Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. The plot is inspired by the manga 100% Perfect Girl by Wann.

Author's note: I posted Chapter 1 two weeks ago, but ff doesn't send alerts for re-posted chapters, so if you haven't read it yet, please go do it now before reading this one. Thank you.

Big thanks to LaMomo and Salanna for kicking ass at beta-ing and pre-reading respectively. You both rock those nifty and sparkly red pens! I love it!

Let's meet Bella, shall we?

~ CHAPTER TWO ~

The Idealistic Painter

"…and tickets to the Prom are now for sale! There are two ticket booths outside the cafeteria; you can purchase them there or at the administrator's office. Thank you for listening and have a lovely day. Excelsior!"

The distinctive sound of bells chiming signaled the end of the announcement.

Bella slammed her locker close, shifting her bag over her shoulder and cringing at the weight. While everyone else carried nifty little iPads with digital books, she was still stuck with the poor dead trees. And they weren't the little thin books she used to carry back in her last school; it seemed that the more pretentious the school, the heavier the books.

"Bella! Bella!"

Bella turned around to see who was screaming her name and smiled when she recognized the source. Her best friend Angela came running down the hall between the mass of students that were coming out of class, her face flushed and her long dark hair falling out of her high ponytail.

"Hey, Ange… what is it?" Bella asked, once her agitated friend reached her.

Concern marred Angela's pretty face, and Bella's chest tightened with dread.

"I just came down from Cope's office and I heard Banner say that Jessica is going to represent the school in the Seattle Fine Arts Competition."

Bella tried to make sense of the words, but she was sure she had misheard her.

"Say that again?"

Angela puffed and then took a deep breath. Taking Bella's free hand to show support, she repeated what she had overheard while talking to her advisor.

"I was just leaving Cope's office when Banner asked if she had informed Jessica Stanley about her spot at the Seattle Fine Arts Competition and to please make sure that you were informed as well."

Bella shook her head. "But I won the school contest, that spot is mine!" She whirled around and ran in the opposite direction, straight to Banner's office.

Ten minutes later, Bella sat on one of the guests' chairs inside the vice-principal's office. She was a complete mass of confusion as she listened to Banner confirm what she had heard.

Banner sat behind his desk, his clear blue eyes looking at the young girl with a touch of sadness. "I'm sorry Ms. Swan, but it is correct. Ms. Stanley will be representing the school at the SFAC." It broke his heart to give her such awful news. Isabella was one of the most talented students in the institute; he'd admired the young girl since he first met her.

As the vice-principal of St. Catherine High, a private school renowned for its art and design program, Professor Robert Banner took great pride in all the students. He was an older man with a slight English accent who carried himself with a certain debonair style. He inspired respect wherever he went and always felt close to his students, particularly his scholarship kids.

Isabella Swan had been accepted at St. Catherine after winning a scholarship through a nationwide contest. Her talent was raw, but since she started classes at St. Catherine, her technique had improved tremendously and she had learned so much over the past three years. He wasn't surprised that she was upset at being overlooked like this.

Bella didn't understand when the decision to send Jessica instead of her had been made. She had won her spot with hard work and studies, so why did they decide to go with second best?

"I don't understand," Bella finally replied. "Last time you said that I would be the one to represent the school."

Banner ran a hand over his white hair and set his wire-rimmed reading glasses on the desk, where a few papers were scattered. He leaned over the desk, his hands clasped together and his eyes fixed on Bella's distressed face. "Isabella, I tried to convince the board to at least let you show your work. You're extremely talented, but…" he sighed and shook his head, not knowing how to explain the decision without hurting her feelings.

"B-but?" Bella stuttered, almost too scared to ask.

Banner cleared his throat. "Isabella, you have one of the highest SATs scores in the school, but you're not applying to any college after graduation. The board feels that because Ms. Stanley is applying to an art institute in France and has a score as high as yours, she needs this contest to make her name known. Also, winning a prize in the upcoming Fine Arts Competition is important, not only for Ms. Stanley's future, but also for the school's reputation. The board made their choice. I'm so sorry, Isabella."

