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 on the manga 100% Perfect Girl by Wann.

A/N: Big thanks to LaMomo and Salanna for their awesome edits, comments and advice. You ladies are the dots to my Is, the cross to every T, and the commas I always miss. LOVE YA!

~ CHAPTER FOUR ~

The Impulsive Chase

The rain had stopped, the sun was shining, and a cool breeze blew through the open car windows. Bella shivered and quickly closed the windows with the push of a button. It was one of those rare spring afternoons that reminded her why she loved Seattle. Though she had never been a fan of the cold and humidity, she loved when the sun shone after the rain. The air smelled fresher and cleaner, as if the rain had washed everything away, giving the city a new beginning.

Bella chuckled at her poetic thoughts. Maybe it was time to try out those journals her brother had given her on her last birthday. She let her thoughts drift away as she spotted her favorite art shop and turned into the parking lot behind it. She was parking the car when she heard her phone ping with a new text. She pulled it out of her purse and was shocked to see it was almost five in the afternoon, and even more surprised by the nine missed calls, all from Caleb.

She wiped the screen clean and checked the text she'd just received.

It was from her brother.

-Where are you? Mom's spitting fire!

Bella groaned, her forehead resting against the steering wheel. She knew Renee was furious. Up until now, Bella had been the good girl, always ready to help out, but back at the hotel something inside her had snapped. She didn't know where it came from, but she wasn't willing to let it go just yet. This sense of freedom was too good to pass up. Taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly, she typed a quick reply.

-Sorry, Cal. I'll explain later. I'll b home b4 dinner.

After hitting send, she hid her phone in her purse, not worried about leaving Caleb to deal with Renee. Bella was sure her brother was perfectly capable of controlling their mother. He would just pout and look pathetically sad, their mother would calm down and all of her energy would be focused on making her beloved son happy.

At least, until Bella got home.

Bella cringed, just thinking about what Renee was probably saying about her right now. She had been a tad disrespectful—she knew that—and an apology could smooth things down a bit, but Bella didn't have it in her right now and decided to leave it until she got home.

Besides, she really needed to get more paints, especially now that her finals were approaching and several of her projects were still incomplete and scattered around her bedroom. Bella usually mixed her old paints to create new colors because she simply didn't have the money to buy new ones; her measly allowance was enough to cover her school lunch and transportation, but that was it. But now, thanks to Caleb, she had money to buy new colors.

She got out of the car and walked briskly towards the shop. It was starting to get a little chilly and Bella berated herself for not bringing a jacket, she had completely forgotten about it when she left in such a hurry. The bell on the door jingled as she entered, announcing her arrival. Bella rubbed her exposed arms to warm up as she spotted Carmen, the owner, peeking from one of the aisles on the left side of the store.

"Bella! Come to visit me?" Carmen greeted Bella in her thick Spanish accent with a big smile on her beautiful face.

"Buenas Tardes, Carmen. Quisiera ver que colores de pinturas en oleo tiene, por favor." Bella answered her greeting in Spanish, showing off a bit of what she had learned so far by asking to see what colors in oil paint she had in stock.

"Very good, Bella," Carmen complimented her. "Soon you'll be speaking like a Spanish native! I'm so proud of you!" She beamed.

Bella blushed at her compliment.

Carmen had been teaching Bella Spanish ever since she was a little girl. Bella thought her accent was horrible, but Carmen didn't agree. Bella had a good accent, a little American but not so noticeable, and her grammar was flawless, which made Carmen proud.

"Come with me. Let me show you the new colors." She grabbed Bella's hands and dragged her to the back of the shop, talking enthusiastically about her recent trip to Spain.

Carmen Torres was the owner of Jeanne's Art Shop, a small art supply store Bella had been visiting religiously since she was a child. Carmen was an amazing painter in her own right, but she also painted reproductions as a hobby. Her absolute favorite painter to reproduce was Modigliani because, according to Carmen, her late husband Eleazar had looked just like him. Customers could admire the reproductions around the shop, but Carmen would never sell them. Over the years several customers had offered to purchase them, but Carmen always refused, stating that she painted them to avoid "losing her touch" and not to make a profit.

