Babe.

By Katie

Pairing: Link//Tracy

Rating: K+

A/N: So, basically, this is my first "Hairspray" fic. It's based on the original movie...only I'm using Zac Efron and Nikki Blonsky as the main characters and not Ricki Lake and whoever that other guy who played Link was. So, yeah.

Disclaimer: If I owned "Hairspray" and Zac Efron, I would be a verrrry happy girl! Sadly, I own neither. But I'm still happy:)

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As a member of The Corny Collins show, Link Larkin had a DUTY to be popular. He had a duty to date the prettiest girl in school, Amber von Tussle. He had a duty to be naturally breathtakingly cute.

Sometimes, though, he tended to accidentally stray away from these "duties". Like...falling in love with Tracy Turnblad.

Who could resist her electric personality? Not to mention she shared his passion for song and dance! Amber had been forced into it. It hadn't really been her passion.

When he watched Tracy dance, his heart did these little flip-flops. Link hadn't ever had flip-flops in his heart. Well, except when he looked in the mirror. He was exceptionally good looking.

When Tracy said his name, Link had this incredible urge to say, "What's up, babe?". She was not his babe. Amber was his babe. Amber was his girl. Amber. Amber. Amber. Tracy. Tracy. Tracy. So what if she was a little bigger? He'd always liked full-figured girls. Amber had always been skinny as a stick. Not that he'd minded.

Her pretty face had been enough for him.

Not anymore. He'd seen what a real girl was like. Behind all of the glamor and make-up and pretty faces, there were some hidden gems.

Babe. No, Tracy. Sorry, her name was Tracy. Not Babe.

All of those other chicks he'd dated didn't compare to Tracy. They'd been snobby and high-maintenance and stuck-up. Tracy was smart and funny and quirky, in a cute way. She had lots of potential.

Link had always liked a bit of a challenge.

"Link! Hello, we're PRACTICING." Amber's voice said, ruining his train of thought. "Oh, right. Yeah, I'm cool. Just zoned out there for a second." Link returned, nodded. "Well zone back in, space cadet. We have work to do!" Amber hissed back, pointing to the countless other dancers.

"Amber, calm down! So Link's having a bit of an off day. Big deal. We've all had one of those. Right?" Tracy said sympathetically, motioning toward the other dancers as they nodded. His heart did that little flip-flop thing again. She was sticking up for him. Wait, shouldn't he be defending himself?

"Thanks, babe." Link stood up a little straighter, putting on his "I'm cool, and we all know it." front again. He could see Tracy blush a little, and Amber's jaw drop. Yeah, he definitely wasn't getting any from her tonight. Of course, plenty of other girls would have loved to help him in that department.

He didn't want them. He wanted Tracy.

"Alright, kids, that's enough. Let's start with The Mashed Potato. We really need to work on that one." Corny Collins sternly stated, eyeing Amber. She huffed and snatched Link's arm.

Don't. Mess. Up.

Those were the words she was mouthing at him. Link stared blanky at her, as if he had no idea what she'd just said. He was sort of hoping she'd break up with him. What with Tracy looking pretty cute in her new hairdo.

To any other person, she might have been responsible for ozone depletion what with all the hairspray it must have taken to keep that hair standing up. Link hadn't really noticed.

"Ugh! What's wrong with you! It's left, left, right, center, left! You're all over the place." Amber exasperated. Oh, God. He'd been daydreaming again. About...

Babe. No, her name was Tracy. Link obviously needed a little help. Like a chat with the school guidance counselor.

"Link, why don't you take a break. You look a little flushed. Tracy, go get the thermometer out of the First Aid kit. If he has a fever, send him home immediately." Corny sighed, motioning to the door. Tracy smiled and nodded, straying away from her partner. Link was about to protest, but decided against it. Maybe spending some time with Tracy would be good.

"Are you okay? I mean, you do look a little sick." he heard a girl's voice. Tracy's voice. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I think I might be catching a cold. My younger sister had one the other week." Link replied, lying through his (perfectly white) teeth. He didn't even HAVE a younger sister.

"Oh, that's too bad. I don't have any siblings. My parents say one hair hopper in the family is enough." Tracy blushed. She blushed alot. Did she like him? 'God, please. Please, please let her like me...Wow. I sound a little desperate.' Link thought, his palms sweating a little.

He laughed a little, and walked into the office of the TV studio. Tracy pulled a First Aid kit out off of one of the shelves, and extracted a thermometer. "Actually, Tracy, it's not necessary. I bet I'm just thinking about you too much." Link flashed a dazzling smile, and then bit his tongue. Tracy looked up. "Oh, don't worry, Link! I don't bite. And I bet you tell all the girls you think about them too much. Now open." she brightly smiled, sticking the thermometer into his mouth.

'Actually, I don't tell all the girls that.' he inaudibly whispered, the thermometer tickling the underside of his tongue. He'd never liked getting his temperature taken. But, then again, who does?

"Alright, open up!" she said, a minute and a half later. Link obediently obliged, and she took the thermometer out of his mouth.

"Hmm. Your temperature is...normal! You're free to go, Mr. Larkin. But I'll be keeping my eye on you." Tracy giggled, motioning towards the door. "Babe, you're a doll." Link smiled, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

She turned a bright shade of pink before they stepped out of the office.

So what if they weren't a couple?

They would be soon, anyway. Link would definitely make sure of it.

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Voila! My Link//Tracy one-shot! Comments? Reviews...please...