Trouble-Maker

"Hey Arch," I said into the phone, "How are you doing, Honey?"

"I miss you," the little boy replied from the other end.

I sighed and leaned against the back of the couch. "I'm sorry," I murmured, "I wish I could see you. But I'll be home sooner then you think." I glanced up as Ronnie came sauntering into the living room in a pair of baggy sweats.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked groggily as he walked to the counter that served as our kitchen.

"Arch," I murmured before the child replied.

"When?" Arch questioned.

"When am I coming home?" I questioned, "In a couple months. But time will fly by, I promise." I nodded to Ronnie when he held up a mug as a way of asking me if I wanted coffee.

"Can't you come home now?"

"I'm sorry, Honey. I'm really far away and I can't just leave now. Ronnie needs me," I told him, feeling horrible that our conversation wasn't cheering him up in the least. "In about a month I'll be stopping by to see you, though," I added, hoping it would give him something to look forward to and maybe put a smile on his face.

"Really?" he asked quietly.

I nodded. "Yeah!" I cheered when I realized he could see me, "I'll be heading your way in just a few weeks. Maybe we can go out for lunch or something?"

"I'll ask!" he said loudly into the phone.

I chuckled. "I already talked to Olivia about it, Arch. She said that it's fine."

"I'm so excited!" he gushed.

"So how are you liking living with Olivia and Will?" I asked, knowing I'd get a good report. Arch had gotten lucky when he was placed with them. I'd heard a lot about cruel foster parents but Will and Olivia were the type to take their foster children in and treat them as their own.

"They're nice," Arch said, "Will is building a tree house for me."

"Really?" I asked, pleasantly surprised, "How's that coming along?"

"There's gonna be a slide."

"That's great! Did Will blow up your picture, yet?"

I talked with Arch for another fifteen minutes before I said goodbye and told him that I'd call him in another couple days. No matter how much he missed me, he liked being with Will and Olivia. He hadn't heard from his mom since the day she dumped him at daycare and didn't pick him up, but from what I could tell, he was able to adjust alright.

With Will, Olivia, Ronnie, and I, he'd learn that family is what you make, not what you're born into and that some people just get lucky and are born into good families. Instead of just having his mother, now Arch would have many people that care about him.

"Is he doing okay?" Ronnie asked with his eyes closed, his head resting on my shoulder as we sat on the couch together, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

I nodded and rested my cheek on the top of his head. "I think he's actually going to be alright."

Ronnie's arm snaked around my waist. "That's great," he said softly, "He's one tough kid."

I nodded again and closed my eyes. It wasn't too early in the morning, but the guys, besides Ronnie, had stayed up kind of late watching movies and messing around on the internet. Ronnie had woken up at the sound of our laughter around midnight and made his way out to the living room. He grabbed onto my arm and tugged me back to the bedroom.

"Why're you so tired?" I asked, pushing his hair out of my face.

Ronnie shifted so my head was on his shoulder instead of the other way around. "You and those assholes woke me up," he whined, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"For like ten minutes," I laughed, "You dragged me to bed and fell right back asleep. You are the least hardcore rockstar that I've ever met."

Ronnie scoffed. "Shut up, Atticus,"

"I'm serious," I replied, grinning, "You're so lame."

Ronnie didn't reply verbally. Instead, he shoved me away from him and climbed up off of the couch. I laughed as he walked away from me, his pants hanging low on his lips.

"Aw, Ronnie!" I called after him, "I'm sorry! You're the best musician in the whole wide world! Come back!"

Ronnie just slammed the door in reply.

I laughed and climbed up from the couch. I poured myself a cup of coffee and peaked out the window of the bus. We were on the move still, heading back to Ventura, California for some County Fair that was going on.

We'd been on the road for a week and I was starting to get used to the lifestyle change that occurred the day I set foot on this bus. Most people thought it was an insanely busy way of living. It was, but only half the time. The other half you spent sitting around on a bus.

"Ronnie!" I called as I headed down the hall with my cup of coffee.

"Shut the hell up, Atticus," Derek groaned from his bunk, "I'm trying to sleep."

