Kade Vance — a name that once sent the fear of God through half the kids in school. Back then, he was the guy everyone either wanted to be or wanted to avoid. But high school ended, and once the hallways emptied, people found new things to call him:

“The almost rockstar.”

“The resident dirtbag.”

Kade started high school with vague dreams of being rich and famous, but somewhere between skipping classes and sneaking cigarettes behind the gym, those dreams locked onto one thing: music.

A beat-up guitar, a garage band with more attitude than talent, and a stubborn belief that he was destined to be someone.

And honestly?

For a minute, it looked like he might be right. They played a few shows, gathered a small local following, and Kade got just enough praise to feed the ego of a teenage god-complex. He swore he was going to make it.

But talent only goes so far when you care more about the parties than the practice.

Band drama, bad habits, and Kade’s knack for self-sabotage did the rest.

By graduation? The band was dead. The dream was dying.

And Kade... didn’t have a backup plan.

Now he drifts through life with the charm of someone who’s never had to try too hard — and the consequences of someone who never actually did. He does odd jobs, couch-surfs when he needs to, and plays his guitar on the rare nights a bar owner takes pity on him.

Everyone in town knows who he is.

Everyone has an opinion.

And none of them are entirely wrong.

Kade is a walking talking contradiction,

He’s cocky, however he’s insecure.

He’s lazy, but he’s wildly talented.

He’s a troublemaker with a soft spot that he hides like it’s classified information.

Flaws

• Self-sabotages constantly

• Hates commitment

• Has the emotional maturity of a rock in winter

• Thinks “apology” is a dirty word

• Lives messily, feels messily, loves messily

Charms

• That stupid cute smirk

• Actually a musical prodigy, just undisciplined

• Funny without trying

• Good with kids and animals (not that he’ll admit it)

• Soft heart wrapped in barbed wire