"Blake! Blake! Over here!" Paparazzi screamed from every direction. It was the night of the Gossip Girl launch party. The new, fresh-faced cast were all out to promote and celebrate the release of their new show and everyone wanted a piece of the lead actress, Blake Lively.

Blake was 5'10; legs so long, you'd have to be standing thirty-five feet away to get all of them in a picture; gorgeous, long, golden hair, and a rack to die for. In other words, Blake was the typical California girl. So perfect, she could be packaged and sold as a Barbie.

She was dressed in an understated, black, fitted, Michael Kors pantsuit, over a white shirt and she had her bouncy curls cascading over her shoulders. Her co-star, Penn Badgley, wasn't quite as flawless as Blake, but this was probably one of the reasons he was so attractive. He was scruffy in a cool and handsome way. 5'9, short, black hair, awkward and edgy like he'd just stepped off a Rolling Stone cover shoot.

Coincidentally, Penn and Blake had been friends since childhood, and they used to home-school together, but nothing romantic had ever transpired between them.

Blake had been summoned to the side of the red carpet to do an interview with 'E!', when she heard shouting behind her, "Blake! Blake! Over the shoulder!"

She was already overwhelmed and now she was just confused as to why there were paparazzi behind her on the carpet and not on the other side of the barrier. She was still relatively new to this fame thing, even though her family were all in the 'biz.

She tentatively turned around to find Penn goofing off behind her, pretending to take pictures of her with his hands as a camera, shouting instructions to her. Blake gave him a blank, unimpressed look before bursting out into giggles and giving him a playful shove. "You jerk!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled him into her interview, "this is Penn. He's Gossip Girl… Spoiler alert!"

Penn gave her a smirk and went along with it. The two got carried away, joking around with each other, so much so that they practically ignored the interviewer. The interviewer watched them for a while, completely bemused and amused at the same time. "So, you two seem like you've hit it off already. I believe you've only been filming a couple of months?"

Penn replied, "Oh, no, I've had the misfortune of knowing this one since I was eleven. I've had a terrible childhood."

Blake raised an eyebrow, feigning offence. "Hey, just because I didn't let you play with my Malibu Stacy."

Penn kept a straight face and shook his head. "I can't believe you'd bring that up, Blake. That's a low blow."

Blake turned to the camera and sarcastically moved her hand across her neck as if to say 'cut'. The interviewer was struggling to keep it together, but luckily for her, Penn decided to leave Blake to it. "I'm sorry guys, I just… I can't… I have to be alone right now." He faked a sob and went to walk off, mouthing, "I'll see you inside." To Blake as he went past her. Blake finished off her interview alone and a little more professionally before heading into the party.

Inside the party, the cast and crew mingled with each other and the other guests, soaking up what was to become their new lives for the next six years. It was all pretty surreal, but they were all so close already and they were glad they got to go on this journey together.

The new Guitar Hero was being promoted at the launch and Blake, being Blake, had a word with the guy setting it up, to make sure she was the first to test it out.

Blake may look like your average blonde bimbo, but she'll surprise you: she was on track on to go to an Ivy; she was in show choir; she was class president; she didn't drink and she loved video games and football. She probably only seemed as intelligent as she did because people expected her to be so stupid. It worked in her favour and only added to her charm.

Penn was getting drinks at the bar with his other co-stars, Ed and Chace when Blake got everyones attention with the microphone. "Everyone over to the dance-floor to watch me rock 'Free as a Bird' on the new Guitar Hero! Who's gonna take me on?"

"Penn will!" Chace and Ed offered for him like schoolboys.

"Come on then, Penny!" Blake held out the other guitar for him.

Penn had recently confided in Ed and Chace about his feelings for Blake. They seemed supportive at the time, but every time they were around Blake, they'd tease him and try to drop hints.

Penn gave them a 'fuck you guys' look and took the guitar from her. "Let's see what you got, Lively."

The boys immaturely cracked up laughing, but Penn ignored them and started the game. As expected, Blake kicked his butt. Her competitive edge was a little too much for him. Penn was a pretty placid guy, but he found her enthusiasm cute.

Blake shooed him off the stage to make way for a new challenger. He joined the boys on the dance floor who were teasing him. "Seriously, mate, just tell her how you feel. You're driving us nuts, man." Ed said in his cockney, British accent.

"Yeah, other than the fact she's completely outta your league, you two are perfect for each other. Just tell her. It's getting awkward." Chace chimed in.

Penn felt a little ambushed. "You guys are making it awkward! I've felt this way about her since I was like thirteen. It's never been an issue before. And, cheers, Chace. Thanks for the ego boost. Fucking Ken doll." Penn downed a shot of Patron to ease his nerves.

"Badge… don't be a pussy. Go get your girl." Ed added before disappearing off with Chace to go and scout for girls.

The party finished a little after midnight and the town cars were waiting outside for the cast, to take them back to the hotel they were all staying at together. Ed, Leighton, Blake , Chace and Penn got into the same car and Penn spent the journey lost in thought, with his eyes on Blake, who was too busy laughing and joking with Leighton to notice. The boys did notice, but they decided to give him a break.

Back at the hotel, the gang said their goodnight's as they all went into their rooms. Penn's room was adjacent to Blake's, but that didn't exactly help at this point. What was he going to do? Knock on the adjoining door and ask to use her toilet? He still had the slight problem of having to tell her how he felt. The adjoining door might come in handy in future for late-night booty calls… ha ha ha…

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves…

Penn went into his room and changed into something more comfy before getting on the bed and idly flicking through the channels on the TV, mulling over his thoughts. He knew Ed and Chace were right; he had to tell her eventually, and it was better sooner rather than later- a girl like Blake wouldn't stay single for much longer. She was bound to end up dating a guest star if he didn't grow a dick and tell her how he felt.

Sure, it could turn out to be the worst thing in the world if she didn't feel the same. It would be a long six years. But if all went well, it could end up being the best decision he'd ever made. He toyed with these ideas for a while, weighing up the pro's and con's when he heard a knock on the adjoining door.

Penn quickly sprung up and opened the door to Blake in her cute, pink pyjamas with Penny in one arm and a bunch of junk food under the other. "Hey, sorry… I couldn't sleep. Penny was driving me nuts. Wanna help me babysit? I brought snacks?" she batted her eyelashes and smiled a wide, cheesy smile- giving him no choice.

"Ahh sure. As long as there are snacks involved." He laughed a little and shut the door behind her. Blake made herself comfortable on his bed with Penny as she set down the food on the side table. "Are there any movies on?"

"Uh, well you just interrupted my pay-per-view porn…" he joked and plonked himself next to her on the bed. Blake rolled up the TV guide that was on the side and tonked over the head with it.

"You are gross." She laughed and then flicked through the guide, searching for something to watch while he just stared at her hopelessly, telling himself to just spit it out and say something.

"Blake…"

Blake looked up from the TV guide. "Mmhmm?"

"I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now…"

Blake looked at him nervously, waiting for a response before she felt her leg instantly heat up. "Oh, shoot, Penny!" she immediately hopped up off the bed, holding Penny away from herself. "Oh my God, Penn, I'm so sorry." She giggled.

Penn couldn't believe Penny's horrendous timing. 'Fucking dog,' he thought to himself.