i havenāt been in the outsiders orbit for a while now, but iām so full of big, deep feelings about it. i cried when i found out so many people were leaving, i cried at the new cast announcement three days later. i cried last week watching jpc take his final bow, and i cried today seeing tilly take hers.
this show, man. itās so deep in me. i love this story, i love these people. i love that iāve found something that i can love so severely.
just learned today that i still have āchetcherrycolaā saved as a shortcut on my phone (itās a lotta letters okay ??) and accidentally sent it in an email to a professor to let him know that iām dropping his class,, and i didnāt realize until after it sent š
moral of the story: proofread your emails babeš«¶š»
i still laugh when my brother burps and i laugh at dick jokes bc im still a kid. i get home at 2 in the morning and i donāt turn in my homework on time. i drive my mama crazy because i never shut the hell up. i get mad when i have to wake up early for work and i get scared doing my taxes. iām not a good driver and the idea of making my own doctors appointments is terrifying.
i may be 20 years old but iām still a kid.
darry curtis was 20 years old but he was still just a kid.
Far Away From Tulsa: Across the Musical-Verse Track List!!
- God I Hope I Get It/It's Raining Men (A Chorus Line) - Rumble/Audition bit - Tilly Evans-Krueger, Devin Tyler Hatch, SarahGrace Mariani, Joah Ditto, Hailey Hyde, Cole Zieser, Milena Comeau
- Bad Idea (Waitress) - Marcia & Two-Bit - SarahGrace Mariani, SeQuoiia
- Corner of the Sky (Pippin) - Ponyboy - Eli Talley
- For Good (Wicked) - Cherry & Marcia - Emma Pittman, SarahGrace Mariani
- I'd Rather Be Me (Mean Girls) - Cherry Valence - Hailey Hyde
- I Can Do That (A Chorus Line) - Swing Anthem - Joah Ditto
- The New Girl in Town (Hairspray) - Soc Girl Trio - Hailey Hyde, Emma Pittman, SarahGrace Mariani
- Agony (Into the Woods) - Bob & Trip & Paul - Kevin Csolak, Cole Zieser, Dan Berry
- You Oughta Know (Jagged Little Pill) - Ace - Tilly Evans-Krueger
- Say No To This (Hamilton) - Melvin & Ace š - Melody Rose, Tilly Evans-Krueger, Devin Tyler Hatch, Hailey Hyde, SarahGrace Mariani
- The Jet Song (West Side Story) - Bob (stabbed) & Trip & Paul - Kevin Csolak, Cole Zieser, Dan Berry
y'all know i had to bring back chetcherrycola for this round of fics lol have you met me ?? anyways the prompt for today was 'hair' aand i didn't follow the prompt that much but i missed writing these guys sooo bad
cw: there's a few moments where they're the tiniest bit suggestive, but nothing explicit ofc
"i think i like you like this even more," cherry smiled, ruffling soda's hair before he could throw the towel back over it.
she was sitting on the edge of the sink, her hair rolled and ready for bed. soda stood in front of her, his pajama pants low on his hips and his t-shirt discarded on the bed through the door, a few feet from chet's legs.
"nah," soda laughed, trying his best to get his hair dry. "it doesn't look good like this... it's all messy."
"yeah, but it's all soft," she tugged the towel off his head and let a few pieces of half-dry hair fall into his face. "i like it when chet's is like this, too. yours is more fun because it's longer, though."
"hey!" chet piped up from the bed, glancing up from the book he'd grabbed from cherry's nightstand.
she blushed a little bit, before pressing a kiss to soda's lips and hopping off the counter. she grabbed his hands and towed him back to the bed, both of them falling down next to chet. cherry squirmed under the blankets, plastering herself to chet's side and sandwiching herself between the boys.
soda looked over at the book and glanced at the title, "great expectations? not you, too..."
cherry giggled, scooting towards chet to check where he was in the book, "what's wrong with great expectations?"
"nothing, i guess, pony's reading it, too," soda shrugged, stretching out on the bed.
