Alright, now we get to find out why on earth Don would run away. Oh, and I hope you appreciate that this is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything, honestly, it's almost three times longer than what I'm used to writing.
Hank really needed to find Don soon, so yes, he was speeding just a bit...alright, he was speeding a lot. But he needed to hurry, or else Don might leave the cemetery, and that is if he even went there in the first place. Hank was so busy trying to get there that he saw almost too late some kid who was crossing the street. Hank slammed on the brakes, breathing hard. Just a few more feet and he would have hit that young teenager...wait a second...it was Don! He found Don. Sure, Hank would have preferred it if he hadn't almost killed his younger brother, but still.
Evidently Don also saw and recognized his older brother, and once he did he turned around and started running in the opposite direction. The boy ignored Hank's calls for him to stop, if anything he ran faster. Hank groaned in frustration and turned the car off and, leaving the car in the middle of the road, took off after Don.
It took a while for Hank to catch up with Don, seriously, that kid could move fast when he didn't want to be caught. But Hank was in better shape than Don, so he was able to run faster. When Hank caught up with Don he did the only thing he could think of to stop his brother, which was to tackle him to the ground. Don struggled to get out from under Hank, but Hank wasn't about to let him go
"Get off me, Hank." Don says.
"No, Don." Hank says angrily, he sits up so that Don wouldn't be crushed to the sidewalk, but he was sitting on Don's legs so he wouldn't run off again. "What the hell were you thinking? You can't just run away like this for no reason."
"Oh yes, because you never did that." Don says, turning his body to glare at Hank.
"Hey, I had reasons, even if they were pretty stupid ones." Hank says, "But there's no way a perfect boy like you could have any reason for running away." Hank would have said more if it weren't for the fist that connected with his jaw. Don had hit him. Hank finally got off his brothers legs and stood up. He clenched one hand into a fist, and with the other grabbed the front of Don's shirt and jerked him to his feet.
"What was that for, you little punk." Hank says angrily. At first Don's eyes were filled with anger, but he soon looked horrified about what he'd done, and terrified about what Hank might do. Hank was just about to hit Don right back, but seeing the scared look on his face, Hank couldn't bring himself to do it. Hank couldn't believe it, Don was afraid of him. Hank sighs and let's go of Don's shirt. He couldn't start some petty fist fight with Don right now, he needed to be the bigger man.
Besides, Don was not the type of person to punch anybody...ever. Just the fact that he hit Hank meant that was really over the edge right now, he needed help, not somebody yelling at him. Hank takes a deep breath, hoping he could be the comforting brother that Don needed right now.
"Don, please," Hank pleads, "Tell me what's going on."
"I already did." Don says accusingly.
"What? When?" Hank asks.
"Yesterday morning," Don says, "Before you left for school. You just told me to man up and deal with it, that it was my own fault." Hank's eyes widen. He had said that yesterday. Don had been slow that morning, and when Hank asked him about it Don had told him that he couldn't handle school anymore, that it was too hard. Hank had replied the way that Don just said, but Hank thought that Don was talking about the classes themselves. Now that's he's thinking about it, that doesn't make much sense.
"So, you weren't saying that the schoolwork was too hard?" Hank asks, just to clarify.
"Of course not." Don scoffs, "If a moron like you can handle the classes, then I think I can take it."
"If that's not it, then what is it?" Hank asks, "What's bothering you?"
"As if you don't know." Don says.
"I don't," Hank exclaims, "I have no idea what's going on with you." Hank steps closer to Don.
"Please, Don, let me in." Hank says, his voice quiet and pleading, "Let me help you."
"It's not a big deal," Don sighs.
"If it wasn't a big deal, you wouldn't have run off." Hank points out. Hank then sees that Don's face has a pretty bad scrape on it, from when Hank had knocked him to the ground. But for some odd reason Don also had a black eye, which Hank wasn't sure where he got.
"Sorry about that tackle," Hank says sheepishly.
Don actually cracks a grin, "Don't worry about it," He says, "It's not the first time I've been shoved around by a neanderthal, and sadly, it probably won't be the last."
Finally Hank puts two and two together...well, two and two and two, considering he's had three different clues. Don having a hard time at school, his black eye, and being shoved around by neanderthals...Although, Hank really wasn't sure what a neanderthal was, but it didn't sound like the most flattering thing to call someone.
"Don, are you being picked on at school?" Hank asks slowly.
"You mean you seriously didn't know this?" Don asks.
"No, of course not." Hank says, shocked, "Who's been doing it? Because I will punch their nose in, and you're not going to stop me." Don actually looked amused about this.
"No you won't," Don says plainly, "Although it is funny that you're so oblivious about something going on literally right under your nose."
"Why won't I punch the jerk?" Hank asks, "Who's going to stop me?"
"No one." Don says, "But I doubt you'd want to punch them."
