[ON INDEFINITE HIATUS] Blindfold - A Gorillaz Fanfiction

Chapter Three - Pitch Black Eyes

Stuart couldn't believe it.  He was home. After how long?  A year?   It felt amazing to taste the familiar air of his own flat once again.  For some reason, it still felt alive despite having been abandoned for so long.  As Stuart was about to step through the doorway, a loud bark caused him to jump slightly.  After a moment, he realised who this voice belonged to.

'Prince?'

Stuart heard claws scrambling at the floor as the creature sped towards him, panting.  He crouched down, arms open, and felt Prince's paws on his chest as the dog excitedly licked his face.

''Ey, boy!' Stuart laughed, rubbing Prince's back. 'How long has it been? How are you even still alive? Aw, I missed you, too!'

He stood up and walked into his home, beckoning Prince to follow him.  Funnily enough, finding his way through the apartment with bandages on his eyes proved to be quite a challenge, which resulted in him bumping into walls, doors, and even accidentally stepping on Prince's paw once. At that point, Stuart knew he needed to get these bandages off. Besides, he was pretty sure the bleeding would have stopped by now.

After about ten minutes of stumbling and feeling around, Stuart finally made his way to the bathroom. He felt for the sink, then the mirror to check if he was in the right place. And then, he reached for the back of his head and untied the knot. Once the bandages had come off, Stuart opened his eyes and gasped at the blurry horror staring back at him through the mirror.

It.... looked like him, blue hair and everything. But the eyes... or were there even eyes in the first place? Stuart couldn't tell, for all he could see was two pitch black voids on his face where his eyes should be.

Is that me? He asked himself. Blimey.... it is....

Another white hot agony pierced Stuart's eyes again, worsening the headache he already had since he woke up. He shut them tight and tied the bandages back on, already dulling the pain. No, there was no way he was letting anyone see this... this monster. Even if it meant him being completely blind, Stuart swore to himself that he wouldn't allow anyone to lay eyes on such an abomination.

He let himself fall back against the wall behind him, the coldness of tiles seeping into his back. Something warm and heavy pressed against his leg - Stuart figured it was just Prince trying to comfort him. He gratefully stroked the dog's head, wondering if he knew what he was going through.

A few minutes passed, though Stuart was so deep in his own thoughts, absently stroking Prince's head, that it only felt like a few seconds to him. Eventually, he staggered to his feet, feeling exhausted, which was odd considering he'd been asleep for a year. He got out of the bathroom and, after a couple more minutes of fumbling and stumbling, he collided with something and fell on top of something soft. Stuart recognised the velvety sheets of his own bed and let himself relax, his body sinking into the fluffy, cloud-like material. Beside him, he felt something move and quickly realised that it was just Prince, jumping up to lie down next to him.

His head heavy and tired, Stuart rested an arm on the dog's back and, within an instant, he was snatched away from reality by the grasping hands of sleep.