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"2D."

The singer ignored the voice, frowning and pulling the blankets over his head.

"2D!"

"Fuck off.." he mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes or register the voice.

"Stuart, seriously!"

With that 2D finally opened his eyes and saw Murdoc standing in the door, glaring at him.

"What the fuck do you want?" he snapped, not in the mood for this bullshit this early in the morning.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine. And I don't want anything. Noodle's calling us down," Murdoc replied dryly.

2D frowned. "What for?"

"I don't know. Just get your arse down the stairs now," the bassist sighed, before leaving.

The younger man stared blankly at the door, feeling a pang in his chest. Ignoring it, he stretched and stumbled out of bed. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up a bit more, before slowly making his way down the stairs.

When he got into the living room, he found that everyone was already there. Russel and Murdoc were sitting on the couch, Murdoc looking very reluctant. Noodle was standing in front of them, already washed and dressed of course. So was Russel, although Murdoc was just in a pair of jeans which he had probably slept in. If he had slept at all. Which it didn't look like.

He went to squeeze himself next to Russel, earning a glare from Murdoc.

"You're probably wondering why I gathered you all here.." Noodle started solemnly, then grinned. "Okay, sorry. I've always wanted to say that. Anyway, things have been really busy lately. And let's be honest, it hasn't been particularly pleasant for certain people."

Murdoc narrowed his eyes and 2D frowned. Russel obviously knew what she was going to say as he just nodded at her.

"So Russel and I decided that we need a break. A proper one. Away from all the paparazzi, camera's and media, just away from people in general," the little guitarist continued.

2D rubbed his eyes, wondering where she was going with this. "Noodle, it's too early in the morning for-"

"Shut up, man," Russel muttered, nudging him with his elbow.

"Like I was saying, we're taking a break. We're going somewhere far away."

"Where?" Murdoc asked, running a hand through his hair.

"You'll see," Russel said. He turned to 2D. "You should get dressed and shit, man. Then start packing, we're planning to leave in about two hours. You too, Muds."

"How long are we staying there for?" the singer asked, reluctant about the whole situation.

"Don't know. Maybe a week. Maybe a month. Depends on how long it takes us to sort things out," Noodle shrugged, before turning around and walking away.

2D and Murdoc glanced at each other. They couldn't help but think she was talking about certain band members sorting certain things out.

The singer stood up and went to his room reluctantly, and started getting ready. In about an hour he was washed, dressed and packed. He spent the other hour lying in his bed, smoking, dreading the trip.

Sure, it was nice to be going away from all the press for a while, but who knew where Russel and Noodle were taking them? What if he and Murdoc ended up having to sleep in the same room? He wouldn't put it past Noodle to plan it like that.

2D just hoped this trip was going to make him feel better, not ruin his life even farther.

A knock on his door pulled him roughly out of his thoughts.

"We're leaving," Noodle said quietly, her head sticking out from the doorway.

The singer gave a nod, stubbing out his cigarette and getting up. He picked up his suitcase and slowly trudged downstairs. The rest was apparently all in the car, because the building was completely empty as 2D stepped into the living room. He stared around him for a while, taking in the cold, empty silence. Until something creaked behind him.

"You coming?" Noodle said with a smile.

2D smiled back at her and she reached for his hand. Together they walked into the parking lot, leaving Kong Studios behind for who knew how long.

Russel and Murdoc were sitting in the front of Russel's car, Murdoc already looking as if he was asleep. 2D and Noodle climbed into the back, and the guitarist immediately curled up to him, putting on her headphones and closing her eyes.

"How long is the ride going to take?" 2D asked warily, looking down at Noodle.

Russel didn't answer for some time, he just started driving. "A while," he finally said.

The singer sighed, leaning back and letting Noodle rest her head on his lap. He closed his eyes, feeling himself drift off as well.. it hadn't exactly been a pleasant night. He had been kept awake by constant nightmares and just general restlessness.

