A.N. Thanks to anyone that has read or reviewed so far. It's still jumping between different points in Link's life, but I don't think there will be many sad or angsty bits to come. This chapter is especially for hairsprayheart. If you haven't already, you simply MUST read her stories!

Link Larkin was the most popular guy in school. In the streets of Baltimore in 1962, this was more commonly believed in than the moon landing. Link knew that he was popular, but few people realised that he had no friends. Sure, he had hundred of girls swooning as he walked down corridors, and yes, he did get all the invitations to beer-blasts and house parties, but he had no guys his own age he could talk to when his dad was giving him grief, or when he was having problems with Amber. All the guys on the show would tell reporters and fans that they were "best buds", but they only knew him for his slicked back hair and trademark wink. He did have Corny, who was willing to see him through thick and thin, but he yearned for someone who wasn't 20 years older, someone who didn't always try to help when he really just wanted to complain and certainly someone who didn't nickname him "Little Link".

They were in the locker rooms after double Phys. Ed.

"Larkin!" Link turned around and saw Brad and IQ talking with a couple of kids he didn't recognize. "So, is it true?!"

Link looked at their faces trying to understand what they were talking about.

"Is what true?"

"You and Amber!" IQ grinned madly "in the back of you dad's Chevrolet (A.N. ??!!)"

"What?!" Link was aghast. There had been rumours going around like this before, but they never ceased to surprise him. "Who told you that?!"

"Well, apparently Amber told Lou-Anne, who told Shelley, who told Tammy, who told Paulie, who told us that on the way back from the Hop last week you guys stopped in the Lot and.."

"WHAT?! No, it's not true!" Although it made her appear cheap, it wasn't out of character for Amber to brag about fictional exploits with Link.

"Well, maybe the other rumour's true..." Brad made the rest of the locker room laugh.

"What other rumour?" All the boys looked around awkwardly. "C'mon, tell me what the other rumour is!" No one had heard Link be anything less than polite, so this outburst of aggression caused one kid to come forward.

"Well…you know how after rehearsals, you always go into Corny's dressing room…" Link nodded, his cheeks tinged with red. "Well, some people are saying that you two are…"

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That was the first time Link Larkin ever got in a fight.

Thankfully the principal decided exclusion was not necessary but banned both Link and IQ from the show for one day While IQ, declared that it didn't bother him, but Link was upset, especially when he realised that this would result in Corny's disappointment. So, as soon as school cut off, he walked down to WYZT studios, and let himself into Corny's dressing room, sneaking in round the back in order to avoid the growing crowds of female fans.

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Corny walked into the studio, ready to start filming. He looked around to spot Link, but couldn't see him.

"Brad!"

"I know, I know," Brad sighed, pulling tube socks out of his pants.

"Not that…" Corny gave him a funny look, "Have you seen Link?"

"Didn't you hear?" Brad tried to hide his embarrassment by scoffing, "IQ and some of the other guys were having a laugh, and he just launched on them, seriously! Some guys just can't take a joke…"

Corny furrowed his brow. He knew that it just wasn't like Link to lose his temper like that, but he also knew that he wouldn't get all the facts from Brad. Sure he was a good dancer, but from what Corny could tell, the kid was a jerk.

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Corny was still thinking about Link when he returned to his dressing room. He was surprised to find the teen sitting there, waiting for him.

"Link? What the hell happened today?! I mean what were you thi…" Corny trailed off when he realised that the dancer was struggling to hold back tears. "What's wrong?"

Link could hear the genuine concern in Corny's voice. He could understand why. He never got into fights! Occasionally there would scrap between the guys at the hop – usually over some doll – but Link never got involved. He had too much to lose. His place on the show meant so much more to everyone else; Corny meant more to him than everyone else. To the other guys, the show was a great place to meet girls that set them above the rest of the school, and Corny was just a good dancer and a "smooth cat" that got the hottest chicks. But to Link they were so much more. The show was his pathway out of here, away from his nightmare of a father and his harlot of a girlfriend. Corny was everything Link aspired to be; a great performer, extremely intelligent and pure of heart. However, more than anything, Link admired Corny because no matter what the situation was, Corny always knew the right thing to do.

"It was just…I'm just so…so lonely!"

"What?" Although Corny knew that Link had many things to worry about, he had never expected loneliness to be one of them. On the odd occasion Link was offstage at a hop, he was always surrounded by guys chatting about something or other, and Amber seemed to keep him on a leash. The only time Corny ever saw Link on his own was on the afternoons in his dressing room. "What about IQ…and Paulie...and Brad?"

