Link carefully gathered up his things from beneath his desk with an air of unhurried grace. He ignored Amber's indignant huffing beside him and purposely refused to look in her direction, no longer wanting to deal with her cold, harsh looks or her silent reprimands. Sauntering up to the front of class with a hipster grin, he accepted the slip of paper relegating him to detention from Mr. Flak. The history teacher's face was severely pinched in disapproval; arms still crossed over his chest as a shielding gesture.

When he stepped out into the hallway, Tracy was waiting and for the second time in his life, he felt as though he had just claimed a victory over some egregious foe. She was still smiling happily and he realized it did really insane things to his insides; there was just no point in denying it anymore, she turned him upside down.

All day he had been in turmoil, his stomach in knots, unsure what to do or what steps he needed to take. He found himself thinking about Tracy so many times; in fact… he couldn't stop thinking about her. He was so drawn to her and the thought both thrilled him and made him incredibly nervous. These were things he had never felt before in his life and he didn't understand them. One minute he was over come with the feeling that he was going to mess up his whole life, throw away everything he had been working for with the slightest misstep; and the next he panicked that he was missing the most important part of life somewhere along the way.

He didn't know where it was all coming from, but he new it started with and centered on this girl somehow, and he thought if he could just be with her… maybe he could figure everything else out as well.

He knew what had just happened back in the classroom was going to mean hell to pay with Amber later. She wasn't going to be happy about him standing up for her nemesis in front of a classroom full of fans and council mates, but he hadn't forgotten what had happened between them the night before. Something about that encounter, coupled with the crazy things going on inside his head as of late, had irrevocably changed everything he had thought he felt for her. The worst part of it was, he was starting to think he had been feeling that way for sometime now; he had just been ignoring it.

The situation with Amber was anything but simple, and he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach just thinking about it; so he pushed it far away, to the back of his mind. He'd deal with that later, right now… Right now there was Tracy.

His locker was just across the hall from the classroom, so he walked over to it and stuffed his things inside, taking time to collect those disarrayed thoughts before turning back to the girl he couldn't get out of his mind. "So, detention?" He pointed down the hallway and gave her a questioning look. He'd been by the room on several occasions, but he hadn't really paid attention to where he was at the time.

Tracy pointed in the opposite direction and he nodded as he fell into step beside her. He watched her as they walked, took in the ease with which she moved in her round body, the way her hips swayed gracefully as she moved in a sashay that didn't look the least bit forced. Her small hands gripped the books she held close and he watched as she pulled her lower lip into her mouth, biting down on the tempting flesh with strong white teeth.

"I guess you don't even remember barging in on me in detention that day, do you?" Tracy said, breaking the long stretch of silence. She sounded a little uncertain about where she stood in the situation and he tried uselessly to think of something to say that would calm her; but her lips were distracting him…

He forced himself to look away from her mouth and found himself looking down at her feet. She was probably taking five steps to every one of his and he purposely slowed his gate; he wasn't in any rush. "I can't imagine what you must've thought…" she was saying, glancing up at him and he brought his gaze back to her face.

Absentmindedly, he folded the pink slip in half lengthwise and pinched it between his fingers as they made their way down the hall. Did he remember seeing her in detention? His mind went back to that moment for probably the hundredth time since it had happened and for the first time he let him self dwell on his earliest – quickly quashed – thought upon seeing her rotate her hips and smack herself on the behind. He thought about the way his heart beat had quickened and how his mouth had suddenly gone dry and that little voice inside of him had whispered…

Holy moley…

"Um… of course I remember," he said, tugging on the collar of the shirt beneath his sweater. "You're a great dancer, Trace. I remember thinking that you deserved a real shot at being on the show."

"Thank you," she said and he watched as a slight blush stained her pretty cheeks. "That means a lot coming from you. It did then too… though you scared the bejesus out of me when I first saw you there."

Link chuckled. "I'm sorry about startling you, but I meant it… mean it," he said. "I'm… real happy about how it all worked out." He smirked at her in his best heartthrob manner. "Even getting sent to detention."

Tracy laughed. "Me too," she returned, beaming up at him for a moment before slowing a little more and looking down at the worn linoleum flooring. "I just feel so sorry for Mr. Flak… I would never do something like that," she said after a moment. "I know how it feels."

Link felt a small rush of anger at that. He knew that despite her extreme popularity as a council member, she was still teased regularly by some people. But he knew it had been especially harsh today. Amber had been on a rampage since the moment she'd arrived at school; her own personal anti-Tracy campaign. He now wished that he hadn't waited so long to intervene… not that Amber would have listened to him anyway…

"You feel sorry for him even though he wouldn't hear your side of the story?" He asked, wanting to keep the attention away from all the things he should've done.

"Sure," Tracy said looking up at him earnestly. "He was just trying to… well, keep his cool… you know, just… teacher style."

Link laughed out loud at that. "I guess I can see that, sure. So then… do you ever get mad at anybody?"

"Sure I do!" Tracy said. "I get mad all the time."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Okay, well maybe not all the time…" she admitted and he laughed again.

"Bet you only get mad when folks are mean to other people, but not when it's directed at you," he said looking at her carefully.

"I stand up for myself," she said firmly.

They were walking very slowly now, dawdling down the hallway, and he hoped that she was trying to make the moment last as much as he was. He felt fairly confident that she liked him alright… he just wasn't sure how much; but he just knew she didn't loath him. Not with the way she smiled at him.

"Good," he said, feeling oddly unsure of what to say. That was another thing about her that was different and a little… terrifying - she was the only girl he could ever remember leaving him speechless. "That's good." He found himself looking at her mouth again and forced himself to look down the hall instead.

"This is fun," she said brightly after they had taken few steps.

He raised his eyebrows and then smiled, glad for the new topic to focus on. "Walking down the hall or getting sent to detention?"

"Not getting sent… well, wait till you get there," she grinned, bumping him with her hip. The feel of her softness against his thigh made him inexplicably giddy and he chuckled softly along with her light laughter. "But no," she continued and then said something that was even better than the hip bump. "I mean this, walking and talking with you. We dance on the show together and all, and the group hangs out, but talking just between you and me doesn't happen very much."

"No," he replied, "not nearly enough."

They neared a door with magazines draped over the narrow window, blocking the view to the inside, and Tracy stopped and turned to him.

"Well, here it is..."

"Mm, detention… anything I should know before we go in?" He reached a hand out, ready to open the door for her.

"You've never been in detention before?" she looked at him, concerned her brown gently furrowed with concern.

"Nope Doll, this is my first time. So be gentle," he said, and then he winked at her. Her frown dissipated and she smiled brightly at him as he turned the knob, pushing the door open for her and engulfing both of them in the excited energy of the room beyond.

Detention was full of black kids, all dancing and laughing together, and immediately he felt completely out of place. He glanced at Tracy as she walked in with easy confidence and followed after her as he worked to keep his uncharacteristic nerves at bay.

He was Link Larkin after all, no matter what room he found himself in. He could handle it…