Farm People

Luke Perry: I'm from Ohio, and she's from Illinois. We're both farm people.

-Mature language

Jason walked along the path towards Charles Rosin's house. Stood in front of the door was an early 20s kid, smoking a cigarette.

"Hi." Jason spoke once he reached him.

"Hi, I'm Luke." Luke shook his hand.

"Jason. Nice to meet you."

"You too." Luke nodded. Jason placed his hands in his pockets, as both of them stood there looking at the ground.

"Can I bum one of those?" Jason asked.

"Sure." Luke nodded and proceeded to hand Jason a cigarette.

"So, where you from?" Jason asked after a puff.

"Ohio. Not from around these streets." He joked. "You?"

"Canada."

"Ah same thing." Luke grinned

"Guess so. What do you think of Beverly Hills?" Jason asked

Luke breathed out his smoke. "Not really my thing to be honest with you."

"I get it. So you're playing Dylan, right?"

"Yeah..."

"You surf?"

"Nope. You?"

"Not a stitch." Jason affirmed

Luke let out a big grin - that grin that would famously charm everyone months from now.

"We're gonna get along just fine." Jason added before putting out his cigarette on the floor.

"So you just about ready to go in? Everyone's inside." He continued.

But Luke was hesitant.

"I'm a little nervous." Luke rubbed his forehead. "I've only met uh the owner of the house, Charles and of course Mr Spelling. Oh and uh I saw one of the cast... I think her name's Carol?"

"Yep. She plays my mother."

"Hot mother." Luke couldn't help but kid around.

"Hey, don't make filming awkward." Jason joked

The boys chuckled before heading inside.

"Hey kid..." Charles said after he opened the door to Luke and Jason

"Hey."

"How you doing?" Charles pulled Luke aside.

"Uh nervous... Everyone's already acquainted."

"Relax, they don't bite." Charles assured

"Good lookin' cast." Luke teased as he looked around

"Well, the optics are important. Mr Spelling believes they do half the work." Chuck joked, and Luke chuckled

"So, where do you want me?"

"Get yourself a drink, sit down and mingle. Get to know everyone - and then we'll get on with the table read."

"That's the guy." Tori whispered over to Shannen and Jennie, who were all sitting at the round dining table. Gabrielle remained on the other side next to Ian and Brian.

"Ah... the eye candy." Shannen joked and the girls laughed.

"He's... He's um-" Jennie chuckled, blushing

"Cat got your tongue, Jennie?" Shannen teased and Jennie laughed

"He's hot." Tori answered

"Stating the obvious." Shannen smiled at them.

The boys immediately began to bond with Luke. Gabrielle, who had met him briefly in New York, felt very comfortable with him from the get-go. They both bonded quickly.

"We should go and introduce ourselves." Shannen insisted, pointing to Luke from the window - who was outside with Jason. "Be professional and shit."

The girls laughed. "Or... stay here and talk about him." Tori joked

"He's just standing there outside. Smoking a cigarette, minding his own business." Jennie observed. She felt intrigued by his quiet demeanor.

Shannen then got up and headed outside to join him.

"Uh oh." Jason teased as Shannen made her way towards them. Jason immediately head inside after Shannen gave him a teasing look.

"Hi." Shannen gave Luke a strong, firm handshake.

"Hi!" He smiled

"Welcome to the show." Shannen's confidence (or what appeared to be confidence) was intimidating yet impressive

"Thanks for the welcome." He nodded with that half smirk of his.

"How do you feel?" She asked

"It's intimidating, not gonna lie." Luke looked back at Charles' house. "The material is really something... It's the kind of story I wanna tell."

Shannen was surprised by his answer - and few actors did surprise her. She too felt strongly about the material and she loved its originality.

"That's exactly what I said." She let out a soft smile. Shannen already had rumors swirling around about her "difficult attitude" - (nothing compared to what these rumors would become in a couple of years. These rumors were typically shared between directors in the business who had dealt with her professionally)- but this was one of the first few times she showed a soft side in front of any members of the cast.

"I checked out your work, your filmography, so far - you and Jason... you've got some miles on me." He smiled coyly

"Then, you better catch up." She bossed

Luke made his way back into the house and sat down on a small armchair. Sitting on the couch beside him was Jennie.

"Hi..." She spoke softly. He turned around to a giant grin and couldn't help but grin back.

"Hi!" His eyes involuntarily scanned her from head to toe. He had worked with some beautiful women but Jennie took his breath away.

"You're playing Dylan, right?" She asked

"And you're...?" He leaned closer with a childish grin across his face

"I play Kelly."

Steve's ex girlfriend, he thought, remembering the script he had read a few days prior to this. And to think I auditioned for Steve.

