// - chapter six - \\
"as hard as you try."
🏙
DOC'S DRUGSTORE
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
Being a working woman was harder than Elizabeth expected, especially when she had assumed that she would only be working the odd shift with Valentina but now it seemed that she was living in the store. Not only was the work challenging, one thing in the wrong place and everything is messed up, but she had to deal with the same customers every day. Despite seeing Riff at the movie theatre that afternoon, the Jets were back at the store that evening because they had nothing better to do than to steal some candy from an elderly lady.
When the bell above the door rang, Elizabeth was expecting to be met with the smirking face of Riff but was surprised to see that he wasn't with the others. Neither was Tony and she expected that the two leaders had something important to discuss, something that they didn't want the others around for until everything had been decided. She had been counting money behind the counter when the boys arrived, and instead of going towards the candy or the comic books as they usually did; they came straight for her. At first, she felt intimidated by them, she had never been alone with the boys and they were part of a gang, there were rumours about what gangs did. She wanted to give them a chance because they were Riff's friends but there was a small part of her that felt uncomfortable when they first surrounded her behind the counter.
"Liza." Ice said smoothly, placing his hands on the counter and staring at her with a tough expression; she attempted to match his gaze because she didn't want them to know that she was slightly scared of them. It wasn't her fault; their entire image was scary with their leather jackets and their bruised knuckles; she had been taught to stay away from guys like these and they were coming to her for some reason. He broke the staring eventually by sighing and shaking his head in defeat. "We need your help."
Instantly she relaxed slightly because she was worried that they were going to attack her or steal from the register or something but it seemed that she had judged them too quickly. At the same time, she had no idea what she could help them with, unless they needed dresses for the dance. "My help? What would you need me for?"
"The dance. Baby John wants to ask Tessie but he's scared."
"Isn't that what you should be helping him with?" She wondered, knowing that this gang was all about brotherhood and taking care of each other; dating advice would surely come into that.
"But you're a girl." Tiger pointed out quickly, which made everyone turn to him with slitted eyes; it wasn't the best argument to use and even Elizabeth was surprised that he had contributed anything.
"Congratulations, Tiger, I'm glad you distinguished that."
Balkan shook his head, bringing the attention back to the serious conversation because some of the guys took this more seriously than others; he flipped his coin in the air. "You know how to talk to other girls-"
"And you know Tessie." Mouthpiece added before Snowboy nodded and wrapped his arm around his friend, pointing out. "You know all the girls!"
Upon hearing what the guys were saying, it seemed as though they were playing off their own skills as being fine and using Baby John as a way of getting help. The way that they were talking made it seem like they were all asking for help but they didn't want to admit that. "Are you sure it's just Baby John that needs help?"
"We know you're helping the girls with their dresses; you can tell us what they say about us."
"I could..."
"Please, Liza, we'll get on our knees." Mouthpiece shoved the other guys to get them to kneel down and they quickly all followed suit, putting their hands together and looking up at her from behind the counter. Elizabeth leaned over to see them as they shook their hands. "We'll beg ya!"
"Boys, we don't need to resort to that." She rolled her eyes at their dramatic abilities, knowing that they all copied each other to becoming the most dramatic and gestured for them to get up. Deciding that the best option would be to help them, she put down what she was working on and turned her undivided attention onto the Jets. "So, what do you need help with exactly?"
Snowboy scratched his head before admitting. "We don't know how to talk to 'em."
"Speak for yourself." Big Deal frowned, shoving his shoulder and believing that he was the expert when it came to the ladies.
"And they're scary!" Little Moly shrieked, pushing his friends out of the way so that he was stood at the front and could see what was happening.
Diesel ran a hand through his hair before furrowing his brows. "They always walk around in groups."
"Well, so do you." She pointed out to them and they all glanced in her direction, wondering why she would say something like that before Mouthpiece quickly explained why there was a big difference between them.
"They walk in scarier groups."
