Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/14060715.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Gorillaz
  Relationship:
      Murdoc_Niccals/Stuart_"2D"_Pot
  Character:
      Noodle_(Gorillaz), Murdoc_Niccals, Stuart_"2D"_Pot, Russel_Hobbs
  Additional Tags:
      Smut, Angst, Highschool_AU, top!murdoc, bottom!2d, murdoc_is_19, 2d_is
      15, Age_Differences, Abusive_Undertones, Fluff, Drug_Abuse, paula_is_only
      in_it_for_a_little_while, No_band, Possessive_Behavior, noodle_is_2d’s
      Little_sister_because_I_wanted_to_include_her, Male/Male, super_gay,
      Substance_Abuse, murdoc’s_dad_is_an_asshole, Stuart_is_innocent, murdoc
      is_a_bad_influence, Russel_is_a_great_friend, Homophobic_Language,
      repressed_homosexuality
  Stats:
      Published: 2018-03-22 Chapters: 4/? Words: 6101
****** Senioritis ******
by Iusedtolovethatgirl
Summary
     Unnecessary high school au? I think so
     Murdoc Niccals is starting his senior year when he takes interest in
     the freshman Stuart Pot: tall, pretty, blue spiky hair, no eyeballs.
     He knew he wanted Stuart to be his the moment he ran him over with
     his car. Or, Stuart is just a flighty boy who is confused by Murdoc’s
     advances. Russel is a junior and murdoc’s best friend because no one
     else would put up with him. And Noodle is 2D’s little sister because
     I love her but it seemed weird to have her in high school with the
     others because age differences (even though the others don’t line up
     well enough, bare with me)
***** First Day Jitters *****
Things had been slow for Murdoc Niccals lately. He hadn’t gotten laid in over a
month and most of his friends moved on to better things, like college, and
didn’t have time to partake in his devious extracurriculars. He denied needing
any of them, but truthfully he missed having people around that he could cause
trouble with. Now he was just left with his junior friend Russel who was
determined to keep him in check. Russel was a good balance for Murdoc, his good
nature and moral compass contrasted that of Murdoc’s wayward behavior. They
were both headstrong which led to many arguments, but somehow their
relationship worked well enough and Murdoc wasn’t one to question a good thing.
Of course he had other acquaintances in his grade, but none of them were
willing to constantly put up with him like Russel was. Nonetheless, this wasn’t
how he imagined starting his senior year. He took a long drag from his
cigarette before dropping it to the ground and stomping it with his signature
Cuban heels. Murdoc wore his uniform for the most part, but refused to wear the
clown shoes the school forced on him and the other students. He blew out the
last of the smoke from his lungs. Murdoc has become immune to the nicotine high
quite a while ago but his cravings for the drug only grew, however he refused
to believe his constant desire was considered unhealthy.
He stepped into his banged up 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, taking in the last fresh
air he was going to get before his seven days a week filled with eight hours of
hell. He guess it beat staying home with his alcoholic father, but it was
discouraging to see everyone else planning their successful futures when he was
destined to the same fate as his dad, already indulging the mind altering
poison. He seemed to function better when he was drunk, or so he told himself.
He still slurred his words but at least it kept him from overthinking
situations. A combination of drugs, alcohol, and a rough home life hardened
Murdoc but he wouldn’t have it any other way, because at least this way he knew
he had full control over his life.
 
He grunted as started the car making his way through the neighborhood, nearly
crashing several times. He pulled into Russel’s driveway with reckless abandon.
 
“Yo, Murdoc you’re going to kill someone driving like that.” Russel shook his
head in disgust. The tie from his uniform was still undone.
Murdoc rolled his eyes, “do you want a ride or not?”
 
He scowled in response. Russel was close to getting his license but for the
time being needed an adult in the car with him so he made a deal with Murdoc
that if he drove him to school he’d do his algebra functions homework. The car
creaked as the broader man stepped in, immediately pulling the mirror down to
tie his tie.
