A/N: I know what you’re thinking. “WHY THE HECK DID SHE DO THAT?!” Well, quite honestly, this is the most suspenseful fic I’ve EVER done, and this is sort of an experiment. Consider yourselves guinea pigs! And no, that’s not an insult. I would love to be a guinea pig. I could use the bathroom where ever I wanted to and no one would get mad because I would be an adorable ball of fluff.

Thanks a million to Just Another Hairspray Lover, H6p8gv, JupiterSpoon, tadsgirl, writergirl2003, Deathrace4000, Obviously Insane, Nor of Kiamo Ko, XAddisonShepherdX, HighSchoolMusicalAddict1, Tanookie, LindsayK, and ILuvZacEfron for reviewing this thing, like, ever! You make my day, guys! Seriously!

Now, for chapter eight, which is also the ending! Which comes after the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Hairspray related and all that jazz.

Sergeant Petersen had seen lots of cases in his life, but this one took the cake.

The pretty little blonde had burst into the police station, screaming bloody murder. The two kids at her side were bawling. He had gotten them Styrofoam cups of water and told them to calm down. The girl, Amber something, was going on about some phone stalker. When he heard the full story, he sent a squad-car over to the Wilcox residence. They hadn’t reported back yet.

The teenager was now perched nervously in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the police station, gripping her knees. The kids were settled as close as possible beside her, sniffling. Sergeant Petersen had a few other matters to attend to, such as the drunk who kept bursting into song in one of the cells. His companions were none too happy with him.

When the drunk had fallen flat on his face, asleep, Sergeant Petersen approached the girl carefully. “Miss?”

She looked up skittishly. “Yes?”

He offered a reassuring smile that came easily from years of experience. “I’m sure everything’s just fine. You say Mr. Collins was armed?”

“With a pocketknife,” she replied shakily.

He nodded. “Well, that’s still pretty good. Our men are over there right now. Chances are that Mr. Collins is just fine and the man who was harassing you is being handcuffed. We’ll probably hear from them in a matter of minutes.”

“Okay,” she said hoarsely.

Amber watched as Sergeant Petersen walked away unconcernedly. He had no idea. No idea at all. Corny had given his life so that she and the kids could escape. He shouldn’t have done it; he could’ve gone with them. They could’ve gotten away. Amber could visualize it: As they ran to the house, the creep would crawl through the window, just as they entered the house. They would get in the car and Corny would shoot at him when he got too close. Then Corny wouldn’t have had to die.

She was sure he was dead; he had only had a pocketknife. Link had had one of those stupid things, for God’s sake. Little boys who rode their bikes with training wheels had pocketknives. The creep had stabbed Missy, enough to bring a fair amount of blood. Corny didn’t stand a chance.

Amber sipped from her cup again, nervous. She drained the cup and unconsciously began tearing off pieces of Styrofoam.

“Miss!” Sergeant Petersen called excitedly a moment later. “Come here, please!”

Amber jumped to her feet and scurried over, the kids right on her heels.

“The two men I sent over just radioed back! They caught the man who was harassing you! He’s unconscious and in the back of the squad-car, handcuffed!” Sergeant Petersen declared happily.

Amber nearly cried in relief. The kids cheered. Amber cleared her throat, though, remembering Corny. “And, and Corny? Is he okay? Or is he…?”

“He’s fine,” Sergeant Petersen assured her, smiling. “He’s a little cut up, and he’ll have some bruises for awhile, but he is just fine.”

Amber really did cry in relief. Sergeant Petersen kindly gave her a tissue and explained that they were sending an ambulance and several other squad-cars over. If she and the kids would like, the police force would be very appreciative if they would go with them to the house. Amber agreed; she would do anything to see Corny now.

Andy and Maggie seemed to forget all about the madman that had recently tried to kill them. They chatted nonstop to Sergeant Petersen and Officer Malone, asking what it was like to be a police officer and why was there a metal thingy they could poke their fingers through and did they ever catch some bad guys.

“Amber,” Maggie whined after Officer Malone had answered all their questions.

“What?”

“There’s no room back here.”

Amber sighed. “Well, criminals don’t need room, Maggie.”

The little girl’s eyes widened with this new knowledge. She fell silent and settled down on Amber’s right. Andy, who was on Amber’s left, asked if Officer Malone had a gun. When the officer politely displayed his handgun, the little boy gasped in amazement and also fell into enthralled silence. In less than a minute, they had pulled onto the street. Amber straightened up; they were almost there.

“I guess this is the place,” Sergeant Petersen pointed out unnecessarily.

