Infinite

“Ronnie!” Arch shouted as loud as he could, running through the doorway and into the room. He saw Ronnie leaning back against the end of the couch and the five year old threw himself on top of him, grinning widely as Ronnie shouted his name and lifted the boy into the air over his head.

“What're you doing here, Little Man?” Ronnie questioned, sitting up and setting Arch between him and Ryan, who was also smiling at the little boy.

Arch grinned, showing a set of shallow dimples. “I came to see you!” he exclaimed, nodding adamantly.

Ronnie smiled and wrapped a tattooed arm over the little boy's shoulder. “That's great,” he cheered, “Let me introduce you to my friends.” Ronnie pointed at the men one by one and said their names at the same time. “This is Ryan, Derek, Jacky, and Ronnie.”

Arch's eyes widened. “But that's your name!” he shouted, looking between the two men.

We all laughed and I sat down in the large chair next to Ronnie F. I wrapped my arm around his waist and smiled at Arch. “This one is a lot cooler,” I said with a chuckle.

Arch frowned seriously and looked up into my Ronnie's dark eyes. He turned his little body so that he was facing him and asked, “Is Atti going to marry that Ronnie instead?”

Ronnie froze as Arch looked between all the people in the room. We hadn't told them that we'd gotten engaged yet, even though I was wearing the ring Ronnie gave me last night. Derek, who had been relatively quiet, incredibly so since it was him, moved his gaze to my left hand and shouted, “You're engaged!?”

I groaned and buried my face in my hands as the guys starting talking over one another, sounding angry and excited all at the same time, since we'd told a five year old before we told them. Ron grabbed my hand and studied the ring, making jokes about the amount of money Ronnie had spent on that thing, all of them coming to the conclusion that it was a lot.

“I think it's a pretty ring!” Arch defended, not quite understanding the joke. He pushed himself away from Ryan and Ronnie and crossed the room so that he could pull himself up and sit in my lap.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and thanked him softly, burying my face in his neck as the guys demanded to know why we hadn't told them and asked for more questions about the date. After they got the answers that they wanted, they turned to congratulating us with large smiles on their faces.

“What do you say we go get some food?” I asked, trying desperately to change the subject and to get us out of the crowded room and away from my father's building before he could run into us and see the ring on my finger. The nerves crept up my spine and I slid the ring off of my finger and into the pocket of my jeans as the guys stood up and grabbed their jackets. Ronnie grabbed Arch too and waited for me to follow the rest of the guys, him behind me.

Ronnie wrapped an arm under Arch's bottom and legs so that he could hold him with one arm and take my hand with his free one. Ronnie gave me a look when his fingers ran over the spot where my ring should be.

“I'll tell you in the car,” I promised, gripping onto his hand tighter. We followed the guys out of the building, Ronnie carrying the little boy who was the center of my thoughts at this very moment. Arch had a huge grin on his face, one that I hadn't seen on his face since before he was placed in foster care and had his entire world flipped upside down and inside out.

There were a couple of things that I wanted to talk to Ronnie about, and I figured that having the guys come with would distract Arch so that I could have a few minutes alone with Ronnie. We all piled into a couple cars, Ronnie coming with Arch and I as the guys took another large vehicle.

“Chinese food!” Arch cheered as we pulled up in front of the restaurant. I slipped my ring back onto my finger and smiled at Ronnie. I'd told him on the way over why I had taken it off and he understood that my dad wouldn't be as easy going if he found out about our engagement the way the band found out.

We walked into the Chinese restaurant the same way we'd walked out of the Epitaph building, with Arch attached to Ronnie like a leech. They were two of a kind and seeing Ronnie with a child was one of the most attractive things. People never thought of Ronnie as a kid kind of guy, but he loved them and I knew that he would do anything for them, especially for a child in need. A child like Arch.

We walked up to the counter where a woman stood. She smiled forcefully at the large group of us and counted us up. “Seven of you?” she asked, double checking that we didn't have anyone else coming, “Why don't you follow me. I'll show you all to your table.”

