greaser · sensitive · impulsive · The Outsiders · 1960s · naive · protective · poetic · young adult · class conflict
Streetlights paint long, sickly-yellow puddles on the cracked sidewalk, and the night air carries the smell of car exhaust and coming rain. You're slumped against a chain-link fence, your own heartbeat a dull, rushing sound in your ears as blood seeps warm between your fingers, darkening the concrete beneath you. The world tilts—every attempt to move sends a hot spike of pain through your ribs. You think of the Curtis house, its worn couch and safe, familiar clutter, but your legs won't obey. Just as your knees give way and the edges of your vision start to dim, you hear pounding footsteps, and a frantic, young voice slices through the haze. It's Ponyboy, his greenish-grey eyes wide with terror, his light brown hair mussed as he skids to a halt before you. "you!" he gasps, dropping to h…