Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga and all its characters.
Summary: Actress Isabella Swan is a rising star in Hollywood, and it seems as if nothing can bring her down. Well, that is until a mysterious journalist begins to post her childhood horror stories on a website dedicated to her humiliation. Obviously, a little OOC.
A/N: Thanks very much to my mentor, Amelie Gray, who has already encouraged me into posting this story after only knowing me two days. She's amazing and a talented writer. Check her out. :) Also, big thanks goes to anythingzombie for betaing this chapter for me and helping me work out the kinks.
This is my first E/B, so hope you enjoy. :D
Small Town Actress, Bella Swan, Receives A Standing Ovation Yet Again.
By Edward A. Cullen
Isabella Swan aced the part of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet last night on the Forks High School stage. Best known in Forks for her part as Abigail in The Crucible, Bella seems only able to raise the bar with each performance. As I watched the show, it was clear to me that this girl had no intention of being bamboozled by a few "prithees." Not only were her recitations moving and deep, but her kiss with Romeo, played by Eric Yorkie, was so intense—
Bella punched her best friend—and longtime crush—on the shoulder.
"Edward Anthony Cullen, what the hell are you writing?"
He held up his hands, laughing. "Just trying to put my thoughts on paper."
"Well, stop."
He sighed dramatically, hitting the backspace a few times. "Fine."
—but her chemistry with Romeo, played by Eric Yorkie, was palpable. In fact, her performance was so exceptional that I, Edward Cullen, am forced to wonder if there's anything that will stop this junior from achieving a place in Julliard, her dream.
"There isn't," Bella murmured, once again interrupting Edward.
He shot her an exasperated glare. "Do you want me to finish this or not?"
"Oh, Edward, auditions are next week…what if—what if I mess up?" Bella whispered.
Edward's beautiful green eyes caught her brown ones. "Trust me. You won't. You've done your monologues perfectly a million times. You're going to make it in. I know it." He grinned suddenly. "Now, let me finish my article, wench."
"Fine," she sulked, standing up. "Since I'm so distracting, I'll see you tomorrow. It's late anyway." She left the room in a huff like the actress she was.
Edward smiled to himself, finishing his small article for the online Forks News.
After watching her once again in action, I feel as if I can safely say, "Watch out, Hollywood, Bella Swan is coming your way."
And hopefully, he'd be there to cover her. Because a life without Bella was impossible to imagine.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Chapter 1:
Bella took her academy award for best actress with a blinding grin on her face. Was this actually possible? Was this a joke? She had come unbelievably far in the three years since she had graduated Julliard. She had been extremely lucky. Landing a part in Propriety with other extremely gifted actors was more than she'd ever hoped for.
If only—if only Edward were here. But she couldn't allow herself to think such thoughts. It had been seven years since she had caught him kissing Tanya; she should have gotten over him by now. Besides, she had Jacob now, and he was loyal and good.
Jacob Black had been Bella's love interest in Propriety and as it turned out, in real life, too. They had been dating more than a year now and things were getting quite serious. Of course, reporters were having a field day, but Bella could care less; Jacob was worth the gossip. She could see him in the audience right now, whistling.
She took her place by the microphone, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
"Wow," she said breathlessly. "I can't believe this is really happening. God. Thank you so much. I'm just—wow. I'm so honored. I want to thank my cast and crew members for helping make Propriety possible." She met eyes with Jacob and smiled. "I want to thank my director, Lonnie Bramblet, for not allowing anything but the best from me. I want to thank my long-time friends, Alice Cullen, and her fiancé, Jasper Whitlock, for providing support when I felt like I was going to go insane. And, Alice," Bella found her friend's face in the crowd, "thanks for helping me pick out my dress. I think it's perfect." And it was. Long and midnight-blue with an exquisite neckline and a simple, shimmery design on the hemline, Bella's dress stood out. She continued, "I want to thank all of my teachers. Without them, I wouldn't have made it past auditions. And I want to thank my parents for putting up with my rehearsal schedules in high school." Suddenly, Edward's face appeared in her mind. No. She couldn't thank him. Even though he did run lines with her hundreds of times. Even though he wrote glowing articles about her every performance. Even though he'd been her best friend since pre-school. Even though she'd been in love with him for almost as long. Just as she opened her mouth to place him in her speech, she remembered what he had done, and Bella decided that she didn't owe Edward a thank you after all. "Thank you so much. To all of you," she finished, flashing a weak smile.
Her gut twisting, she descended the stairs and, not paying her usual attention to such a task, stumbled. Luckily, though, Jacob was there to steady her. She'd always been on the klutzy side, so klutzy, in fact, that Jacob would joke that she needed a stunt double to walk on anything but a flat surface.
"Congratulations, Bells," Jacob crowed, lifting her up in the air and giving her a passionate kiss. This earned them several hoots from the audience.
