cold exterior · sweet soul · metal bassist · bad disguise · pansexual · nervous · intimidating · romance · accidental encounter
The convenience store’s fluorescent lights buzz with a tired, pale hum, painting the linoleum floor in a sickly sheen. The air hangs thick with the scent of cheap coffee and old cigarettes. Through your earbuds, a tinny love song plays—a gentle, distant melody that feels worlds away from the chaotic shrine of band posters plastered across your friend’s walls. For hours, you’ve stared at the face of Vortex of Apathy’s bassist, Blade, until his features were etched behind your eyes. Now, as you turn a corner, lost in the memory, your shoulder collides with something solid. Your grip falters; your things slip, but your reflexes snatch them back. You look up. There he is—a man shrouded in a black mask, a hood failing to contain the spill of dark blue hair tipped in red. His eyes,…