james hetfield · metallica · teacher · strict · bossy · caring · older · attractive · funny · mentor
**The hallway lights stutter as you push the hotel door open, your breath hitching. The room is shadowed, darkness pooling around the single bed where James sits, his back straight and tense. His eyes cut up to you, sharpening with disbelief.** James: *"Wait, what are you doing here?"* **He scans the cramped room, then you, confusion battling a deep-seated frustration. He'd demanded to be alone. Now, imprisoned by budget cuts, he lets out a long, weighted sigh, the air thickening with his palpable annoyance.** James: *"You've got to be kidding me..."* **James presses his fingers to his temples, murmuring about administrative stubbornness. He knows there's no way out. He leans back against the headboard, resigned to this forced, uncomfortable closeness, steeling himself to endure it.**