A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the long wait. Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and reviewing. :) I've actually had the chapter done for a while now, but I've been having trouble with my Internet connection so I couldn't put it up until now. I really hate computers sometimes. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I don't think it's all that great, but I hope you like it just the same. :) As you can probably tell, I have no idea what fame and show business is really like so I had to improvise. And can you believe it's so close to Eclipse? I'm freaking out.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all the good Twilight stuff. I don't own the other "famous" people either.
"And we're just about finished up here."
I shut my eyes and crinkled my nose as a feathery brush whisked across my face for the tenth time that evening. The brush swept all over my face and I fought against the terrible urge to sneeze as the powder from it overwhelmed me. I was definitely not used to this kind of treatment and I doubted that I ever would be. I didn't like having people do everything for me or treating me like I'm something special.
With a few more flicks of the brush, the woman who was putting on my make-up stopped suddenly and pulled back. "There we are. My, aren't you a pretty girl?"
I didn't believe that for a second, though I smiled at her halfheartedly. I looked blankly at my reflection. My make-up had been done professionally several times now but it never ceased to amaze me at how different I could be made to look. I still appeared horribly plain and average, and I couldn't lie to myself and pretend I didn't. This was only more apparent to me when I saw the other girls my age who were also in the entertainment industry.
I sighed softly as the make-up artist packed up her tools and left me sitting in the chair as I waited for someone from wardrobe to arrive. I was moments away from making my first ever performance on live television and I was nowhere near calm. "The Jay Leonard Show" was a hugely successful show and if I blew it on there I'd never be able to live it down.
I looked up again at myself. Who was that girl? Not Bella Swan from Forks. Few people really knew her. It was Isabella they loved. Isabella who they wanted to see and hear. Bella Swan was some other part of me, a part that was kept locked away and hidden from the world. She wasn't interesting or exciting enough. And yet, as I looked in the mirror, I could still see her. Beneath the thick layers of mascara and foundation that were Isabella, she was there, just within reach…
A shrill cry of excitement tore me from my ruminations. "I can't believe it! Your first big television appearance!"
"Nadine?" I spun around to face her. "What are you doing here? I was just waiting for wardrobe and-"
"Yes!" Nadine clapped her perfectly manicured hands together rapidly; the silver bracelets around her wrists clinked together nosily. "It's me Izzy! The woman in charge of wardrobe isn't able to make it tonight so they put me in her place!"
I hated the fact that Nadine had recently given me the nickname "Izzy". It wasn't as bad as some of the others, but I cringed when she said it all the same.
"Err…that's great." I tried to sound pleased, but in truth, I was terrified. What would Nadine do to me? Horrible images began to flood my mind. "Do they normally allow fill-ins like that?"
"No, I imagine they'd call someone else, but I've got experience and I'm already here. It's convenient for them and fun for you."
"Oh, really?" I tried to smile, but the mirror showed a grimace.
"Yes," she said, her voice gushing with excitement and enthusiasm. "I'm giving you a rare opportunity. Normally it's not allowed, but since we're such good friends I'm going to let you choose what you want to wear tonight."
"Really?" I hadn't expected this. Nadine was normally such a control freak who kept a tight grip on everything that happened in my professional, and sometimes personal, life.
"You'll let me help though, right?" Nadine's glossy pink lips pouted like a pleading child.
"Yeah, sure I guess. But why are you letting me choose?" I had to ask. I waited for her to reveal that there was some catch. Maybe she'd made another scheduling mistake or forgot about some appointment she was supposed to make for me.
Nadine was all smiles. "Because it's your first appearance and I want it to be special for you."
"Wow…thanks Nadine." She continued to beam at me. "So, shall we go ahead and get started then?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" Nadine squealed and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the make-up chair and towards the back of the room. We headed out into another section of the massive television studio. I passed up several more people who were hurrying around busily adjusting cameras or lights. The show was already under way and as I was swept around in the shadows near the stage I caught a quick glimpse of the live audience.
"Look at all those people!" My throat locked with panic, but Nadine merely turned around and grinned.
"I told you before. It's only natural to be a little nervous your first time doing this," she called behind her. "But it gets easier. Try not to worry. Just look at Jay. He'll probably make you feel more comfortable."
