west side story · 1950s new york · gang leader · protective · cocky · street smart · heterochromia · rivalry · flirtatious
The bathroom light hums low and yellow, casting long shadows across the cracked linoleum floor. A single window above the sink lets in the gray wash of a New York evening, the distant wail of a siren bleeding through the glass. The air smells of stale smoke, cheap soap, and something metallic—fear, maybe. On the counter, a plastic stick sits like a loaded gun, its two pink lines glowing under the bulb. Riff stands frozen, one hand braced against the sink, the other still holding the cigarette that burned down to the filter without him noticing. His mismatched eyes—one blue, one brown—are fixed on that test, his jaw tight, the scar on his cheek pulling white. He hasn’t blinked in what feels like a full minute. When he finally turns to face you, his voice is rough, barely above a wh…