#steve and soda are inseparable

[generic-enthusiast]

the outsiders isn't good guys versus bad guys it's people are people are people no matter how much you try to reduce them to a label and that applies to greasers and also to socs

[andvys]

You said you were gonna grow up (then you were gonna come find me) ⭐︎ S.H.

⭐︎ Warnings: slight angst, mutual pining, idiots in love, childhood best friends to lovers, allusions to cheating (but not really), mentions of sex, mentions of unrequited love, hurt/comfort

⭐︎ Summary: You and Steve used to be inseparable, best friends since childhood, you shared something special, something rare. You promised each other forever but... promises are never to keep... right?

⭐︎ Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!reader

⭐︎ Word count: 10k

⭐︎ Author's note: To my Steve girlies who have read (and still mourn) I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss -- in the middle of writing this little oneshot, I noticed that Steve and reader reminded me of someone, and then I realized that it's basically Steve and Cheer in a different universe (if Steve hadn't fucked up as badly as he did). This is... what they should have been.

Also shoutout to @hellfire--cult for inspiring me to finish this oneshot (finally) and @ghost-proofbaby thank you for picking a title for me, and for your sweet words about this little piece, you're both the bestest

⭐︎ my library

divider by @saradika (I screamed when I saw the folklore dividers)

♡

The smell of weed and smoke lingers in the air, music blares through the house and bounces off the walls, laughter and giggles come from every corner, conversations he couldn’t care less about yet listens in on because what else is there to do at a party? 

Steve once found himself at home in such gatherings, now he feels nothing but bored as he watches the people instead of interacting with them like he once used to do. 

He used to be on the dancefloor, at the keg stand, pressing some girl against the wall and kissing her neck before taking her upstairs into one of the empty bedrooms – but those days are long over and they are not to be missed, not in the slightest. 

Now he is sitting out in the backyard of some stranger’s house, sipping on a lukewarm soda and waiting for Robin to get sick of this party so he can take her home before going to his empty house and crashing out on his new bed. Seeing as she’s jumping around on the dancefloor with Vickie, it doesn’t seem like she'll want to leave anytime soon. 

 A sigh falls from his lips and he slumps his shoulders in boredom. 

He could be socializing, talking to girls, flirting with them, with the ones who keep waving at him and sending him suggestive, overly sweet looks – he isn’t interested. The past few months were wasted ones, disastrous dates, one or two meaningless hookups, girls who weren’t interested in him but only in sex – that was his reality and he didn’t want that anymore, he doesn’t want that anymore, he wants something real, he wants to feel something, he wants someone to want him for more than just that one thing, he wants a connection, a bond, he wants… you. 

Steve’s lips part, his eyes lighten up, glowing just like the stars in the night sky, he sits up straighter and cranes his neck to see you better, his heart skipping in a way it hasn’t in a long time, he forgot what it feels like… but of course you are the one to remind him of the way his heart can skip and flutter when he feels something, you have always been the one, the only one. 

Not even Nancy could make him feel half of the things you could make him feel. 

But he blew his chances with you – the only chances that ever mattered. 

He hears your laughter, your beautiful giggles that he missed every day since you left, even from all the way here, he can hear the voice that accompanied him throughout most of his life… until it didn’t. 

You were his best friend, the only friend that mattered until he found Robin. You were with him from the moment your mothers introduced you both to each other, joined at the hip, you went through it all together, different hobbies, different friend groups, first crushes and rough school days, arguments with so called friends, first parties, first drunken nights, you went through so much and you did it all together, you experienced everything together. 

Steve would sneak into your room, late at night, he would use the vines on the wall as a ladder, no matter how many times you scolded him, he still climbed up because he wanted to see you so desperately, even when he spent the whole day with you, it just wasn’t enough, you’d spent the nights whispering and talking about the newest gossips, sometimes he would paint your nails or braid your hair, sometimes you would just lie next to each other and listen to some new album and sometimes you would cuddle and fall asleep in each other’s arms, it was a regular thing, it was something constant. 

But then something changed, you both got curious, you both started acting upon feelings that have been there for a long time already, feelings that were no longer innocent and childish turned into something more. 

You were each other’s first kiss, it was nothing more than a peck at first… and then it was a second and a third before you kissed for real. And then, it was just another regular thing, you started cuddling and kissing every night, smiling and giggling through it all, holding hands and pulling each other closer and closer. 

Those innocent kisses turned into makeout sessions and those turned into your first time. 

It was his first time and yours, you shared it with each other, like you shared everything else together. 

It was filled with nervous giggles, blushing cheeks and shaky touches, you were both scared to do something wrong but you assured one another and you both did your best, he took care of you and you of him. It was slow, it was soft, it was perfect. A night he will never forget. 

Nothing ever came close to this moment, nothing came ever close to how you made him feel. 

Steve should have asked you out after that night, he should’ve, but he didn’t, he chickened out, he got scared and he left the next morning without saying goodbye. That was his biggest mistake. 

To this day, he doesn’t know how you felt about it all, you never spoke of this night again, you never mentioned it again, you both acted like nothing happened, you continued your friendship like you didn’t ruin it. 

He kept coming over, everything stayed the same… but it didn’t. 

You started slipping away from him and he was too busy to notice, he became captain of the basketball team, girls started noticing him, he started going on dates even though you were all he could think about, it felt wrong to hold their hands, to kiss them, to touch them, he felt as though he was betraying you but his new friend Tommy encouraged him, spoke lies into his ear about how you went on dates on the nights you canceled on him. 

He was hurt, he was angry, and it only was a matter of time before he invited a girl who wasn’t you into his sheets. 

He hated how he felt afterwards, but he didn’t stop, he kept going and before he could even blink, he was the most popular boy in school, he was King Steve, the guy who could have anyone but still only had eyes for one. 

Though your shared nights became less frequent, you still spent time with him, even when you weren’t fond of Tommy and Carol, his big parties or the way he treated girls, you were still there and it bothered him that he couldn’t have you. 

It was clear that you didn’t feel the same, despite the many signs that he had missed at that time. He was your best friend, just your best friend, just Steve. He could’ve made a move, he could've asked you out on a date, he could’ve finally confronted you about your night together and how you felt about it, how you felt about him, but he was scared and it was ironic really, because he was good with girls, very charming and cocky, smug and arrogant but not with you, no, not with you. You made him nervous, you made his chest feel weird, his stomach too, you made his heart race and flutter, you made his skin feel hot and his mind all crazy. 

You got him bad. 

You made him fall in love. 

But he was a coward when it came to his feelings for you, he really was, he didn’t even want to admit them to himself, so he watched you slip through his fingers instead of taking action and making you his. His feelings got stronger despite the distance that slowly grew between you.

You were still there, physically, but your mind was somewhere else and you seemed so far away.

He left notes in your locker, just like he did when he was a kid. 

And you did the same to him. 

You waved at each other from afar and shared smiles, you still drove around town and sang along to your favorite songs after an occasional trip to that one diner out of town, you sometimes slept over and left your sweet scent on his pillows, driving him crazy with it. You were still each other’s best friends. 

But then Nancy stepped into his life and that was it, at that point, it was already crumbling, your friendship was hanging by a thread and it earned its final blow when you moved away for college. 

Occasional calls and letters were all that existed between you at that point, it drove him crazy, it made him sad. He suffered heartbreak when you were gone and you weren’t there to mend it, you weren’t there to hold him, to wipe his tears and tell him that he would be alright – how could you? You were the reason for that heartbreak and Nancy was the one who gave him the final push to open his eyes to the feelings he kept pushing away and feeling so scared of. 

When he realized what a mistake he had made, it was far too late to fix it and he never stopped regretting the actions he took and didn’t take. 

But now you are here, you are back. 

He hasn’t heard your voice in so long, he hasn’t seen your beauty in forever, he missed your presence so dearly. 

One year, one whole year without you. 

Are you here to stay for the summer or are you back for good? He hopes it’s the latter, this town felt anything but home without you here. 

Steve stares at you, he stares and stares without shame. His lips are curled into a soft smile, his cheeks already blushing as he takes you in. 

You are so gorgeous. 

A confident smile is lingering on your lips, your makeup is a little bolder than it used to be, back then, but it suits you, your skirt is short, your top is tight, your cleavage is showing and your skin is glowing, your hair is much longer than he remembers it to be, a few highlights added to your pretty hair color and styled into waves. 

You have always been a sight for sore eyes, he was aware of your beauty from a young age, he called you his princess, his sweet, cute and beautiful princess. But you are more than just beautiful now, you are stunning, bewitching, you are heavenly. 

His heart jumps at the sound of your giggle, his skin heating up so rapidly that it catches him off guard. 

Steve watches you, he watches for what feels like forever, you’re here with friends, girls you used to hang out with back in high school. 

The smile never leaves his lips as he keeps his eyes on you, his heart fluttering more and more each passing second, eyes continuing to light up at every sound of your giggle. 

When you step away from your friends and walk back into the house, he wastes no time to follow, grabbing the chance that he once missed, he goes after you and leaves his drink abandoned on the floor. 

He brushes past a group of guys playing beer pong, dodging the dancing people on the dancefloor, keeping his eyes on your body as he follows. Your skirt is swaying, your waves are bouncing, your hips are shaking slightly, your sweet scent lingers in the air and he can’t help but inhale it deeply, it’s still the same scent that he missed on his pillows and the hoodies you used to steal.

With your back turned to him, you stop in front of the snack table and pour yourself a cup of the overly alcoholised punch. 

Steve doesn’t approach you right away, standing by the doorway, he decides to watch you for a second longer, feeling giddy and nervous now that he is so close to you again. 

You nearly choke on the punch, the bitter taste of alcohol overpowering the fruity taste, you scrunch your brows together and swallow it down in disgust, unimpressed by this drink after all the different kind of cocktails you have tried in the past months on your night outs to bars with your girlfriends from college. 

A sigh falls from your lips and you take a second, much needed sip. 

It feels weird to be back home in Hawkins, the town is much quieter than the big city you called home for the past year and you feel that weird tingly shudder on the back of your neck, knowing that he is so close somewhere. 

Steve. 

You miss him so much, you miss him everyday, but it’s been so long, you can’t even remember the last time you have talked to him. You know that he still works at Family Video and his friend Robin moved into his house with him after his parents moved away from Hawkins, for good. 

But that’s all, you don’t know if he is single or if he is dating – you fear your heart wouldn’t take the information very well, which is ironic really, you haven’t seen him in so long, all you have are your memories, some of which you kept in a shoebox under your bed, pictures, notes, letters and little presents from him. Steve was nothing but a ghost these past months and yet it didn’t stop your heart from falling deeper in love… even with just the boy in your memory, the one that will haunt you for the rest of your life. 

A sigh falls from your lips as you look down at the red beverage in your cup, you close your eyes and take another sip and swallow it but this time in delight, you welcome the burning in your throat. 

“You still make that cute face when you don’t like something.” 

The voice you have just been thinking about sounds deeper than it did when you left. 

Those shudders at the back of your neck, run down your spine and transform into heat across your whole body, your heart skips a few beats.

You turn to face him, sloshing the drink around in your cup, you nearly spill it on the white tiles beneath you. Your breath hitches in your throat and your chest tightens when you look at him for the first time again, those hazel eyes that you have missed so much staring back at you with excitement yet nervousness and you have no doubt that your own eyes match the look in his. 

Your lips curl into a shy smile, your cheeks heat up so quickly and you nearly crush the plastic cup in your hand when you let your eyes roam his body. He somehow got even taller, his arms look stronger and his shoulders wider, his hair got longer too, a spitcurl hanging over his forehead, his cheeks are rosy, a stubble covering his jaw and chin, your eyes move down his arm, stopping at the black hair tie around his wrist that momentarily steals your breath away and fills your chest with hope. You lick your lips and swallow as you stare at the veins in his hands. 

There he stands with his stupid, still perfectly styled hair and his Levi’s that are always way too tight around his crotch, looking down at you and reminding you of how much taller he is and always was. 

“Hey,” he breathes, nervously, happily. 

“Steve,” you say with a smile on your lips, “hi.”

Truthfully, Steve doesn’t know what to say, your heart is beating so hard, he can feel it in his throat, he feels so nervous, you make him nervous. His charm, his flirtatious side still fades into nothing when he is around you and the world around him still disappears when he is with you, some things truly never change. 

He wants to take a step closer and wrap his arms around you, he wants to hug you and never let go again but he doesn’t want to overstep so he forces himself to stay in place. 

“Y-You’re back,” he smiles, trying to hide his excitement. 

You nod, probably a little too quickly. 

“Yeah, I’m back,” you nod again, feeling awkward and tense standing here before him after all the countless nights you spent thinking, dreaming about him. 

He breathes heavily and fidgets with the hair tie around his wrist, “for the summer or…?”

You shake your head, unable to look away from his beautiful eyes. 

“No, I-I transferred to uh the community college here…” You scrunch your face up when you see the surprised look on his face. “I know, lame right? Moving away from Chicago and back to your hometown is uh not the.. move.” 

Not the move? He repeats in his head. 

This might be the best day of his life – the day he had been waiting for, for your return. 

Steve’s eyes widen, he purses his lips as he starts shaking his head, raising his hand a little, he steps closer to you. 

“No! No, I’m just surprised, that’s all, I didn’t think you’d ever come back… honestly,” he chuckles nervously and brings his hand up to scratch the side of his neck. “But I’m happy to see you back here again.” 

Happy is an understatement, the feelings in him can’t be put into words, they do not exist. 

Your eyes soften at his words, your smile transforming into a soft one, hope swirling inside of you. 

Did he miss you like you missed him? 

“I’m happy to see you,” he adds, his cheeks heating up at his admission and your beauty doesn’t help his case, his eyes roam your body, your pretty features, your soft skin, the chain around your neck that looks oh so familiar, his heart starts beating faster, his hands shaking from the giddiness lingering in him. “Y-You look…” Stunning, mesmerizing, gorgeous, sexy, adorable, like an angel or a goddess. “Amazing.” He breathes, blushing red.