At one point Carmen had been Bella's father's closest friend, and therefore a constant in the life of the Swan family. It was Carmen who always encouraged Bella to paint, much to her mother's annoyance. Bella's paternal grandmother, Nana Marie, had been a famous muralist and had taught Bella how to sketch, but she passed away when Bella was only a little girl. Carmen picked up from there, recognizing Bella's natural talent. Carmen always made sure to attend every single one of Bella's art shows and competitions; she even went as far as to encourage her to submit pieces to art galleries.

Throughout the years, Bella had been able to sell a few paintings. Renee had no idea about it. Carmen made sure Bella had a separate bank account, a college fund of sorts, but unfortunately Bella hadn't been able to save enough for tuition. Renee would never give her a dime to go to school for something as ridiculous as art, but Carmen had friends and connections and she had vowed to do everything in her power to help Bella succeed. The poor girl had been dealt a terrible hand in life, and it got even worse after Charlie packed up and left. To this day, Carmen had no idea what happened to her friend, and sometimes she wished she had known so she could've been able to convince him to take Bella with him.

Alas, things didn't work out that way and Bella was left at Renee's mercy.

"Here, take a look at these paints that arrived yesterday. I have each color in both oil and water-based," Carmen showed Bella the small boxes of paint tubes she hadn't unpacked yet, wanting Bella to have first choice.

"How much are they?" Bella asked hesitantly.

Carmen shook her head. "I have a few free samples in the back sweetie, so don't worry about the money. The bottles are not that big; if the color doesn't work for you, you don't have to feel sorry for wasting money. You can come back and buy the larger bottles I have in stock once you decide which ones you do like."

"Gracias, Carmen," Bella smiled, knowing that refusing would lead nowhere.

"De nada, dulzura." Carmen beamed at her and then turned around. She went back to organizing the display she had been working on when Bella arrived.

While Bella was looking at the colors brochure inside the box, a frazzled Edward directed the taxi driver to park right across the street from a little art shop. He had spotted his beauty walking inside just a minute ago, and was quick to follow.

He climbed out of the cab and tossed a couple of ten-dollar bills to the driver through the passenger window. He hesitated for a moment, wondering what he was doing.

Did he actually just walk out of the hotel after promising Jasper he wouldn't?

A flash of brown caught his eye, and he watched his beauty through the front window. A woman in gypsy clothes spoke to her, his beauty nodding along, and then they both walked down an aisle and out of his sight. The need to talk to this mysterious girl flared, making him shake his head. Deciding on setting these thoughts aside, he stepped inside the shop.

Chiming bells announced his arrival, a wave of warmth suddenly hitting him as he walked towards the counter. He took off his jacket and draped it over his left arm and looked around at all the Modigliani paintings on the walls, admiring the unique reproductions. Most of them were painted with a different color palette compared to the original, but the technique seemed identical. He knew his sister would love to see them and made a mental note to mention this place to her. He looked back at the front window and took notice of the name of the place and chuckled, realizing it was pretty obvious a shop like this would be named after Modi's lover.

He heard footsteps approaching and turned to see the same gypsy woman he'd seen talking to his beauty walk towards him, a warm smile on her face.

"Welcome to Jeanne's Art Shop. How may I help you?" Carmen greeted cheerfully, taking her place behind the counter.

Bella finally chose a couple of colors she wanted to try for her next project and picked two of the sample bottles from the back. She was returning to the counter to let Carmen know, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice she wasn't expecting.

"Good afternoon. Interesting shop you have, madam. I see you are a Modi fan."

"Well, YES! He is my absolute favorite!" Carmen beamed.

"He was my mother's as well."

It was him, the beautiful man from the hotel!

