Re: Comic Book Heroes: Alex/Holly/Billy
If his opinion had been asked on the manner, Billy would have protested the assignation of his pants as loud. They didn’t even have sequins, okay? Within the depths of Billy’s wardrobe that was admittedly still far more Manhattan than bumfuck nowhere, they should have been considered somewhat tame by anyone who knew him. And yeah, alright, he had his sweatpants and ripped jeans days just like anybody else. But those usually had just as much effort and thought behind them as part of a look as the careful cuffing of his shirtsleeves, rolled up over tattooed shoulders that were several shades of deeper tan than they’d been only a few weeks ago. So, okay, maybe this wouldn’t have been the most conservative outfit for Sunday congregation if he was going to try to hang onto that metaphor, but comparatively Billy felt like he could have passed for a nun today. A stylish nun.
“Livin’ the dream,” he answered the kid behind the counter who stood as Billy approached, glancing him over with a friendly smile that crinkled his eyes at the corners. He’d been right, on the forums. About not seeing this guy before. Which meant his timeline was pretty much on track, about how long it’d been since he’d last picked up some comics. He was about to wonder what could account for such an anomaly but immediately thought about mysterious de-aging haunted islands and his own decidedly avoidant behaviours towards all things healthy and well-adjusted. Ie., Billy’d been spending a lot of time getting high, alone in his trailer out in the woods.
The kid, under his hood, was the kind of blonde that Billy’s mother would have called cornsilk, and Billy could tell that without the extra inch or so gained from the heel of his leather boots, they would have been the same height. But besides the fact that the kid was pale and wispy where Billy was tan skin and a shock of thick, black hair, Billy also surmised that he probably had about twenty pounds on the kid. Which, lbr, meant the kid looked about ready to blow away like a dandelion puff on a stiff breeze, because Billy himself was still on the slender side of the BMI. A couple years of better eating and skateboarding and walking basically everywhere meant that he’d developed that lean, ropy sort of muscle, but that still wasn’t even enough to get him labelled as anything other than twink on grindr. This kid, he looked like he was one skipped meal away from completely disappearing into that hoodie of his. Billy would have to introduce him to Atticus to fatten him up, if the guy ever made it off Bizarro island.
He was about to introduce himself when the bell over the door chimed again, and he half-turned on the heel of one foot to glance over his shoulder. “Hey, Holly,” he nodded in recognition, smile widening even though he was pretty sure Holly didn’t like him and the expression on his face wasn’t doing anything to contradict that rn. “How’s it going?” Undeterred, Billy leaned against the counter with one elbow so that he could glance between the two others, a single brow lifting slightly at the flicker of deer-in-headlights that came over Alex’s face for less than half a second. Okay, so there was something there. A curiosity for Billy, who was both nosy and bossy by nature and whose first instinct was to barrage the kid with questions about himself, where he’d come from, what was his deal, etc.
Mercifully, he just held out a hand for a shake instead. If the kid decided to take it, his skin would feel warmer to the touch than might be considered strictly normal. “Hey Alex, I’m Billy. Nice to meet you,” he nodded again, the friendliness of his smile still bright enough to reach his eyes. “I asked about the latest Oblivion Song?"