She's My Collar
By: KKM
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gorillaz or any related characters/songs. Gorillaz are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.
Last Time:
"Mo' cleaning?" 2D groaned, slouching against the back of the couch with an exhausted frown.
"Well, on tha' note I'm out," Murdoc said, heading to the door. There was no way he was about to get roped into cleaning when he'd just gotten back.
Noodle sighed and rolled her eyes as she tugged 2D away from the pizza massacre. "C'mon, Toochi. Let's get you all cleaned up."
Though they did clean the livingroom the next day, the smell of pizza never did quite come out of the carpet. 2D had found it hilarious and started drawing little comics of the pizza phantom he told them was haunting the Spirit House. He never realized until later that Murdoc had swiped one of them and wouldn't know about it until a couple of weeks later when their leader announced their upcoming trip to Jamaica.
Chapter 17: Andromeda
"NOODLE, SLOW DOOOOOOWWWWN!" 2D screeched as he held onto her narrow waist as tight as he could with his long, lanky arms. He didn't even care that he was screaming like a prepubescent girl; this was terrifying! Whose wise idea had it been to let this girl get a motorcycle license in the first place?
They were currently weaving in and out of traffic at the speed of light down one of Jamaica's busy narrow streets. Yesterday the band had spent all day getting acquainted with and recording with Popcaan. 2D had really liked the easy going man and had greatly enjoyed hanging out with him all day. He really had a unique and attention-grabbing voice that was hard to ignore. It was almost hypnotic when combined with Russel's beats. However, this morning Murdoc had decided that he wasn't quite happy with some of the sessions they'd done so he and Russ had gone back again today. Since Noodle and 2D's parts had already been recorded to their leader's satisfaction, they hadn't been required to tag along. This was fine to them of course since they hadn't had a chance to sight-see yet. Plus it was a good chance to enjoy themselves without getting caught.
They'd already had a pretty busy morning so far. First they had spent a couple of hours bumming on the beach before it got too busy. Noodle had tried to get away with only laying on the beach to tan, but Stu had put an end to that rather quickly by plucking an abandoned sand castle bucket from the sand and filling it to the brim with cool, salty water. She'd been lying there innocently in a little yellow polka-dot bikini and a pair of giant heart-shaped sunglasses. He'd taken great joy in sneaking up on her from behind and dumping the bucket on her head.
To say she'd been mad was an understatement. She'd chased him all the way down the beach and had finally managed to tackle him when he'd nearly lost his balance due to a particularly strong current that had splashed at the shore. From there, they'd had a pretty exciting splash fight slapping as much water at each other while trying to dunk each other when possible. When they were tired, they'd dried off and lounged for a bit. 2D had made her laugh when he'd found a couple of sand dollars and stuck them over his eyes with a goofy grin. She'd flicked his nose causing them to fall away and laughed at the pouty look on his face before swooping in for a kiss and leaning against his chest to relax.
Once the beach had started to get busy, they'd decided to explore the outdoor market place. There were hundreds of tables and booths lining the boardwalk as far as the eye could see. By the time they'd finished looking, they'd picked up several little knickknacks. Both of them were now wearing homemade rastacaps. 2D was wearing a rainbow colored one while Noodle had picked out one that had black, red, and yellow stripes on it. 2D had also found a table that sold little painted dragons that were made to clip on your shoulder. Noodle had been pretty sure that there was nothing remotely Jamaican about them, but he'd already fallen I love with a little purple and green one he'd found with glitter so they'd went ahead and gotten it. Noodle had found a booth that had some pretty cool handmade instruments. She'd picked out a neat looking pan flute for herself and a few hand drums for Russel. Later on they'd even found a couple of voodoo dolls that they thought for sure Murdoc might like.
Once they'd finished their shopping they'd stopped at a street cart to enjoy a plate of jerk chicken together and some little bammies before heading back to their hotel to put their things away. Noodle had asked 2D if he any ideas of what else they could do for the day since it was still early afternoon and the boys weren't back yet. He'd simply smiled at her and dug through his suitcase before proudly pulling out a scrap of paper with an address to an undisclosed location. He'd completely ignored her questioning about where this was to which had led to their current excursion. Noodle was both excited and curious to see what the singer had planned for them, but at the same time she was slyly extracting her revenge as she weaved through the heavily populated streets. It wasn't like back in England where it was mostly cars you had to worry about. In Jamaica they had a bit of everything in their roads. While there were definitely still cars and old taxis, there were also bicycles, and people moving in all different directions. This is what really made her driving all the more terrifying for the poor singer.
