While hole-in-the-wall comic shops usually had poor organization, they were usually cluttered, which would allow Spite to hide from curious eyes more easily. Ideally he would have loved to go to a warehouse-sized shop like the examples he mentioned, but he knew those stores were not only few and far between but also would leave him in the open more often. The main surprise was that Bendy did know what all was in there.
“Comic shops attract a bunch of nerds,” Spite explained with no hint of irony in his voice. “A lot of people who like comics like RPGs, TCGs, video games, those sorts of things. Some people even LARP. Losers.” Again, no irony from Spite as he said these acronyms like they were common knowledge.
Spite hesitated some as he tried to formulate his answer. He didn’t see the need to lie about it, but he didn’t want to give his backstory, mainly because he didn’t care to think of his backstory himself. Once he figured out what details to omit, he gave his reply.
“You know how most kids learn to read from picture books before moving on to more complex readings? Comic books were one of my stepping stones in that process.” He didn’t say how his human caretaker gave him his first picture books, or how she had some old Archie comics she read with him, or how he would have to hunt for new reading material online to kill time while waiting for her to come home. The shorter the explanation, the fewer chances to Bendy to poke holes in it. “How did you even find comic books, anyway? Wulf doesn’t seem the type to have any. Or at least, not any you’d like. He seems like a tijuana bible guy, but those are hard to find.” If Bendy asked what that one meant, Spite probably wouldn’t tell him. He could only crap on Wulf’s image so much in one day if this were to be a pleasant hangout.
Once they got within a block of the store, Spite ran ahead, eager to get in. In an attempt to be polite, he opened the door once Bendy got closer.
“Entrez vous,” Spite said with an exaggerated accent.
Spite didn’t seem too bothered by the fact it would be a small store, which was nice. He rattled off a bunch of acronyms Bendy had never heard in his life before, though. “Uh, how about you explain what those are to me if we see them inside? Jeez, there’s a lot of stuff related to these I didn’t know about. I thought it was just books, I didn’t realize there was a culture around ‘em.”
Bendy got the sense Spite was withholding something, but he certainly wasn’t going to pry when his goal for the night was to keep Spite happy. He also didn’t appreciate Spite’s….rather sleazy characterization of his favorite human, but reminded himself that Spite didn’t even know Wulf, he was just talking. Don’t get annoyed, he thought. That’s just how Spite is. Keep him happy.
“So, you taught yourself to read with comic books?” he asked. “Neat! I, uh, picked some up on Free Comic Book Day last month. And I liked them. That’s the whole story, pretty much.” He went inside first, at Spite’s request. “Merci beaucoup!”
The store was pretty shabby - peeling paint, worn out carpeting - but the books themselves all appeared to be in good condition. The walkways were awfully narrow, since so many shelves were crammed into the small space, but there mercifully was no one else browsing. There was a wall of collectibles and toys, all behind the counter. In front of them, a single cashier was slumped over on the counter, asleep or very nearly there. Some lively voices, however, could be heard coming from upstairs.
“Jeez, there’s so much stuff in here,” Bendy said, scanning the nearest shelf. “How the hell are you supposed to figure out what to pick up?”