“Look, I’m just trying to keep you safe man.”
 
“Yeah, yeah, safe doesn’t get to me to school fast enough.”
 
Murdoc was too stubborn for his own good.
“But it keeps me from having to pick your ass off the road. I’m not saying you
have to drive like you’re carpooling with Miss Daisy, but at least have the
common sense to look where you’re going.”
 
Murdoc dismissed the comment taking a swig from his coffee cup filled with
liquor.
 
“Man, it’s seven o’clock in the damn morning and you’re already getting wasted?
What the fuck is wrong with you?”
 
“Russ if you’re just going to judge me you can walk to school because I put up
with you out of the goodness of my heart, got it?”
 
“Whatever, but you smell so obvious, man. At least try to cover it, because I
don’t want to go waltzing into school with your drunk ass only for you to get
caught on the first fucking day.”
 
“At least I don’t smell like B.O. and McDonald’s,” murdoc muttered under his
breath.
 
“What was that?”
 
“Nothing”
 
“That’s what I thought. Talk to me like that again and your driving won’t be
the only thing for you to worry about, you dig?”
 
Murdoc turned up the music in response. When he first got the car he played
with the settings too much and increased the volume of the bass to be
deafeningly loud, which resulted in him breaking his stereo so the sound was
terrible, but it was better than arguing with Russel about his own damn health.
He didn’t really care if he was caught with alcohol because he was a smooth
talker and didn’t doubt he could talk his way out of just about anything.
He pulled into the senior parking lot with a smile, genuinely happy to know he
was at the top of the high school hierarchy after four painful years.
Murdoc grabbed his mug figuring the only thing that would’ve made the moment
better was more alcohol.
From his bag he pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that listed his schedule
for the day. He hadn’t even bothered to look at it before now. His first period
was a study hall which he figured he could easily skip without any
complications from his teachers. Next was English which was an easy A without
putting in any effort. Then art, but the art teacher loved him so he could talk
his way into a C without doing any work whatsoever. Then he had chemistry which
he was forced to take to graduate. The class seemed easy enough you just mixed
shit together, it couldn’t be that fucking difficult. For 5th period he had
American history which he could definitely bs with a C or higher. And last,
algebra functions which he had an ensured A with Russel doing everything for
him. He got an early release to take place of his 7th period meaning it was
less time he had to spend hanging around hormonal teens and teachers with god
complexes.
Murdoc swung open the door with a confidence only he could possess and motioned
for Russel to follow him. He took another swig from his drink wanting to be at
least a little tipsy before 1st period, but he had an insanely high tolerance
at this point. Something in his mind said “fuck it” as he chugged the rest half
bottle of his Jack Daniels. The whiskey burned and tasted like god awful syrup,
but it got the job done. He earned a look from Russel as he finished the last
of it and shrugged nonchalantly. Not two minutes later he was drunkenly
stumbling but kept his composure for the most part. He was just glad he was
finally starting to feel something. He was already confident, but the liquid
courage made his time at school an endurable blur of wasted time. Too drunk to
focus on where he was going, he walked straight into a couple making out.
“Fucking hell! Could you please watch where you’re going?” Murdoc slurred his
words together.
The tall boy turned around casting his blue eyes to the ground. “S-sorry,” he
stuttered nervously.
“Don’t take any offense to him he’s lost his damn mind,” Russel intervened,
feeling guilty that murdoc ruined the moment between the blue haired boy and
his girlfriend.
The blue haired man smiled a nearly toothless grin becoming noticeably more
relaxed. His frail, lanky frame underneath an unfitted black suit was somewhat
entrancing to Murdoc who didn’t take too kindly to being embarrassed in front
of an audience.
Murdoc growled deep in his throat, upset that Russ was speaking for him. “Let’s
go, I don’t feel like dealing with fuckface freshmen.”
They left the young couple with the boy still clearly mortified by the abrupt
interaction.
