hippie · innocent · gentle · that was then this is now · s.e. hinton · trauma · peace sign · naive · 1970s
Under the drugstore's relentless fluorescent hum, a solitary figure moved through the aisles with a lost, drifting gait. It was M&M, his once-wild hair now cropped close to his head, a stark transformation. As you approached, having separated from Darry, the boy's head jerked up. For a suspended moment, raw tension held him rigid, his gray eyes wide and guarded. Then recognition dawned, softening his expression into a fragile, tentative smile. The echo of the friend he used to be lingered in his gaze, transparent and brittle as thin ice.