Trouble-Maker

In between the time it took for Ronnie and his band to get here I had taken Nico upstairs and laid her in her playpen, covered by blankets and surrounded by toys. I had finished the spaghetti and taken a little plate of it and stuck it in the microwave for Nico when she woke up.

The doorbell rang two times in a row, making me rush down the stairs with the listening end of a baby monitor in my hand. I went to the front door and yanked it open, smiling when there were five tattooed and pierced men standing on my door-step.

"We came for free food," Ronnie said simply, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

I nodded towards the kitchen, "Right this way."

"Uh, Atticus, these are my friends and the rest of my band."

Ronnie pointed to a slender man whose brown hair was slightly more wavy then the rest of the guys'. He, like the rest of them, was wearing a band shirt, tight black pants, and two belts. "This is Ryan Seaman, our drummer."

I waved with a grin as Ronnie moved to the next person, skipping over Jacky whose Playboy boxers were sticking out of his two-sizes-too-small black skinny jeans. "Derek Jones, rhythm guitar," Ronnie introduced, pointing to a man that was a little chubbier than the rest of them. His arms were tattooed up to his elbows and he had a friendly, outgoing grin on his face.

"Nice to meet you, Atticus," he said, "Thanks for cooking."

I smiled at him. "No problem. I was making it anyways for my baby sister."

Ronnie spoke again, pulling my attention back to him. "And lastly, Mika Horiuchi, our bassist."

I waved at the spiky haired man, watching as he waved back in a very enthusiastic way. "It smells great in here," he said, "Thanks for having us."

I nodded and then shrugged, moving over to to the final man. "Hey Jacky," I greeted, "Good to see you again."

He smiled and said "Hey," back simply.

"Well, lets eat." The guys, excluding Ronnie, cheered.

"Guys, shut the fuck up. Her sister is sleeping," Ronnie said as he walked behind me. "Have some respect."

I smiled up at him gratefully while the other guys mock apologized to Ronnie and then actually to me. "It's alright," I said, "It takes quite a bit to wake her up. She used to sleep through Dad's band practices when she was just born and he took her every where."

"What was it like growing up with Brett Gurewitz as your dad?" Derek asked, obviously trying to imagine it.

I shrugged, "It was quite busy. He and my Mom got divorced when I was nine and then it was just the four of us. Dad, my brother, and sister, and I. As I got older he left Max and Frida with me but when I we were all young he would take us everywhere with him. Band practice, Epitaph meetings, court dates. Everywhere." I ended with a laugh, remembering all the good times and all the trouble we caused for our father.

"So you weren't one of those kids who were sheltered from it all, right?" Ronnie asked as I handed him a plate and told him to take as much food as he wanted.

I scoffed, "Hell no. I was always right up in the middle of it."

The guys buzzed from counter to counter taking breadsticks, garlic bread, spaghetti, and salad. I grinned as I watched them line up and only take a little, trying to be polite. "You boys better take more than that, because I do not eat leftovers," I told them with a grin, "Oh, and drinks are in the fridge." I then grabbed my own plate and began filling it was spaghetti noodles and sauce.

Minutes later we were all sitting on my couch, scarfing down and watching whatever was on T.V, too preoccupied with eating to talk.

"This is really amazing, Atticus," Ronnie complimented between bites, "Really fucking good, too."

I laughed and replied, "Thanks Radke."

The rest of the guys chuckled but continued to eat everything that was on their plates. When everyone was done I had them follow me to the kitchen and load their plates into the dishwasher. When I put the soap in I heard footsteps reentering the kitchen so I turned around.

"The baby was crying," he said, shaking the baby monitor, referring that he heard her cry through that.

I grabbed it from his hand, my fingers brushing his as I slid past him. "Be a doll and turn that on for me, will you?" I questioned as I began walking away.

"Sure thing," Ronnie murmured right before I left the room and skipped past the guys who were sitting on the couch, discussing something that seemed to be pretty important. I hopped up the stairs and into my room. Nico was standing up in her playpen, holding onto the rails for extra support.

"Sissy," she cried when she saw me. She lifted her hands into the air, a signal that she wanted to be picked up.

I walked over and lifted her into my arms, cooing to her as I did so. "You hungry?" I asked, feeling as she nodded her head against my shoulder, her little arms wrapped tightly around my neck. "Lets go warm up your food then."

I walked back down the stairs slowly and smiled at the guys when I was at the bottom. "Guys, if you don't remember, this is my baby sister Nico. Nico," I cooed her name, "These are my friends. Can you say 'hi'?" Nico lifted her head from my shoulder and looked over the five men, Ronnie having returned from the kitchen.