“The nerve of some people Russ, I’ll tell you. I’ve been going to this school
for four years and they think they can just saunter in acting like they own the
place. Like who the fuck are they to be standing in my way, y’know?”
Murdoc was 19; held back freshman year because his English teacher had
obviously picked favorites and only passed those he liked. (Or so Murdoc told
himself).
“Murdoc, you’re irrational even when you’re not drunk, but that’s new level
stupidity, even for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, cool it. Stop acting like you’re a god because no one else here
wants to fuel your ego. It doesn’t matter how many freshmen you walk all over,
you won’t get any respect by acting like a dick.”
“Fear and respect are synonymous,” Murdoc responded dismissively.
“If you say so. Hey, I gotta go talk about a schedule change, they fucked up my
sciences. Try not to do anything you’ll regret in the meantime because I’m not
about to cover for you when you get caught fucking up.”
“Oh that’s not fair and you know it Russ. I’d never get caught. But have fun
taking your high ground or whatever.”
Murdoc sauntered off before he lost his chance at getting the last word. The
alcohol had clearly given him even more self-assurance than he already had.
The olive skinned man loosened his tie to uphold the messy, disheveled, bad boy
reputation he had rightfully earned after years of trying to perfect an
entirely disinterested persona. His spinning mind wandered back to the
encounter he just had with the prettiest boy he’d ever seen. He drunkenly
decided he’d dedicate this year to getting a horde of mindless freshman who
would blindly follow him. Going against what Russell told him, he believed he
instilling fear into his new, impressionable peers was the best way to go about
it. Murdoc wasn’t ashamed to admit he got off on having a certain power over
others and he wasn’t about to stop because his piss poor excuse for a friend
told him to.
***** Fuck. *****
Chapter Summary
     I promise things will get interesting soon ily all
The eight hours flew by surprisingly fast as the first day always seemed to,
and he did it. He fucking survived the day without any complications
whatsoever. He almost considered rewarding himself for his accomplishment.
Murdoc also noticed that it may have been artificial sweetness teachers wore
the first day, or the fact he was a senior, but everyone seemed to be pretty
easygoing this year. If he was just able to push his way through 179 more
grueling days then he’d be home free.
He waited coolly by the glass doors seeing his freedom, but unable to reach it
until Russel met back up with him. Murdoc impatiently tapped his foot as he
waited for his friend.
“What the everloving fuck is taking that asshole so long?” He seethed to
himself.
Only then did he catch sight of his sidekick talking to a short, blonde girl
he’d never seen before and it became clear. Worried that he’d lose his best
friend to the deprivation of judgement that was high school romance, he cut in
before their relationship could escalate any further.
“Russ, could you get your fat ass in my car before I leave you here.”
Used to his friend’s abrasive behavior, Russel sighed, ignoring the blatant
insult about his size.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”
The girl eagerly nodded with an electrified ear to ear smile. She gave a dainty
little wave before turning swiftly on her heal and heading in the opposite
direction.
“So Russ, I see you found yourself a bird. On the first day no less, you
player.” Murdoc mocked.
“Yeah, and I ain’t goin’ to tell you shit about her because I know full well
you’ll find a way to go on and fuck it up like you have such a strong tendency
to do.”
“Your faith in me is astonishing, you know that?”
“Shut the fuck up man. If you’re so desperate o leave let’s go then.”
Murdoc opened the door and gestured for Russ to go first.
“After you, of course.”
Murdoc didn’t have to see his face to know that Russel was rolling his eyes.
Murdoc loved nothing more than being a constant pain in his ass. He considered
flat tiring the back of the younger man’s shoe to rile him up even more, but
decided he put him through enough torture in front of his new lady friend to
cause him any more distress for at least the next thirty minutes or so.
“It’s only been eight hours of this excruciating, government required
punishment, and I’ll tell you what, I’m so fucking done with it.”
Russell grunted in a combination of agreeance and annoyance as murdoc started
up his car. The entire shell of the vehicle vibrated in an unnatural manner
before audibly clicking off.
