Not once had he resed his decision. Not once, not after all they'd put him through. Not once. Not until now.
"What's a pretty boy like you doing out here? Have you lost your Mummy and Daddy? Are you waiting for your golden carriage?" The gang's leader sneered into his face. He was scared - this was the first time the gang had noticed him.
"Not answering? Well then, pretty boy, let's give you something to think about. Maybe next time you'll answer me." He feels the pain before he sees the fists. Over and over, never letting up. He's kicked and punched everywhere, to the point where he can't move, and beyond.
"He'll not be going anywhere anytime soon. Come on, let's go," says the ringleader.
He lies there in the dark alley, his body burning in pain. What had been so bad in his life to drive him out here?
"Daniel Morgan, if you move one inch from that spot-" Smack! The big man's hand misses his eye by a fraction of a millimetre. He doesn't cry though. Three years old, and he already knows that he can't cry. It just motivates the big people.
"Look, Mum! I got a sticker from my teacher! She says that I'm the best mathy magician in the whole class!"
Smack! He's lying on the floor, resisting the urge to clutch his cheek.
"Who'd you take that from, you lying piece of filth? Which one of your pathetic excuses of a friend gave it to you, eh? TELL ME!"
Smack! He gasps, the pain intensifying. He keeps his mouth shut. It's what he should have done in the first place. But he's only seven.
"But Mum, I didn't do anything!"
"I don't care, get out of my sight."
"Mum!" He can smell the alcohol on her breath.
"You'll think again next time before defying me."
Crack! He hits the tiled floor head first. Blood is pooling around him.
"Hello? Yes, my son has just cracked his head open... Oh, he... slipped, yes, that's it. He slipped on the tiled floor. Yes, he's thirteen years old..."
That's the last thing he hears before everything goes black.
"I know. Who'd put up with him?" He stops outside the door, peering in slightly. Tom, Aneisha and Keri are sat talking.
"He just needs to go. Everything is just too much pressure for him."
"He's got the talent, he just needs a bit more experience."
"What, like you?"
"No, like the other guys."
"He is quite cute..."
"Tom!"
"What?"
"We're in crisis talks, and all you can say is that he's cute?"
"Meh."
"Someone's going to have to tell him."
"No one needs him anymore. It's pointless him being here."
He couldn't hear anymore of this. Even his friends now hated him.
He shoves everything he can into a bag. He scrawls a simple note for his parents. They won't care.
He lies on the alley floor, crying in pain and longing. He shouldn't have run away from his problem. He should have told someone - the school, social services, anyone. But there's nothing-
"Dan?" A familiar voice says from above him. The voice that he would have loved to lose himself in before this.
"Dan? Dan, can you hear me? What have they done to you?"
"Uhh... Keri... It hurts."
"What hurts?"
"Everything."
"Hold on, Dan. You can be brave. I know you can."
She dials a number on her phone.
"Hello? Yes, I've just found my friend beaten and nearly unconscious in an alley... He says everything hurts... I think a gang must have got to him, there is no way that one person could have inflicted this much..."
Everything goes black.
"C'mon, Dan!" Tom says, throwing the Frisbee at him. Five weeks since the gang incident, and he was recovering well. He'd told them everything, not just what happened with the gang. He'd been placed in a foster home for a while, until Tom's parents agreed to adopt him. His best friend was now his new brother.
"Dan! Do you want a drink, love?" His new mum called from the kitchen.
"Yes please, mum!" He called back.
"Mum's happy because, since you came, I've been outside more. Like, 1,000% more," his brother smiled.
This is what I thought a real family was like, he thinks to himself, and now I have one of my own. Forever.
A/N: So, hey. Sorry about what you just read. Please review! I used to be MIHighObsessive, but I changed my name because I also write for other fandoms. It really is based on my name now. I've just added line breaks, so hopefully it's easier to read. G.3.0.R.G.A