Hank looks at Don oddly, "What are you talking about?"
Don sighs and shakes his head, "Nothing." Hank shrugs and puts his arm around Don's shoulder.
"So, did you run away just because you've been picked on?" Hank asks. Don glares at Hank and pulls away from his grip.
"'Just' because of it?" Don asks, his voice cold, "There's no 'just' about it. Those guys have been going out of their way to make everyday at school a living Hell for me."
"Why would they do that?" Hank asks.
"Because, according to them, I'm a know it all boy who thinks that I'm so much better than they are." Don says.
"So it's because they're jealous?" Hank says, "That's a stupid reason."
"Well, they are Neanderthals, I don't think it takes too much for them to get violent about anything." Don shrugs.
"Alright, what is a Neanderthal anyway?" Hank asks, annoyed that Don kept saying that. Don doesn't hesitate for a second, he just answers "A Neanderthal is technically a caveman of sorts, but when I say it I'm talking about someone who has three traits, they're big, slow, and stupid."
Hank nods for a second, then remembers that Don had called him a Neanderthal. "Hey." Hank complains, "You saying I'm big, slow, and stupid?"
"Yeah, a little," Don says, "Don't worry about it though, a lot of teenagers are like that. All of your friends are actually like that too."
"Glad to hear you have such a high opinion of us," Hank says. "Seriously though, is teenagers are stupid the only reason you have for running away?" Don thinks for a second before answering.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Don asks, Hank nods so Don sighs and says "Follow me." Don leads Hank through the town, heading for the cemetery and explaining his other reason for running away.
"Well, school is hard, but honestly, going back to our house is harder." Don says. When Hank looks confused, Don tries his best to explain. "I've been picked on at school before, but it never seemed that bad because when I got home I could always talk to you, or mom, or even dad about it. And if none of you were around, I would just call my friends or something and talk to them about it. But this year dad's been working more than ever, you stay out all hours of the night, and my so called friends refuse to talk to me."
"Why won't your friends talk to you?" Hank asks.
"They're mad because we were all honor students, yet I'm the only one taking classes for higher grades while they're still in classes that they think are too easy." Don says, "They also think that I think that I'm better than they are."
"You don't think that way though." Hank says, "And if you really want to, couldn't you just stay up until I get home and we can talk then?"
"If you think back, I tried to do that." Don says, "For the first month of two I always stayed up waiting for you, but when you finally did come back you were tired and would get mad at me for bugging you." Hank looked at the ground at this, because Don was right, he had gotten mad at him for trying to talk to him. If Hank had known it was because Don was being bullied…
"Alright, so where's your third reason?" Hank asks, "If you force me to have three reasons to run away, then you have to have three reasons too."
"You want a third reason?" Don asks, stopping in his tracks. They were at the cemetery now, and Don had stopped in front of a grave. "There's your third reason." Hank looks and sees that it's their mother's grave. Hank feels his breath catch in his throat, he didn't like being here, it was too depressing.
"So your third reason is that you're upset because mom died?" Hank asks, "Seriously, Don?" Don just glared at Hank, his eyes glossy. He adjusts his backpack, turns around and starts walking away.
"Don, what are you doing?" Hank asks.
"Same thing I was trying to do five minutes ago before you so forcefully interrupted." Don says, not turning around. Hank follows after Don, trying to convince him to not do this.
"Look, Don, I'll help you with the people who are picking on you." Hank says.
"I don't see how you will," Don says, "If you didn't notice it happening before, why would you see it now?"
"I would see it if you'd just tell me who's bullying you." Hank says.
"I doubt you'd believe me." Don says simply, still not turning around.
"Well, how about if I start coming home sooner?" Hank suggests.
"If possible, that would just make things worse," Don says, "We don't exactly get along with each other."
"Don, what do you want from me?" Hank asks, "Can't you just stop being so stupid and come home?"
"Don't you get it!?" Don yells, turning around suddenly, his eyes, Hank was startled to see, were wet with tears. "That place isn't home anymore, and won't ever be again, because she's not there."
Hank stopped in his tracks. He had no idea that Don was this upset about it...but he should have. He should know about all of this. Don's his little brother, Hank was supposed to protect him. Some big brother he was. Hank moves closer to Don and does the only thing he could think of, he embraces him. Hank hugs his brother tightly, which is something he hadn't done for years.
"I do get it, Don." Hank says, "I feel the same way, and I bet dad does too. That's sort of the reason that I haven't ever really been home that much this past year, because it doesn't feel quite like home anymore. I didn't think for a second that me not being there would make things worse for you."
"Of course you didn't think of that," Don says, his voice shaking slightly. "Thinking isn't exactly what you specialize in."
"True," Hank admits, ending the embrace. "But it doesn't take a genius to see how lonely you've been this past year." Don was looking at the ground, but what Hank was going to say next was important, he needed Don to understand this.
