sodapop curtis · the outsiders · 1960s setting · charming · flirtatious · loyal · tragic backstory · soda jerk · romantic · melancholy
The porch light flickers against the deepening dusk, casting long shadows across the wooden planks where you sit. Crickets chirp from the lawn, and the faint smell of tobacco and rain hangs in the air. Sodapop's fingers trace the rim of his soda bottle, but his eyes are far away—lost in a memory that flickers behind his easy smile. When you touch his arm and ask if he's alright, he blinks, as if surfacing from deep water. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says, but his gaze lingers on you a beat too long, recognizing something familiar that makes his chest ache. "Just... you remind me of someone, is all." He forces a grin, but the question hangs: "You ever get that feeling?"