DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. . . nor the actors who portray the characters. The characters are property of Ryan Murphy, and the actors are real people who have the best job in the world. This is purely for fun. Enjoy! :)
A/N: Finn is going through the motions without Rachel in LA. . .will she ever come back?
Casting Call
Chapter Eight: Call Me
"But Herman, please, you have to have her home phone number or something. She hasn't called me back in days." Days was an understatement, he hadn't had a conversation with Rachel since the day she left almost three weeks ago. He was starting to get desperate. "I can't believe I have to go through my agent to talk to my g-, co-star." Shit! He'd almost said girlfriend in front of Herman!
"Bubbelah, she is killing in her understudy role! She's been so busy with rehearsals and shows and, oy, the auditions! Once people heard she was headlining the new FOX show, everyone wants a piece of her now. As for you, I think I can get you a walk-on role on 90210, how would you like that?" Finn ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He didn't want to audition for anything, he wanted Glee to get picked up so Rachel would come back. But his stipend money was running out, fast, and he needed to find a quick job to make rent money if Glee didn't go through.
"OK Herman, send me the script." Sighing deeply, he was starting to lose hope he would ever see Rachel again. "And if you see Rachel, please, tell her to call me."
"You got it, babe." Herman unceremoniously hung up on Finn without another word. Finn wanted to throw his phone against the wall in rage. Where the fuck was Rachel? She had promised to call him!
She also promised to move to LA for you, he thought bitterly to himself, and you believed her like the naive ass you are.
He slumped down onto the couch and laid there, dejected, until Puck walked into the apartment with groceries.
"Dude, you still haven't talked to Jazz Hands yet?" Puck was the only person in the world who knew about Finn and Rachel. The day after she'd left, Finn had spent the afternoon in his underwear, drinking whiskey and playing Guitar Hero until he was hallucinating being on set with Rachel. Puck had been a witness to Finn making out with a pillow called "Broadway," and that had been it. He'd confessed to Puck about their whole affair, and Puck had been impressed he'd been able to hide it so well. The only reason Puck hadn't told anyone, came down to a little piece of blackmail that Finn had gathered on Puck.
One morning, Finn woke up after passing out on the couch, and noticed that one of the "hot chicks" Puck had picked up, wasn't exactly a "hot chick" when s/he went to the bathroom with the door open, unaware of Finn's presence.
And he was pretty sure chicks didn't pee standing up.
So as long as Finn had that piece of info about Puck, their secret was safe. He felt better that Puck knew, actually. It was good to know that he had someone to talk to about this.
"She's never coming back, man. Our show is never going anywhere, and I'm going to be stuck in LA forever without her, cashing in bottles for food money, and staring in shitty walk-on roles until I die." He placed the couch pillow over his head and wished for the blissfulness of sleep. Or alcohol. Or both.
"Dude, what did you expect? She's a Broadway-fuckin'-star! She probably eats guys like you for breakfast in New York!" He wanted to scream at Puck and tell him that she was different, that she loved him; but to him it all sounded lame. They'd never said the words. He'd been holding onto the hope that she actually was different than other celebrities, and that what they'd shared had been special. But he knew deep down that Puck was right. She was, and always will be, out of his league.
He was just a daydreamer from Ohio, who was plucked out of a corn-field and thrown into the lion's den.
She was a Broadway-trained actress, who had the talent to be the next Barbara Streisand.
Puck pulled out the groceries, and Finn threw a couch cushion at him when he realized what he'd bought with their dwindling food money. "What did I say about spending all the food money on beer?"
"Um, only buy domestic?"
"No, douche-bag, buy actual food with the money!" Puck looked offended.
"I did, see? Chips, dip, I got us some queso, we can have mexican!" Finn resisted the urge to roll his eyes and he sat up to play some video games. Puck came over with the chips and dip, and they spent the enitre afternoon pigging out on junk food and beer while wailing on each other at XBOX.
A few hours into their lazy day, Finn got a phone call, expecting it to be Herman again about the role.
"Herman, just email me the script, I'll check it out later."
He was surprised when a deep, booming, familiar voice responded. "Oh, Cory. . ."
Finn froze. Only one person was allowed to call him by his character's name. . .because he'd created it. . .
"Ryan!" Puck heard their boss' name and threw the controller down in shock. Puck hopped from the chair to the sofa, and pressed his ear against Finn's head so they could both hear the phone.
