Metallica Imagines

I'm Gonna Crawl (James hehe)

This is pretty rushed.
I wanted it to be short, cute and simple.
Pretty much fluff, enjoy.

(Set around 1980-1981. Main character's name is Sasuki. She's mixed. Just a little bit of background info. Some of James' actions and dialogue also don't match up correctly to his personality around this time, that was done totally on purpose.)

Prom night. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, my boyfriend stood me up by taking another girl. He admitted that he really wasn't even into me.
Now here I am, in the school parking lot sitting on the hood of my beat up piece of shit excuse for a car, smoking a Camel.
My makeup is a mess, I thought to myself. Crying over a guy that never really wanted me. My mother worked so hard to make this gorgeous dress even though I never even wanted to come to this stupid prom anyway. I always thought it was a sham, really. Inhaling the cool menthol, I allowed my brain to just clear out any negative thoughts I had at the time.

I flicked the cigarette to the asphalt and put it out with my heel. So much for this shit. Starting the car up, I drove to the nearest gas station to buy some beer. I might as well enjoy the rest of the evening my own way.

When I go inside, I notice the usual old creeps sitting at the lottery ticket booth. Usually, I didn't take their catcalling or uncomfortable remarks seriously let alone bother me but tonight I was just put in a hell-bent mood.

"Hey beautiful. How come you aren't at that dance?"
I sighed, putting about six cans of beers on the counter.
That same old man sat up in his seat, now his voice was asserting dominance. "I asked you a question. You better answer me. Or I'll have to straighten you out."
Embarrassment rushed through me and my face was a nice shade of red. How could this get any worse?
I turned to the old man, nearly pleading with him. "Please, leave me alone. Sir, I am not having a good night."
"Well then come here, Pumpkin. I'll make your night better."
His friends laughed, entertained by the comments this creep was making. The middle aged man at the register didn't seem to make an effort to stop it.
Just when I thought the situation would go downhill, a blonde boy appeared from one of the aisles.
"Leave her alone, you old prick. It's guys like you that make me sick, jeez."

I felt the embarrassment sink deeper. I was the only girl here, I didn't know really what to do. My beers were already paid for so I just stood there, watching this interaction between the teenage boy and elderly man.

"How about you go fuck off, I swear to god I will knock you into a coma if I ever catch you harassing this girl again."

He turned to me, smirking. That's when I realized; it's Jamie. He's in my history and science classes. We talk every now and then, occasionally we share a beer and talk about our favorite bands.

"Want me to help you?" He extended his hand to get the bag full of beers.
"Uh, sure. Y'know it's funny seeing you here."

We walked to my car and I unlocked it so the both of us could get in.
He settled in, reaching in the bag for a can.

"Why do you think it's funny? You expect me to go to that shit?"

I grinned, rolling my eyes. "I suppose you're right."

"I know." He took a lengthy sip of beer and burped. "How come you're not at that dance anyways? I thought your boyfriend was takin' ya."

I took a deep breath. "I thought I had a boyfriend. Guess not. He told me we never were an actual thing. Never loved me. Showed me up." Oh no. Tears were creeping from behind my eyes and now rolling down my cheeks.

James noticed this and wiped some tears away from a cheek. "Hey now, Sasuki. Fuck him. Don't cry."

I knew James cared about me to an extent, always asking how I was, how things were between me and my (ex) guy. I could talk to James about a lot of things I just couldn't with others. We had our little bond and it felt like no one else could replace that.

I softly grasped his hand and turned to face him. "I'm sorry...I just, you know how I felt about him. This shit hurts a lot, Jamie. It does."

James nodded. "Again, I always know. But like I said, screw him! You shouldn't be crying tonight, you should spend it with someone who knows how to make you happy, Suki."

My tears slowly stopped. A half smile came through. "I suppose you're right. But who?"

James smiled wide, then punched my arm softly. "Who else, pinhead? He's right in front of you."

Finally, a laugh erupted from my chest. "I know, douche. Shit, I don't even drink beer like that, I guess I got these 'cause I was in a shitty mood."

"I'll take 'em all, if you don't mind."

Starting the car up again, I turned to James with a look of 'you're kidding me, right?'
"No way am I letting you get shit faced drunk. I know how much of a clown you are when it comes to this stuff."

He sat back in his seat, arms crossed and huffed. "You've got me. Anyways where are we goin'?"

"Oh, I think you'll like it."

Within minutes, we arrived on a hill. James was amazed, getting out of the car to take in a better view. "Woah...you can see the whole city up here." His eyes were lit up, much like a child in a toy store. Only he was a 6 foot one.

"Yeah. I come here every now and then. Figured tonight would just be perfect to stay up here for a while."

He turned around to face me, his face just emitting complete joy. "C'mere." His hand reached out for mine. I approached him and our hands were now intertwined.

I chuckled. "Friends usually don't do this kinda stuff."
His gaze met mine. He looked so honest. With him being an obvious foot taller than I, I had to raise my head up to get a complete view of his features.
"That's it. I like you. More than in a friendly way."

"I like you too...more than friends."

James seemed to be more surprised than I should've been.

"You're shitting me." He then wrapped his arms around me bringing me in for a warm embrace. His unique scent lingered in my mind and at that moment I felt like nothing else truly mattered tonight; being stood up, cheated on, those weird ass men——Jamie was all I needed.

"Nuh uh. Jamie, you're more of a man than my ex. You're more of my kind of man. You play fucking guitar like a god, you're so funny, caring, poetic——all these traits define you. It makes you so special. Not to mention your beautiful crystalline eyes and gorgeous blonde locks." My fingers started to play with his hair.

He started to blush. "Suki, I know I'm an awkward mess. You know this. You're the first girl to be genuinely into me. I'm surprised you can get past my acne and shyness. I love how sweet you are. You're adorable, I wanna protect you. Only you. I like opening up to you, I feel safe. My life's been a fucking mess, but since meeting you I just feel like I can make it. When you sing and play guitar, I feel at peace. You're so gorgeous and it constantly amazes me."

We both stood there for a moment, then it came to me. I broke away and headed straight for the car, flipping through my cds. "Perfect!"

James looked lost. "What are you doing?"

I popped the cd in the player, turning the volume up. I ran back to James, resuming where we left off.

It took him a second to realize the song.
"I'm Gonna Crawl? Really?" He smiled and kissed my forehead. "I deserve a dance tonight. With a special guy. To a special song."

That's when James put his hands on around my waist, and he pulled me in close. We started to dance slowly to the music. His baby blues and my coffee bean brown eyes met again, our faces drawing closer. The kiss, was like heaven. Everything else was nonexistent, the world stopped moving for us. "You're the Homecoming Queen in my world."

Perhaps tonight wasn't so much of a dud.