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´If only I knew that everything would turn out this way that first day in the woods,’ Anne thought to herself on a warm spring afternoon. Her grip on her fountain pen loosened slightly as she lost herself further into her thoughts. ‘So much time could have been saved if not for my temper and stubbornness. Still,’ Anne turned her head to the left to see Gilbert beside her on the couch, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration with his nose stuck in a book. ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
She and Gilbert had grown quite close over the years once they got past their not so friendly rivalry. She would even go as far as to call him one of her most kindered spirits. Probably not to his face, but still. Even so, neither one of them could deny that things had been different lately. Every once and a while they would sit a little bit too close together or their hands would brush on the walk home and breaths would catch in the charged air while hazel eyes gazed down into deep blue ones. These incidents had been happening more and more frequently and were getting harder to ignore. Nevertheless, leave it up to Anne and Gilbert to try their very best. Well, more specifically Anne. Gilbert gave up trying to ignore his feelings for Anne a long time ago and the fact that they were getting closer only made him fall harder. He’s had to tear his gaze away from her so many times he’s astonished she hasn’t caught on. He’s almost certain that one of these days the feelings are going to boil over and there won’t be any way of stopping them.
Today, they were sitting in the cozy living room of the Blythe-Lacroix home, studying hard for the Queen’s entrance exam. They’ve developed a routine of walking to one of their houses after school, studying and quizzing each other for hours before returning to their respective homes for chores and dinner. It was usually a very productive and helpful affair but occasionally they couldn’t help but goof off instead of completing schoolwork. Today was one of those times.
“What?” Gilbert half laughed when he noticed Anne staring.
“Nothing. I’m just so bored,” Anne complained in an exasperated voice which caused Gilbert to smile. She wasn’t even lying because she was certainly bored, she simply decided to keep the thoughts about how much she cherished Gilbert to herself. “I could not possibly care less about the Pythagorean theorem right now. Entertain me, please,” she requested as she looked up at him with big, pleading eyes.
Gilbert pretended to think it over, narrowing his eyes and looking between his book and Anne’s delicate face. Anne knew it was all just a pretence. The knowledge that Gilbert couldn’t resist a thing when she looked at him like that had come in handy many times and she was sure it would continue to serve her.
“Fine, but we’ll have to prolong our next study session because the exam is getting closer and closer every day.”
Anne squealed with delight and closed her workbook with a decisive smack.
“Well then, whatever shall we do? Anything will be better than geometry.”
Gilbert laughed and spent a minute trying to come up with an idea. It was a little difficult considering his brain could only conjure up different ways to explain how adorable Anne was instead of fun, non geometry based activities. Her expectant look with that soft smile on her rosy lips was not helping. Suddenly, something came to him but he knew he had to tread lightly if he was to voice his thoughts. The last time he mentioned her hair did not end well for anyone. Sure, him and Anne were close friends now but he still wouldn’t be surprised if her slate met his face for a second time.
“Well there is something I’ve been wanting to learn how to do just for fun, but you’re totally welcome to say no,” Gilbert said nervously.
“Go on,” Anne replied apprehensively.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how on earth you braid your hair but I can’t put the pieces together. Literally and figuratively,” he chuckled anxiously. “Can you teach me?” Gilbert clenched his jaw and scratched the back of his neck as he awaited her response.
“Oh, of course! Your tone had me worried but I’d be happy to.” Anne couldn’t help but notice how endearing it was when Gilbert got all fidgety when he was nervous. Then, she pushed that thought out of her mind because now is not the time she’d like to deal with that.
“Well, forgive me if I’ve developed a small fear of talking about your hair,” Gilbert smirked.
“Oh shut up, that was years ago, we’ve both apologized, it’s time to move on and get over your fear. What better way to do that than with hands on experience.”
“Fair enough. How about you undo your braids, take me through the steps on one side and then I can give it a go on the other side?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Gilbert was honestly quite proud of his plan; he thought it would be much harder to get Anne to agree. Then, he saw her hair down, the strands long and wavy from being tied up all day and he found it a little hard to breathe at the sight. Maybe this would be a lot harder for him than anticipated.
She looked like a fiery goddess or an autumn fairy and Gilbert had to get himself together if he was going to braid her beautiful tresses.
Anne, as oblivious as ever, didn’t notice his internal struggle and began the lesson.
“Once you separate the hair into three equal sections you simply overlap the outside two sections over and over until you’re done. Easy, see?”
“Yes, sure...” Gilbert replied uncertainly. It looked a lot more complicated than she made it out to be.
“It will make more sense once you try it. So, come on, Gil, your turn.”
