fade to black | james hetfield [1]

eleven

chapter eleven: beer run

Iris was working a regular shift at the supermarket, her mind focused on her task. The usual day of standing at the register and having to scan items over and over again.

The weekend was coming, so her shift was a bit busier than usual, with people buying things for parties and weekend vacations. It usually became hectic towards closing time and she couldn't wait to finish her shift and go home.

While cleaning the empty store, her manager called her to the front over the intercom. She groaned, setting her broom aside. They had a few minutes til closing and she didn't want to ring up another customer.

"This is just great." She muttered under her breath as she made her way closer to the register, seeing the numerous cases of beer she would have to scan. Just as she turned the corner, her eyes widened seeing four guys staring back at her.

"Hey, Iris!" James waved, standing behind the register. He turned back to the guys, smiling proudly. "I told you she would still be here."

Iris walked up to the register, looking at the amount of beer that was sitting on the counter. "Can I ask why you guys are buying so much beer?" She asked, the curiosity picking at her.

"We're going to the beach tomorrow," James explained. "We're trying to get away from recording the album for a little bit."

She wished she had a group of friends to hang out with like that. "That's nice," Iris replied, her tone a bit sad. "Hope you guys have fun." She began to ring up the beer.

"You know, you should come with us," Lars said, adding some candy for her to scan. "You could keep James company." He smirked, trying to mess with James.

Iris laughed nervously and started blushing a bit, looking away. "That's okay, I don't want to be the only girl." Iris hated the beach anyway, sand would get everywhere and it made her feel self-conscious.

Cliff shook his head. "Don't worry about that Iris," He said, patting a friendly hand on her shoulder. "I'll invite some girls so you won't feel like the only one." Cliff smirked towards James, giving him a knowing look.

Iris could tell that James didn't want her to go with them to the beach, or at least that's what she thought. Maybe he only wanted to hang out with the guys. Or maybe he had plans to see someone else. Whatever his reason was, she would understand.

However, James did want Iris to come, but he didn't bother to ask because he knew what her answer was going to be. The band on the other hand was trying to do the convincing for him.

It was Kirk's turn to cover the cost of the beer this time. Iris watched as he looked through his wallet for some cash, counting out what he had. "Can we get a discount on the beer since James knows you?" He asked.

Iris looked at Kirk and sighed. "Sorry, I can't. We don't give discounts." Iris said, waiting for them to pay for the beer.

"Damn it," Kirk muttered to himself, trying to pat his pockets for any extra change he might happen to have. "Anyone else have any extra cash on them?"

Lars ended up having to pay for the rest of the beer, but not without turning back to Iris with a smirk. "So James is gonna give you a ride tomorrow to the beach, right?" Lars asked, taking the beer from the counter.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "I never said I was going to—"

"Cool. See you tomorrow, Iris." Lars said before heading out the sliding doors. Cliff and Kirk followed behind, waving goodbye to Iris as James stood back to talk to her for a minute.

"I'm sorry about them," James shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly. "You don't have to come tomorrow if you don't want to." He said, hoping that Iris didn't feel pressured to hang out with them.

She laughed and shook her head. "It's just the beach," She shrugged. "I might hate the beach, but I'm not a party pooper either." She smiled.

James felt a bit relieved to hear her say that, he was secretly hoping she would change her mind. "Alright then," He smiled. "I'll come by tomorrow around 12, okay?"

Iris nodded. "Sounds good," She said as she pushed the last beer sitting on the counter towards him. "Now get out so we can close and I can go home." She said with a sarcastic smile on her face.

James laughed and quickly grabbed the remaining cases of beer. As he walked out of the supermarket, he gave Iris one last look before catching up with the guys in the parking lot.

"You should be thanking us, Jamie." Cliff said as James started to come closer to them. James rolled his eyes and put the remaining cases of beer down in the trunk of the car.

He stood back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "I can't believe you guys all teamed up on me like that." He shakes his head.

"We were just trying to help you out back there," Lars shrugged. "You weren't going to say anything to her anyways."

"James and Iris sitting in a tree..." Kirk started, a smirk growing on his face.

James turned to Kirk. "No, we are not going to be doing that!" He shouted, covering his ears so he wouldn't listen to them teasing him.

No matter how much he tried to deny it, James couldn't help but slowly fall in love with her with every passing day.