Your eyebrows pull together as your wide eyes fill with emotion. 

You see the way he looks at you, you see the redness in his cheeks, the shyness in his eyes that surprises you the most. 

You take a shaky breath, cursing at the way your cheeks heat up and glow so hotly. 

“Thank you,” you say without stutter, to your own surprise. “You don’t look bad yourself, Harrington,” you smirk at him, smugness taking over your blushing features when you see him looking down in nervousness. 

Did you just make Steve blush? 

You open your mouth again, feeling the urge to compliment him again when a whistle interrupts you and wipes the smirk off your face, instead a look of disgust takes over your features when you turn your head to see Tommy Hagan looking you up and down with a perverted smile on his face. 

He pushes his way between you, earning a glare from Steve, whose face turned stone cold and angry. Tommy grabs a red solo cup and pours himself some of the punch while he continues to give you nasty looks, chuckling when looks at your cleavage, “shit, now I get why Harrington always kept his favorite toy to himself,” he smirks and takes a sip of his drink before he steps back to wink at Steve, wiping his chin and looking back to you, “you really grew up.” 

Your lips curl downwards, your brows pull together in a frown. 

“Dude, what the fuck,” Steve frowns at him, giving him a disapproving look. 

Tommy always made you feel uncomfortable with his comments and his weird looks, but it was something else back then. This is new, this is disgusting. 

“If I knew back then that you were hiding these behind your sweaters, I would’ve definitely hit it,” he chuckles darkly as he stares at your boobs. 

Bile rises in your throat and your grip tightens on your cup, the urge to throw your punch into his face growing strong. 

Steve rolls his eyes, a frustrated sigh falls from his lips and he steps towards his former friend, he places his hand on his chest and pushes him back as he takes a protective stance in front of you, protecting you from Tommy’s prying eyes. 

“Alright, that’s enough, asshole,” Steve mumbles angrily. “Leave her alone or I swear to–”

“You swear to what, man? You and I both know you can’t do shit,” Tommy laughs at Steve, his eyes crinkle in amusement, irritating Steve further. 

Steve might’ve lost most of his fights, but he wouldn’t lose one if it came to you. 

He clenches his jaw and glares down at him, feeling rage burn within him. 

“Seriously dude, get lost, alright?” He demands, his voice sounding deeper, more serious than before. 

You look over Steve’s shoulder, feeling safe and protected by him, the way you always did, just even more now. Your stomach flutters with warmth, your heart swelling in your chest. 

To your surprise, Tommy steps away without another word, continuing to chuckle at Steve and the glare on his face. He gives you another look. 

“Call me if you–”

“Fuck off, Tommy,” Steve says through gritted teeth, feeling hot rage flushing through him. 

Tommy takes another sip as he walks backwards, winking at you before he finally turns around and leaves the kitchen, allowing you to finally breathe. 

Steve runs his fingers through his hair and huffs, turning back to you, his features instantly soften. 

“I’m sorry about him.” 

You shake your head, your smile reappearing again, “it’s not your fault,” you shrug, “some people just never change.” 

“Yeah…” He mumbles, wondering if you changed at all, “did you?”

Did you change? You ask yourself. Maybe, surely college has shaped you in some way, being away from home, being independent and all alone, meeting new people and being pushed into situations you would have never allowed as a teenager, did change something in you. 

You got more confident, a little bolder too, you tried new things and did them without shame, something that was once impossible when you were still here and an insecure teen. 

You tilt your head to the side and give him a sly smirk, “why don’t you find out?” 

The anger Tommy left him with fades away, the flirtatious tone in your voice catching him by surprise and you take it even further when you take a step closer to him after placing your drink on the counter, you look up at him with your big eyes that still drive him crazy. 

He doesn’t remember you to be this flirty… this bold but he can’t complain, it makes the fluttering in his stomach feel so much more intense. 

Steve’s lips curl back into a smile, he blinks at you, looking into your eyes intensely, with want and need – nothing changed, if anything, the magnetic force between you has intensified, even when there was mostly only radio silence between you both in these past months. 

Steve licks his lips, a sliver of his confidence slipping back in when he sees the way you look at him, eyes roaming his face and his body. Though his cheeks are still burning and his heart is still racing, no matter how much confidence he can find within himself, you are still you, you are still the girl that holds his heart in the palm of her hand, the one who has him captivated in every way possible, the one who has had him wrapped around her finger, from a very young age. You aren’t just a girl to woo and impress for a single date, you aren’t someone he would forget if a conversation or a date went wrong, you are the one he always wanted to grow old with, to experience everything with, to spend a life with the one who is his everything – one wrong move and he loses it all… again. 

He doesn’t bother to ask if you are with someone, if you are dating and taken, the thought is disturbing to his heart. 

“Do you want to get out of here?” He asks as he slowly reaches for your hand and you allow him to take it when you slip your palm against his and give his hand a squeeze.

He nearly crumbles to his knees when he feels your soft touch again, it’s been too long. Your hand always fit into his so perfectly, like it was made to be held by him. 

You nod, whispering a sweet ‘yes, please’. That’s all he needs to hear before he pulls you closer to his body, pushing you in front of him slightly, keeping a protective stance right behind you as he never lets go of your hand, basking in the feeling of having you so close again, of being able to smell your perfume again and the sweet scent of your body wash. 

He rubs circles on the top of your hand, pressing his other hand on the small of your back as he pushes through the crowds of people. He leads you to Robin first, needing to make sure that she will get home safe without him. He finds her playing beer pong with Vickie and a few of their former bandmates from high school. He taps on her shoulder and when she turns around, Steve grows more nervous than before, because her eyes grow wide when she sees you next to him, excitement flashing in them and a big grin appearing on her face after a long moment of staring at you. 

She knows all about you. 

She knows all about his feelings and his regrets. 

She knows how much he missed you. 

She was there when he cried and never stopped talking about you. 

So after greeting you, probably a little too enthusiastically, she moves closer to Steve, raising her eyebrows at him and giving him a teasing, yet pointed look. 

“Go and don’t worry about me, Vickie can drive, she’s not drinking tonight.”

“You sure?” 

She nods, her waves bouncing as she moves her head a little too quickly. 

“Steve I’m fine, go and get your girl,” she winks at him, squeezing his shoulder before she moves back, giving him another look that says nothing but ‘i mean it, don’t fuck it up this time, this is your chance.’ 

Steve nods at her, smiling and feeling reassured by her. He holds your hand tighter and pulls you away before you can properly say goodbye to his friend that you only know from your days in high school. You look back at her to find her staring at the two of you, grinning from ear to ear, she raises her eyebrows at you, eyes glowing as she gives you a smirk and a small wave of her hand. 

You feel a little confused by the teasing look on her face but smile and wave back at her nonetheless before Steve whisks you away and out of the room.

It isn’t weird to hold each other’s hand, to be back together in his car like nothing ever happened, like you never stopped doing this, like things are still normal between you. He makes small talk, it’s not awkward or weird, it’s… nice, anything is as long as you’re with him, even the silly jokes makes or how he tries to quote Shakespeare but fails miserably, he makes you laugh and you… you make him smile. 

You stop by the gas station to grab a six pack and some snacks to share before you drive to the lookout, to the place you always went to when you wanted to be alone together. 

You get comfortable on the hood of his car, as comfortable as you can get on the rough surface. It’s a little chillier out here in the woods, the wind that blows through the trees makes goosebumps arise on your skin. Steve, of course, has to use the opportunity to throw his jacket around your shoulders, rubbing your arms to warm you up as he moves close enough for you to feel his breath on your skin. 

You feel something stir within you, something only ever he could make you feel. 

You grab the denim and pull it tighter around you, glancing at him through your lashes, you feel your cheeks heat up when you find him staring at you already, a soft smile playing on his lips that you can see, even in this darkness. 

“Thanks Stevie.” A grin tugs at your lips when his smile moves into a flustered one. 

Steve licks his lips, he removes his hands from your body and busies himself with opening the beer bottles for you and him, “you’re welcome, honey,” he whispers, winking at you. 

You look away from him with blushing cheeks, hiding the smile on your face as you tilt your head down but nothing goes unnoticed by him, he sees the flustered expression in your features, the cute smile you’re trying to hold back. 

He scoots closer to you until his shoulder is pressed against yours, he offers you the opened bottle. You glance at his hand, taking in the size of it, how big it is, how his veins pop, how long his fingers are – it makes you squirm and clench your thighs together and he notices it, he looks down and he almost regrets it, almost. Your skirt has ridden up, it nearly covers nothing, at this point. Your skin looks so smooth, thighs so soft, he wants to touch them, kiss them, feel them wrapped around his head. 

His skin heats up, his lower stomach tingles, he craves you, in every way possible, he just wants to… feel you, he wants to feel you close, he wants your skin on his, he needs to know that you are truly back. 

Your touch sends shivers down his spine, it makes his stomach flip. 

He blinks, looking down at the bottle he is still holding, watching the way your hand curls around it, fingers grazing his own. Your hand is so much smaller than his, the urge to compare the size of his own to yours growing strong. 

“Steve?” 

Your soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts, he blushes, cheeks burning maroon. He shakes his head a little, squeezing his eyes shut as he furrows his eyebrows, he removes his hand from your bottle, already missing the touch of your hand. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs as he runs his fingers through his hair, “I got a little uh… distracted.” 

He instantly regrets it when his eyes fall back on your lap again, your giggle makes him blush even deeper, he eyes you from the side, watching the way you press your lips against the bottle, you take a sip, trying to hide the smirk on your lips. 

He feels a sudden sense of nervousness rushing through him – here he is, in the presence of the girl of his dreams, the girl that slipped through his fingers, the girl that should be his and he is messing up. He begins to stutter, trying to distract himself once again, this time from your legs, from your soft skin, from how much he wants to touch and kiss you, from how beautiful you are but you make him stutter, you make it difficult for him to talk, you make it impossible for him to be smooth, to flirt with you the way he always did with other girls and suddenly, he is reminded of why he was always so scared of revealings his feelings to you, there was too much at stake, he didn’t want to lose you. 

He always felt so pathetic around you, like a stupid kid in love, one that can’t talk to his crush without blushing, without stuttering. 

And this is exactly what you always adored about him. 

But he doesn't know it, he doesn’t even realize it, he doesn’t even see the way your eyes always light up, the way they soften as you look at him, the way you admire him. 

Before he even takes a sip of his beer, he already feels like he is drunk, his skin is hot, his mind hazy, he feels happy, at ease, like he is floating, all because of you, you make him feel so… light. 

He is drunk on you, without having touched you properly, your presence is enough. 

He wonders how you are holding up, what emotions linger inside of you — you look so calm, relaxed. 

You fall into a comfortable conversation, catching up on the things you have missed in each other's lives, since being separated. And while your eyes stay glued on the night sky, only glancing at him every once in a while, he watches you, with a fluttering feeling in his chest and a smile on his lips. 

You laugh with each other, getting lost in the memories that you both start bringing up, joking and slapping each other’s shoulders softly as you start to tease one another about the stupid things that you both have done in the past. 

You have changed, not only physically did you get even more beautiful, you got something that you didn’t have before, a boldness that you always admired others for. You used to be so shy, anxious to ask the simplest questions, too nervous to hold eye contact for longer than two seconds, even with him, sometimes. But now, despite you choosing to look at the sky instead of him, he can tell that you are not that shy girl anymore, who was afraid to look into his eyes. You are confident, comfortable in your own skin, not afraid to be you, not afraid to gaze into his eyes when you tilt your head to look at him. 

He wonders what or… who caused it, the change in you. 

Was it just the circumstances? The big city that pushed you out of your comfort zone? 

New friends? Being on your own? Or… was it the experiences you have made in these past few months that have shaped you from an innocent, shy teenager into a confident, young woman? 

His stomach churns at the thought of the things you have done while being away from home, or better yet, who you have done them with. He has no right to be upset about it, he knows it, yet he can’t stop the sinking feeling inside of him as he thinks of the hands that have touched your body or the lips that kissed yours, if you had dated someone, if you are someone else’s right now. 

The question tumbles from his lips before he can even stop himself. 

“Do you have anyone?” 

The storm that was just raging in his mind, the string of questions that followed now silenced as he stares at you, waiting for your answer with a racing heart and clammy hands. 

The sound of crickets and the rustling of the trees are the only sounds now filling the space around you.

“You mean… a boyfriend?” 

He nods and you shake your head at that. You bring the bottle up to your lips, taking a much needed sip. 

“No, I don’t,” you murmur as your eyes roam his face, “why?”

You notice the frown on his face, the way his lips are curled down and his eyebrows are tightly scrunched together. 

“Just wondering… someone like you still single?” 

“What do you mean…?” You ask slowly.

Steve huffs, shaking his head with a smile on his face. 

“I mean… Come on, honey. You’re funny, you’re smart and you’re just… you’re amazing,” he sighs adoringly, hazel eyes running up down and your face and your body. “You’re beautiful, a fucking catch.”

You almost want to scoff at his words, you want to roll your eyes and look the other way. A catch, right. A catch he never wanted. Your heart betrays you when it flutters and prompts a girlish giggle to fall from your lips. 

“Stop.”

He nudges his shoulder against yours, grinning at your flustered face, “it’s the truth.”

Steve feels relieved to know that you don’t have anyone waiting on you, that there isn’t some guy out there that got the girl he always wanted. 

“You have to say that,” you shake your head and drink the last drop of your beer before you throw the bottle down on the grass, making a mental note to pick it up later. 

Because he is your best friend, because he was always your best friend, no matter what – so of course, he has to say these words to you. 

He rolls his eyes at you, huffing, “I’m not just saying that.” 

You try to ignore the butterflies in your stomach, the way his words can make you feel like that shy teenage girl again, you try to steer the attention away from you. 

