august,1983
i managed to reorganise the whole store 3 times before a customer came in. i'd organised every zeppelin album in order of release date from newest in the front to oldest in the back, and set up the display for new releases just by the door, a sticker on the door with the promise of a free promotional poster with every record bought- brandon's idea, but whatever sells, right? certainly not this new band with a full fuckin' display.
a quick look around the store signaled no customers were near, and i slumped back to my usual spot behind the tills- the newest edition of a local metal magazine lay untouched in its place, almost begging for me to open it. the magazine had obviously already been read by the only and only, brandon-wait, wait, wait, why the fuck is the cover crispy? the front page showed a band, a new band(i could tell, inexperience shows.) i flipped through the pages until i found one that interested me.
i recognised this band from last month. LEAD GUITARIST FIRED. fuck, already? it must've only been last month their debut was released, was it not? thinking back on it, that album was pretty good, despite the threatening title and equally as threatening album art, i liked it. an article from the former guitarist, dave mustaine, told me all i needed to know.
"I didn't like the way I was let go from Metallica. There was no civility in the way it happened. They just said, 'You're out' and I said, 'What, no warning, no second chance?" fuck, these guys must be complete assholes. i didn't spend much time feeling pity for the guy, for he must've had his own problems going on-actually, maybe that made me feel more for him. and the fact he could fucking shred a guitar like that- i hoped he'd find a new band, or just work on himself and get back on the scene. i know bands, and i've known bands, and i know that no band could survive without a guitarist. maybe i'd get brandon to sign up. he could shred that shit.
i didn't get much time to ponder what i'd do to peak brandon about this, the sound of the doorbell opening and ringing out was too distinct. huh, early-ish for a customer to be here. though i didn't get much time to ponder over the time either.
a man entered- he couldn't have been old, at all. by the looks of it, he could've been maybe 12 if i didn't know better. he had dark curls adorning his tanned skin, silky coils dripping down over his shoulders like liquid gold. he had the purest brown eyes,(and he looked honestly excited to be here?) i didn't want to seem like a creep for examining the guy so hard, but i could tell he really loved his music, and i liked that. people like this were the reason i enjoyed working here so much. people that were so, so passionate about their music, their guitars and drums, and those sweet sweet riffs that i knew so well. he was wearing a misfits tee, and i new if he bought anything i was going to point it out to him. when you're so passionate about something, it's great to talk about to anyone yes, but nothing beats talking to a fanatic like yourself- i've worked here for just over a year now, trust me, i can tell.
he skimmed over the led zeppelin section that i had just reorganized earlier today, and i hoped he appreciated my efforts to really make the place glow. he fiddled through the records until he found one of his taste, and pulled it out from its confines. LED ZEPPELIN IV. a man of good taste. he approached the tills.
"hey, this is my favourite." i expressed gently, picking the record up from the desk where he had left it so i could scan it.
"yeah, me too, " he laughed slightly, slightly awkwardly, in a way where his contagious smile was on display. "well, i came here looking for something new, but i just love the classics, y'know?"
"yeah, yeah.. i get that. but working here, i always get first pick on the new releases and some of these are really worth a listen," my eyes glance back to the magazine, still open on the metallica page. i see he's looking at it too. "actually, this band here, they um, they released an album, about a month ago? and, i got to listen to it, well, because i work here..." i could feeling myself rambling on with his eyes on me, but as a rambler i couldn't stop myself. i just like to talk. "and i listened to it, and i thought, fuck, this is really good! you know? well, only if you're into that kind of stuff.." i glanced up at him after my monologue and gave him a shy grin.
he looked, kind of, shocked, maybe? as if he hadn't expected me to feel that way. either, he really fucking hated this band, or hated thrash in general. thinking back again, he was a zeppelin kind of guy.
"well, really? well, um, actually, i play guitar, and, and james invited me to play with them, after dave," he waved his arm towards the magazine page, "got kicked out.. and i've been playing with them since, like, like for a month now? good guys." he grinned with his teeth and covered his face, a slight tint of a red blush covering his soft features. i opened my mouth in shock.
"really! no fucking way! that's, that's so fucking cool!" i immediately regretted fan-girling like this infront of him, not wanting to creep him out in any way. though, he doesn't seem to mind in any way, infact, he seemed just as excited as i was.
"i know, it's pretty, it's pretty cool." so immersed in conversation, the zeppelin vinyl was left forgotten.
"no shit!"
"actually, we're um, we're performing at that bar, just down the street from you tonight. if you're, um, interested. you don't have to come!" i couldn't believe he was inviting me to come see him perform. the most gorgeous man i've ever seen, inviting me to his concert? "we'll be performing songs from kill 'em all, which, i, i didn't write, but we're gonna do some new ones as-well, from our upcoming album, with some um, some new stuff i've wrote, so, that'll, that'll be cool."
i pondered- i was sure brandon wouldn't mind if i asked to leave early; he's a cool guy, i'd consider him one of my closest friends. that, and when i tell him the fact that i just met (and got invited to see him perform), the new guitarist of metallica, he'll fucking freak.
"that sounds really great, i'll be there," how could i have fan-girled over this man and not even have known his name?
"kirk," he grinned with his crooked teeth that i had grown to admire.
"kirk, kirk, im grace," i flashed him a smile, that prolonged into him grinning at me again with wrinkled eyes and soft smile lines. i snapped. "oh! uh, and your record!" i handed the bag out to him with a soft hand, trying to compose myself from the state he had got me in.
he took the bag gracefully, looping his fingers around the purple tinted bag, the store logo rubbing off the cheap plastic under his calloused fingers. with his other hand he dug into his pocket, pulling out some loose change, a gum packet and a $5 dollar note. "oh, no,no! it's on the house." i grinned shyly.
"really? well," he dug his full hand back into his pocket, dropping a couple coins creating a clatter on the wooden floorboards that desperately needed a change. it was a suprise they didn't fall through from the slight objection. he looked back up at me with an apologetic smile. "i guess i'll just have to buy you a drink tonight then," he picked up the coins with agility, his brown, almost black coils flying around his shoulders. he got back up and used a single hand to remove his hair from his face. "i really gotta go now, um, go practice with the band and all that, for tonight," he took a few steps back, his gorgeous grin still prominent on his features. "i'll see you tonight, grace, yeah?"
"yeah," i smiled and look down at my hands. "bye, kirk," but he was already out the door with a loud chime of the doorbell and a flash of cool wind. until tonight.
sorry this is so horribly written but i had an idea for this story and ran with it.. i've actually never written a story before so pls leave me tips. ALSO!!! i will not be using dave as a villain in this story bc i love him too much, he's my pookie!! ALSOOO sorry this is so short i'll try and make the other chapters longer!! thank you for reading <3