“OH YOU CHEAP PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT” Murdoc steamed hitting the steering wheel
with both hands vigorously before hopping out of the sad excuse for a car.
He forcefully slammed the door and opened up the hood already knowing what was
wrong. The engine never failed to give out when it was most inconvenient. He
waved the smoke around a little trying it get the mechanics to cool down before
shutting the hood again and getting back into his car.
“Man, if you hate your car so much why don’t you get a job and buy one?”
“Jobs are for quitters Russ. If I really wanted one I’d hijack it.”
He waited a couple of seconds until he started it up again. This time it seemed
much smoother, although, it was never that sturdy to begin with.
“Okay, now, maybe, just maybe, we can actually get the hell out of dodge.”
Even at his calmest Murdoc was an irresponsible driver, that, Russel could
vouch for. But he’d yet to be resilient enough to let him drive in his angrier-
than-usual state. Murdoc didn’t even care to look behind him as he wasted no
time backing up, however, a large thump stopped him in his tracks.
“FOR THE LOVE OF SATAN-“ Murdoc got out of the car once again, this time twice
as pissed as he was the first time. Russ got out too knowing that the sound
couldn’t have been anything good.
A gangly form stubbled from under the car and stood up on unsteady legs. When
the light caught him, Murdoc recognized him as the boy from this morning’s
drunken encounter.
“Fuck…” he trailed off, realizing that the boy’s once blue eyes were now a
black abyss. Even if it was quite a good look Murdoc didn’t think that he’d be
able to get around this one in court. He just prayed that he wouldn’t sue
because Murdoc sure as hell didn’t have the money for that.
“Murdoc, I’m going to call an ambulance,” Russel said as he made his way over
to support the poor, injured boy.
“DONT. He’s fine. See look at that. He’s walking and shit isn’t that right?”
Russel made an irritated face before pulling out his phone and dialing what
Murdoc could only assume was the emergency number.
Murdoc put his face in his hands as both a sign of embarrassment to the growing
crowd around them and defeat, knowing that he was probably going to be in some
deep legal shit.
“Here faceache,” He said offering his shoulder for support as he guided him
over to the curb so they could sit down. “Standing probably wouldn’t be the
best idea unless you want to pass out.”
The boy nodded vacantly, staring off somewhere in the distance.
“GO ON FOLKS. SHOWS OVER.” Murdoc barked not in the mood to deal with the
unwanted attention.
They sat in silence for a while as they waited for the ambulance to show up.
Murdoc wasn’t a doctor but his lack of response and eyes didn’t give him any
encouragement that the boy was in the best state at the moment.
“Got a name?”
When his question wasn’t answered he did what he was best at and kept talking.
“Well courtesy of me, you got these two huge dents in your face, so how about
2D? That’s a cool name right? It’ll earn you some street cred, amiright? Maybe
even get you laid.”
Russel shook his head disapprovingly.
“Look I’m just trying to make the best out of a bad situation here, and the
reality is that none of this was my fault. If you want to play the blame game
Russ, he shouldn’t have been walking behind my car.”
“Don’t you even try to pin this on him when you know damn well that it’s your
fault.
Sirens in the distance created a sudden feeling of impending doom for Murdoc.
“We could leave y’know? In his comatose state he won’t even know what hit him,
and I mean that in the most serious way.”
“Look Murdoc, you’re always going on and on about how you’re God’s gift to the
world, or Satan’s, or whatever the hell you believe in. So start acting like it
and take responsibility for once in your life. Yeah it sucks, but you’re going
to have to grow up eventually. You can’t keep living in this fantasy that you
created where you’re always right man.”
Murdoc sighed in defeat, knowing his friend was right. He stood up and leaned
against his car feeling quite the strong urge for a cigarette. As the ambulance
pulled up next to the scene Murdoc stood away from the frenzy of people until
approached. He answered questions as honestly as he could, feeling a strange
pang of regret for causing such trauma. Usually he’d bask in it, but something
about what Russel said about growing up made him reevaluate the situation.