You press your palm against the cold, almost icy hood, leaning back, you tilt your head to the side and gaze at him, loving how long his hair grew, how his features are more… manly now, though the boyish grin still lingers. 

“What about you?” You whisper, swallowing the bitterness on your tongue. “Got anybody, Stevie?”

He shakes his head quickly, almost frowning at your question. 

“Me? No… no one really… felt right.” He says with a look of longing in his eyes, the one that is only reserved for you. 

The tension in your chest disappears, almost instantly, you have an idea of what you would feel like had the answer been a different one. 

“I was seeing a girl… for a while but uh… like I said, it… she didn’t feel right,” he admits with a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

You nod, swallowing harshly. 

“Why didn’t she feel right?” You’re aware of how small, how shaky your voice sounds. 

You wait, wait and wait for him to answer your question, the answer he tries to find in your eyes as it seems because he won’t stop looking at you, it’s like he is searching for something, like he is trying to figure you out, like he is trying to make sense of the question you just asked. 

He doesn’t give you what you want, as always, Steve Harrington pretends like nothing happened, like nothing had been asked. 

But you know what he means, you know exactly what he means, you had someone too, back in Chicago. 

He was nice, he was good to you, in more ways than just one but no matter how much you tried not to think of him, you always failed. He was always there, always in the back of your mind, always ready to haunt you and remind you that he is and will always be the only one that your heart will belong to. 

Your relationship was only short lived, and you left him the moment you realized how unfair it was to stay with him when your heart was somewhere else, when you couldn’t stop thinking about Steve. 

Something rustles in the bushes, something echoes loudly through the woods, something that would have normally made you flinch, doesn’t even faze you now because he is here. You feel safe in his presence, you always did, not even the darkest night or the loudest storm could make you feel afraid as long as he was by your side. 

And yet, you scoot closer to him, not even noticing that you do until his fingers brush against yours and sparks shoot through your entire body. 

And through his. 

You clear your throat and take a deep breath, “yeah… I had someone… but he didn’t feel right either.” You say softly, vulnerably as you meet his eyes again. 

A soft ‘oh’ leaves his mouth and he nods, looking down at the bottle in his hand, he brings it up to his lips and downs the rest of it. He feels his stomach churning, his insides crawling at the mere thought of you with someone who isn’t him and it makes him feel awful, it makes him feel ridiculous because wasn’t that his own fault? He blew his chances with you. He let you go, hell, he didn’t even fight for you. 

He puts the bottle down, wipes his mouth and runs his fingers through his hair before he turns back to you to find you staring at him just the way you always did, with your big doe eyes, those pleading and begging looks you never stopped throwing at him. 

He’d have to be blind to not see it – he always did, he just never allowed himself to admit it, not even to himself, not even when you were all he ever wanted. 

“Why didn’t he feel right?” 

Steve watches the way your lips curl downwards, the way you squint your eyes at him, the softness fleeing as you glare at him instead.

And suddenly, the air around you feels different, tense for another reason, heavy and filled with something neither of you ever addressed before. 

While you take deep breaths, trying to calm yourself – Steve tries to mend the aching in his chest, the hammering that feels just too strong. 

“Why didn’t she feel right, huh?” You ask, scooting away from him and getting off the hood, placing your feet back on the ground, you don’t even bother to smooth down your skirt. You cross your arms over your chest and stand in front of him, demanding the answer you tried to ask softly before. 

Steve sighs, growing fearful and anxious, feeling like he is messing up yet again, like he is about to lose again. 

But you are close, so goddamn close, even through the anger in your eyes, you still stand in reach, your knees now brush against his. He straightens his back, fighting the urge to reach for your hands and just pull you into him, showing you why no one ever felt right. 

He promised Robin, he promised her that if you ever came back, he would go and get you, he would come clean about it all, he would make it all right again. 

“This goes both ways, Steve. You can’t just ask me and then–”

“Because no one is you.”

He won’t fail this again, no matter how scared he is, he just can’t. 

Your lips part in surprise, a painful look crosses your eyes, though the anger doesn’t fade away just yet. You uncross your arms, and shake your head at him. 

His words should bring you joy, shouldn’t they? 

But as you stand here before him, his knees brushing your own, his golden brown eyes staring at you with nothing but love, you can’t help but feel your heart aching because why now? Why not then? 

“So… it took me to leave town… go to college… for you to say this?” You whisper, holding back a choke as your eyes well up with unwanted tears. 

His own eyes panic when he sees just how much pain there is inside of you, how much you hid it. He reaches forward, taking your hand in his, he sighs in relief when you don’t push him away like he thought you would. 

“It was always there. Before our first kiss, before our first time, and then it never stopped. But you were… you were scary. Feeling love that strong at such a young age– it wasn’t in my plans. I was scared… I was scared of loving you and losing you. It happened before.” 

His parents. 

He loved them unconditionally, he loved them no matter what they did and didn’t do, he loved them and he lost them – they abandoned him and then they forgot about him. 

Your eyes show nothing but pain, your heart breaks, all over again, for him. 

And you’re stunned, so goddamn shocked because that word fell from his lips. Love. He loved you. 

You curl your hand around his, squeezing them tightly as he gets off his car, standing tall before you again. 

“You… still could have–”

“Risked it?” Steve interrupts you, furrowing his brows as he looks down at you. “No… I wasn’t going to risk it. Risk losing you…” He scoffs, shaking his head at himself, “now I see how stupid that was because I lost you anyways.” 

His eyes well up with tears, his voice almost cracks and you finally… finally get to see a glimpse into his heart, how much pain he was always hiding.

“No… I don’t think you lost me.”

“Honey, we haven’t talked in–”

“What you felt for me… Is it… Is it past tense?” 

Steve should see the hope in your eyes, he should hear it in your voice too, but he is so scared, so nervous at this moment. 

Everything he had always been afraid of was losing you because of his feelings and he can’t help but wonder, what if he confesses his love to you now and his saddest fear creeps in and he will lose you for good, forever? 

“Why do you want to know?” He asks, shakily. 

You hold his hands tighter, taking another step closer until you are chest to chest. You close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath, you look up at him, begging with your eyes, yet again. “Because I deserve to know, Steve, do you still have feelings for me?”

He takes a long pause, feeling like his heart might explode, feeling like the ground might disappear beneath him if he doesn’t finally give you the whole truth. 

His eyes flicker down to your lips, the ones he craved to feel on his own for years, his body aches for you just the way his heart does, desire running deep but love taking full control, driving both his heart and his mind insane over you. He feels the pounding from his chest to his throat, his eyes glossy with tears he shed so many times over you, over his regrets. 

“Yes,” he whispers, already feeling his chest deflating as the pressure slowly sinks away, “like I said, they never stopped.”

Tears spill down yours and his cheeks, his shoulders slump in relief and you, you finally breathe. You sniffle and a giggle falls from your lips, one that makes him furrow his brows but smile because now he can see the happiness in your eyes, the joy from hearing this from him. 

“Oh, thank god,” you whisper and throw your arms around his waist, pressing your cheek against his chest, you hug him tightly, catching him off guard. 

It takes him a moment, it takes him a very long moment. 

His glassy eyes are wide, his heart is threatening to break free from his chest. He wanted this, he wanted you for so long, he feels like this is too good to be true but when he feels your tears seeping through his shirt and how you cling to his body, like you are afraid that he might disappear if you let go, he finally relaxes. His eyes close gently, tears spilling down his cheeks, he melts into your touch and curls his arms around you, cupping the back of your head, he holds you closely, tightly. 

“I missed you so much,” he whispers into your hair, pressing his lips to the top of your head, he gives a first kiss again. 

“I missed you, Stevie,” you murmur into his chest, holding onto his shirt. 

He moves even closer, burying his face in the crook of your neck as you rise to your tippy toes, wanting to feel more of him, as though he isn’t close enough already, not even when your chest to chest. 

Steve breathes in your scent, the one he used to sink his face into when it still lingered on his pillows, when he longed to feel you in his arms, when he craved you so badly but felt too cowardly to make the move he just made now. 

You cling to one another, like you never have before, not even when he held you during nights you needed him the most, when you were both so convinced that you were nothing more than friends… when just friendship was never something possible between you. 

Steve’s eyes are shut tightly, he is so lost in the feeling of you, feeling so warm, so safe, so loved in your embrace. 

How can his heart race so fast yet feel so… calm? 

You don’t know how much time passes as you stand there in each other’s arms, you are so lost in the moment, you couldn’t care less about anything around you, about the time, about your surroundings, about the world – only you and him matter, nothing more. 

He cups the side of your face when you begin to pull away to look at one another, glossy eyes gazing into each other, lips begging to be connected. His fingers brush through your hair, he tucks your front pieces behind your ears and caresses your cheeks. His hazel eyes flash with adoration. You are so beautiful. It makes his heart clench in his chest.  

You slide your hands up his chest, moving up to his neck and cupping his cheeks, your stomach growing with anticipation the closer you both move to each other. 

No words are spoken, there is no need for them, your eyes tell everything, just like your touch when your lips finally connect. 

Your hearts stop beating, time stops ticking, the world stops moving. 

Everything around you stops. 

Just absolutely everything. 

Your eyes flutter shut, just like his. 

A kiss you both never stopped craving finally happening, not only in your minds, but in reality. 

Steve sighs in contentment, a whimper following close behind, your lips move slowly, softly with each other, you savor each and every second, even when you know that this is only the beginning of it all. 

Nothing and no one could ever compare to this, no one could ever come between you, you are two puzzle pieces, ones that were made for only each other, no one else to match you both. It’s only you and him. Your hearts know, you know, he knows. 

The way he kisses you so gently, so sensually, makes your stomach flip in ways it never did before, not even back then when you shared first and second kisses. 

And Steve, he feels like he is in a dream that he never wants to wake from again, he is too scared to open his eyes and find himself in his lonely bed, surrounded by the scent of you that he only imagines, that forever lingers like a kiss upon his skin. 

But your whimper is real, your lips are real, you are real, your lips taste just like they did before, sweet and peachy, like home. 

You only pull away to catch your breath, smiling when Steve chases your lips with his own, nuzzling his nose against yours as a soft giggle falls from his puffy lips, “god… I missed you, princess.” He murmurs against your lips, knowing that he will keep repeating these words, over and over again, he feels like he has been blessed by the universe. 

Your best friend’s eyes shine so brightly, the love in them that you always craved to see, is so evident, it’s all out in the open now, all in reach, all there for the taking – when not even a few hours ago, you didn’t even know where he was, if he still thought of you, if he still cared for you… 

Tears escape your eyes and he wastes not second to catch them, to wipe them away and kiss your wet cheek. 

“Please don’t cry,” he whispers, feeling like his heart might break, knowing that you have suffered just the way he did, when he thought that you moved on, that you had forgotten all about him just like everyone else did when that was never even the case, when all you did was long for him, love him, even from afar. 

“I love you,” he whispers in relief, feeling like the weight of the world is off his shoulders, “I love you so fucking much, you’re my–”

You cup his cheeks and pull him down once again, kissing him deeply. “You.” Kiss. “Don’t.” Kiss. “Know.” Kiss. “How.” Kiss. “Much.” Kiss. “I.” Kiss. “Dreamed.” Kiss. “Of.” Kiss. “This.” Kiss. “Moment.” 

Steve's heart flutters the way it never did before, butterflies go wild in his stomach, his eyes crinkle and he smiles so brightly, his cheeks hurt. 

“I love you,” you whisper against his lips, “I love you so much, Steve Harrington, you have no idea how much–”

His lips are on yours, pressed against them so strongly as he pulls you into another deep, passionate kiss before you can even finish your sentence. He kisses you in a way no one ever did before. 

His thumbs linger on your cheekbones, his tongue parts your lips so effortlessly, your own clashing against his as the softness of your feelings disappears and transforms into something needy, hungry. This kiss is much faster, much rougher, much more passionate than the first, you get lost in it so quickly. 

When he takes a step back and he sits back down on the hood of his car, he moves his hands down to your waist, pulling you in between his legs. 

Your arms move around his shoulders, your hands get lost in his hair, fingers gripping it tightly as moans escape you. The kiss makes you feel so hot, your stomach burns, your skin feels like it’s on fire as his hands move up and down your back, slipping underneath his jacket that is still around your shoulders, under your shirt and then, he touches your soft skin with his cold hand, something that makes you shiver yet lean closer against him. 

He moans against your lips, he is so intoxicated by you, needing more and more, like you’re his own personal drug. He could keep doing this, he could take you right here, right now. He could taste you, unravel you with his tongue, with his fingers, he could hold your hands and make love to you like he always wanted to, like he hoped he’d get to tonight – because he thought that this might be all he would get, a night with you, only that and no more, because how could you ever want anything more than this with him after all the times he messed up with you? After he let you slip through his fingers like it was nothing?

But this won’t stay a single night, this won’t be one that will haunt him for the rest of his life. 

This will turn into more, so much more. 

He doesn’t want to mess it up again, he wants to take it slow, he wants to give you everything you deserve, everything he craved to give you, all these years, everything he dreamed about, during the day and the night. 

So as much as he wants this, you, your bare skin on his and your whimpers blessing his ears, you deserve more, you deserve to be taken on a date first. 

“Hang on,” he whispers against your lips, cupping your cheeks again, his lips curl into an amused smile when he opens his eyes to see your smudged lipstick that is no doubt on his face now too, your hair a mess just like his own, “I want to… fuck… I want you so bad, I couldn’t stop thinking about this, about you. But I want to take it slow, I-I want to do it right this time, I want to take you on a date and–”

You cut him off with a kiss, once more. Pressing your lips against his plush ones, over and over again until it makes you both giggle. He grabs your waist and pulls you down on his lap, grabbing your cheeks, he presses his forehead to yours.

“Slow is good,” you whisper, caressing his cheek as his fingers run up and down your spine underneath the denim jacket. “I like slow.”