"hughes wants us to read it for english class," cherry looked back at soda. "chet's just seeing how far ahead i am."
"sounds like someone's behind," soda teased, reaching over cherry and jabbing a finger into chet's side.
chet squirmed for a moment before slipping cherry's bookmark back into the page and setting it down on the nightstand. he rolled over and pulled cherry closer.
"you know she just got done making fun of your hair in there, right?" soda teased, settling his head against cherry's shoulder.
"yeah... she likes to bully us, huh?" chet smiled, affectionately nudging her with his nose.
"oh, be quiet," she giggled. "i just said i like your hair like this."
chet looked the pair of them over, they really were a mess: cherry's hair in neat rollers and soda's half-dry hair flopping messily into his face. he supposed his own couldnāt be much better, messy and all in his face when he would almost always prefer it combed back and styled, but looking at soda, he could almost see why cherry loved it so much.
he gave a small smile and cupped soda's face in his hand, his thumb rubbing little circles around soda's cheek.
he hummed quietly, "hmm, i guess cherry has a little bit of a point."
soda blushed, and went to hide his face before cherry ran a hand through his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"you're so pretty like this," she whispered.
soda looked flustered for a moment, but he glanced up after a moment with a smile on his face, "can we make hot chocolate?"
chet's head fell back as he laughed, and cherry giggled before pressing a kiss to soda's cheek.
"i think we can make that happen, sweet boy," she smiled down at him and tapped chet's elbow to signify that it was time for them to stand up.
chet pushed the blankets off of them and stood up quickly, reaching back to help cherry off the bed. across the room, soda made a small hissing sound as he stood up, one hand bracing his bad knee.
"you good, coca-cola?" chet asked, taking a few steps towards soda.
"'m okay, it's just getting colder," soda waved him off.
cherry pulled on her robe, hurrying down the stairs with the boys following a few feet behind her. chet looped his arm around soda's waist, pressing a kiss into his hair. soda blushed, letting himself lean into chet, letting chet hold some of the weight off his aching knee.
cherry was already melting chocolate by the time they arrived in the kitchen. chet gently lifted soda up and set him on the counter quickly, accompanied by a quick kiss to his lips, before going to check in with cherry.
less than ten minutes later, cherry and soda were on the counter while chet tended the beverages. soda was laying with his head in cherry's lap, her hands threading through his drying curls. chet had propped his knee up with a paper towel roll. "resourceful," cherry had called it.
and they stayed that way until soda fell asleep and cherry's eyes drooped. chet gently coaxed them off the couter and half carried both of them up the stairs and back into bed. he tucked the blankets around them and got the tree of them comfy, soft kisses pressed to each of their temples before watching them fall asleep against him.
now i know the running theory that johnny wouldn't drink because of his parents (i need to reread the book bc i'm sure there's something about this in there lol) but i'm a huge advocate for johnny being the biggest lightweight tulsa's ever seen lol
darry's eyes were wide open as they scanned over the two boys in front of him. they both seemed uninjured... no new blood or bruises, at least, but they both looked pretty rough around the edges. ponyboy had his arm around johnny, who was apparently unable to fully support himself. johnnyās eyes were glassy and out of focus, and he had a loopy smile on his face.
pony looked better, but not by much. his hair was falling out of the greased up style he had left with, his jeans looked a little more torn than they had been before he left, but he seemed otherwise okay. more than anything, he looked frazzled and tired.
johnny, on the other hand, looked far worse for wear. his hair was sticking up in places, his shirt torn at the collar and his belt unbuckled. his shoes were untied and ponyboy was carrying his jean jacket
pony sighed before he rolled his eyes, "i don't know, i just left him with dally for five minutes to use the bathroom."
"with dally? god, pony, who told you that was a good idea?"
darry grabbed both of their arms and hauled them over the threshold, his inquisition far from over. he dragged both of them over to the couch, discarding them onto the cushions and trying to give them both a thorough once-over.
darry ran an exhasperated hand down his face, his hand still partially covering his mouth as he asked, "please, god, pony, tell me you weren't drinking, too."