He absent-mindedly started playing with Noodle's hair, until she gave an irritated tut and nudged his hand away. Russel chuckled and Murdoc opened one eye, his and 2D's eyes meeting for a moment. They both quickly closed their eyes again, feeling the atmosphere in the car turn increasingly awkward. Between them, anyway.

2D frowned, annoyed, and he reached for his pills, popping in enough to help knock him out for the rest of the journey. Murdoc just shook his head disapprovingly and glared. 2D pretended he hadn't seen it and leaned back, closing his eyes again.

The only times he woke up after that during the rest of the trip were when they were going to get a bite to eat. For the remainder of the time, he stayed blissfully, peacefully asleep. Until they arrived, that is.

"2D! Toochi, get up!"

He didn't exactly have a choice, because shortly after that Noodle took hold of his shoulders and shook them.

"All right! I'm awake!" the singer blurted, rubbing his eyes.

"We're here," the guitarist grinned at him.

2D looked out of the window. They seemed to be in a forest, trees completely surrounding them, except for the area beside their car. It was sandy, with a big lake in the middle of it. Like a tiny beach, were 2D's thoughts. Warily, he got out and looked around. On the other side of the car there was a little house, and the singer gulped.

"Is this..?" he began, turning to look at the others.

Russel nodded. "Yep. Nice, ain't it?"

"How long are we going to be staying here exactly?" Murdoc intervened, frowning.

"Like we said, we're not sure. As long as we need to," Noodle answered. "You coming?"

She turned around and started walking towards the house, Russel right behind her. The other two reluctantly followed them, keeping a safe distance between each other.

Russel got the key and stuck it into the lock.

"How did you get this place?" 2D asked.

"Rented it," Russel answered simply, before pushing the door open.

It was quite cosy inside, with two bedrooms, a small living room and a little kitchen.

"Right, as you can see, we only have two bedrooms. Noodle's getting one for herself since she's a lady, so the three of us will have to share one," Russel stated.

"I'll sleep on the couch in the living room," 2D quickly said.

The band stared at 2D.

"Uhh.. you sure, D? I can also-"

"No, I'm sure. Don't worry about me," the singer muttered.

"Well.. okay. At least unpack your stuff in our room, then."

2D nodded, following Russel into the bedroom. Murdoc was right behind them, not saying a word. The three of them unpacked their stuff, putting it away in the drawers and closets.

Suddenly Noodle bounded into the room.

"Russel and I are going to get some groceries. You two can go and explore together! See you later," with those words Noodle pulled Russel out of the room by his wrist, and soon they were in the car, speeding off.

"D'you think they're going home and leaving us behind?" 2D muttered, more to himself as he stared out of the window.

Murdoc gave a dark chuckle. "Wouldn't put it past them."

An awkward silence followed. The singer sighed, sitting down on the bed. He glanced behind him, finding the room empty.

Fuck this. Fuck all of this. He should have never agreed to do this whole relationship thing. He hated himself. He hated Murdoc. He hated everything. And this cramped, romantic place just made everything worse. 2D knew Noodle and Russel were going to do something like this. And then of course, run off as soon as they could. It wouldn't surprise him if they really had gone home, or if they would just leave early in the morning every day and return late at night.

Groaning, he got up. He might as well explore the place then, since he had no idea how long he was going to be here for. It was pretty cold, so he pulled on his jacket and a scarf before walking outside. He paused.

Murdoc was swimming in the lake. 2D could see the goosebumps from where he was standing. The bassist just floated around for a while, wearing only his jeans. He noticed 2D as the latter came closer.

"Come in, dullard. The water's lovely," Murdoc said with bitter humour, splashing some water at the singer.

2D just stared at him, shaking his head. "Are you mad? It's fucking freezing."

