fade to black | james hetfield [1]

ten

chapter ten: stray cat

After a long day of Iris at work and James recording with the band, the two of them decided to meet at their usual place. It was a Friday night and they were looking to wind down from the stresses of the day.

James was on his tenth beer, not drunk off of his face, but enough to feel the effects. It seemed like there was no end to the amount of beer he could consume in one sitting.

Like the last time they visited the bar, they overstayed their welcome and sat there until closing. The same bartender from before had given them a dirty look, especially at Iris, who would have never thought twice about staying this long.

For Iris, it was just too easy to get caught up with the time when she finally had someone on her side. It was comforting to talk to someone and not feel anxious about whether or not they had an ulterior motive. 

For James, he couldn't just leave her. The nightmares he continued to have were only a small reason for that, but he saw how fragile she was. Right now she tried to seem put together, but one little misstep was going to make her fall apart again. 

After the bartender berated them about staying until closing again, Iris turned to James. "Hey James, can you walk me home? I didn't bring my car and I don't want to be alone." She asks as she hops off the stool. 

"Yup," He chugged down the last of his beer, setting down the empty bottle in front of the bartender. "I can do that." He grinned. 

They walked beside each other as they made their way back to her house. It was silent between them, the only sound coming from the crickets hiding in the darkness of the night.

James was drunk, but alert. He heard Iris chuckling as she watched him sway in his walk, pushing her playfully. "Don't laugh at me, you ass." He says, almost falling onto the grassy area beside him.

Just as that happened, James felt something brush against his legs, causing him to look down at his feet. With a gasp, he crouched down and smiled. "Aww, look at the little kitty!" He said affectionately. 

Iris stopped and watched as James fell in love with the cat right in front of her. He was petting her carefully, listening to the cat meow and purr while staying near him. 

"You're so cute, little guy. What are you doing here out all by yourself?" James asked in a soft voice, continuing to talk to the cat. He took out his keys and dangled them in front of the cat, trying to play with it. 

Iris would've never guessed that James had a thing for cats. It was amusing to see him practically melt at the sight of the cat while it swatted at his dangling keys. At some point, he even started mimicking the cat, meowing and crawling towards it.

Iris couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight, finding the way he was making fun of the cat hilarious. James looked up when he heard her laugh echo into the night, taken aback by the sound. It was a bittersweet moment. 

He's never seen her genuinely laugh or smile before. But now that she was, he couldn't help but look at her with admiration. She looked so beautiful to him, her cheeks turning pink the more she kept laughing. 

But it was also a bit sad, knowing she had been in the dark for so long. Her bright smile was a rare sight to see, and it was different from the emptiness he had seen earlier in the day and the days before that.

It even came to a point where Iris had doubled over and was clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. "Uh, Iris, are you okay?" He asked, surprised to see her this way. 

"Yeah," She said in between laughs, trying to catch her breath. "It's just that," She was panting, trying to catch her breath. "You and the cat." She started laughing again, tears falling onto her face.

James couldn't stop smiling and started laughing at her laughing so hard. It was a stark contrast from the way things were when they first met each other. He was no longer paying attention to the cat, enamored by her lovely smile. 

The cat then walked over to Iris, meowing at her before Iris calmed down and knelt to pet the cat softly. "Hi, what's your name?" Iris smiled, running her hand gently through the cat's soft fur. 

James watched as her eyes sparkled at the cat, softly petting and scratching her fur. She wasn't completely happy, but it was visible that she was feeling better than she was before. 

After they continued to play with the cat for some time, they decided to keep walking. "I have to go home now, little cat," Iris said as she stood up from the ground. "It was nice meeting you." She smiled, listening to the cat meow in return. 

As James and Iris began to walk away, Iris turned back to get one last look at the cat, watching it scurry off into the night. James watched as Iris smiled to herself, a slight glow radiating from her face.