The older man wasn’t taken away in a cop car like he’d expected, but that
didn’t mean he was off the hook in any way, shape, or form.
2D was taken away on some sort of cot and they were informed that he was in a
“catatonic state”, whatever the hell that meant. The doctors didn’t think his
condition was fatal because he was definitely showing good signs, but he was
pretty banged up from what they could tell on the spot. Murdoc didn’t even have
the heart to come up with a witty comeback about how they were pointing out the
obvious. One of the cops later came up to Murdoc saying that he would receive
an official statement in the mail regarding his court date and information.
Murdoc caught a brief glimpse of 2D with who he assumed to be his mother. She
rather surprisingly smiled at him despite the fact he’d just run over her
undeniably gorgeous son.
Murdoc didn’t really identify with any sort of sexuality as far as he could
tell, but something about the boy’s soft, feminine features were quite
alluring. He pushed away the thoughts, deciding that there were bigger issues
at hand. As soon as he was told that he could leave he ushered Russ back into
the car, this time taking extra precautions as he drove home.
***** Tomber Amoureux *****
Murdoc skipped the next day, informing Russ that he should get a ride from
someone else. He was experiencing a slight foreign emotion called guilt. Murdoc
was usually too busy feeling sorry for himself to consider how anyone else
felt, so he repressed his sympathy and self loathing under
many layers of a synthetic ego. But, something inside him felt almost obligated
to visit 2D. He couldn’t stop thinking about how helpless he looked, spacing in
and out of consciousness since the accident.
He decided he’d be the upstanding citizen that he was and visit the poor boy.
Maybe even bring some of his old tapes to play for him while he recovered.
Although he wasn’t sure what type of music would interest 2D, he came to the
conclusion that it probably didn’t matter because he was most likely
unconscious anyway.
He picked out some old rock tapes from his bookshelf and started off
downstairs. Murdoc took into mild consideration that his father must’ve come
home sometime last night. He never saw him, but the place was even more of a
reck than when he first got home. He sighed, realizing he’d have to clean all
this shit up later. His house was compact and overflowing with things that he
and his dad had collectively hoarded over the years.
The drive to the hospital was unnerving and silent while he rehearsed what he’d
say if any of 2D’s loved ones were around, which ultimately led into a downward
spiral of him imagining who would come if he was in the other boy’s position.
He’d like to assume his dad would come, but he had his doubts. It’s not like he
cared if he did, it was just a pleasant thought, he supposed. He parked far
away from the hospital entrance, nervous that someone would recognize the car
as the culprit that ran over their beloved friend, son, etc.
As he checked in, another wave of envy washed over the man as he saw all the
presents that had accumulated for 2D overnight. He found it unlikely that
anyone, even Russ, would care enough to bring him anything if he were
hospitalized. Admittedly, he’d probably receive more condolences if he weren’t
such a dick, but he liked to believe he had good reason to act like one when
everyone seemingly went out of their way to disregard him.
He begrudgingly sat down in one of the metal chairs next to the cot. Aside from
the flowers, window, and cards the scattered around, the room was sterile,
blindingly white, and poorly lit with burnt out overhead lights. They had
informed Murdoc that 2D was sleeping, but regained his consciousness sometime
overnight.
Not long after, curiosity got the best of Murdoc and he got up to check the
cards to try to find out some more information about the boy. He gathered that
his actual name was Stuart Pot, an unfortunate name, he noted. He seemed to be
on many painkillers judging by the assortment of bottles left on the bedside
table. He wondered if he was the reason he had to take them or if it was from
some pre-existing medical condition. Murdoc checked the dates on the bottles to
find that they had been prescribed for quite some time, which gave him some
relief. That’s when he heard a quiet shuffle on the bed. His head snapped over
to find young Stuart stirring awake. He must of recognized Murdoc because an
immediate sense of dread seemed to cloud over him as she shifted to the
farthest corner of the bed away from him.
