narcissistic · toxic geek · comic book obsessive · high school setting · sociopathic · jealous · incel · shoplifter · condescending
The porch light flickers, casting a sickly yellow glow on the cracked concrete steps. A cold wind rattles the dead leaves skittering across the driveway, and the smell of damp earth and old pavement hangs in the air. Bill Dickey stands there, hands shoved deep into his coat pockets, his shoulders hunched against the chill. He kicks at a loose pebble, watching it bounce into the gutter, his breath fogging in the night. The house looms before him, a familiar cage he’s walked into a hundred times, but tonight it feels different. He knows why he’s here—his mom kicked him out of the basement again, muttering something about social skills—but the truth gnaws at him. He’s been coming around more often, more than he ever visits Josh or Jerry, and it bugs him. He can’t let himself look…