Who We Are

Ronnie's bedroom window looked out over the same darkened road as mine. On the other side of my house the shoddy street light flickered and went out as I did my homework, myself firmly planted in the over-sized bean-bag chair beneath the window.

Ronnie laid in his bed, his eyes trained on the small TV at the end of it and periodically tossed a soft stress ball in my direction. Throwing it back to him was the only acknowledgement that he was receiving from me at the moment.

He whined loudly when I let the blue and white ball drop to the floor beside me. "Come on, Kat, you can do that tomorrow. We've got tonight, math has the rest of your high school career."

I didn't look up from the shiny pages of my textbook. "No, Ronnie, I have to get this done. If I don't then my teachers will think there's something wrong with me."

Ronnie huffed loudly and rolled his eyes. Under his breath he mumbled, "There is something wrong with you," as he moved to lay against the wall.

My blue eyes lifted from the pages and glared at him. "You're not very nice when you don't get what you want," I stated, watching as his attention slowly moved back to me.

"You're not very nice, period," he replied, glancing back to the TV.

I couldn't help but smile at the pouting boy. I would never be able to imagine this side of him if I wasn't seeing it first hand. Reluctantly I pushed my math book to the floor and crawled across the carpet to the edge of his silver framed bed. "Ron," I murmured, my eyebrows lifting as I waited for him to acknowledge me. "Ronnie," I tried again.

"What?" he questioned, pulling his gaze from the television, his eyes widening as he realized I was at the side of the bed instead of below the window.

I smiled softly and tucked my hair behind my ears. "You've got an hour," I told him, watching as he pretended to be upset over the time limit even though he was secretly happy that I was taking a break from the mountain of homework I'd brought with me.

I pushed myself onto the bed and slipped under his sheets. He slid over to the other side of the bed so that I could fit in beside him. "What do you want to do?" I asked, folding my arms under my head.

He rolled over on his stomach and threw an arm over my waist. His lips touched my jawline softly and then he pulled back, his dark eyes scanning over my face. "I would offer to take you to dinner..." he trailed off, "But I think your father would shoot us both if you saw you walking out of my house."

"I didn't know he was going to be home," I whispered, "I swear. He traded nights with a co-worker." My fingers touched Ronnie's side softly, pressing against the cotton of his t-shirt. It was a simple gesture, but I shivered as the moment caused him to lay his chest on top of mine to be closer to me.

He grinned and bobbed his head. "It's okay, Katerina. You're here, aren't you? There's nothing to be sorry about," he calmed, his fingers playing at the hemline of my t-shirt.

"Maybe we can sneak out?" I offered, slowly pushing him off of me so that I could sit up and lean against the metal headboard of the bed.

He sat crossed-legged and shook his head. "You dad would have eyes on you in seconds flat, Kat," he grumbled, "You don't even realize how closely he watches you. It's like he can sense you."

I chuckled at Ronnie's paranoia. "I wonder if he knows I'm over here then? You better hide before he comes over here and murders you for corrupting his perfect angel." I laughed and stuck my tongue out as Ronnie flipped me off. He scooted off the end of his bed and threw open his door, disappearing into the hallway before I could get another word in.

I pushed myself off of the bed and following quickly. "Wait up!" I hissed as he took the stairs two at a time into their living room where Riley sat on their couch watching TV.

"What got into him?" Riley asked me as Ronnie hurried past.

I watched the older boy barrel outside and plopped down next to Riley. "I have no idea," I stated, shaking my head, "What're we watching?"

Riley glanced from the front door to the TV. "I'm not sure. It was on when I turned the TV on. I think it's some Alligator show."

"Hmm," I uttered, waiting for the commercials to end and for Ronnie to come back from whatever he was up to outside. I wasn't sure if he intended for me to follow him, but I decided not to, listening to what he'd said upstairs. After about five minutes I was pleasantly surprised for him to come walking back in with Max by his side and a girl trailing behind them, looking more than a little apprehensive about the house and the boys.

"Kat, what happened to you?" Max asked as a greeting, wincing when he reached out to touch the bruise surrounding my eye. "You didn't do this, did you?" he asked Ronnie, smirking as the older boy grew angry.

