It's nowhere near of how I wanted this chapter to go, so it's short with enough room for maneuver for further action. I hope.
Dick stopped suddenly in trailing after his brothers after the movie, drawn by the quiet, barely audible in the crowd, distressed noise. He went back, ducking around the people leaving the cinema, searching for the source. A few seconds later he found a dark haired girl plastered to the wall to avoid bumping into people. She was a little taller than him, around eight years old and was looking around with frightened eyes and lost expression.
"Mom!" the girl whimpered. "Dad!"
Ah, she was lost then, Dick thought. He made his way over to her with every intention to help. Nevermind he was supposed to be a five years old boy, who shouldn't wander off on his own.
"Hi," he greeted the girl with a friendly smile.
She sniffed a bit, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her sweater and looked down at him.
"H-hey," she said with a hiccup, trying to smile. "Are you lost too?"
Dick looked back to the way he came. No little brother in sight. Oh, Jason was so going to kill him.
"I suppose I am now," he replied. "What's your name?"
"Megan," the girl straightened slightly. "And you?"
"I'm Dick, nice to meet you," mini Nightwing stuck out his hand, which Megan took. After a quick shake Dick ruffled his hair and pursued his lips. "Listen, why won't we find someone from the staff? They could help us?"
The girl shook her head.
"My parents said I'm supposed to stay in place if I ever get lost," she explained. "Didn't yours tell you this too?"
Dick felt a pang at the thought of his parents. He never got lost in the circus, he knew everybody there, so if he wandered off he always had someone familiar to turn to. He couldn't remember if his mother or father told him what to do in case he got lost. Logically he knew it was something every parents should say to their children, but he just couldn't remember. That realization brought tears to his eyes. How horrible son he was for not remembering. How he missed them. How he wanted them with him right now. How he wanted Jason.
"I'm sorry, shh, don't cry," the girl hugged him, clumsily petting his hair.
Oh great. He was supposed to be helping her not the other way around. Just how much of a failure he could be? And where are his brothers?
Or maybe they took an opportunity to get rid of him once and for all.
Dick viciously squashed that thought. For the past few days Jason did everything he could to show Dick he was wanted and loved. And Dick slowly started to trust that it was genuine and not just a byproduct of guilt to placate him into his supposed place.
"Maybe you're right," Megan mused. "Maybe the people working here will help us find our parents faster."
Right. They needed to find the girl's parents. His brothers would find him. Sooner or later, but they would. He pulled himself together and slipped out of Megan's embrace.
The crowd in corridor was thinning. A few stragglers were still leaving the theater. Nobody paid them any attention. Dick despaired at those people's empathy. There were two children obviously lost and nobody even offered to help.
"We need to get back inside," he stated determinedly and grabbed Megan's hand. "There's always someone to check if everybody left and stuff. We can ask them."
"Okay," the girl nodded and let herself to be pulled to the slowly closing door after some group of teenagers.
They slipped inside. It was quite dark. The screen was already off. And nobody seemed to be there.
"Hello?" Dick called uncertainly.
"Hey, kids, what are you still doing here?" came a voice from the back of the cinema room.
"We got lost," Megan answered. "Can you help us?"
The man groaned and swiped at his face tiredly.
"Yeah, fine," he grumbled unenthusiastically. "Just a second."