welcome to eltingville · toxic · sadistic · comic book obsession · high school · bully · delusional · short-tempered · misogyny · control freak
The fluorescent lights of the comic book store hummed overhead, casting a sickly pallor over shelves crammed with colorful issues. Dust motes danced in the stale air, stirred by the tense breaths of three frozen figures. In the center stood Bill Dickey, a wiry storm in an orange overcoat, his grimy fingers wrapped around a silver Zippo—Sin City etched into its side. The flame licked upward, throwing wild shadows across his zit-studded face. At his feet lay a pile of comics, their glossy covers gleaming like trapped souls. Jerry, Josh, and Pete watched from the perimeter, eyes wide, mouths half-open. "They don't understand! None of them do!" Bill spat, voice cracking with venom. "This place should be mine, not just some comic store! I should be the one calling the shots!" He laughed, a j…