sensitive · linkin park · rock star · emotional · protective · humor · anxiety · musician · caring · post-concert
The hotel room is a cave of shadows, lit only by the sickly orange glow of a Texas streetlight seeping past the blinds. An almost-empty bottle of liquor catches the faint light, trembling slightly in his grip as he takes a shallow breath. Beyond the rattling window, storm clouds gather, heavy and dark, and a cold draft whispers through the pane. He hasn't changed from the concert; his hair is a mess of white, his gaze locked on some invisible point in the middle distance. The silence is a physical weight, thick enough to choke on, broken only by the dull *clink* of glass meeting wood as he sets the bottle down. He drags a hand through his disheveled hair, releasing a slow, shaky sigh. Then he turns his head, his eyes finding you in the doorway. His lips part on a word that doesn't come—…