When they'd finally made it to the outskirts of the town, it was with shaky legs that the blue haired man finally slid off the bike and released her from his death grip. "Oh, gawd," he mumbled, leaning over as if he was seriously thinking about kissing the ground. "Neva' have I been so 'appy teh walk. Neva' again…"
"Aw, cheer up. We still have to drive back too, you know," Noodle teased with a wink, laughing when he grumbled and looked positively green around the gills. Smiling, she looked around their surroundings curiously. They were in an area with lush green jungle leads that skirted around the edges. The only thing that she received as a possible clue was a little wooden sign at the edge of the jungle that said "Edge of the World – This Way" with a beaten up looking dirt path that seemed to cut its way through the leads. "Um, where are we? Are you sure this is safe?"
"Hmn?" 2D hummed absently, his mind going blank as he stared at the sign. A hand waived in front of his face and he blinked, shaking himself out of his stupor. "Ah, yes. This's it! C'mon befo' we're too late."
"But Toochi, what abou-" but she didn't get to finish her questioning as he'd grabbed her wrist with a grin and led her onto the dirt footpath. She bit her lip a bit, but followed him closely. She knew that she'd be able to defend them if anything tried to attack them but she still felt a little uncomfortable about this. However, with how pleased his face looked she could tell that he'd put a lot of thought into this so she would humor him for now.
Finally they reached the end of the path and her eyes widened as they came to a clearing that led to the edge of a cliff that seemed to overlook all of Jamaica in its beauty. From here she felt like she could see every mountain, tree, and stream. This was one of those beautiful areas that for the most part they'd left untouched by man and her breath caught in her throat as it hit her just how massive this place was.
"C'mon, love. This way," 2D gently tugged her over to where a man was standing about ten feet away. He was standing by a large wooden tower that seemed to have a cable strung from the top of the platform to somewhere deep into the jungle.
"Toochi, is that-?" she asked, her face breaking out into an excited grin as she suddenly seemed to understand. Her eyes were sparkling with the need for adventure. "I didn't even know you liked stuff like this," she said, giving him a warm look as she squeezed his hand.
"Well, to be 'onest, I dun know if I'll like it o' not," he admitted, running a nervous hand through his messy hair as he looked down at her with pink cheeks. "Bu' I knew you'd li' it, so I thought I'd give it a try. When we was back at teh 'otel I too' what I needed though. I'll be okay," he promised, stealing a quick kiss before approaching the waiting man.
Noodle and 2D listened closely as the man explained the rules and how to properly work the harness. Somehow they'd talked him into letting them use the dual ones that were really meant for parents to go with their children. Since they were both so skinny, they were able to fit into them just fine and soon 2D found himself shaking like a leaf with his arms around Noodle while she was harnessed with her back to his chest.
"You sure about this?" she asked in amusement, very aware of how terrified he now was. She felt his Addams apple bob behind her as he gulped and tried to force himself to stand still.
"Yeah, I mean we're here an' I know you'll like 'is," he reasoned, sounding more and more like he was trying to convince himself by the minute.
"We can always turn around and do something else. Or if you really want me to, I can go and you can stay here and wait for me?" she suggested, trying to offer him an out. But he seemed to gain some resolve and she felt him shake his head vigorously.
"No. I sai' I'd do this an' I-AAAAAIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" While he'd been in mid-answer, Noodle had jerked them forward hard and the ground was no longer under his feet as they zoomed forward at a horrible speed. He could hear Noodle laughing as he'd actually been so scared he'd winded his legs around her too as h screamed down through the jungle side with his eyes clamped shut. After a few seconds he chanced an eye open as gasped as the beautiful scenery rushed by them. He loosened his grip only slightly as he rested his chin against her shoulder the rest of the way down, watching the joyful look on her face as they went.
Noodle was in cloud nine! She was on such an adrenaline rush that it didn't even bother her when 2D's arms and legs had nearly squeezed the life out of her. She'd always loved dangerous stunts like this. And the view made it all the better. At one point they'd even passed under a light waterfall. It was simply magical and breathtaking. She was almost sad when they reached the bottom where they were slowed to a stop and stumbled to regain their balance from their airborne adventure.
"Toochi, that was amazing!" she exclaimed, when they were finally released from their binds and she launched herself at him with an over-excited hung. Luckily a tree behind him prevented him from falling over this time but he still swayed clumsily in an effort to balance them before she slid off of him.
