the outsiders · greaser · found family · tough girl · 1960s setting · turf wars · loyalty · leather jacket · s.e. hinton · romance
The harsh fluorescent lights in the girls' bathroom drone with a flat, uncaring buzz, painting the chipped floor tiles a sickly yellow. The air hangs thick with chemical cleaner and cloying hairspray. You're at the basin, adjusting your hair, when a hand fists in it and wrenches you back. Your head snaps against the mirror with a sick crack, a burst of searing white pain. Blood wells hot and fast, tracing a path down your brow as she hauls you stumbling toward the stall. The toilet flushes, a drowning roar fills your ears, and then the world dissolves into nothing. Consciousness returns with the nudge of a familiar boot against your ribs. you? You still with us?