Once Upon a Living Nightmare

Rehearsal

    "It was good to be back on stage, only a few things felt as good as having a guitar in my hands. I always felt at peace when performing. The energy from the crowd, the roar of the fans, and the electricity of the performance as you gave it your everything. That is what it was about, that is why I do it. Having all of the world melt away except for those in front of you shouting for more and more. That first concert was magical, playing at the Garden is a huge deal for anyone, playing at the Garden for a sold out show? Priceless." - Noodle's reflection on the first Humanz concert.

The past few days had been strange indeed. 2D had recovered from his panic attack pretty quickly enough, though it still scared the hell out of Noodle. His eyes were back to normal, but he seemed to be more chipper. The past couple nights he had actually gotten some sleep. This was partly from the exhausting days getting ready for the concert, but it also could have been due to the activities outside of the studio. 2D and Noodle had been spending more time being active, out and about skating, or sight seeing. 

   The band had rented an old house out in California to get some fresh air before the Concert. It would be the only concert before the party, so it was a big one. They don't know how, but Murdoc had managed to lock down Madison Square Garden for the venue; and within a few days had almost all of the seats sold. After a couple weeks the entire arena was full. This house would serve as a rest spot and a rehearsal studio leading up to the show a week away. It resided just a couple blocks from the ocean front and beaches.

   Murdoc spent his time on the phone mostly, arguing with people and making deals. Russel could be seen working on beats and talking with collaborators and film crews for making videos in the near future. 2D was regularly toying around on his cassio while Noodle played around with her guitar, keeping their fingers loose and ready. They all would go out and eat, pick a site to see, enjoy it. Then they would go back and practice. 

  Rehearsal would go smoothly enough, they had all been working together long enough that they knew each others cues and ticks. But there were little differences here and there. Subtle but noticeable. Murdoc seemed on edge about the newly happy couple. He was taking it out on 2D more than usual here lately. Almost as bad as when they were all younger with berating and a couple times getting physical. but this would only come after the practice, Russ would break them apart, usually by throwing Murdoc against a wall or just putting himself between the both of them. 2D was starting to stand up for himself against the verbal abuse, but still just took the beatings.

  As for the practice itself, they went pretty good. Occasionally someone would miss a note or a word. But all in all it really wasn't that bad. All was normal at the studio, that is until they had a couple of uninvited guests. Paula and Stewie had shown up one day while they were finishing up. Paula just walked in without knocking like she belonged there, and Stewie just followed her shyly.

  "Oi! Wha' in the bloody hell do ye thin' yer doin' you daft cunt?" Murdoc screamed at her as soon as he saw her. "Thin' this is some kind of resor'? Ye can jus' waltz in all willy nilly? Fuck off!"

  "Oh Muddzy, is that really anyway to treat an old friend?" Paula responded coyly.

  "Ol' friend? Me own knob is MY only ol' friend here. Get lost! We're busy" Murdoc scathingly retorted.

  "Wat do you want, Paula. Wh-why r'you 'ere?" 2D chimed from the back nervously through a swollen lip from Murdoc's last tirade of abuse.

  " Oh no reason. Just thought I would stop by to drop a little something off." Paula said as she set an envelope on the table before them.

  It was a rather thick envelope. The kind that had paperwork inside. The stamped sender was that of a law office in London. As 2D opened it and viewed the contents, he bagan to shake and turn pale. It was a petition for child support for one Steward Pot. The court date was for three days ago, and had been awarded to the plaintiff on grounds of a no show. The back pay for the 16 years was quite the sum.

With the news having been given and the effect having been witnessed, Paula turned and walked out without another word. Stewie followed closely, never having said a peep, and never looking any of them in the eye. 2D was crushed, and immediately went to his room and locked the door. That day he opened a little pill bottle that he hadn't opened in almost a month, and emptied it's contents into his mouth.

A/N: Hello everyone, I do so sincerely apologize for not having been on in so long. It has been a rough several months. I kind of fell of the face of the Earth for a while. But I'm back. And I fully intend on finishing this. Obviously with the release of The Now Now, my timeline to play with has changed, so it's going to have to pretend that isn't a thing. But this had a bit of an AU feel anyway, so let's run with it. I still have every intention of playing out a few different ideas, and have some fresh thoughts on where to take them. The headphones are in, the music is playing, let's get to it. For those still reading, thank you for giving it a go and seeing what I had. For those returning, thank you so much for your patience. I am going to do everything I can to reward this. I look forward to forward to writing more, and as always, Happy reading.