It was all down to the name, she should have known.

"Thank you, Professor Banner," she told him with a small voice. With her head lowered she stood up and walked to the door.

Banner could see the sadness in Bella's eyes, and it bothered him that he couldn't help her. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Bella hesitantly turned around to face him.

"Just between you and me, Isabella," he told her with a small smirk, "your work is exquisite. Don't ever stop painting. You're far more talented than Ms. Stanley. Make sure the board regrets this decision, all right?"

Bella gave him a little smile. "I'll try," she said with tears in her eyes, and walked out of the office feeling a little defeated.

When Bella entered the lunchroom her eyes landed on Jessica and Lauren, the Stanley sisters, and they both smirked at her, looking very proud.

Bella didn't bother to even acknowledge their pathetic attempt to get a rise out of her.

From the far left of the cafeteria, away from Lauren and Jessica, Angela spotted her best friend and waved her over. By Bella's demeanor, she could tell things hadn't gone well, so she was anxious to know what Professor Banner had said.

Bella quickly moved towards the table Angela was sitting at, bypassing the lunch line. She had lost her appetite after the conversion with Banner. Bella sighed, knowing Angela was going to bombard her with questions. She sat down with a huff in front of her friend, and Angela was quick to ask for details.

Bella relayed the contents of her conversation with Banner, but half way through, Ben and Eric showed up. Ben quickly sat down next to Angela, kissing her cheek, and Eric sat at the head of the rectangular table, an apple between his hands.

"What's with the long faces?" Ben asked, noticing the stiffness in the girls' postures.

After Angela filled in the boys about what had happened, Bella finished her re-count of the conversation in Banner's office. By the end of it, Angela couldn't believe this was an unbiased board's decision. Ben let out a sound close to a growl, and Eric shook his head while saying, "Go figure…"

Angela's indignation towards this whole situation suddenly bubbled out. "THIS IS NOT FAIR!" she nearly screamed in the middle of the cafeteria.

The Stanley sisters let out a loud guffaw, sounding like a couple of hyenas, and Angela shot a death glare their way, already suspecting they were behind everything.

"Angela, tone it down a little!" Bella hissed, looking over her shoulder. She didn't want to cause a scene; she just wanted to be left alone and let this go.

What was done was done, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Sorry, but Bella… You can fight this! You know it's not fair; you won your placing fair and square. Besides, Jessica's mother is in the board," Angela ranted. "There's no doubt Lauren and Jessica convinced their mother that you shouldn't be in the competition."

"Angela, there is nothing I can do. I have no plans to go to college, Banner is right."

Angela scoffed. "No, he isn't. You could win a grant or a scholarship if you place in the top ten."

"Yes, but grants or scholarships should be awarded to someone who is planning to become a professional artist and we both know I can't do that. Even if I did win a scholarship, hell would have to freeze over before my mother would let me waste money like that."

Angela frowned, hating whenever Bella talked like that. Renee shouldn't even be part of this conversation. Angela had witnessed Renee's mistreatment of Bella first hand, and it pissed her off that woman still had a firm grip on Bella even though she was already legally of age.

Angela couldn't understand why a mother wouldn't encourage her child to pursue her chosen career. Her family, the Webers, came from a long line of lawyers and doctors; Angela was the first one in the family to pursue art and design as a career. She wanted to be a fashion photographer, to become the next Annie Leibovitz. Angela was very talented and determined, not to mention very competitive. Her parents were proud of her and admired her desire to pursue something that made her happy. They supported her career completely.

Only Angela's constant support and praise had led Bella to attend St. Catherine.

The girls had been friends since they were little girls. Their friendship was born after Bella—being a very clumsy kid—ended up in the ER after taking a fall from the top of a tree, breaking her little leg. Renee immediately took her to the hospital, but Bella was in a lot of pain and cried non-stop through the entire ride; she wouldn't stop even after being admitted to the ER. Renee had no idea what to do; the only person who could ever calm her down when in pain had been her father, Charlie, but since he wasn't in the picture any longer, she could only provide limited comfort.