"The blonde vixen." He teased, grinding his teeth. Jennie blushed, trying to brush off her character's description with a laugh.

Her giggle was warm and friendly, and made him feel relaxed. "Man, I hope I can keep this job." He started to feel excited about working here - more than he already was!

"I think you fit right in!" She assured

"Really? I feel a little out of my element with you beautiful California girls." He sighed

"You think I'm from here?" She gasped with another giggle. "Well, guess again because I'm from small town Illinois."

"You're kidding!" His mouth shaped into a wide grin as he pointed to himself. "Ohio."

"No way!' She instantly felt closer to him. "We're practically related!"

"So you grew up on a farm too?" He taunted her only to be surprised by her answer.

"Yep. My family had a big ranch in Arcola and I woke up every morning to help out and I loved every minute of it."

Luke was in awe of her. He felt an instant connection hearing how similar her upbringing seemed to his - it felt nice to have a sense of country here with him in Hollywood - what were the chances of a farming country girl and boy finding each other on this set.

"Farm people." He smiled.

That smile melted her.

"Yeah..." She took a moment to take him in before she could find her words. She never could overcome her shyness, and although it never affected her ability to be charming, she felt very comfortable and relaxed around him.

"So how long you been doing this?" He asked

"It's all new to me." She chuckled, "I feel like a fish outta water."

"Yeah..." He gazed into her eyes, enjoying the fact that he related to someone already, and someone he didn't expect to relate to. "I'm glad I met you today."

She smiled back him, appreciating how open he was. His charm had a powerful effect on her.

Charles then interrupted everyone, encouraging them to make their way to the round table, for the table read.

"So... you survived an encounter with the star." Jason acknowledged to Luke, pointing at Shannen.

"Yeah... she was nice." Luke shrugged. The "star" of the show often meant everyone should expect "diva-like" behaviour from him/her. But Luke had yet to see any of these traits in Shannen, despite being warned about the star of this show.

"She's a firecracker, I'll tell ya." Jason smirked.

"You know, I was expected a little attitude but it hasn't reared its head yet." Luke added, "Perhaps, in this case, the wild horse can be tamed." he teased

"Yeah, come talk to me in a couple of days." Jason joked.

Jason had a great sense of humor, and he loved to poke fun at his cast mates, but the truth was, he admired Shannen's bold 'I don't give a damn' attitude, and found it sexy.

"I'm looking forward to getting to work." Luke grinned "But first, you gotta tell me who's that one?" Luke pointed over to Jennie, who was now sitting with Ian.

"Jen."

"I know, I just talked to her." Luke then lowered his voice. "But you gotta tell me... what's up with her?"

"Oh." Jason finally understood what he meant. "I don't know if she's seeing anyone. But she's really adorable."

"Yeah..." Luke nodded as he stared at her.

"I mean... you see a girl that beautiful, you think she's bound to be standoffish. But Jennie is just so bubbly, so lovely."

"She's a country girl." Luke's eyes widened. "I can't believe it, but us farm people, we sure are friendly." Luke turned back to face Jason, "I'm down with getting friendly."

"You know, they say never mess around at work if you get what I'm saying." Jason said as he placed a gum in his mouth.

Luke smiled again.

It was Luke's first day at work.

"Good mornin'!" Luke headed into a trailer - his country-sounding accent kept coming and going.

"Hello there!" A woman smiled. "Get over here."

Luke made his way to the chair she had just instructed him to sit in.

"I'm Luke."

"I know who you are!" She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "It's my job to know."

"What's your name?" He asked

And the lady stopped and smiled at him. "You know, I've been a hair stylist in Hollywood for 3 years now. And no actor has ever asked me my name.

"Why do you hang out with such rude people?" Luke joked and she laughed.

"I'm Marla by the way. Marla Vincent. But you'll remember me as the reason why your hair fell out by age 50."

"Nice to meet you Marla." Luke chuckled. "Now what are you gonna do with me?"

"Well, you sure as hell don't need much. God gave you everything you need already." She winked

"I trust that he coulda used your help." Luke certainly knew how to charm a woman.

"Well, honey I suggest..." She observed him. "We go a little Elvis..." She played around with his hair, showing him her idea.

"Ah, like the flock of seagulls guys." He joked

"No!" She burst out laughing.

"So tell me..." Luke began once Marla was done. "Any notes?"

"Watch out." She said calmly. "You're real, you're raw and down to earth. Don't let this business take that away from you."

"Oh you mean don't be tempted by the very seductive Hollywood."

"Yeah I mean, there's the nice cars and beautitful women... and I'm in no position to tell a young man in his prime how to behave, but I have seen people lose it all trying to be something... and you're special, I feel it."

Luke smiled at Marla appreciatively. "Well, you don't gotta worry because... well, for starters, I don't care about no Porsche. Just a glorified Volkswagen to me."

