Pin Cushion Heart

Cloudy Skies

It was not an ideal day to go to a market. The sky was grey and cloudy, and you could tell by the smell of the air that it was going to rain. Sadly, that didn't deter Anita, who was dressed to a tee and ready to hit the streets. I had always loved the rain, and a rainy day in the city was my favorite kind of weather, but I wasn't exactly excited to spend my time soaking wet and cold. I slipped on a cardigan that slightly matched my dress, slipped an umbrella in my bag, and met Anita outside the store. She and Bernardo stood, leaning against the door frame and flirting. I rolled my eyes before aggressively closing the door. Anita jumped before laughing, and Bernardo kept his usual unamused look. "That dress is gorgeous on you," Anita said, spinning me around, "you should keep it." I laughed, thinking she was joking. She wrapped my arm in hers as we made our way towards the market, forcing Bernardo to walk behind us.

The market was emptier than usual that day, the storm deterring people from visiting. Anita, though, was a different breed. She wouldn't allow anything, ironically, to rain on her parade. She pushed onward, giving a cheery smile to each vendor we passed. Eventually, we split up. I needed to pick up some new fabric, so I wound my way through the makeshift paths until I found what I was looking for, a little booth that sat right on the outskirts of the market. I started looking through the multitudes of colored fabric. I ended up on a gorgeous one, a bright baby blue fabric with little white flowers on it. I was just about to start measuring the yardage when I felt someone standing close behind me. I whipped around, sending the person jumping back. I opened my mouth to scold them before I realized who it was. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Riff said with his signature devilish grin, "I just saw you and thought that I should come and say hi." I huffed with annoyance. I went back to what I was doing as he hovered, but the people around us began to whisper and gossip. I knew that news would travel to Anita quickly, so I had to find a way to get him to leave. "Are you following me? This is getting annoying." I snapped back, only earning a chuckle from Riff. "I just wanted to come say hi, is that such a big deal?" he waved me off, leaning against the counter and picking at the fabrics in the booth. People around me were starting to get antsy, the fact that he was a Jet being obvious, so I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. We ended up behind a building where I was sure Anita wouldn't find us before I began my rant. "You can't just follow me around everywhere I go and think you can get away with it," I said, sticking my finger in his face and backing him up against the wall. "It's not cute. If this is a joke, it's hilarious to only you. If this is some prank you have running with your little Jet friends, then it needs to be over. You can't be everywhere I go all the time." I took a deep breath, still seething with anger. My hair had fallen in my eyes, covering my view of his face. He sat there, against the wall with me close enough to his face that I could see a few of his freckles before he smiled. He reached up his hand, earning a look from me, before tucking my hair behind my ear. "Your eyes, they're nice up close." At that moment, as if the sky had a timer set, the rain began to pour down on us. I reached for my cardigan but realized I had left it at the booth. Riff quickly slipped off his and handed it to me, mumbling something I couldn't hear about borrowing it. He made his way down the alley as I watched him walk before I too left. Anita and Bernardo caught up to me at the fabric station, before all three of us ran back to my shop for shelter. "Where'd you get that from?" Anita asked, pointing to Riff's jacket. I was still surprised by how he had taken my fit of rage, so all I could say was, "Just found it."

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The rain continued to pour for the rest of the day. At around 9:00, it started to pour even harder. Luckily, Anita and Bernardo had left before getting caught in this tumult. I had spent my night sitting at the sewing machine, making dresses and fixing rips in pant legs. I was just about to get started on a pair of pants when someone knocked on the storefront door. I stood, stretching from sitting for so long, and made my way to the door. I opened it, and gave a polite, "I'm sorry, we're closed, please come back again in the morning." The person, their face shrouded by the darkness the canopy above the shop through, laughed. I knew that laugh. "Even for me?" Riff said, deftly stepping his way into the store.

I knew he wasn't going away without some snarky comment or bothersome conversation, so I only huffed and let him inside. Despite his usual tough façade, he was shivering from the cold. I held up a hand, in a 'stay there' gesture, I quickly walked up the rickety shop steps and grabbed him a towel. I tossed it to him, to which he caught it and began to wipe himself off. "What do you want?" I asked, leaning against the cashier counter. "I just came to snag my jacket, and then I won't bother you anymore." He said, setting the towel next to me on the counter. I went up to one of the multitudes of clothing racks that sat in the shop. I had washed his jacket, so I had hung it with the other shop clothes. I felt it, only for it to still be damp. "It's not dry yet, you can get it in the morning." He seemed taken aback by what I said. "You washed it?" he asked, and I nodded. "If you borrow or use something, it should be in the exact same condition or better than it was before." I said, quoting something my mother used to tell me. He smiled, and I could tell an idea had crossed his mind. "Well, since I'm here, this shirt," he said, showing me a hole on the seam, "seems to be trying to leave me. Think it's not too much trouble to fix it?" He smirked. I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "You going to pay for it? Something like that, five cents." I said. I knew that for holes I charged ten, but for some reason, my brain told me to bring it down. He reached in his pockets, sliding me a nickel. "Leave it here and take," I grabbed a shirt off the rack that someone had dropped off a year ago and never claimed, "this." I looked away and went back to my sewing as he changed, only catching a glimpse of his tattoos. He sat the shirt on the counter, took a breath, and looked at me smiling. "I won't bother you too much tonight. I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N." he said, surprising me with the fact that he remembered my name. He opened the door, took a step, and turned back. "You can keep the jacket." He winked and walked back into the darkness and rain. I smiled, uncontrollably. This boy was going to be the death of me.

A/N: Found some time to write this weekend, I hope you enjoy!