"I hope so," I muttered to myself.
Nadine pulled open a plain silver door marked "Wardrobe" and tugged me inside after her. "Here we are." She clicked the door shut behind us.
I gawked at all the clothes. There were racks and racks of dresses, skirts, tops, pants, shoes, and glittering accessories. The clothes were beautifully textured and brilliantly colored, far more luxurious that anything I had ever owned.
"I have to choose out of all of this?" My eyes were still wide with awe as they darted from one rack to the next.
Nadine smiled knowingly. "Well, some of them are different sizes, but you've still got a huge variety." She headed over to a rack of dresses and began flicking through them. "Now, what size did you say were hun?"
"Um, a two."
"Yes, you are a tiny little thing," she said, more to herself. 'But that is what they expect." She pushed several dresses out of the way as she looked. "Okay, any idea of what color you want to wear?"
"I like brown," I offered.
"Great! We've got plenty of that. Over here." She beckoned me over to another rack as she began pulling out dresses and laying them on my outstretched arms. "Ooh, I like this one," she said every now and then. "Oh no, definitely not. Don't they know these are out of style?" Nadine made a disapproving noise. "I thought everyone knew that."
I shrugged helplessly as my arms began to tremble slightly under the weight of the dresses.
"Shouldn't I be trying some of these on?" I groaned a little, ready to collapse if she added any more dresses to the pile. "We don't really have much time do we?"
"Oh darn!" Nadine frowned and rested her hand against her chin, thinking. "You're right. I guess you've got enough to choose from."
"I'll take those, I bet they're heavy." She easily lifted the massive pile of dresses from my arms and set them on a nearby chair. "What do you think of this one?" She pulled a skimpy, clingy two piece number off the top of the pile.
"Um, that's a dress?" I asked as I tried to rub some feeling back into my arms. Charlie would have a heart attack if he saw me in that. No, actually, Charlie would drop dead if he saw me in that.
"Of course it is! This would look so cute on you, Izzy. It's sexy, but it's classy. A perfect combination!" Classy would never have been a word I would have used to describe it. It looked exactly like something Jessica or Lauren would wear. Nadine wiggled the dress around, trying to tempt me with it.
"I'd rather try something else if that's okay."
"Well, if you're sure. I still say it'd look really cute on you…" Nadine gave me one last look in hopes that I would change my mind. When I didn't she frowned and picked up the next dress from the stack.
It was hideous.
The next dress Nadine held up was more of a ball gown. It was a light brown color with thin straps. But there was something wrong with it. All along the front of it were jagged rips that went down the length of the dress. They revealed little peeks of a darker shade of brown under the lighter layer.
"How do you like it?" Nadine asked, grinning.
"It looks like some kind of animal attacked it."
"But this is high fashion! Girls would kill to wear a dress like this." I couldn't help smiling to myself, wondering if Nadine regretted her decision to let me choose. I decided to make it a little easier on both of us.
"Why don't you let me have a look?" I offered. We would certainly get done a lot faster.
Nadine put her hands on her hips. "All right then, if you don't want my advice."
"It's not that I don't appreciate your advice, Nadine." I quickly said. "I do. It's just that I want to wear I dress I feel more comfortable in. I'm going to be nervous enough as it is without worrying about something hanging out or clinging to me or something."
When she said nothing else I began to sort through the pile, trying to find something simple. After a few minutes and a stack of rejected dresses, I finally found it.
"I really like this one," I said, holding up a strapless brown dress. The top had a layer made of a silky material that wrapped around it and the bottom fluffed out just a bit due to the layer of crinoline beneath the dress.
I took Nadine's high-pitched squeal as a sign of approval. "Try it on!" She was gushing with excitement again, as if she ever stopped.
"Right here?" I felt a bit awkward at the idea of changing in front of Nadine.
"Of course, don't be silly! We're both girls, aren't we?"
"Um, yeah," I said listlessly.
I began to pull the dress clumsily over my head out of nervousness and Nadine abruptly stopped me. "No, no, hun! You'll wreck your hair and smudge your makeup all over the inner lining of the dress!"
Feeling incredibly embarrassed, my cheeks began to burn. Nadine made to mother me as usual. She pulled the dress away from my arms and unzipped it in the back. She held it open, obviously wanting me to step into it. This night could not get any more embarrassing.
