Finding Family

Needle in the Ocean

"Cold...so cold..."

Lincoln shivers as he lies awake in the dead of the night on the grass. Sounds of indescribable animals kept him on edge and awake even though his mind was exhausted. Lincoln's scheme to gain privacy amongst his family had gone terribly long, now he is sleeping outside like a dog that misbehaved.

It hurt him deeply that his family would allow this whole situation get this far because of a few coincidences. Even more so that they just threw him out like garbage when they found something wrong with him, after all the thing's he's done for everyone in his family they see him as nothing more than nuisance with bad luck.

It's times like this that made him feel like there is no place for him in his family with all the various talents all his siblings had. It isn't like he could relate to any of his sisters; they all were completely different from him and can all relate on some level. Lincoln is just...Lincoln: not special, weak, and is moderately intelligent, and the only other man in the house treated Lynn more like his son then him.

"In a family as big as mine there are always bound to be failures..." Lincoln says to nobody in particular. "I guess I'm the failure, lucky me..."

Did he really ever belong? There have been good times with his family, but also times when he questioned his place in the dynamic of the family. Everyone but him had a role in the Sister-Fight protocol, everyone but him has a roomate, and everyone but him found a way to work as a group for a common goal, and sometimes that goal his own family worked together on is to beat him!

Maybe that is why it's so easy to cast him off; he's been nothing but an obstacle in the way of his sisters goals several times. Now that his, "Luck." stood directly in the way of all his sisters activities that he attends, or simply living in the same house together, they simply toss him out.

He'd seen garbage sent off with more grace then him, and his parents; the people that are supposed to protect him no matter what are going along with this torture. Were the good times lies? If anyone in this family truly loved him then they wouldn't leave him out all alone with nothing to keep him warm.

Lincoln is sure that they all knew the implications that came from being entirely exposed to freezing temperatures all night and the many risks that came with staying out all night! It hadn't been long since houses near by had been broken into: who knows what a ill-intentioned criminal could do if they found a eleven year old helpless and alone in the middle of the night? Surely they all knew that something could go wrong, right?

"Maybe they just don't care."

Why else would they expose him to this? He is sure even the twins can tell that leaving him outside alone is a very risky and bad idea, not to mention Lisa and his other sisters who most definitely knew the possible outcomes of doing this.

How did they even plan on interacting with him anymore? Do they really think that treating him like a dog is some kind of acceptable thing that he can just take and act like a loving brother? Maybe the goal is for him to be handed out to whatever criminal decides they want a free child for whatever sick things they have in store for him. They may have as well slathered Lincoln in blood and dumped him in the middle of the ocean for whatever shark that wants a piece of him.

Lincoln didn't hold grudges, but nearly any other reason for the blatant disregard for his own well-being didn't make sense and there wasn't an apology that could justify the treatment he's received. If they expected him to forgive and forget this when it's all said and done, if it's all said and done, then they are absolutely insane.

Being alone in the world is a scary prospect...he didn't want to be alone,

All of a sudden a loud growl is heard from the other part of the back yard, Lincoln's eyes widen like saucers. The boy leans his head up slowly to take a look at the creature in the yard, his eyes scan through the yard with the moon acting as the only light. Lincoln freezes at the sight of a gigantic shadow on the wall of his house. Immediately he began thinking of the best way to get out of the situation.

He could make a run for the door, but that runs the risk of someone taking to long to open the door—If anyone answers at all— and that thing catching him. The other choice is to book it out of the yard and go around front to try and get in through that door if he isn't trailed. The second option is the safest choice, less chance of getting attacked by whatever vicious beast is in the yard.

Lincoln quickly rises to his feet and runs at full speed towards the front lawn, but behind them he can hear the sound of small footsteps behind him, quickly trailing him from behind. Adrenaline gave him a new wind to put a few feet between him and the animal that's growling and making noises oddly like a dog barking but different.

Going to the front door isn't a smart move to make: if he made any stop it would definitely catch him. If Lincoln had to guess his perpetrator he would say that it sounds a lot like a rabid Raccoon. One bite from that and he might die from the disease. Even if the animal didn't have rabies it likely had something because it didn't sound right.

