Hey guys! So... for my readers in the PJO world, I've decided to alternate posts between this story and Stranded just so that posts stay regular, the quality consistent, and the ability to post two stories at once.:) So, expect updates every other week.
That being said, Welcome to the world of Chuck! Or, well, the alternate universe of Chuck... LOL! I hope you guys enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Chuck as Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz are the gods of their creation and Warner Brothers hasn't put up the brand for sale.
"And today, we have up and coming artist Charles Carmichael," the radio host said into his microphone. "How's it going Charles?"
"Oh, call me Chuck," the singer said, chuckling.
"Alright, Chuck," the host laughed. "How's it been?"
"It's been pretty good, actually," he nodded. "I finished writing my latest album a little while back and we just finalized everything so we're good for release in about two weeks."
"Can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect from your first album? I mean, we've only really ever heard you sing covers so…"
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm not the kind of person that would change who I am just to be popular like Justin Bieber or anything. My album's name is The Intersect because it serves as a kind of an intersection between two kinds of music and meshes it into one. Officially, my music kind of hovers in the Indie genre but there are a few songs that have a lot of vocal power, like broadway."
"That's pretty interesting. It's different." The radio host shuffled the papers in front of him. "So, Chuck, a lot of ladies on twitter have been asking, are you dating anyone? Any special ladies in your life?"
"Uh, actually, not as of late," Chuck laughed, but behind the facade he was forced to create for the cameras, his heart was clenching at the reference to his ex-girlfriend. "I guess so far, the only special lady in my life is my sister, Ellie. She practically raised me so…"
"Aw, really?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I'm sure that someone will come around real soon for you," the host assured.
"Haha! I'm looking forward to that day!" The two talked about other topics for the remainder of the interview: his favorite things, his pet peeves, a prospective tour, any other projects that he is contemplating.
"Well, unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today," the host began his sign off. "Thank you for joining us, Chuck. Everyone, don't forget to pick up Charles Carmichael's newest album,The Intersect, out in stores in about two weeks! August 18th am I correct?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, well, it was nice talking to you, Chuck." The two men laughed. "I can't wait to hear more from you in the future. Let's take a sneak peek at The Intersect with Chuck's latest single 'Helicopter.'" The host pressed a button on the soundboard in front of him and the intro of the familiar song began playing throughout the studio. Both men took off their headphones and stood, Chuck towering over the short radio host by several inches. They shook hands. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Chuck."
"Likewise," Chuck replied politely.
"I hope to see you soon."
Chuck smiled and walked out of the studio and back out into the lobby area where his manager and best friend in the world, Morgan Grimes, was waiting. "Way to go, buddy!" the tiny bearded man said reaching up to clap Chuck on the back. "Team Bartowski moving up in the world, huh?"
"Yeah, Morgan. It's great," Chuck responded not as enthused as Morgan would have liked.
"Come on, man. This is the dream! Get over Jill already. There are bigger fish in the sea! You're a recording artist now."
Chuck wasn't going to deny that he was still hung up over his ex-girlfriend, Jill. "How am I supposed to do that?" he asked. "I gave her four years of my life. I nearly proposed to her."
"I know, man," Morgan sympathized. "But hey, now, she's gonna see you and regret ever breaking up with you."
"I guess so," he said. He tried to give a reassuring smile but it turned out more like a grimace. "Come on, we have that meeting with the record company, right?"
"Yeah! That's right." Morgan pulled out his phone and made a call. A minute later, a black SUV pulled up outside of the lobby and Chuck and Morgan stepped in, ducking their heads at the paparazzi that were snapping pictures of them.
The driver drove off and headed down to Sunset Boulevard to the large building that had the name Castle Records and the logo on a brick sign just outside the front door. Chuck and Morgan made their way to the elevators and up to the eighth floor. As they walked through the doors to the conference room, a small red-headed woman stood at the head of the table with a lawyer and two bodyguards at her side. Chuck recognized her as the CEO of Castle Records. "Diane," Morgan greeted. The small woman shot him a look. "Mrs. Beckman," he amended quickly.
"Mr. Grimes, Mr. Bartowski," she greeted, calling Chuck by his real name and not by his stage name. He didn't want to change it but the record company thought it would be hard for him to sell anything with that name so they came with a compromise that he gets the final say for each song he records in exchange for him taking up a stage name. A small price to pay to get his music out. "I'm sure, you both have been wondering what we've called you in about."
"Uh, yeah," Morgan agreed, taking a seat. "Your call was very vague."
"We simply wanted to congratulate Mr. Bartowski on the success of his first single." Chuck smiled but that soon deflated when she continued. "However, it wasn't as successful as we predicted it to be."
"But," Morgan argued sitting up straight. "It's on Billboard's Hot 100."
"Yes, Mr. Grimes, it is, but it's not in the Top 40," Mrs. Beckman countered. "Castle Records is a growing company with only one recording artist thus far: Mr. Bartowski. Our entire company is riding on his success. If we produce a great artist, more clientele will come to us for recording contracts and not our competitors."
"So what are you saying?" Chuck interrupted.
"We're saying, that we will be helping you." Chuck furrowed his eyebrows.
"How, how exactly are you going to do that Mrs. Beckman?"
"A colleague of mine's client has gotten herself into some pressing scandals and is in need of some good publicity to clear her name off of the media's burn list," Diane Beckman explained a little too vaguely for Chuck's taste. "I've agreed to help him out on the condition that he helps me out with you."
"Uhuh, Okay," Chuck nodded, still slightly confused but was slowly starting to catch on. "Other than him helping us, how does that apply to me?"
"You need a scandal to get your name out there and she needs a scandal that will pull attention away from her previous scandals."
"You're still being very vague, Mrs. Beckman," Chuck said leaning forward slightly.
"You're going to date her," she said. Chuck's eyes bugged out of his head.
"Date her?" he asked. "Who's her?"
"Not exactly, date her. Make a couple of public appearances, hold hands, cuddle, things that couples do."
"So, fake date her?"
"Essentially."
"And you didn't answer my previous question. Who is this girl?" Chuck asked growing more confused than frustrated.
Mrs. Beckman's eyes tore away from his and looked behind him where he heard a door open. He spun around and was looking into the eyes of his middle and high school crush. She took a few steps forward and removed her aviator sunglasses letting Chuck see her cerulean eyes in person for the first time. A moment that he had been dreaming about since he had first seen her act in the sitcom 'The Life and Times of a Middle Schooler.'
"Vicky Vale," he heard Morgan breathe but ignored it as he was literally blown away by her presence.
"Chuck, I want you to meet Oscar winning actress, Ms. Sarah Walker."
And there you have it folks! It's a little short, yes, but it will get longer.
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