runaway (a The Greatest Showman fanfic)

eight

hey guys!

thank you so much for waiting, i love you all so much!

i hope this chapter is okay, enjoy!

i'm trying to hold my breath,
getting louder now.
can you hear it echoing?

"woah," i whisper. our entire group is stood in the stands of the grand theatre, watching jenny perform. she's in a beautiful white dress and the entire place is silent with awe.

never be enough, never be enough... for me!
never, never!

i look over to see anne completely fixated, with philip... holding her hand?!

sheesh.

the song finally draws to an end and i, along with many others, am struggling to hold back tears. the applause around us is endless and i see pt come on stage, and hand jenny a bouquet that i prepared! he looks overjoyed and i am beaming too. i go to talk to anne but i can't find her.

where did she go?

——————————————————————

after the show, we are invited to a grand ball to celebrate pt and jenny's new found success. charity has made me a brand new dress just for this occasion and i am proudly showing it off.

i follow the others as we get ready to enter the ball when we're met with pt at the door.

"i'm sorry, guys, but not now," he says, before we hear laughter and he shuts the door in our faces.

we're stood there in stunned silence.

i can hear my heartbeat and ringing in my ears.

why would he do this?

i look over to lettie who is breathing heavily and looking teary.

i'm not a stranger to the dark.

that's the only thing that breaks the silence.

hide away, they say. 'cause we don't want your broken parts.

i've learned to be ashamed of all my scars.

run away, they say. no-one'll love you as you are.

she then turns to look at us with a sparkle in her eyes.

but, i won't let them break me down to dust. i know that there's a place for us, for we are glorious!

she smiles and starts striding down the corridor, and we all follow.

when the sharpest words wanna cut me down, i'm gonna send a flood; drown them out,
i am brave, i am bruised,
i am who i'm meant to be,
this is me.

at this point we burst through of the door of the ballroom and we're met with shocked faces. we come storming through the corridor and continue on.

———————————————————————

"freaks!"

that's one of the many insults being thrown at us as we hurry down the street. the strong man grabs onto my hand and tries to shield me from the various debris that is being thrown at us. we hurry through the streets and into the circus, slamming the door shut behind us. we lean against it, panting.

"it's not true, y'know," says the strong man, catching his breath. "we're just different, and they're not used to that, are they?"

i shrug as i sink to the ground with my back against the door, putting my face in my hands.

"still hurts though," i say. he nods in agreement before we hear yelling outside and the doors burst open and a vast majority of the troop comes in. immediately, i notice lettie in tears and i approach her. she
embraces me in a tight hug and i let her cry into my shoulder.

i then feel hands on my shoulders, and then another, and another, until we are surrounded and the entire group is hugging.

this is us. we're home.