After running for a few minutes Lincoln starts thinking of ways he could shake the sick animal. If he could find somewhere with twists and turns that would be hard for a sick animal to navigate properly. He looks to the other side of the street he's on and sees an opportunity to lose the Raccoon: it wouldn't be able to out manoeuvre him in a forrest with trees that would prevent it from being able to simply follow behind.

Cutting across the empty street, Lincoln runs for the trees, he changes direction several times while attempting to lose his pursuer. Eventually the sound of the animal behind him fades and Lincoln stops running, his chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath: adrenaline pushed him beyond his physical means, now he is feeling the come down.

It takes a few moments for a startling fact to cross the young boys mind: he has no clue where he is! He could be miles from home now! After thinking for a moment he realizes the idea is far fetched that he ran miles, no he is probably ten minutes away in some thick brush. Those thoughts didn't entirely calm him down, the whole situation still scared him and he is hesitant to go try and retrace his tracks. The Raccoon could very well still be wandering around over there.

An opening through the brush ahead allow light from some type of display, "There must be people over there." he takes a few steps forward before a voice booms out from a few yards ahead.

"Aye kid, what are you doing in there?"

Lincoln is startled, especially when his eyes stare at the white hair on the man's head and his voice catches up in his throat when formulating a response.

35 minutes earlier

"GOOD NIGHT ROYAL WOODS!" The frontman of the band on stage calls out to all the cheering fans in the arena before walking off stage with his guitar in hand as his band mates follow him out. "Brian, your vocals were on point man!" The drummer exclaims to Brian, "Thanks, Matt." the two continue onto the prep room where they have all personal belongings and necessities for the performance stored away.

Brian notices the absence of the third member of the band, "Did you see where Ethan went?" he questions to Matt who nods, "Yeah, he's back out near the stage talking it up with some chick who had backstage passes. I don't expect to see him for the rest of the night."

Brian rolls his eyes: one of these days Ethan is gonna get really unlucky with all this random sex, and then some girl will end up pregnant. Not a fun experience at all, and after going through the absolute hell that he went through all those years ago...

He still thinks about his son from time to time; hopefully he got adopted by a decent family, something better than he had growing up. It made Brian think about the life he could have gave his son, especially since his band became an international hit. If his situation had been better at the time of his son's birth there was no doubt in his mind he would have raised the boy, but how could an eighteen year old working a minimum wage job during the day and playing at a local club at night raise a child?

Lincoln is his name. At least it is the one he gave the infant at the time of his birth, Brian wasn't too sure if the couple who had adopted him changed it. Lincoln was named after Linkin park, one of his early influences as a young adult when he wrote songs to perform at that first club. They really helped him build a style that opened this path for him.

"Yo, Brian! I got a text from the wife, I have to get going, are you good?"

Brian looks to Matt, "Yeah. I'm good." the drummer picks up his backpack and puts it on before stepping out of the room. "See you, Brian." Brian nods and chuckles, "If you still see Ethan talking to that girl, tell her about what Ethan did at the prom."

Matt chuckles, "I don't think that's a good idea, he'd never date again." Brian turns his head. "Isn't that the goal?" The two share a laugh before the drummer closes the door behind himself, leaving Brian alone with his thoughts.

It didn't take long for Brian to put all his things away, soon he had all his belongings in hand and changed into street clothes before opening the door to the room and on the other side stood Ethan, who has a smile on his face, "I'm gonna have a good night tonight, Brian." he steps in and Brian rolls his eyes. "Fine, but since you took so long you're going to have to help the staff lock up."

Ethan rolls his eyes, "She's not gonna wait that long! What are you going to do, Brian? Go home and sit alone?" Brian smirks at Ethan. "You have this room, don't you? Enjoy the night."