Marla laughed again. "On second thought, I'm not too worried about you."

After their scene, Jennie and Tori watched as Luke played basketball on the set with the boys.

"He's really nice." Tori seemed surprised.

"You talked to him today?" Jennie asked

"Yeah, he just came up and sat down and talked like he'd known me forever." Tori replied

"Yeah... " Jennie muttered. She certainly felt a pull. There was definitely a weird familiarity, even though she barely knew the guy.

Jason was about to head into his dressing room, when he popped his head into Shannen's.

"What's up?" He said, joining her on the couch. Her head was buried in a book.

"What do you want?" Shannen often got straight to the point.

"What do you think of the new guy?" He asked

"What do you think of him?" She turned to face Jason

"I really like him. He's cool."

"He definitely has an ego." Shannen began as she closed her book. "He may be quiet, but he's not shy. You can see... in the right room with the right energy, he might even come off cocky. I think that level of confidence is very good for our show."

Jason rolled his eyes, "Forget about work for a minute. What do you think of him as a person?"

"He's cute." Shannen smirked at Jason. "Not as cute as you though."

Jason shook his head, trying not to smirk back.

A short while later, Luke developed a rapport with the cast over the week, finding it easy to settle in even though he was the new kid.

Luke joined Jennie eating lunch.

"Hey country girl!"

"Hey country boy." She beamed up at him - feeling excited at his presence.

"So tell me something..." He began

"What?" She asked

"Tell me something about you, as if we know each other really well."

"What do you mean?" She laughed, bewildered by the statement.

"It's you and me, down on the farm. You're brushing the horse's mane, I'm... I don't know, shoveling hay. And we're just chattin' like two old friends." He smirked.

"Friends?" She questioned his emphasis on that word.

"Friends who you know, might get down and dirty." He jokingly grinned. "Hypothetically speaking of course."

"Yeah, well I don't know about the friends you're talking about but I don't do that with friends." She teased

"But I bet you could if you gave it a try!" He pretended to advise her and she laughed again.

"Uh..." She sighed, "Alright... Something about me.. " She thought

"Better yet, make it more personal." Luke leaned towards her, his elbows resting on his knees. "Say 5 years from now. We're a huge hit, the show's a success. We can do anything we want. Where will you be?"

"Um... I'd like to be in movies. I've always idolized Marilyn Monroe, so something like that." Jennie paused. "But then... Then I'd like to settle down, have a family. Look back at this and, it's all been fun and games, but I'd want the childhood I had. I want the ranch, all the animals, beautiful kids and a husband I'm madly in love with. And we sit around the table every night to eat, back in the country."

Luke smiled at her. He loved how down to earth she was - it wasn't something you'd expect by looking at her.

"I agree. I want the same thing for me and Jerry Lee."

"Who?" She asked

"My potbelly pig."

"You have a pig?" She asked

"Hey, I told you I was a farm boy." He warned

"I think I like you even more now." She chuckled. "So... it's your turn to get personal."

"Hmm okay." He exhaled. "...I want the same thing. I always knew I wanted to be in movies. I didn't know how I was gonna do that but in 5 years from now I hope I created something that mattered. And I can bring these resources I get from here back home to my family."

"That's nice." She praised

"There you go." Luke shrugged, "We now know each other better than we did 5 minutes ago."

"Fuck, I can't shake off these nerves." Luke felt agitated

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked

"I don't know I just feel a little overwhelmed. I don't have the acting background and resume of Jason and Shannen. How am I gonna keep up?"

"Don't worry about that. You've got something unique. Mr Spelling saw it. Now you've gotta see it."

"What do you think?" Luke asked Marla in the makeup and hair trailer.

"Trust Mr Spelling. And trust Chuck. I mean, he may be a little eccentric, but that's part of why he's so good at his job. The EP has to oversee everything. And I mean everything. And there are few people with his brain. I swear it's like he's seeing 100 things at once. I tell ya, he doesn't miss a beat, that man. He has to be as observant as he is, and one day that man will have great stories to tell. Eyes of a hawk."

"He does pay attention to detail. I'm not so good at that."

"Don't be afraid to ask questions. That's how you learn." Marla insisted

"How do you do that?" Luke asked as he and Shannen finished their scenes for the day.

"Do what?" She asked

"They say picture, and there you are, as Brenda, embarrassed, nervous. They yell cut, and at the drop of a hat, you're fine."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She laughed, "It was humiliating. I'm supposed to be flirting with you, with this fucking awful wig on my head!" She snapped and Luke burst out laughing

"And here I thought you're just an outstanding actress." He teased

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh.

"...Seriously though," He began once they were calm. "You're really good."

