Kelsey Rose: I think I need some wicked, awesome theme music. :) Having muse is wondrous! I should probably consider bottling it up and saving some for later. Again, thanks to all the sweet reviewers. You guys keep me inspired and on my toes!

Disclaimer: Hey, guess what? Hairspray isn't mine. Imagine that.


Chapter Seven:

A Light in the Darkness

The party at Ms. Maybelle's had been amazing, in a word. The room had been overflowing with energy and pent up tension of all kinds. Above all else, though, was how much of a time that Penny had with absolutely no strings attached. She felt so liberated and unafraid to be herself. People of all colors were here to celebrate, and it was definitely something to see. Even some of the original Council members had shown up. Be that as it may, only Brenda could really be identified in the corner playing tonsil hockey with one of Seaweed's friends, but that didn't matter. Penny was hardly paying anyone, aside from Seaweed, any attention whatsoever.

They had danced the night away, much more intimately and closely than Penny had ever done with anyone else before. Though, to be fair, before he came along, she hadn't really done much dancing at all, of any kind.

The night was slowly drawing to a close, all the same, as disappointed as that made the partygoers. Penny knew exactly what that meant for her. It also sorely reminded her of what she had yet to accomplish. So, seeing how quickly people were beginning to file out and make plans to leave, she instinctively tightened her affectionate grip around Seaweed's neck. They had just been swaying slowly together to the ever-changing beat of the music, hardly a centimeter of space left between them.

Taking note to her abrupt discomfort, Seaweed gently kneaded at her lower back with a few of his fingers, hoping to soothe her. Penny closed her eyes for a moment and laid her head against his shoulder. If she could just stay like this for the rest of tonight, she knew that everything would be all right. She knew that she wouldn't have to go home to face her mother alone, who still left her strangely uncertain, irrespective of her 'positive' showing earlier that day. But, she could only run away from the inevitable for so long, and she knew that all too well.

"Baby girl," Seaweed spoke so suddenly that Penny jarred her eyes open, her heart beginning to race slightly. "It's gettin' late." He said regrettably, hardly wanting to let her go himself. It would have been the furthest thing from his mind, in fact, if not for the recurring visions of her angry mother.

"I know," She responded softly, her hands sliding over to his shoulders, perching there for the time being.

"I don't want you in trouble with your mama," A tender smile shone on his face as he leaned down to place a single kiss on her forehead. Penny giggled once and grabbed a hold of one of his hands.

"You want to get rid of me already, huh?" She asked, a mischievous undertone in her voice, whilst her fingers toyed around with his. She proudly observed his wide-eyed reaction in all its glory.

"Now, you know that's not…" She cleverly silenced him with a kiss, a fierce and passionate one that she placed directly on his lips. Scarcely being one to complain, Seaweed melted into it within a matter of milliseconds. While they had never kissed one another with such 'enthusiasm' before, it was amazing just how they moved with one another like perfect clockwork. His lips were incredibly soft and were a giant leap from the gum that she chewed so religiously. She could practically feel herself falling faster and faster, picking up velocity as she lost herself completely in the moment. Neither one housed any scrap of desire to pull away, for fear of eagerly craving more as soon as they parted.

Just the same, and like all wonderful things, it did have to draw to an end, an agonizingly slow end. Seaweed had drawn back from her, leaving their lips just barely apart. Both were set up to silently stare at one another, their breathing erratic after such an intense kiss. Penny's mind had gone totally blank. Why her legs were still holding her up, she had no idea.

"I think you owe me a walk, my princess," Seaweed reminded her quietly, before taking her hands. Penny, after forcing herself to lose that deer-in-the-headlights look of amazement, beamed.

"Yeah?" She pretended to weigh the options in her head. "I guess so," She admitted, her face brilliantly lit in the dimmed lights of the record shop. "Just let me say goodbye to Tracy and the others." When he nodded and reluctantly let go of her hands, she went over to her best friend in very good spirits, despite walking over to a very personal confrontation between her and Link.