It is always difficult to deal with Ethan sometimes: he acts so thoughtlessly, and the fame he has gained being a part of this band went straight to his head, soon enough the media will catch him making a mistake and then it's going to be a circus. Brian did his best to look after him, he really did but there is no controlling a grown man's decisions.

The fond memories of high school trouble making were fun to revisit in the past, but now Brian wants to make the band professional, and sleeping with any woman that he found attractive wasn't the most professional thing in the world.

Whenever he really tried to have a serious conversation with Ethan about his habit of playing fast and loose it would always end in him saying, "Quit trying to be my dad, I already had one." and that would be the only thing that would come out of it.

Brian is snapped out of his thoughts when he arrives at his car. He opens the door and puts his guitar down in the passenger seat before slipping into his own seat and putting the key into the ignition. He turns the key and the engine begins to start but abruptly cuts out, "Fuck! Why does the ignition always fail?" Brian tries a few more times before angrily opening his car door and stepping out. "I'll just need to give it a few minutes."

After being pissed off by his car not working, Brian opens the door and opens his glove compartment and pulls out a small baggie that he slips into his pocket. He carefully scans for a place that he can smoke without being seen. Internally he groans at his hypocrisy in criticizing Ethan when he himself partook in smoking weed in a state that still kept it illegal.

"You've had a rough day, you need to enjoy being at home for awhile before the next tour."

Brian eventually spots a few trees just across from the venue. "No camera's back there right? Hopefully the engine works when I get back."

He casually strolls across the parking lot, hoping that none of the fans going to cars recognize him. "Who wouldn't fucking recognize the frontman of the band the just watched!" Any second he awaits for someone to say, "Whoa, that's Brian Dent!" and then ask him for an autograph. He was lucky enough to get to his car without being hounded by fans, especially with his white hair being a dead giveaway to his identity, who knows maybe they just felt like being polite.

Eventually he gets to the street and waits for a car to pull out before quickly crossing the street and reaching his destination. He hears strange noises from within the brush ahead and he steps through the brush and his eyes catch the sight of a boy with an orange shirt and jeans.

"Aye kid, what are you doing in there?"

They simultaneously freeze looking at each other, Brian's heart skips a beat, "I know one kid with that hair...it can't be...this is impossible!" after a moment Brian realizes that he has to snap out of his stupor and help the kid out, he can find out this weird coincidence afterwards. "Please tell me why you're back here? It's freezing out."

"Uhhhh, I'm lost..."

Brian raises an eyebrow, "Look: you can tell me if your parents are giving you a rough time, because for almost any other reason a kid like you wouldn't be around wandering after midnight." the boy formulates a response before sighing. "I got locked out of the house..."

Immediately Brian feels like he's been punched in the gut, a strange desire to help this boy that looks so much like him. It's time to ask him a burning question ever since he saw the boy's hair, "What's your name?" the boy seems unsure if he should answer the question, but eventually an answer squeaks out. "Lincoln, sir."

"Oh shit!" This is too much to be coincidental! A boy with his hair, similar looks, and the name he gave to his son? Not to mention he is in the same town he put his son up for adoption in this very town? It's him...and his son is wandering around after midnight, alone, and not at all dressed to handle the cool night for very long.

"Do you know my name, Lincoln?" Brian softly asks, but Lincoln shakes his head no. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea who you are, sorry." After a moment he speaks again, "Does the name Brian Dent sound familiar to you at all?"

Lincoln has a moment of thought before speaking, "Yeah, my sister talks about you a bunch! She said you were the frontman and the heart and soul of a band named the Triad!" his eyes light up. "I think I've seen you on a magazine cover before, too! You are the only other person I've seen with hair like me, that isn't dyed of course."

Well there is the response he wanted, "Do you need somewhere to stay, Lincoln? Or do you want to go back home? I can take you to my place then drop you off at home in the morning if your parents really did lock you out." Brian really didn't want to take Lincoln back to a place that most likely intentionally locked him outside, maybe he could find a solution to that problem. After all, he could easily claim that he found Lincoln wandering around in the middle of the night and then there would be no defense if they had a problem with him taking the kid somewhere warm.