"what? no!" pony shot back, so quickly darry knew he was telling the truth.
"okay, okay," darry held out a hand, something in him terrified he had scared pony.
darry knelt down in front of the boys, getting a closer look. pony's eyes were focused and clear. anxious, but hauling johnny all the way back from a shindig with dally was a better explanation for that.
johnny seemed pretty out of it. he still hadn't really said anything, but that wasn't out of the ordinary, johnny didn't say much of anything even when he was stone cold sober.
by now, darry knew better than to worry too much about pony and johnny being out with dally, they knew how to fight and they knew how to keep away from people who would really get them into trouble. dally, with all his faults, would never let anything happen to them, and it had been a long time since darry had been scared of dally. the truth was, johnny drinking at all was the part that scared him. johnny had always sworn he never would, not after what his parents put him through. not after watching what alcohol turned his family into, hell, maybe his friends, too.
still, darry nudged his knee and asked gently, "you with me, johnnycake?"
"hm?" johnny's head lolled up to look in darry's general direction. not great, but there was something.
"how you feelin', bud?" darry asked gently, holding up a finger for johnny to look at. he seemed to track it for a few seconds before blinking again.
"...kinda funny," johnny answered, his voice smaller than either of them had ever heard it. "it's like... soupy."
"yeah, i'll bet," a small smile spread across darry's face.
"'m tired..." johnny sighed, slumping against pony's side.
"he didn't hit his head or anything, right?" darry asked pony, pushing some of johnny's hair back to check his eyes.
pony shook his head quickly, "is he okay?"
"well, he's drunk," darry had to stop himself from laughing.
"but he barely had anything... steve drinks three times that before he's all out of it like this."
"well, johnny never drinks, and steveās a bigger guy than johnny is. i'll bet a drink or two with dally was probably plenty."
pony laughed a little, "you hear that, johnny? you're a damn lightweight."
"alright..." johnny slurred, lightly hitting pony on the arm, because he couldnāt manage anything more forceful with how fuzzy he was feeling.
"let's get you some water and to bed, kiddo," darry smiled, standing up and holding an arm out to hoist johnny up.
it took them a long time to get johnny into the spare bedroom and into a pair of soda's old pajamas. it didn't help that johnny could barely stand up on his own, but they made it happen.
eventually, darry slipped out to get johnny a glass of water and pony settled next to johnny on the bed.
johnny looked up, his big brown eyes glassy and sad, "'m sorry, pone."
pony bit his lip, trying not to laugh, or maybe cry.
"it's okay, you just scared me a little, that's all."
"wasn't cut out to drink, i guess," johnny mumbled, his voice getting quieter the longer he kept his eyes open.
"no, you just shouldn't do it with dally," pony chuckled.
by the time darry was back with johnny's water, he was already asleep, pony sitting still and keeping an eye on johnny's slow breaths, both of them finally seeming calm.
darry set the glass on the bedside table and hugged pony to him. it was almost like he wanted to squeeze pony into the cavity of his ribs, like it was the only place he could keep his brother safe, especially after nights like this.
he kissed the top of his brother's head, "he's okay, kiddo."
sooo i saw the wicked double feature today and im not gonna say anything other than i went into that theatre at 11am and left at 4:30pm, all i did was sit there and eat nachos and sob for 2 continuous hours and i am EXHAUSTED
Can we get some fics of medically complex Ponyboy?
outsiders week - ponyboy
@outsidersweek
once again using my asks to give me ideas for outsiders week lol but either way i loooove medically complex pony and im ready to write about him alwaysss
some context: i imagine pony having a lot of breathing issues post-canon (which makes a lot of sense and doesn't need a ton of explaining) but i think pony also had some type of head injury (from the fountain) and then dally hitting him and the rumble aggravated it so he probably gets like chronic migraines/eye pain/maybe vertigo, too
it took a lot for darry to say that a day had been long, his job made sure that all of his days were long, anyways, but by the time he was signing the last of the forms at the hospital so he and pony could go home, he couldn't remember ever wanting to leave a place more.
pony was slumped in a chair as darry took care of all of his end-of-visit paperwork with the secratary, exhausted after four appointments and a long day at the hospital, checking everything from his brain to his back to his lungs.
