Author: - The Transgenic Cause

Start date: - 19th October 2008

Disclaimer: - I do not own Hairspray or any of the characters. It is merely a dream of mine!

AN: - Ok, so I just got this DVD and I really just can't stop watching it, and this idea came to mind. This is the first movie I've ever even thought of writing a fanfiction for, so I hope you guys like it! And thanks to Dani (Superdani) my wonderful beta.

NEW GIRL IN TOWN

Chapter One

That day towards the end of October 1962 started like any other day on the Corny Collins Show.

Being the end of October, the beginning of winter, the weather was, of course, horrible. Rain was pounding down so hard outside that anyone attempting to make conversation had to shout over the sound of the rain droplets drumming heavily against the roof of the TV station. The girls, those who prized their clothes, appearances and perfect hair above all else, ran inside the building pretty much shrieking, cursing the weather and whoever dared to ‘mess up their do’. The boys found it all highly amusing, strolling in calmly and shaking their dripping clothes and hair everywhere like a bunch of mangy dogs, causing the already shrieking girls to only grow louder.

Link Larkin, one of the shows longest running and most loved lead dancers, sat on the benches and watched all this with a smile edging its way across his lips. Like most of the boys, he found this whole ordeal greatly comical. He had had the great fortune of arriving at the studio early when the rain had been merely a drizzle and not the monsoon it was now. So now, dry and warm inside the studio, he watched and waited while the rest of his fellow dancers filed in at a slow but steady pace, his eyes fixed on one in particular.

Tracy Turnblad, one of the newest but still highly regarded council members, was stood a little bit away from him, chatting happily and smiling with a small group of the others girls. Since meeting Tracy, Link’s life had completely changed, definitely for the better. He was no longer so extremely self obsessed, only caring about looks and just what he could get out of life. After finally realising just how much he loved Tracy, Link had done a total 180, turned his life around.

Though beautiful to him above anyone else, Tracy was not the typical girl you had once saw dominating the spotlight of this show. Her pleasantly curved, fuller figure had won over both his heart and those of the public, but not everyone on this show had at first seen Tracy for the remarkable person she was. They had simple had trouble looking past her weight. With problems such as that, Tracy had been given the opportunity to really shine and show off her full potential as a dancer. And, being the great dancer she was, that opportunity had led to bigger and better ones outside of the Corny Collins Show. That, unfortunately for Link, was where the problems had begun.

Link didn’t begrudge Tracy any of the wonderful things that happened to her. She was a great person, a wonderful dancer, and she deserved all the good things life could bring her. But all those good things had taken her further away from Link. Now all the different networks and shows outside of the Corny Collins Show wanted Tracy, she had begun to change. She had let this fame get to her head as it were. She had become more distant with him, choosing to hang with others on the show instead of him, her boyfriend, and whenever she was out of town her never received any phone calls or anything from her.

It wasn’t just the fact that she didn’t want to talk to him much anymore he had noticed changing about her. That just alone he could handle. But it was when she did talk to him that he had really noticed the changes. He hated to say this, especially about his Tracy, but she was beginning to turn a little like Amber. She was becoming more obsessed with her career, where dancing could take her, and she was never around for Link, just the way Amber had never been there for him when they were dating. And now, more than ever, Link really did need someone, that special someone, to talk to and confide in.

Link remained sat on his bench, alone, watching the rest of the cast and crew, including Corny Collins himself, mill around the empty stage, chatting on groups or practicing today’s dance moves, when something caught his eye at the edge of his vision on his left. A figure, he could tell it was female by the body shape and choice of outfit, strolled calmly and confidently into the studio, a rain coat with its hood pulled up hiding her appearance. He watched her, pretty much transfixed, as she walked in, the movement of her head beneath the hood saying she was searching for something, or someone. Being the gentleman he always tried to be, Link was about to go offer his assistant when she clearly found what she was looking for, her eyes falling on Corny a second before she walked over to him. From the side of the conversation Link could clearly see (Corny’s as the girl still had her hood up) they obviously knew each other, and well. Finally, now in the dry confines of the TV studio, the girl lowered the hood of her rain coat, and Link was even more transfixed then he had been moments before.

This mystery girl was absolutely gorgeous, no doubt about that. Even Link, a guy who had a girlfriend he was in love with, could see that. And, when he made a quick glance of the room, he could see that pretty much every guy thought the same. The minute she had pulled down her hood she had half the room’s full and undivided attention. And like every guy in the room, Link couldn’t help take in everything about this girl thoroughly.

When she had pulled her hood back, her raven black just below shoulder length hair had fallen round her shoulders, her fingers raking through the seemingly silky strands as she pulled it from her head. The deep black of her hair was such a contrast to her snow white skin that it looked all the more beautiful, the two contracting colours making the others stand out incredible. Now she had pulled down her hood, her coat was open slightly, and Link could see the pale blue dress that fell just below her knees and hugged her figure perfectly. He could only see the side of her face, but he could see she was smiling, and that smile went right to her sparkling eyes, though he couldn’t see what colour they were.

His eyes pulling away from the girl for a moment, Link noticed that most of the guys stood around were beginning to edge closer to her, but not in a subtle way. They were almost circling her, trying to hear what was her and Corny were saying. It was then, however, that the conversation stopped and Corny’s eyes searched the room, falling on Link at the benches and beckoning him over. Standing and walking over to them, the guys eyes now watched him, wondering why he was the one being called over. Getting closer to Corny and the girl, Link was able to pick up what some of the guys were saying.

