Trouble-Maker

I was at work when the daycare receptionist told me that I needed to come out to the front lobby without so much as an explanation as to why. The call ended and I headed out, grinning at a couple of small children who were sitting at the edge of the cubbies, playing quietly.

"What's up, Jamie?" I questioned as I turned my head from the kids to where she sat at the front desk. I stopped short, foot still in the air, as I saw Ronnie standing there. "What are you doing here?" I hissed as I rushed over and grabbed onto his hand, yanking him down the hall and away from Jamie and everyone else.

He laughed as he followed after me, trying to keep up. "I came to get you for your lunch break."

I sighed softly, realizing that our lunch breaks matched up and that he had taken the liberty of making plans for us. "Ronnie, I have a lot to do and you really shouldn't have come in the building, what if someone recognizes you and starts talking? Brett will definitely find out then," I answered, thinking about all the worst case scenarios.

Ronnie pulled me against his chest and rested his chin on the top of my head. "I already told you that I'm not going to say anything to your dad, but I'm also not going to worry about him finding out from an outside force either."

I pulled away and looked up at Ronnie, displeased with this new idea.

He chuckled and leaned down to kiss my lips. "I'll be careful, alright? I just hate the fact that you worry every time I want to take you out in public," he murmured with his lips just centimeters from mine.

"I don't want to have you lose your contract with Epitaph," I whispered, knowing that as time passed and I grew closer and closer to Ronnie that I was quickly becoming more worried about him than myself.

He chuckled as he straightened up and grabbed my hand. "Don't worry about it, Atticus. It'll all be fine." He dismissed my worries without a second thought and led me down the hall again. "Does Chinese food sound good to you?"

"I can't just leave, Ronnie," I argued as we passed the kids and approached the front desk. He stopped, frowned, and then pulled his hand from mine.

"I'll handle this," he said, grinning at me the grin that said he thought he could conquer the world.

I watched him with my arms crossed over my chest and an amused smile on my face as he walked over to the counter-height desk and leaned against it, blaring that winning grin at the dark haired woman seated behind it. She didn't notice him right away, but looked alarmed when he spoke.

"Your name is Jamie, right?" he asked, taking his arms off the counter, "I'm Ronnie."

Jamie nodded, looking at him, surprised to see him standing there in front of her. I watched her reaction as she spoke, gathering all her words together in her head before she said them. "It's nice to meet you," she said, eyes darting to me for some explanation. I just shrugged. She turned back to him. "What can I do for you?"

Ronnie smiled, playful now. "Well, I want to take my girlfriend out for lunch but she refuses to go and fed me some line about not being allowed to leave the building."

Jamie looked startled when Ronnie mentioned the word 'girlfriend' and looked back to me instantly. "I know who you are," she said, sounding slightly unsure, and then added, "Aren't you that musician who got sent to prison?" She said the words and then shrunk back slightly, realizing how that might've sounded to someone else. "I mean, I didn't know you were back in Los Angeles. I haven't even heard anything about your music, if he's you... or, you're him."

"Been out since December," he answered, confirming her suspicions, "My name is Ronnie Radke and my new band is called Falling in Reverse. We just put out a music video for our new single." He put a dazzling smile on his lips as Jamie recognized the name. "So what's the policy around here about boyfriends taking their girlfriends out to lunch? Because I'm starving and she's being difficult."

I rolled my eyes as I walked further over and shoved Ronnie away from the shell-shocked woman. "You're a dork," I countered and then I turned to Jamie with a smile on my face. "Is it cool if I go out to lunch with this lunatic?"

Jamie nodded, smiling at me. "I don't see why not. Can I talk to you for a minute, though?"

I nodded, hearing Ronnie groan impatiently and stomp his feet like a child. "Come on," I laughed and I motioned towards the girl's bathroom that was across the hall from the desk. "We'll be right back," I defended to Ronnie, holding my arms out as I shrugged.

Jamie followed me in and then turned around to look at me, really look at me, her eyes plastered to my expression. "Why didn't you tell me that you're dating Ronnie Radke?" she asked quickly, crossing her arms over her chest, "That's kind of a big deal, Atticus, one just doesn't run into him on the street."

"I didn't think you were a fan," I answered, surprised by her excitement.

"I used to be," she said, "Kind of. My younger brother was huge into them and that introduced me to their music. He was always going on about Ronnie and everything. We lived in Vegas for awhile so Jesse always thought he might run into him somewhere, but he was only thirteen and there was no way our parents were going to let him run in the same circles as Ronnie."

I was surprised by the back story. "I didn't know all that," I said, realizing that I didn't know all that much about the younger woman, "But yeah, this is kind of a new thing so we're trying to keep it quiet."

Jamie nodded. "I understand. Will he be stopping here to visit often or is this like, a one time deal?"

I shrugged, truly not knowing the answer to her question. "I'm not sure," I answered, "Ronnie's pretty unpredictable."

She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "My brother isn't going to believe me when I tell him that I've met Ronnie Radke. He'll probably end up here during every one of your lunch breaks, trying to meet the singer."

I laughed too. "How old is he?" I asked.

"Twenty," she said, and we both laughed some more.

Ronnie must've been heading our direction, because at the sound of our laughter, he came barging through the door, giving us a look that suggested this wasn't a life or death conversation. "Can we fucking go now?" he asked bluntly, motioning back through the doorway, "I'm hungry as hell."

