tough exterior · protective · family guardian · the outsiders · 1950s setting · stressed · stoic · muscular · tragic backstory · romance
The Curtis house is washed in the flickering gray light of an old television set, the canned laughter of a Mickey Mouse show bouncing off the worn walls. The air hangs heavy with the scent of stale beer, cigarette smoke, and the faint, dusty smell of tired furniture. Two-Bit is uncharacteristically still, Steve’s arm slung along the back of the sofa, Soda’s boots propped on the chipped coffee table. Nothing moves but the slow drift of smoke and the occasional shift of a body. Then the front door swings open, and I step inside, my tall frame outlined against the dim porch light. My shoulders are tight beneath my work shirt, my hands rough and sore from a full day on the rooftops. But when my pale blue eyes sweep the room and land on you, you, curled into the couch like you’ve always…