The Outsiders Lyric Imagines

"U just can't be replaced" S. Curtis

"...Something about you makes me want to try again..."

[U just can't be replaced by Gnash ft. Rosa Beales]

Silence in the Curtis household was hard to come by; you'd actually have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than to get a minute of silence. That's why you and Sodapop were sat on the back porch stargazing while everyone else was in the living room, yelling at some football game. Normally, the silence was uncomfortable for you; you just didn't like it. You'd gotten used to the gangs rowdiness, and you'd grown to love it. Everything from Dallas's loud New Yorker attitude to Two-Bit singing along to Mickey had become a sort of home-like feeling. 

The guys had become your home, you were always comfortable just being around any one of them. Your home life wasn't terrible, it was just absent. The house you'd lived in for years never really felt like a home. There was always a feeling of not permanent. The house was really more like a hotel than a home; no one was ever home so it was always silent, nothing was ever the slightest bit dirty, it was just unnatural.

When you met Ponyboy and Johnny a couple years ago, you three just instantly became friends and he insisted you hang out with them. There was a fairly long warm-up period before they really accepted you as one of them but it was worth it. Now, two years later and you spend almost every day after school there. Being a part of their group felt more like being in a family than your actual family.

Even though you started off being closer to Ponyboy and Johnny, you grew closer to Steve and Sodapop. Soda's girlfriend Sandy wasn't entirely thrilled about that, to say the least. It infuriated you when she hurt him as badly as she did. As concerned as you were that he was so heartbroken, you felt a slight pang of joy. Several months after she left, you were sitting outside with him when he looked over at you "hey, (y/n)?" You looked up at him, hummed in response. He flashed a faint smile "something about you makes me want to try again, you make me think that I can actually be happy with someone."

Now, almost six months later, here you two were, sitting on his back porch in comfortable silence. Neither of you had said anything in the last five or ten minutes, so when Sodapop broke the silence it briefly startled you "you know what my dad always said?" You hummed in response, looking over at him "what?" He smiled lovingly at you "that love is when all your happiness, all your sadness, and all your feelings are dependent upon another person." You nodded as you listened to him speak, sort of wondering where he was headed with this.

Sodapop paused before he spoke again, chewing his lip nervously "what I'm trying to say, I guess, is that I love you, (y/n)." You looked over his features, trying to see if he was joking about this. You knew he wasn't the type to mess with someone's emotions, so you weren't surprised when all you saw was pure, genuine love. Your cheeks heated up as you smiled at him "I love you too, Sodapop." His grin grew three sizes bigger before he pulled you closer to him and into a soft kiss.

Once you both pulled back from the kiss, he smiled down at you. Though, there was a painful thought brewing around in your mind. He seemed to know exactly what you were thinking "no one on this earth could replace you in my life, doll, I swear it." You smiled almost sadly "but, what if-" Soda cut you off, smiling sweetly at you "you can't be replaced, (y/n), and that's all there is to it." He pulled you into a tight hug, knowing that it would soothe your nerves and slight anxiety. He kissed the top of your head softly as he held you close "don't be scared, it'll be alright. I'll always be yours."

The two of you sat there for a moment, him rubbing your back and holding you flush against his chest. When you looked up at him, he smiled happily "I've seen the crazy things you've done and been through and if that didn't scare me away nothing will." You elbowed him playfully, laughing softly "you know it's not nice to call a girl crazy, right?" He shrugged goofily and flashed his movie star smile "you looove me." You couldn't help but smile at the almost child-like way he acted sometimes "yeah, yeah I do Sodapop."  

You looked up at him sweetly "when did you know it was me, Soda?" He smiled down at you, with nothing but love and adoration on his face "when you stayed around through all my moping and depression but didn't make a move. You were there for me as a friend when I needed one and you gave me time to heal, you helped me heal." You nodded some before laying your head on his shoulder "of course Soda, I only wanted you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted."

"What about you? When did you know?" He asked, smiling almost tiredly. You just grinned wide "you know for me it's always been you." A small, almost unnoticeable blush made its way onto his cheeks "then you must think I'm real' dumb to have taken so long to notice, huh?" You reached down and took one of his hands, intertwining your fingers "not at all, love is tricky and there's never certainty, it's mostly instinct. SO when my gut told me you were the one, I believed it. I wanted you in my life, whether as a friend or a partner and now I'm just glad to have both."