In a cowardly move, Bella hid behind a tall stack of paint cans and listened in on their conversation. She peeked around the cans and noticed he had an easy smile on his face while talking to Carmen. His right hand rested on top of the counter, his father's ring on his middle finger gleaming under the fluorescent lights. His posture was casual, but also elegant at the same time. He looked like a Greek statue—tall and beautiful.

Edward was trying to look for his beauty without being too obvious while conversing with the gypsy shop owner. Not wanting the pass the opportunity to practice the language, he seamlessly switched to Spanish, catching the woman by surprise for a minute.

Bella watched and listened in fascination, while arguing with herself about her next move. Should she go to him? What if she made a fool of herself? What was he doing here in the first place? All these questions plagued her mind, apprehension seizing her and not allowing her to move from her hideout.

Carmen laughed and launched into an animated conversation in her mother tongue. This young man seemed to know about art and when they started comparing Spanish and Italian painters she could tell he was well educated. He mentioned his sister, who owned her own gallery. Just when Carmen was about to ask his sister's name, a movement from behind the stack of paint cans caught her attention. She stopped mid-sentence and looked over Edward's shoulder to the right.

Edward turned to see what had caught Carmen's attention and that's when he saw her.

She stood there, holding two bottles of paint against her chest —one a raspberry color and the other a bright yellow. She was smiling shyly, the beautiful pink blush that Edward found lovely back at the hotel covering her soft cheeks.

Busted, Bella thought when Carmen spotted her, and then the man from the hotel turned around too. Trying to rein in her blush, she took a deep breath and walked towards them.

"Did you make your choice, Bella?" Carmen asked.

Edward looked back at Carmen and realized she was addressing his beauty. He smiled, realizing that unknowingly he had been calling her by her real name all along.

"Yeah, just these two, please," she whispered to Carmen.

"Of course, dulzura." Carmen smiled and retrieved the bottles from Bella, returning behind the counter to put them in a bag. "Here you go. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, that's all," Bella answered, blushing when she noticed the beautiful man staring at her. She took the bag from Carmen, who winked slyly at her.

Edward smiled at the girl—Bella—when she met his eyes. He made no move to stop staring; he didn't even care if he was being rude. He knew he should say something, but was still dumbstruck. He'd found her.

Bella bit her lower lip, feeling flattered by his attention, and she couldn't help but return his smile. Especially when he was smiling at her like he was doing now.

"Still keeping that ring safe?" Bella spoke softly, her small chin jerking towards his hand.

Edward chuckled. "Yes, it's right where it belongs," he said, raising his right hand to show her that the ring was safe and secure on his finger.

Carmen looked back and forth between the two of them. "You two know each other?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at Bella.

Bella blushed. "Umm…not really, you see… I was at the Fairmont and I—"

"She helped me find something I thought I'd never be able to find," Edward cut in, without taking his eyes off Bella.

Bella furrowed her eyebrows; the feeling that he could be talking about more than just the ring sending shivers down her spine.

The phone rang at the back of the shop, startling Edward and Bella. They both took a step back, having no idea when they had come so close and shaking their heads, as if to wake up from a daydream.

Carmen gave them a knowing look and a cheeky smile. She then walked around the counter and briskly went to answer the phone.

Once Carmen was out of earshot, Bella looked up at Edward and leaned in a little. He copied her motion, noticing again how small she was when he almost had to bend halfway down.

"Are you here to buy a painting?" she whispered, glancing furtively over her shoulder to check that Carmen was still on the phone.

Edward frowned, confused by her question. "I beg your pardon?"

"She doesn't sell them. So don't bother making an offer."

Edward shook his head and rushed to answer. "No, I didn't even know about the paintings."

Bella took another step closer to him. She was able to smell his cologne now. She inhaled deeply, frustration filling her mind when she was unable to recognize the scent, but finding it uniquely male and warm. Woody floral musk would be a way to describe it. For a minute it reminded her of her father, but she quickly shook that thought from her mind. She cleared her throat and focused back on Edward.

"If you are not here for the paintings, why are you here?"

