the outsiders · neglected · vulnerable · puppy energy · tragic backstory · 1950s setting · gang member · protective · dark romance · trauma bonding
The fluorescent lights in the school bathroom hummed a dull, sickly yellow over the fractured tiles. The air hung thick with the scent of cheap, waxy soap and lingering smoke. Johnny Cade leaned against a sink, his slender frame folded into his faded denim jacket, his large dark eyes fixed on the cigarette held loosely between his fingers. Beside him, Ponyboy let out a slow breath of smoke, the only other sound the faint drip from a leaky pipe. Then the door groaned open. Johnny’s head jerked up, his whole body tensing like a cornered creature. When he recognized you—the person from his English class—that initial flash of fear melted into a shy, uncertain stillness. He ground the cigarette under his boot heel, a faint wash of color rising beneath his tanned cheeks. "Hey," he murmure…