Several squad-cars were pulled into the driveway and along the street. An ambulance was in the middle of the street, looking almost helpless. Amber had a feeling that all the lights in the house were turned on. That was probably what had awoken the neighbors, some of which were standing on their front porches in robes and curlers. Most of the houses were still and dark; these were probably the families that were on vacation. Every other house, however, was lit and had its occupants standing outside.

Sergeant Petersen opened the door for them (“Why can’t we get out by ourselves, mister?”). As he helped Amber out (the small space made it difficult to get in and out) he nodded to the house. “Mr. Collins is in there. You wanna talk to him before we take him to the hospital?”

“Why do you need to take him to the hospital?” Amber asked sharply.

“He’s not badly hurt,” Sergeant Petersen assured her placidly. “But we’d still like to take a look at him. You have nothing to worry about, miss.”

Amber didn’t make another sound, running to the house. Corny was just coming outside, looking like Sketch after he had gotten in another fight. He looked up, giving a small smile when he saw a rattled Amber. He caught her easily, holding her for only a brief moment. Amber drew back before suspicions could be aroused; she knew just as well as he did that they simply were not allowed.

“I thought you were going to die!” she exclaimed, bursting into tears for the millionth time that night.

He smiled again. “I thought I was too. Lucky I had been in the basement longer than he had.”

“Is he…?” Amber trailed off uneasily.

“I thought he was,” Corny said seriously. “Almost wish he was. I managed to throw him against a tool shelf after awhile, and that knocked him out. Cracked his skull, I think they said. Anyway, he’s still alive, but I managed to get him good.”

Amber sighed. She was about to reply when Sergeant Petersen approached. “Excuse me, but we’d really like to press on, if that’s all right with you.”

“Of course,” Corny said diplomatically. He headed to the ambulance.

“Would you like to go to the hospital as well, Miss?” Sergeant Petersen asked kindly. “Visiting hours are long over, but I’m sure I can make an exception.”

“Thank you, sir; yes, I’d like that very much,” Amber said gratefully.

She was just sliding into the squad-car when a car honked and pulled up. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox emerged a moment later, looking bewildered. Amber, with some support from Sergeant Petersen and a commentary by Maggie and Andy, explained the whole situation. The news crews began surrounding the house, and they also asked for the story. Amber’s voice was growing hoarse, and Sergeant Petersen finally told everyone quite firmly that she was tired and to back off.

Amber was exhausted during the drive to the hospital, but she awoke as she entered the waiting area. She was permitted to go see Corny, but she was a large exception. A harried-looking nurse shortly directed her to his room before dashing off. Amber found the room and opened the door cautiously.

Corny was lying in a hospital bed with a standard hospital gown. He had a number of bandages on him, but he cracked a grin as she poked her head in.

“I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“The Wilcox’s came back just as you left, and then nearly every TV station wanted an interview,” Amber explained as she slipped through the door, closing it quietly behind her. She sat on the chair beside Corny’s bed and took his hand. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

He grinned again. “Your faith in me is overwhelming.”

Amber hesitated; she had no clue what to say now. Luckily, Corny spoke first. “About what happened just before—“

A knock on the door interrupted Corny. Amber slipped her hand out of his as a nurse entered. “Miss von Tussle? We have your mother on the phone, and she insists on speaking to you.”

“Okay,” Amber sighed.

“I’ll give you another minute,” the nurse said kindly, stepping out.

Amber turned to Corny, nervous. Was he going to tell her she shouldn’t have done it? It would be the most mortifying moment of her life.

“I’ll call you when I get out,” Corny finally said. Amber searched his eyes and held back a sigh of relief; there was no regret or unease in his eyes at all. He genuinely smiled at her as she gave him a weak smile of her own and left.

As the nurse led Amber to the front desk, she tuned out the nurse’s chattering and thought about what had happened that night. Everything had changed for her. Now she had finally baby-sat kids she would have a lasting bond with, encountered her first phone stalker/creep/murderer, survived said murderer, and kissed Corny Collins. No longer was she Velma von Tussle’s snobby daughter, three-time Miss Teenage Hairspray winner; she was Amber von Tussle, a teenage girl. Tonight, though horrific, had been a much-needed catharsis; and Amber intended on making the most of it.

-Fin-

A/N: Okay, I know; sappy ending. But I can’t end a fic in a non-sappy way. Besides, I’m sure it was refreshing after all the crying and screaming and phone calls.

Well…this is kind of sad. Ending this, I mean. It’s been terribly fun for me to write, and I am sorry to end it.

I want to take this time to thank all of my readers/reviewers. Your reviews have encouraged me to keep going and have meant so much to me. Thank you, each and every one of you, for reading this, and I hope this isn’t the last we hear from one another!

All my love,

LazyChestnut