Angela had been at the circulation desk with her favorite stuffed bunny tucked under her little arm, waiting with her mommy for her daddy to finish his work. She'd noticed the little doe-eyed girl crying on a gurney and decided to make her feel better. She walked straight there and sat down next to her.

Angela gave the stuffed bunny to Bella who had started to calm down a bit in the presence of the other girl. Angela told the story of how Bebe, the bunny, was a present from her grandmother when she was three years old and had magic powers to make pain go away.

Bella giggled and hugged the bunny, instantly feeling better. Angela said that if the bunny wasn't helping, then her daddy would, because he could fix any boo-boo she ever had. Her daddy was a doctor and took care of a lot of sick kids like her, so she shouldn't worry about her leg. Angela assured her that she was going to be just fine.

Angela and Bella had been inseparable ever since, and thanks to Bella's many trips to the ER over the years, Dr. Harry Weber became like a second father to her.

Angela had always been very protective of Bella, and throughout the years, their friendship had become as strong as a bond between sisters.

"The least they could do is let you show your work, even if you don't compete," Angela murmured, taking Bella's hand across the table.

"What's done is done. I just want this day to be over and go home." Bella sighed and patted her friend's hand, letting go to take her sketchpad out of her bag.

Ben and Eric exchanged a confused look, wondering about Bella's lack of response to the whole situation.

"What, you're not going to fight this at all?" Eric asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Bella mustered all the strength she had and gave her closest friends a little smile, though it ended up looking more like a grimace, and then quickly looked down.

"It's okay, guys. Besides, I can only paint as a hobby, you know that," she said despairingly, keeping her eyes trained on the sketchpad.

Angela pursed her lips but didn't say anything, watching Bella as she started sketching furiously across the page.

After a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, Bella raised her eyes and saw Ben looking at her over the top of Angela's head which rested on his shoulder, and gave her a supporting smile.

It was comforting that her friends understood her. They knew not to push the subject of her inability to pursue art as a profession; it was something they always ended up arguing about and right now the last thing she needed was starting a fight she was sure she was going to lose.

Eric offered her his apple, which she took with a smile towards him.

He winked at her and stood up. "It's time to go find my beau and talk about prom."

"Please… more like make out and then tell him what he's wearing!" Angela exclaimed with a laugh.

"You know me so well," Eric said with a smirk.

"Just don't do it on school grounds, Eric," advised his twin brother. "Banner already warned you once."

"Yes, spare us the show, please!" added Angela.

Bella giggled, remembering how Banner had caught Eric and his boyfriend inside his car last semester, both of them sans shirts and pants. Eric hadn't been able to look at Banner in the eyes for the rest of the term.

Eric huffed. "You wish I were not gay so you could get some of the Eboy!"

"More like Ebay the way you used to go around…" Ben mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?" Eric asked appalled, with a quirked eyebrow and his hands on his hips.

"Ben, let it go. Go Eric, lunch hour is almost over," Bella added with a little smirk.

"Later, girls!" he waved while walking backwards to the lunchroom exit.

Everyone yelled their farewells to him, Ben flipping him off.

While Ben and Angela started discussing their plans for the weekend, Bella couldn't help but feel lucky for having met them all.

When Bella won the scholarship to St. Catherine, Angela had been ecstatic for her best friend, and had quickly organized a party so she could meet some of her future classmates. It was during that party that she had met the Cheney twins.

Eric and Ben Cheney were identical twins, except for their hair. While Ben had short spiky hair and always carried a bit of a scruff, Eric had short curly hair and was always clean-shaven. Their parents, Kate and Garret, had been very famous actors and producers in L.A, but when the time came to start a family they decided to return to their hometown, Seattle, and raise their children there. They bought a house on the outskirts of the city and opened an independent film company which had become quite successful, winning awards at all major independent film festivals. It came as no surprise to anyone that Ben wanted to become a film director as he had practically grown up with a camera attached to his hand, while Eric wanted a career in fashion design, his influence coming from of his mother's flawless taste in fashion.

