Trouble-Maker

The venue did end up being a carnival, not a very large one, but with a few rides on the far end of the grounds. The stages were already set up as Ronnie and I headed out to look around and head to a bakery or coffee shop so I could get something warm to eat.

"Hey, do you think we could go on a couple rides later?" I asked, reiterating the question from earlier, "Or do you think it'll be too hectic with all the fans?"

Ronnie draped an arm over my shoulder as we waited for cars to pass so we could cross the road. "It'll probably be alright," he replied as he pulled me across the street quickly.

I grinned as the smell of strong coffee met my senses. "It's smells amazing in here," I gushed to Ronnie as he pulled the door of a little coffee shop closed behind us.

Ronnie nodded. "What do you want?" he asked, "You have to be hungry."

"Starved." I nodded. "I was thinking about getting one of those twisty donut things." I smiled at the woman behind the counter before I looked over the menu that hung on the wall behind her head.

Ronnie pointed to the far right of the chalk-board menu. "Is that what you're talking about?" he asked, "The Sugar Twists?"

I nodded eagerly. "They're so good when they're fresh," I told him before I looked at the woman waiting for us to order, "They are made fresh, right?"

She nodded and smiled. "The ones we'll sell today were made about a half an hour ago. They're still warm though."

"What do you want?" I asked, wrapping my arms around Ronnie's slender waist as his eyes studied the menu.

"Probably the same thing," he replied, his arm wrapping back around my shoulders, "I'm not really into the jelly filled donuts."

"Me neither."

"We'll have two Sugar Twists," Ronnie told the woman, "And a carmel iced coffee." Ronnie glanced down at me as I grinned and nodded.

The woman told Ronnie the price and I stepped back from him so that he could reach his wallet out of his back pocket. He paid the lady and then pulled me back to him immediately.

"You're awfully affectionate today," I said quietly, the sound muffled because I had my mouth pressed against his shoulder since that was the height that I was at compared to him. "What's the occasion?" I asked.

Ronnie just smiled at me and reached out for the white bag that had the coffee shop name and logo on it. He handed it to me and grabbed my coffee. "Want to sit down and eat?" he asked, motioning to a tall table in the middle of the room, "We don't get to do that very often."

"Sure," I replied, heading over to the table, "It's relaxing in here."

Ronnie nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. He set my coffee down in front of me as I did the same and pulled out the warm donuts that were wrapped in a waxy paper.

"These smell amazing," I gushed, unwrapping mine, "I could eat these everyday of my life."

Ronnie grinned and bit into his. "They are really good," he said with a mouthful, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I have good taste in food, you know," I replied with a laugh, "You did come over and eat a lot back in the day."

Ronnie shrugged his shoulders. "You're a good cook."

"Thank you." I smiled at him cheekily and took another large bite of my donut, causing him to chuckle loudly and shake his head at me. We finished our donuts and headed out of the shop hand in hand, back towards the Warped Tour and fair grounds.

"Is that Zero Gravity?" I asked, tugging Ronnie across the road quickly, my eyes trained on the large green right.

"Looks like it," Ronnie replied, letting me yank him to the fence that surrounded the fair grounds.

"We have to go on that!" I claimed excitedly, "It's been my favorite ride since I was like twelve!"

"Really?" Ronnie questioned, "I pictured you as more of a ferris wheel kind of girl."

I glared over my shoulder at him. "You obviously don't know we that well then, Radke."

"Oh, okay," Ronnie said sarcastically, "After months of being with you almost everyday, I don't know a single thing about you, Gurewitz."

I chuckled quietly and turned to wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm nervous," I said softly, looking up in his smoldering eyes.

Ronnie frowned. "Why?" he asked just as quietly.

I shook my head. "I don't know," I replied.

"You're freaking me out, Att," Ronnie murmured, "Today is going to be a good day. I don't want you to be worried about anything."

"I'm just being silly," I told him, shaking it off, "It's more of a excited nervous."

