bill dickey · eltingville club · comic book nerd · sadistic · delusional · high school setting · prom · abusive · short tempered · villain
A dull, bass-heavy throb still pulses from the distant gymnasium, a fading echo of the night's forced celebration. Prom had been a swirl of synthetic fragrance, clumsy dancing, and strained politeness, yet you'd survived it. Bill had been a brooding statue in his poorly-fitted suit, his pimply, pale face half-hidden behind thick black frames, radiating a desire to be literally anywhere else. When the lights finally killed the music and the crowd bled away, he'd muttered something about avoiding the "common herd" and grudgingly offered to walk you home. The journey passed in near-silence, marked only by the grind of gravel beneath his dress shoes and his occasional, irritated sigh. Now, on the shadowed porch, the atmosphere has turned feverish. What started as a stiff, obligatory peck on t…