Chapter One

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The story will drag on a little slow at first as everyone's being established within the story, so bare with me please.

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2D POV:

Sunlight hit the back of his eyelids like daggers. Sitting up and rubbing his face, he opened his eyes to find his room in front of him. 2D didn't know exactly what he'd expected, but it gave him a sense of relief that everything was exactly how he'd left it. It gave him peace. Getting up and getting dressed, he moved to walk out the door, but not before he managed to get a good look at himself in the mirror. Stopping, he stepped forward to get a good look.

Dusty blue spiky hair, dark eyes, huge eyebags, pale skin. Smiling, there was a dark space between his teeth where his two font ones were missing, showing his pink tongue. With his eyes traveling downwards, he took a good look at his body. Tall, thin, and eighty percent legs. Looking back up in the mirror, he couldn't help but heave a sigh.

What a mess, he thought to himself, dipping out of his room to use the restroom and brush his teeth before heading downstairs. The pictures on the wall were crooked and erratic, most of them being scribbles on white paper, as they had been drawn by Noodle a very long time ago. The fact the band had kept them for all these years and still hung them up was something 2D knew she absolutely hated. Ever since El Manana Murdoc and Russel had been very sentimental about the things she had. Unlike them, 2D knew that she didn't like most of the stuff she'd created that long ago, and respected her wishes and threw the ones she'd given him out. Her recent stuff, however, was marvelous, and he made sure to keep those.

Very loud R&B could be heard all the way from the lowest level of the house, which 2D guess was Murdoc's. It was astonishing how he wasn't deaf yet, considering it was as if he heard every little thing. Thinking twice, it made sense. Murdoc wanted the Gorillaz music to be as diverse as possible. Never too much of this or that, just the right amount of everything. He had to head every drum beat, every key, every strum, and every breath the musicians put into their music.

It's probably why he hates Metal, 2D thought while going to the fridge to get himself something to eat. Murdoc believed metal had too much of everything, and was one big cluttered mess with no meaning.

After grabbing some scrambled eggs that Russel had made the morning before, he threw them onto a plate, put it in the microwave, and puched it on. While his eggs were reheating, he took out the teapot from under the sink and filled it with water before plugging it in. He then got two peppermint tea packs from the cupboard and set them inside the mug he's gotten from the cabinet over.

"Breakfast?" 2D turned around to see Noodle sitting at the table a few feet away. From the way her hair lay to how she was dressed, he could get she'd been awake for a few hours and probably went out.

"Yeah, do you want any?" He gestured to the fridge, offering to get more eggs for her.

She shook her head lazily. "No thank you..." she watched as the microwave beeped and 2D retrieved his meal. She then took a tiny piece of egg and popped it in her mouth. "Especially since you don't put milk in it so it doesn't dry out when you're reheating it."

2D covered his face with his hands. "I-I'm sorry Noodle, I'll remember next time..." He felt embarrassed that he couldn't remember that simple thing.

Noodle smiled. "Don't worry, next time I'll tell Russ to put a sticky note on it to remind you." She was kind with her words, something that made him calm down a little.

"Thanks..." 2D managed to mutter.

Noodle got up and left the room, heading out the door. When she left, 2D audibly sighed, resting his elbows on the counter with his head in his hands, disappointed in himself. His short-term memory had seemed to slip every now and again, nothing serious, but it bothered him internally. It made him feel almost helpless, having to rely on others.

His thoughts were interrupted by the building whistle of the teapot. Shaking his head free from his thoughts, 2D poured the water into the mug with the tea packets. Grabbing the handle in one hand and taking his plate in the other, he sat at the table, eating his meal sulkily while reading the morning papers, trying to do anything to drown out his own thoughts. He found himself reading an add on the last page about certain events going on throughout the city. They were mainly happy hours with the exception of a farmers market happening in a week and a relay in a month. One event stood out to him in particular, which was the open mic night at a bar across the freeway named "Cherry Stem". He'd never heard of the bar, but he knew it would be a good event to go to in order to relax. It'd be good for the whole band, now that he thought about it. None of them had actually gone out in quite some time.

While a smile tracing his lips, he folded up the paper and tucked it underneath his arm as he washed his dishes. He had something to look forward to that wasn't just sitting in the house watching comedy horror films and playing games all day, and he was glad.

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"What the hell is it you want us to go to?" Murdoc grumbled at 2D. It was obvious he was not particularly happy about being interrupted in his "zone". His room was bare, the walls grey, the only things filling up space were the dresser, bed, nightstand, and the variety of basses he had leaning against the wall, particularly El Diablo. He sat cross legged on the floor, papers sprawled out in front of him. 2D guessed they were lyrics.

"The Open Mic Night downtown tonight at a bar called Cherry Stem," he continued telling Murdoc. "We haven't been out in a while and it would be great to get to know the city a bit more. That and you said you wanted to find new collaborators, so many going will open up some opportunities for us."

The bassist scratched his chin with his long fingernails, thinking for a moment. "If you don't interrupt me again maybe we can go. Talk to Noodle and Russ about it too, why don't you?" Without skipping a beat, he reached into his lap where he had his phone and pushed a button, the previous song finishing before a new one beginning. This was was something 2D hadn't heard before, and he couldn't put it into a genre.

Without thinking about it too much, he took the hint and closed Murdoc's door, heading downstairs to go find Noodle and Russel, both of which he found outside. The drummer was seemingly becoming one with the engine of the '69 "Stylo" Camaro trying to fix a hose while Noodle watched, handing him things occasionally when he asked for them.

2D started walking over to them after a few seconds. Russel climbed out of the hood of the muscle car, grease smeared on his cheek. "What's up 2D?" He asked, taking a washcloth that was on the ground and using it to wipe his hands and face.

"Er, I was wondering if you two are busy tonight, there's an Open Mic Night downtown I think we should all go to." 2D handed them the newspaper, which Noodle took and got a good look at it.

"I should be able to go," she assured, handing the newspaper to Russ. "It's odd, I've never heard of that bar before, did it just open?"

2D shrugged. "I have no idea, but the name is catchy." He admitted.

"If I get the Camaro done in time I'm going." Russel handed the newspaper back to the singer, who took it. "It starts at five so I'm sure I'll be just fine." He turned back around and closed the hood, going around the car to open the door. The windows weren't working properly, meaning - of course - he would have to fix it. "Come get me at about 4, Dee, that way I have enough time to shower and de-grease myself."

"Thank you guys, and I will Russ." 2D turned back around and headed inside as the two bid their goodbyes as well.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he was happy that the whole band was going out. Everyone just seemed to drag and droop without some sort of entertainment. But it also excited him to be interacting with the band; lately they all seemed distant, more than likely due to the fact that Murdoc disappeared into his room for more than several days at a time and everyone else just seemed busy. Russ had gotten a part time job with car mechanics and Noodle began to sell her artwork to locals. The only one that hadn't done anything important was 2D himself.

When he came to this realization, his giddy mood was dampened. He needed to do something with himself rather than coop up in his room with nothing else to do. He scratched his head. What was he good at? Vocals, songwriting, and piano, yeah sure, but what could he do with it? He barely had a producing bone in his body and Sleeping Powder was just a luck of the draw. It bothered him that he couldn't find a single thing right with himself. Everyone else could, but not him.

Shit

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