We followed after her in a clump of people, and Ronnie set Arch down and took his hand instead, catching a little bit of attention from the people in the restaurant. A lot of people weren't used to seeing such an innocent looking child walking into a nice restaurant with a large group of men dressed predominantly in black.

I grabbed Arch's other hand and tried to stop the stares, even though Arch was grinning at all the attention, loving the feeling of being around people who made him feel secure. We went to a large table and sat down, Arch between Ronnie and I with Ryan next to me and the other three across from us. The woman handed us a few menus and told us that we should take our time with ordering because she wanted us to make exactly the right choices.

I thanked her and told her that we'd alert her when we were ready, and Arch asked if he could have chicken again, causing me to glare at Ronnie because he was the one who introduced the boy to meat, a luxury that his biological parents and his foster parents have denied him of.

“I don't know, Arch,” I stated, biting my lip between my words, “I don't think it's a good idea because Olivia and Will don't want you to have meat.”

Arch groaned loudly and pressed the back of his head into the back of the chair. “That's not fair,” he whined, “They're not in charge of me.”

I raised my eyebrows and gave him a look. “Arch, you know that's not true.”

“I don't care,” he stated, “I want chicken.”

I sighed and told him to pick something else, but Ronnie rolled his eyes and told the boy that he could have whatever he wanted if he didn't tell Olivia and Will. Arch agreed quickly and eagerly and grinned at Ronnie and then at I.

“Arch, Baby. We'll be right back, stay here and don't go anywhere without one of the guys,” I demanded, pressing a kiss against the boy's head. “Ronnie and I are going to run out to the car really quickly.”

Ronnie rolled his eyes over the top of Arch's head, thinking that he was in trouble for telling Arch that he could eat meat. But he plastered a smile to his face when Arch looked up to meet his gaze. I gave Ronnie a hard look and grabbed his wrist, about ready to drag him out of the restaurant as the band chuckled.

“We'll be right back,” I said again, smiling at everyone as we headed away from the table and out of the building, standing on the sidewalk in front of the place.

“Atticus, I'm sorry. But the boy should be able to eat what ever-”

“That's not what this is about,” I cut him off, clasping my hands together.

Ronnie frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Then what is this about?” he asked slowly, semi-cautiously.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my long hair. I stretched out my fingers and then balled them back up into a fist. “The Harris' are adopting their foster daughter, not Arch,” I stated, “And I don't think they're going to be keeping Arch for much longer.”

Ronnie's frown deepened. “Because they're not permanently adopting him?”

I nodded simply and tucked my hands under my arms.

“Where do you think he'll be going?” Ronnie questioned, glancing back in the direction of the guys and Arch.

I shrugged nervously, eyes on him. “I don't know.”

Ronnie's eyes narrowed. “Atticus...” he trailed off, “What're you thinking?”

“I just- I think he would be better off with-”

Ronnie groaned and shook his head. “Do not say 'us'.”

“With us,” I finished, “It's true and you know it is.” I reached out and grabbed his arm, hoping that he'd stop thinking about it and just go with what he was feeling.

“Yeah, okay,” he stated, throwing his hands into the air, “But did you consider how expensive it is to adopt a child in the foster system? No, you didn't. Neither of us have that kind of money. And you just said last night that you're not ready for kids.”

“It's not that expensive, it would cost less than your car, Ronnie. We can get a kid for less than the price of a car,” I replied with my arms still crossed over my chest, "And that's because we have time to have our kids, Arch doesn't have that much time."

Ronnie wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I rolled my eyes and tried to step back, but he wouldn't allow it. “Come on, Atticus, be realistic,” he murmured, “We spend all of our time at my house and I only have one bedroom. We just got engaged. How would it really work out if we adopted him? We're too unstable. This isn't the lifestyle for a kid, you said it yourself.”