“Yeah, but he already has a girlfriend,” Link heard one of the guys say, trying to keep his voice down, even though Corny still heard him.

“That is exactly why it’s him I’m asking,” Corny told them. “So the rest of you, move and go practise.” With a few grumbled comments, the guys dispersed, leaving Corny to finally turned his attention to Link.

“Link, hey. I want you to meet my niece, Linda,” Corny introduced, the girl beside him now turning towards Link so he finally had a proper view of her.

Linda, Corny Collin’s niece, really was gorgeous. She smiled that smile he had just seen up at him, her eyes lighting up again. Her eyes, he could now see, were an amazing emerald green, sparkling beautifully. Her hair fell neatly round her face, curling slightly at the bottom, and framed her face spectacularly.

“Hi, there,” Linda said to him, a slight twang to her voice that told Link she was definitely not from around her originally.

“She’ll be staying with me for a while,” Corny told Link. “Going to your Baltimore High School, and I was hoping you could stick wither, show her around.”

“Sure thing, Corny,” Link answered immediately.

"Thanks, Link. You've got 15 minutes until the next rehearsal," Corny said, moving back over to the rest of the dancers and leaving Link and Linda to get better acquainted. His gaze turning back to Linda, Link's eyes held an amount of confusion.

"Look, I'm not trying to offend you or anything, but I... I don't get why... I mean I didn't know..." Link stuttered out, really trying not to offend the new girl, who just happened to be Corny's niece.

"You wanna finish that sentence while we're still young," Linda said lightly, a slight laugh trickling into her voice.

"It's just... well, I didn't think you're uncle trusted me wnough to leave me alone with his niece," Link said.

"That's simple," Linda answered. "It's because you have a girlfriend."

"Well, I don't..." Link began, before realising just what she had said. "Wait, how do you know I have a girlfriend already?"

"My uncle tells me a lot about the goings on around this show, sends me tapes of certain shows he thinks would interest me sometimes," Linda with said with a small smile. "Like, for example, the end routine for the recent Miss Hairspray pageant. Very cute."

"You know, I'm still not entirely sure if I understand why me," Link continued, still confused slightly. "I mean, I don't see how that fact would help."

"Again, simple," Linda said. "You're not gonna hit on me. With a girlfriend, you're gonna be the perfect gentlemen, not that I'm suggesting you're not all the time." Linda smiled again, this time slightly cheeky, and Link smirked back at her. "Other guys might not, so he's being kinda protective about me while I'm here."

"So you're not from around here then?" Link asked, trying to turn the conversation round to all the things he really wanted to know about the new girl.

"Nah, I'm from New York," Linda answered. "Lived there pretty much my entire life, for as long as I can remember, and I just love it. I'm a reall New Yorker through and through."

"Well, if you really loved it that much, what made you move here? I mean, this is as far from New York as you can get."

"I just sort of had to get away after... well, something happened, and it's something I'd rather not talk about right now."

"Right. I'm sorry if I brought up something you didn't want to think about."

"That's ok. But we've only just met, and I'm not about to go dumping my problems on you already."

Linda smiled again, this time clearly trying to push away thoughts she didn't want, being brave. And Link couldn't help but smile back at her for that.

ooooOOOOoooo

Linda smiled softly up at Link. Like she had said, she had watched the tapes her uncle had sent her, and now she was stood inches away from him. Because, like probably half the girls in Baltimore, she could see just how gorgeous Link really was. Silky brown hair, electric blues eyes that sparkled as if lit from within, a breath-taking smile, all adding up to the most perfect face she had ever seen anywhere. Never before had she been as physically attracted to a guy on just first glance then she had with Link. Not even...

But not matter, he was off limits. He had a girlfriend it was clear he was in love with. She wasn't the type of girl to mess with that, get in the way of two people when it was clear how they felt about each other.

Speaking of the girlfriend...

"Hey, Link," Tracy said, stepping up beside Link. "Who's the new girl?"

"Tracy, this is Linda, Corny's niece. Linda, this is my girlfriend, Tracy," Link said, smiling to each girls as he introduced them to each other. "Linda staying with her uncle for awhile, and Corny's asked if I can show her around.

"Hey, there. It's so nice to meet you," Linda said with her friendliest smile. Tracy, Linda noticed, was slyly looking her up and down, clearly seeing if she was any kind of threat to her and Link.

But that only laster for a moment as seconds later, clearly seeing no threat in her what so ever, Tracy turned that look into a smile as equally friendly as Linda's.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you too," Tracy said. "So, how long are you staying in Baltimore for?"

"That's kinda my mam's decsion," Linda answered. "It was her idea. She thought I could use a little time away from the big city."

"Big city?" Tracy questioned.

"Linda's originally from New York," Link said, in a tone that said he wanted it to be impressive. When Tracy looked at her, clearly buying that and impressed, Linda just let the corner of her lips quirk up in the corner, smiling slightly ans giving her shoulders a small shrugged, answering Tracy's look with a 'yeah, it's true'.

"Wow," Tracy said. "You have got to tell me what it's like there."

"It's not really that impressive," Linda said.

"Trust me, it is to the people in Baltimore. Very few of us have been outside of this town," Tracy said, gently taking Linda by the arm and dragging her back towards the group of girls she had been speaking to. Linda looked back at Link, a nervous look in her eyes as she was taken into the unknown. Link, supressing a laugh, simple followed after his girlfriend and the new girl.

Things were really going to change in Baltimore.

AN: - Ok, so there's the first chapter. What do you guys think? All reviews welcome... and wanted!