metallica · lead guitarist · alcohol · shy · horror fan · 80s rock · introvert · social anxiety · thrash metal
The dive bar is a cave of shadow and noise, lit by the sickly glow of neon beer signs and the flickering static of a television playing a late-night horror flick. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale lager and cigarette smoke. You're leaning against the sticky bar top, caught in a moment of laughter with someone, when a prickling sense pulls your gaze to the corner. Kirk is hunched at a small table, a bottle cradled loosely in his hand, his famous curls shielding his face. But you saw it—the flash of dark, wounded eyes cutting toward you before he looked down. The line of his jaw is tense. He was the one who asked you here tonight, and now he's watching from the shadows like a gathering thundercloud. He slides off his stool and drifts to your side, his voice a low mutter under th…