the outsiders imagines

the curtis boy - tim

pairing: tim shepard x reader

warnings: mention of death

summary: the death of a tulsa boy hits tim harder than expected.

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"did you hear about the curtis boy?"

you'd never seen him like this: his blue eyes dark, filled with unexplained melancholy. his lips, chapped from the winter cold, a thin line across his face. and his eyelids were puffy and red.

"no, what happened?"

"the kid died."

you could almost feel your heart stop. after his deployment, the whole town of tulsa missed sodapop patrick curtis. his smile had made people happy even on the darkest of days, and everyone secretly believed that he was destined to become a movie star one day. someone big. someone who meant something to the world. but now...he was gone?

"but...."

"he died in combat, saving one of his buddies." tim rubbed his face as he took a seat on the couch. "heard from one of the guys, so i went to go see darry. i ain't ever seen anyone look so broken. and that other kid, gee i dunno if he'll ever recover. he was just sitting at the table, starin' at the damn wall."

you listened quietly, but there was a question you were itching to ask. why did tim look so heartbroken by this news? it wasn't like he was best friends with sodapop. in fact, you'd only ever seen tim talk to the kid once. and he wasn't all that close to darry either.

but then tim gave you the answer you were looking for.

"i wasn't that close to him, i know. but he was a great kid, ya know? a kid that made people feel something. didn't matter if you were a greaser or a soc. he was a kid that reminded people that life is gonna get better, to always keep smilin' and movin'. a kid that cherished bein' alive. but now he's dead." tim sniffed and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes tightly. you walked over to him and placed a hand in his hair, massaging his head softly. he melted into your touch, but you could see a few teardrops begin to make their way down his cheek. "why does a kid like that gotta fight a war that ain't even his war to fight? it ain't right, y/n, it ain't right. this world is fucked up. a world where a kid like sodapop curtis is sent to kill and be killed is fucked up."

"shhhh, tim, i've got you," you whispered. he sniffled and opened his eyes, staring at you like a lost puppy. it still didn't make sense why sodapop's death was hitting tim so hard, but you told yourself that one day you'd understand. and until then, you'd be there for him.