A/N: I went to see this movie...again. I'm shameless BUT my beta and friends told me to!...they really had to twist my arm :P

While I was watching, I came up with this pre-story idea. I'm adjusting the chapter numbers to accommodate this so it reads better as a story.

THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL CHAPTER 1. THIS IS A "CHAPTER 0", IT TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE ORIGINAL CHAPTER 1.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I gain nothing from this movie...but my appreciation of Efron has grown.

Anne held W.D. close as they watched the circus-their home, their livelihood-burn to the ground. Soot covered him in splotches and she started wiping them away but he waved her off, more concerned with Phillip and the emergency care surrounding him.

"Take good care of him!" W.D. called and the request caught Barnum's ear, the man turned and gave a nod, turning back to care for the rest of the circus, finally allowing Anne to drag her brother towards the on-scene medics to tend to him.

"Are you hurt?" Anne asked, running her hands over his head to check for blood and bruises. A medic shoved a bowl of water into her hands, asking her to assist in cleaning themselves up while he tended to the minor scrapes on her brother.

"Carlyle pulled us out in time," he finally responded as Anne helped wipe his face clean. The medic turned to her and she shook her head at his offer of medical attention.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, unable to stop herself from glancing around at her friends, her family, receiving treatment for burns and bloodied lips.

"The protests turned into a riot," he answered, "We asked them to-"

"Who's 'we'?" Anne stopped him, trying to put the story together in her head but nothing made sense and the blazing fire only added to her confusion.

"After the performance, protesters approached Carlyle and I was by his side," W.D. started again, clarifying as much as possible. "He asked them to leave and they wouldn't-we didn't ask a second time."

"You started a fight?" Anne hissed "W.D., you can't be doing that."

"You should have heard what they were saying about us," he seethed, "even Carlyle." Anne scoffed.

"He can take care of himself," she retorted, "why do you care about him?" W.D. looked at her as if she had 2 heads-and considering their work in the circus, that was saying something.

"He loves you," he stated so simply it took her by surprise. "He ran back into that building because we couldn't find you. He thought you were in there."

"I...I left after my final act," Anne blanched, "I was hungry and went to the bakery around the corner." She suddenly feeling infantile for leaving without letting anyone knowing where she was going. "I ran back when I heard about a fire at the circus."

"No one is blaming you," he took her hand and pulled her into a hug she willingly accepted. "You're allowed to be happy, you know," he told her and she gave a watery chuckle that turned into a sob.

"It wouldn't work, W.D.," she whispered, "we're too different." He snorted.

"The man ran into a burning building to find you," he said, "I think you're giving him too little credit." Before they could say anything else, Barnum came in, his suit ragged, covered in soot, and his hair in disarray, and looked them over with a nod.

"You two seem taken care of," he said and Anne nodded with a smile.

"How is everyone else?" W.D. asked, touching the bandage on his arm. Barnum sighed and ran a hand through his hair-explaining why it looked so awful.

"Phillip got the worst of it," he started, "He inhaled too much smoke and he's in a coma. He's been taken to Bellevue." Anne shuttered at this and closed her eyes at the news. "Other than him, Jeremy has a broken nose from a fight, which I need to hear about," he looked at W.D. who merely nodded, "and O'Malley dislocated his shoulder from throwing open the heat-warped gates for the elephants and horses to escape. Everyone else escaped with minor cuts and bruises."

"I'll tell you about the fight," W.D. obliged and Barnum nodded, "but you," he turned to Anne, "know where you need to be." Anne looked at her brother, who only nodded, before smiling, giving him a hug and kiss, and bolting out of the makeshift tent.

At first, she was reluctant to go inside: what if they told her she couldn't see him? What if they told her she didn't belong there? What if they threw her out? None of her fears came to pass and a young nurse took her to Phillip's ward. The doctors paid her no mind as she walked down the rows of beds, some filled but most empty, finally spotting Phillip and rushing to his side.

He looked so young against the crisp, white linens and bandages around his head and various cuts across his arms and hands. The soot from the fire still streaked his face. Anne sat next to him on the bed and for a moment, just a moment, she could trick herself into believing he was asleep...but when she took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers he didn't react, not even movement under his eyelids so he appeared to be dreaming caused a lump to grow in her throat and tears to threaten to spill from her eyes.

If...when he awoke, she forced herself to think, there would be no more running-except to him.

A/N 2: I hope you enjoyed that. I wasn't planning on writing anything that corresponded with the movie but that jumpcut from the burning building to her sitting with him seemed...fast. So here's some interlude to bridge that.

As always, if you feel the need to flame, please flame responsibly :)