“Yeah?” He smiles.

You nod, though an almost sad smile makes its way on your lips, “you know, I kinda thought you forgot about me until all of this.” You wave your hand around, wiping at your wet cheek as a soft laugh tumbles from your lips. 

You weren’t the only one who stopped calling, who stopped sending letters, he did too, but not for the reasons you thought, clearly. 

A deep frown appears on his face, he tightens his hold on you, raising his hand up towards your face, he cups your cheek. Despite everything he just said, despite the kiss, you still don’t understand just how deep his feelings for you are, how his heart isn’t even his own because it is completely, devotedly yours. 

“I could never forget you,” he whispers with a sad smile on his face, “you’re all I ever think about, now and then, even when we were kids, even when I was… King Steve,” he rolls his eyes at the nickname he used to be so proud of. “You never once left my mind, not once.” 

The smile that makes his way to your lips makes his heart skip a beat, he kisses your cheek, letting his lips linger for a moment. 

“So please, let me make it right, let me fix everything… go on a date with me?” He asks with nothing but hope in giddiness in his voice. 

You squint your eyes and tilt your head, giving him a teasing smile as you pretend to think but his soft eyes make your teasing an impossible task at this moment, you wipe the lipstick off his mouth and nuzzle your nose back against his. 

“I would love to go on a date with you, Stevie,” you whisper, feeling your heart burst from joy and love. 

The one thing you always wanted, you always craved now finally happening, at a moment when you least expected it. 

Coming back home made you so nervous, knowing that you would see him again after all this time of being apart, knowing that your feelings will only continue to grow, no matter the tie between you, filled you with a sense of… dread, because you couldn’t help but wonder – does he even want to see you? 

But, to find out that he had spent every passing moment, thinking about you, about your past, wanting you back and willing you to come running back into his arms lights up everything inside you again – flames you have tried to put out, burning stronger than ever. 

Steve’s eyes well up with tears of joy again, he cups the back of your neck, his lips brush against yours, he can’t even describe his feelings with words, so he doesn’t even try, but he shows you the happiness you brought back into his life, the happiness that was just gone when you were… gone. He kisses you, once, twice… He keeps kissing you, over and over again, unable to stop himself from going back in for more, consumed by love, by gratitude and happiness to know that you came back. 

To know that you won’t haunt his what if’s. 

He won’t chase your shadows wherever he will go. 

Your scent won’t linger from just his memory alone. 

He waited and waited, and he let the lamp burn and now… now you are here, you came back, you came back to him. 

Here, at the lookout where you used to sit on your saddest days, you find your way back to one another again. 

As you embrace the future written for you, you know that the rings on your fingers won't only be imaginary ones like the ones from your childhood. 

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Things I think the fandom needs to remember sometimes

-Ponyboy is not a loner or unpopular. He admits to having a lot of friends at school, and a few of them even visit him when he gets out of the hospital, though he notes it makes him uncomfortable that his middle class friends get to see where he lives. Which brings me to my next point;

-The gang does not spend all their time together, or even most of it. Yes they’re all friends, very CLOSE friends- yes, even Steve and Ponyboy- but they have lives outside of the gang. Pony has school friends, Darry has work or old school friends he skis with, Soda and Steve are inseparable to a degree that their outside lives overlap and their identities within the gang are also interwoven, but they all very much have lives outside the gang. Two bit has his mom and little sister and a revolving door of girls. Dallas only shows up when he feels like it and  he lives at bucks and jockeys in the races. Johnny couch surfs at the curtis’ and Two’s place, but he also regularly camps out in the lot and presumably crashes at Dally’s place sometimes too. Yeah, he’s Ponyboy’s best friend, but they’re not inseparable the way Steve and Soda are. It’s a different dynamic. The whole group has lives outside of the gang and I think it’s important to remember this. 

-The term ‘greaser’ is a derogatory term and originated in the 1800s as a slur against Mexican immigrants. It coloquial meaning changed when readopted by the greaser subculture in the 1950s and 60s (according to wikipedia), to primarily refer to lower working class individuals of mexican or italian ancestry, and becoming more ethnically ambiguous, but it still wasn’t widely used outside the subculture itself. Ponyboy is white, but he probably has some Italian ancestry which is characteristic of the greaser subculture, and he identifies with the word- but it’s still a more loaded term than the fandom sometimes pretends, and it still has racial undertones, regardless of how it’s portrayed in the novel and how it moved away from it's historically primarily racialised usage when adopted by the greaser subculture. Ponyboy makes a point of saying in the book that it’s okay for himself and the gang and others of their social group to use it, but when people outside the group call him it it ‘doesn’t make him feel so hot’. I think this helps illustrate that yeah, it’s an offensive term. ‘Greaser’ carries weight and I think it’s important for the fandom to recognise that.

-Darry is trying, but he isn’t a good guardian, and if he was then his character would not be redeemable after The Slap. The reason Darry Curtis as a character is so sympathetic is because he is twenty years old and trying his best, and his best is never good enough. If Darry was a well equipped guardian who was able to parent Pony AND Soda AND the gang (to an extent) the way his parents did, then him slapping Ponyboy would be unforgivable. It would be the action of a brute instead of the action of an overwhelmed older brother forgetting his new role as guardian. The reason Darry is forgivable and so beloved is because he is not perfect, or even good, at his role but he keeps trying and choosing to be present for his brothers over and over. (Remember, he had to fight very hard for custody, probably harder than Ponyboy realizes.)

-The portrayal of every female character is biased by Ponyboy’s narration- and Ponyboy has a lot of internalized misogyny and classism. It makes sense that he holds these ideas, considering the time period and the male dominated environment he grew up in where (presumably) the only woman he ever had any sort of close relationship with was his mother, but it doesn’t make it any less true. However, the women themselves are few and far between but incredibly important characters. I’ve spoken about it before but I think Sandy’s character and her unplanned teenage pregnancy sheds a small amount of light on how poverty affects women as opposed to men, something the book largely lacks due to the only main(ish) female character being upper class;  whereas Sylvia serves as a foil to Dally, and is essentially written to be the offscreen ‘female version’ of him, basically a representation of the ‘worst’ sort of greaser girl while Dally is the ‘worst’ kind of greaser. The only reason these women receive so much hate is because of misogyny- don’t pretend it’s just about the cheating, because it’s not- and if you want to hear further takes on them you can read my thoughts on the misogyny in the fandom here, and my thoughts on Sandy here.  Even Cherry, whom Ponyboy views positively, is viewed that way because of Ponyboy's biased ideas of what makes a girl 'good' and worthy of respect.

-Ponyboy has a fairly negative view of alcohol and alcoholism, but has a very addictive personality. Ponyboy has tried alcohol but didn’t like the way it made him feel. However, his view of Two-bit, while positive, seems to find him less brave than the rest of the gang as he drinks before the rumble, and Ponyboy ‘would hate to see the day he had to get his nerve from a can’. Soda’s reluctance to drink or smoke also adds to Ponyboy’s worship of him, despite the fact that Ponyboy is addicted to nicotine and caffeine respectively and it has the potential to be his undoing more than anything else in the east side.

-The entire story is built on grief. Johnny and Dally are doomed from the start, and Ponyboy mentions his parents' deaths from the first few pages. But loss of a loved one is not the sole type of grief the novel covers. Darry mourns the life he could have had, Soda mourns his imagined future with Sandy, and by the end of the novel Ponyboy is mourning his childhood and loss of innocence. I could go on, but I think the effect of grief is sometimes missing from analysis or canon compliant fanworks, when it is quite literally the driving force behind the story.

[supernovafics]

you and steve like each other but neither of you want to fully admit it

wc: 1k

a tiny bit angsty but overall very soft and sweet<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

it was a teasing look mixed with barely any space. it was also the mix of way too many drinks and one joint passed around your group of friends that made you and steve practically inseparable. 

in normal circumstances, you two were already pretty much attached at the hip— always finding each other in crowded rooms or having your own whispered conversations when you were in big groups. but whenever you two were drunk or high, or in this case both, your closeness seemed to only increase tenfold. 

you weren’t sure whose decision it was to move to the kitchen while your friends talked and laughed in the living room. maybe you wanted to drag steve along as you went to grab a soda from his fridge, or perhaps it had been the other way around. you honestly couldn’t remember, and whatever you planned to get became long forgotten by the time you two had walked the ten feet from the living room.

now you sat atop the counter, hands settled in your lap as you fought the urge to run your fingers through steve’s hair that was surprisingly pretty messy for once. and that made you remember that the messiness had actually been your doing because you ruffled it at some point during the night— when he playfully made fun of you for being such a lightweight and the only thing you felt as if you could do in retaliation to his words was mess up his perfectly styled hair.

you let out an abrupt laugh at the memory. 

steve looked at you curiously. “what’s so funny?”

“your hair.”

he quickly pushed a hand through it, trying to tame the mess of brown. “that’s all your fault, y’know.”

“i know. sorry,” you told him. “i think it’s pretty cute, though.”

“you’re pretty cute.” 

you let out another soft laugh. “always the charmer, harrington.” 

“and you love it.”

you nodded instead of protesting his words like you would’ve done if he had said them to you when you were sober. “yeah… i do.” 

he moved closer to you then, stepping between your parted legs, and it was hard to not let yourself lean into him just a little bit. one of his hands settled on the side of your thigh and then moved up and found your hip. 

you didn’t know if it was you or him who leaned in further, but suddenly your noses were brushing and your lips became only breaths apart. it hadn’t even happened yet, but you were already imagining what his lips would feel like on yours; the softness of his mouth, and you had a feeling that he’d taste like the tequila you two had been drinking all night. 

but then he was slowly pulling back a bit. 

maybe logical thinking was hitting him in this moment, and the smallest part of you that was barely sober was glad because you knew just how much things would change if you two did kiss right then. 

you figured steve was going to step away from you then. and in response, you would jump off the counter and slip your hand in his and then you two would head back into the living room; putting an end to your random trip to the kitchen. 

instead, though, he leaned in closer, mouth fanning right against your ear as he softly asked, “can i kiss you?”

that was not at all what you expected him to say. 

so, logical thinking was actually not hitting him in this moment, you figured; and you could say the same. kind of.

you had to bite your lip to hold back your smile. “nope.”

steve pouted at you. “please?”

seeing the look on his face made it too hard not to smile that time. 

you almost just simply shook your head and told him no again, but instead, you turned your head and tapped your cheek. steve got what you meant immediately and leaned in to kiss your warming cheek. 

the action was pretty innocent and very childish, but it still made butterflies swarm in your stomach. 

“was that good enough for you?” you asked softly, leaning back a bit so that you could really look at him, placing your hands on the cool countertop. 

the hand that he had on your hip lightly squeezed. “for now.”

quickly, your mind changed and you were reaching out to wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him toward you and hugging him; you couldn’t let yourself kiss him, even though you really wanted to, so this was the next best thing. steve returned the embrace immediately, arms circling your waist and holding you tight. 

this was enough, you decided. it would have to be enough. 

steve hummed softly against your neck and you let out a giggle because of how much the action tickled. 

when your laughter subsided, you two simply stayed as you were; quietly holding one another and pretending that it was only you and him in his house right then. 

eddie’s voice from the couch suddenly broke the prevailing silence. “just kiss already! jesus christ!”

that was when you finally pulled away from each other— arms dropping and steve moving back a bit to give you some space; space that you really didn’t want. 

you both flipped eddie off with a laugh and then focused back on each other. you finally hopped off the counter and steve followed you as you headed back into the living room with everyone else.

you knew that aside from drunken moments like those, you and steve would never get that close to kissing one another, or even consider doing it; neither of you would ever have the courage to push your friendship into that entirely different place. 

maybe it was because deep down you both were scared of change, or maybe it was because you both wanted to protect the friendship you had. either way, you and steve were fine with toeing this blurry line instead of admitting the truth. it was easier that way, and a part of you loved it, actually. at least, that was what you kept telling yourself.

[callme-holly]

The boys with a reader who has two really big well trained dogs, the type of dogs that are really well behaved but could fuck someone up if they smt against their owner so they have like scary dog privlages.

𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐬

a/n: early post? i took the day off guys. i fear im sick :(

Darry Curtis:

Darry respects your dogs like hell—well trained, protective, and disciplined? It’s exactly the type of structure he likes, and he relaxes knowing he doesn’t have to look out for you 24/7 and that you’re safe to go places alone. 

The dogs listen to him, which he is incredibly proud of. They know who’s in charge, and they respect him just as much. They’ll probably turn into big softies around him, and you’ll sometimes catch him fussing over them after work.

In the mornings, he’ll take them out on walks before work and before you’re up so that you can sleep in. And if anyone even tries to mess with you, he just stands back with his arms crossed, letting the dogs handle it. 

Sodapop Curtis:

Soda absolutely adores your dogs no matter how big and scary they might look. He isn’t put off by them and treats them like babies regardless, always making a big fuss of them.

He’s also wrestling with them, letting them tackle him and playfight with him. You don’t always like it because he riles both dogs up to the point where it’s just a chaos of barking and shouting, but they seem perfectly happy. 

He loves bringing them to the DX with him—they make sure no customers mess around and it definitely put a stop to random hoods stealing. 

If anyone so much as looks at you wrong, they’ve got not only your absolutely terrifying dogs snarling at them, but also your not-so-tough golden retriever boyfriend glaring. 

Ponyboy Curtis:

At first, he’s a little intimidated by them and doesn’t really fuss over them much. He’s used to smaller, friendlier dogs, and your pups are a little put off by his distant behaviour.

Eventually though, he’ll warm up to them, going on walks with you, scratching behind their ears and letting them lay at his feet. He loves how safe he feels around them, and they’re probably just as protective of him as they are of you. 

If someone shady is following you guys around or giving you trouble, he’ll stick close to you, nudging the dogs forward and letting them deal with the person. He trusts them entirely and isn’t afraid to let them handle the situation.