“No need for that, I’m not going to hurt you even if I wanted to. Have to wait
until after the court case for that,” Murdoc smirked, clearly pleased with
himself.
The boy was still noticeably disoriented as he responded with great hesitation,
“then do you mind telling me why you’re here by chance?”
“Can’t I just check up on someone out of the goodness of my heart?” The
arrogance in Murdoc’s voice made the gesture seem somewhat unconvincing.
Stuart had heard quite a bit about Murdoc from his peers and from what he’d
been told that didn’t seem very likely, but he wasn’t about to interrogate him.
“Sorry, I was just curious,” 2D tensed up as he spoke, not wanting to say
anything that would upset him.
“Oh, calm down, would you? It’s not like I’m going to run you over again, which
by the way was obviously incidental and wouldn’t have happened had you not been
carelessly walking behind my car.”
Any guilt that had previously taken place inside Murdoc was shadowed by an
intense desire to possess authority over the situation.
2D grimaced a little bit didn’t argue with the older man. He caught his
reflection in the metal bed frame. He still wasn’t used to seeing his eyes in
this state and it clearly frightened him. “Sorry about that. Was there any
damage to your car?”
Murdoc shook his head, “Nah, nothing too bad. Did they say anything about those
healing up?”
Stuart shook his head, “they said they probably won’t any time soon, if at all.
I look like a freak though.”
Murdoc smiled, “it’s a good look, y’know. Can you still see and all that?”
“Yeah just not as well as I used to I don’t think.” He grabbed his head in pain
and feebly reached over for his pills that were just slightly too far out of
reach.
Murdoc grunted, “which ones you need?”
“The orange bottle, please”
He handed him the nearly empty bottle and watched as the boy swallowed them
dry. “Migraines,” 2D explained.
Murdoc realized Stu was much prettier than he initially thought but his voice
was highly ridiculous. They waited in a kind of uncomfortable silence before
Murdoc pulled the tapes out of his pocket.
“You like rock music?”
“Not overly. I’m more of a punk music type of person.”
Murdoc paid no mind to this and plopped them into his portable player anyway.
“When do you think you’ll get out of here?” Murdoc asked over the soft rhythmic
drums coming out of the speaker.
“‘M not entirely certain. Maybe a about week or so.”
“Your girlfriend come to visit yet?” Murdoc wasn’t quite sure why he asked
this, but he was curious how their relationship was going to see if there was
any sign they’d be breaking up soon. Admittedly, it’d be a lot easier to get
into the boy’s pants with his girlfriend out of the picture.
2D shook he head, “she’s not too big on hospitals.”
“Me either.” He responded. “2D, can I call you that?”
Stuart nodded heistantly.
“I know it’s not my place, but it seems like if she truly cared about you she’d
be here, y’know.” Murdoc figured the best way to go about them breaking up
would be to get into 2D’s head.
“I guess I’m kind of glad she’s not. I’m kind of worried about her seein’ me
like this,” he gestured to his eyes.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. If anything you’ll probably get more ladies, and
men with that look. It’s quite unique.”
2D laughed, “Yeah ‘m not really into blokes though.”
Murdoc scowled a little at first, but then responded, “Ah, that’s what they all
say.”
“How’d you know?” He questioned.
“I’ve met my fair share of fags, Stu. And no offense, but you strike me as
one.”
“What makes you say that? Not that I have anything against being gay or
anythin’.”
Murdoc found it kind of endearing how he tried to deny it without adding any
sort of ill feelings towards the topic. “Just a sort of vibe I get and you
definitely give it off. You sure you’ve never been with a bloke before?”
“‘m sure, Murdoc.” He said downing another two pills.
“Hey, I’m no doctor but you may want to cool it with the meds. They’ll fuck you
up. Here ‘ave a cig.” Murdoc offered him the carton taking one for himself.
“We’re not allowed to smoke here. Plus, I’m not old enough yet.”
Murdoc lit his cigarette despite this, “Ah, that never stopped anyone. Here.”
