The Allure of Her - Riff West Side Story -

n i n e

He stood up, dusting himself off, awkwardly beginning to stumble away in the opposite direction. This action instantly snapped Cordelia back into reality as she rushed forward, slowing as she began to approach his back, his body not moving as he realised the advancing clicks of heels.

Cordelia raised her arm, only pausing as she constructed a sentence, and followed through by softly tapping his shoulder, her face impulsively planting a small smile as he span around to face her.

"Didn't leave you hanging too long, did I?"

"Long enough for me to tell ya, the zoo is no fun sober." Riff chuckled, casually composing himself as he acknowledged Cordelia's appearance, the tear-stained face yet attempting to be reassuring smile.

He simultaneously acknowledged the longing on her face to forget whatever troubles and simply have some fun, and fun, he could do.

"Change in scenery for our date?" Cordelia looked up at him with wide, smiling eyes as they both began to stroll out into the streets, interlinking arms, Riff leading a clearly meticulously planned route.

"Our date." He drawled, his smirk growing as he rethought the words.

Cordelia felt her face redden and turned her face away from view, dazing into the shop windows.

"Somethin' caught your eye?" Riff stated with a cocked eyebrow, glancing back at her and the streets, clearly searching for a specific spot.

"See I saw some leopard print heels and I think the animals are disappointed we didn't visit."

"Now I ain't no advisor on dating, but zoos aren't how I go, Clicky." He winked, gently tugging her arm into a remote alleyway behind a far too expensive italian restaurant recently imported on a rebuilt street.

The alleyway was dimly lit with only a slither of light escaping out an open, back window, highlighting the amused perplexity on Cordelia's face. It wasn't until she recognised a quiet, slow song melody begin to flood out the back window that a wide grin spread on her face, Cordelia carefully wrapping her arms around Riff .

The two began to dance, gently enveloped in a fantasy, one ridden of gang violence and social classes, simply full of infatuation and allure for one another. He tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled to himself, gently placing a kiss on the top of her head as Cordelia buried her head in his chest, submerged in euphoria.

As the song ended, Cordelia didn't untwine her hand from his, instead she held it tightly as the two aimlessly walked around the streets, expressing every thought to each other.

As Cordelia rested her head on his shoulder he allowed himself to open up about the rumbles and attachment to the jets, feeling an unknown sense to him, a sense of peace.

"Promise to tell me about these things, these rumbles, alright?"

"I'm a big boy, little lady." He teased, placing a kiss on her forehead, Cordelia comforted by their newfound closeness.

"I don't wanna see you coming back to me broken and bruised." She replied, tracing her finger down his knuckles.

But then the disruption of the night began as Cordelia recognised a deep, menacing chuckle ring through the dark, moon-lit streets.

Her eyes needed to reassure her mind, scanning the streets but she was left dumbfounded as she re-encountered him, she was concealed in a cool sweat and abruptly stopped, catching Riff's attention.

Her mind flashed to memories of the long, drawn-out whistle, the girl who was obnoxiously munching gum as she punched the man's face, the one who later beat on her. Cordelia's mind roaming to how she thought of Riff in that moment as she ran away, as she was immersed in anxiety and fear, she thought of him.

"What's happenin', Clicky?" Riff lightly tapped her shoulder, breaking her state of hysteria, following her eye-line to the men grouped on the other side of the pavement.

Cordelia wrapped her arms around him and convinced him to continue walking, closing her eyes and allowing Riff to recall her route home.

"I'm alright, you're here." She smiled to herself. He's here.

*

Riff arrived at the building, slowly edging closer inside, raising his eyebrow as Cordelia reached her apartment and presented him with an open door.

"The fire escape has a pretty good view." Cordelia grinned, dragging the word pretty.

Riff shrugged as he accepted the open door, allowing her to lead him towards her room and watching as she slipped open the window, Riff grabbing his jacket as they exited.

The black abyss of the night sky was sprinkled with gleaming stars, twinkling above them as they slumped their backs against the brick walls, Cordelia laying her head on his chest.

As the night ventured on and their mumbles to eachother got quieter, Cordelia fully shut her eyes, finally droning off with a firmly stained smile on her face.

Riff covered the pair with his re-picked up jacket and slung his arm around her, admiring Cordelia until he felt his eyes begin to feel heavy.

They were wrapped into eachother, softly sleeping as the sun began to rise.

A/N: y'all i can't believe this took me so long, pls tell me what you think and tysm for all the love <3