summary: based off of the song "rewrite the stars" from the movie the greatest showman. it also is based off of the love story that zac efron and zendaya's characters have.

pairing: daniel x female!reader

triggers: mentions of alcoholism, prostitution, drug abuse, and verbal abuse. angst, cursing.

disclaimer: this is a work of FICTION. it in no way resembles anyone in the wdw families or real life in general. keep that in mind.

link to original post: https://youngbloodseavey.tumblr.com/post/172151467538/rewrite-the-stars-daniel-seavey

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you know i want you, it's not a secret i try to hide.
i know you want me, so don't keep saying our hands are tied,

"daniel,  we can't keep sneaking around like this." y/n hissed at the blue-eyed  boy, who was pulling her along a dark hallway. he stopped at her words,  turning around to look at her. his features were darkened in the dim  light, but he still managed to look as radiant as ever.

"we don't  have to sneak around y/n. i don't want to sneak around. i want to show  people that you're my girl." he exclaimed, taking both her hands in his.  "but you want to stay hidden. you're the reason why we're sneaking  around."

"you know that's not my fault daniel. it's their  fault, it's the world's fault." she remarked back, anger seeping into  her voice. y/n let go of his hands, beginning to turn away from him.

it wasn't her fault. it wasn't her fault of where she came from, where he came from.

y/n and daniel came from completely different worlds.

he  came from a nice family, a wealthy family. his father was the ceo of a  successful company, and his mother was a lawyer in high-class cases. to  say he was well-off would be an understatement.

he always had  things handed to him on a silver platter. he was the definition of  privilege, with his nice clothes and perfect etiquette. he attended  high-class parties, drank expensive alcohol, ate expensive food.  everything about him just screamed wealthy.

he was the epitome of a rich prick to say the least. that is, until he met y/n y/l/n.

y/n came from what could only be described as the rock-bottom limits of society.

her  parents were drug addicts, and coming from a small town, that was a  hard place to come from. y/n's mom was the town whore, the woman who  would do anything for a spare dollar.

her father was a drunken  embarrassment, and he had been arrested multiple times. he was even  suspect in a few murders, and to say he was a widely hated person in the  town was too far of an understatement. the man was a menace.

and  y/n, being the result of these two disgraces being together, was looked  down upon like a parasite infesting the community. she had no friends,  her parents rarely acknowledged her existence. she was shunned, hated,  judged all based on her family.

that is, until she met daniel seavey.

you claim it's not in the cards, fate is pulling you miles away, and out of reach from me,

"well  i don't care what the world thinks y/n! i love you, no matter where  you're from," he pleaded, taking her hands in his once again. a spark  ran through her veins at his simple touch, but she shook the comfort  from your body and once again detached his hands from hers.

"well  i care what the world thinks. being with me will ruin you daniel,  you've seen the dirty stares and the spitting and the insults. i care  about you too much to let you go through with being with me," she spat  out, tears beginning to brim her eyes.

"how many times do i  have to tell you that i don't care! i don't care how people would judge  us, i don't give a flying fuck about what those close minded assholes  think," he spoke earnestly, turning her so she could look into his eyes.  "you're more than i could ever ask for. you're my everything,"

"i  love you daniel, and you know that." he took y/n's hand, and this time  she didn't pull away, but rather held him tighter. "but it seems as if  the world is always playing against us."

but you're here in my heart, so who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?

"well  then the world can fuck off! those people who judge you, they don't  control us. they don't control our fate," he began to close the space in  between them, coming so close that they were chest to chest. y/n felt  his comforting heat radiating off of his body, and couldn't help but  relax.

"daniel, i-" y/n began, but remembered her position and  backed away from his touch. his face dropped at the loss of contact, and  he knew right then and there that something was truly wrong. she took  in a deep breath. "you know i love you,"

"and i love you more than  anything." he stepped closer to her, seeing the tears begin to fall  down her angelic face. he reached his large hand up and wiped away a  tear with the calloused pad of his thumb, resting his hand on her cheek.  she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as more tears began to  cascade down her cheeks.

what if we rewrite the stars? say you were made to be mine,

"why  should we let the world decide our fate? we can do whatever we want, we  can write our own fate." he raised his other hand to cup her cheek,  both his hands now holding y/n's face.

