fade to black | james hetfield [1]

twelve

chapter twelve: beach date pt. 1

tw: brief mention of negative self image

When Cliff told Iris that he was going to invite some girls to come with them, she didn't think they would be borderline supermodels. 

That was a bit of an exaggeration on her part, but as she saw them step out onto the sand in their bikinis, she couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. In her eyes, they were much prettier than she was and there was no way she could compete.

The girls were friendly and never left Iris out, but she still felt out of place. When they asked if she was going to come into the water at any point, Iris would lie and say that she would join them later on.

When she watched them head towards the water to join the rest of the guys, it only made her feel worse. She was already the odd one out and she wanted to save herself from further embarrassment. 

She sat by herself, her towel laid out under her to protect her from the sand. She watched the rest of them play in the water, the guys unable to keep their hands off of the girls, splashing them and trying to dunk them into the water. 

James was in the mix, but not really paying attention. He would look over at Iris once in a while, a bit worried as to why she wasn't with them. At some point, he decided to walk over and ask.

"Iris, you should come into the water with us!" James shouted as he sat on the empty spot beside her. "How come you're not hanging out with us? Do you have a fear of the ocean or something?" He teased.

"No James," She laughed, a smile forming on James's face at the sound. "I just don't feel like getting in the water today." She lied, bringing her knees to her chest. She wasn't going to tell him the real reason why. 

James shrugged. "Well that's okay," He said, looking back towards the sun. "Can't you at least come closer to us so you don't have to sit here by yourself?" James asked softly, a hint of concern in his voice.

Iris sighed and kept her gaze towards the sand. "I'll think about it." She said, sounding a bit dejected. James didn't bother to push her on it further, heading back to the water to join the rest of the group. 

It was another one of those moments where her past was threatening to hold her back. The memories of what people said to her were starting to rush back, and she started to become overwhelmed. 

Burying her face in her hands, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "That was the past, and this is the present," she tried to remind herself.

It took a few minutes for Iris to finally muster the courage to change into her bathing suit. With her heart beating against her chest, she began to make her way down towards the water, wanting to join the rest of the group.

James turned to see her, his eyes falling on her delicate frame. His eyes widened as they traced along the curves of her body, her skin glowing from the sun that was slowly beginning to set. It was almost like he was looking at heaven.

Iris could see the way he was looking and felt butterflies form in her stomach. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her abdomen as she came closer to him, trying to settle the nervous feeling. "I'm here, James." She smiled, her cheeks a bit rosy.

James couldn't even reply, taking in the sight of her beauty. He was trying not to stare at her like a creep, knowing it was probably going to make her uncomfortable. Just as he was about to say something to her, another voice interrupted him. 

"Iris, you made it!" Cliff yelled out from behind her, standing a few feet away from her and James. He stood there for a minute, looking her up and down. "I like your bathing suit." He winked.

Iris blushed a bit while James stood behind her, giving Cliff a death stare. He knew Cliff was just trying to mess with him, but Iris was supposed to be his girl.

"Hey! We're in the middle of a game of Marco Polo, pay attention!" Kirk shoved him. They were both trying to move away as Lars was creeping closer to them with his eyes closed, stuck with having to play Marco.

When Iris turned back to James, she noticed he had come a bit closer. "You look really pretty, Iris." He whispered, his eyes still scanning her beautiful skin while seeing the blush form on her cheeks.

"T-Thanks..." She stuttered like an idiot, not expecting to hear him compliment her that way. She rarely received compliments like that and she felt her heart race at the way he said it. 

James went to stand beside Iris, his hand lightly brushing against hers by accident, causing her to jump. "Sorry." He said nervously. 

"It's okay." She replied. Although she wasn't expecting it, she secretly enjoyed the brief moment of his touch. She didn't mind it. 

There was an awkward silence between them after that, the sound of Lars's yelling being the one to break the tension. "Where are you fucking assholes?! I don't want to be Marco anymore!" Iris couldn't help but laugh at the scene in front of her.

While the rest of the group was distracted with trying to not get caught by Lars in this long game of Marco-Polo, Iris reached over to James, taking his hand into hers.