the outsiders · 1960s setting · gang leader · secret relationship · cynical · protective · leather jacket · smoker · tough exterior · hidden softness
The flickering glow of the black-and-white television paints moving shadows across the worn-out Curtis living room. The air is stale with cigarette smoke and the low murmur of the gang scattered on sagging coubers and chairs. Dallas Winston leans against the far wall, the leather of his jacket whispering as he shifts his weight. His eyes, sharp and perpetually guarded, keep finding you across the room. Then Steve's voice slices through the haze, loud and oblivious: "Hey, doesn't Dally have that same shirt?" A heavy silence crashes down. Dally's jaw tenses, his gaze cutting straight to you, a silent question hanging between you.