I shook my head. “He's not a baby, Ronnie. He's five and he'd do anything to be with us. I don't think it would that hard for him to adjust to the way we live.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and and looked into his dark eyes, knowing that I was contradicting what I had told him just last night, and unsure if I was correct or desperate.

"What about touring?" Ronnie questioned, "Are you going to stay in L.A. with him while I'm gone? Would you really stay home and take care of a kid while I'm on tour?"

"I don't know," I said as I shook my head, "but we could figure something out. We've been with Arch since the beginning of this and I don't want to see him end up somewhere terrible, Ronnie. He deserves better than that."

“Atticus,” Ronnie sighed, shaking his head slightly, “Lets just go eat and we'll talk about this at home later.”

I paused for a moment and let the nerves settle. I was getting myself worked up and I didn't even know if any of what I was asking was possible. I nodded reluctantly and let him take my hand. He pulled me back into the restaurant and sat down with our friends to order.

“Where'd you go?” Arch questioned after he made sure I'd ordered his chicken.

“Just went to talk,” I replied, “I haven't seen him all day long and I missed him.”

Derek snorted in laughter. “You missed Ronnie?” he asked sarcastically, “You saw him this morning. It's me you should be missing, sugar. I haven't see you since the last Millennium.”

“First,” I replied, “Don't call me 'sugar', and second of all.” I cracked a grin and nodded my head. “I did miss you, Der.”

Derek laughed too and smiled stupidly. We chatted until the food came, and then we were all too busy shoving as much as we could into our mouths to talk about anything. Arch, however, couldn't stop talking with his mouth full. Ronnie and I shared a few glances over his head.

Arch climbed up so that he could fold his feet under him as he chatted loudly with Jacky, going crazy over the accent that was becoming thicker with every word that Jacky spoke. “I'm from London,” Jacky explained, smiling at the child.

Arch frowned. “What's London?”

I chuckled and explained, “It's another city, honey. We live in Los Angeles in the United States and Jacky used to live in London, England.”

Arch nodded but we could tell that he didn't really understand, so Jacky tried to tell him another, simple way. “It's a place like this one, except people say things differently.”

“Like you,” Arch stated, smiling like he figured out the secrets of the universe.

Jacky nodded and smiled at him. I claimed Arch's attention and steered it back to his food, wanting him to eat more since he would be back on a diet of vegetables and whatever else people eat when they're not eating meat. I knew that once he got old enough to make his own diet decisions, the boy would be back to eating as much meat as he could find.

“I'm full,” he whined after another couple bites, leaving half an uneaten plate in front of him that he shoved farther away from him and closer to Ron.

I shook my head and pulled it back to him. “We can't send it home with you,” I defended, “So eat up because that's all you're getting for awhile.”

Arch frowned and crossed his little arms over his chest. “We aren't going to hang out again soon?” he questioned, looking at me and turning my words back around on me.

“We might,” I stated, “But if you don't take a few more bites then we're not going to go out to eat anytime soon, Arch.”

He sighed and picked up his fork again so he could shovel a few more bites into his mouth. I watched approvingly and turned back to my own plate.

We finished eating and after an hour of taking our time and chatting about everything we could think up, we paid the bill, left a tip, and I lifted Arch into my arms, raging a battle with my mind and my heart, and with Ronnie's.

“Do you have to head back?” I asked Ronnie, lifting Arch up better on my hip.

Ronnie nodded and walked me back to my car. “Yeah, we have a few more things to finalize at Epitaph, but I'll call you when I'm on my way home.”

I frowned but nodded. “Okay,” I added, “I'll be at the apartment.”

Ronnie smiled at me and murmured the word 'fiancee' out loud, loving the label that we now shared. He leaned forward and kissed me, ending it quickly since I was still holding Arch in my arms. He ruffled the boy's growing hair. “I'll see you guys later,” he promised before he headed back towards Ryan's car, sparing a couple glances over his shoulders.

I waved and watched them cram into the vehicles before I situated Arch in his seat and took to the driver's side, asking what he wanted to do before I took him home.

