standard disclaimer applies:
'ts not mine, i'm not making any profit.

Chapter 1

Link finally felt right. With Tracy in his arms, beaming up at him ecstatically, he finally felt like had made the right decisions. At some point, you just had to say 'screw it' to what everyone else thinks, agents be damned! He knew that pulling Inez up to dance on the stage with him was right, and he knew that kissing Tracy, wanting Tracy, loving Tracy - even though she wasn't what everyone expected him to want - was the best choice he had ever made. Link grinned back at her, about to swoop down for another kiss when he was pulled out of his righteous happiness by a tap on the shoulder. Corny was behind him, trying to tell him something.

Link's brain stopped short when he heard the word "agent" come out of Corny's mouth. He had assumed that he had given up that chance by doing the right thing. He couldn't possibly be getting everything he wanted, all at once, could he? He turned to Tracy in shock, but she only wrapped her arms around him again, congratulating him, looking as if she might cry from happiness. He could understand the sentiment as his brain slowly whirred back into life and he turned to Corny.

"Really? You're sure about this? Even after..."

"...you set the censor boards on fire by dancing with a little colored girl? You betcha!" Corny's grin faltered momentarily, "In truth, one of them left right after we wrapped - but the other two stayed, and Ms. Harrison came to ask about you personally. She's waiting off stage as we speak, so I suggest - if, that is, you can pull yourself away from Miss Tracy here," he said, giving Tracy a wink, "that you put that teenage heart-throb smile back on and and come with me to meet her!"

"Uh, right. Right!" Link turned back to Tracy once more. "I've gotta, uh -"

"I know, Link! Go!" Tracy exclaimed, hugging him once more quickly, then pushing him after Corny.

'Alright, alright, get it together Link,' he thought to himself. He did a quick curl check to make sure his 'do hadn't been affected by all the excitement and the dancing and the kissing and Oh God he really could have everything he really wanted - 'No! Just cool it, Link! You are not a twelve year old girl! Be calm, confident, professional!'

He just barely managed to get his act together by the time they reached the collected-looking brunette waiting on the side of the stage. Her hair was up in an age-appropriate yet fashion-forward flip, and she wore a black suit that conveyed a sense of professionalism.

"Mr. Larkin," she said, extending out her hand to confidently shake his, "it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Anna Harrison, I work for the WDC Entertainment Agency. The show tonight was a great success, I believe - if not exactly ... conventional. But I must say, I was as impressed by your confidence and courage as I was by your dancing. Mr. Collins here says that you sing, as well?"

Link sputtered for just a moment, temporarily disarmed by all the compliments coming his way from a woman who radiated power and sophistication, on top of holding the potential keys to his future. "Uh, yes ma'am. The Corny Collins show is mostly ensemble numbers, but a few weeks ago I began performing a couple of solo pieces on the show. I was supposed to serenade Miss Teenage Hairspray after she was crowned tonight, but we ran a little ... long. But I'm really enjoying the freedom of performing on my own, being able to work without all the constraints of group choreography," he finished, hoping that sounded adequately adult.

"I can see that. You do seem to shine all on your own, as well as in the group." She reached into her satchel, pulling out a business card and handing it to him. "Why don't you give me a call early next week, and we can discuss where you'd like to go with your career. I don't want to keep you from all the excitement here," she said, smiling at the teens and audience members who were still dancing around the studio, "but I think we might be able to find a lot of exciting directions for you to consider."

"Thank you!" Link responded, holding in the shit-eating grin threatening to overpower his face, "I'll call you Monday as soon as school is out! Thank you so much for this opportunity, and it was lovely to meet you as well, Ms. Harrison." He pocketed the card and shook her hand once more.

"And tell that girl of yours," she paused, making him momentarily nervous as she eyed Tracy somewhere behind his right shoulder, "that Baltimore is lucky to have such a progressive, confident young woman gracing its local television sets."

"I will ma'am, thank you." Link said, grinning as much as he could without looking completely ridiculous. He turned back to go find Tracy, leaving Corny to show Ms. Harrison out. It was great to know that there were other people out there who believed in integration, and Ms. Harrison's remarks succeeded in replacing the sense of rightness that had pervaded his being before Corny had interrupted his moment with Tracy.