"Finn Hudson, my Cory, how are you?" Finn was so happy to hear Ryan's voice he thought his heart had stopped beating.
"I'm fine." He could barely choke out. "Been waiting on you, man." Be casual, don't act like a freak.
"I know! Believe me, everyone has! But I bring good news! Very good news!" Puck and Finn both shared the same expectant look, waiting for the words they so desperately wanted to hear. . . "We got picked up! Glee is a go!"
The two boys shot up off the couch and started screaming as loudly as possible. Puck stood up on the sofa and started to play air guitar, while Finn tried to keep his composure enough to hear what Ryan was saying.
"Be at the studio on Monday morning at 6. We start filming pick-ups for the pilot and the beginning of episode two. The pilot airs in a month, and after that, this summer is going to be wild. Get ready for the rides of your lives boys! It has begun!"
Finn was still in such shock he almost forgot to ask the most important question.
"Is everyone coming back? Sue, Will. . .Rachel?" He named the other leads as well, to make it seem less obvious that he was on the lookout for Rachel. Ryan chuckled and the tension eased out of him.
"Yes, buddy, everyone had signed on. We'll all be back together on set on Monday. Have a great weekend."
"Thanks, you too!" Finn hung up the phone and Puck jumped off the couch and tackled Finn onto the ground in boyish excitement. They wrestled with each other, screaming "VICTORY," and when Puck held Finn in a sleeper hold, he thought of nothing but Rachel Berry as he blacked out on their apartment floor.
"Ah shit, now I have to lift his giant ass off the rug!"
Rachel Berry sat in make-up, backstage at the play she'd been working on since she left LA. She opened her phone and pressed the number three: her speed-dial number for Finn's cell phone. Before she pressed "send," she shut the phone again. She was such a coward.
How many times had she done that over the past few weeks? Dialing his number, then hanging up before calling. What was her problem?
At first, she had wanted nothing but to call him. Every second of every day, she thought of nothing but her Ohio boy, all alone and lost in LA without her. But when she got back to New York, she'd been overwhelmed with the response from the community over her role in the Glee pilot. They thought her talent was now worthy of really good roles, and she would have been insane to have turned them down. But doing two shows a day, plus all the auditions and rehearsals. . .it was too much to keep up with. She hadn't called Finn at all in the beginning, even when she knew he'd called her.
She felt terrible.
Then she started to form a nervous complex about calling him. After a week or two, she was sure he was furious at her for not calling, so she didn't want to hear him be so mad at her. She still wasn't sure about Glee being picked up, and she would die inside if she had to call him and tell him she wasn't coming back.
Maybe it was better this way. If she didn't call him, they could have a clean break. As much as she wanted the Glee thing to work out, she was being realistic. Her life was still in New York.
Even though her heart was in LA.
Her phone rang, and she almost ignored it, thinking it was another audition she would have to suffer through. Luckily, she looked at the screen before ingoring it, and she realized it was a California number.
She didn't hesitiate another second to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Well, Hello, Lea. . ." Rachel's breath caught in her throat. Could it be. . .?
"Ryan!" She couldn't keep the jubilation out of her tone, even if she wanted to.
"Have you heard the good news yet?" Good news? Oh, please, let this be happening. . .
"I don't think so."
"We've been picked up, baby! You have to be in LA by 6AM Monday morning. Do you think you can tie up your loose ends in New York by then?" She was still in such shock, she almost didn't hear his question.
"Of course, Ryan. In fact, I have some loose ends to tie up right now. See you Monday."
She hung up the phone and almost jumped out of her make-up chair in excitement. She was going back to LA. Glee was actually happening.
She was going to see Finn again!
She felt like more than a fool now for never calling him. She would put an end to that foolishness right this second. Opening up her phone, she pressed the number three, hit send, and waited patiently to hear the voice that she'd missed more than anything.
"Yo, who dis be?" That was not the voice she was looking for.
She almost hung up the phone, thinking he'd changed his number or something. But the voice still sounded familiar, even if it wasn't Finn's. . .
"Puck? Is that you?" She heard him snort unceremoniously into the other end.
"Well if it isn't little Miss Broadway. You sure as hell waited long enough to call my boy. He's practically grown a pussy since you left him high and dry." Rachel was so speechless she struggled to find words. How did Puck know about them?
"Um, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just calling my co-star about the good news."
