A New Way of Living

Chapter Twenty-Three

Author's Note: I do not own West Side Story or any elements of it.

January

With the New Year came a fresh start. 

But with a fresh start came new energies, new plans. Because of this, it was unsurprising when Ice and Action came bursting in to Riff's apartment one day, their voices talking over each other excitedly. 

"Woah, woah," Riff said, waving his hand at them. "What's goin' on?"

Vivienne appeared from the other room in time to hear their scrambled conversation.

"It's happenin'," Ice explained, going to the window to look out onto the street. "They started protestin' this morning about the evictions, but it's turned into a full on riot."

"They're breaking into stores," Action babbled. "It's wild out there."

"Who's they?"

"Everyone," Ice replied. "It's crazy. People are marchin' to the city council ta go tell 'em where they can go."

"We gotta go see what's goin' on," Action said, practically shaking with excitement. "It's history out there, Riff."

"Alright, hang on," Riff said. He turned to Vivienne. "I'm gonna go."

"Hey, wait a minute," Vivienne said, stepping forward. "There's a riot going on and you wanna go outside? What the hell are you doing that for?"

"To see what's goin' on."

"People are lootin' stores and shit," Action interjected. "We can't miss it."

"You're going outside to loot? Come on. It could be dangerous."

"All the Jets are goin," Ice said, as if that would give her some assurance. "They're waitin' outside."

"Riff, don't."

Riff nodded to Ice and Action, who took his cue to leave the apartment. He turned to Vivienne, reaching out to hold the sides of her arms, steadying both her and her nerves.

"Don't worry about it," he assured. "It's just a little riot."

"You're crazy."

"You know it," he smiled. He kissed her, quickly and anxious to get outside. "You, don't go nowhere."

"Oh, you can, but I can't?" she asked, almost half-laughing at the absurdity of it.

"I mean it. Don't go nowhere and lock the door behind me!" he called, before yanking the door shut. 

She watched after him for a moment, before throwing her hands up in frustration. Damn boys.

---

Outside, the street was a different story from the inner calm of the apartment. As Riff and the Jets rounded the corner, chaos came into view.

A large crowd of rioters came into view. Bricks were being thrown through windows. Shattered glass dotted the sidewalks. Yelling and shouting could be heard, but no words. It seemed a far cry from an actual protest, Riff thought.

He lead the Jets through the streets. He checked behind him constantly, eyeing over to keep tabs on Baby John and Little Moly. The further they went, the thicker the chaos became. Crowds dense enough to mean shoulders got brushed and it became necessary to squeeze past the moving bodies. 

Out the corner of his eye, he saw a handful of the Jets duck into a broken store window and disappear out of sight. Baby John made a beeline for it, but Riff held his hand out to stop him.