"you ready, kiddo?" darry asked, walking over to his brother, holding his hand out. pony took it wordlessly and let darry help him to his feet, his every move lethargic and slow, full of exhaustion and sleep.
they made it to the elevator before pony was leaned against him heavily, his body ready to give out. without so much as a second thought, darry pulled him onto his back, pony burrying his face in the back of darry's shoulder.
"you're getting a little big for this," darry chuckled, squeezing one of pony's knees.
"no 'm not..." pony mumbled.
darry didn't argue, just carried his little brother as he walked out of the hospital. the parking lot was all but empty, the sun long since disappeared behind the tulsa skyscrapers and the air cold and biting. darry walked as quickly as he could to the truck, setting pony in the passenger seat. pony's eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed.
"you still with me?" darry asked, brushing some of his hair back and reaching for his seatbelt.
"yeah.." pony sighed, taking the seatbelt from darry's hand.
darry pressed his lips together into a thin smile, he ruffled pony's hair affectionately and said, "okay, let's go home, huh, bud?"
pony nodded sleepily, and darry closed the door, letting himself walk slowly around the front of the truck, the cold wind soothing to a head that had spent the whole day trying to understand everything the doctors had said. he was wiped out, he could only imagine how pony must have been feeling.
by the time darry opened up the driver side door, pony was laying across the bench seat. darry didn't have it in him to tell him to sit up for the drive, he just helped pony sit up the smallest bit so that he could slide himself behind the wheel, before letting pony's head rest against his leg.
when they finally made it home, pony was fast asleep, his body limp across the front seat, one of his hands curled into the fabric of darry's jeans. soda was outside the house, a sweatshirt thrown over his dx uniform. he walked up to the truck and darry rolled down his window.
"he fell asleep the minute we got into the truck," darry ran a hand through pony's hair softly, leaning his own head against the door of the truck.
"you look like you've been up for days, dar," soda whispered.
"i thought we'd never get out of that damn hospital," darry muttered, closing his eyes for a moment. "can you grab pony's stuff? it's all in a folder in the back. i'll get him inside and start getting some food ready."
"don't worry about dinner, i'll take care of it," soda held up a hand to stop darry from moving ponyboy. "you go inside and take a few minutes, i'll grab us something from the dingo."
darry smiled, "thanks, little man, but you sure you can swing that?"
"sure," soda nodded, pulling out his wallet. "there's this couple that tips us like crazy for working on their mercedes."
"okay, let me get pony inside," darry shifted again.
"don't!" soda whisper-shouted. "i'll take him with me, the cold will wake him up anyways."
darry smiled, "it'll still wake him up if you take him, soda, he has to get into the house eventually."
soda frowned, "yeah, but... i just wanna let him sleep..."
as carefully as he could, darry opened up the door and slid out, letting soda slide into place. pony stirred for a moment, but seemed to settle back in easily.
"go shower, superman. or sleep," soda joked as darry walked back towards the house. "you look like you're about to pass out."
soda waited until darry had disappeared into the house before putting the truck in gear and pulling out towards the dingo. pony stirred when they bumped up into the parking lot, his sleepy eyes blinking open.
"...soda?"
soda reacted quickly, "yeah, kiddo, it's just me. we're just picking up dinner, go back to sleep, you're okay."
pony sighed, and closed his eyes again. soda pressed a kiss to pony's temple before slipping out of the truck to pick up their food.