Penny coughed forcefully and rocked a couple of times on her feet. Tracy instantly put a stop to the lip lock with Link and turned to her friend, blushing, but cheerful all the same.

"G'night, Tracy…" She smiled to her friend, and then glanced to the brunette's staggered boyfriend. "And Link!" The couple waved to the redhead in their own typical ways and muttered a heartfelt, but distracted goodbye to her. "See you guys at school!" Satisfied, Penny wheeled around and went back to Seaweed, who was waiting with a coat for her, just in case it was a little chilly outside.

"Think Ms. Maybelle and Inez are still awake?" She wondered, her eyes hopeful. Seaweed rubbed her on the back lovingly.

"Probably not. They usually turn in pretty early," He confessed, just as Penny frowned. "I'll be sure to give 'em the message, though, baby doll. Don't worry." So… it wasn't the same as telling them in person, but Penny was more than happy with his gesture.

"Let's get goin', then," Seaweed draped his jacket around her shoulders and then winded his arm around her waist. The pair waved a few more goodbyes to the remaining cluster of people and then leisurely made their exit. Any time that they could kill to be together was definitely worth it.


They had chosen to walk the entire distance to Penny's home, which wasn't very far at all. Amid the whispering and extremely flirtatious moves flying between the happy couple, Penny had forgotten all about her qualms of returning home. Anything negative had fled her mind one hundred percent.

It wasn't until they came upon the darkened form of her house that she felt the sensation of a knife driving and twisting into her stomach. Reality had come crashing down on her out of nowhere, and she was lucky to still have Seaweed's arm securely around her, or she could have very well fallen. The light in one of the front windows told everything to Penny, and only frightened her further.

Seaweed stopped shy of the walkway to her front door and turned to face her. Penny was so close to begging him to take her back that it was almost overwhelming. She couldn't even figure out why she was so distressed. This was just her mother; she had said it was all right. Why couldn't Penny just accept that as the truth and move on?

Because she knew her mother better than that.

"I'll see you at school," He placed a soft kiss on her lips, barely even a peck. Penny urged herself to smile.

"Goodnight," She slipped her arms around him for a few seconds, savoring the moment for as long as she was able.

"'Night," He smirked and quickly kissed the top of her head. With a solitary wink to her, he squeezed her hands and then began the familiar walk back to his place, leaving Penny to take the longest walk of all back up to her house.


A minute or so of hesitation was all it called for before Penny took the plunge and trudged, with heavy feet, up to her front steps, Seaweed's jacket still wrapped comfortably around her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she jiggled the doorknob, preparing to lean down to pick up the spare key from beneath her doormat. Much to her astonishment, the door was already unlocked, and thus creaked open when prompted to do so.

Slipping inside, she quietly shut the door behind her, breathing in and out once before she ambled towards the den area.

"Mom, I'm…" She looked around, excruciatingly aware of her mother sitting on the couch, reading. "I'm home." It didn't take many words to guess Prudy's state of mind when she snapped her book shut and stared vacantly over at her daughter.

"Mama… are you okay?" Penny asked, honestly worried as she took a couple of steps towards her. The silence was tearing her apart, but she couldn't possibly show it. Even still, all Prudy did was purse her lips, crease her eyebrows, and stare at nothing in particular someplace in the room. It drove Penny up the wall. "Say something." She gently pleaded with her, almost in a whine, her hands rushing to cling to one another in a nervous train wreck of anxiety.

"How could you?" Prudy hissed, her lips hardly opening to let her speak.

"Wha-" Penny was cut off by her mother rising up and moving to stare her straight in the face, her eyes burning holes into the absolute core of her soul. Prudy sharply took hold of her child's arms, her voice rising considerably.

"How could you, Penny?" The younger girl was at a loss of words to say. How could she answer when there was nothing that would appease her mother? She had done nothing wrong, therefore making this fully unnecessary. "Answer me!" Mrs. Pingleton jolted Penny back into the real world with a single, brisk shake.

