Idk… a quick chapter :P I'm going to split everyone's parts into chapters in this story, So sorry this chapter is so short, its just Bro's segment. Switching back to Dave's after this :D

= = BRO: Deal With Social Worker

That lady would not stop chirping in his ear. She was starting to give him a headache.

"I KNEW it was a bad idea to trust a child to someone like you! I just knew it!" She whined, "A balanced child would have come quietly. But no, he takes off. And what does his guardian do? He sits down at his kitchen table and does nothing. If I was his guardian, I would have chased after him!"

Bro tried to ignore her. He looked down at his cell phone and quickly typed a text. He fully knew by now that arguing with this woman would not do anything but make things worse. He was never really known for his patience…but when it came to keeping his family together, he was willing to put up with a few things.

He had put up with this woman for thirteen years now… he could put up with her for a couple more hours. He had had her in his business since the day he brought Dave home. She was there when he signed the adoption papers…lecturing him on what a silly name Dave was when he named the boy… and had been there every single time Dave got in trouble. He refused to let her change his mind on Dave's name though - and would never tell her that he named the new baby after his own deceased Bro.

Not that he was not to blame. Christ! He knew some of this was his fault… he had been young and stupid - barely seventeen years old when he found Dave. Dave had been in his care for awhile before Dirk took him down on his eighteenth birthday to adopt him. This woman though was never happy with that. And Dirk did not blame her. He had been on his own since his Bro died when he was fifteen. That was two years he was living alone in this apartment. He was never really good with people up close… most people found him to be a bit of a show-off, or too upfront and his form of 'ironic' usually put him on people's bad side. He had never really been in trouble with the police before. When he was not on the road, he kept to himself.

After his Bro died, he spent all his efforts trying to make money for himself. All he really knew was sword fighting, ventriloquism, mixing beats, and building robots. With the limited income he had, making a living out of robots was out of the question, and there was no real jobs in sword fighting anymore… so he took his favourite puppet, Lil Cal, and hit the road. It did not take long for him to become a huge hit at cafés all over, and soon he even got his own show. By the time he found Dave, he was already on Tour.

"I should have taken him away that time you left him as a baby at the super market, or that time you lost him at a gas station… or the time…"

He tried his hardest to drown her out. Heck! How could he forget those moments? They were the scariest moments of his life… when he got home and realized that he had lost Dave somewhere… it was a mini-heart attack every time.

"Or the time you forgot to pick him up from kindergarten, or the time he skipped school…" She was going on and on. Bro had the sudden urge to jump up and punch her in the face.

Yes. He could not deny he did those things. He was young, and he was foolish. But he tried his damnest to make up for it. Everything he did was for Dave. Whether she liked to believe it or not, he was not that immature child anymore who made foolish mistakes. By the time Dave was in the second grade, he had grown up a lot. Now Dave was thirteen, and he was acting out severely. He had tried everything to keep Dave's attitude in check. While he could not afford anything to vent energy, he spared with the boy instead. And Dave seemed to enjoy it, most of the time. For awhile, it kept Dave out of trouble… but one day while he was out of town at a show, he came back and saw how things spiralled down drastically.

Dave was now getting arrested. He started coming home smelling like Sopor. Bro did not have the money to pay for all of Dave's bails… the more Dave got himself arrested, Bro had to work just that much harder - travel that much further - just to pay for the lawyers and the bails and everything else. The last case was too much though.

When Bro got the call from the hospital, at first he did not believe what he was hearing. Dave was in the hospital and had been stabbed. It was like seeing his older brother die all over again. Bro swore his heart stopped beating there, and he dropped everything and rushed over to the hospital… only to find out that Dave had gotten in a fight with someone, and they had both pulled knives on each other. The Police Officer waiting for him at the Hospital had said that Dave was going to be charged with assult with a deadly weapon…thankfully though, the charges fell through, and the Judge declared that Dave stabbed the guy in self-defence. But this whole thing is what set the Social Worker off. She came down hard on Bro, asking why the hell was Dave in that situation to begin with? How the hell was he supposed to know? Dave was fucking thirteen. He was supposed to be at school.

She fought back against the judge using this claim. Bro had no idea where Dave was when Dave stabbed the guy, apparently a 'good guardian' would know when their 'charge' was skipping school. Bro was never good at keeping his temper in check. He had snapped back against the Social Worker's accusations, but his anger only made things look worse… and now the Judge declared that Dave would be put in a foster home.

That was all yesterday. Today was the day the Social Worker came to pick up Dave… and now Dave had run off. Things were not looking good. Dave was still bruised from the fight, and his stitches hadn't healed.

"…are you even listening to me Mr. Strider?" The Social Worker snapped, looking exasperated,

"Shut up." Bro felt his anger rising.

"EXCUSE ME?" She snapped, throwing her arms in the air.

"I said shut up." Bro fought to keep his voice level, "Instead of yelling at me and being utterly useless, go out there and find where the little shit-head went?"

The Social Worker's jaw dropped, "And I hope you know that statement is going on the record!"

Bro had never wanted to beat someone senseless so badly in his life - even if she was a woman.

She glared at him, "And what about you?"

"It won't matter. Dave will come home on his own." Bro replied,

"What?" Her eyes narrowed, "And you call yourself his father? Get off your lazy ass now and go find him!"

Bro stood up, he walked over to the door and opened it, "You've done your job. You have no more business in my house. Get out." She looked like she wanted to argue, but Bro just pointed out the door, "Get out of my house before I have you escorted out." If looks could kill, Bro was sure he'd be dust by now. She slowly strode out of his apartment and stood on the other side of the door, she opened her mouth to speak, but Bro cut her off, "I will call you to pick him up when he comes home." And with that, he slammed the door in her face.

He stood there for a few minutes, until he was certain that the Social Worker was gone, before turning away and walking over to the window. He watched her leave the apartment complex, and enter her car. He closed the blinds as she drove away, before collapsing on the couch. He dropped his head in his hands with a deep sigh. Absentmindedly, he pulled out his cell phone and checked it again - there was no response. Of course there wasn't. This was the usual thing with Dave. The brat would not come home until later… he liked to make Bro worry before he showed his face.

Pushing himself up, Bro left the couch and headed down the hall for Dave's room. He stood in front of the door hesitantly. There were a few posters tacked to the door. With a sigh, Bro pushed the door open.

The room was a mess. Dave had packed as much he could into Bro's old suitcases - which were still sitting in the Social Worker's car - and the rest Bro had promised the kid he'd deliver once Dave was settled in with a new family.

Dave's turntables were still supported on cinderblocks. They were too big to pack. Dave's computer and bed, and several other belongings were thrown about. Bro cursed under his breath and started to tidy up the clothes thrown around, but did not get far before exhaustion took over, and he dumped the clothes in a pile at the foot of Dave's bed, and returned to the living room.

Where the hell was that boy?

= = DAVE: Head to Club House