"No, you asshole," Ronnie seethed, "Get the fuck in the kitchen before I give you one, though."

Max took another jab at Ronnie as they headed off to the kitchen, leaving Kyra behind. "Are you okay?" I asked, scooting closer to Riley so I could offer Kyra the spot next to me.

"Yeah, I think so..." she trailed off, somewhat dazed, as she looked from the kitchen to me.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry about them," I muttered, "They're really rude when they're together," I stated, stressing a single word so that the boys would hear me in the kitchen.

A second later Ronnie's reply came wafting out from the entry-way. "Shut up, Katerina. You're no Queen Elizabeth either."

"Thanks!" I shouted back as Riley laughed at me, "Just know that after tomorrow I'm no longer your girlfriend!"

Ronnie didn't reply to the threat so I turned my attention back to Kyra, able to tell that she felt weird in Ronnie's house - much like I had the first time I was.

"I'm Kat," I introduced, smiling as I held my hand out to her, "Katerina Silverstein."

She nodded slowly. "I know who you are," she stated, glancing towards the kitchen. "The entire school knows who you are now. You're Ronnie Radke's girlfriend."

"Are you okay?" I asked again, plastering a smile to my face as the captain of the softball team awkwardly rubbed the goosebumps on her arm.

She nodded. "I'm fine." She plastered a smile to her lips. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

I shrugged and offered her a genuine smile. "This is no big deal," I replied, pointing to my eye, "And just in case you're apprehensive, Ronnie really didn't hit me. It was someone else."

She nodded, seeming to believe me and glanced back towards the kitchen. "This is so weird," she mumbled, running her fingers through her hair as she shook her head. "I can't believe I'm at Ronnie Radke's house with Max Green."

"Why's it weird?" I asked, glancing towards the kitchen.

She sighed softly and shrugged her shoulders. After a silent minute she looked at me and smiled again. "You know, you're kind of the reason I'm here."

I frowned and pulled my knees up to my chest. "What do you mean?"

She cupped her neck with her hand and sighed softly, slightly reluctant to answer my question. "Like I said, everyone at school knows who you are and well, when Max first asked me out, I didn't really think that we could work out. We're so different you know? I'm still not sure that we fit right, but when I heard about you giving Ronnie Radke a chance I was kind of inspired," she explained, taking deep breaths in between thoughts.

I was surprised by her words. I had assumed everyone at school believed I was completely insane. I never realized that anyone saw Ronnie and I in a positive light. "I hope you and Max work out," I said honestly, smiling at her words and because Max liked her so much,

"I don't know." She shrugged, smiling softly. "We'll see. I'm not going to force anything."

"He's a good guy," I said honestly, biting my lip when she scooted closer to the edge of Ronnie's couch. Riley paid no attention to anything that was going on around him, completely disinterested in anything that had to do with the older boys in the house.

Kyra nodded slowly, apprehensively, and trained her eyes on him as Max and Ronnie came walking out of the kitchen together.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Max asked Kyra, leaning against the living room wall, "We can go any where and do anything." Max turned his attention to Ronnie as the taller boy bumped his shoulder.

"Do you guys want to help me get Kat out of the house?" Ronnie asked, smirking at the idea, "We can all go out and get some food or something. I'm fucking starving," he muttered, pushing off of the wall and heading over towards me.

I rolled my eyes as he squished in between Riley and I. "There's no way, Ron," I denied, leaning into his side when he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"What, why?" Ronnie asked, completely ignoring the fact that he was the one who shot down the idea just minutes ago.

"Because I'll get caught!" I exclaimed, shoving his side, "You said it yourself, so stop playing dumb."

He played with the strands of my hair and rolled his eyes. "That was before Max was here. This guy can smuggle you out."

This time I was the one who rolled my eyes.

Max scoffed loudly and hurried forward. He ended up between Kyra and I with his arm around my waist as he nervously glanced between us. "Come on, Kat, I need you," he whined, his eyes darting back to Kyra when she wasn't paying attention.