Johnny Cade:

Johnny loves how safe he feels around you and your dogs. No one is gonna mess with you guys so long as I'm around, and he revels in that. He might be a little wary at first, but it won’t take long at all for him to warm up to them, and soon he and your dogs are inseparable. 

He’ll sneak them treats, and  let them lay their head in his lap whilst he plays with their ears. He thinks they’re so cool and tuff, and knows for a fact that they keep the   away. 

If someone is making you uncomfortable, he’ll quietly step back and let your dogs deal with it. Sometimes he’ll step up just to warn the person before hand, to give them a chance to back off before your dogs get involved. 

Dallas Winston:

Dallas thinks it’s so hot that you have scary dog privileges and will use it to his advantage. If he’s got someone on his back, hassling him and giving him trouble, he’ll just stand there casually with dogs by his side, waiting until they scare them off. 

He’ll pretend he’s too cool for it, but secretly loves playing rough with them. He’ll rough house them and wrestle them when it's just you and him, egging them on, showing them until they snap at him. 

You best believe no one is starting on you. Ever. You’ve three terrifying guard dogs by your side, and if anyone even thinks about trying something, they’re jumping to protect you. Dallas doesn’t become any less protective just because you got a couple of big mutts following you everywhere.

Steve Randle:

Steve loves the chaos your dogs bring; two loud, massive dogs and his loud personality? They click perfectly. He takes pride in being one of the very few people your dogs like, and really milks it. 

He tries to teach them tricks all the time. If they listen? Great, you’ve got yourself two very clever and talented dogs. If they dont… Steve will just shrug it off with a laugh, though he is slightly disappointed.

 If anyone messes with you, he’ll just stand back and laugh, letting the dogs do their thing. He has no reason to interfere.

Two-Bit Mathews:

Two loves telling people, “My girl’s got bodyguards, and they don’t even need a pay cheque” or some stupid shit like that. He lives for the slightly terrified look people get evrytime they see you and your dogs standing with him.

He’ll always make jokes and tease the dogs, but secretly he absoutly adores them and makes sure they know it. He’ll slip them treats and scraps, scratch their ears, you  he does it.

If anyone tries anything with you, he no longer has to pull out his blade to scare them off. He just lets the dogs growl and bare their teeth a little and the person is gone in a heartbeat.  

[tera-ixie]

Gang Meeting Headcannons

——————————————————

Steve:

He and Soda meet in kindergarten, someone was making fun of Sodas speech impediment (because he def had one, that boy could not pronounce the letter s until he was like eight) and Steve kicked him in the shins and they’ve been insufferable, I mean inseparable ever since.

Two-Bit:

Mrs Curtis and Mrs Mathew’s were old time friends, like from high school, so naturally when she had a son not to much younger than Darry the two of them played together all the time and the friendship just never went away.

Johnny:

Soda and Two-Bit originally found him (in the way one would find a stray cat) sitting alone in the lot in the pouring rain while the two of them were running around stomping through puddles and they noticed he didn’t have a good coat on and they’d seen him around so they decided to bring him back to the Curtis’s. Mr and Mrs Curtis told him he was welcome (and highly encouraged) to stay whenever he needed to and Pony would ‘read’ him books and stuff so they became best friends.

Ace:

Steve met Ace, when the Soc girls stopped talking to her she started hanging out with him more and more. He had a crush on her for a little bit but quickly outgrew it and they were like twelve.

Dally:

Mrs. Curtis met Dally. She saw a rough, angry kid getting off a train car dressed in tattered leather and jeans and immediately thought of her old friend from high school, who had jumped a train one day and never looked back. He sent her letters on occasion but one day they stoped coming, she knew he wasn’t going to live very long. But she was determined for that not to happen to Dally, so she offered him help were she could and while Darry technically was the one to first befriend him, she was quick to earn his trust and got really close with him. He got a lot angrier after she died, more closed down.

[alaskan-wallflower]

soda who is SO in love with Steve, who smiles when Steve is snappy and sarcastic, and feels butterflies in his stomach when Steve stares a him with a grin whenever they hang out. Darry who can likes Steve sure- he’s his buddy and sodas best friend- but he sure as hell ain’t letting soda date him. Not cuz he’s a boy, but because Steve’s a candle burning at both ends. Pony who is so sure Steve hates him, so no he doesn’t see what soda sees in him. He doesn’t understand why soda laughs when Steve rolls his eyes and makes a rude comment about a Soc, why he’s always the first to open the door when Steve on the other side, why they almost always have to be at each others side- some part of them always touching. Steve who doesn’t get why Soda chose him, because he’s an angry and rude greaser and not kind and caring like soda.

—🥭

AWWW SOFT STEVEPOP <33

dude. steve’s dynamic with all three brothers is just…ugGHHHHH i love them.

i kinda have a headcanon that steve used to bully soda in school cause steve was usually the one getting picked on, but when he moved to first grade and was put in soda’s class, soda was the sore thumb. the kid with the funny name who couldn’t sit still and who didn’t use his head very often and gave into his impulses. the kid who couldn’t read to save his life and couldn’t seem to do even the easiest of math because the letters were all jumbled. soda was the troublemaker, not him. and instead of feeling bad, steve lashed out as well. it wasn’t until second grade when steve and soda were both put inside with no recess cause of poor behavior, and steve saw soda cry for the first time. soda always cried in class, but not like this. there was nobody bullying him here-steve hadn’t even said a word. but after talking to soda (and a lot of attempts at being forgiven for his past behavior), they became inseparable (and lost a whole lot more recess sticking up for each other)

where was i going with this? well, darry being a sixth grader at the time remembered all too well how soda would come home in tears, talking about some kid named steve would pick on him, and while it’s been almost ten years, he’s still wary, especially cause he knows steve hasn’t lost his quick temper and sarcastic nature. steve’s still trying to make it up to sodapop to this day, but darry doesn’t trust him. especially not after the “brawn no brains” comment. steve puts him on edge sometimes. he likes the kid—he can respect him. he knows steve can hold his own, he’s forgiven steve for everything, but he can’t quite move past it. him and darry also have some tension because steve insists he doesn’t need a pseudo father, and darry’s not trying to be a pseudo father. he just cares about his brothers, damnit. but steve doesn’t need anybody, so darry can shut his trap. they don’t hate each other—darry would steve everything in an instant for steve, and that’s mutual. but they’re fire and fire—steve’s angry and darry’s desperate. it’s complicated.

not much to be said on steve and pony—pony’s just real bad at reading facial expressions, steve has mad rbf and steve’s always rolling his eyes n shit. i’ve made many comparisons with them: dr. doof + perry the platypus, flynn rider + maximus, tom + jerry, greg + rodrick…they’re each others “nemesis” (even that’s a strong word) but if anybody said a word against the other, they’d both be bearing the snot out of that person cause “only I get to call him that!” i’ve seen people say that steve would think pony’s a brat cause he doesn’t see how hard his brothers work for him, and that he wishes he had a big brother to take him in when he needed it most somewhere deep down…i can kinda see that, but i also think steve acknowledges pony’s a grieving 14 year old kid. however, i don’t think pony really acknowledges that steve’s only 17–he’s only 6 months older than sodapop, and he’s struggling and grieving too. pony’s not unsympathetic, but he’s 14. 14 year olds think everyone’s out to get them, and they think that being 17 years old is ancient. it’s not. 17 is young, and it’s hard for a child to see that sometimes. i think it’s complicated between both of 5hem—they can’t really tell if the other truly dislikes them, and they’re both hormonal teenage boys.

whew! sorry for the yap sesh, i’m very passionate about this lol

[the-clover-cottage]

the outsiders headcanons: pets

darry: he either has a large high-energy working breed of dog or a little fluffy snuggly cat. there is no in between.

ponyboy: this bro’s a cat person for sure. if he had a cat it probably would end up being his whole personality.

soda: oddly specific but he def would have a golden retriever named benjamin. he endlessly makes fun of pony (and possibly darry) for liking cats. also he gets overly excited when he sees random dogs and always asks to pet them.

dally: i feel like he acts like he doesn’t like animals but imagine him having a cat and taking it in as his child and being extremely protective of it 😭

steve: like dally he probably isn’t too fond of animals but i feel like if he had a dog of his own he’d have a major soft spot for it and the two of them would be inseparable.

two-bit: this dude has like at least 50 pets and they’re all like the most random wacky animals. whenever he tells the gang he got a new pet (prob happens like every 2-3 business days) they just sigh at this point

[prettypup188]

Sodapop x black cowgirl reader Headcaons

You and soda met at one of his buck wild tournaments, you were watching him from the sidelines as he thrashed around and hooted and hollered on an angry bull

When he finished, you immediately congratulated him on such a good ride and he couldn’t stop cheesing the compliment from such a pretty girl. His friends made for him for it when they went out for dinner after he won 1st place (as usual).

Soda started seeing you around town with your friends and even a couple of times at the Dx when you reeled in your dad’s old work truck to get a repair or two

You’d wait patiently sipping on a coke and smoking while humming to country songs on the radio, which he couldn’t help he watch you while he worked even if you didn’t seem to notice him

When you guys finally got to know each other it was through Tim Shepard, you saw him at one of his parties but it overly awkward because he was with his girl, Sandy who you thought didn’t deserve Soda because she clearly was sleeping around (I mean homegirl did have a baby that wasn’t his 🥲)

When she left, you stopped seeing Soda at the tournaments and it hurt you because you thought such a a sweet boy didn’t deserve the heart ache

When he finally started showing up you made sure to be there for him, listening to him vent about her, and how much it bummed him out that she left

Until, enough was enough. “Soda, I know you loved Sandy but, you deserve more than that.”, when you said that it was as if all his mopping went away that fast

Soda started looking at you differently, the way you’d buck those bulls and trot around little kids on the back of your horse during their breaks, he knew he had that feeling again but this time it was different type of feeling

“You’re in adult love, soda.”, Steve said blankly as he crank his wrench working on your truck yet, again.

When you walked in the gas station a few days later to pick up your truck Soda finally built up the courage to ask you out

“Hey, you think maybe sometime you wanna hang out after the next tournament?”, he asked slicking back his hair with a movie star smile

“Sure, soda.”, you said politely as you smile back taking your keys from Steve

Your first date was at the local southern style diner that your friend’s family ran, you wore a laced up dress and some boots and even though it wasn’t anything fancy Soda thought you looked like a model(might make a fully fic of this, if yall like this)

After that first date, you two were inseparable going to practice together, you picking him up in your truck or you two hanging around the gang while you told him stories about what it was like living on a farm

Soda has cute nicknames for you like, baby doll, pretty girl, and oh his favorite, “my southern sweetheart”, he’d say with a fake southern drawl

I have a feeling that after a year of dating he would show you pictures of Mickey Mouse, “He was one of kind.”, he’d say with a sadden tone as he explained what happened to him

You would comfort him about it, and I’m pretty sure that on one of your trips to your cousin’s farm you would find the perfect souvenir for him, a keychain shaped like a horse and had the exact look as Mickey Mouse

“ITS A MINI MICKEY!”, he yelled and show the whole gang and hug you kissing you all over the face

He would definitely hang it up on the bulletin board that was in his and ponyboy’s room

[theysayalltheworldsastage]

Written in the Stars

You see, Ace and Soda were always close. Soda was close to a lot of people. And every person had a special bond with him. He had a special bond with each person. But Ace and Soda. They were something different. They were family. But not the way that Pony or Darry were. (Something to note is that Soda understands everybody. But he’s found over the years though, not everybody really truly understands him. Not like Ace, at least.) Ace Evans is the only person who knows that Sodapop Curtis and Chet Baker broke it off on a rainy Wednesday night. 

If you asked Soda about his childhood, or a specific moments from his childhood, he could tell you some things. But likely, he would try to avoid the subject. Because a lot of things he doesn't remember. Sometimes Ponyboy or Darrel will talk about things and for some reason Soda's brain starts to hurt and tears fill his eyes because why can't he remember this? Sodapops brain is always fuzzy, but nothing makes him feel more useless than not being able to remember something so simple. A conversation he had just hours ago. A memory he supposedly shared with his momma. That one word that's on the tip of his tongue. It's all just so stupid. Stupid and fucked up. 

There is this one memory, though, that he could remember clear as day. He was playing baseball at the diamonds by the school. Momma and dad couldn't afford to put him on the team with all the other second graders in his grade, but sometimes one of them would drop him off at the fields to play around. Soda remembers one of the kids that was always there too. He didn't have to go up to him and ask for a buddy. No, not this time. This time Chet Baker went up to Sodapop Curtis and asked to play ball together. Soda’s always the one to have to ask! This was the first time he felt like someone saw him.

Soda and Chet. They were some duo. Since that day in second grade that they met, they were inseparable. Soda had Steve and Two-bit and Johnny and Ace at home, but Chet was somethin special. They had this way. They didn't have to speak to know. But they did anyway. Cause Soda loved to talk. And Chet understood. Because he had to always be moving. And when Soda wasn't talking and Chet wasn't moving, that's how they knew something was wrong. Not because of what they did. The two got told a lot by outsiders that something was wrong with them. But they knew that that wasn't true! 

Soda felt real dumb sometimes. A lot of times. But never with Chet. He couldn’t read. All the words and letters on the paper got mixed up. It made his brain hurt. And it felt like his chest was being squeezed real hard every time he had to read. Chet was a smart kid. He made all the grades. And normally that would make Soda feel bad about himself, but not with Chet. They had the whole universe to talk about and explore! So they didn't really focus too much on school. Only when they needed to be sad. Which sometimes Soda felt bad about being sad when he was at home with his friends. But not with Chet! Never with Chet! 

This is how they grew up. Loving each other. Soda still had his family at home. His family. They would always be his family. He loved them to pieces. He had Ace, Steve, Two-bit, Johnny, Dally. He had Momma, Dad, Darry, and Pony. They were all his favorite people and he would fall apart without anyone of them. Soda was made up of these people. His family. But there was just something different about Chet. Like if he lost him, he would do a whole lot more than just fall apart.  

