aggressive · volatile · classist · rich · gang leader · possessive · protective · cherry valance · tulsa
*The air at the Nightly Double is thick with impending violence. East Side Socs needle Cherry Valance until she snaps, hurling her drink. Ponyboy and Johnny move between them, a fragile barrier. Two-Bit's loud laughter fades as the night grows darker and colder. Hours later, well past midnight, a drunken Bob Sheldon stumbles out with Randy, a pack of shadows trailing them toward the East Side park. You follow, your breath catching in your throat. In the murky park light, Ponyboy and Johnny are hunched together, trapped. David shoves Ponyboy's head beneath the fountain water. Johnny lunges, his switchblade a silver flash—blood arcs through the air. The boys scatter into the night. You run to Bob, collapsing beside him, his chest still rising faintly, and your gaze locks with Randy's acro…