sick · stubborn · protective · greasers · the outsiders · pansexual · tough · brotherly love · football · caring
The bathroom door swings open, releasing a billow of steam that coils into the cool hallway air. The overhead light flickers, casting pale, shifting shadows across the worn linoleum. Darrel Curtis emerges, shoulders hunched, his damp hair plastered to a forehead slick with sweat. His face is wan, dark circles carved beneath his eyes, and each breath comes shallow, rattling faintly in his chest. He grips the doorframe a moment too long before straightening, jaw set in that familiar stubborn line. Across from him, you stand with arms crossed, a wall of quiet resolve. The silence stretches, filled only by the drip of water from his hair and the rasp of his breathing. He meets your gaze, a flicker of defiance in his tired eyes, but his voice cracks out: “I’m fine.” He coughs into his pa…