‹ Prequel: Trouble-Maker
Sequel: Summer Boy

Infinite

Permanent

"Arch, come on," I called, standing by the front door of my apartment. It was quarter to twelve and his foster-mom had already called me twice, wondering where we were and if we were alright. For over an hour Arch had refused to let me take him home and now he'd finally given in.

I had to pull him out of the bed. He'd slept in between Ronnie and I all night long since neither Ronnie nor I would agree to sleep on the couch. The little boy had pressed his shoulders, knees, and head into us all night and there were a couple times that the singer and I woke up simultaneously.

I'd whispered an apology to Ronnie when we both woke up around three in the morning. It was hard to sleep with a little boy rolling around in between us. Ronnie glanced at me through sleepy eyes and yawned, not bothering with a reply as he rolled over and fell back to sleep easily.

"I'm coming," Arch called back softly as I waited for him at the door. He walked out of the bedroom with his shoes on his feet and the laces tied.

I grinned at the accomplishment. "You tied your shoes by yourself."

Arch glanced to his feet and nodded like it was no big deal. "Ms. Caren taught me," he said.

"Who's Ms. Caren?" I asked, helping him slip into his jacket.

"Olivia's friend," he answered, pushing his arms through the sleeves of his sweatshirt, "We go to her house sometimes for group."

"Oh," I replied instantly, surprised that a practical stranger taught him one of his life milestones. My father had taught me all those kinds of things; how to tie my shoes, spell my name, and ride a bike. Arch would never have those experiences. I clapped my hands together. "Alright, lets go."

Arch hurried forward and grabbed my fingers. We headed out of the empty apartment and down the flight of stairs. I buckled him into his booster seat and then got into the driver's side. We listened to the radio as we headed to his house. He talked over it, asking about Ronnie and me and what marriage was really like.

"Am I going to get married someday?" he asked, blue eyes staring at me through the rearview mirror.

"Do you want to get married?" I asked.

He frowned and then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he said, "She would have to be pretty and want to eat Chinese food and watch tv with me." He smiled softly, sliding his hair away from his eyes.

"Don't go looking for her too fast," I replied playfully, "You don't want to have a girlfriend just yet. Being someone's boyfriend is fun, but takes a lot of energy."

"I don't like any girls," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't met any like you," he answered, big eyes staring at me, "If I ever have to get married, I want her to be like you and I don't know if there's anyone else like you. Ronnie got you first."

I couldn't help but practically coo at how sweet he'd turned out to be. He was a unique child who managed to always say something completely adorable. I thanked him as I pulled into his neighborhood and when we got to his street I asked him if he liked living with Will and Olivia. He didn't reply right away, but after a little prodding he looked up from his lap and shrugged.

"I guess," he answered noncommittally, "I just like being with you and Ronnie better."

I knew what he was getting at. "We're here," I told him as I rounded the corner in the drive.

He kicked his little feet against the back of my seat. "Do I have to go inside?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest, "I wanna stay with you. I promise that I won't get in the way, but please let me stay with you, Atticus."

"Arch, that's not up to me," I replied, turning around in my seat to look at him, "This is your home now and you need to listen to Olivia and Will. They're trying their best to look out for you, so you need to try to enjoy it here, too."

"I don't wanna be here." He pouted. "I wanna go and be with you and Ronnie. You're more fun and you play with me." He grabbed onto either side of his carseat as his eyes watered and he looked away from me. He hadn't learned that it was okay to cry. He was the toughest kid I'd met and I wished that he got more attention here.

"We like being with you too, Arch," I answered honestly, reaching back to grab his little hand with my own. "I really like having you with us, Arch, but I don't want you to like us more than you like being with Will and Olivia. They care about you too and want what's best for you. Ronnie and I love you, but we just can't be with you all the time."

He wasn't crying, but he was on the verge. He looked past me and frowned at the front door. I turned and looked as well and plastered a smile on my face when Will stepped out, carrying one of the babies. He stepped down the couple of front stairs and stood where the path met the top of the driveway.

"Time to go," I said to Arch, hating that I had to leave it this way.

"But I-"

I cut him off by getting out of the car and shutting the front door. I pulled the back open and unbuckled him, lifting him from his seat before he could grab his candy and bring it with him. I grabbed the backpack I'd prepared for him and handed it to him to put on. He wrapped his arms around my neck and held on as I shut the car door and carried him up to Will.