The Cheneys were a very successful and wealthy family, but they were very down to earth. They didn't feel the need to flaunt their wealth like every other student at St. Catherine.

The Cheney brothers knew what it was like to have a supporting family, and wished to support Bella the same way. Ben hated how elitist the school was, and after today Eric hated the Stanley twins even more, agreeing with Angela that they were probably behind all of this. They believed that Bella's talent should be encouraged and not squashed, like the school's board members and her mother were doing.

The Swans weren't wealthy, but they weren't poor either. They lived a comfortable life, but their family problems derived from the head of the family. Renee Swan was quite the character. She managed Swan's Bed and Breakfast, a boarding house for U-Dub college students from nearby towns.

It was often said that parents didn't have favorites amongst their children, but Renee definitely did not adhere to this rule. Renee's favoritism was clear in the way she interacted with Bella's older brother Caleb, compared to her interactions with Bella. Anyone could see it, but Bella paid her no mind as her brother always made sure to protect and love her. He made up for Renee's lack of parental guidance, making their relationship strong, much to Renee's irritation.

When she was little Bella had been the apple of her father's eye, but she hadn't heard from or of him since he left them almost eleven years ago, and she didn't expect him to come back. The why and the how of his leaving were a mystery for the Swan siblings. To this day, Renee refused to speak about the day he left without even saying goodbye to his children.

Caleb and Bella didn't even know if their father was still alive.

Bella was alone as Caleb was busy with his studies and his part-time job, and the constant criticisms from her mother had left Bella with very little confidence in her abilities as an artist.

Bella's underwhelming reaction to the whole situation was concerning, though. Her lack of fighting spirit was a sign she was giving up, something Angela vowed to not let happen. Even if she had to slap her best friend out that funk, she wasn't going to let her give up on her art and on herself.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

Bella closed her sketchpad and stood up, saying goodbye to her friends and walked to her next class. She kept her head down the rest of the day.

As Bella made her way towards the bus stop, waving goodbye to Angela, she thought about what her friends had told her during lunch. Should she really fight the school board's decision? She wasn't sure she should. Bella got on the bus that would take her home, sitting down in the back. She had a long ride ahead of her and her thoughts went back to her conversation with Professor Banner.

"You're not applying to any college after graduation…"

"The board made their choice. I'm so sorry, Isabella…"

"Your work is exquisite, don't stop painting…"

Bella shook her head and pulled out her sketchpad, finishing the sketch she had started during lunch. When the bus reached her stop, she put her things away and climbed down. She still had to walk four blocks to get home, but she didn't mind.

The walk would help her shake off her somber mood.

When Bella arrived home, she met Alistair on his way out.

"Hullo there, B! It's always nice to catch you in your uniform," he greeted her with a huge smile on his face, showing his dimples.

Bella blushed at his words.

Alistair was a foreign exchange student from Ireland. He had a wicked sense of humor and was absolutely gorgeous. With short jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, he was the type of guy that could get away with anything, not to mention him being a total flirt.

Unfortunately for all the women in Seattle, he liked his dates to be of the same gender as him.

Bella had been the first to find out about Alistair's orientation when she caught him sneaking a guy out of the inn during his first week, and he made her promise to keep it quiet. She understood where he was coming from, since her mother was not the most open-minded person in the world.

Alistair chuckled at Bella's blush, she was so innocent and yet so wise at the same time. She was such a loyal friend and he was very thankful to have her confidence.

"Can you tell your mother that I won't be in for dinner? I'm going out to a party with Eric tonight," he asked with worry written in his face.

"Umm… Ali, aren't you guys partying too much?"

They'd been out almost every day for the past two weeks, which worried Bella a lot. She knew Eric had as many finals as she did, and he couldn't be preparing very well if he went out clubbing almost every night.

Alistair had met Eric two weeks after his arrival when Bella had invited her friends over for some movies, taking the opportunity when her mother and brother had gone to visit her uncle Phil in San Francisco. Eric had taken one a look at Alistair and had asked him out on the spot. They'd been together since.

