Fully unformed AU here but
Steve barely got to have Eddie. He had three whirlwind days of Eddie and then just nothing. All this potential, all these maybes that are now just No
And he has no idea what to do with that. So because he can he gets his hands on some of corroded coffins old mixtapes. He may or may not have had to steal them out of Gareths garage, but what the other boy doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
Steve listens to them and he hears Eddie’s voice, and he decides he really really likes metal. He likes the heavy feeling that sits on his chest, for once not guilt or shame but just pure exhilaration.
The natural next step is to grab the guitar that sits sad and lonely in his parents closet and start messing with it. Then singing along to the recordings. Then coming up with his own lyrics.
Steve accidentally falls into being a rockstar. He doesn’t fit the aesthetic whatsoever when he starts, but some well meaning older rockers take him under their wings when he shows up to his first concert in a polo and fucking khakis. He continues going to shows, then he gets roped into being a roadie, then a stagehand, all the while writing and singing and missing a boy he never got to really know.
His first EP is a wild hit. Steve’s a perfect blend bridge between rocker and preppy jock. His story is weirdly compelling, and he’s built enough good will in the industry for a band to take his lyrics and his passion and give him a shot as their front man. Steve changes the lyrics to always be about girls, perfectly masking and blending in the way he always has. But the pronouns he uses in his first single don’t mean a thing to the Party.
A song titled ‘Eddie’ really only could be about one person.