"What are you talking about?" She inquired frantically, fear rising in the depths of her paling eyes.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, young lady!" Prudy hollered, releasing Penny's arms with a harsh shove.

"I really don-" Finishing that line would've been worthless, but coupled with the unexpected, agonizing sensation of her mother directly and harshly backhanding her, she had the breath and words knocked right out of her, anyway.

"I can't believe you! To think, a daughter of mine would sink so low as to associate with such trash, much less date them. You should be disgusted, absolutely disgusted, Penny Lou Pingleton."

Penny could have choked on the knot that was lodged in her throat. If the throbbing pain in her cheek wasn't enough to make her want to cry, then hearing all of this blabbering nonsense from her mother was plenty of a reason. It hadn't mattered, though, because new, warm tears had suddenly just begun to pour down her flushed cheeks.

"I will not have my daughter participating in such sinful activities. Do you hear me? What you're doing is an abomination! It just isn't right!" Prudy raved on, full speed, her voice frayed and fraught. But, it wasn't long before something in Penny snapped.

"You don't understand!" She choked out, through her sobbing.

"Oh, and what don't I understand about you giving yourself away to some revolting, little Negro boy?" Prudy barked back, which caused Penny to firmly stomp her foot on the ground. Her mother really didn't understand her at all.

"Don't call him that!" She spat, backing away from her. At this moment, she wanted nothing more to do with her mother.

"Well, that's what they are, young lady. Disgusting, filthy Negroes, out to take over our government right from underneath us white folks' noses."

Penny continued to sob, her chest heaving as she fought to breathe and to try and stay calm.

"You're wrong!"

"Am I!"

The redheaded teenager shook her head, her face contorting while the tears persistently fell. She couldn't contain herself, and in a whirlpool of an unstable, emotional rollercoaster, she set her heart on the chopping block.

"I love him, mother!"

The room fell eerily silent. Aside from Penny's weeping, there wasn't a sound to relieve them of the intensity of what had just occurred. Prudy looked horrorstricken from where she stood, her mouth propped open in pure shock and disbelief of what she had just heard from her only child, her little girl. She couldn't believe that this was happening, after all of the perfect plans she had made for her daughter.

Revelation of what she had said had only come to Penny at that particular moment, and she only tightened her balled fists even more. She only had to privately repeat to herself that she had done nothing wrong to feel additionally justified. It took nothing more than that.

"Get out," Her mother virtually growled her demand. She could not be around her daughter right now. Disappointment was a massive understatement for what she was feeling. No words would even come close to accurately describing it.

Frightened and overtaken with grief and frustration, Penny took one last look at her seething mother and rushed out the door without even bothering to slam it shut behind her. That woman didn't have to tell her twice.

How could her mother do this to her after supposedly giving Penny her blessing? It was like ripping the carpet out from under her feet and stabbing her in the back, yet again -- for what, the ten thousandth time? She couldn't believe her. She just really couldn't. This was the lowest of the low out of all the things that Prudy had done since her father had been knocked out of the picture. It just wasn't fair. She had to get away, for however long she could manage.

The light shower of rain that began to coat the moonlit sidewalk was all but refreshing. Though it washed away most of her tears, she knew that she must look a sight with running mascara and a horrible flush to her cheeks, one side more bright than the other from where she had been struck. And yet, she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that she got to where she so desperately wanted to be. Her mind told her to go to the Turnblad residence to be with Tracy, but her heart was elsewhere.

As a result, she made a hasty sprint down the sidewalk, retracing her steps from earlier. There was no one else that she wanted to be with right now, and she only hoped to be understood.


Cowering beneath the warmth of the jacket she thought so fondly of, Penny found herself at a doorstep, soaked to the core from the rain and a few fresh tears, but there nevertheless. Treating it as though it may just snap at her, she lifted her hand timidly towards the door, a couple of meager knocks ending up being all that she could handle. Lucky for her, though, the distant sound of footsteps could be heard within about fifteen seconds.

