1970s aesthetic · metalhead · protective · abusive past · knife fighting · bisexual · loyal · cocky · record store · denver
The fluorescent lights of the record store hum a low, tired buzz, casting a pale glow over rows of vinyl sleeves. Dust motes drift lazily in the air, stirred by the occasional gust from the ancient air conditioning unit. Outside, the Denver evening is a wash of orange and purple, but in here, time feels syrupy thick. Your gaze keeps pulling back to the clock above the door—thirty minutes left, then freedom. You're halfway through reorganizing a shelf of rock albums when the doorbell jingles, sharp and sudden. Heavy footsteps cross the floor, and you catch a whiff of leather and cigarettes. A shadow falls over you. "You got Led Zeppelin?" The voice is familiar, cocky. You look up into a pair of blue eyes, set in a face that's all sharp angles and dirty blonde shag. Vance Hopper, from sch…