"Them?!" Link shouted incredulously, "They disgust me!!! For Christ sake, in the interviews with the Boy's Club, they talked about how well they all got on with my mom! Up until last week, Paulie thought my favourite singer was Connie Francis! And all of them actually believe that Amber and I are the perfect couple"

"Right, Right," Corny struggled to keep up," But how did all of this lead to you fighting them?"

"They were saying that Amber and I had….on the way back from the hop last night," Link blushed furiously.

"Well….sorry Link, but is it true?"

"NO…no. But when I told them that, they just said…other things"

"What other things? Link, you're really scaring me!"

"They said that they'd noticed that I spent a lot of time in your dressing room, and that everyone thought that there was something going on," Link blurted it all out in one go, as if he wanted to get it over with, "And, Well, it just kills me that you are the only person I can talk to about my mom, or my dad and his liquor. Or even about the real deal with me and Amber, for god's sake. Hell, you're the only person that even knows about any of that! I just...I mean, I know that it's not their fault that I can't talk to them...well, maybe it is…but it's just they go and make this sordid. The only thing I can always depend on…"

"Whoa, Link! They said what?!" Link had not seen Corny this mad in a long time. "Those little brats! Oh if I get my hands on them….Who was it? Who started it?"

"I-I-I don't know…" Link flinched at Corny's yelling. He became nervous when anyone raised their voice, after everything that happened with his dad. Corny knew this, and usually avoided getting angry when Link was around.

"I'm sorry, Little Link, I just can't believe the nerve of these kids. I mean, have they forgotten I'm their employer?!"

"Well, they didn't even seem to be joking. They actually believed it. I just lost it…"

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For the next few weeks, the other guys wouldn't look at Link, so much as start anything with him Unfortunately, Amber was the only one acting as she usually did; hands all over him, telling him off for making her look bad, when she was really doing that herself. When the cameras were rolling, things still looked like normal; but the 'friendly' arm punches were harder, in group dances his feet were trodden on and worst of all, his cans of hairspray mysteriously began to vanish. This changed after the pageant, after he met Seaweed. The first time they met, Link knew that Seaweed wouldn't judge him for being white or being on the council with the other jerks. Although he would never admit it, he valued Seaweed's friendship almost as much as he valued Tracy's love. With Seaweed, he could talk about anything. He told him about everything - from Amber to his dad – before he told Tracy.

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A few weeks after the pageant, Maybelle held a platter party to announce her and Corny's relationship. Link was the only one of the original council members invited, but as far as he was concerned, it was a good thing. When Corny and Maybelle eventually told, no one was surprised that Seaweed and Inez were the first ones to congratulate their mother, but not everybody was expecting Link to be the first to hug Corny. For a second there was an awkward silence –although Seaweed and his friends ran in different crowds to IQ and Brad, the gossip was the same all over the school – but Tracy and Edna began to offer their own congratulations, and the other guests soon followed. Link was sitting, thinking about how long Corny had waited for this.

"Hey, Cracker-boy!"

"Seaweed! Crazy 'bout your mom, huh?"

"Hey, you didn't hear it from me, but she's been waiting for this for a looong time,"

"Well, so's he…" Seaweed was surprised to hear this.

"So, Cracker…do you guys…talk about stuff often"

"Yeah...pretty much every day…" Link didn't usually talk about stuff with Corny, but he knew Seaweed could be trusted.

"Your old man?"

"He's not….I mean we're not exactly…"

"Man, I know that feeling! What about your mama?!"

"There was an accident a few years ago…when I'd just started the show. My dad…well he started to drink and Corny…well I could talk to him about anything…still can," Seaweed saw the pain in Link's eyes and put an arm around him. Sure, his dad wasn't around, but Maybelle, Inez and him had always been such a close family, and he couldn't imagine not having that. Seaweed may have been different from him, but Link knew that

He had more in common with him than he had ever had with Brad, IQ, Paulie or Mickey.

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Yes, ever since the pageant, Link had gained a father-figure, a fiancé and a best friend. But he couldn't help to want to un-do the damage. When he looked at the similarities between Seaweed and Maybelle, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd have that with his mother, or if he would be as close to Corny if things had turned out differently with his pop. It was too late to try out the first, but he could try and reconcile with his father. He knew that they wouldn't be as close as him and Corny, but they could at least make peace, before his wedding.

A.N. It was a bit longer and DEFINATLEY and case of quantity doesn't mean quality. I think that I got my point across. Please Read and Review, as many times as you can :P. Next chapter will be short, but with no flashbacks, But by Chapter 7 there will be some reflections on Corny(!!!!!!!!)'s part. Toodles.xx