First Love | James Hetfield

"You're on."

November 1984

"He's still alive."

Cliff widened his eyes slightly at her answer to the question he'd previously asked. "How's your dad doing?"

"After, like, three months, and no fucking treatment, the asshole is still breathing. Fucking hell." she shook her head with an annoyed sigh, re-entering the living room where everyone else was seated. "How does that even happen?"

"You could always speed up the process." Lars suggested, flicking open a pocket knife as some kind of innuendo.

"Fuck off." James took his knife from Lars' grasp, closing it and shoving it in his pocket.

"No, no... he's right... I could easily cover it up as an overdose. Everyone knows the asshole's a druggie." Annie squinted from the smoke that lingered in the air.

"Christ, Annie. Stop, before you incriminate yourself." Bea muttered, bringing the joint to her lips before passing it to Kirk.

The group of friends decided it'd be best for them all to stay at the Metallimansion, since they'd be leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

"Um, okay... on a lighter note, I'm glad you decided to come on tour with us. It's gonna be so much fun, I promise." Aurora beamed.

"Oh yeah, another stinky body hogging the bus. That'll be fun. Oh, and I'm sure looking forward to James and Annie bumpin' uglies every single night for the entire tour." Cliff joked sarcastically.

"No, that'll be Lars and Rory." Beatrice threw her head back in laughter at her own comment.

"Oh, shut up. Bea and Cliff, you two aren't any better than these guys." Kirk shook his head from his spot on the floor.

Annie's mouth fell open. "Oh my god!" she shrieked, pointing her finger at Cliff and Bea. "So it's true! I fucking knew it! Lying motherfucker... Bea, you said you'd never—"

"Okay, okay... I didn't say I never— would... do that..." Bea stuttered, keeping her eyes away from everyone else. "Plus, I think I'm gonna sit this one out."

Aurora and Annie scoffed.

"What?! Why?" Aurora frowned.

"Well, y'know... Annie's going, and if I go too, it'll just be too many people, and I don't wanna ruin Annie's chance of seeing the world and becoming a rich and famous photographer."

Annie's expression softened, and she rested her shoulders. "Well... it'll suck without you there..." she joked. "But thank you for..." she trailed off when Bea gave her a nod.

It was silent for a moment before Lars cleared his throat to rid of the awkwardness.

"Okay, well I think I'm gonna call it a night." Cliff stood up, drinking the last drops of his beer. "I'll be up early tomorrow to rally your asses up, 'cause I know if I don't, no one will, and there'll be no tour. So... goodnight." he stomped away to his room without another word.

"He didn't have to come for us like that, but okay..." Kirk stood up, bidding goodnight and leaving to his own bedroom.

"Ugh, you guys are so boring!" Annie shouted through a mouthful of ice, walking into the kitchen again.

"What, 'cause we're tired and want to sleep?" Beatrice stood up from her seat on the floor, gathering a few of the cans from the coffee table.

"Exactly! It's only..." she looked over at the clock. "Nine P.M." she rolled her eyes.

She went ignored as everyone left to their rooms, and the house was silent once more. James entered the kitchen as she slumped her shoulders. "I don't wanna go to sleep yet." she pouted childishly.

James chuckled. "No? What do you wanna do then?" he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

She lay her head on his chest, staring at the ocean outside the kitchen window. She gasped softly when an idea popped up in her head. Looking up at him, she said, "you could teach me guitar!"

"Right now?" he scoffed amusingly. "You tryin' to piss off the neighbors?"

She scoffed, pulling away from him. "It won't be loud. Plus, the neighbors are, like, a mile away."

"We can do it with acoustics! It'll be quiet, and you can teach me the one with the really pretty intro." she insisted, pulling him toward the garage.

"Fade to black?" he snorted. "Yeah!" she glanced over her shoulder at him, nodding with enthusiasm.

"At least someone likes it..." he mumbled, referring to the "metal community" that grilled Metallica just a few months ago for using acoustic guitars on the new record.

"Okay." she flopped on the old couch once they entered the garage. "So I know it's like..." she strummed an A-minor chord.

He raised his eyebrows, surprised she even knew that much.

"But I don't know the rest." she looked up at him again. He chuckled softly, moving to grab another acoustic and sit next to her.

"Okay, so put your fingers here..."

And for the next hour, he attempted to teach her the acoustic intro to Fade to Black until her palms were sweaty and she'd grown to hate guitars already.

"Maybe you just have really chunky fingers." he retorted, going through the mini fridge for any snacks he could find.

"No I don't. The strings shouldn't be that hard to press. I think I've gotten carpal tunnel just from that first thirty minutes."

"Then maybe you just don't have it." he shrugged, making a tiny cracker and cheese sandwich.

"It?" she raised an eyebrow at him as he came back to the sofa.

"The blessed talent of guitar-playing." he joked. "It comes natural."

She furrowed her brows, pulling his wrist to steal his cheese and shove it in her mouth. His face fell. "You motherfucker..."

She shrieked when he lunged toward her, barely skimming his fingers on her leg as she jumped off and bolted inside the house again, launching herself on the love seat.

He came in a second later, padding quietly in her direction. "Y'know, you're lucky everyone else is asleep, Buckley." he spoke quieter now, raising a daunting eyebrow at her.

"And what if they weren't, Hetfield?" she shot back, mimicking his intimidating facial expression.

"I'd..." he looked away, racking his brain for some kind of retort. "I'd frame you for canceling on the tour and make them all hate you." he crossed his arms.

She snorted. "That's all you got? I could just take those u-haul keys up there on the counter..." she pointed in the direction of the kitchen counter. "Say the gear-thief made his return." she shrugged, pretending to inspect her fingernails.

He scoffed, biting back an amused smile. "You wouldn't dare."

The corners of her lips turned downward as she tilted her head with another shrug.

"That's low, Buckley... even for you." he placed his hands on his hips as she stood up.

"All I'm saying is sleep with one eye open tonight." her lips tugged a smirk as she walked toward his bedroom, giving him one last shoulder glance. "And every night for the entire tour."

His eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed as he followed her down the hallway.

"Oh, you're on."

who do you think will win the prank war? ;)

Write on my profile board or DM me prank ideas if you'd like and maybe they'll get featured in the upcoming chapters...

Vote, comment, follow 🤍