Story: {Ronnie Radke} Don't Forget Me {Max Green} I Can't Wait Forever {Craig...

[Have you read the memo yet?]

"Please Max, don't hang up."

Max sighed, but didn't say a word. He was emotionally drained, and just sick of having this same fight.

"Max?"

"I'm here, Ronnie."

On the other end of the line, Ronnie sighed in relief.

"We can work this out," he insisted, "I know we can."

"N-No, we can't," Max stuttered, "Not this time."

"Why…" Ronnie stopped, unable to finish his sentence.

"Ronnie, you're going to jail for four years," Max said, sighing exasperatedly, "I can't wait that long. We've been through this so many times, and you keep making promises then breaking them. I feel like I'm constantly repeating myself to you, and I'm just plain fed up."

"Max, please- "

"No," Max interrupted, swallowing, before blurting out words he desperately hated to say, yet at the same time needed to, "it's over, Ronnie. It has to be. I can't deal with this any more."

There was a silence on the other end, and Max tried not to picture just how Ronnie would look at the moment, most probably biting his lip and flexing his fingers, just as he always did when he was nervous.

"Please don't leave me Max," Ronnie pleaded.

"I have to," Max replied, straining to keep his tears back, "this is never going to change. You're never going to change."

"I can change. We can work this out."

"You always say that."

"I mean it, I really do."

"And you always say that, as well."

"Please Max, I need you."

Max almost choked, slightly taken aback. He had been convinced that he'd die before the day came that Ronnie admitted to needing anything besides his drugs. It was almost enough to change his mind. Almost.

"It's too late Ronnie," he whispered, "I can't just sit back and wait for you to get out of jail. Its four years. I can't put my entire life on hold for you."

"Maxi," Ronnie stammered, and if Max didn't know any better, he'd swear Ronnie was crying, "Please don't leave me."

"I'm not strong enough to keep going through all this. I'm sorry Ronnie, but it had to end. We're over."

"Who is he?"

Max inhaled sharply. Ronnie knew him too well. He hadn't counted on his former band mate being able to tell that someone else had waltzed into his life, someone who'd made him realise that he needed to break away from the emotional hurricane that is Ronnie Radke.

"Craig," Max replied softly, "it's Craig."

Ronnie laughed bitterly, "That bastard has just taken away everything that was perfect in my life."

"He's a nice guy Ronnie."

"Do you love him?"

"Ronnie- "

"Do you? Does he hold you and make you feel perfect? Does he softly kiss you and make it mean more than a kiss ever should? Does a simple squeeze of his hand to yours make every problem in the world disappear? Does he care? Do you love him? Does he love you?"

Max paused, blinking back tears, then whispered, "Yes. Yes to all of those questions."

He knew from the silence on the other end that he'd just broken Ronnie's heart, and he knew from the sickening, tightening feeling in his chest that his own heart was breaking as well.

"Please give me another chance," Ronnie begged, the desperation in his voice brought tears to Max's eyes, "Please. Max, I love you."

"Goodbye Ronnie."

"Max- "

Max hung up, and threw the phone away from him as if it was burning his skin. He wasn't expecting Ronnie to call back, but he couldn't help hoping that he would.

~

"You did the right thing," Robert said, patting Max on the back, "he wasn't healthy for you, you needed to get away from him."

Max shrugged, trying to keep the fake happiness plastered on his face.

"I don't really think we should talk about Ronnie," Bryan said, sensing Max's depression.

"Why not?" Robert asked, "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Max did the right thing."

"Yeah, whatever," Max sighed, "I'm going to get some fresh air."

He quickly left before either of his band mates could call him back. Once he was outside, Max screamed. He screamed long and hard, as if the louder he screamed, the more frustration he'd release. He stopped screaming as a hand fell lightly on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Craig asked softly.

Max shook his head, and turned to nuzzle his face into Craig's neck.

"I ended things with Ronnie," he said, and Craig wrapped his arms around Max's waist.

"Why?"

Max frowned, confused, "Well, like you said, he wasn't good for me. I couldn't just wait for him, I had to move on."

"I think you made the right choice," Craig informed him, "but did you do it for the right reasons?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you break up with him because you wanted to, or because I told you to?"

