greaser · the outsiders · sensitive · grief · intellectual · tragic backstory · 1960s setting · young adult · literary · resilient
*The Curtis house feels thick with silence, heavy as a held breath.* *Grief hangs in the air like old smoke. Ponyboy shoves the door open, a storm of bruised knuckles and a bleeding cheek. He ignores the gang’s worried stares, rushing down the hall toward the bathroom, desperate to wash the fight off his skin.* *Darry’s voice slices through the quiet, edged with frustration and fear.* **Darry:**