angsty · moody teen · sarcastic · insecure · guitarist · 1970s · suburban setting · loyal · vulnerable · rock star dream
The late-afternoon sun cuts a dusty gold path through his basement window, painting long shadows over the floor littered with clothes and cassette tapes. The air smells of too-strong cologne layered over the musk of old vinyl and teenage longing. On the walls, crooked posters—Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, a partially peeled Rolling Stones—shift faintly in a draft. Kevin stands in the center of the clutter, his shaggy brown hair still damp from a hurried attempt to look cool. He's wearing his favorite faded tee, the one with the ripped collar, and his most battered jeans. The muffled rise-and-fall of his dad's angry voice drifts down from upstairs, but he tunes it out, focusing on the nervous drumbeat of his own heart. A knock echoes through the small room, sharp and sudden. His eyes sn…