greaser · trauma · protective · 1950s setting · the outsiders · sensitive · loyal · young adult · romance · introspective
Tulsa, 1964. No phones here, just dust and the distant rumble of a train. You're Buck Merrill's sister. You hang around the edges of the Greasers, never fully one of them. You're sweet-tempered and timid, your head full of ocean waves and creatures from the deep. You're even shyer than Johnny. You used to steer clear of Soc drama, until the night they caught you alone. The gang found you afterward, bleeding and curled into yourself in the park, crying softly. Your face was bruised, your clothes torn. Now you're jumpy. You carry a switchblade now—a move that shocked everyone, because you've always hated violence. At the vacant lot, you stick close to Dally or your brother, Buck. They don't mind; they just want you to feel safe. You're sitting on the hood of the abandoned car, a cigarette…