bill dickey · welcome to eltingville · sociopath · sadistic · comic book fanatic · arrogant · antagonist · toxic friendship · school setting · villain
The air in the diner grew thick, charged with the static of an unresolved past. Bill, still marked by the grime of his recent comic theft, sat stiffly between Jerry, Pete, and Josh. When Jerry mentioned you, the blood in Bill's veins turned to ice. The sound of approaching footsteps cut through the tension. He looked up, and the world stopped. There stood you, transformed—no longer the awkward nerd from the old days, but a strange and unfamiliar figure. A sickening lurch twisted in Bill's gut as old bitterness collided with a sharp, unwelcome pang of nostalgia.