hey sky itās me iām backš„¹ and i have TWO requests
iāve been looking for some good curtis brothers ficās and i canāt find any so i know i had to come to you
can you please write a curtis brothers fic, preferably something with ponyboy grieving over johnny and dallas
AND
can you also please write another two-bit fic with his little sister because theyāre so cute and i have maternal instincts for them
tysm for all that you do-youāre an amazing writer and my biggest inspiration in this community
much love and many wishes,
shellkissed aka daniš
(i got a rebrand btw)
outsiders week - grief
@outsidersweek
so! this ask came in forever ago and i answered one of the prompts and not the other (if anyone wants the other fic here it is) and this fit perfectly with the outsiders week prompt :)) i hope yall are doing well hehe im very much enjoying writinig all of these
cw: this one is grief heavy, lots of big feelings and difficult emotions
to be honest, pony wasnāt even sure where it all started. he knew, subconsciously at least, that the news report about the electrical fire at the west side supermarket made him feel something, maybe something a little more prickly than anything heād allowed himself yet. maybe the police raiding buckās place and dally not being there to be tossed into the car in handcuffs felt wrong.
but this wasnāt that. this was a far deeper ache.
the minute darry pushed open the door to get the boys up, he knew the day would be long and the grief heavy in the air.
the doctors had said pony would have trouble getting back to his life, maybe moodier, fatigued, it wouldnāt even be out of the ordinary for him to have physical symptoms, given what happened to him. it was all a side effect of a world that didnāt care how hard it hit, just that it knocked him out.
soda was already curled around their little brother, shaking his shoulders gently to try to coax him out of sleep, but pony just kept squirming and tugging the blanket back up.
ācāmon, pony, youāve already missed two days of school this week,ā soda whispered, brushing back some of ponyās blond hair. ātwo-bitās never gonna get to class if you donāt start walkinā with him again.ā
āi donāt care,ā pony mumbled. if darry hadnāt knelt down next to the bed, he wouldnāt have heard. ponyās lungs still hadnāt quite recovered, he was wheezy all the time and his voice was never that loud.
if johnny were here, heād have been able to get pony out of bed, coaxed a little more life out of him.
āponyboy, you canāt stay in bed for the rest of your life,ā darry sighed, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the bed.
pony just shoved his face into the pillows and mumbled, āwatch me.ā
darry took a deep breath to steady himself, willing his patience to hold out long enough to get pony out of bed. soda shuffled over and pulled pony back towards him, their little brother curling into his chest easy as breathing.
darry squeezed his eyes shut, "pony, c'mon... this isn't you. listen, i don't care if you're not doing as hot in school as you normally do, okay? i don't care if you don't do your homework or if you flunk tests, but you gotta get out of this room. i know you're all broken up about what happened... we all are... but you gotta try, kiddo... just please try."
pony shuddered, soda's arms tightening around him, and gave a pitiful sob. maybe he wanted to hide it, or maybe it was just his ravaged lungs, but he was crying. again. sometimes it felt like all he did these days was cry.
"i'm so tired," pony whimpered, his body going limp against soda. "my head hurts, my chest, i don't wanna do it..."
soda's eyes went glassy as he looked up at darry and gave a huge sigh.
darry's voice came out broken and quiet, "i know, i know it's hard. but you don't gotta be perfect, not now."
pony was quiet before he mumbled, "when's it gonna stop hurting?"
"it might not," soda whispered before his brain could catch up with his mouth.
"soda," darry scolded softly, but soda shook his head.
"no, pony, i'm serious. it might never get easier. you just learn to live with it, that's what we've all been doing since mom and dad, right?" soda started, and pony stilled, staring up at his brother. "i know we barely got anythin' left to give, but we don't just get to give up. you've got so much more to give, kiddo. don't you dare give up, you can't."
pony's lip wobbled, like it did so often nowadays. he cried some more, and they knew he would, but for the first time in months, pony was at the dinner table. he talked to two-bit and steve when they stopped by. he shuffled around the papers they'd brought home from his teachers. maybe not back at school yet, but out of bed. maybe not out of his pajamas, but showered.
the kind of slow and easy progress that you could only make when coming back to life, because he was. and he wanted to.
"c'mon, pony, you've already missed two days of school this week," soda whispered, brushing back some of pony's blond hair. "two-bit's never gonna get to class if you don't start walkin' with him again."
