It was a lovely day out. The sky was a beautiful blue with not a single cloud in sight and the temperature was favorable. Murdoc couldn't wait for his shift to end so he could go out and enjoy some much needed fresh air. There was only so much of Norm's that one could take. Speaking of Norm, he was still off to the side trying to sell someone a keyboard that had been sitting there for a little over a year. The customer was one of the more frustrating types, constantly asking the most obnoxious questions like how loud the keys clicked. Murdoc snorted at Norm's increasingly aggravated attempts to explain why that depended on the force they were hit with. As his boss was trying to describe the more useful features of the keyboard he went back to sweeping the floor. Normally he wouldn't have bothered until Norm chewed him out but today had been so slow and there was nothing better to do. He'd cleaned the instruments, wiped down the counters, and even reorganized the back room about three times. It was all an attempt to make the time pass by but even with all that he still had another hour left. Murdoc sighed. Days like these made him want to kill himself. Absolutely nothing exciting ever happened. Nothing at all.

"Hm?" Murdoc looked out in front of the shop. There was a hill and at the top of it seemed to be something. A car? "Eh. It's probably just some drunken shit who can't park right or somethin'." Without giving it any further thought he went back to the floor. Norm's customer had finally gotten sick and tired of dealing with him and stormed past Murdoc and out the door.

"And don't come back!" Norm shouted after him. "Honestly, people sometimes. Can you believe that guy 'Doc?"

"I've told you a hundred times, old man. My name ain't 'Doc. It's Murdoc. Murrrdoc." He put extra emphasis on the first half of his name but knew it wouldn't matter. Norm had a habit of giving people stupid nicknames and sticking with them no matter what.

"Of course it is, mate," he laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. "Well, I'll leave you to your sweeping. I'm gonna go in back and get me a smoke. I need it after that one." With that Norm left his only employee by the front door to finish sulking.

"And I'm still nowhere near the end of my shift," he groaned. Hearing a noise he glanced out the corner of his eye. And instantly tried to leap aside. A car smashed through the glass of the store and flew straight toward him. Murdoc didn't have time to move before the vehicle connected with his face and sent him flying back into the counter. Everything after was nothing but a blur. Noises, voices, people screaming and a still-running car. All of it was making his head hurt even more. A sudden slam forced him to open his eyes a crack in an effort to see what the cause was. A blue and black blur towering over him was all he could make out. Suddenly several other blurs ran up to it and they all melted together. Murdoc shut his eyes but could hear a struggle and a lot of yelling. Too much yelling. He blacked out.

When he opened his eyes, Murdoc saw he was in a hospital room. He was still pretty groggy but he was definitely certain of the fact. He turned his head to look out the window and instantly regretted the movement. The whole thing was throbbing, his nose especially. Cautiously he brought a hand to it and quickly realized it was broken. Aside from that and the splitting headache he felt just fine though. It seemed that he didn't sustain any major injuries from the... What happened again? Thinking back Murdoc retraced his steps trying to remember what had put him in the hospital. He was at Norm's, there was an annoying customer, he was sweeping, they both left...

"Mr. Niccals?"

"That damn asshole!" Murdoc screamed, not noticing the doctor. "I can't believe some stupid idiot hit me in the face with a car! A BLOODY CAR!" At this point his face was red and he was left reeling from the pounding in his skull.

"Yes, well..." The doctor was still in shock from the sudden outburst. "Ahem. My name is Dr. Collins. Thankfully it seems all you've suffered was a broken nose," he said, having regained his composure.

"And a headache. One that makes my worst hangovers seem like fun." Murdoc flopped back onto the pillow and decided on not moving until the pain went away.

"Uh, right. So your nose was broken on impact..." He stopped there because he wasn't quite certain how the other man would take it. After his previous outburst Collins wasn't sure if he should risk it.

"Go on," Murdoc said slowly. He knew there was something more that Collins didn't want him to know. People didn't just repeat things like broken records unless they were hesitant on the other person knowing the rest.