The kid speaks, "I think you can just take me home, I don't want to bother you or anything..." Brian steps forward, "It's not a bother." he reaches into his pocket and holds his phone out to Lincoln. "Here, you can call your parents and tell them where you are. If the conversation goes well then I can give you a ride, or if they want to pick you up I can tell them the proper address to come to, alright?"

Lincoln takes a few steps forward and takes the phone out of his hand to dial his dad's phone number. It took a minute for his dad to pick up, "Hello? Who is this?" Lincoln resists the urge to tell at his father in front of a stranger for locking him out, "It's me, dad." Lynn Sr gasps. "Lincoln where are you, and who's phone are you calling me from."

"Someone let me borrow their phone, can you pick me up please?"

"Where did you go? Especially without asking me, mister."

"I was scared! A raccoon was in the yard and it didn't sound right, so it chased me off."

"Fine I'll go check out the backyard and see if it's there still, but once you get home it's out back again."

Lincoln growls, "Haven't you learned anything? I want to come inside! I let you guys believe I was bad luck, only because I wanted time alone! Maybe it wasn't right, but you can't do this to me any longer!" Lynn Sr's voice doesn't seem assured at all. "You say that, but bad things still happen when your around. I can't chance it sport, sorry." Brian notices tears glimmering in the boy's eyes, his own anger rising at the conversation that obviously isn't going well.

It takes one sick son of a bitch to lock a child outside, but this sounded more blasphemous if luck had anything to do with it. "Hand me the phone, Lincoln." Brian says with a serious tone, the boy complies and before putting the phone to his ear Brian speaks, "Cover your ears for me, kid." Lincoln does as Brian asks and the rock star takes a deep breath.

"Hello, Mr..."

"Loud. Lynn Loud Sr to be exact, now who is this?"

"My name is Brian Dent—"

"The rock star? Who is this really?"

"Look you stupid son of a bitch, I found your son wandering around just outside of the Royal Woods convention center at one in the morning. Now I'd like a damn good explanation why I shouldn't report you to the police for child neglect within the next five seconds."

"Hey! Calm down, buddy! It's late so why don't you just bring Lincoln back here, our address is—"

Brian wants to scream into the phone, higher than any note he's ever sung just to make this idiots ears bleed. The nerve of this guy is otherworldly, how could one man just think allowing this to happen is okay? "Listen here; I...will...call...the...police, if you don't tell me the whole story of why your child is wandering around at one in the morning?"

"Alright, so of late my son has brought upon a strong, y'know omen of bad luck onto my family and I—"

"You what? Discarded your son like garbage, because that's what I've picked up from what Lincoln was saying just a minute ago!"

"He's done things wrong too! You have no idea how much of a troublemaker he can be."

"So fucking what? He's a kid! That's what they do."

Lynn Sr sighs on the other end, "Just please bring my son home." Brian looks to Lincoln, "It's gonna be Lincoln's call, I can easily afford to take care of him for one night, but in good conscious I can't give you a child back that is going to sleep outside. If Lincoln chooses to come with me you will not cause him any more issues for him, alright? You already seem intent on fucking the kid up, but if you want to pull shit like that then I will report you to the police and then you will go straight to court, and I have good fucking lawyers and there won't be bill to big for me to pay if it means one less kid is mentally and physically put at risk."

Before Lynn Sr could reply Brian ends the call and turns to Lincoln before gesturing to him that it's okay for him to uncover his ears. "You sure you good, kid? If you're sleeping outside I really don't think you should go back there. I have plenty of space at my place, and if you feel better we can go back tomorrow and make sure shit gets fixed up and you can go back home."

Lincoln winces at the cursing, "Mr. Dent? Why are you helping me out like this...I mean aren't you a big star and all that?" Brian resists to say, "Oh, Yeah I think you could be the kid I had eleven years ago and put up for adoption." he thinks of a more proper answer. "Because I know how it feels to have bad parents, too."

