#the-liiving-end

1They were at Doody’s place, having a party, and there was alcohol involved. Danny didn’t usually let himself go, but this time he did. First came his Elvis impression, howling out ‘Hound Dog’ on top of a table and waving around his prized red windbreaker ( the James Dean windbreaker as he called it ), and finally stepping down after raucous applause.

Marty had been standing in his path, teasingly asking him for an autograph. “How about a kiss instead?” he suggested with a cheeky grin ( surely it was the beer talking? ), and to his surprise, he got one.

2Danny preferred races to rumbles. When the T-Birds had first started, he had been adamant that, although they would defend their territory, they weren’t to be as violent as some gangs, such as the Scorpions, were. It might have been soft of him, but to him the T-Birds represented more than beating rival gangs into submission. They were a family—and while a family member’s duty was defend his brothers’ honor, the test of skill that was drag racing was far more invigorating than street fights.

So, when the Flaming Dukes’s numbskull of a leader caught wind of his fling with Cha-Cha DiGregorio, Danny challenged him to a race before he could challenge him to a fight. He was good with a knife, but even better with wheels. His Roadster easily pummeled his competition’s ’46 Chevy, and he emerged victorious. Hopping out of his car, he ran back to his friends. In the excitement, he grabbed the nearest Pink Lady—Marty, and too caught up in the rush of his victory to think, pulled her into an embrace, his lips brushing against hers.

3Since neither of them were going to bring up the past two ‘incidents’ so not to make it weird, Danny took the unconventional step of inviting Marty to study in the library. Unfortunately studying was not his strong suit, and he began to lose focus sooner rather than later. In vain he struggled to read his biology textbook, but after realizing that he had been stuck on the same paragraph for the past twenty minutes, he finally gave up.

When she asked him why he was staring, he shrugged and leaned across the table to give her a kiss.

4Danny drummed his fingers on his desk, only half paying attention to the chemistry lecture that he should have been taking copious notes on. It didn’t help that he kept making faces at Marty every time they made eye contact.

Finally, the bell rang and everyone shuffled outside of the classroom. Danny grinned and took her hand, leading her to one of the less crowded hallways. “Alone at last,” he announced, smiling as she interrupted him with a kiss.

5The Flaming Dukes didn’t like to lose. So as much as Danny had tried to avoid an open battle, nothing could have stopped the other gang from taking its revenge. He’d expected that. What he hadn’t expected was for Leo Balmudo and his Scorpions to get involved too. They were horribly outnumbered, and he was grappling Balmudo over a switchblade when he heard the telltale wail of police sirens.

He ducked the other greaser’s swing but cried out when he felt steel slice through his t-shirt, and slumped to the ground. Balmudo gave him a final kick to the ribs before running off. With a groan, the T-Bird leader dragged himself to his feet and started sprinting, powered by adrenaline alone.

meme ➯ accepting!

Omg so I’m so glad someone asked this.

I honestly think it’s a mixture of both.

So my headcanon is that the whole tough guy routine is definitely a front to some extent, but there are bits and pieces of himself there that are genuine. He loves working with cars because it reminds him of his dead dad, and he’s really loyal to his friends whom he sees as a family.

Yet at the same time, at the beach, he felt as if he could be himself, without having to keep up an act to earn people’s respect. He really likes the person he was when he was with Sandy, but that image of himself is at odds with what his friends see.