She was all Riff could think about, her glowing blonde hair and beautiful brown eyes. Sure, he had only seen Anna once, and he had walked her home, but still. When he saw a girl, he saw a girl.
He didn't know why he did this, as his friends were gathered by the basketball court, he began to walk away from the chain link fence they were leaning against. "Where you goin' man?" Asked Action, growing impatient from standing around, waiting for any opportunity to jump another gang. Riff shrugged without turning and wandered the streets. One right, one left, one more right…
Anna sat, bored and tired, in the musty apartment living room. Her mind drifted off to that strange boy…Riff. His smile and his eyes…among many other wonderful things about him, she loved his sweet personality. Of course, he was a member of a gang, so he could be much more than sugary sweet. As soon as she saw him, she felt free, she could sense the danger. All the more irresistible.
She sat day dreaming of him, until she heard the familiar clang of her brother. He was always sleeping in, blowing off his job and hanging out with his mysterious friends. They would be here soon, the usual crowd. Johnny, Lou and Bobby. They were clean boys, the kind who run from the first sight of gangs. They went to school too, much like Anna.
All her brother did was lazily roam downstairs, sitting down on the couch. "Where were you last night? Pop was all worried." He was very protective of his sister when his father wasn't here, and he liked to take charge.
"I was out late, okay? I wanted to go see what they sold in the general store. And nice, young man walked me home. I was perfectly safe." Anna said, but not wanting to answer any other questions, she tried to escape.
"Nuh-uh. A GUY? A NICE, YOUNG MAN? Hey girl, the only nice young man around here is your Pop and Doc, the owner of the general store. Well, I suppose Bobby is nice too." In Anna's mind, he just went on and on. Pointless names that never meant a thing, until he got to the familiar lecture.
"Listen Anna, stay away from the gangs. You can't trust none of them to be a gentleman with you. So just stay away, you can't be near them. Understood?" Even though he was sitting on the couch, looking immature and annoying, his voice was deep and demanding. Anna nodded, but slipped out the back door once he fell back to sleep.
She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she could find some one at Doc's General Store. It was only a block away and Anna was alone, giving herself the opportunity to roam free. When she pushed open the doors of the store, she saw him. Riff, standing with that familiar half smile. This was the third time she had seen him, just as breath taking as when she had found him sitting on her fire escape last night.
He turned when he heard the door open, and was delighted to see Anna approaching the counter to purchase a stick of gum. "Well, if it isn't the officer's daughter." Riff laughed and walked towards her, hands in his pockets. Anna grinned, showing a set of straight white teeth and pretty red lips.
Doc came towards the two from behind the counter. "What are you doing with this girl, Riff?" He asked, his tired voice echoing through out the small store. Riff smirked. "What am I not doing with her?" Anna's face turned pink at his remark, but gladly Doc only shook his head and sighed. Anna could here him whisper under his breath "What has happened to the world?"
Outside, on the busy city streets, Riff led her into the calm of the alleyways. He showed her where he was never found and the secrets of a 'street cat' like himself. "Now, if you wanna make it on the streets, you gotta be smart. But not like the kinda smart you know, the kinda smart you only learn from some one like me." Riff's eyes glistened in the sun.
His silver tongue and his curiously charming dangerous personality had already carried Anna away. She loved that for once, she was not hidden and she was not protected. By sunset, Anna was sure she almost felt like she was in love. Riff didn't think much of anything like that as he draped his arm around her shoulders and walked her home, instead he focused on her father.
Riff's mind was heavy with thoughts about the relationship. He didn't want to go any further, he didn't want to find that she was actually falling for him, and falling hard. He didn't want to have to decide between his faithful friends and a girl, though deep in his gut he knew the day would come when he'd have to decide. Still, when the moon shined down upon the streets, Riff returned to her fire escape.
She opened the door and stepped in to the dark of the night. The air was humid, but a gentle breeze caressed her skin. "Riff! You know, my father is going to catch you one night!" She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Riff swallowed and managed to chuckle a little. Once he gazed into her brown eyes, he almost forgot where he was and what he was doing here. He closed his eyes and hugged her tightly; never had he felt this feeling before.
It was odd to him, the easy going, wild, risk taking, smooth talking street boy, to feel something so close to what he thought might just be love. He made a note to see Tony the following day, for he knew if there was any friend he could depend on to listen, it was Tony. And the night slowly faded to the morning, where he found himself climbing down the stairs of the fire escape and stepping on to the streets again.
He found his way to Doc's store and ran down the stairs in to the basement area. He found Tony easily, unloading boxes of pop and setting empty bottles on a nearby table. Tony heard him come in and beamed at his friend, but he dropped his smile when he saw Riff's expression. One Tony knew well, one he had seen himself where many times before. Tony handed Riff a bottle of pop and fell into a nearby chair. "Who's the girl?" Tony asked, slightly raising his chin. Riff smirked at his friend and popped off the cap.
"Tony, call me crazy, but I like her." Riff sighed, and then turned to look out the window up at the wild city. "I don't know why the hell I'm doing what I'm doing, but I really think I like her. And I'm taking such a big risk here, falling for the Officer's daughter. But hey, I can't help falling in love with the girl…" Tony cut him off before he could finish. "Wait! The officer's daughter? Riff, you can't do that! You're out of your mind boy!" Tony nodded his head and laughed.
Riff just took another sip of his pop and continued on. "She's like no girl I've ever met before! Tony, you must know how I'm feeling! C'mon, don't you remember being like me?" Riff joked with his friend, and they talked for a few more minutes. Riff waved to Tony and climbed up the stairs back on to the street, where he found the rest of the Jets, wandering.
"Hey boys!" Riff yelled in the direction of the gang. They turned towards him and waved. "Where ya been buddy?" Action asked, climbing on to a parked truck. Riff grinned to himself as his friends gathered around him. Soon, they were walking down the street when they heard the cry of a familiar whistle. Immediately, the group separated, all running in different directions. Riff only stood in the road, hands in his pockets, sticking his chest out proudly and smirking. "Officer! Just the man I wanted to see." Riff joked, as Officer Krupke strided towards him.
"Well, if it ain't the young man I found standing on my fire escape last night." The officer smiled, then he deepened his voice. "What were you doing there boy? Were you paying a visit with my dear son, or were you just stopping by to see how I was doing?" The officer leaned towards Riff, and darkened his expression. "I know what you were doing. And I strongly suggest you stay away from Anna. Believe me little man, the Jet's are going to be the one's paying if you don't watch it." And with that, the Officer turned on his heel and burst out laughing.
A/N: I am sooooooooooooooo sorry it took me so long to update! See, I really didn't want to ruin this story, so I was almost afraid to touch it! Thanks for the reviews, I'll try to hurry up with the third chapter!