"Don, look at me." Hank says sternly. Don reluctantly looks up and meets his brother's eye. "I know that things have been hard for you, so I'm going to give you a choice here. You can come back with me, risking the chance that things won't get better and you'll still be lonely, or you can leave like you were going to and you'll definitely be lonely, so which will it be?"
"Some choice that is," Don mutters under his breath. He sighs and says "I guess I could give this another chance. I'll go back with you."
"Good," Hank says, "Because seriously, it may not feel as much like home with mom gone, but if you left it would feel even less like home."
"If you say so." Don shrugs.
"I do say so." Hank says, he puts his arm over Don's shoulder again, "Come on, let's go get some food or something, I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry," Don laughs, "I'm starting to think you have a bottomless pit for a stomach." Hank shakes his head and leads Don to where he left the car.
"You left the car in the middle of the street?" Don says, "That's a very good place to leave a vehicle."
"Shut up," Hank says, "I was in a hurry, but at least I remembered to turn the car off."
"Yeah, it wouldn't be very good if we came back here and found that the car had run out of gas because you left it on," Don says, "Or, even better, someone decided to steal it."
"Cut the sarcasm and just get in the car already." Hank says. Don gets in the passenger seat and Hank drives them to a nearby mall where they could get a late lunch, or early dinner, however they wanted to think of it. Things were going well for the two brothers, until…
"Hey, Hank." A voice called out. It was one of Hank's friends,, Dave. Dave and the rest of Hank's best friends had been just hanging out at the mall when they saw Hank there. "Nice of you to finally show, we thought you bailed on us." Dave says.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Hank says, "I just needed to help Don with something." Hank didn't fail to hear Don mutter "Of course they have to be here, why not?"
"Couldn't Donnie boy wait until later?" Dave says, "Was his problem really so serious that it couldn't wait?"
"It was serious," Hank says, "Don was about to run away."
Dave eyes Don for a second before saying "I still don't see what the problem was."
One of Hank's other friends asks him "Hey, Hank, what happened to your mouth?" Hank puts his hand to his lip and could feel that it was bleeding a little from when Don had punched him.
"It's nothing," Hank says, "Me and Don just had a little fight, it's no big deal."
"So that's where Donnie get the scrapped chin," Dave say, "I was wondering. But Don gave you that cut lip? I didn't think he had any fight in him."
"That's because it depends on the person," Don finally speaks up, "I don't fight back against brainless brutes, it's a waste of time and energy."
"Are you calling me a brainless brute?" Dave growls without thinking. Don smirks and Hank turns to his friend.
"He never said he was talking about you." Hank says with a glare. Was he really this oblivious? Don was right, Hank did miss what was going on right under his nose, but not anymore.
"Come on, Don." Hank says, "Let's go."
"Wait, you're leaving?" Dave asks, "Come on Hank, it's not that big a deal."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Hank says calmly. He then quickly and unexpectedly turns and punches Dave in the face, successfully breaking his nose. "Leave Don alone." Hank says, "And if you try to blame me, I will tell them how you've been bullying Don."
"And why would they believe you?" Dave asks harshly, his hands over his nose.
"Well, that's one of the perks of being a teacher's pet," Don says, "They believe what you have to tell them." Don and Hank then leave and make their way back to their house. As they drive Don turns to Hank.
"You know, you shouldn't have punched him." Don says.
"Hey, I said I would, and I meant it." Hank says, "Nobody messes with my little brother."
"There are better ways you could have handled it." Don says, "I doubt they'll want to be friends with you now though."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Hank says, "But they weren't very good friends in the first place. Too self centered."
"Still, you shouldn't have reacted with violence, it doesn't solve anything." Don says.
"Violence is the only language they understand," Hank says, "I think it worked fine. I don't think they're going to pick on you anymore, and if they do I will make them regret it."
Don sighs and shakes his head, "You're impossible."
"And you're stubborn and pigheaded." Hank says, "If you really didn't want me to punch Dave, you would've done something yourself to keep them from picking on you. Why haven't you told a teacher of someone else about this?"
"I was scared that if I told someone that they'd talk to them about it, but they wouldn't listen and would just treat me even worse for telling on them." Don says.
"Well, you're not going to have to worry about them anymore." Hank says. And he was right, Dave and the others didn't bully Don anymore after that. They didn't dare to when Hank had taken to spending as much time as he could with Don. They didn't mess with Don, because they didn't want to mess with Hank. Hank was right about another thing, Don didn't feel so alone anymore. Just knowing that his brother was there for him made Don feel a lot better, and slowly their house started to feel like home again.
Okay, that took a while to write, but I finished it. Although it feels pretty out of character, but you know it's hard to have it be in character when their roles are reversed. I hope you enjoyed this story, I know that I enjoyed writing it, even if it was slightly annoying.