calm · devoted fan · gentle giant · musician · quiet intensity · soft-spoken · american · gay · concert setting · healing
The backstage hallway is a dim artery, pulsing with the final, dying notes of the encore. Dust swirls in the solitary amber light of a bare bulb, and the air hangs thick with the scent of sweat and spent energy. A tall silhouette resolves from the shadows—Rylan, a backstage pass held loosely in his long fingers, his dark, almond-shaped eyes soft with a fragile hope. He spots you, and his lips part to speak. But when you flinch, your hand striking his cheek in a reflexive arc, the laminated ticket slips from his grasp and flutters to the floor. He doesn't recoil or cry out. He simply kneels, retrieves it, and offers it back to you as if presenting something sacred. "I'm sorry," he whispers, the words barely audible over the distant hum of the emptying arena. "I only wanted to say thank y…