Work on Tuesday felt unreal. Not because it was especially good or bad, but because my mind was constantly elsewhere. It was as if simple tasks had hidden meanings, and repetitive chores I had done hundreds of times felt untouched. The world was lit with curiosity of new, and memories of the newly old. Memories of yesterday. Of Riff. Yet constantly I felt as though I were stuck in a dream-state of distractions and fantasies. My mind drifted over and around silly aspirations of romance as if they were recollections.
"How do you feel?" Maria asked, trailing behind me as we moved from room to room of the large building.
Did she know about last night? "I feel just fine." I replied. "Why?"
"You start your new job tomorrow! At the diner!"
Right, of course.
"Well, I'm sad to be leaving you."
From across the room, a girl named Cherry was bustling from worker to worker, doing just about anything but sweeping. Maria and I fell silent every time she drew near, especially when we were talking about the Jets– more specifically– Tony, or Riff.
Oh, Riff...
Being with Riff felt like a bittersweet recollection of my adolescence. The very first time I got butterflies. The first time I had ice cream on a hot day. Summer in the West. My first kiss with Daniel Alden, who always smelled like cheese, and cigarette smoke. Sometimes Riff smelled of cigarette smoke, but it was very different from Daniel Alden. Riff smelled of soft tobacco leaves, and warm, earthy scents, like burning wood. Sandalwood cedar. And maybe just a touch of Vanilla.
But the other day, when he came to the window, he smelled less floral, and more dark, dank, and brooding. There were overtones of motor oil, or metal. Why was that? "Did you hear about the storm?" Cherry asked, edging up to Maria and I as she slackly swept.
Cherry was close to my age, but much older than Maria. She had chocolate brown hair, and wore warm tones of tan that glazed her tall build. A smile was all she needed to gain anyone's trust. It was a comforting, dangerous smile. See, even with everything beautiful about her, she couldn't stay away from drama. Gossip. Anything that could feed the monster of scandal inside her tongue. "I've heard it's supposed to come on Friday, and last all the way into next week!"
"I hope not." Maria said. "Rumbling in the rain sounds muy incómoda. I'd hate for Bernardo to have to fight mojado."
"I bet you're worried about bebé Chino, too." Cherry wiggled her thin eyebrows.
"Let's get back to cleaning." I interjected.
Dramatically, Cherry rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Don't be a wet rag, Rose!" She nudged Maria with her broom. "Come on, Maria! I saw you two having a ball at the bash! I bet you're real gone, right?"
All attention seemed to settle on Maria. Even the older women had begun to listen in. The poor girl plastered a smile and shot me a nervous glance. "It was bitchin'." She forced out.
Cherry threw her head back and cackled graciously. "I knew it! We all did! You can't stand him, can you?"
Suddenly, I grew very nervous. Maria was, too. I could tell. "You really wanna be with that white boy! The Jet!" Cherry continued.
I wanted to contribute something to help Maria, but I fell silent. Even when Maria looked towards me for defense, or support, I couldn't think of anything to say. I wouldn't. Me defending the situation could only raise suspicion that I was associated with the Jets, and I wished nothing so terrible upon my greatest enemy. I would be an outcast. Just like all of the Puerto Ricans were...
Yet I couldn't sit idly while Maria suffered the judgmental gaze of these women. It would be a betrayal. "It's not what you think!" I piped up.
But when eyes fell on me, I had nothing more to say. After sharing a hopeless look with me, Maria rushed out of the room. It didn't take more than a moment for me to drop my cleaning supplies and follow after her.
"Maria, wait!"
"How could you do that to me?" She cried, but slowed her pace, as if she wanted me to catch up.
"What did you want me to do? What did you expect?"
"I don't know! Todo lo que sé es que me siento traicionada!"
"Mare, I can't understand you-"
"Of course you can't! You never will!"
Once again, I felt on the outside. And it wasn't anyone's fault. At least, I didn't think it was.
The rest of the day went by dully. My new outlook on life was tarnished by the emotional storm that rested inside Maria, which decided to strike me with a bolt of lighting and cries of thunder whenever I made a wrong move. Work no longer felt entertaining, and once again Maria and I walked circles around one another. Why did love make her feel so dejected in these situations, when other times it allowed her to feel nothing but an uplift of courage and ambition? Would being in love with Riff make me feel these things, too? Or was it the circumstance in which Maria lived that made her so unpredictable?
Author's note: I just want her to see Riff again tbh. I KNOW I KNOW BREATHING MOMENTS ARE IMPORTANT OR WHATEVERRRR
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Trapped In Your Bleeding Heart (Riff x Reader)
FanfictionDID YOU JUST SEE WEST SIDE STORY? I BET YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH THE HOT SIDE CHARACTER WITH TRAUMA, DIDN'T YOU. well you came to the right place 🥰 You'll probably cry reading this. I'm not sorry. I promise there won't be an angsty ending, though <...
