The Allure of Her - Riff West Side Story -

f o u r t e e n

A/N: ITS THE LAST CHAPTER!!!! (i got a cute laptop so now i feel aesthetic writing stories)

Marvin. That's the name Cordelia's eyes landed on, etched on the now bloody brass knuckles of the man's hand. He lay still in the alley, clutching onto his cross necklace, his last words being a blurred mutter of some prayer. Ironic. All these gangsters clutching onto their religious beliefs as if god would preach the message of gang violence. Maybe Aurelia would've once felt sympathy for this man, he probably had a family, but it all seemed so dull after Riff.

Earlier that day, Marvin stood in the hall of some shitty apartment, his eyes tracking the blonde girl walking up the stairs as she hummed sweetly to some song on her Walkman. He unsheathed his knife, it should be easy work for him. It all felt so repetitive, press the girl against the wall, threaten her to go get her friend- the real target- and make her pay for him having to go back to his alley beaten and bruised thanks to her boyfriend.

But, no, instead he found himself running down the streets as the sun stretched above the horizon because the little brat had called the police. Turns out it wasn't the police he'd have to worry about. He strolled through the alleys in a false bubble of security, cracking his knuckles and rubbing the palms of his calloused hands, particularly admiring his brass knuckles. Then, he felt a sudden shove to his broad back, then another as he hit the ground. 

Multiple hits enveloped him and he listened to the vague mutters encircling him. "This the guy Riff wanted?" "Bring him to the Junkyard" "Is he out yet?". Riff's influence really solved problems fast.

*

Cordelia had her head rested against Riff's shoulder as the trio sat awaiting in some scrap car that wasn't fully disassembled, his hand slithered around her waist. As some jets began to scatter inside Tony left, him and Riff doing some mutual nod, symbolising something Cordelia was too tired to decipher. 

"Riff" she murmured, catching his attention, his hand cupping her chin to tilt her head upwards, meeting his gaze. "If I didn't meet you at the bar would you have fought the sharks?"

He smirked softly, his instinctive dismissive response forming at his lips but he halted as he saw her pleading eyes and her gently furrowed brows. "I'd have won, ya know?"

Cordelia shook her head, her finger trailing patterns over his knuckles "As much as I have faith in your fighting it's a pointless battle." Her eyes wandered over him before she shut them "Stay with me overnight, please?"

Riff chuckled, begrudgingly giving in as he nudged her shoulder "Those puppy eyes of yours are more lethal than some of my jets." She gave in a content sigh, nuzzling her head more into his neck, Riff's eyes only tearing off of her as they landed on the problem- Marvin.                                      "Now it's about time I deal with ya little problem, eh?" He replied in a teasing tone, kissing her temple "Stay in the car, Clicky, you're wearing a white dress."

Cordelia rolled her eyes with a smile. "Don't kill him!" she called out jokingly, but the door had already been closed; at this point, Cordelia hadn't fully grasped the concept of having a boyfriend like Riff, but boy was she about to. She finally gave into her droopy eyes, drifting off to sleep, allowing herself to be immersed in the memories of the past.

"Do you remember dad?" Johnny had asked, his hand holding clutching onto the end of Cordelia's sweater. "All the boys in my class have a dad, where's ours?"                                              'God why don't kids have a filter?' . Cordelia felt her brain ache, her eyes fixed upon her mother's unconscious body, gripping the wine bottle much tighter than she ever would her own child.       

"He's long gone, Johnny. Are you ever gonna get some sleep?" She asked, attempting to keep the irritation out of her tone, the two of them sprawled on the living room floor, tucked into the corner. Johnny looked up at her with a pouting bottom lip, egging her for information.                      "I don't remember much" she hesitantly muttered, "he liked that shop down the street, Doc's. He'd buy me a chocolate bar on Sundays. Let me hang with Tony as he got his medicine."

Johnny tilted his head, a small grin creeping up his face. "Tony? Ain't he in a gang?"                            "Johnny!" she huffed softly, nudging him as she smiled slightly. "He ain't in a gang, he's just got some not too reputable friends". 'Atleast until now' were the words that didn't make it past her lips, she knew Tony was slowly slipping away into that crowd, but she'd never let John into that kind of insight. "Now don't you go and think of that kinda stuff, alright?" she replied sternly, putting on her best parenting tone, not that she should have too, she was 15.                                       

"I promise." His pinky finger curved, meeting hers as they shared a smile. "But.." he drawled, "would you ever help me dispose of her body?" he asked with a giggle, looking up at her.

Cordelia lightly pushed his head "ofcourse I would idiot, I'd do anything to protect those I love."

And how true those words would be. Riff stared at her blank face as she took in the corpse that was Marvin. But all she saw was the threat he'd posed to her: the man's reddened face as he'd towered over her while imposing himself upon the counter, the terror on Florence's face as she'd entered the apartment that morning.

"Clicky, you weren't meant to get out the car." He replied, gently grabbing her wrist to move her away from the alley and the crowded jets. "You alright?" Silence lingered in the air before he mumbled the next question. "You hate me?"

Her eyes met his, her hand going to squeeze his. "I couldn't hate you" she whispered solemnly, "I've never had someone protect me before.". Her teeth grasped the inside of her cheek, almost trying to stop her next words tumbling out. "I love you."

A toothy grin stretched out his face "Oh y' do, Clicky?" 

She rolled her eyes, looking up at him "Ri-" she went to complain, smiling up at him before his lips crashed onto hers, one of his hands holding onto her waist as the other cupped her cheek.

"I love you too" 

A/N: I am debating that ending, I feel like I might've started the story with too many plots but tried to wrap them all up. THANK U ANYONE WHO READ THIS, it's basically just a shitpost but i luv it anyways. I can't wait to write again and will definitely be quicker next time. Tell me what u think, any thoughts appreciated <3