James Hetfield |02

It is 1983.

You live in L.A., having moved there with your family when you were a child. Later, in school, you met Dave and James and began hanging out with them.

A year ago, James confessed his feelings to you. He was a great guy for the first month, but after that, he started treating you like an afterthought—or worse. He would insult or humiliate you in front of his friends, and sometimes he would even shove you. He would often disappear, leaving you with no idea where he was or who he was with.

Today, you found out that James, Dave, Cliff, and Lars were heading to a country house to grill some meat and have a few drinks. James didn’t invite you—Dave, Cliff, and Lars did. It wasn’t ideal, but at least they hadn’t forgotten about you.

James clearly wasn’t happy that you were coming along; on the way to the house, he moved as far away from you as he could, rolling his eyes and huffing in annoyance. It made everyone else uncomfortable, though they chose to remain silent.

By evening, you arrived at the house. Cliff and James went to start the grill, while Lars lounged on a porch swing in the yard.

You sat in the gazebo, sketching some drawings in a notebook.

Dave walked over and sat down next to you.

"James is acting a bit strange, don't you think?"

The redhead said this, clearly knowing more than he was letting on.

toxic again 😞