Characters/Pairing: Link Larkin/Tracy Turnblad + Penny Pingleton

Word Count: 912

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Penny hummed softly as she brushed her hair, making sure to keep it smooth and tangle-free. She glanced at the picture of Seaweed which she normally kept hidden under her pillow and smiled. She never thought she could be as happy as she was when they were together. He made her feel like she was the earth, moon, and stars combined.

She loved him; and loved the feeling of being in love with him.

Standing up to put her brush on her vanity, she jumped in surprise when she heard a tapping sound come from her window. Hoping for a moment it was Seaweed, her anticipation quickly turned to concern when she saw Tracy on the other side of the glass.

"Tracy," she whispered as she opened the window, noting the distraught look on her friend's face. "What's wrong?" Tracy climbed in, careful to tuck her dress in as she did so, and waited for Penny to close the window before turning to face her completely.

"Hi Penny, I'm sorry to bother you…" She looked to the ground and Penny examined her friend closely. She wore a light pink dress that flowed freely down her body, and her hair had been done up with little butterflies sprinkled throughout. She had a little bit of gloss to accent her lips; and if it weren't for the tear steaks down her cheeks, she would have looked simply gorgeous. Penny gasped.

"Didn't you have a date with Link today?" Tracy attempted to smile, but it quickly fell as she gave away to a soft sob.

"Oh, Penny! I don't know what to do! The date was going fine; it was really romantic, and Link was very sweet… But then something happened… and we kind of had a fight…" Penny offered the other girl some tissues and ran a soothing had down her back.

"A fight?" She frowned thoughtfully before adding, "about what?"

"Well," Tracy sniffed, blowing her nose with another tissue, "we were eating dinner at a really nice restaurant; and like I said – all was going well. Then some jerk started to make fun of me… you know, the normal 'fat, pig, and look at her eat'…" She blotted her eyes once more, taking a deep breath to calm her breathing. Penny waited patiently for her to continue, nodding to let her know she understood. "I told him not to worry about it, but Link got angry. I know he doesn't want anyone to talk bad about me – but I'm used to it!"

Penny nodded, hand moving from Tracy's back to hold her hand and give it a comforting squeeze. Tracy gave her a small smile before she continued.

"So, Link snapped at the other guy – and I guess the other guy was really drunk or something because he started to cause a bigger scene than he already had. I told Link to just forget it, but he refused to listen! The other guy was ready to punch him, and Link was just being so stubborn!" She bit her lip, frowning as she did so. "Finally, I just got so frustrated that I told him 'since you'd rather spend your time listening to him, I'm leaving' – and I left. Penny," she faced the taller girl completely, "I just left him there! I know he called out to me, but I was so angry that I just kept walking and didn't stop."

"Oh Tracy," Penny whispered, giving her hand another reassuring squeeze, "he was just trying to protect you…"

"Yes, I know – but why wouldn't he listen to me? I don't need him to protect me from that!" She huffed, tears finally calmed as she looked to the floor. "I love that he wanted to and that it was important to him – but I didn't need that. I didn't want that. I… I just wanted him to focus on me, and not what that stupid idiot was saying." Penny sighed, unsure of how she should comfort her friend. Glancing out her window, she felt a small smile break out over her face.

"I think there's a lost puppy outside my window," she nudged Tracy, making her friend look up. Tracy looked out the window and saw Link standing there, guilt written clearly on his face. He was biting his lip, but making no further effort to come in. Tracy frowned and quickly turned away from him, furiously rubbing at her tear-streaked cheeks.

"I don't want to talk to him," she whispered stubbornly, refusing to turn back to face him. Penny saw his expression crumble at her refusal, and her heart went out to him.

"Why don't you just talk to him, Trace? He looks awfully sorry out there…" She stood from her bed and walked to the door, "I'm going to go get us a few glasses of lemonade; so give him a chance while I'm gone, okay?" She opened the door and walked out, shutting it firmly behind her. Inside, Tracy fiddled with the hem of her dress as she chanced a peak behind her. Link still stood outside, watching her with solemn eyes. She turned back around and started stubbornly at the floor, not wanting to give in to him just yet. Before the end of the night, she already knew she'd forgive him; but while Penny was stalling with lemonade, and he was using his best puppy-dog expression, she was determined to make him wait a bit longer – if only on principle.

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A/N: …to be continued. Unbeta'd.