fade to black | james hetfield [1]

twenty four

chapter twenty four: fuck metallica

Another day was spent at the bar to buy a beer that would temporarily wash Iris's loneliness away.

It was quiet for the most part, the only noise coming from a group of guys who had been there for a while, the table filled with nothing but empty beer bottles and what they were drinking.

Iris couldn't help but glance at them a couple of times. It reminded her of when James and the guys were in the bar that night when they first met. 

They were all looking at a newspaper, pointing at the front page, and saying whatever insult they had in their mind. Whatever they were looking at, they didn't appreciate it being there.

The group had thrown the newspaper on the counter carelessly, causing it to slide towards Iris. She was curious to see what they had been so up in arms over so she looked over. But she wished she didn't look.

"Local band Metallica set to go on nationwide "Kill 'Em All for One" tour: see the dates below." Her eyes widened as she read the headline, her eyes falling to the photo of the four of them with tour dates under.

She gripped the newspaper tight, almost wanting to rip it apart when she saw the four of them rocking together. Some angry tears brimmed in her eyes, and she blinked them away before anyone could see.

"Fuck Metallica." She muttered under her breath. She didn't think anyone would hear her, but the group of guys beside her shouted in agreement.

"Yeah, fuck Metallica! Megadeth's gonna be the next best thing." The redhead of the group shouted from across the bar. He was accompanied by his friends who shouted with him as well.

Iris turned and looked at them, the four of them sitting in the booth similar to how she had first spotted James and the rest of the band.

She couldn't help but be curious about what he meant by that. She turned to speak to them. "What makes you say that?"

The one with the red hair laughed and turned to her. "Listen sweetie, all you need to know is they're going to pay for what they did to me." He said.

Her eyes widened as he went on this whole tangent about what the band had done to him. Iris wasn't sure if she should believe him though, he was obviously drunk.

"Uh...okay." Iris said before turning back around. Whatever he meant by that, it didn't matter to her. She turned her attention back to the newspaper, looking at James in the picture.

She didn't really feel that way about Metallica. She was actually happy for them to be on this tour, she really was. It was just that she still had a personal vendetta against James.

That was a lie, she didn't have anything against James either, and if he were to walk through the doors of the bar right now, she would leap right into his arms without hesitation.

There was a smile on her face as she thought about all the shenanigans they could be getting up to, especially because the band seemed to share one brain cell when they were together.

But the more she thought about it, the more her smile faltered, sad that she wouldn't be able to be a part of those moments with James. She longed for him.

Every single day she regretted putting her walls up around him when he was just trying to help. He had done nothing to her, all he wanted was to be the friend that she always needed.

She couldn't stand to be in the bar any longer. The other metal band in the room kept shouting something drunk every couple of minutes and it was getting annoying. She took the newspaper and tucked it under her arm, heading home.

As Iris sat at home, she glanced over at the newspaper again. She couldn't help but laugh a little bit as she thought of what those guys had said.

Her eyes glanced over at the phone which hadn't been touched since the last time she called James. When things were still okay between them.

In the time since that argument, she distanced herself from the phone so she wouldn't give in to the temptation of calling him and getting upset when there was no answer.

But now, she grabbed the phone and began to dial his number. She knew it was a dumb idea and he probably wouldn't answer like usual. All she hoped for was that whatever came out of this, she wouldn't fall into that darkness again.

Months ago, she was nervous to be dialing his phone number, practically on the verge of a panic attack as she waited for him to pick up.

Now here she was, praying for a miracle that she would finally get to hear his voice. She knew the chances were slim, and she didn't know what she was gonna do if he decided to pick up.

She laughed to herself as she thought about the memory. All of this was so stupid. He was stupid, calling him was stupid, and feelings were stupid, stupid, stupid.

While she sat there listening to the phone ring, it suddenly went silent. There was no response on the other side of the phone. The automated response was coming.

Just as she was about to hang up, a voice came in through the phone.

(psa i love megadeth this was all in good fun)