"Jacob," she hissed but couldn't keep the grin off her face. Who needed Edward? She had Jacob and Alice and acting.
They sat back down in their seats and watched the rest of the awards. Every once in a while, Jacob whispered cheesy pick-up lines in her ear; it was sort of their thing. Before they started dating, Jacob had guest-starred on a TV show where he had used the most awful pick-up line on the main character. Bella had teased him about it on set, and Jacob began to start every day with a new one. Bella was amazed he hadn't ran out yet.
"If I followed you home, would you keep me?"
They were in the back of the limousine, heading to Jacob's house.
Bella shot Jacob an amused glance and said, "Close, but no cigar. You've already used that one."
"Damn," Jake cursed with a smile. "Guess I'll have to look up some new ones."
"Great," she sighed dramatically.
"Oh, come on, you love it." Jake nudged her with his arm.
Bella took his hands in hers and leaned into him. "Yes. I suppose I do," she murmured, tracing his jaw with the tip of her nose.
Jake groaned and captured her lips with his mouth. He pulled her on top of him so that she was sitting on his lap. "God, Bella," he moaned against her. "I love you."
Bella froze. Although they had been a couple for a year, they had never said those words to each other. She hadn't been ready. She still wasn't ready. She pulled back from Jacob, her eyes shining. "Jake," she whispered painfully.
He met her eyes boldly. "Well, it's true. Bella, I love you. And I know you don't feel the same way, but that doesn't change how I feel."
She averted her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, look at me. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It's that kid, right? Edward? He hurt you."
"How—?" she began.
"Listen, Bella, I'll wait for you. As long as it takes, I'll be here."
Bella's throat tightened. "Are—Are you sure?" She shut her eyes. She didn't know what she would do if Jacob left her.
Jacob kissed her eyelids. "I'm sure."
She collapsed against him in relief, tears falling from her eyes. She kissed his face furiously, "Jake," she breathed. "I do love you, just not—"
"I know," he answered huskily. The limo came to a stop. "Stay with me tonight."
Not really feeling like it but wanting to make up for her lack of feelings for him, Bella said, "Okay."
Jacob opened the door for her, and when she climbed out, he swept her off her feet and carried her bridal style into his mansion. Bella gave a weak wave and smile at the limo driver, Collin, and he nodded in understanding.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
When Bella woke up the morning, she was sore, sweaty, and grouchy. Jacob had wrapped his hot arms around her sometime in the middle of the night, effectively smothering her. She wriggled around to face him and shoved away with her feet. Jacob rolled over, muttering to himself. Bella rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
Once under the scalding water, Bella remembered her Academy Award, and her mood lightened considerably. After washing, she hopped out of the shower, donned her fleece robe, and yawned. A glance at the clock on her wall informed her that it was only six-thirty in the morning, and she grimaced. Although she'd always been an early riser, she couldn't believe she'd gotten up before seven after going to bed later than midnight.
In Jacob's exercise room, Bella did her daily yoga, relieving her sore muscles, then walked downstairs to Jacob's sizable kitchen and began to prepare breakfast. After retrieving the necessary ingredients for a cheese omelet, Bella turned on the stove. As she was cooking, Jacob came plodding down the stairs, a lazy grin on his face.
"Hey, babe," he yawned. "Smells good."
Bella gave him a small smile, sweeping away the remnants of irritation from the night before. "Good morning, Jake."
He fell into his seat at the dining room table and said, "I can't believe we're already up."
Bella laughed. "Me neither. I think it's because we had to get up so early for Propriety."
"Probably," he said. "So what are you doing today?"
"Oh, Rose said something about new movies for me to be in or something. I have to go up to her office later."
"Not surprising. Especially after last night."
She sighed. "I have to call Collin soon and remind him to pick me up in thirty minutes."
"Hey, you don't have to do that. You pay him big money to remember that stuff," Jacob said.
"But it's the right thing to do. He'll probably remember anyway." Bella finished the omelets and put them on plates. Jacob stood up and grabbed his.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes, digging into his omelet with fervor. "This is so good," he complimented while chewing.
Bella hit him on the shoulder. "God, Jake, eat with your mouth closed. I know you have manners."
They fell into relaxed conversation about their Christmas plans. Ironically, Jake's dad had just moved to Forks, so they could still see each other over the holidays.
After finishing her food, Bella stood up and placed her plate in the sink. Jake came up behind her and rested his large hands on her waist, kissing her neck. "Thanks for the food," he murmured.
Bella shivered. "You're welcome," she replied breathily. "I-I have to go see Rose now."
"Skip," Jake advised lowly, breathing on her neck.
"Mmm..." she moaned. But Rosalie would kill her if she didn't show. "No. Nope. No way. I have to go." She ducked out of his grip.
Jacob groaned. "Bells," he whined. "Don't leave me alone with nothing to do."
