don't leave me this way

t h r e e

"Woah if you stop pushing me maybe I'll let you know" He says grabbing her forearms and pulling her closer.
"You promised to keep out of trouble"
"I said I would try, that's not definite" he smirks and she shakes her head, pulling herself away from him.
"Who's worst?" She asks the rest of the boys and they turn to John who's ear is bleeding.
"Right come here" she motions him forward and holds her hand out for Riff to put a cloth and alcohol into which he does quickly.
The pair of them practically took care of the group after every fight. She pulls the boy down to sit with her and she rubs the alcohol on the cloth before bringing it to the boys ear making him flinch. She let him settle again before she continued to clean the boys face up, making sure all the blood was washed off before she stood up again and faced the leader.
"Is this how you're treating your boys? Letting them become bruised and bloody cause you have a little feud? Come on Riff, I expected better"
"It's fine Lis, so as I was saying me and Tony"
"Tony?" The boys cut him off making him look at them skeptically.
"Tony's done with the jets"
"You're never done with the jets"
"Maybe you should be" Lisa snaps at him and he rolls his eyes biting his lip.
"When you're a jet, you're a jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dying day" the boy sings at her and the rest of the boys.
"When you're a jet-" she starts and cuts her off.
"If the spit hits the fan, you got brothers around, you're a family man"
"You're never alone"
"You're never disconnected"
"You're home with your own"
She steps forward again making him smirk, he enjoyed it when she was around the jets, it made his ego so much bigger knowing the person he adored most was right by his side, no matter how much she claimed to hate it.
"When company's expected-"
"You're well protected" the boys sing to her making her roll her eyes.
"Then you are set with a capital J, which you'll never forget till your last dying day, when you're a jet, you stay a jet" he sings as they all start walking down the street together, his best friend right by his side.
"So meet Tony and me at the Dog Days Dance at the gym tonight"
"You can't rumble at the gym, it'll be lousy with cops Riff" Lisa snaps at him.
"Maybe we had enough troubles with the Puerto Ricans for one day?" One of the boys asks and she nods her head in agreement before the boy next to her swings his arm over her shoulder and brings her round to face the rest of the gang with him.
"Relax, it's a social mixer so we'll mix" he begins tapping her nose on the last syllable.
"Until the times right to fix the rumble for tomorrow night"
"Riff I swear-"
"Be there ten pm, punctual like, dressed to kill, walking tall" he announces ignoring the pleas on the girl next to him.
"We always walk tall, we're Jets"
The pair turn back around and he squeezes her shoulder tighter.
"The greatest"
The boys then start strutting down the street making people move out of the way, Riff and Lisa leading the gang, one proud and one not so much.
"When you're a jet, you're the top cat in town"
"You're the gold medal kid with the heavyweight crown"
"When you're a jet, you're the swinginest thing"
"Little boy you're a man, little man you're a king" they sing to John.
"The jets are in gear"
"Our cylinders are clickin"
"The sharks'll stay clear"
"Cause every Puerto Ricans a-"
"Riff!" Lisa scolds.
The boys smirks and lifts her up bridal style, spinning her around playfully.
"Here come the jets like a bat out of hell, someone gets in our way, someone don't feel so well" they sing before he puts her down and grabs her hand to run forwards with her as the boys follow.
"Here come the jets, little world step aside, better go underground, better run, better hide"
"We're drawing a line, so keep your noses hidden, we're hanging a sign, says visitors forbidden and we ain't kiddin"
The boys approach a mountain of rubble from the buildings that have been torn down and they all scramble to the top still singing away as Lisa makes her way up slowly, careful not to slip.
"Here come the jets, yeah, and we're gonna beat every last buggin gang on the whole buggin street"
Lisa had now made it to the top and the boys let her through to stand next to Riff who held his arm around her safely.
"On the whole, ever, mother, lovin, street"
"Yeah!" The boys all shout as the boy next to her pulls her in closer making him turn to face her, realising their faces were closer together than he thought.
He could smell the perfume she was wearing and could hear the way her breathing was slightly uneven. He noticed the light blush on her cheeks and felt his own heating up as he smiled at her.
She could smell the smoke from the other boys on him, and could see the small specks of dust that were covering his face from when he had gotten into the fight earlier. She lowered her head slightly making them break eye contact and stepped away as they all made their way back down the hill.
"Alright, I expect to see all you boys at the dance tonight waiting for my instructions, and you better be dressed smart" he says and they nod before scampering off into the day.
"Did you get a dress for tonight?" He asks his friend and she nods.
"I did, I went to see Valentina and she sent me to a wonderful seamstress, it looks beautiful"
"So therefore you'll look great wearing it" the boy smirks as they start walking down the street, his arm draped over her, making her place her hand on top of his.
"I hope so, would hate to make a fool of myself in front of all your friends"
"You could never doll, they adore you, you take care of them"
"Only cause I have to take care of you, which reminds me that I need to go get groceries because someone" she start jabbing her finger at his chest.
"Ate all my food"
"At least I left a note"
"Very helpful, I'll see you tonight okay?"
"Yeah yeah, although I need to pick up Grazie so I'll see you there" he smiles and she nods before he kisses her cheek and walks off down the street making her sigh in content.