It had been quite difficult for Bella to keep the secret from her mother, but one look at the two of them together reminded her of why she did it.

Those two, along with Angela and Ben, were the epitome of true love. Anyone could see it in the way they gazed at each other and the secret smiles they often shared.

Bella frequently wondered if she would ever find that kind of love.

"Nah… he's fine. Let us off the hook this time, little B. I only have a few more months till my beau's graduation, and then he's off to the Big Apple," he pouted with big puppy eyes.

Ben and Eric were moving to New York during the summer. Ben would be attending NYU for filmmaking in the fall, while Angela and Eric would be going to Parsons for photography and fashion design respectively. Angela would be staying with her aunt who lived closed to the Institute.

Bella groaned and cursed internally, she couldn't fight those stupid puppy eyes of his. Alistair was just too damn cute for his own good.

"Fine, just go. I'll tell my mom," she finally said, surrendering to his charms.

"THANK YOU, B! In exchange I'll buy you an outfit when I go to New York with Eric during the summer, what do you say?"

BelIa giggled at his enthusiasm and nodded; there was no arguing with him when it came to clothes.

After saying goodbye to Alistair, Bella went inside and found her mother in the kitchen doing the dishes.

The dishwasher must've been broken, again.

Bella took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell her mom about the competition. Renee had been looking forward to it, mainly because she knew there was a cash price for the top three artists.

"Umm… Mom, about the Fine Arts Competition—"

"Why didn't you come straight home after school? Why are you so late?" she snapped at her tersely.

"Mom, school just let out, I took the bus since Ang can no longer give me a ride, remember?"

Angela had been doing some volunteer work at the hospital, one of the stipulations her parents had set after she announced she wanted to attend Parsons instead of NYU like her parents expected. Last summer, Angela had visited a couple of campuses in New York with Ben and Eric. When she set foot inside Parsons, she fell in love with the institute. Though a little disheartened—Angela's parents were both NYU alumni—they supported Angela's choice of school, but set a few conditions. One was volunteering at the hospital for the rest of her stay in Seattle and she had to enroll at NYU in order to get her MBA after graduation. Angela accepted the terms with a smile on her face, just like she did everything else.

Renee huffed and shook her head while mumbling, "Stupid bus… rich inconsiderate girl…"

"Mom, was I supposed to pick something up for you?" Bella asked, making her stop her little rambling.

"Oh, yeah… Go to the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, hurry up! The new boarder from Olympia is there because he doesn't know the city and took a shuttle from the airport. So, go and pick him up."

Bella stayed where she stood and stared at her mother.

Was she serious?

"Mom, how am I supposed to pick him up? I don't have a car—"

"Well, use your brother's, of course! Now go on, move!" Renee shooed her daughter out of the kitchen.

"What about my brother? It looks like he's home," Bella added, the annoyance clear in her tone.

Bella was tired, she just wanted a snack and take a nap, maybe even finish up the painting she had been working on all week. It was her way to decompress after rough day at school.

Renee turned around from the dishes and glared at her. "Isabella, I don't have time to argue with you. I need to start dinner as soon as I finish the dishes. Don't bother your brother; he's studying for a test. Now go!"

Bella clenched her fists and with a huff ran to her room to change out of her school uniform. She put on a bright pink peasant blouse, her favorite denim skirt and her new brown knee-high boots, a present from Eric for her last birthday.

She grabbed her brother's keys from the hook by the garage door and got in his Toyota Celica.

It was days like this that showed Renee's favoritism. Her son's studies were so much more important than her daughter's. In fact, had it been up to Renee, Bella would never have attended St. Catherine in the first place. She believed that art would never pay the bills, so she wanted Bella to focus on a more practical degree and start working as soon as possible after graduation, all to help Caleb with med school and opening a practice in the future. She was always planning and scheduling everything around Caleb's future, never around Bella's.

Bella could still hear her mother's mocking tone when she told her about the scholarship to St. Catherine. It infuriated her that she once considered not attending, but that day Bella had drawn a line. She had finally taken something she wanted for herself, and in some way she felt it had cost her the last bit of her mother's love.

