First Love | James Hetfield

Bang That Head That Doesn't Bang

1984

"James!"

He jolted awake, blinking rapidly to get rid of the sleepy blurriness, looking over to see Annie looking down at him. "What?" he muttered.

"It's already five p.m, you slept in!" she whisper-yelled.

"So? It's a Saturday. Come back to bed." he mumbled into his pillow.

"Yeah, Saturday. The day you were supposed to leave for tour?" she said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He shot up at that, looking over at the dark window, then darting his eyes to the alarm clock.

5:46

"What the fuck?! Why didn't you wake me up?!" he whipped the covers off his boxer-clad body, grabbing the nearest pair of jeans off the floor.

"Because I slept in too! They already left."

He cursed at the jammed zipper of his jeans, slowly turning to face her. "They left?"

She nodded with wide eyes.

"Why the fuck did they leave? What?!" he held his hands up, looking around the room in confusion. Why on earth would they leave without him?

"I don't know!" she shrugged, still yelling in a sharp whisper. He turned towards the door, and as soon as he was out of the room, she smacked her hand over her mouth to conceal laughter.

"Fucking bullshit. What the fuck?" he stomped down the stairs, still shirtless with unzipped jeans and one sock on.

"Man, shut up! People are sleeping." another quiet voice— that wasn't Annie's, came from the kitchen.

He darted his eyes up from the floor to see Cliff with a cup of coffee and a cigarette sitting at the dining table, shaking his head like a disappointed mother at James' lack of manners to the sleeping roommates.

"What?" he hissed, turning to look at Annie.

Her face was red as she bit back an amused grin, her shoulders shaking with the laughter she was unable to conceal.

"It's five A.M, dude. Have some manners for the other people trying to sleep?" Cliff's gruff morning voice made him turn his head to the clock on the wall.

His face fell as he slowly turned to face Annie, who was struggling to catch her breath from laughing so hard.

"I'm sorry—" she said through her laughter, unable to hold it in anymore. "Oh god! You shoulda' seen your face!"

And there began the Hetfield VS. Buckley prank war. She had initiated it. And there was no way in hell James would let her finish it.

The first week of the tour consisted of shows— of course, alongside harmless little jokes here and there, until James took it to a whole other level.

Their set had just finished, and as soon as they disappeared off stage, Annie looked for Aurora at the bar— to no avail, then she went straight to the backstage area to congratulate them.