So Close (a James Hetfield story)

Chapter 7

We came a little closer and then stationed ourselves against the wall, out of the way of all the chaos but with a clear view of the stage. I mouthed the words to the song, and James would look to me and grin as I sang along.

"Are you sure he doesn't have feelings for you?" Kelly asked, looking at me sideways.

Her question caught me by surprise. "I wish. Why?"

"It's just...the look on his face when he saw you...I wish someone would look at me like that, just once."

For a moment, I felt her words give me hope, but then I reminded myself that she didn't know Jamie, she didn't really understand how much we meant to each other. She couldn't know that his reaction stemmed from having his family back.

"He...he just missed me, that's all."

Kelly looked like she wanted to say more about the subject but kept quiet, instead, she turned her attention back to the stage and began a running commentary on the band's fashion missteps that quickly had me laughing.

"OK, what's with Skippy's striped sweater over there?"

"Skippy?"

"Yeah, the redhead on the other side. He looks like a Skippy."

I almost choked on my laughter.

"That's Dave, he plays lead guitar. We should be thankful he's wearin' a shirt at all. Usually he goes with just a vest or shirtless. He thinks the ladies appreciate the view."

"Ugh, gag me." She made a face before her eyes zeroed in on James next. "I like the bullet belt, that's hot."

"I bought it for him last Christmas."

"Figures." Kelly rolled her eyes. "The necklace?"

"His birthday last summer. And the matching bracelet."

Shaking her head, she stretched on her toes to try and see Lars in the back, but then settled back against the wall again.

"I can't see the drummer from here, but this one by us, he's pretty cute."

I threw her a sly smile which she pretended to ignore.

"Cute huh?" I teased. "That would be Ron. He plays bass, and Jamie and I have known him since we were kids, we went to junior high together."

"Ron huh?" She stared at him a moment more before catching herself and changing the subject. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious these boys really need my help with their style. Maybe I should offer my consulting services."

"Consulting services? Is that what yer callin' it?" I shouldered her playfully, changing my voice into a high falsetto. "Oh hi Ron, maybe we could go someplace private for some 'consulting'. What's that Ron, you need some 'consulting' services in yer pants?"

I was cackling raucously while Kelly turned beat red, though she couldn't keep from giggling. "Not even!"

She swatted me on the arm, but I noticed her eyeing the bass player over the rest of their set. I noticed too that Ron was eyeing her back.

I couldn't keep the stupid grin off my face as I turned my attention back to the stage and my gaze collided with Jamie's. His grin widened, and we smiled at each other throughout the rest of the song.

They finished up the set, and after waving their thanks to the crowd, the boys made their way to the wings off to the right of the stage, except for James. Instead, he jumped down into the mob still standing around at the front of the stage and made his way directly to me, only half responding to the high-fives and compliments being lobbed his way. Breaking free of the crowd, he swooped down and pulled me in for a tight hug. We stayed like that for a minute, oblivious to the other people around us.