Walking A Tightrope (Greatest Showman fanfiction)

Prologue--A Million Dreams

Phineas Taylor Barnum stood near a store model of a red suit and hat. Maybe one day, he would be in this costume. He wasn't going to lie. He wished his Dad would just hurry up but he knew he had business. He knew better than to rush him. He was happy though. He was happy looking at the circus outfit. He wished that his father could see that but clearly, he didn't.

"Let's go," a strong familiar voice told him. Speak of the devil....... Philo Barnum's grip tightened on his young son. Looking at the outfit again, Phineas sighed. "Phineas! What are you doing?! Keep up! We're going to miss the train."

The young teen moved his head forward again walking beside his father and watching all of the other kids his age hugging their parents. A small tear entered his eyes. His father would never let him do something like that...... .He wiped the tear away scared his father would see and call him weak. He hated his life but he was used to it.

A little while later, the Barnum boys arrived at the Hallet house. They had to make an impression but both boys for two different reasons. Philo was tailoring Mr. Hallett's suit and Phineas was hoping to get the attention of the young Hallet daughter, Charity. He had seen the way her father scolded her for the slightest mistakes. He wanted to help Charity but she only knew him as the tailor boy just as everyone else did. Except for the occasional wave or bow when the two would enter, they never spoke to each other.

Charity sat at a table nearby with her mother doing her 'princess training.' She tried to prove to her father that she was the wonderful child he always wanted. Phineas wanted her to notice him so without thinking, he got out some stuff out of his father's tailoring kit. If he wasn't going to get her attention, he needed to find a way to make her laugh. He got out a cup he found laying around with a paperclip and a piece of fabric. He mockingly teased her, causing her to grin. This was working better than he thought.....

Next, he pretended to sip the fabric holding onto the paperclip. She started spitting out her tea on her lap and started laughing. The young man felt like laughing so much that he spit out the fabric. It all would've been great if Mr. Hallett hadn't noticed his daughter's 'bad' behavior.

"Charity. Come here," he ordered as her mother cleaned up her mess. She stopped smiling and made her way to her father. She looked...... ashamed. It made P.T. feel bad for his behavior. "Look at your dress, young lady. Is this how we've taught you to behave?" She looked down at her dress ready to cry.

"I'm sorry sir. It's my fault," Phineas admitted. Mr. Hallett and his father looked at him confused. He could feel his father's rage getting higher as well as his clients. "I made her laugh."

"Well thank you for your honesty Mr. Barnum," Mr. Hallett told him in fake happiness. That's when the unthinkable happened. He stepped forward and slapped him on the cheek. Of course, his father didn't do anything but Charity flinched. She had never seen her father like this before.

"Father........" she started.

"Not another word," he snapped his hands on his hips before turning back to the boy. "Do me a favor and don't be teaching my daughter bad habits." He dragged his daughter to her room as she stared back at the two men in embarrassment. Philo didn't say anything. Knowing his father too well, Phineas left him while he finished with his client. He went outside, tears running down his face. He ran to the beach. The water was beautiful. It really was.

He didn't know how long he'd been out there by himself but he felt like he could stay out there forever. He'd messed up his chance to impress the girl of his dreams, or so he thought. When he looked up again, she had taken a spot next to him in a new dress. Even when she looked conflicted, she still looked gorgeous.

"Hey," she whispered when he saw her.

"Hi," he answered politely. "How did you get him to let you out?"