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Mrs. Lynde told everyone to stop dancing. There were some that were jumping, some confused what was happening and what they needed to do. In conclusion, a mess.
Gilbert did NOT want to do this. He just wanted to go home and relax with Bash and Delphine and read some medical books. He had become a little too interested with the idea of using nature as medicine.
Anne did NOT want to do this, now even less with what Ruby had told her, that if she touched a boy, she would become pregnant. She did not understand Miss. Stacy’s explanation, but decided to not give it a lot of thought. Instead, she wished she was at the forest, playing with her imagination as the trees followed her every step. Or at Green Gables with Matthew and Marilla, helping them do chores, which would be a lot more helpful that being here.
So Mrs. Lynde seemed to want to try it all again. Gilbert placed himself in the middle of Diana and Jane, Anne in front of him with Charlie and Mrs. Lynde’s son on her side.
Then, Moody played his banjo, so all of them linked their hands together, creating a circle. As the song took rhythmic, they made circles to the left in a group while they jumped at the same time, kind of like in fairy tales.
As they stopped so they could turn to the other side, Gilbert made a gesture towards Anne, wanting to see her beautiful smile to lighten up the dance. If he would do something he didn’t want to do, he would have fun while doing it.
Anne was a little confused by what Gilbert had done, but smiled a bit as they turned. She wanted to concentrate on the dance, but her eyes just couldn’t leave Gilbert’s handsome features.
He looked at her eyes and then at the rest of her, admiring how beautiful she looked that day, even though she always looked beautiful, he knew he had to stop gazing at her so he could do the next step was to face Jane and then grab her hands and turn. As he did so, he wished he could take Anne’s hand instead of Jane’s; he didn’t know why, he just wanted to, to see how it felt to touch her skin, he liked it when she touched him, whether it was his hand or that time she had hugged him when Mary was sick.
He felt closer to her when she touched him.
Then they did reels of three, which consisted on doing confusing twirls between each other, it was like trying to run between trees without hitting yourself, but for Anne and Gilbert that was easy, as they weren’t even looking at where they were going, it was like they automatically knew how to do it, and every second they gazed at each other, starting to feel a connection that made them stick together. Then holding hand in two groups of three, Gilbert smiled at the redheaded in front of him. He wanted to get closer to her, to count all her freckles and touch her cheek slowly.
As for Anne, she felt like she was in a dream, Gilbert seemed to look at her the entire time, while she looked at him, not noticing that she was smiling the whole time, her mouth also open in surprise. She imagined the dance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Gilbert had enough of it. He would hold Anne’s hand. He didn’t care if he screwed the whole dance, or if he was yelled at for messing it all up. So he took her hand and made her turn. He had a stupid grin on his face; he knew that. He watched as her confused gaze turned to surprise but comforting. He felt a little relieved, when no one told him anything and everyone worked it out quickly.
And then he was looking at their interlocked hands, hers on top of his. Her hand felt soft but raspy, which he thought was comforting. Her hands were small, but with large delicate fingers. Her hand fit perfectly on his, allowing her to bend her fingers around his, holding on tight. His fingers could almost go all around her palm, that way he knew he wouldn’t let her go. He felt something on his stomach, and a happiness that seemed to come from touching her hands. An automatic grin getting across his lips.
He was able to catch the way Anne was looking at their hands; she seemed to have the same thought as she interlocked her blue ocean eyes with his hazel forest ones, sending him a message she was okay with holding his hands, also not wanting to let go of his.
Anne eventually turned to look at the front, feeling Gilbert’s firm grasp around her hand, which made her feel safe smiling even more the moment his hand touched hers. A connection going through them, as if those pieces of strings that had been broken the moment they were made, had come together and made a strong knot that not even the strongest thing on earth could break it. They were both part of the same string, separated but knowing that eventually they would get back together at some point in their life.
As if they were soulmates.
And then they were turning around in a circle again, forcing themselves to not look at each other’s eyes, but not quite being able to wipe their smile off their faces. Gilbert could not stop watching Anne, so he turned towards her and smiled even harder when he looked at him. She had that effect on him, especially when she was smiling at him.
Then they had to let go of the touch, which didn’t bother both since the next step was being next to each other, to then spin around holding on to each other.
That’s when it happened.
The moment the music and everyone around them faded slowly.
They were twirling around other people but they didn’t care, didn’t even noticed them. They faded like ghosts, and Anne and Gilbert were the only souls in the classroom, looking and connecting with only their gaze.
And suddenly they were dancing alone.
The only thing that mattered at the moment was them. The strings becoming even stronger and tighter. As if their souls were making themselves into one. The one soul that was only whole when they were together, when they had special moments like this. They both knew about it, but ignored it for a long time. Especially Gilbert, who knew about it the day he met Anne.
Now it was coming to the light and they both couldn’t ignore it, the feeling of the need to be together becoming stronger and stronger, making it difficult to put it aside and continue as if it was nothing.
They interlaced hands again, both now being more sure about their feelings.
Forward
Gilbert was wondering if maybe Anne was the one he truly wanted to be with his entire life.
If she was the one he was destined to be with.
He had that thought a bunch of times before, but he knew that she didn’t feel the same, that he didn’t really knew what love felt like, he was just a kid.
But now he knew.
It only took one look at Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and he knew what love was.
Backwards
Anne felt a lot of things that not even she could explain.
She never had this problem with herself.
And Gilbert Blythe had made her doubt.
There was something in her heart that only happened when she was with him. He was special to her in that way.
Maybe she liked Gilbert…
Maybe she loved Gilbert.
Forward
They stopped holding hands.
Both not wanting to let go.
But now they were getting somewhere, as to now they knew that maybe, just maybe there was something going on between them.
Something that could become much more.
The music ended. Suddenly they knew that there were other people around them, but even as they all scattered away, they both stood there, thinking about what just had happened.
The spell had been broken. And as soon as Anne realized what was happening, she walked away, leaving a pained Gilbert behind.
They wanted to get away. Away from those newfound feelings that they suddenly came aware of.
Were they ready for them?
What if they were wrong?
As they were about to leave, Anne and Gilbert met at the center.
Confused and kind of terrified of each other.
Why were they feeling this way?
And why was it them?
Anne walked again first, the one that was less sure of her feelings, making cautious to not walk the same way Gilbert would go.
As to Gilbert, he started to doubt himself. What about Winifred? He was sure he didn’t feel that way towards her.
He would have to ask Bash. He sure knew more about this subject.
There was one thing he knew for sure.
His relationship with Anne had changed.
The connection had been broken once again, but now leaving a mark on both of them, making them know that something was there, and that it was up to them to connect it again, and to now never let go of it.
It was up to them to realize that those weird feelings that they had felt were all but temporal.
It was love.
And one that was not destined to leave.
But to stay there for the rest of their lives.