A disgruntled groan could also be heard, just before the door was opened. Alarm drifted from both sides instantaneously. "Penny?"

Seaweed looked utterly stunned to see her standing there, not only because she was actually there, but mainly because of her current condition. "Penny, it's fifteen after midnight… what happened to y-"

"Oh, Seaweed!" She leapt at him without any inhibitions, instantly twining her arms around his neck. The tears began flowing more rapidly than before as she buried her face into his neck, her cries muffled as she held on to him. He immediately locked her in a sturdy, comforting embrace, his heart twisting at the desperate sight of how shaken she was. In an attempt to calm her, he tenderly rubbed his hands up and down her back.

When sobs became more and more controllable and her breathing was on its way to being normal once again, Seaweed shut the door and lead her over the couch, where he sat her down and leaned her into him.

"Penny, baby… what happened?" He kept his voice at a whisper as he gently stroked her hair, hoping that they hadn't stirred his mother or Inez. This issue only required a stabilized party of two.

"My mother… she… s-she," Penny tried, but breathing came as more of a priority at the present time. Seaweed's expression darkened almost straight away. Somehow he thought he saw this coming. With a general idea of what that pitiful woman put her through, he knew that he didn't need to upset her any more with twenty-one questions about what went on.

"Shhh," He took one of her hands and massaged it in his. "We can talk about it in the morning, sweet girl." Seaweed ran his hand, from the arm that had rested around her shoulders, against the length of her own arm. "You're stayin' here tonight." Penny hiccupped once and nuzzled her head into him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She was so thankful for him right now, even though she always had been.

"Thank you so much, Seaweed," She whispered coarsely. "I'm sorry to be any trou…" He placed his right index finger over her lips.

"Nuh uh, little girl," He said lightheartedly, pulling her up from the couch. "None of that." The teenaged boy brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them softly, just as he began leading her off to his room.

Once they arrived, she smiled up at him awkwardly and looked over towards where she would be sleeping. Besides the fact that she couldn't believe she was in such a… sanctuary, she felt a little off about taking his bed from him. He chuckled and easily scooped her up in his arms, drawing a quiet, startled squeak from her.

Very gently and tenderly, he laid her down, only to have her prop herself up with her arms afterwards. He was not about to have a girl he cared about so much sleeping on some place like the couch or, god forbid, the floor. He would much rather take that for himself.

"There ya' go," He tickled her once beneath her chin while she proceeded to glare playfully up at him.

"But where are you gonna sleep?" She questioned, with a small hint of worry, as her right hand very cautiously rose up to brush softly against her injured, slightly swollen cheek. Seaweed sat down with her.

"The couch, or somethin'," He replied indifferently, one of his hands moving to rest on her knee. Penny began to chew thoughtfully on the inside of her lip. She figured that she may as well just take another leap into the darkness here.

"Would you… stay here, with me?" Sensing that another blush was bound to tiptoe its way onto her cheeks, she skillfully trailed her eyes from her feet back up to his face, which held a relatively masked look of pleasant surprise.

"Well, I mean," He eyed her, intrigued. "If that's what you want, baby." Penny had to keep herself from squealing. It worked? Either she was more convincing than she thought, or she had just picked up on a lucky streak.

"Really?" She piped up, her eyes rounding with delight and relief as she searched his face.

"Of course," Seaweed whispered sincerely while maneuvering around her legs to take his place beside her. The couple laid down together with his arms warmly around her waist, and her nestled up close to him. He always seemed to bring her indescribable amounts of consolation in the strangest of ways, but now she was just glad to have that same, secure feeling from him that she so feverishly adored.

"Goodnight, Seaweed," She mumbled, effortlessly beginning to give in to sleep. He smiled to himself and placed his chin comfortably upon her shoulder.

"Sweet dreams, my angel."


Kelsey Rose: Talk about a fun scene for the morning, huh? ;)