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: My boyfriend woke me up wayyy too early this morning! Which means I have time to write!

Casting Call

Chapter Eleven: Gossip Girl

Finn tried his hardest to keep his eyes shut, as the bright LA sun poured into his bedroom window. He tiptoed out of bed, trying not to wake up Rachel, who had crashed at his place after a dinner out with the cast. Closing the blinds to his window, he noticed a shady looking van parked across the street from his apartment. A greasy man was leaning against it, smoking a cigarette, his other hand shaking. He looked like a junkie. Another man was sitting on the sidewalk, next to the van, doing nothing but staring off into space. He hated this neighborhood. He was moving out of here the second they started filming the back-nine. He shook his head when he turned around and slipped back under the covers. Rachel draped her body over his, still sleeping. Finn tried to close his eyes and fall back to sleep, but his mind was racing. All he thought about these days was the show.

Glee had been on TV for over a month, and it had already been picked up for a complete 22-episode season. They had to wait to start filming the last nine episodes, but they spent every waking moment promoting the show. They went on tours to malls where they signed albums and posters. They went to events where they got free stuff and money just to show up. They attended fancy dinners and charity events. He was meeting people he had only ever seen in movies and magazines, and they'd been the ones complimenting him. It was surreal. Finn was living the life he had only ever dreamed of.

And the real thing was way better than he'd ever imagined.

People adored the show. Not just love, it was adoration. He'd been to places where he thought he would go deaf from the sound of the piercing screams of the crowd. He'd signed his name on so many weird places it was almost terrifying. He once signed someone's baby! And one person wanted to use his signature as the basis for a tattoo. It was insanity. His name was forever going to be inked onto some chick's arm.

He was making amazing money as well. Never in his life did he think he was going to be pulling in this much money. And the more episodes they made, the more money he was earning. The show was making millions off of iTunes downloads and album sales, and the producers were rewarding the cast with fat paychecks.

Sure, he might have spent a lot of it on souping up his Honda Civic. It was the least he could do to the car that carried his ass across country to this crazy life of stardom. And maybe he bought some new toys; like a flat-screen LCD, a BlackBerry and a laptop, but he thought he'd earned it. He didn't have much left, but it had been worth it.

So once filming started up again he could move out of this crummy neighborhood where junkies hung out on the street in the middle of the day. He was ashamed to even bring someone as beautiful and posh as Rachel to a place like this.

He and Rachel were still hiding their relationship, even though he wanted nothing more than to scream the truth from the highest building in LA. Every time they went out to fancy events they weren't allowed to walk the red carpet together, or take pictures together. They couldn't hold hands, and they had to watch everything they said in front of the press. It was annoying, but Rachel was happy. As long as she was happy, he would follow through with the charade. At least they still were able to find moments like this where they could be together.

He felt Rachel's body move on top of his, and he cracked an eye open to see her stretch her sleeping limbs. She winked at him after yawning widely, and she reached up to give him a soft kiss.

"Good Morning, Ohio."

"Morning, Broadway."

"Did my cell ring? I have an interview for another magazine later on today."

"No, I didn't hear anything." He wrapped his arms around her and she cuddled close to him. "I have something today, too. I think I'm filming a pick-up scene with Will later. When is the next charity thingy we have to show up for? I need to pick up my suit from the cleaners. One of the Kardashian sisters spilled a Chocolate Martini on it at the CD launch last week, and it's my only good suit."

"The silver one?"

"Yeah."

"I think next Friday. We have time. I like that suit, too. I want you to wear at least the jacket." She got up out of bed and started to gather her things.

He nodded as she got dressed and left to use the bathroom. They'd been attending a lot of charity events lately, but this next one actually involved them. Various music artists were auctioning off performances to raise money for cancer research, and "The Cast of Glee" was one of the acts on the bill. Rachel was even getting her own performance slot; ever since the show became so popular, Rachel Berry had become a house-hold name. He couldn't have been more proud of all the praise she'd been getting for the role of Lea. She deserved it.

Rachel came back into the room, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Puck just got out of the shower. Must he insist on walking around with only a towel on?"

He laughed at his friend's antics. "You know him. He always has to think he's a stud."

She laughed as a car horn beeped in front of the apartment. He went over to the window and looked down to see her shiny black town-car pull up next to the shady van that was still parked across the street. Junkie Guy and Lazy Ass were no longer there.

