Okay guys here me out on this one… The Curtis gang is very tame compared to other Greasers like the Shepard’s or Brumly outfit, but they keep them around because they’re lowkey way more interesting. Like they’ve got some flavor (usually neurodivergence/mental illness) to add to the boring copy paste vibe of the rest of the greasers so everybody respects them well enough. Like sure they aren’t very wild but they can throw a punch and a backflip whenever.
Rudimentary character summaries to better understand how weird their vibe is:
Pony—weirdly smart kid who is simultaneously super childish and a gritty true crime lead
Johnny—scared of his own shadow but has somehow claimed Dallas as his shadow??
Dallas—actually kind of normal but he’s a yankee so he’s funny lol
Darry—borderline Soc who hates all of them but hates his ex more? Mostly just wants his brothers to not die so that’s cool
Sodapop—outrageous flirt and is super emotional which cannot be a good combo?? Also somehow got an evil twin!
Steve—he’s just an asshole who is with all these mostly chill guys and became the evil twin of the nicest appearing of them
Two-Bit—literally could be a menace because he’s got crazy street smarts/skills and is super charismatic, but he’s cool to hang around a 14 year old and stay in high school? I would personally think he’s lowkey a pedophile at first glance…
Also they all do backflips?? And they have a rhyme? Maybe the Curtis gang is just the greaser cheer team??
TLDR: The greasers have adopted the Curtis brothers and Co as a cheer team because they’re fucking weird