Trying not to laugh at them, Elizabeth scoffed and hid her grin behind her hands before questioning them. "So, the Jets are scared of a bunch of girls?"
"Don't tell them!" Tiger squeaked.
"And don't tell Riff!" Action quickly added, as the other boys mumbled in agreement; they all agreed that they didn't want their leader to know that they were scared to ask out a bunch of girls. They were the Jets and they weren't supposed to be scared of anything.
"Please, Liza, what do we say?" Baby John stepped behind the counter and stood in front of her, if anyone else had asked then she may have made fun of them but this was the youngest member and he lived up to his name. She knew that she would do anything to take care of Baby John, plus she liked Tessie and she knew that the girl was waiting for him to make the first move.
"Start with the basics. Favourite colour, favourite food, what do you do in your spare time? Well, what do you like to do? What are your hobbies?"
"I'm good at stealing things." Snowboy raised his hand and the others nodded to agree.
"That's...that's not what I mean...uh, do you like to read?"
"I read." Balkan broke the silence of the question.
"No, you don't!" Diesel laughed, hitting him on the back as the others joined in with the laughter. "I ain't ever seen you read before."
"I do, I've read hundreds of comic books."
Elizabeth had been hoping for a different kind of book but at the same time couldn't be surprised that that was what she was getting from them, it was a start, even if it wasn't a great one. "That's better than nothing I suppose. Let's move on from hobbies, what about the future? What do you want to do when you're older?"
"Older?" Action repeated, as though he had never thought about aging before which confused her because everyone is asked about the future. Everyone has a plan of what they want to do or want to be once they reach a certain age; she didn't understand why the boys were all looking at her as if she had grown two heads.
"What jobs do you want to have, you can't stay in the Jets forever, right?"
"I don't think you completely understand the Jets, Liza." Ice shook his head as he moved to the front of the boys and folded his arms over his chest.
Knowing that this would start a very long discussion about gangs and what their purpose was, she rolled her eyes and leaned back. "Then enlighten me."
"When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way, from your first cigarette till your last dyin' day. When you're a Jet if the spit hits the fan, you got brothers around, you're a family man." Ice sang, patting his boys on the back and looking proud of himself.
"You're never alone, you're never disconnected." Mouthpiece sang as Diesel lifted Elizabeth onto the counter and spun her around so that she was dizzy. "You're home with your own when company's expected-"
"You're well protected!" The boys chanted, punching the air.
They spread themselves around the counter as Diesel picked up a basket from next to the counter; throwing different items at Elizabeth, who held up her hands to dodge the attacks until he stopped because he found a cap that he liked and placed it on his head. "Then you are set with a capital J, which you'll never forget till they cart you away."
"When you're a Jet, you stay a Jet!"
Elizabeth followed them to the back of the store where they began flicking through comic books, making different shapes out of them. She dodged an X-men aeroplane as she attempted to get to them and ask further questions. This wasn't just her curiosity about the Jets, this was her curiosity about Riff; if this was his gang then he was bound to follow some of the rules and morals that had been created. She wondered if he really felt this way, that there was nothing after the Jets and this was who you were supposed to be for the rest of your life. She grabbed another aeroplane that was heading in her direction and threw it directly at Action, who had thrown it at her first before turning to the others. "Let me get this straight, you wanna be Jets forever?"
"It's not wanna, it's gonna – we're Jets for life." Mouthpiece said proudly, leaning back on the book shelf and almost knocking it over; luckily, Elizabeth grabbed the shelves and shoved him off them so that it wouldn't happen again.
"And you're happy with that?"
"What's better than spending the rest of your life with your brothers?" Ice wondered, smiling at his friends before continuing the song. "When you're a Jet, you're the top cat in town-"
"You're the gold medal kid with the heavyweight crown?" Elizabeth guessed, holding up a plastic crown that had been left behind in the store, she hadn't been sure that she knew what was going on but the excitement of buzzing from the guys made her realise that she had said something right.
