They were the Jets. They were invincible.
Or so they thought.
.
A-rab was terrified. And he was never terrified. He saw the familiar red light of the cop car, and skidded to a stop. He dashed out of the light from the streetlamp, and into the darkened awning of a store, his heart slamming in his chest. The car rolled by, and he ran across the road behind it, praying that he wouldn't be seen. He needed to find the other guys, because in numbers, there was safety. A-rab ran blindly down an ally, starting at every noise and shadow. He scrambled up the side of a low building, and took the short cut, running along the top.
…
Baby John heard the footsteps, and looked up with a start. Seeing it was only A-rab, he relaxed slightly, but then tried to blend in to the chimney he sat propped against. He didn't want even his best friend to see him like this. A-rab almost passed by him, but just as he was about to drop down, he saw Baby John. Baby John tried to make some lame excuses as to what he was doing, but A-rab didn't fall for them. But Jet's didn't cry. Hell, guys didn't cry. Only girls did that.
A-rab set next to him, and the images from the Rumble flashed back into Baby John's head. The Sharks were probably out for blood, not to mention the cops. Somehow, Baby John didn't think snowing them would work. Still, he followed A-rab in search of the rest of the gang. He was a Jet, after all. Even if he did cry.
…
Riff was gone, Tony was God-know where, and the Sharks were going to pay. At least according to Action. He sat on an old barrel as the Jets re-grouped at the warehouse lot. He tightened his fists. The Sharks would pay. He needed to punch something-anything. He viciously smoked his cigarette, and pounded his fist into his leg, over and over again. The tell-tale Jet whistle pierced the night, and everyone looked up. Action jumped to his feet, and came to a stop next to Ice, bristling when Ice slapped him on the back. He threw his cigarette to the ground. He had to take his anger out on something. He listened with one ear to A-rab's idiotic explanation, wondering how he could be so condescending at a time like this. But his eyes focused on Baby John. The wimp's eyes were red, and he avoided eye contact, slumping against the wall by Tiger. Action narrowed his eyes. He knew prey when he saw it.
"What's wrong with him?"
A-rab began nagging at him, and Action clenched his fists. Sure, they were all Jets, but sometimes, he just wanted to punch them all. He froze at the mention of Riff's name as A-rab tried to prove Baby John for him. They had to finish this.
…
Graziella heard A-rab falter over Riff's name, and she couldn't help the new wave of sobs. Yeah, she was the leader of the Jet girls, and she was supposed to always be tough, but tonight was different. Riff was gone. Which probably made Velma the leader. She tried to stifle her crying, but she couldn't help it, remembering how alive he had been just last night.
…
.Snowboy didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to be out snowing the cops, or joking around, or at the gym, fighting with dancing, where dumb ol' Officer Krupke stood in the back making sure no dirty fighting went on. He just wanted to go home. He was usually the one cracking all the jokes, but he couldn't even bring himself to think about anything but what happened. He was relieved to see Baby John and A-rab back and not nabbed and in jail, though. Action tried to get them all to go out and get the Sharks, but Snowboy could only give him a blank stare. Baby John voiced all their concerns, saying that they had enough. It had defiantly been enough.
…
They were the best. Joyboy gave himself a mental shake. They are the best. The Jets were on top. No one could bring them down. Action was spouting things off about going out to get their revenge, and Joyboy sided with him. Then, Action and A-rab got into a shoving match, and Joyboy jumped forward. It wasn't that he didn't want them not to fight. He didn't care. He just had to get his anger out on something. He wasn't even thinking. He remembered less than an hour ago, Riff ripping off his jacket, and throwing it at him. Less than five minutes later, he was dead. A-rab was standing in the way of avenging Riff. He had to join the fray. He was vaguely aware of Gee-Tar now pulling him back, when a loud crash echoed through the warehouse ally, and the girls screamed. Joyboy had a new target. Blind, animalist rage was practically consuming him now. He balled up his fists, about to yell at that 'loudmouth crud-head' hanging out the apartment window, but before he could open his mouth, Ice and Gee-Tar were shoving them all inside.
…
Velma wrapped her arms around her friend. Riff wouldn't have been killed. It should have been Ice. Not Ice. If things hadn't gotten out of hand, she figured she would be doing the same thing Graziella was doing now. She tried to comfort Graziella, but who would comfort her? Ice was the new leader. He didn't have time to even look at his girlfriend. She had to be strong. She tried to be strong, barely listening to the Jet's squabbling. What would Graz do, if this were Velma sobbing? Something exploded just a few feet away from them—a bottle or something a guy threw out the window at them. Velma and Graziella both screamed, and Velma was running away from it. She ran towards Ice, but he didn't even acknowledge her. He had bigger things to worry about—The Jets. Ice herded them all into the warehouse, and Velma ran to join the other girls. She couldn't count on Ice to have time for her right now.
…
Ice couldn't do this. But he had to. Riff was gone. He was in charge. Better him then Action. If Action was in charge, they would be dead, or in jail. They had to play it cool.
He was angry to. He wanted just as much as Action to go kill the Sharks, but he knew it wouldn't work. They had to calm down, and find Tony. But all he really wanted to do was find Velma and kiss her senseless.
But he knew she'd have to wait. If they showed anything—any sign of fear, or hate or anything—and the cops saw it, they were dead.
Riff always knew what to do in these situations. Ice would just have to learn.
…