fade to black | james hetfield [1]

three

chapter three: i fell in love with a girl at the rock show

Iris wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not.

She knew she was acting a bit harsh towards James. That was just in her nature, she couldn't find it in herself to trust anyone new who came into her life. They all left eventually.

But when he mentioned he was in a band, she couldn't help but wonder what that was like. There weren't any flyers or mention of a band coming to town in the newspaper. What if he was lying?

Once Iris got off of work, she contemplated whether or not to go. She wasn't used to getting invited to places, let alone from a random stranger she met 24 hours ago.

No one cared enough to be nice to her like James was, not unless they were planning to embarrass her somehow.

Still, she decided to give it a chance. She needed an excuse to get out of her apartment anyway.

Getting into her car, she drove to the bar. As she came closer, she could already see the parking lot was filled with more cars than usual. People were hanging around outside, talking and having a quick smoke before the band was set to play.

Iris was anxious as she made her way inside the bar, feeling out of her comfort zone. The bar was packed, filled with fans waiting for the band to take the stage. She didn't think they would have this huge of a turnout. 

If this was the kind of crowd that was turning up for the band, then surely she would enjoy it. She liked any kind of music as long as it was loud enough.

It didn't take long for them to get on the "stage," which was really just a little space in the corner of the room. Iris could recognize James straight away, his blonde hair and tall figure were rarely hard to miss.

The music was loud and fast, just like Iris had hoped. The crowd seemed to love them, creating mosh pits and headbanging to the music like there was no tomorrow.

Iris wasn't the type to get involved with the craziness, choosing to stay in her seat and watch. She enjoyed every song that they played, thinking that they were so talented in what they did.  They were gonna go far.

Eventually, the band would finish their set after an hour. James and the band walked off the stage, taking a moment to catch their breath and come down from the adrenaline.

As James wiped the sweat off his forehead, his mind wandered to Iris. He wondered if she had come to see them like he had hoped. He wanted to prove to her that he wasn't trying to play a trick on her last night.

A part of him also wanted to see her again.

While James was waiting to get a beer from the bar, he spotted Iris pushing her way through the crowd, trying to find her way to him. A smile came to his face.

"Iris! You came!" He said happily. She was a bit surprised that he remembered her name so well, yelling out to her as if they were lifelong friends. "Did you like the show?" He shouted over the noise.

Iris stood close to James so she could hear him better. "Yeah, it was awesome!" She shouted back. She felt awkward being so close to him, she hadn't been this close to another human being in a while.

James leaned down to speak into her ear. "Hey, do you want to come outside? The rest of the band is out there!" He asked. Iris nodded her head and followed James through the back exit.

Iris was relieved to be outside, able to get some cool air and speak at a normal volume. The smell of weed hit her nostrils, most likely coming from the three figures who were huddled together and passing the joint around.

The three of them turned to look at Iris and James as they came closer. Kirk and Cliff gave Iris a friendly smile, but Lars had a smirk on his face, a vile thought coming to his head.

James throws an arm around Iris. "Hey everyone, this is Iris," He introduces her to them. "Iris, these are my friends, Lars, Kirk, and Cliff." He points to each of them as he says their name.

"Hi," She said timidly, waving to the three of them. "You guys killed it out there." She tried to muster a smile.

Cliff took a pull from the joint. "Want some?" He asked, holding it out to her. Iris looked at the burning joint in front of her before shaking her head, watching it get passed on to Lars.

Iris felt out of place. They were so much cooler than she was and she wasn't used to this environment. The four of them were trying to make her feel included, but she tuned out most of it, trying to think of an escape plan.

She tried to keep her cool and not panic in front of them as the thoughts overwhelmed her. "Hey, I'm going to head out...I have to work in the morning." She said suddenly, the four of them turning their attention back to her.

"What? Already? We were just starting to become friends!" Kirk looked a bit sad to see her go. He was interested in getting to know Iris better.

"Yeah, can't you stay a little longer, Iris?" James asked. He hoped that Iris would say yes, but he could see how he was putting her on the spot.

"I-I can't, I have to open up the store." She replied, a hint of nervousness in her voice. The four of them looked a bit disappointed, they were interested in getting to know her.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Iris," Kirk said. "You're pretty cool. No wonder James can't stop—"

"Can't stop talking about his favorite vinyl records!" Cliff jumped in, trying to make the save while shooting Kirk a glare. He turned back to her, giving a crooked smile. 

"Well, thanks. I'll see you guys later." Iris laughed nervously,  turning to walk away quickly. She took a deep breath as she sped-walked to her car. She wanted to get away as soon as possible before—

"Hey! Iris! Wait up!" James yelled, running after her.