The boy thinks on the answer for a minute. "I think I'd like to go with you." Brian nods, "Alright, my car is still parked out in this lot, hopefully it starts up this time." The two emerge from the brush and walk back across the empty street back to the mostly empty lot. Lincoln follows Brian all the way to a black pickup truck closest to the center.

However, someone was waiting by the car that Lincoln didn't recognize, "Brian, I was wondering why you were still here, and who's the kid!" Brian rolls his eyes, "Isn't someone waiting for you, Ethan?" the man Lincoln now knows as Ethan slaps the air, "Nah, she didn't want to wait for me and told me to stop wasting her time, now tell me who the kid is." Brian responds to his friend. "Kid got lost, his parents turned out to be whack jobs just like my folks."

"Like your folks, must be pretty bad then? Now that you mention it the kid is a dead wringer for you, Brian." Lincoln glances up at Brian and did notice a lot of similarities: same hair color, same eye color, and he could definitely see that he was also rather lanky.

"Alright, Ethan, I'll see you again at practice Monday. I should probably get going." Ethan chuckles and looks to Lincoln, "Make sure you listen to what Brian has to say, he bites if ya don't listen." the man walks off to another part of the lot to what Lincoln assumes is his car. Brian opens the driver seat door and takes a seat as Lincoln hops in the passenger seat.

"Alright, let's hope this works." Brian pops the key into the ignition before turning it, the engine makes an odd noise before turning completely on and Brian cheers. "Hell yeah! Let's get out of here." The car pulls out of the lot and then they start driving down the almost empty road. Lincoln glances around the vehicle, it really didn't look like the type of car a musician would use, "Uh, Mr. Dent, no offense but why do you drive this car? I thought you were rich." the man replies back. "It looks normal, that way I can just park and people will leave it alone. It's a good thing that so far it's worked or I'm sure somebody would have keyed their name into the side of the car."

They eventually get to a red light and Brian looks to Lincoln, "Any music in particular you listen to? If not I'm probably just going to turn on the Alt rock station on." the boy shakes his head no, Brian shrugs and changes it to the Alt rock station before putting his hands back on the wheel. The sound of SMOOCH's song, "I'm Gonna Rock All Night." begins to blair from the speakers.

"I love this band!"

"Yeah, these guys are classic. I remember when I met Sim for the first time, it was so weird having a conversation with him after fantasizing the exact scenario for years."

The wording of Brian's sentence occurs to him, "Wait, the first time? So you mean you know him personally?" the adult chuckles. "Yeah, we talk from time to time, he's a pretty interesting guy to talk to sometimes. He really liked the cover we did for this song."

Internally Lincoln makes a note to try and listen to the cover once he can. "So Lincoln, when we go to your house how many other children can I expect to find in the back yard, or is it just you?" Lincoln growls, "Nope, just me. I do have ten sisters though, and just about every single one of them buy into the whole bad luck thing I was talking about on the phone." Brian feels shock at the stupidity that could lead to a child being left to his own devices at night, and he gets enraged that this very well could be his own blood; there aren't too many people on earth that look this similar and with all the aligning circumstances.

"Lincoln, I know it's a bit hard to accept that they did this to you, and they still are wrong, but if that whack job that I talked to had any part in raising your sisters then they all probably have issues."

"Oh yeah! Well they haven't nearly dealt with the things I have! Sometimes that family treats me like I'm just an obstacle in front of them, instead of an actual part of the family!"

"Well then you're going to have to fill me in later, because we're here." They pull up to a large gate, Brian pulls a key out from his pocket and presses a button which unlocks the gate and then he presses one more button that opens the gate. They drive into an open garage before the car comes to a stop, both get out and Brian immediately uses the key again to lock the gate up.

Silently Lincoln stares in awe at the largest house he'd ever seen before. "This is so cool!"

Hello everybody, it's been awhile eh? Well this is the first Chapter to my attempt at creating an original NSL story line. Since it has become mostly a cliche that retells the same story over and over again.

Brian Dent is my OC and Lincoln's biological father. Some of this story will delve in depth to his early life, but most of this will be a father/son story.

I hope you enjoy.