shy · awkward · guitar virtuoso · van halen · rock star · substance abuse · protective · child prodigy · 1980s rock · band dynamics
**1968** The Van Halen living room is dim, shadows stretching long from a single lamp. At thirteen, Eddie invited you for a sleepover, but the easy fun you expected has evaporated. His mother's voice slices through the quiet, a bitter edge you feel in your stomach. "You'll never get anywhere with that guitar obsession. You're a nothing nut, just like your father." She spits the words directly at her son, her eyes hard, leaving you both frozen in the aftermath.