He chuckled nervously, noticing the suspicion in her eyes, and quickly added, "I was… on my way to... a meeting—an early dinner."

Bella crossed her arms. "Uh huh… So, you didn't follow me from the hotel?"

"No, nothing of the sort…" Edward waved his hand, his coat almost hitting Bella in the face. "Sorry." He cringed, he'd never felt so awkward and nervous before. What is this girl doing to me? "I was recommended a café near the park and decided to take a stroll before meeting my assistant there." He could feel the sweat running down his neck—her eyes piercing him, as if she could see into his soul. "I saw this shop on my way there and it caught my attention, and I thought I might take a look around!"

That was the lamest story you could ever come up with, he berated himself, feeling like a bloody idiot and trying to not look too guilty.

"Oh… I thought you came— I saw you looking around at the hotel, but— I heard you talking about painters and I thought you were… Oh, never mind!" she stammered and blushed even deeper.

Edward's hands twitched, the need to run the back of his fingers across her cheeks was so strong that he had to shove his free hand into his pocket.

He cleared his throat and looked to his right. A reproduction of Gypsy Woman with Baby in bright reds, greens and blues hung on the wall behind the counter. "My mother was an art connoisseur and her favorite was Modigliani, but I prefer Spanish painters myself." He smiled, remembering her smile when she talked about art. "It's one of the reasons I came inside," he half-lied and smirked, feeling victorious that he was able to come up with a credible excuse, but at the same time wishing he could tell her that the real reason—the only reason—was she. But he knew better than to come on too strong, and instead settled for a little white lie.

The earth should just open up and swallow me whole, Bella thought. Her face was so red she could feel the heat on her cheeks burning her skin. She had no idea why she'd asked him if he followed her, it just came out! But the way he never took his eyes off her made her feel like she was the only reason for his being there. Bella, you're a fool…

Bella's moment of complete humiliation was interrupted when Carmen hung up the phone and came back to give Bella a stern look.

Bella gulped, already suspecting who the caller had been.

Carmen pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "Dulzura, why is your mother threatening to burn all of my paintings if I don't send you home right this instant?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

And there it was…

"Well…" Bella tried to come up with something, but she drew a blank. Feeling cornered, she did the only thing she could do.

She ran.

In a flash, she clasped the bag with the bottles of paint, grabbed the gorgeous man standing next to her by the elbow, and dashed out of the store yelling: "GOTTA GO! Nos vemos luego, Carmen!"

"Bella? Where are you going? BELLA!" Carmen yelled after her, giggling at the expression on the man's face.

He seemed more than happy to be kidnapped by Bella.

Edward had no idea what just happened, but he let Bella guide him down the sidewalk towards a park. They stopped by the entrance, both gasping for breath, when suddenly Bella started giggling, triggering a chuckle from Edward. In the next minute both of them were laughing, their loud chortles catching the attention of several people milling around.

Edward was the first to control his laughter. He ran a hand through his hair and Bella admired the movement. His hair reflected so many different colors, a mix between gold, bronze and dark brown. Her hands itched for her paints and brushes, wanting to recreate the colors on a canvas.

"Would you mind explaining what just happened back there?" Edward asked, his cheeks flushed and grinning widely, snapping Bella out of her reverie.

Only then did Bella notice she was still holding his elbow. She quickly let go of him and Edward was sad at the loss of contact, her small hand had felt so warm.

Bella rubbed her hands on her skirt and then over her head, making sure her hair wasn't standing up. "It's a long story—" she started, but her phone ringing cut her mid-answer. She quickly retrieved it from the bottom of her purse and checked the caller ID. Seeing it was Carmen, she took a step back and looked up at Edward. "Let me take this call. I'll be happy to explain it all afterwards, okay?"

Edward nodded. "Of course, go ahead." He turned around enough to give her a sense of privacy, but still keeping her in sight.

Bella gave him a thankful smile and turned her back towards him. She walked a couple of steps down the sidewalk and answered the call. "I'm so sorry, Carmen."

