I knew I gave my Mum shit all the time, but I think this was the first time she had ever done something for me that I actually wanted.

We stood outside the community hall, waiting for 4 o'clock to hit so the dance class would start.

"Ok, I'll be back here at 5:30 to pick you up and then we'll go and get some food, that sound good?" She said and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I was gonna meet some friends after, so maybe another time for the food." I replied bluntly. I wasn't lying, I was meeting a couple of people at the park to deal.

Ever since that day that Jacob Turner came into my room and offered me a job, I haven't been able to shake it.

Dealing was my thing now. Despite moving away from Grimsby nearly a year ago, the word of 'The Lion' hit the towns of Dundee fast and I already had plenty of people calling my number to deal for them and to them.

"I wish you didn't stay out as much, I do miss you, you know?" She complained and I rolled my eyes.

"Sure sure, I'll see you later tonight." Without wanting to hear another word from her, I made my way into the community hall and headed straight to the ballet class.

I was interested in a lot of dance styles, but ballet was always the one that stuck out for me.

When I opened the door, all eyes in the room were on me and I straightened my back.

"This Miss Rayleigh's class?" I spoke confidently so I didn't show that I was nervous as hell from the fact that this was my first ever proper dance lesson and everyone in here was a girl.

"Yes! You must be Mr Hardman-"

I cut the teacher off quickly "It's Leo Taylor, my Mum is Delilah Hardman."

The lady who I guessed was Miss Rayleigh gave an apologetic look.

"So sorry Leo," She turned to her class who were still all just staring at me "Well, we're beginner-intermediate here so whereabouts are your skill levels?"

"Uh, does YouTube lessons count?" I laughed nervously. Was I even gonna be able to keep up with it in front of actual people? God I hope so.

"Of course! Everyone has to start somewhere." Miss Rayleigh beamed and her friendliness comforted me slightly.

Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as I thought.

***

My deal went as smooth as my lesson.

I felt like I was on a high, I hadn't had a good day like this in years.

According to Miss Rayleigh, I was a natural dancer with good timing and flow. She even offered personal lessons so I could catch up with the rest of the class which I said yes too.

I'm sure my Mum won't mind forking out a little bit more money on some more lessons.

As Monday rolled around, I started my day at school like I normally did, being followed by sad people who wanted to be my friends and girls who wanted to be with me.

I didn't make as much trouble in this school as I did in my previous ones, I was too comfortable in my position of power to ruin it.

There were a couple of boys that I actually didn't mind who kept me company during breaks and lunchtimes.

Reece was one of them, a black haired boy who cared little for school and other people's feelings but loved to get high at the back of the bike sheds with me.

Kieran was another one, he was a more down to earth guy but did like to cause mischief every now and then.

I was the leader of the trio, but I didn't treat them like shit. Well, unless they treated me like shit first then I would go off on them.

Being a dealer also gave me strong connections, it pretty much gave me the 'untouchable' status in the area so I knew no one would fuck with me.

"Ay Leo, wanna head out this break?" Reece asked as we stalked through the corridors. We had one more lesson before break which was English so I was definitely going to need a joint after that class.

"Yea sure, I'll meet you there." I nodded my head to him as I turned and headed into my classroom.

Now despite having this 'bad boy, drug dealer' label, I actually paid attention in class and got good grades.

I needed something bounce back on didn't I?

Teachers were always on the fence with me. On one hand, I was a role model student, getting good grades and always completing homework.

On the other hand, I always caused trouble during lunch and brought drama into the classrooms for them to have to deal with.

Plus that and I usually answer back to stupid questions and comments.

As I sat down in my seat, I glared at the front of the room as my Mum took her seat by her laptop.

She got what she wanted this time and managed to get a job at the school I was attending.

So, she was my English teacher. And because I made her swear not to tell, no other students knew she was my Mother.

The other teachers knew of course, maybe one of the other reasons why the kind of leave me alone.

As she began the lesson, I blocked out the sound of her voice and just carried on with my work from last week that I knew she was going to ask us to do.

A tap on my shoulder brought me out of my concentration and I looked to my left to find a girl wanting my attention.

"Yes?" I was blunt, but the girls in this school were really needy and clingy and I honestly didn't care about finding a relationship in any way, shape or form.

"Hi, I'm Phoebe." She smiled, her Scottish accent was strong but I was getting used to understanding people.

"That's nice." I replied sarcastically, shaking my head and looking back to my work.

I heard her huff from beside me and she went back to her own work too.

Stupid girls.

If I wanted a girl, I could get one easily. Thing is they just didn't really interest me.

Not that I was gay or anything, I just had better things to do than get into teen dramas and love stories.

The hour long lesson felt like three and I was grateful when the bell rang for the break.

I could tell my Mum was trying to get me to stay to talk to her so I made a quick escape, blending in with the flurry of students who all left the room in a rush.

The snow that had laid outside illuminated the world even more than it already was and I had to squint as I made my way to the bike shed.

The usual suspects were already there. Reece, Kieran and a few girls who always like to hang around to see if they could get high or get some sex.