"i don't care," pony mumbled. if darry hadn't knelt down next to the bed, he wouldn't have heard. pony's lungs still hadn't quite recovered, he was wheezy all the time and his voice was never that loud.
if johnny were here, he'd have been able to get pony out of bed, coaxed a little more life out of him.
idk gang i'm always thinking about two and molly, they're just so special to meee anyways i've never really written about the culture of violence in tulsa before, at least not in this way sooo that was new lol
none of my fics for this week are really that long but also 6 fics in one week is a lot lol
the only thing that could really be said about the rumble was that it was short. they'd won, of course they had, but it wasn't anything spectacular. curly shepard was in the reformatory for a few months, and dally was in the cooler, so they were already short on hands. the sooner they got out of it, the better.
two-bit stood in the flickering bathroom light, his shirt thrown over the side of the bathtub, dabbing at a particularly nasty scrape along his ribs, teeth clenched. he already had a tissue shoved in his nose, frozen peas wrapped over a throbbing ankle. truth be told, he was surprised it wasn't worse.
"two?" came a small voice behind him.
he whipped around, and his eyes landed on molly, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes wide and tired.
"hey stinkbug," he turned around, throwing the tissue out of his nose into the trash can and pullling up the straps of his overalls to cover up the scrape. "i thought you were asleep."
"i was, i heard you come home," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
he took a few steps over to her and ruffled her hair, "sorry... i didn't mean to wake you up."
"stop," molly ducked out from under his touch, her eyes scanning over him, landing on bruises and blood. two-bit watched the realization dawn on her, and watched the horror write itself across her face.
she took a step back, "i'm calling mama."
molly was already halfway down the hall when two stepped out of the bathroom and called after her, "no, you're not!"
"really? cause you look like you should be in the hospital," she called back to him, walking towards the phone.
he limped after her, the frozen peas falling off his ankle, "i promise you i don't, moth!"
she was halfway through the number of their mama's nurse's station when two-bit grabbed the reciever and held down the button.
molly stamped her foot in frustration, "what the hell?"
"don't talk like that to me," two straightened up at the profanity.
"don't talk to you like that?" molly's voice was rising. "how about you be straight with me? you look like someone just beat the hell out of you!"
"because they did!" two shouted before he could stop the words from tumbling out.
molly went very still. the tension hung between them like a physical presence. what was he supposed to say after that?
eventually, molly asked, "what do you mean they did?"
"there was a rumble tonight, we all got busted up," two answered, his shoulders slumped and the hand holding the reciever dropping.
molly was still too young to know much about the violence in tulsa, hell, she was still too young to know that once your friends realized they had money and you didn't that you weren't worth it anymore. and molly didn't need to know that, at least not yet.
two-bit looked down at her, biting his lip as he searched for the right words.
"can we sit down, stinkbug? i wanna talk with you," he set the phone down and took a step back. he knew she could easily pick it up and run, but something in him had to figure out how to trust her with it.
she looked at the phone for a moment, looking like she was five seconds away from picking it up and making a break for her room, but when she spoke, her voice was quiet, "i want you to tell me the truth."
"and i wanna tell you!" he answered quickly. "just sit, i'll tell you everything."
molly looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she slowly walked around the edge of the living room and cautiously sat down on the couch next to her brother. he leaned forward, both of them staring at the blank television set.
"sometimes, we just get into fights, it's part of being a greaser," he started slowly. "i know it's hard to see, it's hard to take it sometimes, too, but that's just how it is here. greasers and socs are just a different breed, moll."
molly's eyes were filled with tears, "but you told me about what that beverly girl did! her little sisters are in my class and they're both really nice! everyone is... i don't even know who you're fighting..."
two-bit sighed, "it starts out that way, kiddo. it's just complicated when you get older. if you like those jitney-bush girls, make friends with 'em. they might need it."
"but what about marcia?" molly pleaded. "you always call her a west side babe, what does that make her?"
he blushed lightly, "it makes her the best of all of 'em."
molly didn't say anything, she didn't know what else there was to say. there certainly weren't words for what she was feeling, at least not yet.
two leaned over, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side, "you don't gotta worry about that stuff. not yet, at least. ace hasn't even taught you how to throw a punch yet, you don't have to worry about rumbles for years. you donāt even have to worry about āem at all if you donāt wanna."
molly sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "i still think mama would want to know..."
