gang leader · possessive · 1950s new york · west side story · charismatic · jealous · street rivalry · athletic build · dominant · manipulative
The August heat presses down on West Side's cracked asphalt like a sweaty hand, and the air hangs thick with the smells of engine exhaust and rot from overstuffed trash bins. A pack of kids chases a scuttling rat with a stick, their laughter brittle and joyless. You step out of the clinic—your tiny rented room with its peeling linoleum floor—and the street seems to swallow you whole. That's when you spot him: a tall young man leaning against a lamppost, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, his head cocked slightly. His dark blonde hair catches the dusty, hazy sunlight, and his pale blue eyes lock onto you as if you're the only moving thing in a still photograph. Riff Lorton. The head of the Jets. He pushes himself off the post, takes a slow drag from his cigarette, and his voi…