When I was around they weren't getting either.

"Alright Leo." A blonde haired girl greeted but I ignored her, perching myself on the bench of the shelter and bringing a small bag out of my pocket.

The others all chatted around me whilst I rolled the joint, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to me so I could focus on rolling.

When I was finished, I stood up, pulling my lighter out my pocket and lighting up the joint, taking in a big drag and welcoming the rush that hit my head.

"Jheez, that's a strong one." I laughed as I breathed out the smoke, passing it to Kieran.

Looks like my new hook up knows what they're doing when it comes to weed.

Kieran pulled a face when he took a drag, his features showing that he agreed with me and passing it on to Reece who was more than eager to smoke some.

The 20 minutes break that we were meant to have ended up being the whole day just hanging out at the shelters completely high off our tits.

Some of the girls had headed back into the school ages ago, but a couple stayed behind, one of them being the girl who greeted me originally.

"Hey Leo, how much of a bag of that?" She questioned but her words went straight through me because of how high I was.

"Ask me when I'm not tripping." I laughed and Reece laughed with me, attempting to roll a third joint.

Blinking a couple of times, I finally looked at the blonde girl properly and tilted my head from side to side. She was alright looking, like I wouldn't say no if she offered.

"What's your name?" I asked as I managed to sober up slightly by paying attention to things.

"Allison." She replied, tucking some strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Ok, Allison, wanna make out?" I questioned and she didn't even hesitate to jump on me.

I know I said I wasn't interested, but when I was high I was a weird person so my usual standards went out the window.

The kissing went on a minute or so before Reece poked my side and held up a very badly rolled joint.

"Nice." I grinned, not even hesitating to place it between my lips and smoke it.

Allison backed away from me and because I was feeling nice, I offered her the next drag.

It wasn't until it hit 4pm that we all slowly started making our way home.

I wasn't fussed as I had to wait for my Mum to finish working before I could leave so this was the best way to kill time.

Luckily over time, I had sobered up quite a bit, I was a little bit hazy still but I could hide it.

"Hey Leo, wanna come back to mine?" Allison asked as I picked up my bag from the snowy floor.

See, this is why I shouldn't go around kissing girls, they always get the wrong impression.

"Nah I'm alright." Was all I said before I trudged my way through the frozen path back to the school.

Making my way to the car park, I stopped as I passed one of the schools windows and assessed myself in the reflection.

My hair was finally the length I wanted it to be, just grazing above my shoulders and long enough for me to be able to tie back.

My brown eyes were slightly red from the weed so I pulled my sunglasses out from my bag and slipped them on.

If anyone asks I can just say I have a headache or something.

I found my Mums car and rested against it, awaiting her arrival and to be shouted at considering I skipped the rest of the day.

When I spotted her emerging from the building, her expression was lethal when she looked at me and I had to hold back a grin.

There was nothing loved more than annoying the shit out of my Mum.

"Get in the fucking car." Was all she said as she unlocked it, chucked her bags into the back seat and sat behind the wheel.

I raised my eyebrows at her stern tone but causally got into the front seat and strapped myself in.

"Leo you stink of weed. Can you not get high for one day?" She complained, starting up the car and pulling away from the parking spot.

"Uhh, sorry that's gonna have to be a no." I flashed a smile her way when she looked at me and I looked back out the window.

"Jesus... What did I do to deserve such a horrible son?" She strained, stopping the car suddenly so we were still int he car park but just close to the exit.

My buzz from the weed was slowly dying down and after she said that, all my chill just flew out of me.

"A horrible son? My goodness Mother!" I fake gasped "How could you think so low of me."

My voice dripped with sarcasm which I knew got under her skin.

"All I want from you is to do well and respect me, is that too much to ask?!" She sounded exasperated by this point. And of course, I couldn't help myself but to rip into her.

"Respect? From me? You know that disappeared nearly 8 years ago when you simply stood back and watched your husband beat your son black and blue for nearly 4 years straight."

Call me petty. Call me selfish. Call me whatever you wanted, I didn't care.

"You were my Mum. The one person who I thought could protect me from anything. Turns out I needed protecting from you."

"You have no idea what it was like to have to just stand by and watch!" She screamed back and it caught me off guard. Whenever we argued, she barely ever answered back.

"Ok, so explain."

"What?" She looked slightly confused "I don't have to explain myself to you."

My eyebrows raised at her arrogance "Did you really think that all your years of ignorance and smothering did me any good?"

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I grabbed my bag off of the floor and opened the car door.

"You are one of the main reasons why I'm like this, and the sooner you realise that, the better."

With a slam, the door was shut and I started making my way out of the school grounds.

There was an alleyway next to one of the gates that I turned down so she wouldn't be able to follow me with her car.

I was angry. Too angry to want to even deal with her.

Did I want her attention as a child? Yes, maybe when I was being beaten up but my own Dad, but not when I needed space to try and grow as a person.

Those four years that my Dad neglected me had been taken away and I wanted them back, one way or another.