Of Wolf And Man - A James Hetfield Fanfiction

~3~

We woke up pretty early. I looked to James and smirked. He smiled down at me, releasing me from his embrace. "Do they feel better today?" He asked, that caring look on his face. It was the same question he asked about 100 times throughout the day. I nodded, and it wasn't a complete lie - they did feel a bit better, but I could still feel them throbbing. I stood up slowly, and said to James "do you mind if I have a shower?", he seemed unsure, and said "are you positive that you'll be okay?" I nodded, smiling at his concern. He nodded, and said "okay, its the first door on the left - I'll make breakfast" I gave him one last hug, before standing up and walking to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, and started to take my clothes off slowly to avoid making the cuts bleed again. I heard something from behind the door, and James' voice came - "are you okay?" He asked, and I laughed quietly "yes James, I'm okay" I said, and continued trying to pull my sock off. He said "okay" from behind the door, but didn't walk away. I heard him sit on the floor, and lean his back up against the door. I smirked to myself, before stepping in the shower. The water was powerful on my skin, and I tried to avoid it anywhere other than my hair. As James had said - I don't want the cuts to scar. I used his shower gel, and smiled at the fact that I smelled like him. I only took about five minutes, before picking up the closest towel, and stepping out. I heard James stand up, and he said "are you okay?" again through the door. I smiled to myself, and walked up to the door, opening it and facing him "I survived!" I said enthusiastically, making him smirk. He hugged me, and I made sure to keep my hands firmly on the towel. He let go, smiling down at me, before saying "ah fuck yeah, breakfast" and laughing quietly as he walked away. I closed the door again, putting my clothes back on, and I attempted to dry my hair with the towel. I put the towel back, and left the room, going to the kitchen to find James. He smirked at me, stopping what he was doing and hugging me again. This time I wrapped my arms around him too, not having a towel to worry about.

We sat down at a small table, and started eating the pancakes James had made. I looked up at him, and said "when are the guys coming over?" He smiled, and looked at his watch "they should be here in about an hour". I nodded, looking back to the pancake. It was a really good pancake. James smiled at me, and I looked back to him "what?" I asked, laughing. He shook his head, chuckling too. "I've never seen someone get so happy over a pancake" he said, a huge smile on his face. "It deserves it, it's a great pancake" I said, and laughed. "You a member of the NPAS?" he asked, and I looked at him, confused. "The National Pancake Appreciation Society" he said, making me choke laughing. He smirked at my reaction, and said "don't tell the others we had pancakes, they'll get jealous" I smiled, and picked up my plate, putting it on the counter. James did the same, and smiled at me. There was a loud knock at the door, and James looked to it "hmm, they're early" he said, walking over. He opened the door, and three guys walked in. I followed behind James, slightly nervous to meet these new people. The tallest of the three smiled at me, he had long ginger hair, and was rocking a double denim look. "Hey, you must be Cleo" he said, walking into the room, the others close behind him. I recognised the others from James' description "Kirk, right?" I said, and he nodded, blushing behind his dark curly hair. The remaining one was Lars, and he smiled at me, before sitting on the couch. James held out his hand, and I took it, sitting next to him on another couch. A conversation had already broken out, and I sat listening to what each of them had to say.

From what I knew so far one thing was clear - they all had amazing tastes in music. We talked about Misfits, Motörhead and Queen, and within minutes I was getting really passionate on the subject. I brought up Led Zeppelin and we all started talking about Robert's hair. I smirked, happy with what I'd started. James saw me smiling, and squeezed my hand lightly. I smiled up at him "they're awesome, I see why you all get along" I said, turning back to the others and joining the conversation again. "His voice is amazing, it melts me every time" I said, laughing - still talking about Robert Plant. Kirk was smiling, and Lars rolled his eyes. I smiled, seeing their personalities coming through strongly. We continued the conversation for a while before Cliff said "Anyway we're here to practice", trying to focus instead of getting carried away. James nodded, and walked to the fridge while the others carried on to another room. I stuck with James, and helped him carry more beers. He turned to look at me as we followed behind "they like you, you're one of us now" he said with a hint of pride in his voice, smiling at me. I blushed, looking to the floor. We walked into the room as they were setting up, plugging wires into amps, and switching them on. There was the low buzz, creating an amazing atmosphere. I sat at the other side of the room with a beer, watching them. They played a few of their songs, before Cliff smiled and said "why don't we play something for the Misfits fans?" I smirked, and caught Kirks eye. James smiled and said "alright, this one's for Kirk and Cleo" I smiled, watching him with intent. They played Die, Die My Darling, but in their style. I loved it. James kept catching my eye and smirking as he sang, and when they finished he put his guitar down, walking over to me and pulling me into his arms on the floor. I smiled into his neck, and whispered "that was amazing". He smiled, letting me go and offering his arm to help me up. I took it gratefully, and got to my feet, wincing but trying my best to hide it. James noticed of course, and said "you want me to clean them again?" I shook my head, I didn't want this to happen while the others were here, but I could feel the worst one bleeding again. It had started in the shower, but I hoped it would have stopped. I put my hand to it, feeling the blood through the tshirt. James didn't notice, but when I took my hand away it was red. I started to panic, and Kirk looked at me with concern "Cleo are you okay?" He asked. I'd started to shake a bit, looking at my hand. I brought it back to my side, and looked to James for help. He left the room with me without explanation, walking to his bedroom. He gave me a towel to hold against it, and left the room, closing the door behind him. I heard Cliff interrogating him outside the room, and James giving in, admitting that he'd done it. Cliff's voice was angry "James how could you have done that to her!?" There was no answer "how long ago did it happen!?" He asked, still in his raised voice. I didn't like the situation, and stood up, walking towards the door, still holding the towel. I opened the door with my shaky hand, and Cliff turned to look at me with concern. I leaned up against the doorframe for support, closing my eyes with the pain. Cliff walked up to me, supporting my weight with his arms, and took me back into the room, where I sat on the bed. James came in behind him, a pained expression on his face. "It was three or four days ago" he said in a quiet voice. "James she shouldn't still be bleeding" said Cliff, looking to my face with growing concern "she's really pale too". I looked up at James who was pacing again, shaking his head "I know, I just don't know what to do" Cliff looked back to me, his eyes going to the cuts. "We can't take her to hospital, they'd ask too many questions". I layed back in the bed, sighing and trying to keep my eyes open. James stopped pacing and stood at the end of the bed, looking at me, tears forming in his eyes. I closed my eyes, desperately trying not to pass out. I felt James sit on the bed by my feet. "Cliff I can't lose her" came his choked voice, and that was the last thing I heard.