Fight Fire With Fire // James Hetfield Fanfiction

CHAPTER ONE: I loathe you

(for new readers- hey, this isn't the final product. all of these chapters will be heavily changed once i get all of them out. so if you don't want to read a similar fic twice, just save this and i'll send out an announcement when i'm taking it down and putting the improved version on another account. so a lot of it might not make sense cause i'm not focusing on details, just story. some things are inconsistent)

"It'll be fun" dallas insisted as he stood behind me, zipping up my dark blue dress. I gave a light sigh and looked through the window at the rain falling steadily, hoping we wouldn't have to walk too far in it.

"You know i don't like these things, dallas" i said bitterly, grabbing my long pearl earrings from his outstretched hand and walking to the bathroom to put them in. he stood behind me and rubbed my back.

"I know, but they like you," he smiled gingerly, not wanting to sour my mood any farther than he already had by telling me he invited my mother for christmas.

"Right, so you'll whore me out for some boys who know no boundaries, and have taken a total of three showers in their life?" i spat at him. He chuckled very softly, slightly caressing my arm

"No, honey, not whoring" he assured me. I rolled my eyes. He got my point. We both knew why he insisted i go to these dinners "you just help break the criticism.. And i love you and want you in my life" he leaned in to kiss my cheek. I didn't shy away like i normally would have when i was upset with him. As we walked to our car, he made sure to hold his jacket over me to avoid the rain messing up my hair and clothes.

We got situated at our table, waiting for the rest of them to show up. I was irritated at how long it was taking. My water was nearly empty when dallas spotted the group entering the front doors.

"Come, my love, let's greet them" he said, grabbing my hand and leading me to the boys. Dallas and i both took turns shaking hands with each of them. I gave polite smiles to them, except for when i got to the blond one. I reluctantly shook his hand, faking a smile so close to being genuine looking. He grinned at me as he looked me up and down

"Fishnets and stripper boots?" he asked distastefully, a smirk growing on his face "i didn't know dallas let you leave the house wearing that" i clenched my teeth, trying my very hardest not to say anything. I knew how much this stupid band meant to dallas, and i wasn't about to screw that up. They made him the most money, so i figured it was in my best interest- and the interest of my impulsive spending -to be civil. This time..

Walking back to our table i leaned close to donny "he'd better watch his mouth this time, or else i'm going to slap him" i hissed quietly. He laughed softly as he sat in his chair, taking a sip of his water.

"Oh, olivia," he replied dismissively "he's just teasing you" i huffed softly and sat in my seat. I tried to think of something else, something other than him.

"Kirk," i began, grabbing a menu and flipping through the pages without actually retaining any information "did you get that comic that i sent you? I think you'd said something last time about it being stolen on tour" i looked up to him as he nodded and grinned like a child

"Yeah! That was super cool of you.. It was much nicer than the old one anyways" he laughed and so did lars. Me and lars always especially got along because of where we were from, although we never talked much.

"I'm glad" i said. As stuck up and rich as i was, it genuinely gave me great happiness when people enjoy the things i do for them.

"Great way to suck up" james muttered. I bit my tongue, insisting to myself that i wouldn't even respond. Dallas laughed with him

"James, How has recording been going this week? Progress i hope" he gave a friendly grin. It was genuine, too. They couldn't get enough of each other and it annoyed the hell out of me. It seemed he was always showing up at our penthouse for one thing or another. He always claimed it was important, although they just sat around drinking and laughing about their own interests that didn't concern me.

"Oh great" he said, nodding "you wanna stop by tomorrow and watch for a while?" he asked. His eyes flashed to me for a moment, then back to dallas. Then dallas turned to me

"Honey, what do you think?" of course he would ask me that now in front of everyone. He knew i'd refuse if we were in private. I awkwardly smiled

"I'd love to" i replied, taking a sip of my cherry margarita, suddenly hoping i had something stronger. James stood up, excusing himself to go to the bar to get some more drinks, and as he walked by me, he bumped my arm and my drink spilled all over my dress. I gasped and looked at him. He had a surprised look on his face. I stood and pushed him aside, but he grabbed a napkin and started to paw the spil

"I'm so sorry liv!" he said, but when only i could see his face, he gave me a proud smirk. He was never going to get over what happened between us in highschool, and neither would i. We'd always resent each other, i was sure of it.

"Stop it!" i snapped and blushed "get away from me" i briskly walked to the bathroom, where thankfully i was alone. I grabbed paper towels and aggravatedly rubbed at the stain.

"Dallas told me i should come check up on you" james said with a tone that indicated he won, opening the door slightly as to not look in, but so i could hear him

"You ruined my new dress" i said trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. He took that as a sign that it was okay to come in. he leaned his back against the door and watched me. I glared at him through the mirror and i kept trying to get the liquid out, although at this point it wasn't wet, and just the stain remained.

"Well i said i was sorry, didn't i?" he asked, smirking. I sighed and turned to him. I loathed everything about him.

"I hate you" i muttered and walked closer to him, getting close as i was on my way to the door. We made eye contact. I couldn't tell his exact expression. I was too filled with emotion to register it. He followed about five feet behind me, quietly. I smiled as best i could as i sat back down. Dallas leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"No, Dallas," i said, raising my voice later that night as i went through my nightly routine "he was out of line! That dress was $300, and it came out of your bank account"

"Sweetheart" he said, trying to calm me "it was an accident.. He would never do that to my beautiful wife" he tried to kiss me, but this time i did shy away

"Alright, and until you can acknowledge that, you can sleep on the couch" i said calmly. He hesitated, before deciding that it was probably better he didn't argue with me.

Seconds after i fell asleep, the phone on the bedside table rang loudly. I picked it up, too tired to remember what i needed to say

"Dallas?" i heard someone say "it's james, i just wanted to make sure you knew when we're going to be in the studio tomorrow"

"Just tell me" i sighed, trying to keep my eyes open.

"Noon" he said shortly "where's donny?"

"The couch" i replied and he laughed. I hated that laugh

"Ouch. maybe i should mess with you more"

"You're sadistic. Goodnight" i then put the phone down and smiled slightly..