Gilbert was too stunned by the nickname to truly register Anne pulling him down to the floor so that his back was against the couch. What woke him up was her readjusting so that she sat between his legs with her back to him. It made perfect sense considering he was about to braid her hair but the proximity along with the use of ‘Gil’ had his stomach erupting with butterflies.
“Gil?” He questioned, somehow managing to keep his voice steady despite his heart hammering in his chest. Hopefully focusing on this topic would distract him from her scent of lavender and pine filling his senses.
Anne was grateful she wasn’t facing Gilbert because she knew the rosy tint to her cheeks would not go unnoticed. “Oh um, sorry I guess I wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying and that just came out. I will refrain from using it from now on if you’d prefer,” Anne stammered out.
“No, I like it actually. You may call me whatever you like, on one condition.”
Anne noticed the teasing lilt to his voice and decided to play along. “Oh yeah,” she said, turning over her left shoulder to look at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“I get to call you carrots.”
Anne’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and for a second Gilbert worried he’d made a fatal mistake when Anne burst out laughing. Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help the way his heart squeezed in his chest at the sight of Anne laughing. Even better was knowing that he was the cause of her laughter.
“Deal,” she said with a smile, turning back around. “Now, do you want to learn how to braid my hair or not?”
Gilbert took a deep breath and started trying to recreate the pattern Anne had shown him. If he thought simply seeing Anne with her hair down was a struggle it was nothing compared to the way his brain completely short circuited as he felt her hair for the first time since the day they met. It was even softer than he remembered. He did his best to remain calm as he worked her hair into some semblance of a plait. It was loose and a couple strands had fallen out but it was better than he had expected it to be.
“Well, I’m not at your skill level just yet but with more practice I could get there.”
“Wow, I’m if not mistaken Gilbert Blythe has found something he’s not perfect at. I’m speechless,” Anne teased.
“Oh, shut up,” Gilbert laughed. “Besides, you’re never speechless.”
Anne turned around to say more, thereby proving Gil’s point, but the words caught in her throat. She’d misjudged how close they were and now their faces were mere inches apart, closer than they’d ever been. Neither one of them dared to breathe, afraid of what could happen next. Anne couldn’t explain why it felt like the blood was roaring in her ears or why her stomach was in knots. All she knew was that she didn’t want to back away this time.
Gilbert felt like he was about to pass out. The next few seconds had the power to change their relationship forever. He knew he should pull away, the risk of loosing Anne was too great but then he caught her eyes dropping down to his lips and his control flew out the window. He followed her actions and gazed down at her full lips, slightly parted as if in anticipation. Anne gasped softly and he could feel himself moving closer, an invisible thread tethered between them, forcing his movements. Just as he was about to place his lips on hers the front door flew open and in came Bash, taking a break from trying to fix the fence.
Anne and Gilbert met each other’s eyes for a very surprised second, then sprung apart as if they’d been burned. They picked up their books and sat down on opposite ends of the couch, not daring to look at each other or Bash. The tension in the air was so thick the two teenagers believed they would drown in it. Anne didn’t want to admit it but she was extremely disappointed that their moment had been disrupted. Gilbert was definitely about to kiss her, right? If you had told 13 year old Anne that she was excited at the prospect of kissing Gilbert Blythe she would laugh in your face. Now, she was determined to make her feelings known to Gilbert whenever she could. But, she certainly couldn’t do that with Bash in the next room. Seeing that Gil wouldn’t even look at her at the moment she was desperate for an excuse to leave and thankfully realized just how late it had gotten.
“Well it appears to have gotten late so I best be getting back to Green Gables,” Anne explained tightly, packing up her books and walking towards the exit. “See you tomorrow, Gil. Goodbye Sebastian!” With that Anne practically ran from the house.
Bash looked from the recently slammed door to his moke of a brother. “What on earth did I just interrupt,” he questioned incredulously.
“Nothing,” Gilbert replied shortly.
“Uh huh, ‘cause your face is the picture of calm,” Bash mocked.
“Whatever, I’m going to go finish my homework in peace. I’ll be down soon to help with dinner.” Gilbert picked up his supplies and traveled to his room.
Once he got up there he threw his books on the desk and laid down on his bed, contemplating the best course of action. He had no idea how to move forward but he had to fix this. He wasn’t going to let his friendship with Anne be ruined. Hopefully, she wasn’t discouraged by his embarrassment at being caught, he simply wanted to avoid more teasing from Bash at all costs. Then, his stupid brain had the hopeful thought that maybe nothing needed to be fixed. She seemed just as invested in the moment as he had been and she even called him Gil as she left. What if, she was just as disappointed as he was that they’d been interrupted. If he was being honest that thought scared him more. Despite everything, Gilbert was certain they’d be okay. If they remained friends or turned into something more, they would come back together in the end. They always did.