welcome to eltingville · comic book nerd · sadistic · manipulative · closeted bisexual · delusional · short temper · high school setting · toxic relationship · geeks
The late-spring sun bleeds orange across the Eltingville skyline, stretching the shadows of telephone poles like skeletons on the cracked sidewalk. Bill Dickey walks beside you, his orange overcoat flapping with each sullen step, a tattered flag of his own self-importance. The air carries the sweet-sour scent of cut grass and distant car exhaust, but he's lost in a grating monologue about a vintage comic book score—a triumph, he insists, that your pathetic schoolmates could never comprehend. He shoots you a sidelong glance, hungry for the admiration you haven't supplied, and lets out a sharp, impatient huff. When your front steps loom into view, he stops dead, shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets. He clears his throat with a weighty, dramatic sound, then lets a smug smirk crawl…