Bella tried so hard to not let the tears fall, she clenched her eyes closed and gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her knuckles almost white from the exertion, while her mother's voice haunted her memories.

"An easel? For what? Your art thing? There are more important things to spend money on…"

"This art thing has gone long enough, and now you want to study it?"

"You're wasting your time, Isabella. Do something that actually brings in some money!"

Bella shook her head, trying to dispel those words from her mind.

Suddenly, something warm touched the top of Bella's hands and she snapped her eyes open.

Caleb was leaning down through the passenger window, his hand on hers with a sad look on his face.

"Bells, I'm sorry. I didn't know about picking someone up or I would have done it before coming home," he said apologetically while rubbing his sister's hand.

Bella released the steering wheel, feeling her fingers prickle from the blood flow returning, and gave her brother a small smile. "Oh, Caleb... it's okay. Besides, I need to get more supplies for my final projects. It's really no trouble."

Caleb sighed. He knew about Bella's tendency to downplay her feelings, and he could see that was exactly what she was doing. The redness around her eyes told him she wasn't fine, but he let it go. He knew that pushing her to talk would do no good. Maybe some time away from the house—and their mother—would do her some good.

"Do you need money? The tank is full so don't worry about gas. Here," he pulled out his wallet from his the back pocket of his jeans and handed her two twenty dollars bills. "It's not much, but I love your art so much, Bells. Go to Carmen's and get some new paints."

Bella took the money and sniffed a little, touched by her brother's gesture. "Thank you, Caleb. You're the best brother ever."

He scratched the back of his neck and looked down at Bella with a little blush on his cheeks.

The blush was the only thing Bella and Caleb had in common, besides their last name.

Physically, they were polar opposites.

Caleb had dark blond hair that fell to his chin and hazel green eyes, the same coloring as Renee. He was six feet tall and had a swimmer's build. His skin was slightly golden and he was very handsome. A lot of Bella's classmates had a little crush on him, having seen him whenever he picked Bella up from school.

Bella, on the other hand had her father's coloring. Her big chocolate brown eyes were framed by dark eyelashes. She thought they were dull in comparison to Caleb's enigmatic ones. Her brown hair reached almost to her waist, and she was only five feet five inches tall. Her skin was porcelain white with a small smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Bella wished their mother wouldn't treat her and her brother differently, but with Caleb's support she'd been able to survive her mother's harsh words and cold attitude.

How could she not love her brother when he did these little things for her?

"I love you, sis. Be safe," Caleb said, tapping the rooftop twice before taking a step back.

"Thanks again, Cal. I'll be back before dinner." Bella waved goodbye and turned on the engine.

Slowly, she backed away from the garage, and just before she was completely on the street, she heard her brother yell something from the garage.

Not having heard him clearly, Bella stuck her head out of the window.

"What did you just say?"

Caleb waved at her and yelled. "I said: One scratch and you'll never see your easel again, wench!"

Bella laughed. "Don't tempt me, smart ass! I can always use the one at school!" Feeling like a little girl besting her big brother, she stuck her tongue out to him, before quickly peeling out of the driveway.

Her brother's laugh filled her with warmth, and she could still hear it as she turned the corner.

Bella smiled the rest of the drive to the hotel.

AND I'M OFFICIALLY BACK! Right now, chapters are gonna remain this length. I have around ten chapters written, two of them have been edited and one is on its way to my beta, just need to give it a read through one more time.

Updates will be every Sunday. I'll be posting a small teaser for the next chapter at Fictease dot com and it should be up on Tuesday. If there is no chapter teaser on Tuesday, I'll post a pictease on that same site, but those go up on Saturday. So, go check out that awesome site, would you? Some pretty cool ladies run it and I admire them all.

For other stuff like pictures, outfits and more, check out my blog. Link is on my profile.

So, what do you think about Bella? Leave me a word or two; even a smiley would be fine!

Till next time,

~Mina