I chuckled and nodded as I took his hand. He yanked me out of the bathroom and over to the door as I called goodbye to Jamie, telling her that I'd see her in about an hour. Ronnie sang random things as he drove towards a little Chinese place just a few blocks away.

"So I heard your birthday is coming up," Ronnie said with a mouthful of chicken.

We were sitting at a table in the restaurant, both scarfing down large plates of chicken, beef, and rice. "And who'd you hear that from?" I questioned between bites, eyeing him suspiciously.

Ronnie shrugged, smirking. "I have my sources."

"The fourteenth," I allotted, agreeing with him.

"I know," Ronnie laughed, "I was thinking we could go out or something. I mean, twenty-five is a great age." He reached for his glass and took a drink, eyes watching me for my answer.

"That'd be great." I grinned as I shoved another large piece of chicken into my mouth.

"Charming." Ronnie smirked as he watched me chew and swallow the large bite.

I shrugged. "Never claimed to be."

Ronnie and I talked about my birthday a little bit more and then we moved onto other things. Somehow, during the end of our time at the restaurant we got back onto the subject of ages. "Once you turn twenty-five, maybe I won't feel so old," Ronnie complained glumly, causing me to burst into a fit of disbelieving giggles.

"You're only two years and seven months other than me!" I rebutted, causing Ronnie to grin at the fact that I knew his birthday.

"Basically three years, Att. I'm going to be twenty-eight this year. That's practically thirty," Ronnie exclaimed, completely unhappy with the age.

I shook my head as I tried to control my laughter. "Thirty is thirty, Ronnie. You're twenty-seven."

Ronnie huffed but nodded his head. Then he looked up to me with a dazzling smile on his face. "Remember the first day I met you and you knew my last name?"

I nodded slowly, unsure of why he was bringing this up now.

"Well, remember what you said after that?" Ronnie questioned as he leaned forward on the table, resting on his elbows.

I nodded again.

"Is it true?"

Again I nodded, causing a huge grin to spread out over Ronnie's face. "So you were a fan of me before I got locked up?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes Ronnie," I told him, "I was a fan of Escape The Fate."

Ronnie's face dropped into something serious. "Are you still?"

I thought about my answer for a moment, knowing about the big fight that had happened between Ronnie and his former bandmates. I knew about all the internet controversy and the "Team Ronnie"/"Team Escape the Fate" fights.

I grinned up at Ronnie lazily as I shrugged. "I'll always be on Team Ronnie. Although I might be a little biased now, don't you think?"

Ronnie chuckled and stood up so that he could lean over the table and push his lips to mine. "I better go," Ronnie sighed, looking out into the parking lot. "Stupid CD."

That caused me to laugh because I knew how much this record meant to Ronnie. But it was still cute seeing him not wanting to leave me.

"You coming to my place tonight?" Ronnie questioned as he tossed our trash and then took my hand.

I shook my head. "I have somethings to work on for the daycare and I'll need the files from home," I sighed.

"Okay," Ronnie acknowledged, lingering.

"You can come over to my place for a bit. I might have to ignore you for awhile so I can get done with the shit I need to do but after that we can hang out," I told him as he opened the passenger's side door and helped me slip into the low car.

"Sounds good to me, doll," Ronnie murmured before he shut the door and walked around to the driver's side to get in.

"What was your favorite song?" Ronnie questioned a few minutes later. We had been pretty much quiet as Ronnie drove me back to work, holding my hand over the center console.

"From Escape the Fate?" I questioned, wondering if we were continuing our conversation from earlier.

"While I was in it, yeah," Ronnie clarified, stealing glances at me as he drove.

"'The Day I Left The Womb'," I told him, "But my favorite line is from 'Friends and Alibis'."

"What is it?" Ronnie questioned, honestly interested in what I had to say about his music.

I liked his waiting reaction and then sung the short line softly, "'They always told me I was gorgeous in a way...'," I spoked softly as well, "It's a great song but that's my favorite line. 'The Day I Left The Womb' is my favorite because it's exactly how I feel about my mother."

Ronnie looked slightly surprised as he held onto my hand tightly. I hadn't told him this. It was something that was never really mentioned. Not in the media when it happened and not in my family. "What happened with your mom?" he asked.

I shrugged. "She left a few days after Frida was born," I explained, remembering the time well, "We didn't know anything, but she showed up a year later and filed for divorce. We haven't really seen or heard from her since."

"Same here," Ronnie breathed, "Almost exactly."

"What's your brother like?" I questioned, remembering the mention of him in his songs.

Ronnie was still pretty serious as he answered. "He's doing better since I wrote the song. A lot better," he said, "My niece and nephews are doing really great."

"That's good. I'm glad, " I said as I played with his fingers, my eyes on him.

"You know, Att," Ronnie said as he turned his head towards me, "I want you to meet my dad and Anthony. My dad would fucking love you, I know that for sure, and Anthony would brother have the same reaction."

I wasn't shocked by Ronnie's words, but was honestly surprised that he thought of this so soon. I knew that someday he'd want me to meet the parent that stuck around to raise him and the only other sibling he had, an older brother. I smiled at the idea and nodded. "I'd like that," I spoke honestly.

"Good." He grinned. "Me too."