"It will heal with time but-"

"Out with it already!"

"I-it's severely misshapen." Neither man said a word. One out of fear of the other's reaction and the other still taking it in.

Murdoc's brain eventually finished processing the information and he sat up, completely forgetting his condition. "WHAT?! What's wrong with it?!" He started climbing out of the bed but Collins quickly rushed over and pushed him back down.

"Please calm down! It's not nearly as bad as you think!" Now he was shouting. Every person on the floor probably heard them by now. Two nurses rushed in the moment they heard the doctor's voice and saw him struggling with Murdoc. They ran over to help and after much arguing he finally laid back down while one nurse went to get a mirror.

"You expect me to believe it's not that bad when you were so hesitant on telling me?" He was so angry that not even the pain he was experiencing could stop him.

"I was hesitant because I wasn't certain how you would react. This little fiasco only proves my point." Collins and Murdoc both crossed their arms and the nurse was worried that another struggle might break out. Lucky for her the other came back with a small hand mirror.

"Gimme that!" Murdoc snatched it and stared at his reflection. His nose was indeed effed up. It was beyond misshapen. "Ain't there a way you can fix this?" he asked, lightly tracing a finger over the smashed appendage.

"Not without some surgery. Nothing major of course, just-"

"Eh, never mind." He tossed the mirror at one of the nurses who just barely managed to catch it. "I don't need any surgery. But once I find out who did this I swear I'll-"

"That would've been me." A tall man stood in the doorway. He looked to be a little over six feet, had blue hair that looked almost purple with the way the light was hitting it, and had two completely black eyes. It almost looked like he had nothing but sockets. Murdoc sat there utterly shocked at him. Normally he would've chewed their ass out for what they did, but this guy...

"He'd make a damn good front man," he muttered. The doctor and nurses were astonished as well and looked like they might faint. The bluenette did not seem to notice this, however, as he was busy staring at Murdoc.

"Aw, shit. Did I really do that?" he asked, walking over.

"Y... Yeah you did! And you're gonna pay for it too!" Murdoc wasted no time in yelling again. "You three can get out. Me and ass-face here need to talk." Said 'ass-face' was highly offended but didn't say anything. They both looked at the doctor and nurses and waited for them to leave so they could finish their conversation. Collins shot Murdoc a warning glare before shutting the door behind him.

"Who do you think you're callin' ass-face? With your nose all screwed up like that, I'd say it's you." He grinned and Murdoc scowled. Who did he think he was? First he rams him in the face with a car and now he's insulting him? This guy was already irritating enough, what with his voice and all.

"Ya got some nerve even showin' up in here," Murdoc growled. "After what you did I oughta sue you."

"Don't even go there. I already got enough troubles with the cops, I don't need you now. Besides, I don't got any money for you anyways. I only came to say I was sorry." He walked over to the window and leaned against the sill.

"Yeah, you are sorry. I know it, everyone else can see it, even your own bloody mother knows it."

"I'll have you know she loves me very much." He crossed his arms and Murdoc snorted.

"I always heard there was a fine line between love and hate." Now that he was fully awake, his headache was actually getting better despite all the reasons for it to get worse.

"Name's 2D," he said, changing the subject.

"2D? What kinda name is that supposed to be?"

"It's a nickname some people gave me years ago. It's 'cause my eyes. They're sorta dented in."

"So does 2D stand for Two Dents or Too Dumb? Or how about Two-"

"It's Two Dents. You don't need to keep guessing, thanks. I get the feeling I know where that last one was going anyway." Murdoc chuckled.

"Well 2D, I'm still pissed about the car accident, you know. What even made you do that in the first place?" He was actually very curious although he wouldn't admit it.

"I needed something..." was the mumbled reply.

"What was that?"

"I needed some instruments," 2D said, louder this time. He was wringing his wrists and looking down at the floor.

"A ram-raid eh? Not bad. Ya got balls, faceache."

"Um... thanks..." 2D decided to ignore the last part.

