'the outsiders' headcanons

alone in the sunlight (ponyboy fic)

The smell of cigarettes filled your senses, and for once, you didn't mind. Something was settling inside of you, something that hadn't rested in a very long time.

You looked to the boy next to you, the pink of his cheeks, the dark curls overpowering the dyed blond hair that reminded him of everything wrong. It was almost gone.

He was picking at a tear in his jeans, cigarette caught between his lips. His legs were outstretched on the stairs of the wooden porch where the two of you sat, and you mindlessly played with his shoelace.

"You ever plan on leaving here?" Ponyboy asked, looking out at the street ahead of him, where the hot summer sun burned down on the sidewalk.

"I dunno. I guess so," you admitted, leaning back on your hands and looking up at the leaves on the maple tree growing in his front yard.

Ponyboy flicked his cigarette, rolling it around with his fingers absentmindedly and leaned his back against the wood. "I'm getting out of Tulsa as soon as I get a chance," he announced lowly.

You cocked your head gently, "Well then I'm going with you."

Ponyboy looked over at you, and grinned, color rising to his cheeks. "I hoped you'd say that."

You slowly scooted closer to him, not minding when he pressed his side against yours affectionately, regardless of the heat.

You glanced up at him, and he was staring down at his shoes now, lost in his own world again.

You smiled, "Why do you wanna leave so bad, Pony?"

"'Cause I think I'll be alright if I leave. I don't things can be normal anymore here." He furrowed his brows, "I know it probably doesn't make any sense, but I just feel something. Like it's jumping up in me. Telling me to leave."

You smiled at him, knowing exactly what he meant. "Are you gonna catch a train and run away again?"

Ponyboy chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll leave soon enough. For school, or for something big." He motioned back to the house. "Darry won't want me to stay here. He says he never liked Tulsa all that much. I'll leave this goddamned town someday." He had a crooked grin on his lips, as if the idea excited him. "And I'll take you with me."

With those words, maybe an empty promise, or maybe a silent vow, you felt the feeling inside of you again, so forceful you had to smile.

Peace. That's what it was. So unfamiliar to the both of you, you hadn't expected to find it in each other, in the sunlight.

He drew the cigarette to his lips, and smiled, feeling the heat of the sun of his skin.

"Yeah, I think me an' you will be just fine."

You looked up at him with wide eyes, eyes of an unspoken hope that you both shared from his words.

Ponyboy looked at you, smiling bashfully, shy for the first time since he had started talking.

You couldn't help but smile back, at the grin on his lips, and the warmth in his eyes. You leaned into his side, closing your eyes, trying to remember this moment forever.

The sun suited him well.