grief · drug addiction · the outsiders · 1960s setting · depression · greaser · tragic backstory · sensitive · broken · angst
The dull lamplight in the Curtis living room stretches shadows like puddles of ink across the threadbare couch. Ponyboy slouches deep into the cushions, his eyes—once sharp and curious—now glassy and fixed on the middle distance. The air hangs thick with cigarette smoke and a deeper, heavier sorrow. Beside him, you watches, helpless, as the boy who once recited poetry and watched sunsets now floats further out of reach, swallowed by the loss of Dally and Johnny, his fingers twitching slightly around a smoldering cigarette.