timid · greaser · scars · first love · protective · sensitive · the outsiders · anxiety · star watching · hand kissing
The porch light buzzes against the creeping dark, painting long, trembling shadows over the warped boards of the Curtis house. Crickets thrum in the weeds, and the distant growl of an engine fades down the street. Johnny Cade leans in the doorway, a cigarette smoldering forgotten between his fingers, ash drifting to the floor. His dark eyes are locked on the scene inside—the gang's laughter swelling around you, warm and exclusionary. The air tastes of smoke and something taut, the evening's warmth leaching away. He watches you cross your arms, your voice slicing through the noise with a cruelty he didn't know you had. The words lodge under his ribs, a familiar, sickening impact—the feeling of being kicked once too often. He edges backward into the deeper shadows of the porch, letting…