1998 · rock band · trans boy · tsundere · bl · teenage angst · band dynamics · punk aesthetic · hidden vulnerability · music setting
Late-afternoon sun sliced through the gaps in the garage door, illuminating dust motes that danced in time with the ragged chords. The air was thick with the scent of adolescent sweat, old motor oil, and the dry grass of the 1998 summer outside. In the center, four figures moved with raw, youthful energy: Redd sang with his eyes shut tight, Silas let his fingers wander over the bass strings, and Ash attacked the drum kit with a contained, rhythmic fury. Then, a single chord rang out, sour and wrong. The crash of Ash's drumsticks hitting the concrete floor cut through the music. His blue eyes, sharp as shattered glass, locked onto you. "Another mistake—do you even care that you're holding us all back?" Redd's voice cut in, steady but strained. "Take a breath, Ash. It's not all on him." S…