Hmm...I have to admit, even I am beginning to get kind of upset with where I see this story going, but don't worry, I'll be good. The song for this chapter is "Collide" by Howie Day.


Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find you and I collide


"Hey you," Amber smiled, leaning in to peck Corny's lips as he made his way over to her. He sighed loudly, and let his fingers run up the small of her back. She melted into him, letting her fingers brush over his suit, and rest on his chest. "Great show today."

He furrowed his brows at her, and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"You don't have to suck up. You already got me, remember?" He brushed his finger down her cheek. "Thank you, though."

"I'm not sucking up," she grinned, "I'm technically your boss, remember? I'm just encouraging my favorite host, is all," she tried to keep herself from smiling, but it was hard not to when he stood this close to her. He groaned, and pulled her close.

"You don't have to remind me, I never forget that I'm sleeping with the boss. It's like a fantasy come true," he grinned at her, and she felt her cheeks blushing. She shook her head and glanced down at her watch.

"Oh, babe, it's almost four-thirty. It's time to pick Sophie up from dance class," she reminded him gently, "Want me to go get her?" It was still odd to her sometimes, offering to pick up her step-daughter from various events and classes. It was the one thing she had never wanted to be, in truth. She'd wanted to be a princess, then a dancer, then queen of the world. She'd wanted to be a supreme bitch, a dominant female. She'd wanted to be an entire world. The one thing she'd never wanted to be was a mother, and over the past two years, she'd found it hard not to slip into the assumed role. Although they often fought like sisters, Amber had a new kind of respect, a new sort of love for Sophie. It was unlike anything she'd felt quite before; it was almost a kind of adoration that she just couldn't describe.

"No, I'll get her," Corny sighed, "You stay here and finish up what you need to do. Then when we get back we'll go get dinner." He nodded, kissing her again, his hand moving up to rub the sore spot in his back that he hoped Amber hadn't noticed. "Be back in a few minutes."

She nodded and watched him go, her fingers still clutching the clipboard in her hand. She had a list of things that needed to be done before she left the studio today, and she'd taken her responsibilities as station manager serious over the last few years. Today, though, she didn't feel like doing this, and being here. Still, she knew it was inevitable. She began to scribble notes onto the clipboard, her eyes inadvertently falling upon the modest diamond on her slender finger. She felt her breath catch in her throat again, just as it did each time she remembered that she was actually engaged to Corny; engaged to the man who she had tormented as a teenager, while secretly admiring him from afar. Engaged to the man whose life she had attempted to make a living hell. It was an odd twist of fate, that was for sure. She'd never expected to see him again after she'd left for college after high school. And yet, when she'd come back here, to Baltimore, he was still there. She should have known.

She let her attention slip from her work, and she began to study the ring. It was a smaller diamond than she'd expected to get as a teenager, when she'd been so sure that she'd only marry for money, as her mother had. She'd expected to get a diamond ring as big as her knuckle. And yet, when Corny had slid this one onto her finger that night about six months ago, she'd known that it was perfect. She could remember crying, and kissing his face and that was it. Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone (she still had to uphold her reputation as the cold, unforgiving Von Tussle woman, though she wouldn't even pretend to be half as bad as Velma) it had been the most magical night of her life, and probably the single most important moment so far. Better than all of the Miss Teenage Hairspray pageants she'd won, better than even graduating college. All of those things had been easy compared to taming Corny Collins. Of course, she'd had some help on Sophie's part with that. By the time Corny had asked Amber to be his wife, Sophie had already made him a dedicated, serious, father and boyfriend. Amber had just been on the receiving end, waiting for it.

"Somebody call 911 because I think I'm on fire," she heard the words, and the voice that said them sounded so strangely familiar that she pulled her head up quickly, glaring around the near-empty studio.

"What the…?" She was ready to begin chastising the few remaining crew members for speaking to her in such a manner, until her eyes fell upon the tall, dark-haired man that stood watching her from a few feet away. "Oh, my God."

The dark-haired man broke into a grin and moved toward her quickly, sweeping her into a sudden hug that caused her to lose her breath for a moment. His touch still felt the same, except maybe stronger now. He hadn't held her that way in years, before all of the lies had started between them. Before they'd all been transformed into adults when they were only seventeen, it was lifetimes ago.

"Link," she let herself say his name, her head spinning as he stepped back to look at her, "What…what are you doing here?"

"Hey, darlin'," he grinned at her wider now, "Don't I get a hello? I haven't seen you in…what, six years?"

"Hello," she responded dumbly, nodding, "Link, I…what are you doing here?"

"I've come to see how Miss Von Tussle woman takes care of things," he smiled easily at her, "How long have you been station manager?" He pushed a hand through his dark hair. She noticed that he didn't seem to use as much grease as he had when they were in high school, and yet his hair still stayed put.

"Uh…" she found herself stammering, and wasn't completely sure why, "Around two years now."

His blue eyes sparkled. "Two years? I slipped out of here right after graduation…went to California for a little while. Have you ever been to California?"

She shook her head slowly, her mouth still slightly agape from the sudden shock of seeing him.

"No, I went to college in Connecticut," she explained softly, "and then I came back here right after."

Link grinned.

"Amber's a college graduate, huh?" He chuckled softly, "I always wondered if you were going to end up in college." His tongue darted out to wet his lips, "I'm glad you decided to go."

She nodded speechlessly, her blue eyes still watching him. She could feel herself clutching the clipboard still, and released her grip on it slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was first.

"Listen, I'm starving…would you like to join me for dinner?"

