and was asleep sooner than he thought.
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"Russel, how long has been the guitarist ad been in the newspaper?" 2D asked, pouring coffee into a mug.
"Almost a week now," Russel responded, poking at his omelete. "I can't believe we still haven't gotten any replies."
Murdoc was sitting at the table, his nose still bandaged. It had been broken in 5 to 8 different places. 2D and him hadn't talked to each other ever since 2D found about the affair.
The doorbell rang and the three looked up.
"Nice timing," Russel said.
They walked downstairs to the front door. They were expecting maybe a teen with a guitar case in his or her hands to be standing on their doorstep. Instead, it was nothing but a small FedEx box.
"Is this some sort of joke?" Murdoc said. "We didn't order anything."
Russel gave the box a small kick, "We might as well- "
"KONICHIWA!"
All three yelled and jumped back as a little Asian girl popped out of the box, wielding a small acoustic guitar. . .
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Author's Note: When I first heard about this event in the Gorillaz's past, I could hardly believe it myself. There was only thing I could do. . . Write a one-shot about it of course! But after finishing it, it looked a little too grim for my tastes. So I added a little humour by describing Noodle's arrival. Hope you enjoyed! Sayonara!