He more forcefully gestured for 2D to take one.
The younger boy reluctantly reached for a cigarette and stuck it between the
gap in his front teeth. Murdoc lit his and they both took long drags. 2D
coughed excessively, not used to the sensation of nicotine in his lungs. Murdoc
laughed in response.
“You’ll get used to it, kid.”
2D nodded but didn’t attempt to take in anymore tobacco. They listened to music
for a while while murdoc practically started a chain smoking marathon. As he
finished his fifth cig, Stuart began to get a bit nauseous from the smell and
was wondering how to politely ask him to stop, but he decided against it
because, again, he wouldn’t want to upset him.
“Sorry about your car. I can pay for any damage if you want.” 2D wasn’t sure
why but it felt like he owed Murdoc something despite being the victim in this
situation. It might’ve had to do something with the aura of power he radiated,
or Stuart being glad that he took somewhat of a liking to him.
“That’s okay, I‘m probably going to get a new one soon anyway. That is, if they
don’t suspend my license.”
“I wouldn’ worry about that. My mom doesn’t really want to press charges or
anythin’.” He clawed at his hair, and rubbed his head again before saying,
“Murdoc would you mind if I went back to sleep? My head is really killing me.
I’m really sorry to cut our visit short.”
“It’s alright Stu. I should probably be heading out anyway, but try to feel
better and all that shit, yeah?”
“Thank you,” 2D smiled at the half-assed attempt at compassion.
Maybe it was the lovable toothless grin, his shy mannerisms, or some other type
of charm, but Murdoc was now more than certain that he wanted 2D to be his, and
he guessed he’d have to start by alienating him from his current girlfriend.
***** Could’ve Gone Worse *****
It took three weeks after the accident for a scheduled court date, which,
truthfully kept Murdoc on edge despite 2D’s reassurance that there probably
wouldn’t be any major charges. He hadn’t met up with him since he’d seen him in
the hospital and 2D had been out of school for quite a while which was also
mildly concerning.
The case was set Thursday afternoon at 6:00 which gave him roughly two hours to
get ready. He hadn’t really prepared a statement but his lawyer informed him
that he had everything covered. This wasn’t the first time that the man had
gotten into legal trouble and probably not the last, but he was already sure of
how he’d plead, guilty. Murdoc stayed in his school uniform as it seemed dressy
enough and asked Russel to come for support in the jury, which he reluctantly
agreed to. His father legally should have attended, but somehow found a
loophole to get himself out of it. Murdoc wasn’t going to complain because he’d
already got an earful and light pummeling when the letter came in the mail not
two days after hitting Stuart with his car.
He drove to Russel’s house praying to Satan that he wouldn’t get his license
revoked, because not only did he need it, but so did Russ.
He knocked on his door vigorously, not feeling up to the task of being polite
and waiting. “Ready,” he asked when Russel appeared.
“Yeah one second man,” he replied irritably. He ran back into the kitchen and
yelled up to his mom that he was heading out.
Murdoc lit a cigarette impatiently checking his watch before he reappeared and
joined him at the car.
“You good?” Russel asked, sensing the tension radiating off of him.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just ready to get this over with.”
They arrived to the courthouse five ‘til 6:00 and waited at the check in desk
until Murdoc spotted his lawyer.
“See you later Russ. Wish me luck.”
Russel grunted and waved him off as Murdoc followed his lawyer to a separate
room to go over his defense. He didn’t have to do much speaking because there
wasn’t much of an argument. There were too many witnesses to plead innocent,
not to mention he already admitted to the cops he ran over him.
The trial began and Murdoc took his seat that the defendant table. His lawyer
continued to stand as they began, and the judge started reading off his
misdemeanors. They declared that they would be pleading guilty and started from
there.
After a taxing two hours of repetitive questions to him, the witnesses, and 2D,
his lawyer gave his closing statement and then Stuart’s gave his. Murdoc perked
up when it was finally time to hear the verdict. He was now more confident that
it wouldn’t be as bad as he initially thought.
