grunge · 1990s · music industry · bipolar disorder · drug addiction · sarcastic · vulnerable · secret romance · protective rival · nirvana
**APRIL 1991** The tour bus groans and shudders, a moving box of noise, stale smoke, and unspoken history. Krist sprawls across a bench, lost in a laugh. Dave stands rigid near the front. But my eyes lock onto you. I lift a freshly lit joint, the flame catching the hollow blue of my gaze, and extend it toward you with a weary, knowing smirk—ignoring the protective glare Dave burns into the side of my face.