"daniel," y/n sighed, opening her eyes to meet his. "it would be best if we just sto-"

"fuck  doing what's best y/n!" daniel yelled, taking his hands off her face  and throwing them up in the air. y/n flinched a bit, the yelling and  flinging of hands triggering her senses. daniel immediately recognized  the fear in her eyes and reconciled it by taking her hands in his again.  "i'm sorry it's just-" daniel took in a deep breath, closing his eyes  for a split second.

"do we do what's best for them?" he gestured  to the door which led to the outside world, the world full of judgement  and negativity. "or do we do what's best for us? because you, y/n y/l/n,  are the best thing to ever happen to me. you showed me the beauty in  life." he laughed, squeezing her cold hands in his warm ones.

"and  i don't know if there's such thing as a soulmates, but if there is,  there's no doubt in my mind that you're mine." the tone of his voice was  so deeply passionate it brought tears to y/n's eyes.

nothing could keep us apart, you'd be the one i was meant to find.

"and  even if you walk away right now, i know in my soul that the universe  would bring us back together. and there's no comment, no person, no  action that could ever stop me from loving you." tears began to form in  his own bright blue eyes, which he wiped away hastily. he stepped  forward, closing the space in between him and y/n.

she leaned  into his chest, beginning to sob into his body. her tears were pure as  crystal, shining in the dim lighting as they fell onto daniel's navy  blue button-down.

she began to shake, her legs giving out as her  and daniel collapsed onto the dirty hallway floor. his arms snaked  around her, holding onto her body as tight as he could without  suffocating her. y/n's hands curled around the silky fabric of his  shirt, clutching it like a lifeline.

it's up to you, and it's up to me, no one can say what we get to be,

daniel's  large hands tangled themselves in her hair, twirling the soft strands  between his fingertips. he took in her smell, her form, her touch.

"please y/n, let me love you." he whispered into the girl's ear, and she pulled away from his chest to look into his eyes.

"okay," she breathed out, the simple word bringing the brightest smile to the boy's face.

"i  love you." he mumbled, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss onto her  lips. their mouths moved in tandem with one another, putting all their  love and passion into the single embrace.

"i love you too daniel,"  she whispered into the kiss, meaning every syllable that exited her  mouth. "can we just go back to your apartment now? i'm tired." she  asked, and daniel nodded.

he helped her up, pressing a delicate  kiss on her forehead before intertwining his hand with hers, leading her  up to his apartment.

so why don't we rewrite the stars? maybe the world could be ours, tonight.

the  moment the couple entered daniel's apartment they practically collapsed  onto his king-sized bed, the feeling of his silk sheets dancing across  their flesh.

her back was pressed against his chest in a spooning  position, the feeling of his heartbeat on her back soothing her to no  end. she could tell that daniel was dozing off, from his breathing  beginning to slow to his drooping eyelids.

they had been in that dark hallway for so long, that they didn't notice that it was already past midnight.

"goodnight darling, i love you." daniel mumbled, kissing y/n's forehead before promptly beginning to doze off.

"i  love you too babe," she whispered back, closing her eyes at the  sensation of his soft lips on her skin. she opened her eyes back up,  staring at the mahogany nightstand that stood next to daniel.

she  heard the soft snores of daniel, signaling that he had fallen into a  deep slumber. she savored the feeling of his arm wrapped protectively  around her, his hot breath fanning over her shoulder. it was the feeling  of freedom, the feeling of joy, the feeling of love. that's what she  felt while in the arms of her true love.

y/n closed her eyes once again, trying her hardest to fall asleep.

but she couldn't.

you know i want you, it's not a secret i try to hide.

no  matter how long she tried, she simply couldn't fall surrender to the  dark, comforting abyss. her mind spun with doubts and thoughts, spinning  her around in circles until she thought she would vomit.