He fingered the card in his pocket, unable to keep the extra spring out of his step as peered over people's bobbing heads to spy Tracy hugging Inez near the vote-tally board. Inez waved to him and pointed cockily to the crown on her head, causing Tracy to turn and look at him before bounding over. Coolly setting his forearm on her shoulder and walking her back towards Inez, he casually pulled out the business card and said, "Well, I'm not signed yet, but -"

"Oh my gosh, Link!" Tracy said, grabbing the card from his hand and literally vibrating with excitement. "What did she say? Are you going to be in commercials? In movies? On Broadway? I can't believe this! I mean, I can! You deserve it, Link! This is just so incredibly wonderful!"

She had turned to look at him, smiling that big, beautiful smile of hers, and he couldn't contain himself anymore. The cool facade he hadn't really been maintaining crumbled once again and he swooped down to capture her lips again. He lingered on her lips for just a moment, before turning her around in a little spin then letting go of her to swipe the card back from her with a laugh and do a cocky little spin of his own, with a little hip-posing at the end that made her giggle happily at his excitement.

Link captured her in his arms again and bent down a bit to look into her eyes. "It really is, isn't it? And you know what? She said she was as impressed by my courage to dance with Inez as she was by my dancing. And, she said that Baltimore was lucky to have such a progressive, confident young woman dancing on this show!" He squeezed her arm to indicate that yes, he meant her!

She blushed and he kissed her once more, just for good measure (and because her lips were so soft he really just couldn't help himself), and squeezed her a bit, saying "I really couldn't have done it without you, Trace. You made all of this possible." She blushed even more and tried to look down but he tilted her chin back up and continued, "I mean it Trace. Me, Inez, Seaweed and Penny - none of this would have happened if it wasn't for you. You're so fearless, and brave, and darlin' I just can't thank you enough for always doin' what you know is right. Because now I see that doin' what's right is never wrong! I've got proof of it now, right here, with this card," he said, waving the business card. "And I'm sorry I didn't know that before, that I didn't come to the march and I thought that giving the right impression was more important that doing something I knew was right and I just wanted to impress the agents but when I finally decided to do the right thing they still liked me anyway," he knew he had to stop rambling so un-eloquently (could he really not think of another word for 'right'?), but it just wouldn't stop tumbling out, "and - and - and, darlin'! I'm just so happy and I can't thank you enough!" He hugged her as hard as he could, burying his face in her hair and trying to collect himself a bit.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, slowly releasing her after a moment and looking into her tear-stained face.

"Oh Link," she said, smiling, "you never, ever have to be sorry for that." She kept grinning up at him as she tried to wipe the wetness from her cheeks. "I'm so glad you danced with Inez and I'm so glad the agent loved you! This is really just the best night ever!"

Link grabbed her hand to spin her again as the beat picked up. "And its not even over yet, babe. What would you say to splitting a milkshake with me after the studio clears out?" She spun back into his arms effortlessly, then stepped back so she could shake those hips at a more polite distance from his.

"Well, I'll have to check with my Ma to make sure she's okay with me not riding home with her and Dad, but I think we could come to some kind of arrangement, Mr. Larkin," Tracy responded saucily, hand on her hip and head cocked to the side, before pulling him closer once more.

They kept dancing, no longer having to censor their movements according to Velma Von Tussle's rules of proper dancing conduct, until the dancers had thinned enough for Link to spot Tracy's mom and pop gathering their coats from the stands. "Better go tell your mom that you've already got a ride home," Link said, pointing out her parents to her. As he watched her scurry off to get permission, he felt funny little butterflies invade his stomach. He was about to go on a semi-official date with Tracy Turnblad. He'd never gone out with a girl like her, in multiple senses - usually the girls he dated only wanted to talk about the show and school gossip while preening and giggling at anything he said. Something told him it would be different with Trace, 'in an impossibly good sort of way,' he thought, putting an arm around her shoulders as she returned, nodding happily about her parent's approval and walking them towards the mirrors where their jackets were.

"I just have to be home by ten, they said. But honestly, they're so wrapped up in each other they probably wouldn't even notice what time I got back. I've never seen my Ma look so good, and my Dad finally noticed it, too..." Tracy continued to chatter happily as they gathered their things before heading out to his car, hand in hand.

AN: Wow. Its a bit scary to be writing again. I haven't done it for a couple of years, and this is my first Hairspray story. But its been wanting to come out for a while now, and i just couldn't hold back any more. The rating may go up for later chapters, especially if i can figure out how to write things without making them sound tacky and ... weird.
I'll try to update weekly - and comments, suggestions, and criticism are *great*amazing*appreciated*needed*
and the best way to make me write faster.