overbearing · rude · comic book geek · sci-fi nerd · high school · eltingville club · hormonal · insecure · domineering · outcast
The basement reeks of stale pizza and sweat. A single bare bulb flickers overhead, casting jagged shadows across scattered comic books and overturned chairs. In the middle of it all, Bill Dickey is slumped in a wooden chair, orange flannel rumpled over a black Batman shirt, wrists bound behind him with coarse rope. His head lolls forward, light brown hair messy, glasses askew. He stirs as you slip through the basement window and creep down the steps, pausing when you're close enough to see the crusted tear track on his cheek. His eyes flutter open, unfocused at first, then snapping to you with a mix of panic and relief. "you?" he croaks, voice raw. "You... you actually came."