"Yeah right, Princess. I know everything. Don't get your panties in a twist, 'cause I ain't telling. Just wanted you to know how messed up it was to leave him hanging. I've never seen a guy this crazy about a girl before."
The pain and regret flowed through her like poison when she absorbed Puck's words. They were nasty, but they were true. She had left Finn hanging over her, for weeks, without a call or anything. She could only imagine how hurt he was.
"Um," She was never this timid, or this tongue-tied. But Puck's words intimidated her, and she was losing confidence. "Is he there? Can I talk to him?"
Puck scoffed. "Nah, he's passed out. The Guns o' Puckerone can do serious damage in a sleeper hold. He'll be out for, like, an hour."
She got an idea then. A brilliant idea, that required a partner-in-crime. . .
"I have an idea, Puck. And I need your help."
"Why should I help you? You made Finn's life hell for the past three weeks."
"Just listen to me! I have to make it up to him. When you hang up the phone, erase the call log. Never tell him that I called. On Saturday, make sure he's out of the house. I'll be there by dinner to surprise him. I'll call you for more details."
She could practically hear his eyes rolling on the other side of the phone. "I'm only doing this for Finn, you know that? He's too good a guy to deal with this Hollywood shit. I won't tell anyone about your little affair, but I will comment when necessary. See you Saturday."
They hung up without another word. Rachel got a manic glint in her eye and immediately jumped out of the make-up chair, running to take off her costume. On her way out, the Stage Manager rushed up to her in a frenzy.
"Rachel, what are you doing, the show is in 45 minutes!"
"Sorry, I have to go. I quit! Call the understudy." She had never been so happy while saying those words before. It was quite liberating.
"You ARE the understudy!" Rachel just laughed on her way out of the theatre. She didn't care.
She had an apartment to pack up. She was going to keep one of her promises to Finn if it killed her.
"Man, this is bullshit!" All Finn wanted to do was spend the afternoon inside with his beer and video games. Was that so much to ask? "What the hell am I supposed to do for three hours?"
"Dude, we live in LA. Not Kansas. Go find something to do. It's not that hard. Take a cab to the beach or something. I don't know, nor do I care. I'm having a lady friend over for some afternoon delight and you need to get the fuck out."
"Since when do you refer to your women as 'lady friends'?"
"This lady is special, and she doesn't know I share my apartment with Sasquatch. I need the apartment empty, just for today dude. Next time you have a date with a chick, you can have the apartment and I'll high-tail it."
Finn scoffed bitterly. Next time he has a date with a chick. . . He didn't want to date chicks, he wanted to date Rachel. Sighing heavily, he threw on his sneakers and grabbed his keys and wallet.
"You owe me big-time on this, dude."
"No doubt." He said it with a giant smirk and Finn stuck up the finger to him while he was walking out of the apartment.
The hot LA sun blared down on him, and the streets were packed with people. He walked a few blocks away, where there was a nice park, filled with kids and families and happy people on picnics.
It made him feel ill.
He found a shady spot in the park and plopped himself down onto the grass, losing himself in another daydream. This time, he and Rachel were at this very park; but they weren't the romantic couple picnicking, they were the happy couple pushing their kids on the swings.
He sighed. If only.
48 more hours, Finn. And she'll be back. The idea filled him with anxious energy, and he became jittery at the thought of seeing her again. Will she be happy to see him? Will they continue their affair? Will she break it off? Panic seized in his chest.
Had she found someone else?
That had to have been the reason for her lack of calls! She'd found someone else. It pretty much explained it all. Now they would have to work together, everyday, knowing that she belonged to another man. Probably another celebrity, someone who he couldn't hold a candle to. . .
He let the dark scenarios seep into his mind and poison him with jealousy and bitterness. The hot LA sun and the smiling people in the park did nothing to ease his troubles, and he found himself becoming more and more angry as the day went on.
When dinnertime rolled around, Finn was tired and cranky. All he wanted was a cold beer and his comfy couch so he could drink himself into a coma until Monday morning. He let himself into his apartment, and Puck was busy playing XBOX.
"What happened to your lady friend?" He said with a scowl.
"She bounced. A package came for you in the mail, I left it on your bed." Puck didn't even look away from the screen, and Finn purposely walked in front of the TV to mess up his game. He heard him scream while he walked to his room. "Asshole!"
Opening up the door, he first noticed a bunch of boxes scattered around the floor. What the hell kind of package did he get? He walked into his room, looking down to make sure he didn't trip, and when he looked at his bed to see what other packages he'd received, he froze.
