First Love | James Hetfield

Ya Cripple...

1983

The next couple of days consisted of James and Annie acting like the usual animals that they were, wandering the quiet halls of the hospital at three in the morning, spooking nurses and busting a fuck-ton of snacks out of the vending machines, then racing up the elevators and stairwells after they get yelled at for disrupting other patients.

It was all a part of their master plan to get Annie out early, by essentially getting themselves- well, Annie kicked out so they could go back home, to their own damn country. Another one of their shenanigans consisted of James causing a scene in his bathroom, claiming that it felt like his arm had broken all over again and that he needed to stay longer.

Their plan was successful when they almost gave an old lady a heart attack by playing hide & seek and giggling like complete weirdos. That was the ward's last straw, so they signed them out two weeks early, practically packing their bags for them and rushing them out the door.

They sat against the outside wall of the large hospital, listening to the waves crashing in the distance and the wind making the trees sway, waiting for Beatrice's parents to pick them up.

"God, how I miss my own bed." Annie whined, leaning her head hard against the wall. "I know, me t-" James was interrupted by loud honking.

"Finally." She smiled, going to stand up but failing miserably. She groaned out in pain and leaning against the wall again.

"Need some crutches, ya cripple?" Cliff's voice made her jerk her head up and break out into a smile. He held two crutches in his hand while approaching them.

"Yes, please." She chuckled. James stood in front of her and held his hands out for her to grab. Once she grabbed them she was whipped up to her feet within a second.

"..rip my arms off." She grumbled, rolling her shoulders then grabbing the crutches from Cliff's outstretched hands.

~

San Francisco, California.

The next few weeks went by smooth sailing. Annie only had pain for the first week then it just began itching horribly, but she got through it. Kirk & Beatrice were the most helpful throughout her healing process, retrieving items she needed when she was in too much pain to walk, helped keep her wound nice and clean, while James offered her the ultimate entertainment with stupid board games and random bets, and other pages from the book of Hetfield's entertainment.. he wanted to keep her busy so she'd keep her mind off the tragic events of their vacation.

Well, okay. He might've actually enjoyed spending time with her. It was very sweet time, because the boys would soon leave for their first tour; Kill 'em all for one, to promote their debut album. Annie could tell how stoked they were when it was all James and the guys would talk about.

It was just a week before they'd leave. July 20th. By now, Annie & James hadn't even looked at each other. They didn't even speak to one another unless it was something that'd eventually turn into an argument.

"That's not how I meant it and you know that." He said from the kitchen. "Yes it totally is! What the hell else is it supposed to mean?"

Beatrice jumped off the couch at the sound of the door knocking. She opened it and handed the pizza delivery man a few bucks for a tip, thanked him and grabbed the pizza boxes before shutting the door swiftly.

"Will you two shut the hell up?" Bea sighed heavily, plopping the food on the counter. "What are you even going on about?" She asked.

"He was being such a dick to Logan over our trip!" Annie said. Bea just blinked at her. "So?"

"Hey, I'm just a good judge of character!" He butted in before Annie could. "And I judge that he is not a good character."

"How? What has... what has even shown you that he's a bad person?"

"Uh... asking what you wanted on your burger?" He emphasized dramatically, cocking his head to the side. "If that doesn't have laced burger written all over it..." he trailed off, rolling his tongue on his cheek with raised eyebrows when she didn't respond for a moment.

"You are such an idiot!" She laughed loudly, smacking him on the arm. "An honest idiot." He shrugged. She pulled one of the pizza boxes toward them and opened it so they could each take a piece.

"Laced burger, really?" Beatrice chuckled, taking a bite of her pizza. Annie laughed along with her, then soon Aurora and Lars made their way downstairs and helped themselves to the pizza.

Vote, comment, follow 🤍

Short filler chapter, sorry. Didn't really know what else to add and I wanted to put the next part in a separate chapter. :)