Murdoc shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He turned around again and continued swimming. 2D sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking off. He wandered around the house, making sure to stay close to it since he knew he had no sense of direction whatsoever. The area they were in was beautiful, trees with brightly coloured leaves surrounding them, the fallen ones making a golden red carpet on the ground. Small white flowers were sprouting out in random places, and little rabbit holes could be spotted every few feet. The singer's curiosity led him to an open little field, trees shielding the area from others. There was a small pond and the soft, green grass surrounded the place invitingly.

"This would be a nice place to have a picnic," he mumbled to himself, sitting down on the grass.

It was nearing evening, and the sky was turning a beautiful orange, pink and purple hue. 2D just stared up at the sky, hugging his legs and smoking a cigarette, feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

He had no reason to be lonely. He had Noodle and Russel for a start.. never mind the countless girls who would do anything for him with a snap of his fingers. But there was just something missing..

And to his frustration, he knew exactly what that something was. Or rather someone.

"It was just nice being in a relationship with someone again, it's got nothing to do with the fact that it's Murdoc.. I just need to find a nice bird and have a steady relationship," he told himself, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, right," he then sighed bitterly, lying down on his back.

"What are you talking to yourself for?"

2D yelled, jumping up. Murdoc was standing in front of him, frowning slightly. He was still dripping wet, droplets falling from his body and hair with every movement.

"I.. what are you doing here?" 2D stuttered.

The bassist raised an eyebrow at him as they both remembered a similar conversation. He just shook his head, sitting down next to 2D. With some hesitation, the singer sat down again as well.

"Have you been following me?" 2D then asked.

Murdoc rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. You were gone for a pretty long time so I started looking for you. I just had to follow the sound of you blabbing away to yourself when I got close enough, really. I would have never found this spot otherwise."

"Why didn't you go in and dry off first? I bet you're freezing your knob off," the singer then said, hugging his legs again and staring at the pond.

"I don't really care."

There was something so bitter in Murdoc's voice, that 2D's head turned to him. It had gotten quite a bit darker now, and it was becoming harder to read Murdoc's facial features.

"You'll catch a cold," 2D then said softly.

"Like I said, I don't care."

"Why not?"

Murdoc just shook his head, lying down and staring at the sky. 2D could see him shivering slightly. He sighed, and started pulling his jacket off. The bassist looked at him sharply.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"At least take my jacket," 2D replied dryly, handing his jacket to Murdoc.

"No. You'll get sick," the bassist said, shaking his head and shoving the jacket back into 2D's arms.

The singer rolled his eyes, planting the jacket on top of Murdoc's body.

"Don't say anything," he warned, lighting another cigarette.

Murdoc sighed. "Thanks."

2D didn't reply.

"2D?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you want to sleep in the living room?" Murdoc sounded irritated.

The singer glanced at him. "Obvious reasons."

"Like what? I'm not going to rape you in your sleep or anything."

2D glared at the bassist. "I wasn't talking about that. I'm just not in the mood for this shit."

Murdoc didn't reply. He just kept on staring up at the sky, his hands folded underneath his head. They stayed silent for what felt like years. None of them breathing a word, both of them just staring at the sky or the pond or, secretly, each other.

Eventually Murdoc stood up.

"We should go inside. Noodle and Russel might be here already."

2D nodded, and they got up, walking back to the house. Sure enough, the other band members were already cooking dinner.

"We'd wondered where you two had gone off to! Everything all right?" Noodle asked brightly, her eyes screaming subtext.

2D shrugged and Murdoc didn't even reply. The guitarist and drummer glanced at each other in disappointment, but didn't say a word.

Later that night, 2D was crawling into his makeshift bed on the couch. The couch was rather stiff, but it was big enough for the singer to be able to spread his limbs comfortably. The moon shone a silvery light into the room through the window. That was the only place that was lit up, including 2D. He didn't mind it, though. The light wasn't too bright and it calmed him, funnily enough.

With the glow on his face and dark thoughts, he slowly tumbled into unconsciousness.

Thank you for reading, please leave reviews and I'll continue!