His question was so sudden that she barely had time to stutter before she saw Corny and Sophie moving toward her from the studio entrance. Sophie was moving quickly, and carrying a small paper. Corny was lagging slightly behind, and he smiled as his eyes connected with Amber.

"Hey! I made this for you at school! Mrs. Johnson said we-" Sophie stopped in her tracks as she saw the man standing in front of Amber. Her hand fell to her side, and she glanced at Amber before making eye contact with Link. He looked down at her, arching an eyebrow at her before bending down to her level.

"Hey, sweetie," he threw her a wink, "What you got there?"

Sophie swallowed hard, and Amber watched as her face turned a deep pink color. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, and withdrew into herself suddenly.

"A picture," she answered coyly, "I made it in school."

"Can I see?" He spoke to her in such a kind voice that she nodded, and handed the paper to him. Amber looked toward Corny, who had finally neared them, and looked suspiciously in Link's direction. "Who's this for?"

Sophie didn't speak, but pointed a finger at Amber. Amber felt herself smiling, and glanced down at the artwork as Link studied it.

"What a pretty house," he grinned at her, "You did a really swell job with that, honey." He handed the paper back to Sophie, and she clutched it to her chest, sighing softly.

"Thank you."

"Who-" Just as the words had started to leave Corny's mouth, Link turned to him, and their eyes connected. "Link?!" He moved toward him suddenly, clapping him on the back, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just telling Amber I came to observe the fine workings of such a beautiful mind," he grinned sideways at her, then turned back to Corny, "What are you doing here?"

Corny raised his palms upward. "Working...Well, trying to leave work."

Link half-laughed, still watching him.

"No way? You're still running this show, old man?" He grinned, hitting him in the shoulder lightly, "I thought they'd have thrown you out with the trash by now." He grinned.

Corny was taken aback for a moment, and cleared his throat, letting his eyes graze Amber before moving back to Link.

"Well, you can't fix something that isn't broken."

Link nodded easily and then glanced at Amber again.

"So, what do you say? Will you come to dinner with me?" He was grinning now.

She let her jaw go slack, and let her eyes meet Corny's.

"Link, I…you should probably know that I'm-"

"Are we all going to dinner?" Sophie interrupted excitedly, "I'm so hungry!"

Link grinned down at Sophie.

"Cute kid. Who does she belong to?"

"Me," Corny spoke suddenly, and glanced at Amber, "She's my daughter."

Link turned suddenly, his mouth slightly agape.

"You've got a kid?" He was genuinely surprised, and he looked toward Amber, "Did you know this?"

Amber nodded slowly, glaring at him.

"Yes, uh...Corny and I are engaged, Link."

Link's face deadpanned for a moment, and he blinked suddenly.

"Oh!" She watched as his cheeks flushed a soft pink color, and he forced a smile to his lips, "Well, here I am trying to pick up where we left off and you're engaged." He looked toward Sophie suddenly. "Wait a minute…" he bit his lip, "You guys have been busy since I've been gone."

Amber followed his gaze, and then shook her head.

"No! I mean, no, Sophie isn't mine." She tried to ignore the sudden look of confusion that Corny gave her, but felt her cheeks flushing, "Well, she's going to be my step-daughter."

There was an awkward silence between the four of them for a moment, and Corny let his eyes narrow at Link as they stood. Amber felt her face blushing, and met Corny's steely gaze for a moment before clearing her throat.

"So, Link, are you and Tracy still together?"

"Ahh, no." He shuffled his feet suddenly, "Things didn't work out for us. You know how it goes."

Another moment of dead silence, and then Sophie spoke.

"Daddy, if we're not going out to eat, can Link come back to our house and eat dinner?" She batted her eyelashes up at Corny, and lowered her voice suddenly, "Please, please, please?"

"Oh," Corny cleared his throat, "Uh, Soph, I'm sure Link has better things to do than come over to our house. Right, Link?"

He smiled suddenly.

"No, actually, I don't. I mean, not if I'm being invited…" he studied them all for a moment.

"Sure," Amber nodded, smiling softly, "you should come over, we'll all have dinner together. It will be nice."

Sophie stood still, her dark eyes watching Link.

"Will you sit next to me, Link? Please?"

"Sure thing, little lady." He nodded at her.

Amber tried to ignore the scowl Corny gave her as they readied to leave. She kept a smile on her face as the three of them slid into the car, and watched Link pull out behind them.

"Amber, is Link your boyfriend?" Sophie asked abruptly from the backseat. Corny's knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, and Amber glared back at her.

"No, Sophie. He was my boyfriend, a long time ago, but he's not anymore." She looked pointedly at Corny, "You can't have a boyfriend and a fiancée."

"Really? Cause I think he still likes you," she made an innocent observation.

"Sophie, that's enough," Corny's voice was firm, and he looked at her through the rearview mirror, "I don't want to hear it."

"I was just saying-" she tried to defend herself, and Amber turned quickly back to look at her.

"Sophie, stop!" Her cheeks were flushed pink, and she sunk back into her seat as Sophie whimpered in the back. Sophie suddenly tossed the paper she had been clutching in her hands up to Amber, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's for you," she sneered, "Mrs. Johnson said we were supposed to make pictures for Mother's Day, but I told her I didn't have a mother, I had an Amber." She pouted as Amber took the picture into her hands.

"Thank you," Amber said the words softly, straightening the picture out and placing it on her lap.

Sophie turned to stare out the window, and could see the reflection of Link's car behind them. She felt herself smiling and her heart began to pound faster. She sighed softly. She was in love.