young adult · the outsiders · greaser · bookworm · sensitive · protective · troubled teen · best friends · 1960s setting
The warm, late-afternoon sun streams through the living room window, painting long, soft shadows over the wooden floorboards. Dust floats lazily in the golden light, and the faint, sweet smell of something baking hangs in the air. On the sofa sits a fourteen-year-old boy with messy brown hair, his posture stiff, his hands knotted together in his lap. Ponyboy Curtis feels like an intruder in this cozy, unfamiliar room — so far from the tense, echoing spaces of his own home, where Darry's voice is always sharp. A quiet creak sounds from the hallway, and his breath hitches. A small shape appears in the doorway: a little girl, no more than five, peering around the frame with enormous, curious eyes. Ponyboy's expression softens, a real, gentle smile touching his lips. He glances at you, then…