Who Knows || Riff (West Side Story 2021)

Chapter 6

𝟹. 𝙵𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝟷𝟿𝟻𝟼

Just as it were any other day, Rose Everly was working in the post office. The reason for this, it was any other day. There was nothing special, or out of the ordinary to suggest that anything other than what usually happened would.

    Since her arrival back from England, Rose had become increasingly aware that her short lived adventures (bumping into Riff) were just that. Short lived. There wasn't much to cling onto, only the fact that the Jets member was constantly hanging around the places Rose was.

     A coincidence. That's all it was. Pure luck.

     One good thing about this day was that Susan Southall had called in sick. This meant she could tackle the days work at Murdock's Post Office without much interruption. Susan was nice, of course, but Rose could only take so much.

    The majority of the day went smoothly, and that was a calming thing for the Everly girl. It didn't matter how much she did, the smile on her face wasn't to be disturbed. That was, until, Allen came in for his shift.

     Every time they met, Allen and Rose were sort of awkward. The Scarlett boy often asked Rose to spend a day with him, and every time, she refused. As always, Rose didn't want to be with a man she barely even knew, or liked.

     "Hello, Rose." The man had greeted with a smile. His red hair sort of glinted in the sunlight, and though it was a pretty sight, she felt nothing.

  "Hi, Allen." She smiled, before putting a few more letters into their right caddy's. "How are you?"

  "I'm good." He nodded. "I was wondering if you want to come out for a meal with me, later?"

  Rose shook her head, quickly. "No thank you, Allen."

  "Are you busy?"

  She felt bad about the words she was going to say. However, lying never got anybody anywhere. "No."

  "Oh..." Rose hoped then that Allen would take the hint.

     He didn't.

     "Well, maybe we can..."

     The bell tinkled for the door of the post office to signify someone had walked in. Allen paused, turning to face the door, and Rose did the same from behind the counter.

   Due to all of the thoughts running through Rose's mind earlier, she never would have realised who came through the door, had, if not for his immediate eye contact. Riff had arrived.

     "It's been a while, lil' darlin'." The man said, before Rose could say anything. Clearly, Riff didn't care that Allen was there. In a way, she did. Allen Scarlett made her uncomfortable around other people.

  "Excuse me," Allen began, but Riff cut him off.

  "You're excused." The boney faced boy smirked. "Bye."

     Allen didn't wait another moment. He took the bag, which was full of mail, and walked out of the door. It seemed he didn't want to appear Riff, and that was a wise choice. However, everyone knew that Rose  would be the only one to talk back.

  "You didn't have to be that way." The girl breathed through her nose. "He didn't do anything."

  "Where's the fun?" Riff shrugged, leaning on the counter. "He seemed like he was annoying you."

  "What if you're annoying me, Riff?"

  "I don't think you'd ever say that. Would you, lil darlin'?"

  "Since you know my name, why don't you actually use it." Rose rolled her eyes. The nickname was uncalled for, and frankly, annoying. However, still, he was intriguing.

  Riff smirked, dark eyes glinting as mischief ran through him. "No, I don't think so. I quite like it."

  "That defeats the point."

  "Now, you better not have been avoiding me." Riff smirked, as he had done many times before.

  "No," Rose was curious- had he been looking for her? "I've not been here."

  "Where's that then?"

     Why did he care? Why would Riff care at all? She was becoming more and more interested in the way that Riff interacted with her. The Jets member was interesting to say the least.

  "Doesn't matter."

  "Oh, come on." Riff teased, but Rose only shook her head. "When?"

  "When you know me better." Was the answer the Everly girl gave. It was plain, and there was little to infer. It intrigued him just as much as he did her.

  "Will you let me?"

  With a smile, and wide eyes, Rose replied. "Who knows.

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Disclaimer!!!
I do not own West Side Story or the characters originally from the book, play, or musical. I do not own Riff, or any events from the 2021 film that this book is based off. However, I do own Rose, her friends, family, and her relationship with Riff prior to the film.
All of this is purely fictional, anything that relates to real life is purely coincidence.