"Bella, it's all right," Carmen's voice was soft and understanding. "If you hadn't run out of the shop, I would have told you that I have no reasons to fear your mother, since I haven't seen you all day, dulzura."

Bella let out a long sigh, relieved that Renee wasn't going to make a scene at Carmen's shop. That was the last thing she wanted, especially since Carmen didn't deserve Renee's wrath; it had been her own doing after all. Bella almost ran back to give Carmen a tight hug as a thank you for covering for her.

"Though, it's best if you go home and take care of your mother, dulzura," Carmen advised in a serious tone, but in a whisper she added, "or maybe take that gorgeous Adonis friend of yours for a ride, since this will be the last time your mother will let you out of the house for a long time."

Bella could almost see the smirk Carmen was sporting right that minute.

Bella giggled and winced at the same time, knowing that Carmen was probably right. "Gracias, Carmen. I think I'll take my time."

"You do that, Bella. I'll see you soon."

"Nos vemos, Carmen."

She ended the call and looked back at the Adonis waiting next to a blue mailbox. He looked so out of place in his perfectly tailored suit; most of the people around them were wearing jeans and t-shirts, and a few joggers were in their running gear. Bella took a minute to admire Edward, he was so good looking and he had a strong presence. She had noticed how several women—and even some men—did a double take and openly stared.

Bella wondered why he was here, following her around. Deep down, she had a feeling that he had been following her, and she should have felt wary and maybe a bit scared about it, but instead she felt flattered and intrigued. How could a common and ordinary girl like her catch the attention of a man like him?

Edward checked his surroundings like Jasper had taught him, and was happy not seeing any threats or paparazzi around. Though his visit had been on the down low, he was sure that the media would eventually find out about it. All it took was one person recognizing him or one single photo being posted on any social media to bring the photographers forward en masse. That was the last thing he wanted right now, and he cursed when he realized that his clothes made him stand out too much.

Shaking his head at his recklessness, Edward glanced back at Bella and noticed she had ended the call. He turned around and approached her, smiling.

"Is everything all right?" he asked her, his voice gentle and soft.

"Oh, yeah! Everything is fine." She chuckled and waved him off.

"All right," he sighed.

They stood there, staring at each other in silence.

Bella was a mass of nerves, tangling and untangling her hands.

Edward noticed the movement and wondered what made her so anxious. He considered inviting her back to the hotel for a drink, but before he could open his mouth she beat him to the punch.

"Wanna go grab something to eat with me?" Bella blurted out, blushing when she realized what she just said. For a second, she couldn't believe she'd had the balls to ask someone like Edward out, but Carmen's words of encouragement were still swirling inside her head, and after the horrible day she'd had, a nice afternoon with a man that seemed interested in her didn't sound so bad—even if that man was a complete stranger, but that could change in a minute. A stroll around the park and some light conversation could be the remedy.

Her musings were interrupted by his melodic voice.

"Of course, that would be lovely," Edward said, happy to spend more time with her. "Shall we?" he added while offering her his arm like a true gentleman.

Bella was a little shocked, and the only thing she could do at that moment was nod. She shyly took his arm, the heat from his body making her forget about the cold around them, and when he grinned at her, all hesitation flew out of the window.

Bella grinned back, and they strolled together towards the park.

Remember to check Fictease dot com on Saturdays for picteasers, and if I don't forget, a small chapter teaser on Tuesdays. For other stuff like pictures, outfits and more, check out my blog. Link is on my profile.

I got a guest review about chapter 2 where it was pointed out the information overload in it. I must say I was shocked no one else mentioned that. To this anon I would like to say that I knew about that, and I tried to edit it as much as I could, but somehow it wasn't enough and some things wouldn't have made sense hadn't I left them. But rest assured that it won't happen again! If you have an ff account, please PM me! I would love to exchange ideas. xo

Now, tell me what you think! Like it? Hate it? Leave a word or two, even a smiley would be fine!

Till next time,

~Mina