First Love | James Hetfield

Damage, Inc.

March 1986

"God, I wish I could go with you guys. I'd get so many cool photos." Annie slumped her shoulders, frowning at Kirk and Cliff.

"Hey, there'll be plenty of photographers taking pictures, you'll live." Cliff patted her arm with a quiet laugh.

"It's not the same!" she threw her hands up exasperatedly, just as James approached them.

"Alright, bus is here, guys." he spoke loudly, dragging Lars away from Aurora.

Annie's frown deepened. This is the last time she'd see them for an entire year. James noticed the sadness wash over on her face, walking over and grabbing her hands in his own.

"I'll call. Whenever I get the chance, I'll call you, okay?" he said, not taking his eyes off hers. She nodded.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." she whispered, dropping her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing her head.

"I know, baby. I'm gonna miss you too. I'll make a way to see you. I promise."

She pulled back to see his face, scanning her eyes around all his features as it would probably be the last time she would in person until next year.

"I love you." she said firmly, holding his face in her hands.

"I love you," he repeated, mirroring her actions by gently holding her face and leaving a kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering there for a moment.

"So you and your girl can have a crying fest but I can't even say bye to mine?" Lars scowled at him from the bus steps.

"Fuck off, Lars!" Annie and James said simultaneously, earning a hearty laugh from Cliff.

Annie raised her fist, to which James connected his knuckles to hers. "Smell you later." she grinned, repeating her words from the last time they left.

Instead of scowling at her and calling her cheesy, he repeated her words before leaving for the bus. With that, they were off to begin the Damage, Inc. Tour.

Annie huffed. Now she'd have to find more things to keep her busy throughout the long and lonely months of the tour.

Those months went by at an unbearably slow pace. Annie stuck to her usual routine, afraid her brain might go into overdrive if anything else changes.

Mick ended up giving her less hours at the diner so that she could focus on her photography a bit more. Although she preferred staying in the comfort that was Mick's diner, he wanted her to experience other things.

Beatrice and Aurora kept themselves busy with work on the weekdays and going out on the weekends. Annie would tag along to whatever bars they'd hop across. Bars in which there was live music, where she'd get paid to take photos of the local bands.

"Now, I know it's not a lot..." Annie's good friend and photography manager, David Ford readjusted in his spot in the booth across from her.

Annie stared at him with wide eyes. "Not a lot? Thirty-one dollars an hour for four days? That's, like..." she trailed off, looking up at the ceiling as she imagined what she'd do with—

"Two grand. I know." he sighed, sipping on his coffee. "It's just, this band you're taking photos for is a pretty well-known band— or, artist.." he shrugged.

She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "I'm hanging by a thread in this place. I don't know if it's Mick's master plan to get me to quit and do photography full time, but it's surely working seeing as how the only pay I get here is from tips." she hissed lowly, just as Mick appeared from the kitchen door, raising a singular eyebrow before shaking his head at her strange attitude and walking away.

"And unless I'm sporting a mini skirt and a push-up bra, the slobs who eat here have never heard of tipping in their life."

"Okay," David blinked slowly at her. "Anyways, they're already touring, but you won't have to be there until July, so don't worry about it right now." he said, gathering a few papers and handing them over to her.

"Well, who is it?" she asked eagerly, not having touched her cup of coffee since they sat down.

"You'll see." he responded, concealing his grin with his coffee mug.

"But what about—" Annie was interrupted by him placing his hands on the table.

"Don't worry about anything. Flights, hotels, everything's taken care of." he flashed her a grin. "You just.. sit pretty with your mini-skirts and push-up bras and I'll deal with it, 'kay?" he smiled sweetly.

Annie scoffed humorously, gently smacking his arm.

"Okay, then."

Much shorter chapter tonight, sorry guys...Hope you enjoyed it. Comment your thoughts and predictions for the next chapter!

Vote, comment, follow 🤍