FicWad

Later in the day, we finally arrived at the club that Metallica had decided to play at. Taking charge as always, Lars made sure that everyone had their band equipment ready and ordered the truck driver to help carry the equipment into the club. As the truck driver scurried around the back of the vehicle, all the guys were working on getting drunk. Everyone was drinking beer like crazy as if it was going to help them perform better. I didn't really see any logic in this, but yet again, I didn't see much logic in Lars' ideas anyways.

When the equipment was finally unloaded into the club, the guys reluctantly set down their beer bottles and headed inside to the club. I was so thrilled to finally get out of dank, dark world of the back of the truck that I practically screamed with delight when I ran outside and a gust of air hit me full in the face. Ah, it was so nice to be out in fresh air and not have to feel like plugging my nose.

James caught my hand as we were heading towards the entrance of the club. He smiled at me and took my hand. I returned his smile and suddenly James stopped, caught my other hand, and turned me around to face him. We met each other's eyes and an unspoken love traveled between us. James was just about to lean down to kiss me when we suddenly heard someone clear their throat. Lars was standing with the door to the club open and he was looking at us in disgust.

James looked disappointed, but reluctantly followed Lars into the building without kissing me. I know I'm sounding pretty pathetic here, but that kiss would've meant the world to me. James hadn't kissed me or held me in his arms for at least two weeks now. I supposed that it wasn't that big of a deal, but to someone like me, it was torture.

I followed the band inside of the large club and looked around. The lighting in this club was much darker than the lighting in other clubs that we had visited. There was a large glass window on one side of the room and the stage where the band was going to perform was located on the opposite side of the room. Lars, Dave, and Cliff were already warming up on their instruments. Giving me almost a sad smile, James whispered in my ear, "I'm gonna go warm up with the band. Why don't you find a seat somewhere? Sorry if it feels like I'm ignoring yo, Olive. I'll spend some time with you after this, okay?"

I could smell the strong stench of alcohol on James' breath as he whispered in my ear. He was obviously a little drunk, but he wasn't so drunk that he could get dangerous like Dave. Having no choice but to agree to James' conditions, I nodded and wandered off by myself somewhere while the band warmed up together.

There weren't a lot of empty tables, but somehow I was able to find one in the way back of the club by the large window. A few minutes later, the band started playing. James sounded as good as always, but I had to admit that I didn't think Lars was doing a very good job on the drums today. But of course, that was probably just because I didn't like Lars very much after his comments about me from the other day. I was still trying to get over him calling me ugly and pathetic. I couldn't help but wonder what Lars was looking for in a girl. Did he want a girl just for her beauty and sex? Did he want to use her for one night and then throw her away?

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I ended up not listening at all to the band. When a hand tapped my shoulder, I jumped with alarm and spun around to see who had touched me. I was immediately on guard. After all, guys in clubs could get pretty drunk and could do some pretty crazy things with girls that happened to be single. I could never be too careful. Lars was right; I was still scared of people to some extent. It was probably something that would haunt me for my entire life.

However, when I spun around, the guy behind me didn't looking like at a rapist at all. As a matter of fact, he was about the least threatening guy I could have expected. The guy looked about to be around James' age. He was about six inches shorter than James and had curly black hair, olive-colored skin, and a big, genuine smile. Looking apologetic for startling me, the guy quickly took a few steps back and said, "Hey, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering if you minded if I sit at this table. I wouldn't normally ask, but all the other tables are full. I won't be here for too long. My band goes onstage in just a few minutes."

Seeing no reason why not to let the guy sit by me, I pulled out a chair for him and said, "I don't mind at all. Go right ahead." He smiled at me and sat down at the chair I had pulled out for him. The two of us sat in silence for a while. I kept shooting him sideways glances out of the corner of my eye. He seemed really nice from what I could tell. Normally, I didn't talk to strangers. However, today I found that I actually wanted to start a conversation with this guy. The only question was: what should I start a conversation with him about? I racked my brain for a good topic to discuss with him. Suddenly, I remembered what he had said when he had asked to sit by me. He had said he was in a band too! Maybe I could discuss the band with him.

Clearing my throat softly to get his attention, I turned to the curly-haired guy and asked, "So what band do you play for anyways?" The guy looked startled that I had decided to talk to him, but he turned around and looked me full in the face as he replied, "I play for Exodus. Have you heard of them? They're kind of like a thrash band. Sort of like the guys that are playing right now actually." He motioned towards the stage where James, Lars, Cliff, and Dave were still playing.