The judge spoke, his voice ringing throughout the hushed courtroom. “Murdoc
Niccals, charged with reckless driving, will be sentenced to 90 hours,
community service, serving as a caretaker for Stuart Pot. You will have 5
months to complete this or there will be another court case.” He banged his
gavel and dismissed the court.
Murdoc sighed, but felt pretty lucky that his punishment wasn’t too bad and he
still had his license. Watching after 2D would probably be quite a pleasurable
experience and would definitely bring them closer together, which, he without a
doubt wanted. He flashed a smile over to 2D who timidly waved back. He didn’t
look as excited about the sentence as Murdoc was, but he figured he’d be able
to change that soon enough.
Murdoc strode over to the family, “Mrs. Pot, I don’t believe I had the chance
to formally apologize for what happened to your son. I’m sure it’s taken quite
a toll on you and your family, but not to fret, he’s in good hands now.”
She smiled, “ I don’t doubt that, dear. Accidents happen all the time and I’m
sure you guys will get along just fine.”
2D furrowed his brows but didn’t comment. In a way, Murdoc felt kind of bad for
the boy. His mother seemed nice enough, but quite oblivious to her son’s
distaste.
“Thank you. Do you know when you’ll be returning to school, Stuart?” The blue
haired boy could clearly see past his faux gentlemanly behavior.
“On Monday, I think,” he looked to his mom for reassurance who nodded back.
“Well I’d be happy to do something this weekend. It seems as though we got a
lot of time to cover. Any day in particular work for you guys?”
“I think Stu is about free just about every day. Did you give him your number
so you guys could stay in touch and schedule times to hang out?”
2D shook his head, “No, not yet, mom.”
“Well, why don’t you boys do that while I go wait in the car with your father?”
He recoiled in embarrassment when she leaned in to kiss his forehead and left
the two to talk.
“Lovely woman, your mother.”
“Thanks Murdoc,” he responded awkwardly.
“So are you ready for five months of fun?”
He nodded quietly even though he was, in fact, not at all ready. He assumed
that Murdoc had a much different definition of fun than him, but he hoped it
would mostly just consist of Murdoc bringing him meds and making him food.
“Come on, Stu. It won’t be that bad. It’ll get you alcohol, or cigs, any drug
you want. The whole nine yards. What d’you say?”
Realizing he didn’t have much of a choice, 2D smiled, “thanks.”
Murdoc clapped him on the back, momentarily forgetting about the boy’s injuries
and throwing off his balance. He laughed while Stuart struggled to stay on his
feet and swayed back and forth. “Sorry ‘bout that. Entirely slipped my mind
that you were having such a tough time standing and whatnot. All thanks to me
of course.”
2D laughed nervously, but steadied himself by using the table for support. “So,
um... Did you need my number?” He trailed off a little.
“Oh yeah, that’d be great, seeing as I’ll have to keep tabs on you.”
Murdoc handed Stuart his phone as he entered his number into the older man’s
contacts, “Will that be all Murdoc?”
He took pity on him, realizing he really must’ve wanted to leave. Although, he
was somewhat proud of himself for inflicting particularly great amounts of fear
into Stu after only three interactions. “Yeah that about does it for me. I’ll
text about when I can meet up as soon as I find out.”
He walked 2D to his parents’ car, finding it important to stay on their good
side. “It has truly been a delight, you guys. Once again, I am sincerely sorry
about your son. I will see you all whenever I see you.”
He took long strides back to his car where he met up with Russel. “What’d you
think?” He asked.
“About the trial? Or about your sentence?” Russ questioned in response.
“No, no, about Stuart. He’s quite a character don’t y’think? Be a nice addition
to our little group we got goin’ on.”
“Don’t know him too well, but I guess we don’t have much of a choice if you
have to spend 90 hours with him. Just try not to fuck him up too much, you
dig?”
Murdoc laughed, “of course not, Russ.”’
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