"Say 'hi'," I told her again. She just lifted her hand and waved before laying back down against my shoulder. I chuckled and told the guys that I'd be right back before I disappeared into the kitchen and hit the start button on the microwave.

There wasn't a highchair in the kitchen so I called out to one of the guys. "Jacky!" I called into the living room, "can you come here for a second?"

There was no sound but a minute later the quietest member of Falling in Reverse was standing beside me with an inquisitive expression on his face.

"Thanks," I said, "Can you hold her for a moment?"

Jacky stared blankly at Nico, then looked to me and nodded.

"Nic, baby, can you go to my friend Jacky here, for a second?" I asked my baby sister.

Nico looked to Jacky and then reached her arms out to him. He took her from me and held onto her tightly, probably scared that he was going to drop her or something. Now with both of my hands freed, I stopped the microwave and pulled the plate out, hissing when it burned my fingers.

"You okay?" Jacky questioned, his voice firm but quiet.

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yup," I murmured. I put the plate down on the counter and grabbed a plastic one from the cupboard. I scraped the spaghetti onto that one and then grabbed a plastic fork from the draw, knowing that Nico would probably want to feed herself. I went over to the drawer near the sink and pulled out a little pink bib.

"Come 'ere," I muttered as Jacky shifted Nico to face me so that I could pull the bib over her head. I smiled to myself when Jacky smoothed Nico's hair back into place. "Do you mind carrying her into the living room for me?" I asked.

"No," Jacky replied simply and started on his way back to the rest of the guys.

I followed after him with Nico's plate and her sippy-cup from the fridge. The guys looked confused when Jacky walked in carrying my sister. They looked from him to me as I entered as well.

"What?" I asked, "I needed someone to hold her and Jacky's the most non-threatening."

Jacky sat down on the couch with Nico and then reached his hand out for her plate. "Oh, it's alright Jacky, I can feed her."

He shrugged and then smiled, "I don't mind, Atticus."

I shrugged too. "Alright then," and helped him situate Nico so that she'd be able to sit in his lap without spilling her food everywhere. Nico perked up as she began eating. I noticed her one time poking one of the tattoos on Jacky's forearm.

"Aww," I cooed, "You guys are friends," I murmured referring to Jacky and my little sister. Jacky shrugged but smiled anyways.

"Guess so," he said.

I laughed. "So, what are you doing doing in the studio with my Dad?"

Ronnie answered, "Just working on promotional stuff for our new CD. It comes out next month and we want kids throwing themselves in front of busses to get it."

I chuckled, "Great wording there, Ronnie. Am I going to get a little sneak peak at this album or will I have to wait with the rest of your fans?"

Ronnie grinned, "So you're a fan now?"

"I told you I was a fan when you were back with Escape the Fate, what makes it any different now?"

Ronnie thought for a moment and then spoke like he knew the answer off of the top of his head. "It's all better. This record is going to kick the ass of anything Escape the Fate has ever written. Including what I wrote when I was with them."

I grinned and pointed at all of the guys. "I'll be holding you to that. Epitaph needs a top band on their label. You better be it."

Ronnie and the guys shared a look. "We're it," he promised, "We're the best thing that is ever going to come out of Epitaph."

I grinned and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of, shouldn't you guys be getting back?"

They all looked to the clock simultaneously and then stood. Jacky let Nico slip into my arms and then I pulled him into a hug. "Thanks for all your help."

"No problem," he said, "It's not that hard to feed a kid."

"True," I laughed. Then Ronnie walked over and enveloped me in a hug, his scent unique and floating around me, "Thanks for the food. It was great."

"Yup, You're welcome," I replied with a smile, breathing in deeply.

"So I'll see you later, then?" He inquired, a hopeful look on his face.

I rocked on the balls of my feet as I thought about my answer. Wondering about my father this time. "I'll let you know, okay? I still have to take Nico home and pick my sister up from her friends house."

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "You know I'll see you later," he stated, "I'll call you."

I nodded, "You do that." Then I moved over to Ryan.

"Thanks for coming! It was fun." I leaned in and wrapped my free arm around his waist.

"See you, Atticus," He murmured as he stepped away.

I then moved to Derek who was pretending to cry. "I'm going to miss you so much," He wailed, "We're being separated and we only just met!" He wiped invisible tears from his eyes and rushed forward to wrap his tattooed arms around me.

"Alright, idiot," Ronnie said as he rolled his eyes, "Hurry it up." Ronnie grabbed onto the back of Derek's shirt and yanked him away. I laughed loudly and blew a kiss to Derek.

"Bye, love!"

I gave Mika a quick hug and thanked him for coming before the five of them disappeared into two cars and drove off, back towards the Epitaph Records building.

I looked to Nico as I shut the door. "What do you think?" I asked.

She just looked at me and smiled.

I grinned. "I thought so too."