“Go to...” he trailed off, his hand on his chin as he contemplated all the ideas that were running through his head, “Can we go to the movies?” he asked finally, realizing that he hadn't been there in a long time.

“What do you want to see?” I questioned, already pulling into the right lane so that I could turn in the direction of the large movie theatre that wasn't too far from us.

Arch shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno,” he mumbled, thinking once again even though I could tell that he had no idea what was actually playing.

I smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “There's a 3D version of Finding Nemo out,” I told him, “Do you want to go see that?”

Arch grinned and nodded excitedly. “I've never been to a 3D movie!” he exclaimed, causing me to laugh. He rambled excitedly as I drove, asking what 3D was really like.

“Come on, Arch,” I urged, holding out my hand to him as we headed into the theatre, “We're going to be late for a movie, they don't start them at 38 after, dude.”

Arch took my hand and basically let me drag him into the theatre, since his small legs kept him from running very fast at all. We moved up to the ticket person and told them what movie we wanted. The man behind the desk wasn't really a man at all, but instead merely a boy who looked no older than sixteen, and if the legal working age wouldn't have been that, I would've thought younger.

“Nemo!” Arch cheered, pointing at the digital sign above one of the theaters when we passed the snack counter and headed down the left hallway, “This is so cool!”

I grinned and let go of his hand, allowing him to race into the lighted room without me, knowing there was no where for him to go besides in, since there was only one entrance and exit, besides the emergency ones that would no doubtably set off an alarm the second someone tried to push past them. When I was fully in the theatre I looked around for Arch and found him instantly, standing at the very top row yelling my name.

“Can we sit here!?” he called to me loudly, causing a few people to frown and a few more people to smile at his excitement. The other kids seemed to be feeding off of his excitement and I bounded up the stairs to him, sweeping him into my arms.

I ignored the looks from the angry parents when I carted him down the aisle towards the center, “We can sit where ever you want, Arch,” I replied, "How about here?" I set him on his feet and turned him towards the screen, letting him get a feed for it.

“Over here,” he corrected, pushing me back towards the way we'd just come. Away from the other group of kids who were sitting with their parents near the end.

He sat down and curled his legs until him. He slipped his 3D glasses over his eyes and complained when the commercials didn't look any different. He pulled them off and then put them back on. "Mine are broken," he complained, passing them to me, "I need new ones."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Only the movie is 3D, Arch," I explained as he pulled them back off, "Wait until it starts and then see what happens. Do you want to go get some snacks?” I asked, not even bothering to care what Olivia would think when she found out. She was all about not spoiling dinner, but Arch needed a little TLC.

"No." He shook his head, "Can you go get them? I like Reeses."

“You can't wait here by yourself,” I defended, wrapping my arm over his shoulders, "It'll only take a couple of minutes for you to come with me and I'll let you get whatever you want." I glanced at the woman who was getting ready to sit down at the end of the row with a little girl who was slightly older than Arch.

“I'll be fine,” Arch dead-panned, not taking his eyes from the screen. He put his glasses back on when the commercial switched. He frowned but left them on.

I shook my head again. “I don't think so, Arch. Either you come with or we don't have any snacks for the entire movie," I explained as he turned his head towards me.

Arch sighed dramatically and slid off of his chair. I draped my jacket over the two seats and took his hand. I picked him up and carried him past the two at the end and took his hand to lead him down the stairs when the room darkened for the trailers. I pushed my glasses up on my head and looked around the large entrance area of the building. There were a lot of people in the theatre and I was surprised because it was the middle of the day, but I guess Saturday afternoon was the best time for parents to be out with their kids.

“What can I get you?” a woman asked from behind the register, pressing her palms into the top of the counter with a large smile on her face.

“He wants Reeses,” I replied, looking over the prices that were posted on the board above our heads, “And I'll take a red and blue slushie.” I looked down to Arch. “Do you want anything else, sweetheart?”

He nodded timidly, not used to getting multiple things, and I chuckled. "Well what is it?"