"Okay, Rach, your ride is here." They kissed a final time and she headed to the door. He got a text from Ryan saying he had to be on the lot in an hour, and rushed to get ready for a shower. He stripped naked, and pulled a towel around his waist. He headed for the bathroom, and noticed that she'd left her cell phone on his night stand. He threw it at Puck on his way to the shower.

"Go bring this out to Rachel's car."

"I'm in a towel dude."

"Me too, but I'm in a hurry. Just do it! She needs it!"

He scoffed and threw on a pair of flip-flops, holding his towel firmly in place while grumbling a "Fine," and walking out the door.

Finn rushed to get ready for his day, hoping Puck had caught her in time.

Rachel walked out of Finn's apartment, an immediately noticed the van that was parked next to her town-car. There were men in the front seat, and the two of them were looking at her. She saw one of them point straight at her, and they started to get out of the vehicle.

They were holding cameras.

She felt her hackles rise, and she immediately reached for her cell phone to ask her car to pull up in front of the apartment so she wouldn't have to cross the street.

Her cell wasn't there.

She turned to go back into the apartment, but she'd locked the door behind her. She had to get to her car and get the hell out of there, fast. But there was no way to her car unless she walked across the street and past the van with the creepy men. She steeled herself, and walked across the street, trying her best to ignore them and walk straight to her car.

She didn't get halfway across the street before the men came up to her and started to mercilessly snap her picture.

"Rachel Berry! What are you doing in this part of town? Hot date? With a co-star maybe?"

She wanted to scream in the guy's ugly, oily, face to leave her the hell alone, but she was blinded by the disorientating flash of the camera, and tried to push through the two men to get to her car.

"Smile for us, baby! Which of your co-stars were you with? Are you seeing one of them?"

She tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut and find a way around them. She needed to get out of there quick before Finn heard the commotion and came outside. . .

"Hey, Berry!" She turned around at the familiar voice and her heart stopped in her chest. No, this wasn't happening. . .

Instead of Finn coming outside, she saw Puck come out of the apartment with nothing but a towel on, holding her cell phone. Puck took one look at what was going on, and his face morphed into a mask of anger.

"What the fuck is going on here? Leave Rachel the hell alone!" Puck pushed through the two men and handed Rachel her cell phone. Rachel was both elated and horrified that Puck was here. She was happy that he could help her push past the paparazzi, but she was terrified of his lack of clothing and their compromising position. He helped her to her car, and Rachel heard the snapping of more and more pictures of her and Puck. Together.

It was a nightmare of epic proportions.

"Nice boyfriend, Berry! I knew you were doing it with a co-star!" The paps snapped a final picture of Rachel, her face contorted into shock and horror. Puck closed the car door and pushed through the paps to go back into his apartment, the vultures snapping up every shot they could get of her shirtless co-star.

As the car drove away, the seriousness of the situation actually hit her.

She'd just been caught leaving Puck and Finn's apartment. Puck had come out, almost naked, with her cell phone. It totally seemed like they were screwing each other.

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

And she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

She arrived at the interview, and she could barely keep herself composed long enough to answer the questions being asked. She was distracted by the events of the morning, and she knew the interview was going poorly. She couldn't stop shaking; she was so nervous about what had happened. How was she going to explain this?

The interview ended, and when she got back to her car, she noticed she had two voicemails. Her hands were still shaking when she listened to them.

The first one was from Finn. He was obviously unaware of what had happened. "Hey Broadway, it's me. Will and I are grabbing some drinks after we finish filming these pick-up scenes, so I'm sorry if I don't see you tonight. Have a great day!" His cheery voice did nothing to lift her spirits as her voicemail played the second message.

This time it was Herman. And he wasn't so cheery. "Rachel, it's Herman. I got a call from Access Hollywood about an interesting piece they're doing on you tonight. Something to do with you and an affair with a co-star. Please call me back so you can explain to me what the hell is going on with you!" Rachel was like a living, breathing statue for the rest of the ride. She didn't move an inch. She could feel her private life crumbling around her and she was powerless to stop it.

She went back to her apartment and crawled under the covers of her bed, trying to hide away from the world that was crashing down around her.