"No you don't," I denied, shaking my head, "You're doing fine. Just be yourself."

"That's like telling him to intentionally try to scare her off," Ronnie shot back, "You don't want him to do that."

"Don't be a jerk, Ron," I demanded, moving closer to Max rather than Ronnie.

"I'm not being a jerk!" Ronnie defended, squeezing my shoulders, "It's the honest truth. Max is just not good with women!"

"Ronnie, knock it off," I growled. I put a smile on my face as Kyra caught my eye, tuning back in to the conversation again.

Ronnie scowled and pressed back against the couch, settling in. Max stood up from his spot next to me and held his hand out for the girl he'd brought with him. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked politely, offering a smile that was just a bit crooked in the most charming way. "I just wanted to stop by and see if Katerina and Ronnie wanted to come out with us, but they've got plans already. So we can get going if you want."

"What do you have in mind?" Kyra asked as she stood up.

Max nervously bit his lip. "I'm not sure," he admitted, "Do you have anything ideas?"

Kyra shrugged her shoulders. "No, I thought it was the guy's job to plan the date, not just pick the girl up and take her to his best friends'."

Max scoffed. "You wouldn't even let me pick you up. You met me blocks away from your house."

"So what?" Kyra asked, crossing her arms, "If this doesn't work out I don't want to be abandoned by my friends."

"And what if it does?" Max challenged, folding his arms over his chest, "What happens if you actually like me? Are you going to let your bossy little friends keep us apart?"

Kyra frowned and glanced at Ronnie and I before looking back to the slender boy standing just in front of her. "I don't know," she finally said, dropping her arms, "I didn't really expect to like you."

"Then why go out with me?" Max asked, not pleased by her answer, "Why waste your time with Max fucking Green if you don't see a future with me?"

Kyra's eyes darted back to ours nervously. I gently my hand on Ronnie's knee and nodded towards the stairs. Ronnie nodded when he understood what I meant and followed me, leaving Riley there seeing as he was completely caught up in the show on TV.

I started up the stairs but stopped when I realized Ronnie wasn't behind me. He stood at the bottom, hidden from Max and Kyra by the wall as he peered around the corner so he could listen in.

"Ronnie!" I hissed quietly, reaching out to grab his arm, "This is none of your business!"

"Kat, shut up," he demanded, pressing himself against the wall to hide from the couple in the living room, "You're going to get us caught!"

I smacked his chest and hardened my glare. "We won't have anything to get caught about if we go upstairs," I growled, tugging him towards the steps, "You can ask Max about this tomorrow but you can not listen in. It's not fair."

Ronnie looked back to me just to roll his eyes before he peaked around the corner again. "Max and the guys try to listen in on our conversations all the time," he defended, "It's just harder for them because we don't have our private conversations in their houses."

"Ronnie Radke," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest as I stood on the bottom step, "You come upstairs right now and tell me exactly what conversations the guys have listened in on."

Ronnie looked baffled when he turned around. He sighed and pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "Is that really a concern right now, Katerina? I'm trying to figure out if Max is getting dumped. If you don't want to know, go upstairs and do your homework or something."

My lips parted in surprise at his words. Without another sound I turned around and climbed his stairs. I moved down the hall and shut his bedroom door before I dropped onto his bed and slipped under the covers, yanking my math book from the floor before I did so.

Within a couple minutes Ronnie peaked his head in the door, looking more guilty than I'd ever seen him.

"What?" I asked rudely, "You get caught?"

He stepped in the room and closed the door behind him. "No," he denied, sitting on the end of his head, "Don't be so harsh. I didn't mean to shoo you off like that."

"Yeah, okay," I stated, training my eyes on the problems in the book, "If you want your spot back I can go back to the chair."

"Kat, no," Ronnie muttered, crawling up closer to me, "I'm sorry I was an asshole, I just really wanted to hear what they were saying."

"Stop, Ronnie," I demanded as he rested his hand on my side and tried to pull me back to him, "I've got things to do."