I tried to think if I had heard of the band Exodus, but no light bulbs lit up in my head. I replied, "I haven't heard of Exodus, but I'm sure they're a great band. What do you play in the band?" My new friend smiled and motioned to the guitar that was propped up against his chair, "I'm the guitarist." Ah, so he was a guitarist just like Dave. That was cool. To my surprise, the guy actually asked me a question, "You seem interested in bands. Are you in one yourself or do you know anyone who is in one?"

"Oh, I definitely don't play for a band," I said quickly, almost laughing as I thought of myself attempting to play James' guitar. "My friends are in a band though. You know Metallica that's playing right now? I'm traveling around with them on their tour." I should've stopped after that sentence, but a bitchy side of me took over and I added, "Lars didn't really want me to come though."

The guy's face fell and he looked truly sorry for me, "Aw, I'm so sorry about that. I suppose that makes the band situation kind of awkward, hm?" I nodded vigorously. It was nice to have someone who understood what I was feeling right now. I didn't even think James realized how hard it was for me to continue on with this tour when I knew how Lars felt about me.

Abruptly, the music coming from the opposite side of the room stopped suddenly, leaving us in complete silence. To my surprise, a few people applauded a moment later though. That was good! It was definitely an improvement from the first time Metallica had played at the Whiskey before Motley Crue. Maybe Metallica would just keep getting more popular as time went on.

Quickly, the guy I had just met stood up and swung his guitar over his shoulder. In that sweet, apologetic voice of his, he said, "I suppose I should probably get ready to join the rest of the band now. It's nice meeting you though. Wait, I don't even know your name. Can I ask what it is?" Surprised about how polite this guy was being, I answered, "I'm Olivia Black. You?"

"Kirk Hammett," Kirk replied, leaning across the table to shake my hand and give me one last smile before he bounded up towards the stage. I was pretty sure I liked Kirk. He wasn't like any of the Metallica members at all. He was sweet, shy, and very polite. On the contrary, the Metallica guys were pretty loud, boisterous, and not-so-polite at times.

I was watching Kirk step onstage and warm up on his guitar when I heard someone flop down in the chair next to me. Turning my head, I saw James leaning back in the chair next to me with his eyes closed. He looked a little hot from the exertion of playing, but other than that, he looked just fine. Well, maybe he was the slightest bit wasted too.

"Nice job tonight. You did great as always," I told James even though I hadn't really heard all of the music that was played tonight. James opened his eyes and cocked an eyebrow at me, "Oh really? How come you seemed too busy talking to some dude the whole time to be paying any attention to us?" Shit! So James knew about Kirk.

"Hey, it wasn't like I invited him over to sit by me," I told James in an attempt to defend myself. "He was the one who came over and asked to sit by me since all the other tables were full. Is that really such a bad crime?" James frowned and looked at the floor, "Not really I suppose. You could've just told him 'no' though."

"Come on, James," I complained. James was in his paranoid mode right now. "You know that saying 'no' would've been rude." James didn't acknowledge my comment and just continued his staring at the floor. While James and I had been talking, the band Exodus had started to play. I wasn't too impressed by the vocalist, but Kirk was doing an amazing job on the guitar. I hated to admit it, but he was much better than Dave. Looking over at James, I hissed, "Do you know anything about the band Exodus?"

James thought for a moment, scratching his chin. A moment later, he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Nope, sorry. Why are you wondering? Are they playing right now or something?" I nodded. James looked over at the band playing on the stage. He scrutinized them for a few minutes before apparently losing interest because he started looking around the room as if he was spying on someone. Wondering what James was looking for, I raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Turning his gaze back to me for a moment, James gave me a sheepish smile and said, "I'm just looking to see what the rest of the band is up to." I followed his gaze over to Lars. Lars was laughing with a bartender and getting a few beers. Knowing Lars, he was going to end up pretty drunk tonight if he kept drinking at this rate.

Not wanting to think about Lars, I focused back onto Kirk instead. He was really doing an incredible job with the guitar. Wanting to bring this to James' attention, I pointed at Kirk and said, "See that guy? Don't you think he's a good guitarist?" James didn't even bother looking at Kirk, but nodded anyways as a response to my question.

"James!" I chastised him loudly, "You didn't even look!" Rolling his eyes, James turned his head around to look at Kirk. After analyzing him for a moment, he replied, "Yeah, he's good." With that, James looked back at me. There was a smile sneaking around the corners of his mouth, and before he knew it, he had taken my hand and was pulling me out of my chair. In a suggestive tone, he said, "Come with me."