"But why a music shop? If it were me, I would've smashed into the nearest bank and mowed down anyone who got in my way." Murdoc sat up in the bed. Most of his sour mood had dissipated and he was actually feeling a lot better.

"I just told you why. I needed instruments."

"For what? A band?"

"Actually, yeah." He looked serious. "I was thinking of forming one."

"Oh yeah? Who've ya got so far?" Now he was genuinely interested.

"No one. It's just me. There was a bassist, but she..." 2D looked sad and Murdoc instantly figured out why.

"She dumped you, eh?"

"What? No! Who said we were ever even dating?"

"You didn't have to. I can figure out when it's woman issues. 'Sides, you're a terrible liar. It was pretty obvious." Murdoc allowed a small smirk to form as he thought about his own love-life.

"Oh. Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it then?" The look on Murdoc's face was all the answer he needed. "She dumped me just before I drove the car down the hill in front of the store."

"Too scared?"

"No..." 2D obviously didn't want to continue but Murdoc sat there making a face that said he should. 2D sighed. "We had a bit of an argument."

"Argument, eh? What about?"

"Why're you prying so much? I don't even know you. Heh, my car actually knows you better." Murdoc growled and shot him a murderous look, but 2D could see that there was no venom in it. It was a pretty funny truth actually.

"Alright. Name's Murdoc Niccals. There. Now you know me." The bluenette snorted. "Let's just say that this is the least you can do for me. Especially since you nearly killed me and screwed up my face." Murdoc grinned evilly as the other man relented.

"Fine. She was cheatin' on me. So, like any mildly sane couple, we had a bit of a spat over it but then the bitch just dumps me. Me! It was like I was the one who did something wrong. Okay, I'll admit: I looked at other women sometimes, but I've never even thought about cheating!" He was very, very upset about the matter and Murdoc supposed he couldn't blame him. While he wasn't one for long-term relationships he still knew that it would hurt to have that kind of problem.

"What was her name anyway?" Murdoc thought that maybe 2D needed to get it all off his chest, which is what prompted the question. However, he was not prepared for the answer.

"Paula Cracker." The lanky man didn't seem to notice Murdoc's sudden discomfort or, if he did, didn't care to show it. He was too busy trying to burn holes into the ground with an intense glare.

Murdoc seized up the moment he heard the name. Surely it couldn't have been the same? Maybe there was just some sort of misunderstanding on his part. He was about to ask but suddenly realized that if he did then he would only make things worse. This was clearly a thorn in the other's side, possibly even more of a twisted knife, so if he were to say something it would immediately cause suspicion and probably a lot of anger. And he really didn't want another car to the face.

"Heh. Well, y'know... Women..." he drawled nervously. He wasn't really certain how he should pick his words around this guy. In his opinion he seemed to be about as dumb as a post, but he could've just been faking or distracted or something. Whatever the reason, he still stuck with the persona.

"Yeah... I know..." Murdoc almost sighed in relief once 2D's anger was gone. For now, at least. It was bound to remain a touchy subject but he should be fine as long as he made sure never to bring it up. At least now he could focus on more important matters.

"So... about that band of yours." 2D instantly perked up. "You need a drummer?" And so began the forming of a beautiful friendship.

Well, almost.

"Hey faceache! Where's my other drumstick?! Are you using it as a frickin' backscratcher again?!"

"NO! Why don't you check up your ass? It's likely to be there!" Several shouts of loud cursing responded to this, followed by thundering footsteps and the sounds of miscellaneous items being tossed about. The already cluttered flat was starting to look like a warzone and, quite frankly, was slowly turning into one. Despite their mutual interest in making music, they shared almost nothing else in common. These two were just too wildly different and as such could not function as a band. They were going to need an awful lot of help if they ever wanted to call themselves one.

A/N: I've been meaning to write something like this for a while now. The idea of having all the characters switch roles seemed like it'd make a pretty good story, not to mention it's pretty darn fun to write. Hope you guys like it.