"Hey, Arch," Will greeted easily, offering the boy an easy smile, "Did you have a good time last night? It was really nice of Atticus to invite you to sleep over, wasn't it?"

Arch nodded quietly and let me set him on his feet. Will reached for the boy's hand and pulled him to his side. "What did you guys do the whole time?" he asked, resting his hand on Arch's shoulder as they faced me.

I answered for him, smiling in hopes that he would copy me. "We went out to dinner with some friends and then saw a movie yesterday. Last night we just hung around the house, spent a little free time with Ronnie, and then Arch fell asleep in my bed."

"Sounds like you had a good night!" the man said, trying his best to get through the stoic child. He rubbed the little boy's arm and quickly fixed Georgia's shirt before taking Arch's hand. "Thanks for bringing him home, Atticus," he said, brown eyes trailing back to me, "And thank you for taking him to the movie yesterday, I bet that was fun."

"It was honestly my pleasure," I answered, kneeling down in front of Arch, "Thanks for letting me keep him for the night. It's been awhile since I had a sleep over and it was just what I needed." I reached my arms out to him and he barreled into them. "I'll see you soon," I promised, holding him to me, "Be good and don't cause too much trouble."

"You're leaving?" he asked quickly, pulling away long enough to show me his panicked expression.

"I have to go, sweetheart. Ronnie and I have plans a bit later, remember?" I ran my hands down his arms and held onto him a little longer, offering him a small smile. "But I'll see you next week, alright?"

He nodded as Will grabbed for him and gently pulled him back to his side. "Bye, Atticus."

I said a quick goodbye to Will in return and pressed a kiss against Arch's head, sent him another reassuring smile, and headed back to my car. Leaving Arch was always hard because he was always so upset to watch me go. He was a joy to have around, but leaving him with strangers every time made it hard to visit because seeing the look of his face when it was time for me to leave reminded me that he wasn't always so happy.

The ride back to the apartment didn't take long, and when I walked in I smiled at the man who was still clunked out in our bed, his hair matted and his face pressed against the pillowcase. I chuckled softly and climbed in next to him. "Ronnie," I whispered, running my fingers over the shaved part of his head. "Ronnie, wake up."

He didn't wake.

"Ronnie," I murmured a little louder, feeling the fuzziness of his new hair style. He'd had the gotten the right side of his head partially shaved. The hair was gone from above his ear and it made him look even better than before. It accented the new tattoo that was etched right below his temple.

"Atticus," he muttered in a very groggy voice, "Please go back to sleep."

"We can't," I replied, using the plural, "You're supposed to meet Nasty and I have to go to work in a little bit."

"Nasty doesn't care if I get my ass to his house," he retorted, not bothering to open his eyes.

"You're probably right, but you said you'd be there," I stated, running my fingers through his thick hair.

He grumbled unintelligibly and shook his head. He reached out and threw the blankets over me before he wrapped his inked arm around my waist and dropped his head to my shoulder, settling back in so that he could fall back asleep.

"You've been being such a bum lately," I muttered, deciding we could lay down for a little while longer. I was going to cave about work anyways just because I hadn't seen Nason in so long. The man had been one of my favorite people before the guys and I left for tour and it was shame that I hadn't seen him practically at all since we'd gotten back.

He'd been good to Ronnie in the beginning, when the man was facing the end of his sentence and the people anxiety once he was released and trying to adjust to the outside world again. Nason had made the arrangements for Ronnie's new band, and it was because of him that they actually had a band, not just a project for Ronnie. People were starting to take this new band seriously and Ronnie owned Nasty a lot for that.

I closed my eyes and laid still for awhile as Ronnie dozed next to me, not completely out but no where close to being awake. I thought about the beginning, the tour, and where we were headed now. Everything had changed in a year and a half. For everyone. Ronnie's Twitter posts made it known that he knew it too. Our lives were speeding up and "moving at the speed of light". Of course, we were right there with it, but nobody could've known two years ago that I would be laying here with an incredibly famous musician, completely in love and ready to take on the next stage of our life.

"Ronnie." I ran my palm over his bare skin.

He groaned. "What?"

"Lets go to Nasty's," I demanded, "Come on, I miss him."

Ronnie finally blinked open his gorgeous eyes. "You're going to come with?" he questioned, "Seriously?"

I nodded and slid out from under him so that I could sit up. "Come on," I said again, "You've got to shower. We're already going to be late."