she knew that it wouldn't last forever. her and daniel.

him being with her would ruin him. his inheritance, his reputation, his lifestyle. she loved him too much to do that to him.

and  if she could walk outside without receiving dirty glares, or hearing  the hushed whispers as she strolled past, she would shout it out to the  whole fucking world that she was in love with daniel seavey. but that's  simply not what the world had planned for her.

as much as she  wanted it to work, no matter how many times she begged the stars to  align for them, she couldn't put daniel through the burden of being with  her.

the thought of leaving daniel brought tears to her  eyes, and she began to sniffle softly as the tears stained the  pillowcase beneath her head. it was almost as if the moment that the  first tear hit the fabric sparked a signal in daniel, who stirred awake.

"baby?  are you okay?" daniel's voice was deep and groggy, his blue eyes  clouded from fatigue. y/n hastily wiped away the warm tears that  streaked her face, trying her best to put on an act.

"h-huh? oh, i'm okay babe, go back to sleep," her voice cracked mid-sentence, but she quickly covered it with a cough.

daniel  sat up straighter, seeing right through her act. his eyebrows knitted  together in concern as his eyes seemed to bore a hole straight into your  soul.

"y/n, i'm not stupid. i know something's wrong, do you want  to talk about it?" he asked, bringing another wave of tears to the  forefront of her eyes.

you just have to be so concerned and cute, don't you seavey.

but i can't have you,

"i  don't want to talk about it right now, maybe in the morning?" she  offered, knowing fully that it was a lie. she wouldn't be there in the  morning.

"okay," daniel sounded unsure, but laid back down into  his previous position. "promise you'll tell me?" he reached out his hand  out to her, his pinky extended to symbolize the promise.

"i promise." lies.  she linked her pinky with his, squeezing his finger a little bit  tighter than she normally would have. her eyes met the screen of the  alarm clock on the nightstand, bright red numbers reading 4:36.  "babe? i'm gonna go get some water. go back to sleep, i'll be back  okay?" the more lies that slipped from her mouth, the heavier her heart  became.

"okay, i love you," daniel mumbled sleepily, passing out  the moment the words left his mouth. daniel was a deep sleeper, and y/n  knew that by the time she was out of the room he would be deep into  dreamland.

"i love you too daniel." her voice cracked again,  and this time she did nothing to cover it up. she slipped out of his  arms, immediately feeling the loss of warmth from his body. her feet hit  the cool, wooden floors, steady streams of tears falling down her face.  she had to do this. it was for the best.

we're bound to break,

she  tiptoed out of the bedroom, taking one last glance at her sleeping  boyfriend. she took in all of him, from the way his mouth would form a  small smile as he dreamed. the way his hair fanned out on his forehead,  looking perfectly soft.

she pictured his bright eyes, the way  that they sparkled, the way that the color would remind her of the  peaceful ocean. the way that his smile would light up a room, showing  off that adorable tooth-gap of his. the way that he would bury his head  in the crook of her neck, the way he kissed her on the forehead.

the way his lips felt on hers, the way that the moment they touched, it felt as if the stars had perfectly aligned.

she smiled at all the memories that they had made together, the beautiful things they had experienced.

and  with one last glance, she closed the door behind her. y/n nearly  collapsed in tears, but managed to quietly walk to the kitchen and put  on her shoes.

she looked around the apartment, which held so many precious memories to her and daniel.

she  swiftly tugged on her coat, taking in a deep breath before quietly  opening the front door. and as the final tear slipped down her face, she  quietly slipped out the entrance to daniel's apartment, being careful  to not make a single sound.

y/n heard the door 'click' closed, and  she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding in. she took  slow steps away from the door, vehemently trying to convince herself  that it was for the best, that daniel being with her would ruin his  life.

she loved him too much to ruin him.

i love you daniel, and i'll never stop. no matter how much we can wish, no one can rewrite the stars. i'm sorry.

and my hands are tied