"Well get up, then," I replied, reaching into his middle bunk and smacking his bare back.

"Get out of here," he replied, smacking my hand away.

I chuckled and headed down the hall. I knocked on the door a couple times before I pushed it open. Ronnie was laying back in bed, completely stretched out under the covers.

"Ronnie," I cooed softly as I climbed in beside him.

"What?" he questioned, not bothering to pull his face out of the pillow.

I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his bare torso. "Is this next show going to be an actual fair with rides and everything?" I questioned, leaning my head on his arm.

"I don't know, Att," he replied, the sound muffled by the pillow.

I smiled. "Are you mad at me?"

"No."

"Why are you mad?" I asked, lightly smacking his back so that he'd pay more attention to me.

Ronnie rolled over on his back and looked at me, his head tilted to the left. His hair was spread out over his pillows and matted almost completely. I smiled at him softly and moved to attempt to run my fingers through his hair. "I love you," Ronnie murmured. He pulled me against him, "I'm glad you came with me on this tour."

I nodded against his arm. "It'd probably be unbearable if you were here and I was stuck at home."

Ronnie chuckled. "You would've flown out within the first week."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You're not that important," I claimed, looking away from him.

Ronnie's fingers found my chin and pulled me back to look at him. "Don't lie," he replied, "You know I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Oh, shut up," I demanded, "You're so full of yourself!"

Ronnie and I listened as the bus driver called out that we were here and that he was heading to bed.

"Thank you! Goodnight!" I shouted through the door.

"Want to go check it out?" Ronnie asked, propping himself up on his elbow.

I nodded eagerly. "Can we go on rides if it's really a carnival?"

Ronnie looked at me flatly. "The last time we rode rides we both ended up in the hospital, Atticus."

"Oh, be quiet. There's no need to trudge up bad memories. And plus," I added, "We're not driving any where."

Ronnie didn't bother to disagree with me so instead we climbed out of bed and headed into the shower before the guys could wake up completely and give us shit about it.

"Lets go! Lets go!" I cheered as I waited by the bus door for Ronnie to find his boots. "They have to be here some where!"

"I'm fucking looking, Atticus. I can't look any faster. I'm not the Flash!" he replied, frustrated.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Where'd you take them off?" I asked slowly, "They're probably in our room."

"They're not in our room," he replied, rolling his brown eyes just like I had, "I would know if they were there."

"Oh, really?" I asked sarcastically as I walked past him and down the hall, "Because I bet that you threw them in the closet last night."

"Why would I put my shoes in the fucking closet?" he asked loudly as he followed after me.

I pulled the small closet door open. "You're an idiot," I said bluntly as I pulled out his favorite pair of shoes, "You should really start listening to me more often."

Ronnie crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. "I bet you're the one who put them there," he replied, reaching out to take them from me.

"Oh, yeah," I nodded, "Because I hid your shoes in the closet just so you wouldn't be able to find them and so I could prove to you that I'm always right."

"So, you admit it," Ronnie replied as he sat down on our bed and loosened the laces.

I scoffed and smacked him. "Knock it off," I demanded, "You're not as cute as you think you are."

Ronnie nodded his head with a cocky smile on his lips. "I know," he said, his smile turning into a smirk, "I'm cuter than I think I am."

"You're also a carbon copy of Narcissus."

Ronnie looked up to me with squinted eyes. "Isn't that the Greek guy that fell in love with his own reflection?"

I smirked and nodded slowly.

"What's that supposed to mea- Hey!" Ronnie shouted.

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. "You better cool it," I told him, "Or that's going to be your new nickname."

Ronnie glared as he stood up. "That's not funny," he told me, "You're being really mean to me today."

"And you're whining a lot."

"Shut up, Atticus."

"Shut up, Ronnie," I copied, sticking my tongue out at him playfully.

He rolled his eyes and reached for my hand. "I'll buy you tickets for the carnival if you just shut up."

I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thanks, Ronnie," I murmured, "You're so good to me."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied dimly.

I chuckled and kissed him softly. "I love you."

"Unfortunately, I love you, too."