"Because I wanted to. Because I had to."

Craig nodded, satisfied with Max's answer, and pulled him closer, kissing his forehead.

"Good. That's what I wanted."

Max looked up, and Craig kissed him lightly. Max kissed back, trying to convey as much emotion as he could through the light movements of his lips. His mind wandered to Ronnie's words.

Does he softly kiss you and make it mean more than a kiss ever should?

Max looked into Craig's eyes, and smiled. Craig smiled back.

"You're adorable, Max Green, you really are."

Max nestled his face back into Craig's neck.

"Whatever you say," he muttered.

"You'd better believe everything I say," Craig laughed, half joking, half dead serious.

"Really?" Max questioned, "And why is that?"

"Because you know I'd never lie to you."

Max laughed, and kissed Craig on the neck, "Good."

Craig laughed as well.

~

Ronnie lay in his cell. It was a few minutes before lights out, and since his last phone call with Max almost a week ago, he'd basically withdrawn into himself. He'd hardly eaten, he'd hardly slept, and he'd practically thought about one thing and one thing only. Max Green.

He reached under his pillow and pulled out a photograph. It was of him and Max, before they started dating, and before Escape the Fate. It was from way back in high school, when life had been simpler.

Ronnie sighed, and his cell mate, Tony, sat on his bed next to him.

"Your partner?" he asked, gesturing at the photograph in Ronnie's hands.

"Yeah," Ronnie sighed, "ex-partner."

"Oh, man. Did you two break up?"

"Yeah, last week."

"Tough break, dude."

Ronnie shrugged, and Tony took the photograph to examine it at a closer range.

"Fuck, she's gorgeous, what's her name?"

Ronnie started laughing, and Tony frowned, "What?"

"His name is Max," Ronnie corrected.

"Oh," Tony said, wide eyed.

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Ronnie wasn't sure if it was embarrassment at mistaking Max for a girl, and referring to him as gorgeous, or embarrassment for not recognising Ronnie's sexual preference.

The lights in the prison went out, and Tony retreated to his own bed, as Ronnie tucked away the photograph.

That's when he made up his mind. He knew he should just forget about Max and move on, but he knew he couldn't. So he'd do the next best thing. He'd sober up. He'd change. He'd prove to Max that he could, and he'd prove that they could be perfect together, and even if Max didn't appreciate it, at least he'd be proving to himself that he could be a better person.

For the first time in ages, Ronnie slept peacefully.

~

Max awoke in the middle of the night. At first, he was startled to find a presence next to him, but relaxed once he recognised Craig's sleeping form. It took Max a few moments to realise that he was shivering because he was naked.

Max watched Craig, and as he gradually grew more awake, it became easier for him to remember more and more events that took place the previous night. Max bit his lip, as a strange sensation bubbled in the pit of his stomach. It didn't take him very long to figure out what that feeling was.

Regret.

Max had only been in four relationships, including this one, but he was pretty damned sure that he wasn't meant to regret sleeping with his own boyfriend. One night stands and drunken mistakes go hand in hand with regret, naturally, but Max was actually in love with the boy sharing his bed. He wasn't meant to regret this, this was his perfection.

But it's not, his conscience told him, it's your rebound.This isn't perfection, it's just a substitute.

Max bit his lip again, slowly accepting the wise words of his inner thoughts. Craig was fantastic, true, but he wasn't Ronnie. He wasn't the loud mouthed, eccentric, promise breaking; drug taking, unpredictable Ronnie Radke. There was no way he could even compare.

Despite all his flaws, Ronnie truly loved Max, and Max returned these feelings more strongly than he'd previously been able to comprehend. He may not have been as sweet natured or caring as Craig, but in his own outrageous way,Ronnie was perfect.

The regret in Max's stomach grew, and Max moaned softly to himself. Regret, not only for sleeping with Craig, but now also for breaking up with Ronnie in the first place.

Max squeezed his eyes shut, and cuddled up to Craig, who subconsciously grabbed at him in his sleep. His mind began to wander back to before he and Ronnie started dating, and he wished desperately to return to those times. Maybe, just maybe, if he got a second chance, he could finally get things right.