"Oh, please," Bella scoffed. "Aro's been bugging you to come into his office for the past two weeks. Maybe I'll call him myself."
"Oh, God, please no. He's been on my ass ever since I got caught at that bar singing karaoke and the paparazzi got footage."
Bella shrugged. "Totally your fault," she called as she headed up the stairs to change out of her sweats.
She put on a blouse so light blue it was almost white, and some dark-wash, fitted jeans. On her way out, she waved goodbye to Jake, who was on his phone arguing with Aro. Collin was waiting outside, right on time, with the door of her VMW open. She slid inside, murmuring a thank you.
On the ride to Rosalie Hale's office, Bella considered what genre of movie she'd most like to perform in. She immediately discarded horror. Although Jake loved movies like Saw and The Ring, they left Bella lying awake in bed with her lights on, embarrassed that she allowed herself to get so worked up. Action movies were out unless she was a minor character or it had a really good script. And she would never be able to pull off a musical because she couldn't sing and she sure as hell couldn't dance. Maybe an adventure movie, then? Or a comedy? She could definitely see herself as a badass heroine, and she could totally pull off some silliness. Of course, drama would always be her favorite kind of film, and she knew that they would always be most remembered. It would be good to branch out, though.
"We're here," Collin said, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Great. Thanks, Collin." Bella gave him a blinding smile.
She hurried inside the office building through the back entrance. The secretary, Angela, waved at her as she hurried towards the elevator, and she smiled back. "Hello, Angela."
"Hey, Bella. Watch out. Rosalie's in a foul mood."
Bella came to a screeching halt. "What?" When Rosalie wasn't happy, nobody was happy. "Why? I mean, last night…"
Angela merely shrugged. "I have no idea, but she yelled at poor Seth for ten minutes when he got her her usual coffee and was apparently supposed to get her some weird kind of tea. Seth hadn't even talked to her for two days. And when I said good morning to her, she scoffed and gave me the infamous Rosalie Hale glare. I nearly peed myself."
"Oh, God," Bella muttered. "Just what I need."
After giving Angela a thanks for the heads up, Bella wearily hit the elevator button. It immediately opened. Inside, she rocked back and forth nervously to the elevator music, trying to think of an escape plan for when Rosalie started to yell.
When the elevator dinged, Bella flinched and began to chant mentally, Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Bella could hear Rosalie before she saw her, and the rhythmic tapping of Rosalie's blood-red acrylic nails was pretty much a death march.
"You're three minutes late, Bella," Rosalie said monotonously. "I don't have time for your punctuality problems. We have a lot to discuss." Her nails just kept tapping away.
Bella cringed. "Er, sorry?" She stood awkwardly in the doorway, swaying.
"You can sit."
Bella's ass hit the chair.
Rosalie leaned forward menacingly. "Now, Bella, can you tell me what the hell you were thinking when you gave your life story to a fucking reporter?"
Bella jerked back in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend like this is a surprise to you."
"I have no idea what you're—"
"Oh, really? Then tell me why half of the articles about you this morning don't even mention your Oscar, Miss Silly Bella." Her voice dropped to a deadly hiss.
Bella froze. "What did you just call me?" Bella whispered. The only person who had ever called her that was…Her face drained of blood, turning white as paper. "Oh, no." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no." When she opened her eyes, they were as cold and hard as steel. "Where the hell did you hear that name?"
"Silly Bella Swan dot com." Rosalie stopped her tapping. "Look, I'm going to go ahead and assume that you know nothing about this. I'm right, I hope." Bella just nodded miserably. Rosalie sighed. "Fantastic, now I have no one to use as a punching bag. I guess I should apologize. We are friends after all. So. Sorry. Anyway, the website launched last night, ten minutes after you almost tripped at the Academy Awards. I don't know how they got the money, but this person had it promoted everywhere. YouTube, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, everywhere! And guess what the front page picture is?"
"Noooo," Bella groaned, her head dropping onto the desk.
"Take a look," Rose suggested. She turned her laptop to face Bella.
Bella peeked up from the desk hesitantly and then, after a minute of examination, let her head fall back down. The computer screen glared an image of her stumble the night before, and the headline screamed her unfortunate, private, beyond humiliating nickname. It's not unfortunate. It's sacred, a small part of her mind whispered. Below this, there was an excerpt explaining the purpose of website: to allow fans and haters everywhere an intimate glance at some of hot-shot actress Bella Swan's more, well, compromising childhood memories and some of her more recent ones, too. In the corner, a custom view count read seven-hundred-thousand-and -fifty-two hits.
Bella closed her eyes. "Is there any possible way I could just, you know, stop being famous?"
Rosalie laughed. "Ha! You wish!"
"Well, damn, Rosalie. Thank you so much for the sympathy," she muttered dryly.
A/N: Please review! Reviews always mean so much :)