He moved so that he was laying behind me, his chest pressed against my back as he leaned on me, practically over me. "No homework," he whispered, reaching over me so that he could push the math textbook to the floor.

I slammed my hand onto it before it could fall off of the edge of the bed. "Yes, homework," I denied, slightly pushing him away from me, "I've really got to get these problems done or my teacher will call my dad."

"Afraid to get in trouble?"

I glared at Ronnie's smirk. "No," I growled, "Afraid to get caught with you."

"It's not like we're doing anything," he replied, his dark brown eyes looking at me as he shrugged and leaned away.

I moved so that I was laying on my back, slightly leaning against his pillows instead of facing away from him. "You call me being in your bed 'not doing anything'? If my dad even found out I was over here he could come and shoot us both. I'm trying to be careful and be responsible so you don't die, Ronnie."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him, whispering the words, "Don't be so dramatic," as he did so.

I bit my bottom lip as he laid down next to me, one of his legs slipping between mine as he stretched an arm across my stomach, his fingers twisting the ends of my hair. "What're you doing?" I asked quietly, "Two minutes ago you were telling me to go away. You really need to make up your mind."

"I have," he replied, "I want you to stay here and not move. I love having you in my bed."

"You make it sound so inappropriate," I scowled, trying to scoot out from beneath him.

"Don't get uncomfortable," he stated, situating so that we were right back in the same position.

"Don't get comfortable," I replied, pushing his shoulders to no avail. I sighed and dropped my hands to the bed when he didn't budge an inch.

"I am comfortable," he responded, "I can't help it. Having you here is nice. I didn't expect it to be, but it's not terrible." He laughed at the glare he was receiving from me and quickly climbed down to the end of the bed. He reached across the gap between the bed and the TV stand and fiddled with the DVD player. "What do you want to watch?" he questioned, looking back to me with a smile and shining dark eyes.

I smiled a closed-lipped smile and shrugged my shoulders. "You choose."

"Uhh," he held out as he looked through his selection of movies, his finger touching each case as he moved down the row. "What about this one?" he asked finally, plucking one of the cases from the shelf.

"Hey now!" I shouted, laughing as he threw the case at me, "That wasn't nice!"

"Just shut up and look at the movie!" he replied, chuckling as he crawled back up to the head of the bed and sat next to me.

I frowned at the case. "What is this?" I questioned, glancing at him as I flipped it over to the back to read the description. "We're not watching this."

"What, why not?" he asked, grabbing the case from me as I poised to throw it to the floor.

"Because it's stupid!"

Ronnie froze and looked at me like I was insane.

"I'll pick something," I stated, moving to the end of his bed.

"What, no! You told me to pick something out and I did," he stated, grabbing my arm as I reached for the shelf. He pulled me back, causing me to roll over on my stomach instead of bending backwards.

"Stop it!" I laughed, grabbing the case from his fingers. I reached down and shoved it under the bed before he could get it back.

"Kat!" he laughed, "Seriously? You could've just put it back on the shelf!"

I sat up and pulled my knee up to my chest and tucked the other one under. Ronnie sat just in front of me with his legs crossed. He rested his elbow on my knee and moved his eyes up to look at me.

"What?" I asked softly, glancing away as soon as his eyes met mine.

He chuckled. "You're so strange, Kat."

"What, why?" I questioned, my gaze snapping back to his, "I'm not strange."

He nodded as he laughed. "Yes you are. One minute you're claiming to break up with me and then an hour later you're too shy to even look me in the eye when I'm going to kiss you."

"I'm not shy," I denied, "You're just awkward."

"Liar," Ronnie shot back, "You're strangely shy when it comes to letting me kiss you."

"No, I'm not."

"Kat, yes you-"

I kissed him before he could finish his sentence. He smiled into it and pulled me closer, pressing his fingers against the back of my head.

"I'm not shy," I whispered when we stopped, my eyes meeting his in a challenge.

His fingers ran down my spine. "Yeah, okay." He nodded. "You're not shy."

I grinned and moved back to the shelf of movies. Ronnie sat back easily and let me choose. We stayed up until a little after midnight watching movies with my textbooks forgotten on the floor.