: - watty's shortlist 2022 - :
{riff ff}
Elizabeth Russell seems to have everything but the one thing she's always wanted comes with a different kind of price.
Riff thinks that he has everything he's ever wanted when it comes to the Jets but an unf...
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// - chapter sixteen - \\ "i can't give you the heart you think you gave me."
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THE GYM BATHROOM WEDNESDAY NIGHT
The bathroom was dirty and dimly lit, the perfect place for two gangs to arrange something shady without the cops getting involved. Bernardo was still feeling the heat after his confrontation with Tony, his fists balled at his side as he reminded himself to stay calm in this situation; one wrong move and it would be show over for him and his gang. Riff was more relaxed; his hands were resting on his hips lazily and his breath was steady; he had been in these situations before and he knew how to act. He wished to have Tony at his side, he was always the one to arrange the rumbles and he was good at it but he tried to push away the feelings of resentment towards his friend for backing out, attempting to focus on the matter at hand instead of betrayals between friends. He had to push away the hurting expression that Elizabeth had given him in the gym, pretending that it didn't also hurt him because he had a gang to lead, he couldn't be seen to have any weaknesses.
Quique was the one to start the conversation, squaring off against the others that were stood in the almost empty bathroom. "You want to fight, right?"
"Not here, we gotta set it up." Ice explained, his eyes darting between the three Puerto Rican men and feeling slightly unnerved by the meeting. He was confident in his leader but he wasn't so sure that they could take the Puerto Ricans on in this setting, if anything went wrong.
"Set it up? You mean...like a date?" Bernardo quirked his lip, making his two friends chuckle but the joke seemingly wasn't approved of by the Jets, who ignored his antics and stuck to the business at hand.
Riff spoke simply, ignoring the joke and gesturing between the two groups because that was what this rumble came down to. "All of you and all of us."
"We're busy guys, we got jobs. Why should we play on the playground with a buncha little-"
"Control of your territory, that's what you get. We keep clear outta your way, you're Jet free. If you win." He made very clear because he wanted them to know that it wasn't a definite win, the Jets were strong and had good numbers, they had a streak of winning and they weren't planning on losing it. "We win, you see us coming – and we will keep coming – you Sharks make like the rats and skedaddle."
"Where?" Bernardo asked, raising an eyebrow because this rumble would have to take place on common ground; neither group wanted this kind of stain on their turf. At the same time, they wanted the security of their own home, knowing all the twists and turns to give them advantages in the rumble, it would be tough to decide on a location.
"The river."
"The docks."
Shaking his head slightly, Riff offered a different suggestion. "The underpass."