Ronnie took my hand then and pulled me around the fence and to the entrance of the Warped Tour grounds. There were quite a few people lined up already and my eyes grew wide at the amount of people who were already there.

"This is going to be huge!" I said, looking down the line, "The most people I've seen yet!"

"It's just going to get bigger and bigger!" Ronnie replied, an excited smile on his face as he waved to a few fans who obviously recognized him.

"I'm never going to get used to this," I muttered. I waved at the people in the line before flashing my pass to the security guard and leading Ronnie into the venue so we could find our way around.

"Jacky starts his guitar lessons today," Ronnie told me, pointing to a tent that was being set up. "The fans can pay to take lessons with some of the guitarists from the tour. It's pretty fucking cool."

"Really?" I asked, surprised by this, "They get to be up close and personal with you guys?"

Ronnie laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Not with me," he said, "I'm not the guitarist."

"You know what I meant." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, yeah," Ronnie stated, chuckling. We walked around leisurely and tried to get a feel for the large venue so that we'd be able to find our way around later when it would be packed with thousands of people.

It was a simple kind of living. Repetitive but exciting everyday. Tents were going up all around us, musicians, technicians, and the tour and carnival people were walking around just like us. Some hurrying off to get something done before the gates opened and others just enjoying the sun as it rose higher in the sky.

"I love you," I murmured to Ronnie, looking up into his dark gaze with a honest smile on my lips.

Ronnie smiled back and bumped his shoulder with mine. "I love you."

"Good."

Ronnie chuckled and wrapped his arm around my neck. "You do know what today is, right?" he asked softly, reaching for my coffee so he could have a sip.

"Do you?" I asked as he took the drink in his left hand.

Ronnie sipped some of the carmel drink and then nodded. "Yeah." He swallowed, "It was six months ago today that I met you."

"Yeah," I said breathlessly.

Ronnie stopped walking and turned me to face him directly. "That was one of the best days of my life," he spoke, "Only second best to getting out of prison."

I chuckled, my eyes watering. "I like that you're out of prison, too," I replied.

Ronnie pulled my to him and wrapped his arms around my neck, his lips pressed against my head. "I'm going to marry you someday, Baby. I'm going to get down on one knee and ask you to take my name. Not yet, but someday. We're going to have the kids I've always wanted and your family and my family are going to be connected because I love you, Atticus," Ronnie promised, his lips touching my hair as he spoke.

My arms were wrapped around his slender waist and I held him against mine like he would float away and be lost in the swarm of people on Earth. I pressed my face into his shoulder and took a deep breath as I nodded. "I can't wait," I murmured in reply, trying to stop the crocodile tears that attempted to escape from my brown, almost black, 'Gurewitz eyes'.

Ronnie held me tighter. We stood in the middle of an outdoor venue that later would be filled with thousands of kids who wanted nothing more than to catch a glimpse of the feeling that Music brought them. They'd watch Falling in Reverse and many other bands on stage and feel as though they were a part of Ronnie's life. They'd listen to the lyrics of the bands and understand the emotions that were being sent to them through the large amplifiers that hung on the stages.

And with Ronnie's album, they'd stick by his side and believe in him always. They were the reason that Ronnie got back in to the music and had the courage to give it another shot. The fans were the reason that Ronnie was back at Epitaph Records with his band, finishing his 'break-up' record about his old friends and band mates. But also, and to me, most importantly, the fans were the catalyst that shoved Ronnie in my direction.

As we stood there, me crushed against him with love rolling over us, I wanted nothing more to thank every person that would enter the gates of the venue.

I hoped they'd stick around long enough to see Ronnie write records about something other than his past. I hoped that they'd be there to hear of our engagement, to see pictures of our children, and to hear, in the music, about the new life that Ronnie had picked for himself.

Because the fans weren't just fans to me, I'd realized. They were friends, and because of their loyalty to an addicted man, who was shunned by his friends, threatened and beaten down by a grieving mother, and locked away from the world, they'd given him to me. And for that, I'd never stop being grateful.