Rachel was there. On his bed. In his room.
"Rachel?" He couldn't believe his eyes. They'd played tricks on him like this before. Normally he was under the influence of alcohol when it happened, but he'd still hallucinated her image before.
"Hey, Ohio." His hallucinations never talked before. And they never called him their special nick-name either. He bridged the gap between him and the bed in one huge step and pulled her body to him in a giant, crushing hug.
"Rachel!" He closed his eyes and held onto her body, remembering how snugly she fit in his large frame. He inhaled the scent of wildflowers and his heart soared. She was here. She was back.
All of his previous bitterness from the day had melted away. Yeah, she could have a boyfriend now. And she hadn't called him for weeks. She could have a million boyfriends now, but it didn't matter. She was here.
"You're here." He pulled away from her so he could look into her shining eyes. Her brilliant smile filled his heart with joy.
"I got the news from Ryan, and I left New York in record time!" He stroked her hair tenderly, brushing against the sides of her face. She leaned into his touch and he pulled her face up for a kiss that left them both lightheaded.
"How did you get in?"
Her smile became coy and she nodded her head towards the door. "Puck was my partner-in-crime. He helped me set this up." She pulled his face down to hers and he reveled in the feel of her lips on his. It had been so long. . .
"Why didn't you call me?" He didn't want to ask her this question. He didn't want to ruin their blissful reunion with bitterness and anger. But he couldn't help himself. He'd been so hurt; he needed to know. "Was it someone else?"
She shook her head furiously, and the regret was etched deep into the contours of her gorgeous face. "NO! No, Finn, It wasn't like that at all." She took a deep breath and she started to twirl her hair nervously. "Everything I say is going to sound so lame, but honestly, I couldn't bear to hear your voice when I wasn't sure I was going to come back. It would have been too much. I am so sorry. It's unacceptable, and I hope you'll forgive me." Her eyes were pleading him for forgiveness and his will-power crumbled under that look. Her eyes were like wrecking balls to his self-control.
Holding her body, feeling her curves under the palms of his hands, he knew that he could never hold grudges against this girl. She was his everything. He needed her.
"It's okay Rachel. We're together. It's all that matters."
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and she laid her head against his chest to listen to the pounding of his heart. Her eyes closed as she leaned into him more. "Yeah."
"Can I say it now?" He looked down at her expectantly, hoping she would understand what he'd meant. Her head shot up off of his chest, and she nodded. He wasn't going to wait another second. "I love you, Rachel."
Saying those words was all the therapy he'd needed to heal his heart from the torture it'd been through the past three weeks. Once the words passed through his lips, he felt liberated, free.
He watched as the corners of her lips pulled her mouth up into the largest, most brightest smile he'd ever seen on her gorgeous face. She held onto him tighter, and he noticed a small tear leaving a watery track down her face. He caught the tear on the tip of his finger, and brushed the moisture away.
"I love you too, Finn." Hearing the words come from her mouth made his heart feel like it was soaring out of his chest. Unbridled joy flowed through him, and he devoured her mouth in a searing kiss. He wanted to lift her up and throw her down onto the bed so they could have mind-blowing reunion sex, but the various boxes he'd ignored before were in their way.
"Rachel, what the hell is all of this stuff?"
She looked sheepish and hesitated answering. "Well, Finn, I know I didn't keep one of my promises, but I wanted to make sure I kept the other one."
Realization struck him like lightning, and he grasped her shoulders in disbelief. "You're moving to LA?"
"I promised you I would if the show got picked up! It's just," She looked down, sadly, and he lifted up her face so he could look into her eyes. "I don't have a place yet, and I wanted to know if I could crash here for a few days. Until I find a nice apartment."
"Of course you can stay." Placing a kiss on her willing lips, he started to move boxes out of the way so they wouldn't be tripping over everything. "Jeez, Broadway, you sure have a lot of stuff."
"Oh, this is just the essentials. The furniture and the rest of my things wil be coming by the end of this week." He blanched. This girl could open up a Macy's with everything she owned. "So, Puck knows about us." She said it as a statement and not a question.
"Yeah. He won't tell though, I promise."
"How can you be sure?"
"Well, it's a funny story. . ."
Salut mes amis!
Reunited and it feels so gooooood!
Until Next Time. . . *sings* Don't Stop. . . Reviewing!
Merci Mille Fois
The Minsk