He tangled his fingers together and and held onto the edge of the counter, speaking shyly to the woman taking our order. I ran my fingers through his little blonde curls as he said, "Can I please have popcorn?"

She smiled at the gorgeous little boy. "Of course. What size?"

"Medium," I answered her, taking the box of candy from her when she slid it across the counter. I handed it to Arch and he grinned, cradling it to his chest. He looked ecstatic and I lifted him up so he could see the woman make our slushie and fill our popcorn.

"That'll be $16.85." I handed over my card. “Remember, you get free refills on the larges, don't hesitate to stop back if you run out of either.” She handed me my card back and I led Arch around the people in line behind us. He wanted to carry the popcorn, but I decided against it for obvious reasons.

I cautioned Arch to walk slowly up the wide steps because it was almost entirely dark now, the only light was coming from the gigantic screen that took up the entire front wall. We made it back to our spot without any problems and I waited for Arch to be seated before I handed him the slushie, reminding him about the oversized cup holders that he could set it in.

“This is so cool,” he whispered softly but excitedly, his eyes widening behind the red and blue glasses as the movie started. There were a few times through out the movie where it looked like things were popping out at us and Arch reached out into the air in front of us like he thought he was actually able to touch the fish. I chuckled to myself and returned my attention to the film when he put his hand down at his side, deterred by the lack of actual fish swimming towards him.

The movie wasn't very long, and even though it was a children's movie, I still enjoyed watching the famous fish. Arch enjoyed it too and had the biggest smile on his face between pieces of peanut butter candy and popcorn and huge gulps of slushie. When it ended, we stayed seated as the rest of the people cleared out and then he turned to me, pouting.

“I don't want to go,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest the best he could with the orange candy box in his hand, "I want to stay with you and watch another movie."

I pulled my phone out and checked the time, grimacing when there were already two missed calls from Olivia. I had put the phone on silent so that I wouldn't disrupt the other families, but it had gotten later than I'd thought about and I realized that Arch would probably be late for dinner, an unforgivable crime in the eyes of Will and Olivia Harris.

“We've got to go,” I replied hurriedly, “You're late.” I gathered up my jacket and my empty slushie cup and motioned for Arch to do the same, although he wasn't having it.

“Late for what?” he asked, unexcited by the fact that I was trying to rush him.

I grabbed his wrist with my free hand and pulled him from the chair, careful that he didn't stumble. “For dinner,” I answered, picturing a very angry set of foster parents. “I promised Olivia I'd have you home in time for dinner tonight.”

Arch frowned as we slowed our pace on the stairs. “But I'm not hungry.”

I groaned to myself and leaned down to scoop him up in my arms as we hit the blockage of people all trying to file their way out of the same theatre door. We deviated to the slushie machine and I refilled it, seeing that Arch drank most of the first one on his own. “Well don't tell Will and Olivia that,” I retorted, “You're supposed to be hungry for dinner.”

“But I'm not,” he dead-panned, not catching on.

We made our way into the commons area of the theatre and I hurried towards the main doors. “Yes, you are,” I replied, “You didn't have any candy or chicken today.”

Arch's frown deepened. “Why didn't I have candy?” he questioned, looking at the half-full candy box in his little hand.

“Because it'll spoil your dinner.” We hurried across the parking lot.

Arch didn't reply. He just let me set him on his feet so that I could unlock the car doors and open his for him. He climbed in once it was open and I buckled him in correctly.

“Better finish that before we get back to your house,” I suggested, referring to the box of candy, although I knew I should probably take it away from him and give him time to become even the slightest bit hungry on the way back to the Harris's.

He stuck the the box between his leg and the carseat and leaned back. His blue eyes were on me. “Can I sleep over at your house?” he questioned, blinking at me adorably.

“I think Olivia wants you home tonight,” I replied unfortunately. I shut the backdoor and got into the front. I added, “You have your group and she'll want you home tomorrow.”