"Gla' you liked it, love." He said with a wobbly grin. "Now, if ya' don't mind, let's find somefing mo'… stable ta' do."
Later that night when they'd returned to civilization, they found themselves having dinner at a little reggae club that wasn't too far from their hotel. The live performances here were very good and it was fun to watch the locals really getting into the music. They couldn't help but bob along with the beat as they enjoyed their meal.
"Sooooo," Noodle began after swallowing a forkful of food. "How's that song coming along that you were telling Murdoc about?" she asked curiously. "I don't think I've ever actually seen you work on it, now that I think of it." She watched him closely in fascination as an almost guilty look flashed across his face.
"Well…" he trailed off, taking a sip of his drink before fumbling around with something in his back pocket. He took out his wallet and fished out some paper that had been tugged between the folds. He placed it on the table before eyeing it cautiously as if it might bite him. "I've been workin' on it awhile now, but I'm no' so sure if I wanna' share it wif 'im or no'." When she gave him another questioning look he sighed and gave her a more meaningful look. "I wrote it when I wos angry an' it's no' all that nice. Either way it wouldn' work cuz it's missing somefing and I can't figa' it out."
She gave him a thoughtful look before reaching out and grasping the paper folds between her nimble fingers. Her eyes quickly scanned his barely legible handwriting and her features took on a pensive look. "This is about us." It was a statement, not a question. "But, it's good. Real good," she told him, looking up at him with serious eyes. "You have to show this to them, Toochi."
"You fink so?" he asked, nervously scratching his neck. "Bu' wouldn' that be a bit dangerous? They'd know, Noodle. S'not even finished ye' anyways."
"Hum it to me." She said suddenly.
"Wot?" he asked stupidly. Surely she didn't want him to sing to her in the middle of this noisy restaurant. But when she simply arched her brow at him, he resigned himself with a sigh and looked around a moment before leaning close and singing the charged and somewhat spiteful lyrics into her ear. She looked thoughtful as he sang, following along with the words on the page before nodding to herself.
"I know what it's missing. Hand me that pen," she said, motioning to the pen the waitress had left with their bill. Once he did, she quickly scribbled her own lyrics down onto the tattered page with her tongue sticking out in concentration. When she was done, she passed it back to him to read over and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"No way," he said firmly, looking back up at her. "I'll be a dead man befo' the morning's up if we give 'em somefing li' this."
"You don't like it?" she asked innocently.
"Noodle," he groaned in exasperation. "I fink it works perfectly, bu' tha's no' teh point. They aren't slow o' stupid. They'll know exactly wot this means if we give this to 'em."
"That's the point," she said confidently before taking his cheeks into his hands. "Stu, last time we tried to hide this, I nearly lost you because of my own blindness to your feelings. I can't do that again. Don't you want to know what it's like to be free? To not sneak around? Murodc and Russel are all we've got. They will find out eventually whether we tell them or not."
"Yeah, I guess," he replied, looking somewhere between confused and glum. Yes he wanted everything to work out, but he also didn't want to die. Living had become something he was rather impartial to after all and since they'd been back from Plastic Beach all those years ago he'd done very well to stay out of the way of any forms of bodily harm.
"Look, I love you and I want them to see that," she soothed him. "Don't you love me?"
"O'course," he said quickly, his dark eyes looking slightly offended by the question. "You know I do."
"Then what's the problem?" she asked him before leaning in for a lingering kiss. He opened his mouth slowly as he felt her tongue tickling to taste him. He was slightly dazed when she leaned back with a mischievous smile. "We'll do it when we get back to England. Just leave everything to me."
A/N: So, the beginning of this chapter is loosely based off a radio interview that Damon Albarn did where he said he spent a whole day hanging out in Jamaica with Popcaan. But the next morning he hadn't been quite pleased with it so he'd went back for round two and Saturnz Barz was born.
I thought it might be nice to have a whole chapter dedicated to Noodle and 2D enjoying themselves on a little date while on vacation. To be honest, I have never used a zipline before, so hopefully that was kinda' accurate? I've also never been to Jamaica, but I have been to the Bahamas so I leaned very heavily on my experiences I had there to describe the scenery. The rastacap that 2D ends up with is the same one I bought at the marketplace I went to when I was there.
This chapter brings everything back full circle and now we can see how they got from where they were to the beginning of this story. I am sorry to say that I miscounted the other day when I quoted how many chapters are left. There is one chapter and an epilogue to go.
The next chapter we will finally get to see Grace Jones. How did Russel get her to agree to come back? Stick around!