Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

Ok, so I had the idea for this fic after watching Shrek the Third yesterday. I couldn't get it out of my head so I decided to go for it. As you will probably be able to tell when reading this, it is set shortly after the happenings of Shrek the Third. All I can say is I hope you enjoy it and - ARTIE FOREVER! school girl giggle

Always the outcast, never the princess

Bookworm

Since Arthur's arrival at Worcestershire the year before, nobody could have predicted that an even bigger loser would bless the school with their presence, but I suppose they were too busy being big headed jerks to realise that anything is possible, especially in a land where many find their 'happily ever after'…

"Get out of the way Bookworm!" The red haired girl pushed past aggressively with her group of giggling companions 'pack of vicious crocodiles more like'. The girl who'd been the victim of the girl's wrath shook her head, pushing her gold-rimmed glasses back up her nose and a stray strand of brown hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Bookworm. Ok, she was used to that. Apparently it simply wasn't natural for a girl to like to read. Everybody left her alone and when I say everybody, I mean everybody, even down-in-the-mouth Artie didn't seem to know she existed, or at least that he real name wasn't 'Bookworm'.

She couldn't exactly remember when she'd been labelled. She came to the conclusion that it was the second that she'd walked through the massive wooden drawbridge, hiding behind her glasses and clutching onto her books for dear life. Nobody had taken the time to look past her shyness and ask her if she was nervous, to give her a guiding light to follow around the school in those first few tender days.

So they wanted her to be a Bookworm did they? That would fit in with their status quo wouldn't it? Fine. She'd play along with that. At least she wished it had been a conscious decision to spend most of her time hiding in the library and not a seemingly natural drift towards it.

She'd always resigned herself to the fact that some people were simply born to be popular and she just, well, wasn't. It hadn't even taken her the entirety of her first year to learnthat. Books at least didn't care if you were shy. Books didn't look at you as if you were dirt. Books didn't ignore you and trash your feelings.

"Get a grip." She muttered to herself, scowling at her latest book. "Nobody likes a loser, never mind a depressed loser." She shook her head and tucked her knees closer to her, hugging them as if it would help her feel better. Sometimes, no matter how stupid she thought it was afterwards, she wished that the school kids would bully her like they did Arthur. At least that meant they noticed him. At least he existed enough to be bullied. Apparently she didn't even deserve the full extent of their scorn.

She'd hidden in the library instead of going to the assembly. What was the point anyway? Its not like anybody would notice… Perhaps only the teachers and she wasn't exactly sure about that…She'd watched from the window as Arthur walked out the door with the big green guy, the donkey and the… cat in boots? She didn't dare ask.

She heard the rumours though. They spread like wild fire as soon as Arthur had left the assembly hall. Arthur hadn't even left the courtyard before absolutely everyone knew. 'King Artie… Has a good ring to it." She smiled slightly, though she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, everyone was more important than her. She shook her head, she really was happy for him honestly. She just wished she had a break coming to her too.

"Good on you Artie… Good on you."

Ok, so if you're a fan of my other fics, you'll notice that my chapters with this story look shorter than usual, at least they do to me. I think this is because I'm writing more description for this fic. Hmmm. Anyway, please rate and review please! I'd love to hear what you think about Belle ;)