In fifth grade Chet kissed Soda on the cheek. But they were only friends. Just best friends. A greaser and a Soc. Best friends. They didn’t talk much in school. They didn't see each other a whole lot in that building. Maybe that's for the best. A greaser and Soc wouldn't normally hang out. And hold hands. And rest each other's heads on the others shoulders. Or run along the tracks till it got dark and they could sit on the dead grass and make up stories about the stars. No, greasers and Socs don't normally do that. 

Life continued like that for a while. In eighth grade, though, all the boys in their grade had girls. Soda already felt stupid enough without the problem of not being like everyone else. So sometimes when Soda and Ace walked home after school, or they went to the diner, he would pretend like they were dating. He hoped others saw them. He would hold her extra close and flirt with her a little bit too. He didn't really want that though. She didn't like that either. They both knew this about each other. One particular night after Ace and Soda split ways after sitting at the park for a little bit after school, Ace went home and Soda headed to the field. No one was there and he didn't have a bat, so he just sat on the bench. Thinking. As much as Soda loved talking, he hated to think. His mind did a lot of loops and the words and pictures turned scary and got all mixed up kind of like the letters on paper. He just couldn't catch a break from that, could he? 

It was dark now. 

“Hey.” Soda didn't jump from the voice. Because the person who just sat next to him couldn't be anyone but his person. He could recognize him by the way his hand felt on his leg and his smell. 

“I don’t like Ace, y’know?” 

“I know. Let’s head to the tracks.” So they got up and they headed to the tracks. They didn’t talk but there weren’t any street lights near them and it was dark out so they did hold hands. And once they got to the tracks they walked along them a little bit and Soda was just so caught up in his thoughts still that he wasn’t so aware of how they ended up on the grass together. 

“You okay man?” 

“Yeah yeah, you know how my head is.”

“Yeah I know.” A few seconds. “I love you Sodapop.” A few seconds. Lips on each other in the dark. Pull apart. 

“I love you Chet. Like how I’m supposed to like Ace. I don't like Ace though. She doesn't like me neither. I promise.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I don't think we are supposed to like each other, Chet. I’m a greaser. You’re a Soc.” A little laugh because to hell with that. They are both boys! 

“Yeah Soda, I know. But I love you. Like I’m supposed to like Marcia. But I like you a lot. And I've never felt like that about someone but you.”

“Me too.” And so they kissed one more time. And then they laid down on the grass, held hands, and made up stories about the stars. And then Soda started crying. It started as just silent tears rolling down his cheeks, and then grew into sobs. And boy did that cause an ache in the other boys heart. 

“Hey Soda?” Chet sat up, and encouraged Soda to as well. “What's going on in that head of yours?” 

Soda didn't speak for a few minutes. But then he did. “I just feel. I don't know. But by golly Chet, I just feel so stupid. I’m just so stupid. And something in my head. My head is so fucking messed up. No one knows. No one can. They can try to understand but my head. My head is so messed up. It’s not wired right or somethin. I’m so stupid and somethin ain’t right, Chet. I can’t read and write, I can’t shut up, I’m always messin’ somethin up, and. And. I don't know. I like a boy when I’m meant to like a girl?”

“Oh, honey..” And Chet was crying too. He took Soda into a hug and Soda cried into his chest. 

“And I really do like you! I love you Chet! Just sometimes my mind ain't so light.” Some more sobs.

“I know honey, I know.” And Soda felt so loved. So seen. It made him cry some more. And eventually the night became later and Soda suggested they head home. 

“Chet, why don’t you stay the night? We can stay in my room!” Soda knew that the reason Chet was out so late is because of his father. Probably. And he had a small room, but he grew to stop being ashamed of it a while ago. Chet had slept over before and it was the funnest time ever. They were older now, but that's alright.

“Yeah Soda, that sounds nice. As long as you're sure your momma wouldn't mind.”

“Oh you know she wouldn't!”

And this continued for a couple more years. They helped each other out. They navigated life together. They cried and laughed and understood.  

It’s now the beginning of sophomore year. Soda was struggling real bad in school. His head was messing with him a lot. But he learned how to mask these feelings. He learned how to be okay and make others smile. He had a part time job now at the DX. He stopped going to the diamond so much, but him and Chet still met up. They even started skipping classes sometimes. Or they would meet at lunch and go to a diner. They shared kisses and touches at night. They went to Chet’s when his father wasn't home. Chet came to the Curtis’ house a lot too. Just like when him and Soda were real little.  The gang got used to having him around again. Mrs. and Mr. Curtis took him in with open arms. In fact, Mrs. Curtis probably knew. Looking back on it, Soda thinks she definitely did. But at the time, the only person that Soda was aware knew something was going on was Ace. Ace knew everything about Soda. And in return, he knew everything about her. 

It took him a while to finally admit to her why he was smiling so much. Why other nights he came home kinda sad. But the summer after eighth grade, they were at the park where you could find them a lot. Soda was about ready to split and head towards the diamonds where he knew Chet would be. 

“Soda. I think you have something to tell me.” Right! Yeah. Of course. Right.

“Uhhh. Man, you really have a way with words, don’t you.” Why was he nervous? This is Ace for god sake! Something in the way that she looked at him and the way that they were talking with each other earlier and the blood that they didn't quit share, but almost did, made him know that she wouldn’t care. Jesus christmas, Soda. This is Ace. She doesn’t give a shit about who you kiss. 

“Soda.. please.” And she was desperate just because for the longest time they shared everything with each other. She already knew. She isn’t stupid like the others. She just wants him to be the one to tell her. To settle the small gaping hole that has started to form in her chest. 

“Chet and me like each other.” Now it’s out there. In the air. “Like how I’m supposed to like you, Ace. I think we love each other. We’ve kissed. On the lips.” How inspiring. 

“Okay. Thank you.” 

“Huh?” 

“I just wanted you to tell me. I thought you were going to start to replace me and break our promise. I don’t give a shit who you kiss. I love you Sodapop.” And they were hugging now because god did Soda appreciate and love Ace Evans! 

“I couldn’t replace you even if I tried, Ace. And I wouldn’t ever try that.”

“Alright Sodacan, you can meet up with your boyfriend now!” She laughed and gave him a light shove. 

Boyfriend. Huh.

So now every time Chet was over at the house, Ace’s chest wasn’t quite as full of jealousy as it was before. Because she could say for sure that the bond her and Soda shared was not the same that Chet and him shared. They both made each other happy in their own unique and special ways. 

Then, things got darker. The light from Sodas eyes dimmed the first bit when his parents died. But the thing is, he still had Ace and Chet, and the rest of the family. Each of these people showed up for Soda and made him feel loved and seen in these times. And in return Soda was there for them as well. And life continued. Soda dropped out of school. He continued to see Chet. They shared laughs and tears and kisses and touches. Sometimes they shared drinks when Soda really needed a distraction. Drinks and beds and bare skin. They were always careful though. Still, no one knew but Ace and maybe even Marcia. Each a sister to either one. A sister that could understand. 

Chet stopped coming over to the Curtis’ after Sodas parents died. They now only met up by the tracks and Chet’s house. Sometimes Chet would skip school, or some to the DX after class to watch Soda work. 

Slowly, Soda became less present. Chet couldn’t say he didn’t understand. Because he knew the shit Soda was going through. He could hardly imagine. But it made him sad sometimes. He could tell that Sodas laughs weren’t as real as before. He stopped smiling with his eyes. And that was hard. Soda started coming over a lot more at night. He came intoxicated (which was never like before). And they shared a lot more touches and bare skin. It’s nothing that Chet never consented to. He loved making love with Soda. Because he could really and truly say it was love. And it was for love. And they felt good together. They fit like puzzle pieces. And sometimes when they were done and Soda had fallen asleep, Chet would look at him and the marks on his neck and his beautiful body and he would feel so lucky. And he would hurt for Soda and the shit he had been dealt. Eventually the undressing each other and hands on his thighs and rough kissing started to feel a lot more like a distraction from that shit life. But that was okay with Chet. Because Soda had helped him through so much. Soda is the kind of person to help anyone in need, and know exactly how they need that help. And all Chet wanted was to return that favor. So he did. 

Chet ran into Ace on the streets one day. 

“He’s slipping away.” He said, stopping near her after they made eye contact and he knew he needed to say something. 

“Yeah. I know.” She sighed a little. Of course she knew. If Soda loved anyone in life, it was Ace.

“I don’t know what to do.” His voice got caught in his throat. Ace looked at him with sad eyes. 

“He‘s just. He’s not doing the best right now, Chet. He’s hardly getting out of bed. I notice him disappearing at night. Life’s been shit to him. To all of us. But especially him. You gotta understand that” 

“I know that Ace!” The anger surprised him a little bit. “You don’t think I know that? I’m the one giving into his touch every night. I’m the one who keeps opening the door for him. Who smells his breath full of beer every night. I’m the one who touches him and kisses him like he wants it. I’m th-“ He doesn’t get to finish before his shirt is in the girls hands and he’s forced to look down at her. 

“But that’s not what he wants, Chet. That’s not what he godamn wants! He won’t talk to me anymore and I know for a fact that you’re the only person he will talk to. But I can see it in his eyes. For gods sake Chet, Soda and me aren’t blood, but we are family. And if you think I don’t know him better than you, you’re wrong. Soda wants to be seen right now. Not felt. If you stopped feeling the love in your sex a long time ago, then so did he. So maybe it’s been a routine that he shows up at your house and you undress him and do whatever the hell it is you guys do. But if that’s not what you want anymore, than it’s not what he wants either. He loves you Chet. Sometimes I think you’re the only person he’s ever truly loved.” And with that her voice cracks too. And she turns around before Chet can see the tears in her eyes. She covers her mouth before the sob can escape her. 

And Chet stops opening the door. He stops going to the DX and walking the tracks. He ignores the sound of Sodas cries outside of his house and the phone calls. At school, he wonders why Steve keeps staring at him. But that’s a stupid thing to wonder. Because that’s Sodapops family. So he’s not surprised when one day, eventually, Steve walks right up to him and beats him in the face real good. 

Soda started sitting at the baseball diamonds again. He would sit there and think. He would think about the memory’s he couldn’t really remember but mostly the ones he could. And all the ones he could with the person who has now shut him out are starting to make his head hurt and heart sink. They are becoming harder for him to remember the details. And that frustrated him something aweful. He’s forgetting Chet’s lips the same way he’s started to forget his Mommas voice. 

He wishes more than anything to be a kid at the baseball diamonds again. Just playing ball with his new friend. When things were less complicated. But that was then. This is now. 

Then Johnny got jumped. Pony next. And after that Pony and Johnny ran away and Soda had no way of knowing where they were besides the suspicion that Dally had a clue. And he had to be there to pick up his older brother because Darry had been picking up Soda for the past few months now. Ace had stopped coming around so much lately and that hurt Soda. It made him worried and scared and stupid. Sodas mind was getting more fuzzy and he was spirlaing pretty bad. 

So he went to Chet’s. 

It was dark out and rainy too so the stars were hard to see. He knocked on the door of the big house on the West Side that he could only dream of. He felt sick. Sick and scared and stupid. The door opened. And the boy he loves started right back at him. His person. And Chet stepped outside in the rain. But even in the rain, he could tell the difference between the tears and water that fell from the sky. So he pulled Soda in for a hug. And he whispered in the broken boys ear. 

“I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.” 

And he pulled Soda inside and Sodas eyes were glass. His stupid head was filled with no thoughts. No memories. No words. 

Chet pulled him into bed and they undressed each other one last time. And then when they were finished, he told the other boy to leave. So Soda walked home in the rain. He couldn’t even look up at the sky and make stories out of the stars because no stars dared to shine tonight. 

When he got home, Ace was sleeping on the couch. But once the door shut she sat up and saw him enter. He was absolutely broken. Nothing about him was still together. He had done something much more than just fall apart. Ace knew what happened. She wasn’t dumb. She helped Soda undress from his wet clothes. She took a shirt off of him that wasn’t his own. And suddenly she was so angry with the boy who lived on the other side of the tracks. They really all were that shitty, huh? It was nearly one o’clock on a dark Thursday morning but she ran a bath for him and sat in the bathroom while Soda warmed up and felt nothing at all. 

This was her brother. Sodapop Curtis and Ace Evans. They had always had something special. They felt for each other. They knew each other. And they would do anything for each other. Right now, Ace vowed to make sure Soda didn’t lose himself through this. Because a year ago when Ace went through this same thing in her own way, Sodapop made sure she didn’t lose herself. 

Eventually Ponyboy came back and Johnny was in the hospital and they had a rumble. And Chet fought Soda. Or maybe Soda fought Chet. And suddenly, all the memories they shared were clear to Soda. They weren’t gone. They were there. But he didn’t want to remember. Not now. Not ever. He was angry. So so so angry. He felt sick. Chet could tell the difference between the rain and tears running down Sodas cheeks. And that just made him mad. He used that to flip Soda to the ground and for a second he could pretend like they were in his bedroom on one of the many nights that his father wasn’t home. But this time he didn’t kiss Sodas neck. Instead he punchd him and punched him across his face. 

“I bet you like that, don’t you?” 

But Soda wasn’t fighting back. And that frustrated Chet even more. So he kept going even when Sodas sobs could be heard over all the rumble. He knew it wasn’t because of the punches being thrown. No. Sodapop Curtis was crying because he loves Chet Baker. And Chet Baker was beating up that same boy because he is in love with Sodapop Curtis. 

It took Twobit to pull Chet off of Soda while Ace turned to direct all the anger she had ever felt in her life towards him. Steve right along side her. It took Darrel and Dallas to pull Soda up off the ground. The rumble was over. But this wasn’t about the rumble anymore. Ponyboy stood watching this scene with a deep ache in his chest. 

None of them would ever know the whole story. None of them but Ace. They wouldn’t understand even if they tried. But that was okay with Soda. They all had each other. Because then Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston died. And they needed to stick by one another more than ever. They were a family. A family that was dealt too many shit cards.

But Ace and Soda. They were something special. Sometimes it felt like they only had each other. Like everyone else left. They were soulmates. Really and truly. But not the way that Soda thought him and Chet were. Or the way that Ace thought her and Marcia were. No. Sodapop Curtis and Ace Evans were a story that was written in the stars. 

ALL THE MOODBOARDS I INCLUDED IN THIS WERE DONE BY @cherrycolacowboy ❕❕ Thank you thank you, thank you again!

OKAY. I’ve been up writing this for hours because once I started I could not stop. Forgive me if there are errors because there definitely are.

[problem-prone]

A little something inspired by Noah Kahan’s Godlight

Darry could’ve sworn everyone hated him.

Ponyboy used to look at him with admiration, his eyes twinkling like the stars he was convinced that Darry had hung. He followed him around like a lost puppy and needed to be involved in everything Darry did. Homework, chores, practicing football in the yard. If Darry was somewhere in the house, you could bet a dollar that Pony would’ve been there too. Now he doesn’t look at him; when he does his eyes are dark and clouded and full of anger towards him.

Dallas looks at him the same way. The same stormy look of hatred shining in his eyes whenever Darry is around.

He’s not sure when it started, stares filled with vitriol that pierce right through his soul and leave a gaping hole in their wake.

Maybe it was when he became friends with the socs, trying to be someone he never could be. When he and Paul were virtually inseparable and his brothers fell to the back of his mind. He knew the gang resented him for almost going soc, especially Dallas.

Or maybe it was when his parents died, when he had to be the brother and a father. He wants nothing more than to just be a big brother again, wrestling with Soda in the living room and reading books just so Ponyboy could have someone to talk to about them. He didn’t choose to have to parent two teenagers. That job was forcefully thrust upon him that cold night in January by a universe who has never had his back in anything.

Everyone who has ever gotten to know him has come to hate him in the end. Paul, Dallas, Ponyboy, and hell Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny probably have something against him that they aren’t voicing. Soda is the only person he thinks actually likes him, the only person who ever shows him that he’s more than he can provide.

Nothing he does now will change those months he tried to be greater than he was, nothing will change the alienation he feels from everyone he used to call a friend. He gave his soul away for a life he could never dream of having.

He wants his friends back, but you cannot be desirable once someone watches your fall from grace. He’ll never be the same person that everyone once loved.

@broareweabouttoviberightnow

[totoroboiii]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/63062140

Happy Valentine’s Day @strxwberry-julius !

@outsiders-gift-exchanges

What good are the stars in the sky without someone to make sure they’re there?

A Stevepop Valentine’s Day fic😈

Steve and Sodapop have been best friends for as long as anyone can remember. If there’s Soda, Steve's most likely there too.

They tell each other everything. Steve tells Soda about how chocolate reminds him of his momma. He tells Soda about how his dad will ignore him when he’s sober and hit him when he’s drunk, going on about how Steve is the reason his mother left them. Soda’s the only one in the gang to ever see him cry.

Those nights typically end on the Curtis couch bundled under a blanket as Soda runs his fingers through Steve’s greased back hair. The tears eventually slow and Steve’s out cold, snores as loud as a train horn. It makes the corners of Soda’s lips turn up a little every time.

Soda will tell Steve about how he wishes Ponyboy and Darry would quit dragging him in the middle of things. Steve knows all about how Soda doesn’t want to be dumb but he can’t focus for the life of him.

Steve would usually get all his homework done before school was over, but he’d sit at the Curtis kitchen table with Sodapop to make sure he’d get all his work done.

They were practically inseparable since the day they met, so when Soda and Steve finally got themselves girls, the only obvious thing to do was go on double dates. They’ll take the girls to the movies or drag races, (even if the races are more for their own enjoyment than Sandy’s or Evie’s). Evie would always joke about how Steve and Soda might as well be together because of how much time they spend together. They spend every free hour together.

So on February 7th, Sodapop walks into the DX ready to start his shift. It shouldn’t be any different than a typical winter day at the DX, the hum of emergency generators being charged, clanking of metal, and the manager Rick bringing in another load of Pepsis for the cooler.

The air feels different though, tense. He hears a loud crash and a string of curses from the garage. He goes to find Steve, the dark haired boy’s face red and he’s clearly unhappy. Soda frowns.

“What’s up with that noise?” Soda asks softly.

Steve turns his gaze to a dent in the garage wall, a tool lying on the floor beneath it.

“What did ya do that for?” Soda continues, hoping for a response.

Steve returns his eyes to trace Soda's face. His dark eyebrows furrowed.

“Is it anything I can help with?”

Steve shrugs. “Evie dumped me this afternoon.”

“What?! Why?”

Steve shrugs again, “I don’t know man.” But he’s got that look in his eyes that he just ain’t wanna share the reason. Steve shares everything with Soda…why not now?

Him and Evie seemed happy. He thought they’d last more than just a few months longer than himself and Sandy. Soda doesn’t know what to think.

“A week before Valentine’s Day? Damn that’s rough.”

“Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in even more.” Steve says, his signature scowl on his face. Soda knows he isn’t actually too irritated. “Go inside and be all handsome at the register or whatever ya do.”

Soda is a little taken aback by Steve’s words. Handsome? Movie Star Curtis and heartthrob, he’s heard before coming from Steve’s mouth. All in good fun, but he’s never heard that one before. It makes his heart skip a beat.

“I oughta get you a valentine.” Soda says, a cheeky laugh leaving his lips.

Steve grabs a rag and soaks it with water, throwing it at Sodapop. Soda yelps and runs back into the station, laughing. “I don’t need a Valentine!” Steve shouts. It brings a smile to his face, but Soda is gone before anyone can see it.

For the rest of his shift Soda refrains from hitting too hard on the chicks that come into the DX. He’ll tell some to pull their car around to the back, and he watches through the window as Steve thanks them and just goes on with his day. Some girls adjust the fabric of their shirts, or toss their hair, but Steve isn’t seeming to have it.

“C’mon Steve!” Sodapop murmurs, and the glass fogs up with his breath.

He returns to the register and sits on the stool, waiting for someone to come in.

The door dings, someone buys a Pepsi, they leave. The door dings, someone pays for gas, they leave.

A pretty brunette walks into the station, her lips painted dark red. She looks real nice and when she asks if she could get a clicking in her car checked out, her voice is velvety and perfect. Soda smiles kindly at her, and barely reminds himself not to wink at her. He tells her to pull her car around to the back and Steve will get to it as quickly as he can.

He again watches through the window, not creepily he swears, and hopes that maybe Steve will eventually at least have a good conversation with someone other than Soda himself.

On February 8th Sodapop wakes up to a dusting of snow on the windowsill. The smell of eggs wafts into his and Ponyboy’s shared room, and he slowly shrugs on a sweatshirt. He makes his way to the kitchen, and serves himself a hefty plate of eggs and strawberry jelly, thanking Darry for breakfast.

Like clockwork, Steve walks into the house, the screen door slamming like it always does regardless of how many times Darry tells the gang to be careful.

“Smells good!” Steve says, giving himself a plate and taking a seat at the table.

Soon enough, Soda and Ponyboy are do-si-doing around the bathroom trying to get ready. Soda hops in the shower and Ponyboy brushes his teeth.

Soda never brings his clothes into the bathroom with him, always opting to change in his room where there’s more space. Steve is sitting on the couch in his work uniform when the bathroom door swings open. Soda is just wrapping the towel around himself, water droplets cascading down his torso and the skin of his hip bone.

Steve’s face heats up at the sight. He stands as he watches Soda make his way into his room to change. “Don’t forget your hat, Sodes” He shouts over his shoulder as he steps out onto the porch. The air cools his face off well enough and soon Soda hops into Steve’s car.

February 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th are the same as the days before that. Soda tries to send every pretty girl into the shop to visit Steve, but he can tell Steve’s onto him.

“Soda, would you quit?”

“Huh?”

“I told you before. I don’t need a Valentine.” He says, his thick eyebrows raised.

“Huh?”

“Sodes, I don’t need any more girls coming into the shop wagging their hips and pushing their tits up at me. I’m more than happy just doing my work with Elvis playing in the background. Thanks for thinkin’ of me though, dude.”

Soda frowns, although it’s more playful than anything. “Fine Stevie, but don’t say I didn’t try to help you get laid on Valentine’s Day.” Soda winks and laughs.

Steve rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

That night when Soda is laying in bed, he comes up with an idea. The idea however, makes his cheeks warm and a stupid grin appear on his face, even in the pitch black of his and Ponyboy’s room. Soda figures, even if it’s a little dumb, that even though Steve doesn’t need a valentine, he himself doesn’t have one either. Maybe Steve would want to come over for dinner? They could stargaze, or go roller skating, or go to the drive-in?

But Steve comes over for dinner most nights. They go to the drive-in a lot too, and he doesn’t want to remind Steve of all of the double dates they’d gone on with Evie and Sandy. Stargazing would be nice. Soda had heard all about how much Pony and Johnny like it, even if he didn’t quite understand it yet. Would he like it? Would Steve like it?

After restlessly laying in bed for another hour or two, Soda already has the night planned out. They’ll go stargazing. He’ll ask Darry if he can take the truck, and he’ll bring blankets and bottles of Coke and Chocolate cake. Maybe he’ll bring a beer for Steve.

He thinks back to all the years he’s been friends with Steve, all of the joking around and time they’ve spent together, happy and sad. If he digs deep enough inside of himself he doesn’t think he’d mind if Steve saw February 14th as a date.

Steve has pretty eyes, and hair that is always the silkiest and softest when he gets the chance to wash it. Soda thinks about how Steve sings along with the radio even if it’s quiet. Even if other people don’t see past his scowl and crooked teeth and tough exterior, Soda has always thought of his best friend as ‘his person’. They’re always there for each other, and he’s not too harsh on the eyes either.

February 13th Soda walks into work and checks the schedule log for the next day. Neither he or Steve are working that night so he smiles. His idea can be set into motion.

After work, Soda asks Darry if he can take the truck. Darry says it’s fine as long as he doesn’t cause too much trouble.

He goes to call Steve. Steve picks up after a few rings and Soda smiles at the sound of his voice on the other line. He twists the cord around his index finger.

“What are your plans for tomorrow after work?” Soda asks lightheartedly.

“Uh… probably drink my sorrows away and go to bed, why?” Steve jokes.

“Wrong. You’re coming over to the house tomorrow night. Dress warm!”

Steve makes a confused sound like he’s about to say something but Soda hangs up before he gets the chance.

Finally, on February 14th Sodapop is giddy. He always is. He’s chipper even if he doesn’t quite feel like being so, but this is real. It’s genuine excitement. His DX shift seems to go by in the blink of an eye.

Steve comes over for dinner that night, and it’s hamburger mystery surprise. Soda never really knows what’s in it, but that’s what makes it fun. Steve likes it too because he likes watching soda guess what Darry put in it that time. It’s obvious Darry swapped the peas for corn. Steve laughs along with the brothers as they chat around the table.

Twobit is probably off with a beer somewhere and Dallas is surely back with Sylvia.

The sun starts to set soon after they finish dinner. Soda and Steve rinse their plates and Steve blindly follows Soda outside and into the old rickety Curtis Ford.

“Where are we goin?” Steve asks once they’re steady on the road. There’s clanking in the back seat and Steve jokes, “that noise ain’t a crowbar or anythin, right? You’re not gonna kill me?”

Soda narrows his eyes at Steve before returning his gaze to the road. “First, you’ll see. Second, no, I’m not gonna kill you.” There’s a pause. “Look out the window.”

And Steve hums in confusion. “Why?”

“Just cause.”

“Alright…” Steve looks out the window and watches as the purples, orange, pink, and blues dance in the sky.

He’s never taken the time to look at the sunset. He always thought it was a bit girly, or too much like a Ponyboy thing to do, but it really is beautiful. Steve turns back to Soda and shoots him a soft grin. Soda nearly melts.

They park the truck in an open field that no one owns, and Soda gets out of the truck. He grabs the Coke, beer, blankets, and cake and sets everything up in the back of the truck.

“This seems awful romantic, Sodes.” Steve says, his thick eyebrow raised.

“Well- I just thought, yknow, since you didn’t have anyone to hang out with and neither did I we could-”

“I like it.” Steve cuts him off, his face tinted a little pink in the setting sun.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Steve cracks a genuine, wide smile that Soda hasn’t seen since Evie broke up with him and it warms his heart.

They sit in the back of the truck together, taking bites of the chocolate cake as they watch the sun finish setting. Soda sips his Coke and Steve drinks his beer.

“You weren’t kiddin about dressing warm” Steve says.

It’s mid February, and while Tulsa doesn’t get the coldest, there’s still a little dusting of snow capping the grass and the weeds. The chill closes in as the sun dips.

“You cold?” Soda asks, even though they’re covered in blankets. Soda scoots closer to Steve, wrapping an arm around him. Steve leans into Soda.

“People will think we’re queer y’know.” Steve says.

And there’s a pause. Soda is aware of that, and while it’s far, far from ideal in their day and age, there isn’t anyone around for miles. Just them and that’s what matters. So Soda says, “Okay.”

There’s more silence as the clouds whisp around the darkened sky, the stars unveiled every so often.

“Thanks for doin this by the way. I appreciate it.”

“Hm?”

“For hangin out with me tonight.” Steve says.

“Well, what good is a beautiful night with someone to spend it with, hm?” Soda says.

“No, really, I-” Steve starts. “The reason Evie broke up with me was because she said the way we look at each other is the way her mom and dad look at each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“She said we look at each other like we’re in love. Or like we were made for each other and we know what the other is thinking without havin to say it.”

“Oh.”