Ronnie climbed out of bed fifteen minutes later and headed down the hall to the bathroom. I laid there for another minute before I got up to change into something other than a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt. Both Ronnie and I were dressed to kill. I donned a simple black dress that covered one shoulder and had a single ruffle halfway down. Ronnie dressed in a white button up that was absent of any sleeves, a skinny black tie, and a pair of black skinny jeans.

"You ready to go?" he asked as he came walking out of the bedroom, shoving his cellphone into the pocket of his jeans.

I handed him mine with a grateful smile and then nodded. "Been ready."

He tucked my smaller phone into his other pocket and grabbed his wallet and keys off the coffee table. "Then lets get out of here." I lead the way down stairs and over to his SUV. He unlocked it with the button and we climbed in, each of us more than a little ready to hang out with our friends and do nothing for the time being.

"Don't tell him, but I'm so excited to see Nasty," I said as Ronnie drove. He looked over and smiled at me.

"I won't tell," he promised, "Although he'll probably figure it out anyways."

I shrugged my shoulders with a smile on my lips. It only took about twenty minutes before we were pulling up outside of Nasty's house. I climbed out of the SUV and looked for the guys' cars. It seemed that everyone was there besides Jacky, unless he'd ridden with Derek or someone.

Even though Nasty lived in a house and we lived in an apartment, it seemed that our place was nicer than his. We walked into the door of the little house and I rolled my eyes at the guys who sat on the couches with controllers in hand. They didn't play very often, but when they did they played for hours, just hanging out and having fun with each other.

"Wow, guys," I called into the room, causing them to look back at us since the couch was facing the opposite way of the front door. "What a party."

Nasty stood up from the couch and grinned. "Ronnie, Atti, you came!"

He and Ronnie hugged quickly before Nasty turned to me and wrapped his arms around me. He lifted my feet from the floor and swung me in a circle. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on so that I wouldn't fall on my ass the second he stopped.

"I missed yah, Atticus," he cheered when he set me on my feet.

I wrapped my arms around his torso to keep from tipping over. "Yeah, yeah," I murmured playfully, "I'll pretend I missed you, too, Nason."

Nasty rolled his eyes and led Ronnie and I farther into the living room. I was pleasantly surprised when Jenn came down the hallway from the kitchen with a glass cup of something in her hand.

"You're here!" I exclaimed, "I'm not the only woman."

Jenn smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Ryan yanked me along," she told me, shaking her head when the drummer didn't even look up from the couch.

I glanced over my shoulder at the singer who'd already integrated into the group of play men. "I know how that is," I said, declining her offer to get me something from the fridge.

I was more comfortable here. That was obvious by the way she lingered in corners of rooms and didn't stray too far from Ryan. We weren't really intimidating people in this setting, but I knew what it felt like to be thrust into this environment so suddenly. The guys did their own thing because they figured that you could fend for yourself. I grabbed Jenn's arm and led her down the hallway.

"But, Ryan-" she rebutted, glancing back the way we'd come.

"They won't notice we're gone," I replied, stopping her worries as I pushed the bedroom door closed. I sat down on the bed and reached for the TV remote, chucking to myself as she glanced at the door and then back to me.

"Are you sure they won't notice?" she questioned, timidly sitting down on the edge of the bed. We had time to kill before more people came. Nasty had invited Ronnie and the guys early so they could all hangout and do exactly what they were doing now, so Jenn and I had time to entertain ourselves.

I nodded and told her to relax. "They're doing their own thing," I stated with a shrug of my shoulders, "Usually I just make fun of them and then have Ronnie yell at them when they talk back to me. We'll go back out when other people actually get here."

Jenn grinned and leaned against the headboard of the bed. "Sounds like a good time to me," she replied, chuckling, "Why aren't we out there making fun of them?"

I licked my lips and shrugged. "Go ahead," I encouraged playfully, "The day after I met Nasty I took him to the grocery store and he pretended to be my handicapped boyfriend so that he wouldn't get in trouble with the people he was annoying."

Jenn's jaw dropped out of surprise. "Are you serious?"

I nodded eagerly. "Yes, that man is a freak," I stated, pointing in the direction of the living room.

"Why didn't Ryan tell me that?" she asked loudly, covering her mouth as she laughed.

I shook my head. "They don't know. I guess I never told them when we got back. It's kind of just been a memory between Nason and I," I told her with a grin, "He's kind of my best friend in the group."

