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god, he was beautiful.
ronnies eyes were on max, watching as the younger male’s green orbs seemed to gleam with amusement, his hands moving erratically around himself as he spoke to his parents in the back - or rather, his mother only.
the male reached over, his hand resting on max’s thigh - in response, max grinned, pausing his speaking to glance at ronnie,
“keep your eyes on the road.”
max’s voice is soft like silk. his eyeliner is smudged and messy, his hair parted to the side in that emo haircut he had learned from his boyfriend,
ronnie can’t contain a laugh, shaking his head as he looked back ahead - his hand squeezing the younger man’s thigh.
“spare me, sugar. can’t keep my eyes off you.”
a light coo is heard from the back, max’s mothers blonde and puffed hair coming into sight as ronnie looked up into the rearview mirror, scrunching up his nose in mock disgust,
“i still wonder how maxie got so damn lucky. i guess not all rockstars are bad, hm?“
”mom!”
ronnie can’t contain a small laugh at max’s sheepish tone, giving another playful squeeze to the man’s thigh,
“oh, momma, we’re bad alright. but, max brings out that lovey and cheesy radke.”
a light slap is delivered to ronnie’s shoulder, an annoyed but amused max shooting him a playful glare,
“shut up, playboy.”
”playboy? i fuckin’ love you, babe.”
and, he meant it. he adored max - adored the way his hair sat, the way his voice sounded .. the way he always jumped in place when excited,
he loved the way max giggled when nervous, or the way he always bit his inner cheek when he was uncomfortable .. perhaps he even loved the way max slammed the doors to their shared apartment when angry, or the way he threatened to leave.
flaws and all, he loved max.
ronnie’s hand leaves max’s thigh, though not without a small pinch and a grunt of annoyance from max - his painted fingernails find their way to his own pocket of his jacket, fiddling with something inside.
the band of the ring is silver, though thicker than most rings he had seen at shops - the edges of the diamond feel sharp, though not sharp enough to hurt - he can feel the small stones around the square, and he can feel his lips twitch into an involuntary smile.
“what are you thinking about?”
ronnie breaks out into a full grin at max’s question, shaking his head in response - he can’t give it away. not yet, not until he’s on one knee.
”nothin’, doll. just starving and ready to eat.”
for a split second, ronnie can see max’s smile .. he can see max’s teeth flash a grin as he looks back at his mother, though that only lasted a second.
the car shakes, causing ronnie to panic and hold onto the wheel in a desperate attempt to steady the car - a pop heard from the front of the car followed soon after .. along with a piercing scream from max.
“fuck!”
ronnies voice sounds like a bark as he shuts his eyes tightly, almost as if trying to shield himself and the car. that works to no avail, the car doing a turn and flipping off the road, in the air for a few seconds before landing on its roof.
the next few minutes seem like a blur - though he can hear and feel glass being shattered as his body is dragged through the window, his breathing labored yet feeling rapid all at once.
he can feel blood dripping from his head, his eyes half-lidded as a light is shined into his eyes — a man, whom looked no older than 30, flashing a light into his dark orbs.
a worried woman’s haunting voice cuts through the air, though it sounds faded and echoed to ronnie.
“i’ve got him right here .. he — i didn’t move him! i didn’t know what to do, i know you’re not supposed to..”
the sound of rushing footsteps then pierce the air, and soon ronnie feels cloth at his head, supporting it as a blonde woman speaks frantically, though he can’t make that out either.
“he’s losing a lot of blood.”
the man only speaks for a moment before getting up from his knees, rushing over to the wrecked camaro, checking the pulse of those inside.
“you’re gonna be alright .. you’re gonna be fine. it’s okay.”
ronnie can only stare, his body feeling heavy as his eyes watered, making his vision even more blurred than it already was.
“how are the others?”
the woman questions the older man as he returns, his face heavy with distress .. his eyes linger on the bloodied and limp ronnie, holding back a wince before speaking.
”they’re gone.”
those words get through to ronnie, however. who closed his eyes tightly - desperate to wake up, desperate to feel max’s bare body against his own in their bed.
though, that desperate plea is interrupted by the same man’s voice,
“listen, bud. i need you to listen to lila’s voice , alright? i’m gonna look into your pockets.. i’m going to find something with your name on it, okay?”
ronnie can’t respond, only blink.
“what’s your name?”
the blonde questions, to which ronnie can’t reply. his eyes wander - landing on a bright light. for some reason, his scrambled brain thinks of snow .. no, hail.
his voice is whispered, raspy from the pain he couldn’t feel, but was clearly in.
“is that hail?”
the blonde looks to the side, tears prickling at the sides of her eyes before he looks back at the man, shaking her head.
“no, no.. that’s not hail, that’s just the light.”
”ronald .. ronald, is that your name? ronald.. listen, my name is sam. i’m a doctor - alright? i’m going to look after you, okay? i need you to try and stay awake. i want you to listen to lila’s voice and just stay awake. just stay with us here, okay?”
ronnie can’t focus, his mind too busy replaying the crash that just happened - his eyebrows furrowed sadly, his bottom lip quivering.
“forgive me. forgive me. please, forgive me.”
sam shakes his head, his heart clenching at the younger man’s guilt.
”hey, ronnie .. listen, i was driving right behind you. you didn’t do anything wrong, alright? your front tire blew, okay? it wasn’t your fault.”
but it’s got to be. it’s got to be someone’s fault, no? why was it him. why was he still here, breathing .. whilst the love of his life, and what was to be his mother-in-law were in the car, dead.
it wasn’t fair. ronnie’s mind kept repeating that - it was his fault .. was he driving too fast? he should have checked the damned tire.
his brain scrambled, and in his state of confusion, his eyes moved back to the blonde’s face, though that face soon turned into another.
her blonde hair now appeared black, her once feminine face changed to a masculine ones - the clothes she had on were now the band tshirt and necklaces max had on a second ago,
ronnies hand moved ever so slightly, searching for the silver banded ring - sam took notice, hurrying to hand it to ronnie .. and, ronnie gripped it, his eyes only shedding more tears.
max, it was max. the face of his boyfriend, of his one true love.
“that’s my boy.. that’s my boy right there.”
ronnies voice cracks, his eyes stuck on max’s face, and though it wasn’t really max. he can still see the younger man’s beautiful eyes, he can feel the man’s hands caressing his tear stained face.
that was his boy. his one and only.
“will you marry me..will you marry me?”
the blonde can only sniffle, looking into ronnie’s desperate eyes. with a saddened smile, she nods her head.
“yes.”
that’s not enough for ronnie, whom lets out a small whimper, his hand clutching the ring tighter.
“will you marry me?”
he repeats, his eyes low. and, he stares into ‘max’s face, who gives him another saddened smile, his voice soft like silk.
“yes, ronnie.”
it goes silent for ronnie, then, his chest tightens .. his hands feel cold, his body feels heavier than a truck filled with bricks. with a choked sob, his eyes shut for a moment.
“i can’t breathe, babe.. i don’t want to die.”
sam and lila grow worried, their hands shaking ronnie desperately, eager to save the young rockstars life.
“you’re not going to die .. stay with me,”
though, that’s the fucked up part about life. things happen. all the damned time,
with a final glance, ronnie can’t seem to remember his own name as his eyes lose focus, and just as quick as it came .. his life left. leaving nothing but those black and lifeless orbs behind, his hand holding onto the ring he had spent his life searching for.
ronald joseph radke, 24 year old rockstar, dead in car crash with former bassist maxwell scott greenfield.