Take It Back, My Friend (Ronnie Radke)

The Fans

Ronnie's POV:

"I'll drive." I offered as I watched her finish half the wine glass in one gulp and put it in the sink. Yeah, still drinks like a fish. 

"What was that?" She asked as she went to grab her purse and boots. I didn't mean to say that out loud. 

"Nothing." I jingled my keys in her face. "Let's go."

"Your car?" She asked and I glanced over at her to see her admiring it. 

"Yeah. Stays here for the most part though." I got some satisfaction at seeing her admire the car. 

We climbed in and she told me what store she wanted to go to specifically. As we were driving I asked how her mother was doing. Sherry was a wonderful woman. She was always around and I honestly thought of her as a mother growing up. Anytime I was in trouble she was there to help me out. Sweetest lady, really. 

"She's doing well. Still lives in the same place." She said.

I stole a glance at her when we were at a red light. She was still as stunning as she was back then. I about near fainted this afternoon at lunch when she stepped out of her car. I always remember this spark in those big blue eyes though and that was the only thing missing and I couldn't help but hate myself for taking that away. 

The sunset left the Earth in a strange glow that just made her long blonde locks glow. Thinking of how stupid I was for letting her walk out of my life, I started to wonder if some other guy had come in and swooped her up. There is no way a girl this gorgeous doesn't have guys all over her. I thought about asking but I didn't want to seem like I was jealous. Then again, I did write a song saying if I couldn't have her then nobody could...Then again, there were some other harmful implied words in that song so...

"Aren't people going to be wondering where you are? Don't you have some crowd to please or something?" She asked, giggling at her self. She fucking giggled at me.

"Nah, I had the whole day off. Taking a personal day." I winked at her and if my eyes weren't on the word I could have sworn she blushed. It could have been the several glasses of wine making her flushed though. Not getting my hopes up. 

We got to the store and we walked in and she grabbed a cart. 

"Oh, we are actually shopping?" I asked. I figured she would grab some pasta and some sauce and call it a day. 

"Uh, have you seen my fridge? I have no food. I can't keep spending my whole paycheck on take out." 

We started going up and down the isles and it was such a mundane task but doing it couldn't have made me happier. We were in the chip isle and I realized she was talking to me but I was too lost in my thoughts of her to hear. 

"-but I feel like I'll only eat them once and call it a day. Then they'll go bad." 

"Right." I said trying to catch up with what she was talking about. All of a sudden a few younger girls and a guy were at the end of the isle and I could tell they were huddled together whispering and kept looking down at us. They all had dark skinny jeans and a lot of neon and colored hair. I'd seen people like this too often on the road. Finally the guy got the balls to walk over to us as Sophie was throwing a chip bag in the cart. 

"I'm sorry but you're Ronnie Radke, right?" 

"Yes he is!" Sophie said smiling at the kid. The guy looked at her and then to me but his eyes quickly shot back to her. "Want a picture and an autograph?" She asked the kid. When did I say I would do this? Granted, I love making fans happy. Without them I would be nothing. "Sure, I can do that. Bring your friends over. I promise I don't bite." I laughed. I was happy Sophie was smiling too. 

"Yo, get over here!" He shouted to his group of girlfriends. They all raced over so fast I thought they were going to tackle me. 

"Falling In Reverse is my FAVORITE band EVER!" One of the girls shouted at me. 

"Glad to hear that!" 

"Would you mind taking a picture of all of us?" One of the girls quietly asked Sophie. 

"Of course! And they all threw their phones at her. "Whoa, one at a time!" She was laughing. 

After several pictures on a bunch of different phone the dude asked if I could sign something for him. I agreed mostly because Sophie looked like she was having a blast talking to these kids. She hadn't stopped beaming since they came over. 

"Here, I have a little notepad and I think a pen." She went to the cart and began digging through her purse until she pulled both out. 

I signed and personalized all of them. And they all left us in peace again. Sophie still had a smile on her face as she pushed the cart away. 

"You're so popular Mr. Radke. I feel honored to be in your presence. Think I could get an autograph too?" She giggled again and kept looking at the shelves. 

"You know, I think I can manage that." I grabbed the notepad and pen that sat on the top of her purse and began to scribble a note down. I shoved it back in her purse when she was grabbing a thing of ground beef. 

"I feel honored." She smiled at me. "Now, what kind of noodles would you like?" 

"Any? They're all the same." I said and her eyes got a little bigger. 

"They are not all the same! They all totally make the meal different." I smiled. She's still as over-dramatic as ever. I always used to tease her for being a drama queen. 

"You get whatever makes you happy." 

After too long of her deciding what to get we made it to the check out. I thought about offering to pay but I knew she would get offended. I loaded the groceries in the trunk and told her to get in. Eventually we made it to her house and unloaded everything. Everything felt so right. Like this is how we were supposed to be all along. 

"Wow, it's late." She said looking at the her phone when we got back. "Don't feel like you have to stay to eat." 

"Sophie, I want to be here. If I want to leave, I'll leave." I told her. Why'd she think I didn't want to be here? 

"Okay." She blinked and then got everything ready. 

"What can I do?" I asked. She looked around at everything for a second and pulled out a big pan and put the ground beef in it. 

"You can do this." 

After some time and some joking around we had everything done and ready. We sat down at her kitchen table after she cleared some things off of it and ate. 

"I want to see a show next time you guys are in Vegas." She told me and my heart swelled. 

"I don't think we're doing a show here until Warped." 

"Warped Tour...great memories." She smiled. She had traveled with us back with Escape the Fate. And she was right, a lot of good memories from that. 

"Will it be weird being there with a new band?" She asked as she ate. I had thought about it already and I was ready for anything. I had tons of fans who supported me and that's all I needed. 

"Nope. I'm excited." 

"We'll I can't wait until then." 

We talked about the band and I had asked about her new jobs and friends and I was beyond happy to learn that she didn't have a boyfriend. She was not surprised to hear I had just gotten out of a relationship. "Typical." She had even said. 

I could tell she was exhausted. So after helping her clean up I made my way out. She walked me to my car which I parked in her driveway this time. We hugged and it lasted probably a little longer than a normal hug. I wasn't complaining. 

I drove back to the place we were staying and after taking a lot of shit from the guys for being out all day, I tried to call it a night. I'd be lying if I said she wasn't on my mind all night. Amazing how in just one day I turned my biggest hater into my biggest fan and I loved it.