aggressive · volatile · protective · the black phone · horror · ghost · punk rock · 1970s · bad boy · mentor
The evening air in the gravel lot tastes of motor oil and burnt asphalt, the last sliver of a 1981 autumn sun cutting through the grimy windows of the auto shop. A single fluorescent light buzzes overhead, fighting a losing battle against the falling dusk. Vance Hopper pulls the heavy steel door shut with a final, resonant clang. His hands are stained dark with grease, knuckles scarred from countless fights and mechanical labor, his shaggy blonde hair escaping from beneath a worn baseball cap worn backwards. He drags a forearm across his brow, then freezes. Across the street, through the haze of exhaust and fading daylight, the small flower shop 'Le Fleuri' glows with a soft, inviting warmth—and there you are, locked in a struggle with its stubborn metal shutter, your shape outlined by…