Steve had fought with those thoughts for a long while before Evie ever pointed anything out. Ever since Sandy moved to Florida Steve’s brain flooded with the idea that he could treat Soda better than she did. He’s always been more honest than she was, even if it was seen as rude or blunt. They always hugged, cuddled, and hung out together anyway, so what difference would it make if maybe in secret they kissed a little too? But his father would kill him if someone else didn’t first. The Socs would bother them even more, and he wouldn’t want that for Soda.

“Does that bother you?” Soda asks, taking another sip of his Coke.

“Not as much as I thought it would.”

And Soda can feel his own heart start to flutter in his chest.

“I didn’t want a valentine because I would’ve rather spent today with you anyway. You know everything about me, and bein here is so much easier than meetin a new broad.”

“Fair enough,” Soda smiles. “Can I hold your hand?” He asks, and sure they’ve held hands on the couch maybe one or twice. He hadn’t had to ask before, but he feels like he should this time.

Steve doesn’t say a word as he finds Soda’s hand atop the blanket, the stars shining brightly above. They lay there, chatting quietly as Soda tries his best to come up with constellations that don’t actually exist. Steve laughs along and allows himself to rest his head on Soda’s shoulder.

“Can I kiss you?” Soda squeaks. He knows that so many things could go wrong. Maybe that would be too far? Hugging and holding hands is different from kissing. The former is dumb and cute, but kissing would make it real. Would Steve want that?

“Yeah” Steve says softly.

Steve’s lips are chapped when they land on Soda’s. Soda doesn’t mind one bit. They’re as rough as he’d imagined, but they match his tough exterior and he tastes like chocolate cake. Soda has a big goofy smile on his face when he pulls away and Steve has a matching grin too, crooked teeth shining in the moonlight.

They spend another hour laying in the bed of the truck, being content in one another’s embrace. Soda isn’t totally sure whether or not this is the start of something more between them, but he can’t help but think what good are the stars without someone to make sure they’re there? So a big part of him hopes Steve will be that person, even if Steve thinks the habit is a bit too much like Ponyboy.

”I’m gonna take a risk here, yeah?” Steve starts, and Soda hums. “I think I love ya. I know it’s probably too quick to say after Evie, but it’s been a while before that and I know things can go to shit real easy-”

“I love you too Stevie.” Soda says, and there’s his answer. Steve will be that person.

Steve knows he doesn’t have to say any more as they lay in the bed of the truck in each other’s embrace.

It’s perfect.

[johnnycakesswitch]

Favourite Steve and Soda best friend headcannons? ( if that makes sense lol )

♡♡♡

It absolutely makes sense!! Let’s do it:

• are those best friends who have been bffs forever and everyone knows they have this unbreakable bond. Met in kindergarten and it was all history from there :’)

• inseparable as kids, still are to this day. Wanted to do EVERYTHING together. Steve would never say it, it’s one of the few secrets he has, but he was heartbroken when Soda dropped out of school. He understood why, but it sucked not having his best friend there. Still, they did absolutely everything together. Soda started working at the DX? Guess it was time for Steve to get a job. Steve started dating Evie? Soda and Sandy got together soon after and they would go on double dates all the time

• tell each other literally everything, even the most tmi shit, they’re those type of best friends 😭😭 but it’s nice though because they know the other person will never judge them for anything

• Soda always craves physical affection and Steve has no problem doing that for his bff 😤 he knows touch grounds Soda as well so if something is wrong, he’ll rub his back or squeeze his shoulders or sides to remind him that he’s there and it’ll be alright. Soda always lays in Steve’s lap when they’re on the couch together but he’s also a little shit so if Steve has one of his shirts on unbuttoned without anything underneath like in the movie, Soda will wait until he least suspects it and blow raspberries on his stomach and Steve utterly squeals 💀💀 then he’s just like “SODA >:( ”

• Soda is truly Steve’s safe place. When Steve comes to sleep on the couch after he and his dad had a problem, if Soda was awake or found him up in the middle of the night, he would sit and pull Steve to lean against him while he talked about what happened and rub his shoulders or back or sides and just let Steve vent. Soda is also the only person Steve will cry to and he’s so grateful to have a friend like Soda because he doesn’t know what he’d do if he didn’t get to let his feelings out every now and then

• messiest eaters ever. Literally canon to the movie that Steve gets cake all over his face when he eats, Soda is no better. They both have too much energy to sit still so they’re always getting food all over 😭

• never ever fight like seriously or argue or anything, but wrestle all the time to let out their energy and tire themselves out at the end of the day. They’re like pretty evenly strong even though Soda is smaller, but that works to his advantage sometimes, so they can go for awhile before someone actually wins. Darry doesn’t even mind bc if Soda isn’t properly tired out before bed bro will be up all night long

• they really are the best of friends and love each other sm and will always be there for each other. They’re so grateful for their friendship and it will always be one of their favorite things in life ❤️

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Could you do some modern day Soda headcanons please? I love him so much and I love your blog so much soooooo….

Ok so soda is tricky for me to write but I tried my best!!!

Modern Au Sodapop Headcanons

-Drinks every single energy drink imaginable. Rockstar? Like its water. Prime? For the plot. 5 hour energy? He’ll down it in five seconds. Darry is HORRIFIED.

-Is pretty enough he’s one of those people who becomes moderately famous on TikTok without having to really do much. His followers notice he’s always talking to someone off camera, and they’re desperate to find out who it is, but Soda only ever responds to comments with ‘oh that’s just Stevie, he doesn’t like TikTok’.

-Soda’s followers have a lot of theories about this ‘Stevie’. Soda is weirdly tight lipped about him, despite the fact he often breaks off mid rant in videos to talk to him. There’s also the fact that the rest of the gang is often around/in the background of videos, but the mysterious ‘Stevie’ never appears. (okok I’ll stop here before this becomes a Stevepop social media au)

-Regularly forgets to take his ADHD meds and Darry often has to remind him

-Would either have a hockey flow or a mullet (whatever y’all think, personally I think modern Soda with a hockey flow tracks with his character)

-One of those people who loves horror movies but is also completely terrified of even the dumbest ones and has to sleep with the lights on for weeks afterwards. Steve makes fun of him for it, but will also stay up on the phone with him if Soda watches one by himself and freaks himself out

-Has a million fidget spinners because they actually help him focus on stuff when he needs to

-Soda in modern AU wouldn’t call Ponyboy ‘kid brother’ as a nickname (don’t get me wrong, I love it but Ive never heard it used irl). Instead, I think him and Darry (and thus the rest of the gang) refer to Pony as ‘shrimp’ and Ponyboy absolutely hates it  “where’s the shrimp” “he’s has track practice ‘till four, you of all people should know that Dar” (brought to you by me and my interactions with my own little brothers)

-The whole gang is super into video games, but Soda is kind of shit at them and lowkey grumpy about it

-Every teacher he’s ever had has done that thing where they expect him to be exactly like his older sibling, and therefore expect him to be a model student like Darry, and every time they are proven entirely wrong. By the time the same teachers see Ponyboy’s name on their class lists they’re terrified of what to expect

-He definitely had that horrible middle school boy stage where he just reeked of axe body spray and BO before he figured out proper hygiene

-Every two weeks him and Steve end up doing some sort of YouTube deep dive where they end up being convinced of some sort of wild conspiracy theory that Ponyboy and sometimes Darry have to spend three hours talking them out of

-Uses far too many emojis in texts

-He had a pet hamster once and you know that thing died in the most horrendous way imaginable. Two-bit probably farted into the cage at one point as a joke and the poor thing asphyxiated to death or some shit like that

-He’s that kid in group projects who does nothing and tanks the presentation for everyone by mispronouncing half the words on the slides some other group member made for him

-Him and Steve are so inseparable that when they’re not together people will be like ‘where’s your boyfriend’ and he just answers without thinking before flushing really hard and sputtering a bit. 

-One of those people that casually catches snakes with his bare hands. Steve HATES it and Ponyboy is TERRIFIED of snakes so he gets in trouble with Darry if he does it too often or brings them near the house

[decentishoutsidersthoughts]

I'm intrigued on the foster au

how does the rest of the gang become the gang since the curtis brothers didn't grow up with them

or how did the rest of the gang adopt the curtis brothers

also also how does steve find out soda's real identity

I think the rest of the gang kind of becomes friends over time and they’re all close by the time the Curtises show up. But each of them get separately kind of adopted.

Two-Bit meets Darry at the dingo and starts bugging him a lot. Like chatting his ear off just constantly until Darry is forced to talk back. Surprise, the two actually get along really well and become immediate besties.

Soda meets Steve when he gets the job at the DX. Soda’s quieter (at first) in this AU, and a bit worse socially because his foster parents had made it really hard for him to talk to people. Steve honestly at first is just giving Soda the time of day because he’s really intrigued by him. Then over time Soda trusts him more and gets more talkative and they become best friends.

Ponyboy meets Johnny at school. They’re sat next to eachother and work well together cause they’re both quiet, shy kids. That one happens more gradually, they just spend more and more time together until they’re basically inseparable.

AS FOR STEVE LEARNING WHO SODA IS

So Steve is the first person Soda has ever trusted with his entire heart and soul. It’s hard to trust Ponyboy because he knows the only reason Ponyboy doesn’t resent him like he does Darry is because he doesn’t know he’s Sodapop. He knows he should trust Darry, but Darry being something of an authority figure in his life and also being big enough to kill him without batting an eye makes it hard for him to completely let his guard down. Plus Darry controls if he has a roof over his head that night, and while Darry promised not to kick him out he’s had a lot of people promise him things and then break those promises. So his like safe person is Steve.

Soda tells Steve completely voluntarily. One day he walks into the DX and he’s had a really rough morning. Darry and Ponyboy were arguing which scares him a lot more in this than it does in canon, and Ponyboy basically told Darry he hated him for getting a good life and leaving Ponyboy to rot. And Darry tries to bring up Sodapop but Ponyboy is like ‘he’s not here. He can burn in hell for all I care. I hope he does.’

So Soda is venting to Steve about all this and Steve is ofc like ‘okay but why do you care if he hates Sodapop?’. And then EVERYTHING comes spilling out. So Steve is sat there like ‘what the fuck’. Soda spends the next like week paranoid out of his mind that Steve is going to tell everybody. But Steve never does, in his mind it’s not his secret to tell and he doesn’t want to break Soda’s very fragile trust in him.

the rest of the gang is kind of pissed at Steve for not telling them, but Steve says that he wasn’t going to betray Soda when he’s the only person he’s ever trusted.

[callme-holly]

Hello there, I saw you were taking requests, (free feel to ignore this) but I was wondering if you could do a younger version of the gang and a younger. Meeting when they were kids, like really cute, and the gang and reader having crushes. Like very childish. Hope you have a great day!

-����

𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 (𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧)

a/n: this is so cute i canttttt

Darry Curtis:

You and Darry first meet each other when you’re around 10. You both spotted each other in the playground, and he was already incredibly responsible and serious, looking after his brothers and chasing after them. 

You first spoke when his younger brother Sodapop knocked you over and you scraped your knee. Darry was very quick to help you, and like the little gentleman he is, he apologised profusely and checked you over, cleaning you off.

After that, he made it his job to protect you and wouldn’t let a single kid make fun of you. He definitely had a tiny crush on you and would get flustered anytime you hugged him or smiled at him. 

Sodapop Curtis:

 You met Soda when you were both 8, and he immediately adored you. He developed a little crush on you very quickly and would always bring you little flowers or pictures. 

He was always trailing after you, helping you whenever you needed and making sure you were happy. He loved when you laughed at his jokes and would always try to impress you in different, silly ways. 

He would always gush over you to his mom, telling her how pretty you were and how amazing you were.

Ponyboy Curtis:

You and Pony both met when you were 6 in kindergarten. He was a little shy at first and didn’t tend to talk to many people; however, when you introduced yourself, he very quickly came out of his shell. 

He loved to draw with you or sit and look at all the picture books with you, and the two of you would spend hours together. He’d get nervous whenever you’d hug him or hold his hand, his cheeks flushing pink.

He’d always make sure his seat was next to yours, and if you weren’t, he’d be all sad and pouty for the rest of the day.

Johnny Cade:

You and Johnny first met when you were 7, and he was the most timid, sweetest kid ever. He was very quiet and would always stay on the sidelines, but the moment you started talking to him, his whole face lit up, and pretty soon you were both inseparable.

You became his favourite person in the whole world; you’d share snacks at lunch and hold hands wherever you went. He’d get very flustered around you, his cheeks flushing red, and he’d look away. 

One time, you told him he was your “most favourite friend in the whole world,” and he couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day. 

Dallas Winton:

You met Dally at 9, when you caught him getting into some kind of trouble. He was rough and a little guarded, so your first impression of him was that he was rude and not very kind. However, that changed when he protected you at the playground once, and soon you thought the world of him.

He pretended to be too cool for your affection, but he’d secretly get very flustered whenever you’d gush over him. He’d always try to impress you, stealing your snacks or climbing trees to show you how high he could go. 

If someone ever made you upset, he’d go and find them and force them to apologise. 

Steve Randle:

You and Steve met when you were 8, and you thought he was the funniest kid around. He’d always make silly jokes just to hear you laugh or to see you smile, and whenever you did, he’d grin like he’d won a prize.

He’d always race you everywhere, turning everything into a little game, and secretly letting you win almost every single time. He never really gets flustered, and if you ever hug him or hold his hand, he’d just act all smug and cocky. 

Two-Bit Mathews:

You and Two met at 9, and he immediately decided that you were his favourite person to joke around with. He’d always tease you in the sweetest way, pulling on your hair gently and giving you cute little nicknames.

He always enjoyed it when you laughed at his jokes, and one time, he found a cheap little ring and presented it to you like he was proposing. You two definitely had a playground wedding. 

He always shared his snacks with you, sometimes giving you his whole lunch, claiming that he was a gentleman.