"mama? nah... she's got better things to worry about than why my nose is bleeding on a friday night. i'll tell her when she gets home. that okay, moth?"
molly nodded wordlessly.
two sat her up a little bit before looking at her seriously, "you know i love you, right? and i'm never gonna let myself get hurt so bad that you gotta worry about me, yeah?"
molly bit her lip, not responding.
two-bit shook her playfully, "yeah?"
he jabbed a finger into her side and a giggle finally spilled out. the laugh was so reassuring, the fact that she would be okay with what he'd told her. he pulled her back against his side and grabbed the remote from the arm of the couch. he flicked the tv on, maybe to find some movie both of them could stand.
he scrolled for a moment before settling, his little sister close by, and the aches of the rumble ebbing away.
marcia just melts my heart, you know? i just love her so much. i think constantly about bev and marcia and how they are each other's safe space.. so here's a fic for my sweet angel baby marcia because i just adore her (and yea she has a crush on bev what on earth about it)
the fourth of july picnic, marcia had decided, was the worst day of the summer. the backyard filled to bursting with women in dresses that were too long for tulsa heat, men in italian leather shoes, and boys that smelled like their fathers. not just cologne, but the starch on their collars, the pressure in their smiles, the way they'd been born to find the perfect girl.
her parents certainly did a good job propping up their daughter. she was dressed in a fine yellow silk a-line, tailored to taper perfectly at the waist. a matching set of kitten heels completed the look, bought for her birthday just for the party. her mother had taken her to the beauty parlor to get her hair set and sprayed to perfection. marcia had managed to shake them away when they tried to do her makeup, but she was sure she'd be hearing about it from her mother later.
marcia had always known she was that girl for plenty of them, the object of their attention, the reason boys her age called her father "sir," and why they knew how to āproperlyā shake hands at sixteen. she knew they wanted something from her, they always had, but now, at 17, holding hands on the playground wasn't cutting it anymore.
"have i introduced you to my son? he says he's seen you at the library."
"my parents would love you."
"you remind me of my grandmother, she was the belle of the ball in her day, too, dearie."
it didn't take long for her to get tired of talking to all of them, of making small talk with their parents. there was only so many times she could explain her college plans, the career she wanted to chase. only so many times she could watch faces fall the moment she expressed that her first priority wasn't to find herself a husband.
she finally managed to make an escape to the side yard, a glass of champagne sweating in her hand. she stood and stared at the sky for a few moments, willing herself not to down the entire glass to get her through the next round of mingling. it was just getting to the point where marcia couldn't justify hiding for much longer when she heard a rustling in the rose bushes next to her.
a few seconds later, a blonde head popped out from between the hedges, pearls dangling from her ears and clipping her hair back, a shrimp cocktail tray in her hands.
"i'll trade you the champagne for the shrimp," bev smiled, pushing up to her feet and reaching out for the champagne as marcia wordlessly handed it over. marcia grabbed a shrimp off the tray and dipped it in the cocktail sauce.
"what are you doing back here?" marcia asked, her mouth half full. "i thought your parents would have wanted you to mingle."
"what, and find a husband?" bev giggled, throwing back the rest of the champagne left in the glass. "they're not here. mama's watching the kids, and you know how she is... she just wanted me to represent the family or some bullshit like that."
"oh, but there's bound to be someone over there that thinks he's got what it takes to make you laugh," marcia smiled, earning a laugh from bev.
"why should i care about them? i have you," bev answered, apparently not noticing the effect her words had on marcia.
bev looked up, a look in her eye that marcia had come to know better than anything; the look that told both of them that they were about to get into trouble.