“I'll go home tomorrow,” he replied smartly, frowning at me the in mirror. "Please, Atticus. I want to stay and spend time with you and Ronnie. I don't want to stay with Olivia."

I clicked my own seatbelt and tried to ignore how his words made me feel. When he added that he couldn't sleep with the baby crying in the room next door, I caved and reached for my cell phone. “I'll call her,” I told him, knowing that it would make him happy and get us both out of a little bit of trouble with Olivia.

Arch grinned and went silent when I put the phone up to my ear. I kept my eyes on him as it rang, watching his evident excitement. He clasped his little hands together and sat still, waiting for the answer that he wanted.

“Olivia,” I greeted when the woman answered the phone, “It's Atticus.”

”Atticus, where are you? I've been trying to call you and you haven't answered,” she retorted right away, sounding like a mixture between angry and anxious, "I don't like not being able to get ahold of you. Where's Arch?"

“You didn't think something happened, did you? You know I would never let anything happen to him,” I stated, switching the phone to my other ear, “We just got out of the movies and I saw that you'd called.”

”I thought you were only taking him to lunch?”

I glanced in the mirror at Arch. “They're playing Finding Nemo 3D,” I replied, “He really wanted to see it and I figured since it wasn't going to be playing much longer that I might as well. I didn't think it would be a big deal. Is everything okay?”

”Yes, Atticus, but we're starting dinner soon. Can you please bring him home now? I need to get him fed, bathed, and put to bed. I can't imagine the state he's in, he hasn't had a nap today. How's he been?”

I frowned and shook my head at her, eyes shifting towards Arch in the mirror. He sat hopefully, eyes wide and fingers tangled together. “He was great today,” I answered, “Does he always take naps?”

Olivia replied, ”Everyday when Tommie and Georgia go down. It's much easier if all three of them sleep at the same time. Plus, it's less depriving if he takes a nap so that he gets all the sleep he needs if Tommie wakes him up in the night.”

“Well,” I started, quickly thinking about how to word this, “Since he hasn't had a nap today, and we want him to sleep all night, maybe it would be best if he stayed at my house tonight. We're near there already so it would be better for everyone if I could bring him home tomorrow afternoon.”

Arch was grinning wildly in the backseat.

Olivia made a small noise and then I heard her speaking to the baby. There was a few muffled sounds and the she spoke, ”You're going to your house?” she asked, ”Your boyfriend will be there, too?”

I nodded. “I live with Ronnie,” I clarified, “But he won't mind Arch coming for the night, he loves the kid.”

Olivia cleared her throat. ”Hold on one minute. I need to discuss this with Will.”

I bit my lip and waited anxiously for her to ask her husband what she thought about a child in their care sleeping over the house of an waitress and her musician boyfriend. I knew that was how they saw us, even though they liked me, and Ronnie, a lot, they weren't very comfortable with letting Arch be around us alone for extended periods of time, even though we were the ones who had been with him when all of this happened.

Olivia came back on the phone and I sat up a little straighter in my seat out of reflex. She was more uptight than I was and it made me worry about Arch. “What do you think?” I questioned, “We're going to get some dinner and then put a movie in and clunk out, nothing too drastic.”

Olivia sighed almost inaudibly. ”Sure. I guess that's fine, Atticus, but please bring him home tomorrow afternoon. We have plans on Monday and I would really like to get him back on his usual schedule before he has to get up in the morning.”

I smiled. “Of course I'll have him back tomorrow,” I promised, “I'll see you then.”

”Alright,” she agreed, ”Have a nice night. Tell Arch to be a good boy.”

“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.” I hung up the phone and turned around in my seat to grin at Arch. “Sleepover time,” I cheered, watching him smile even wider and wriggle around excitedly in his seat the best he could, held down by his carseat restraints.

“Lets go!” he exclaimed, causing me to laugh loudly and buckle back up so I could head in the direction of my apartment. Ronnie would be home soon and were going to have some fun tonight and and spend a little time with Arch before we had to give the five year old back to the foster system and his temporary parents.