"Practice." She let out a very faint smile. She never showed her vulnerability much, even when she was touched by a compliment.

"I fucking love this job!" Luke rushed into Jason's dressing room and hopped onto the couch. "Damn, you're dressing room's way better than mine."

"Climb your way up the call sheet bud." Jason teased. "So how'd it go?"

"I love it. I love this character. I love the material. Shannen is brilliant."

"Yeah, you could learn a lot from her."

"And you." Luke added, "You guys really bring this shit to life."

"It's what we do, it's what we do." Jason mocked

"Listen..." Luke leaned forward, "Do you know if Jennie's seeing anyone?"

Jason laughed, "Don't shit where you eat, my man."

"I'm just asking."

Interview

"A lot of people tune in and they look at the title Beverly Hills 90210 - they think it's all glamour and flash, you know, because we have beautiful girls like Jennie on the show. They think that, and that's true, to some extent. but also we get down and we look and see what's going on, and we try to address it. We wanna raise the questions." Luke answered

-Well, it's definitely stirring up a lot.

"Well, that's good! You want to cause a stir - you wanna say something that hasn't been said." Luke added.

After he was done with the interview, he got up and walked around, listening to his cast mates have their respective interviews.

"We are not a high school show." Shannen answered the interviewer. "It may take place in high school, but we deal with real issues. Controversial issues. And we've never given up on the quality."

He walked further and spotted Jennie. Crashing her interview, he pulled up a chair beside her.

"People are gonna tune in to see how she does her hair, what she's wearing... I mean, that sounds awful, but people are gonna look at her that way. But you have to know, there's a whole other side to Kelly."

"I find that funny." Luke chimed in. "She's playing the typical, Beverly Hills girl, and I'm playing the richest kid in school and all that, and we both come from the farm." He giddily looked over to her.

"Yep." She smiled, turning back to the interviewer. "My first car was a lawn mower, actually."

Once they were all done, Luke turned to Jennie. "What are you doing later?" He asked

"Um..." She couldn't help but like him and wanted to spend more time with him. He was a coworker, but he was so damn alluring. She knew she had to watch herself. She had a thing for bad boys after all, and Luke certainly had the charisma of a bad boy. So maybe it was time that she set a boundary for herself, given that she wasn't single.

Jennie wasn't a very social child. She preferred animals to people, and struggled in social situations. Perhaps that's why she was so vulnerable to someone who naturally had everyone drawn to him.

"Actually, my boyfriend's here in town. We don't get to see each other much so I think we'll pretty much stay at home with my mum, watch a movie."

"Oh okay. That's cool." Luke clicked his tongue. He showed no sign of disappointment.

After a few weeks, the gang had gotten closer. There was a chemistry among this group that isn't often seen in an ensemble cast. Everyone had an affinity for one another. Until now everyone had kept it professional, and while the show still hadn't quite got the ratings they were hoping for, the writers were putting their best foot forward.

"Fuck.' Luke groaned, staring at the script.

"What's taking you so long?" Shannen waltzed into his trailer. "I wanna be out of here by 8."

"I can't do this." He shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" She asked and he threw the script over to her.

"My heads not in the right place. I can't get to that place." He pointed at the sheet.

"What place is that?"

"I'm not expressing the kind of emotion that he should be feeling right now."

"Well what is he feeling?" She asked, folding her arms.

"What are you - coaching me?" He groaned

"What is he feeling?" She said in a firmer tone.

"Anger. He's angry. He's fucking pissed at his dad."

"Right. Do you know what that feels like?" She asked

He looked up at her. "Yeah... I do."

"So use that."

"I can't." He shook his head, "I know the emotion and how it feels, I just can't put my personal shit in it right now."

"Okay..." Shannen shrugged. "So, go home."

"What?"

"Go home. You're done... I mean, it doesn't matter that you can relate to the character if you can't express it and connect it to the material. Might as well give up now."

"Wait a minute-"

"-No you said it. If you think you suck, then maybe you do. You clearly aren't planning on proving otherwise so don't waste our time."

"Fuck you." He hissed

"Oh are you angry now?" She asked, "Say it again."

"What the fuck?" He crinkled his forehead

"Go on, yell at me again." She urged, "I mean it."

"Fuck you." He shrugged, confused by the whole conversation.

"Weak!'

"Fuck you Shannen!" His voice began to raise. "Fuck you and fuck this and fuck me for thinking I can't do this."

"Well done." She sighed. He looked confused. "Guess you had it in you after all." She began to turn on her heel.

"Wait a minute, did you just insult me to get me into character?" He asked, stunned

She shrugged and walked off.

"Damn, she's good." He thought to himself.

After filming Isn't it Romantic, Luke looked at Shannen with genuine praise.

"Thanks." He whispered

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're bad actor." She breathed out.