"When you're a Jet, you're the swingin'est thing." Big Deal sang as he threw one of his arms around her shoulder and led her towards the front of the store. "Little boy you're a man-"
"Little man you're a king!" They all chanted as they pushed open the door to the store and ran onto the street.
"Here come the Jets like a bat out of hell, someone gets in our way; someone don't feel so well. Here come the Jets, little world step aside, better go underground, better run, better hide." They all sang together, racing down the middle of the street and spinning in time with each other. Action and Balkan stayed back, each taking a hand and lifting Elizabeth into the air before placing her back on her feet. Each member of the Jets came to dance with her as they sang and she found herself enjoying the moment, twirling in between them and laughing at whatever dance step they created. "We're drawin' the line so keep your noses hidden. We're hangin' a sign, says visitors forbidden and we ain't kidding. Here come the Jets, yeah and we're gonna beat every last buggin' gang on the whole buggin' street. On the whole ever mother lovin' street!"
Helping the Jets practise to ask out the girls was amusing and Elizabeth found herself having more fun than she ever thought imaginable as she talked them through every scenario. She couldn't believe that she had ever been scared of those boys because as soon as you talked to them, they were massive softies and were desperate to not look stupid in front of the girls that they liked. Baby John was the most adorable, he kept going pink each time he had to practise and Elizabeth just wanted to cuddle him and reassure him that everything would be fine. She knew the girls and she knew that no matter what happened, they were desperate to be asked to the dance; so, no matter how badly the boys messed up – they were going to have dates to the dance.
🌃
THE RUSSELL FAMILY APARTMENT
THURSDAY NIGHT
She got into the house later than expected, her parents were in the lounge, reading the newspaper and whatever magazines had been delivered that day. She greeted them with kisses before heading to her bedroom, ready to take off her painful shoes and remove the pins from her hair and get some rest. Under her breath, she hummed the song that had been sung with the Jets, her mind racing with their funny stories and comments that they had made that day. It was wrong of her to have so much fun when she was supposed to be working but she couldn't help it, they had come into the store, they were customers and she kept them happy. Valentina should be glad that she wasn't pushing customers away.
Just as she closed her bedroom door behind her and turned on her lamp, she almost screamed in shock because there was someone sat on her bed. Thankfully it was just Riff but it still scared her that he randomly appeared in her bedroom without any warning. He was also lucky that she had been the one to walk into the room first because either of her parents could have gone inside to look for something and would instead have found a teenage boy waiting in the dark. Her hand flew over her chest as she attempted to control her breathing, glaring at him and hissing at him through gritted teeth. "Seriously? My father will kill you if he catches you in here."
"Then don't give me away, keep your voice down." He replied, ensuring that his own voice was muffled but he didn't look too worried about the danger that he had put himself in.
"What are you doing here?"
"Thought I'd thank you."
"Thank me?" She repeated, hanging her coat on the back of the door and raising an eyebrow in his direction. "That's new."
Riff leaned back on the bed, resting on his elbows. "The Jets told me all about how you helped them talk to girls, they've all got dates to the dance now because of you."
"I didn't really do anything...where are you going now?"
"I wanna show you something." He explained, standing next to the opened window and holding out his hand for her, which she just stared at awkwardly. "C'mon, Bet, don't leave me hanging?"
Her face scrunched up at the name that he called her, she was used to his nicknames but this was something new and she wasn't sure what it meant. The Jets all had nicknames, she wondered if this was her version of that, that Riff had given her one to fit in with them all better. "Bet?"
"Bet, like Betty but shorter, I think it suits you." He explained it, not wanting to sound weird or overbearing but he had been trying out different nicknames for her and that was the one he liked the most. He waved his hand in front of her face and grinned widely, attempting to convince her to join him. "C'mon, live a little."
She took his hand and he led her onto the fire-escape which was a place that she had never ventured onto before because she was certain that it wasn't safe. She was terrified each time Riff climbed it because she was sure that one day, it would fall from the wall. The apartment was rather high up and it felt like they were in the clouds as they stood, staring out at the city around them. She had never seen the city from this view, barely taking the time to look out of her window because she was always rushing out of the house to do something else. Riff sat himself down and hung his legs over the side of the bars, patting the space beside him as Elizabeth followed and looked up at the dark sky above them.