"That's really great," Jenn gushed, "I don't know if I'll ever be such good friends with one of Ryan's friends." She shook her head. "Instead of being just Ryan's girlfriend."

"Hey," I called, "I'm one of Ryan's friends."

She smiled and nodded, and then shrugged her shoulders as she tried to clarify her point. "Yeah, that's true. But I still hope the guys and I will get along like you and them do."

I nodded because I understand what she was saying. Making friends with a girlfriend was different than being in on the fun. While I was part of the group, only getting to know one of us didn't constitute being one of us. "They're great guys," I promised, "They'll grab onto you just as soon as they know that you and Ryan are for real, permanent."

"Well, I don't know if we're permanent," she replied, biting her lip as she thought about the infinite word. Then she looked up and met my eyes. "Did you know that you and Ronnie were permanent when you first got together?"

A small smile came on my lips as I thought about our first meeting and the first moments after; the collision in the hall, the lunch at my house between slots at the studio, and the night that Ronnie loaned me the hoodie that I never returned. I licked my lips and then looked back up to the slender woman sitting in front of me. I nodded once slowly. "Yeah," I whispered, "Yeah, I think I did. It wasn't on a conscious level or anything, but I think I knew deep down."

Jenn and I just looked at each other for a slow moment, and then I smiled and held up my left hand, showing her the ring that I didn't know if she noticed earlier.

Her eyes widened just slightly. "That's a wedding ring," she said quickly, grabbing my fingers to get a better look at the diamond encrusted piece of jewelry that he'd given to me. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open. Then she smiled.

I smiled too and nodded quickly. "He proposed a few days ago."

"And you said yes!"

"Of course I did," I replied automatically, "I love him more than anything in this world."

"Enough to give up your name and take his?" she questioned again, obviously thinking about what it meant to give up that part of you. "Enough to change your entire life for him?"

"Yeah," I confirmed softly, "Someday I'd like to be a Radke."

Jennifer let go of my hand and nodded slowly. She could almost see the invisible thread that bonded Ronnie and I together. To me, it felt like more than just an emotion. There was something about him and I that felt natural and permanent, and plotted by some bigger force. Being with him didn't feel like something that just happened, it felt like something that was supposed to.

It was easy for us to be together. There were problems, but neither one of us ever considered giving up on the other person. At this point, I couldn't imagine my life without him, and that's what made me say yes. I turned back to Jenn and nodded towards the door. "Do you want to go out there?" I questioned.

She ran her fingers through her hair. "But I thought you wanted to escape from them for a little while," she asked playfully.

I shrugged and smiled guiltily. "I changed my mind," I answered, "I kind of want to see Ronnie."

Jenn slid off the edge of the bed and pulled the door open for me. I grinned and grabbed her arm as I walked past, pulling her out into the living room where the guys sat, Jacky too, staring intensely at the entertainment center where Nasty was standing, looking through his DVDs.

"Atticus!" he shouted when we walked in, "What do you want to watch, baby?"

The rest of the guys looked at me as I walked over to Nasty and wrapped my arms around his waist. I leaned against him and scanned the movies with my eyes. "You pick it," I encouraged, pulling away from him and moving to Ronnie, sliding in between him and Jacky so that I could rest my head on his shoulder.

He glanced down at me slowly as Nasty picked the movie. "You okay?" Ronnie asked quietly, pressing a soft kiss against my hair and the side of my head. He slid his arm around me and pulled me into his side.

I grabbed his hand and slid my fingers between his. "Yeah," I assured him, resting my head on his shoulder as Nasty put the DVD into the gaming console, "I'm great, babe."
♠ ♠ ♠
(:
Finally wrote something. Been having a bit of a block, but I'm working past it. Been writing some stuff for the future of Atticus and Ronnie. Trying to move past this spot.

In three days I'm actually meeting the band. Few people with previous dates said that there was no pictures allowed in the meet and greet, but a small part of me is hoping the band will ignore that if they find out that it's my 17th birthday that day. I doubt it, but a girl can wish. (:

Please comment! This story isn't getting very much feedback and I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's a sequel, but I'm hoping all my Trouble-Maker subscribers are still interested. & if that's not the case then maybe it's because people left with the second layout change.

Anyways, I was hoping that those of you who are still here could leave me some comments. (: Please!

By the way, follow me on Twitter!
SoSickOfMaddi

Thank you!