Stepping into the dress, I quickly reached and pulled it up around me before Nadine could. She zipped it back up and ushered me over to stand it front of the mirror. It felt like it was a nice fit and, seeing my reflection, it actually looked good too. It was simple, yet elegant all at once. I knew this was the one I wanted to wear.
Nadine was beaming. "You're simply stunning!" She was clacking her heels on the ground excitedly and a new flush of embarrassment swept over me.
"Wait until Jason sees you!" Nadine exclaimed.
"Um, Jason?" I had no idea who that was, but Nadine was looking at me as if I had to be joking.
"You know, Jason Sharpe? That hot singer? How could you not know who he is? Everyone knows who he is." She went into a detailed description of his features.
The name was vaguely familiar to me. I had heard of a few of his more popular songs and his music was not my type at all. It didn't even sound like music, not real music. His songs were the kind Angela would call "fangirl fodder". No substance, no depth, nothing. He was just a good-looking guy performing choreographed moves and singing about how he's looking for the right girl. Teens ate it up.
"Oh," I said simply. "What about him?"
"Don't you remember? He's the other guest on tonight's show," Nadine explained.
"And yet I have to perform instead of him."
"Well, of course. You're the one who's going on to promote a new album, and not just any album, your debut." Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she spoke. "But anyway, what I was about to say is that Jason has a huge crush on you and I'm sure he's going to love you in that dress."
"He's what-?" I glanced at her quickly, certain I had heard wrong. "A crush…on me? Are you sure, Nadine? That doesn't sound-"
"Honestly, Isabella, don't you read the magazines about you at all?" She wore the same look on her face as she had when I hadn't recognized who Jason was.
I pressed my lips together. "Not exactly." The truth was, I didn't want to know what people were saying about me. I knew how much the tabloids lied and I didn't even want to imagine what kinds of things they were making up.
Nadine rolled her eyes. "Well, he does. And I think you should-"
A rapid knock on the door stopped Nadine and I was grateful for that. Nadine looked annoyed at being interrupted as she called, "Yes?"
The door opened and a weathered woman swept in, a clipboard clutched in her hand. "We've gone to commercial. Isabella, Jay's going to introduce you after the break, so we need you out here in about five minutes."
I nodded weakly, feeling sicker by the minute. The door shut again and Nadine sprang into action. She stooped down and adjusted the ends of my dress, fluffing the crinoline layer and smoothing it out. Then she bounced up again and began arranging my hair around my shoulders and face.
Nadine smiled broadly and hugged me tightly. "You look great and don't worry, you'll do fine. Just relax." She held the door open for me and I stepped out. I walked over to the woman holding the clipboard who was waiting a few feet away.
"We're all ready," she said with a smile, though I could tell she was under extreme pressure. "If you'll just follow me."
I walked a few paces behind her as we headed toward the studio. I knew we were close because I could hear the applause from the audience as the show began to start up again. The woman gave me a brief smile. "Just wait here for Jay to introduce you." And with that, she turned to leave. I tried to return the smile, but my stomach felt queasy and tight, as if I'd just smelled blood.
The audience quieted down as Jay began to speak. He told a few jokes, but I had no idea what he had said. His next words made me freeze.
"And now please join me in welcoming a new talent to the music world. At only 18, she has the number one single in the country and a greatly in demand debut album out next month. Ladies and gentlemen, the very lovely Isabella!"
The audience began to cheer again and the band started playing a jazzy tune. I took in a deep, shaky breath and slowly began my walk out onto the stage.
You can probably guess who "Jay Leonard" is and Jason Sharpe is a character from that (I thought) terrible Disney Channel movie "Model Behavior". I can't use his real name obviously, so just look up that movie if you want to know who he is. I don't actually think he's hot, but a lot of people do. Something about him is creepy to me.
Also, I've added some images from this story to my profile. I've made a story banner and there's also an image of Bella at the Leonard show, so click my profile if you want to see them. :)
Anyway, I'm hoping it won't be too long before the next chapter. I'd like to get another one out before I go back to school but it's not likely. It will cover Bella's appearance but it's going to be from Edward's POV.