The Rhodes Not Taken

Dave is just finishing his homework when he hears his dad coming home from his monthly bowling tournament. Officially it's an opportunity for him and his co-workers to bond outside of work. However the whole bonding argument is just an excuse for his father and his friends to have some fun without having to include the wives. His father once told him chuckling, that there is just a certain amount of dinner parties a man can handle without wanting to scream.

There was a time when they tried to have poker nights with beer, cigars and the other cliches they probably picked up in movies. These nights however were a brief affair because they were always crashed either by a suddenly sick kid or a early returning of the wife who was supposed to be out with her friends. So they found refuge in Lima's bowling alley with the excuse of a work related activity.

Dave makes his way down to the kitchen to find his father rummaging through the cabinets surely looking for some hidden unhealthy snacks.

"How was the game?", Dave asks, startling his father. "Did you win?"

"It's not about winning!" He finally found a packet of cookies and holds it up triumphantly. "It's about having fun!"

Obviously he lost.

They both settle down at the table. It's probably considered lame hanging out with his dad, but Dave likes it. Just the two of them, when his mother is still at work, talking about the day or just sitting in silence. Besides nobody needs to know about his lame evenings and these little talks also make his dad happy. He goes bowling to have some distance from the family but that doesn't prevent him to recount the whole night. It's not to brag about his victories, because these are limited, but rather to include Dave in his bowling escapades. In the end Dave probably couldn't know more about the evening even if was actually there.

"Your Spanish teacher was singing was also there singing karaoke and Finn Hudson and his new girlfriend!"

"New girlfriend?"

"A little brunette one, who was really bad at bowling. I thought that Finn was still dating Russel Fabray's girl."

Quinn Fabray's pregnancy rumors are on the way to be confirmed and Finn is going on dates with another girl.

"Actually, he's still dating Quinn!", Dave informs his father.

That was the worst thing he could have said. The next fifteen minutes Dave is lectured that Finn's actions are nothing but obnoxious. It's not only disrespectful towards Quinn that he goes on dates with other girls but also towards the new girl.

Then he repeats some of the information from the dreadful talk:

1. Dave shouldn't lead one girl and especially not two girls on! 2. Dave should always respect the girl he's eventually going to find and he's probably going to fall in love with. 3. And the most important thing: No means no!

This lecture is followed by the the question if there is a special girl in Dave's life.

Oh, how he hates that question. There is the real reason for the absence of a special girl in his life, that he keeps trying to ignore. He just can't deal with it. Not now and hopefully never. Maybe the problem disappears if he just keeps turning a blind eye to. So he settles for the easier excuse.

"No, not yet!"

A/N: This was by far the most difficult chapter to write and find a idea for. Sorry if it is as bad as I think it is.