Finn sat in the bar with Will Schuester, who played Mr. Morrison, the glee club's advisor on the show. Will was a good guy. He was only a few years older than Finn, so he saw Will as the older brother he'd never had. He'd been on Broadway before too, so Will and Rachel were Finn's go-to people in regards to the business. Will always had good advice for Finn, and he was a much more stable drinking buddy than Puck was. Once Puck had a few drinks in him, he got crazy. Especially around women. Will was much more chill.

They nursed their beers while a TV blasted in the background. He normally didn't go out to bars, but tonight was an exception. It wasn't late yet, and he was just with Will. When he went out with the other cast members at night, he always got hit-on at the bars. It made him feel uncomfortable, seeing as he was with Rachel. But because he'd told reporters in interviews that he was single, it was like an open invitation for girls to flirt with him.

"So how are things going with Rachel?"

Finn took a deep chug of the bitter liquid before answering Will's question. "As good as things can get when you're hiding a passionate love affair from the public. I don't know how much longer we can do this. The show is getting so popular and we have to be together all the time. It's a lot harder than it looks."

Will laughed and clapped the young actor on his back. He sounded like he was going to say something else, but Finn heard nothing. The hand slid off of his back unceremoniously. Finn turned to look at Will, and noticed his mouth was hanging open in shock.

"What is it, man?" Will looked at Finn and pointed to the TV that was above their heads. Finn looked up, and noticed a woman with a big smile, talking about celebrities. "Yeah, what about her? This is gossip shit."

Will did nothing but shake his head and point while the lady with the giant fake smile rambled on about celebrity gossip. Who the hell cared if the Jonas Brothers were vacationing in Cabo?

But the lady continued on, and he almost dropped his beer in shock when a picture of Rachel, his Rachel, flashed on the screen. She looked exactly the same as when she'd left his apartment that morning. Wait, that was the front of his apartment!

"There's a new romance behind the scenes of TV's biggest show! Our reporters caught Glee star Rachel Berry leaving the apartment of one of her co-stars! Here's Billy with the scoop! Billy?" He felt the air being knocked out of him. How did they find out about them? When had they been caught?

The camera panned to a man with a fake-tan and way too much product in his hair. "Thanks, have we got a scoop for you! It seems that Glee star Rachel Berry is involved with one of her sexy male co-stars from the show, and only Access Hollywood has the pictures to prove it!"

Finn watched in complete horror as he saw pictures of Rachel being flashed on the screen. He almost hollered in fury when the pictures showed her and PUCK, with only his towel on, outside of their apartment. He could see Puck pass Rachel her cell phone in the pictures. Then he helped her into her car. He could barely hear the host talking about the gossip, all he could see was his girlfriend and his room-mate being exploited as a couple on National Television.

"In a twist that the tabloids are calling Puckleberry, fans are filled with glee over this budding relationship between two beloved characters." Finn stood up abruptly, knocking his beer into Will's glass and dripping beer all over the bar. This wasn't happening. This was unreal. What the fuck was PUCKLEBERRY? The host continued to talk about the fan's reactions to the new "it" couple, as they interviewed people on the street.

A shrieking girl in a Glee t-shirt screamed into the camera, "OH EM GLEE!! I think they're too cute together! Puckleberry for life!" Finn felt like he was going to be ill.

"Finn? Are you okay, man?" He could hear Will's voice but it sounded like it was coming through a tunnel. He sounded very far away, even though he was sitting right next to him.

More and more pictures of Rachel and Puck passed by on the screen, and he recognized the van and the shady man in the background of the pictures. The junkies from that morning weren't junkies, they were paparazzi! And they had been parked out in front of his apartment all morning. When Finn had sent Puck out to give Rachel back her cell phone, he had accidentally set up the worst photo-op imaginable.

"Only Access Hollywood can keep you posted on all things Puckleberry! Check out our website for all the pics and don't forget to tune in. . ." The host rambled on some more and Finn picked up his glass to down every last drop of his beer.

Will looked more than a little worried about him. "Finn, let me drive you home." Finn shook his head and paid for his drink.

"No, it's okay. I have to go to Rachel's." He rubbed his temples with his fingers, trying desperately to relieve the pressure building in his head. "We need to talk."

Will nodded at his friend and Finn left the bar, determined to talk to Rachel about this debacle and what it meant for their relationship.

He never wanted to hear the word Puckleberry again for as long as he lived.

Salut mes amis!

OH NO! PUCKLEBERRY RUINS FINCHEL FUN EVEN IN A/U!

Until Next Time. . .*sings* Don't Stop Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk