Trouble-Maker

"We've got a ten hour drive to Utah," Ronnie said as the bus started moving, "First show is tomorrow in Salt Lake."

I grinned and stood up from the bed. "I'm going to meet the driver," I told him, "I think I should at least introduce myself."

Ronnie smacked my leg as I climbed up and headed out of our room. The guys were all sitting around in the lounge, chatting excitedly as they got into the video games. There was a narrow door at the front that separated the lounge from where the driver and passenger sat. The door gave us more privacy from the guy who was hired to drive us.

I knocked on the little door before I pulled it open, coming face to face with a burly man. I put a kind smile on my face as I moved to sit in the passenger's seat. "Hi," I said nicely, "I'm Atticus. I just wanted to introduce myself."

The man looked to me and smiled for a second before turning his attention back to the road. "I'm Bruce. I'll be driving you and your band for this tour."

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm not actually in the band," I told him, "I'm just dating the singer."

"Oh," he said with an apologetic smile, "Ronnie, right? He seems cool."

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"I'm really excited to be driving you all. This is going to be an exciting summer," he replied.

"Definitely." I nodded.

We talked for a couple more minutes before Bruce pulled onto the interstate. I told him that I'd talk to him later since he was busy trying to maneuver through the traffic and get off of the ramp.

"I'm glad you're on this tour," he said before I walked away, "It'll be nice having someone to keep the band in check."

I laughed and nodded my head. "I definitely will," I told him. I patted his shoulder before I slid through the door and pulled it shut behind me. The guys were still on the couch, controllers in their hands. Ronnie sat on the corner of the couch and shouted insults as Derek helped Ryan since there were only four remotes.

"Stop cheating, Derek," I laughed as I sat down on the floor next to Ronnie.

Derek glared at me. "Shut up, Atticus," he said loudly.

I grinned at him cheekily. "Then stop cheating!" I said in reply, giving him a warning look.

Ronnie smiled down at me quickly before tossed his controller at Derek. Ronnie climbed up from the couch and reached for my hand. I let him pull me up from the ground.

"Does this bus have internet?" I questioned as the two of us moved to our room.

Ronnie nodded. "Yeah. You can use the Macbook if you want," he said as he pushed the door open.

"Thanks." I grinned and laid on my stomach on our bed.

There wasn't much to do on the bus. But for the first night Ronnie and I messed around on the internet, checking his Twitter and interacting with his fans. He let me ask them questions and reply to them. By the end of the night they even got Ronnie to post a picture of the two of us together.

"They really want you to make a Twitter," Ronnie laughed, grinning at me.

I shook my head. "I wouldn't have any time for it," I told him, looking at the strange background of his own account.

Ronnie replied, "You can have it on your phone. Just Tweet randomly when you remember."

"I probably won't use it that much," I said with a shrug, "Plus, I'd only be following you guys."

"Your dad has a Twitter," Ronnie said as he reached for the laptop. He typed my dad's name into the search bar and I was surprised when an image of my dad showed up. He was holding glasses in front of the camera with his face behind them.

"I know that song," I murmured as I read the small "about me" section that belonged to my father, "It's called 'Beginning to see the Light" by Velvet Underground." I clicked on my father's image and watched as the screen transformed into a plain black background.

"He's on a lot," Ronnie told me, scrolling through his 'Tweets'.

Ronnie and I ended up climbing into bed around midnight. We had been watching movies on the laptop until then, watching all of Ronnie's favorites. I had no idea what time it was when a couple of the guys started shouting from the lounge the next morning.

I pushed Ronnie's bare shoulder and groaned. "Shut your friends up," I growled, pulling our blanket over my head to hide myself from the cool air that Ronnie's fan was blowing in our direction. It took another minute for me to fully wake Ronnie up. I pushed him to the edge of the bed and closed my eyes tightly.

"What the fuck do you want?" Ronnie questioned, pushing our bedroom door open and disappearing into the hallway between the bunks.

I listened intently since there wasn't any other noise except for the sound of Mika asking Ronnie if we could stop for breakfast. I listened to Ronnie refuse as I rolled over and grabbed Ronnie's cell phone. I checked the time and groaned when I realized it was only quarter to eight in the morning.

I rolled over on my back and stretched.

"That's a gorgeous sight."

My brown eyes looked to the door way of the bedroom. Ronnie stood there leaning against the door frame with his black sweatpants hanging low on his lips. He crossed his tattooed arms over his bare chest and smirked at me.

I smiled lazily and pulled my shirt down since it had ridden up over my stomach. I reached down and smacked the bed next to me, motioning for Ronnie to get back in bed with me.

He shook his head slowly and spoke, "The guys want to go get something to eat. Do you want to come with?"

I played with the tips of my hair and asked, "Are we at the venue already?"

Ronnie nodded and looked at one of the windows, although the shades were drawn. "We got here around four AM," he said with a smile, "We're were thinking about wandering to find some food before fans start showing up in a couple of hours.."

I groaned but sat up, the blankets pooling around my waist. "I need to take a shower," I murmured.

"Bathroom's open," Ronnie replied, walking farther into the room and perching himself next to me on the edge of the bed.

I climbed out of the bed and moved to my suitcase that I'd shoved under Ronnie's table the day before. I crouched down next to it in my shorts and baggy shirt and rifled through it until I found a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top.

I kissed Ronnie's lips before I hurried to the bathroom, checking to make sure that there were towels before I locked the door and stripped out of my clothes. I showered quickly and washed up.

My hair was tied up in a messy bun and I slipped my feet into shoes. The guys hadn't bothered to shower but instead just dressed in their usual attire and lead me off the bus. The doors to the festival opened around eleven so the guys had to head in at least an hour beforehand so that they could check out their tent.

I grabbed Ronnie's hand as we walked down the street with the rest of the guys, leaving Bruce on the bus as he climbed into his bunk, warn out from the the long drive. I promised that we'd bring him something back so he could eat when he woke up.

"Where are we going?" I asked Derek, since he and Mika seemed to be leading our group.

"There's a McDonalds down the street," he replied with a silly grin on his face, "I Googled it."

I nodded my head and leaned into Ronnie's side, causing him to wrap his arm around my shoulders to hold me up. "Are you still tired?" he questioned into my ear.

I shrugged and stifled a yawn, causing him to chuckle at me and kiss the side of my head.

"We'll go to bed earlier tonight," he promised.

It only took another couple minutes for the six of us to stumble through the door of the McDonalds. It was right where Derek said it would be. I asked Ronnie to order me a Frappe as I moved to a booth in the back and sat down on the cushioned seat.

"You better wake up," Ryan said with a smile as he and Jacky sat down at our table.

I smiled lazily. "I don't know why I feel tired," I told him, "I'm actually really excited."

"The adrenaline will kick in when we walk into the festival," he replied as he unwrapped his cheeseburger and then took a large bite.

The other guys joined us within the next ten minutes. They were rowdy and excited and kept getting a few strange looks from the older people and families that were scattered at different tables around us.

I sipped on my coffee drink and stole a few of Ronnie's fries as they talked. There was a permanent smile plastered on my lips as the tiredness slipped from my muscles and was replaced with an energy that resonated in my bones.

We wouldn't know what time the guys were playing until we went "inside" the venue and checked the boards. The only thing we knew was that they were playing the main-stage and they were one of the most recognized and anticipated bands here.

Around ten we decided to head back to the bus so that Ronnie could shower quickly. The rest of them told me that they'd done it the night before after Ronnie and I fell asleep. I also learned that their excitement stopped them from barely getting any sleep.

While Ronnie showered, I searched through my bag for the lanyard and ID that would allow me to enter the venue without waiting in line.

"Did you find it?" Ronnie questioned as he entered the room with a towel wrapped around his thin waist.

I sighed and shook my head as I dug to the bottom of my suitcase. "Not yet," I told him nervously, "But I'm sure I packed it."

Ronnie had boxers on his hips as he asked, "Did you happen to shove it in my bag with mine when you repacked all my stuff?"

My eyes widened as he mentioned that possibility. "I don't know," I said as I moved to his suitcase where he was pulling clothes from. I reached for his smaller bag and unzipped it, grinning when I pulled out both of our tour IDs. "Here it is," I nodded, relieved.

Ronnie chuckled and finished getting ready. We were running late as we headed across the parking lot. My eyes were wide as I looked around at all the other buses and band members who were roaming around, in and out of the venue grounds.

"This is crazy," I murmured to Ronnie, "This is like a whole new world."

Ronnie grinned and nodded eagerly. He pulled me to him by my hand and kissed my lips. We were walking as he said, "Welcome to Warped Tour, Baby."