AN: I don't know if I've actually done this so FYI I don't own Hairspray or any of the characters. None of them. Crazy I know. Italics= Flashback

It had been two months since Seaweed, Tracey, and Link had seen Penny. Two months since Seaweed had broken Penny's heart and had his broken in return when she left. It was April now, a normal day at school. Seaweed was talking to Tracey and Link before the first bell when he froze.

"What is it Seaweed?" Tracey asked, before she looked over her shoulder. "Oh my....." she whispered, breath caught in her chest.

"It's Penny." Seaweed croaked out, eyes never leaving the figure coming down the hallway.

It was indeed Penny Pingleton. However, she didn't look quite the same as she had two months ago. Her brown hair seemed lighter and longer, but greasy and unclean. Her skin was slightly tanner and her freckles now stood out. Her clothes were rumpled and torn, with many dirty spots on them. She seemed to have lost weight instead of gained it. Her arms and legs looked like sticks and her face was slim and bony. But the biggest change in Penny were her eyes. They seemed hollow and gaunt, all the light and joy gone from them. Seaweed used to be able to read each emotion in Penny's eyes but they now seemed like two dark pools, haunted and desolate.

"What happened to her?" Tracey asked, watching her ex-best friend waddle to her locker and pull textbooks from it.

"Who knows?" Link replied, pulling his girlfriend to him and reassuring her with a light kiss on the forehead. "C'mon guys. We need to get to class." Seaweed followed the couple to their first period, but his mind wasn't on school right now. All he could think about was Penny and the last day that he had saw her.

(FLASHBACK!)

Seaweed trudged home with Lil Inez after another day on the Corny Collins Show. He couldn't get Penny's tear stained and betrayed face out of his mind. He definitely couldn't get her throwing his ring to the floor and storming away out of his mind. Seaweed was beyond worried about his girlfriend, hoping she was alright.

"Don't worry. She's probably at home, waiting for you," Lil Inez said after a while. She didn't know what had happened that day at detention. All she knew was that when she asked Seaweed where Penny was, he'd replied that she'd wanted some time alone for the day.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Penny. Yeah, I hope so." Seaweed replied, hoping his little sister was right.

As soon as they entered their house, Seaweed headed for his room. He stopped dead in the doorway and took in the sight. Things were all over the place. Clothes, shoes, books, and even his lamp was overturned. Seaweed quickly scanned the room and fell on his bed, all the breath gone from him. All of Penny's things were gone.

Seaweed watched Penny sit alone in the corner of the cafeteria. He watched the love of his life pull out a small paper bag. He stared at her, eyes unwavering. Seaweed needed to drink in as much of Penny as he could. That's when he saw what she pulled from the bag. "Trace, what is Penny eating?" Seaweed asked, still watching his ex-girlfriend from the corner of his eye as he turned his attention back to his lunch table.

Tracey and Link turned. Tracey craned her neck to see Penny and gaped at what she saw. "Crackers. It looks like something might be on them. And carrots. That's it. She should be eating so much more, especially with the baby. Seaweed! Wait! Come back!" But nothing else Tracey said mattered. Seaweed had left the table and was now storming over to the secluded table that Penny was sitting at, crunching through her carrots. He slammed his tray down, food spilling all over the table.

"Seaweed, what ae you doing? We aren't together anymore, don't you remember? Leave!" Penny hissed when she'd recovered from the surprise.

"I won't leave you the fuck alone. Look at yourself! What the hell do you think you're doing? Starving yourself? Where've you been for two months? Are you trying to kill yourself and the baby?" Seaweed snarled back, glaring into the thin pregnant girl.

Penny flushed red and glared right back. "It has nothing to do with you!"

"You better believe it fucking does! That's my baby too! And you look like you don't even care about it, not taking care of yourself and the baby the way you SHOULD be!"

"Is that right? Do I not care about this baby? Is that why I went back to my mother, begging for money so I could raise my baby? Or why when she refused, I got not one, not two, but three jobs to work everyday? Or is that why I'm not eating as much so that I can pay for baby stuff that no one else is helping me with? Or is that why I'm going to the clinic instead of the doctor's because I can't afford it? This is the best one, really. Is that why I gave up the last bit of diginity you and my mother left me with and moved into a homeless shelter, which is where I've been living for the past two months? Don't insult me, Seaweed Stubbs! I may not have much these days, but I will not be insulted by somone who doesn't even BEGIN to understand how much I care for and love MY daughter!" Penny snatched up her lunch and stomped off as quickly as a pregnant girl could.

Seaweed sat in shock. "She's living in a homeless shelter and working three jobs. What have I been doing, but dancing and singing ont that show everyday. And I accused her of not loving the baby. I really fucked up. Dammit!" Seaweed slammed his fist into the table and let out a breath. "She's going to hate me even more. Why shouldn she, I hate me right now! But she said daughter. We're having a girl. No, she's having a girl." Seaweed returned to the table he, Link, and Tracey were sitting at, but he was in shock. He went through the motions for the rest of the day, thinking of Penny and their baby girl.

Penny flopped onto her bed at the homeless shelter and screamed into her pillow. She fell silent and after a moment burst into tears. She cried and cried into her pillow, thinking of Seaweed, the baby, and everything. "When did it all go so wrong?" she sobbed, curling onto her side, thinking of the day when it had all gone done hill for her.

"Please, mom. Just one hundred dollars!" Penny pleaded, tears streaming down her face, welts imprinted on her arms and legs. She lay, crumpled, on the front doorstep, her things next to her. This was her last chance. She couldn't fail or else what could she do?

"I have no daughter! No get out of my house, you nigger-loving whore!" Penny stayed where she was on her mother's door step, beaten and bruised, tear tracks left on her pale face.

"What can I do now? I can't go to the Turnblad's or back to Seaweed's. I guess I'm on my own." she hiccuped, standing and grabbing her things. She trudged to the bus stop and clambered on, ignoring the stares she received for the state she was in. Penny watched the scenery change outside the window, praying something would pop up and help her. Then she saw it, a large gray building with block letters spelling out 'Hopeful for the Homeless'.

That's me, she though bitterly to herself, as she stood in front of the shelter, clutching her belongings to her tightly. And letting go of the last bit of pride she had, Penny entered the building, hoping to find shelter there.

She had found shelter in the Hopeful for the Homeless building. Penny'd made friends and many people helped her out with money as much as they could. She received extra servings at meals and sometimes people gave her food for free. But while Penny was grateful to the shelter, she missed the love she once had and wished that everthing that'd happened to her was just a dream. Except you, baby. I love you, she thought before shifting on the cot and falling into a restless sleep.