"you wanna get out of here?" bev asked, setting the champagne glass on the tray.
marchia threw a nervous glance over her shoulder, clearly worrying over what her parents would have to say, but she was running out of cares to give the longer she stood and watched a smile split across bev's face.
marcia smiled, and bev set the tray down on the ground and grabbed marcia's hand. not even bothering to throw a glance back at the party, she pulled marcia towards the road. neither of them were in shoes meant to run, but they had figured that part out long ago. marcia had no idea where they were going, but the longer she looked at bev's blonde hair bouncing out of it's perfect tuck, the less she cared.
it wasn't until they came to a chainlink fence surrounded by trees deep in their neighborhood that marcia really started to understand that they had made it pretty far from the party. bev cracked another smile, kicked her shoes off, and tossed them over the fence before starting to climb up.
"bev!" marcia protested, grabbing bev's arm and trying to pull her back down.
"trust me," bev shook her arm out and pulled herself up.
marcia glanced warily around before follwing bev up the wall, opting to keep her shoes on. she landed beside bev and followed her for a few more yards before she realized where they were: bev had led them into the back entrance of the community pool, gated up and closed early on the holiday.
"bev, oh my god," marcia's eyes went wide as she took in their surroundings. "we're gonna get arrested."
but bev wasn't listening.
she had thrown her shoes towards one of the lounge chairs by the pool and was running full speed towards the water. marcia didn't even have time to yell her full name before bev, still in her perfect pink party dress, threw herself over the edge of the pool and straight into the deep end.
marcia's hand flew over her mouth and she hurried over to the edge, her shoes flying off her feet as she ran. she crouched down by the edge just as bev's blonde head popped up a few feet away.
"oh my god, we're gonna be in so much trouble," marcia rambled as bev swam over gracefully, her makeup still perfect... of course it was.
"no one's gonna care that we're here, honey," bev blinked up, crossing her arms over the pool deck. "everyone's either getting drunk at picnics or going to the park to watch the fireworks. i mean, didn't you see how many cop cars were over there earlier?"
marcia bit her lip and glanced around again, her heart fluttering in her throat, āyou should really get out, bev, someone might see us... besides, they stop warming the water when everyone's gone."
bev rolled her eyes, before holding out her hand so marcia could help pull her out of the water, "you're no fun, you know that?"
marcia scoffed, grabbing bev's hand, "of course, i'm the asshole for not wanting you to get arrested."
"oh, you're really gonna hate this then," bev smirked and yanked on marcia's arm.
marcia flipped over bev and into the water with all the grace of an elephant in a banquet hall. bev couldn't stop the laugh that fell out of her mouth as the splash sent a wave of water directly into her face. marcia surfaced a few seconds later, her hair a disaster and her pastel yellow dress going see-through.
"i can't believe you!" marcia gasped, grabbing the side of the pool and coughing a few times before rubbing the water out of her eyes, smudging all of her eye makeup.
bev just laughed harder and pushed off the wall, swimming away as fast as she could.
"race you to the other slide!"
and so it began, marcia chasing bev around the pool, both of them dunking each other and hanging off of the other, the straps of their dresses slipping down their wet shoulders, makeup washed away in the pool.
they found themselves in the chilly shallow end when they heard a car door slam somewhere outside the pool. bev went completely still, her eyes darting around as she tried to hear what was happening.
but marcia wasn't listening.
no, she was busy watching the water drip from bev's bangs and down her face, the setting sun dancing in her eyes. she was doing her best to ignore the fact that their dresses werenāt doing much to protect their modesty, but neither of them seemed to care. they were both shaking, the cold water and the evening breeze catching up to them.
bev glanced over and caught marcia looking at her, and a deep blush ran across her cheeks, one that had nothing to do with the chill pulsing through their bodies.
bev looked down for a moment before asking, "you wanna go?"
marcia bit her bottom lip for a moment before smiling, a shiver running through her. it was anyone's guess whether it was bev looking at her like that or the chill radiating through her body.
the corner of her mouth lifted and she shook her head, "nah. they're all at the park, anyways."
alright folks i can promise at least 4 fics during outsiders week this year (im working on all 7 days but if it doesnāt happen im not gonna beat myself up over it)