"Stargazing, huh?" She smirked, deciding that this was his idea of a makeup date and she didn't really mind it. "I didn't think you were the romantic type."
"Not much else to do when you're a kid in New York, my ma taught me about the stars. It ain't much, you probably know more than me-"
"Just tell me." Elizabeth interrupted, wanting to know what he was passionate about because the only thing he ever talked about was the Jets and she wanted to know more, she wanted to know more about him. Riff was worried about opening himself up to someone that he hardly knew but there was something about this girl that made him want to; these were things that no one knew about him, not the Jets and not even Tony. He had never even mentioned his mother to his friends and couldn't believe that he was telling her.
"Okay, well, uh, that's the big dipper. It's important because two of its stars function as pointers to the North Star so it helped people navigate. It can be called loads of different things but back in like, medieval times, people thought it had magical abilities."
"Where is it again?" She wondered as he grabbed her hand gently and tilted it in the right direction so that she would see what he was talking about but she was struggling to follow his sense of direction; it might have been something to do with the fact that her hand was tingling from his touch.
"There."
"Where?"
"There, right there." He pointed upwards as she leaned her head back to look up at the sky but no matter what was happening, Riff couldn't stop staring at her with an expression of admiration on his face. "You know, there are thousands of stars that we'll never actually see but somehow, I get a front row seat to you."
Fighting the urge to laugh at his cheesy statement, she moved closer to him so that they were staring into each other's eyes and there was hardly any distance between them. Her voice lowered from the closeness of their position. "Did you rehearse that?"
"Did it work?" He smirked, their noses brushing against each other's and their breaths creating heat between them. She could feel herself melting into his embrace, her eyes closing and her heartrate speeding up but just as their lips grazed each other's —
"Elizabeth!"
She jumped back from him, scared to death by the shout from outside her bedroom door. Riff didn't seem as worried about the interruption; sure, he wasn't glad that their first kiss had been ruined but he was happy to know that she would have reciprocated the moment. If anything, he found the situation amusing that she was so worried to get caught by her parents – that her parents would probably kill him if they found him in her room. Riff wished that his place was better suited for them, he would take her there and they wouldn't get interrupted but her room was much nicer than his and much more comfortable than a curtain between them and Tony.
"Oh my god, that's my mom!" She panicked and jumped back into the bedroom, attempting to close the curtains so that her mother wouldn't suspect anything but Riff moved them away from his face and didn't move from the ledge. "Go, go, go!"
He once again refused to move, tilting his head innocently as if he was doing absolutely nothing wrong. "When can I see you again?"
"Let fate decide."
"Thought you didn't believe in it?"
"Things change." She smirked, reaching down to quickly kiss him; it wasn't the perfect first kiss that they could have shared whilst stargazing but it was the perfect first kiss for them. Riff pulled back and grinned, beginning to climb down the fire escape as Elizabeth took the moment in, her fingers danced across her lips and she fought the urge to squeal because she was so excited. The knock at her door brought her back into reality as she rushed to answer it and say her goodnights to her mother.
Meanwhile, Riff was heading home with a spring in his step. He had never felt weightless before, he had kissed plenty of girls before but they had never made him feel like this. None of them had ever made the first move. Technically he had made the first move which had been interrupted but she kissed him out of nowhere when he was leaving, she was a different kind of girl and he didn't want to let her go. If he could then he would spend every moment with her, they would never be separated and she could live a life with him forever but reality stepped in. they were from completely different worlds, they had different outlooks on everything – maybe it wasn't going to work out but he didn't care because he felt incredible right now and that was all he cared about.
a/n: i loved adding the song to this chapter & i love the relationship forming between elizabeth and the jets 🥺 -lizzie ⭐️
date published: 15/04/22