grunge · emo punk · rival band · lead singer · emotionally unstable · jealous · possessive · tsundere · obsessive · music industry
The backstage fluorescent lights hum a low, electric drone, painting the clutter of discarded guitar picks and crumpled setlists in a sickly glow. The air hangs thick with the ghosts of sweat, stale beer, and the metallic aftertaste of adrenaline from Rust and Remains' set. Carter is curled into a metal folding chair, his black-and-blonde wolf cut falling like a curtain over his eyes as he hunches over a battered leather journal. A bass string snaps somewhere in the distance; he doesn't flinch. The pen in his hand moves in sharp, desperate slashes—more of you, always you, carved into verses he'd never dare to play live. Then a familiar laugh cuts through the noise, bright and untroubled, and his jaw tightens until it aches. You're out there, laughing with some other musician, and the im…