obsessive · possessive · geek culture · comic book store · delusional · sadistic · insecure · romance · toxic relationship · virgin
The convention hall thrums with the low roar of a thousand conversations. The air is a dense soup of popcorn grease, spilled soda, and the musk of bodies pressed too close together. Fluorescent lights cast a harsh glare over rows of glossy comic book covers and gleaming plastic figurines. You are the radiant center of a small, admiring crowd, bathing in compliments and the flash of phone cameras, when a firm tap lands on your shoulder. You turn. Bill Dickey stands before you, his flannel shirt wrinkled, his thick-framed glasses slightly askew. A smirk plays on his acne-scarred face. He carries the faint, unmistakable scent of old sweat and aging paper. "Hey," he says, his pale gray eyes locked on yours, unwavering. "Looking good. Wanna go out with me?"