Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gilbert Blythe is not exactly a take-notice kind of guy.

Which, of course, doesn’t mean he doesn’t take notice, he just keeps it to himself. He likes details, and he loves to keep them pressed onto his mind and heart, for himself only to appreciate. For instance, he adores the way hands are made precisely to intertwine, or the way sunflowers turn towards the sun by themselves, or also the way snowflakes are so undeniably perfect, or the way Anne’s freckles are scattered exactly like little stars, not one of them being out of place.

He notices it all.

He simply doesn’t share it.

That’s why when his classmates start spreading pieces of information about a certain old take-notice board being brought back to life at school, he simply shrugs and laughs it off, seeing how much some of his friends are excited to finally be able to make a move without exposing themselves too much. He never, for a moment, thought that he could have posted on the board too, until a certain someone had showed up one morning and told him all about what the meaning of posting was.

It’s a way to make a… casual declaration, a quiet attention.

To…someone you like?

Yes! Not so pointed as to be alarming and not so vague as not to be understood.

A post in advance…of a proper advance.

Exactly. Because all these little notices matter when you want to let someone know that you’re thinking ahead.

To…their future together?

He could swear his heart almost liquefied when she murmured a soft yes. He was hoping he wasn’t misunderstanding, because it looked exactly like she wanted him to…post, maybe? Did she truly want him to make a step? Did she feel the same way he did when they were around each other?

However, his thoughts didn’t last much, like leaves on the ground on a windy autumn morning. She made it clear that she was talking about Ruby Gillis – an adorable girl, if you asked Gilbert, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything more than a sweet, friendly affection towards her – and that’s how Gilbert decided that he would have never been a take-notice kind of guy. He almost felt childishly disappointed when she walked away, and he blamed himself for thinking that, perhaps, she actually thought of him as a little bit more than just a classmate. But he realized he was wrong, so he, once again, let it go, keeping that to himself as he was used to.

Until, a couple of weeks later, Josie Pye brought the attention to the class on her, a proud, mischievous smile on her face as she entered the room talking to Jane and Tillie.

“How can you not know? June 6^th is the day of the summer fair, mother told me all about it.”

Moody was the first one to reply. Of course.

“Summer fair? I only knew about the spring fair.”

“I can’t believe I’m the only one who knows about it! It has apparently been introduced after the big success of the spring fair, in fact, but this one’s going to be very different. However, I was thinking that, for once, the boys could be the only ones to post on the board, for one day, perhaps as an invitation to the fair” Josie proposed, and her idea seemed to be highly appreciated by everyone in the room, until a bitter chuckle came from someone Gilbert knew very well.

“What, Anne? Doesn’t this idea appeal to you? Aren’t you all for…equality and that stuff? Is it because you’re afraid no one will-”

“It is because it is not equality at all. Why do the boys have to take lead of the situation and be the one to…compliment us with some…dumb notes, or whatever? I certainly don’t want to impatiently wait for someone to make a step, almost as if not having someone inviting me to the fair or telling me that it was nice to walk me home meant not being worthy enough” Anne blurted out, keeping her eyes on her books, until she realized that her words had been followed by an awkward silence. Perhaps I said a bit too much, she thought.

“That’s because no one walks you home, Anne” Josie quietly, but maliciously said, before Miss Stacy interrupted them by entering the classroom with her usual sprints of energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead.

As soon as he sat down, Gilbert couldn’t help but steal a glance at Anne. Diana’s hand was resting on her shoulder, and she was probably comforting and reassuring her, but Anne shrugged and smiled warmly, letting the nonsensical weight of Josie Pye’s words fall from her shoulders like crimson apples fall freely from trees. Not from her heart, probably.

Gilbert always thought she was one of a kind, from the exact moment he met her in the forest, eyes as big and scared as a deer’s one, but with the fire of a thousand flames inside her heart and a billion flowers blossoming into her mind, nourished by the knowledge she achieved and the beauty she inspired. Sometimes, he found himself despising Avonlea, because of the dull and close-minded mentality people had there, because of the hypocrisy and the prejudice and the judgement they all felt free to spread when no one had asked them too. The only thing keeping him there was the memory of his lost ones, the presence of his loved ones and the strength of an odd, unusual, never-felt-before feeling which had grown into his heart for the past years for the girl whose hair had been the cause of her anger towards him the first time, and now one of the many reasons why he found her positively wonderful.

“I said it more or less six times by now, my dearest Diana, and the answer is still no. I don’t want no one to invite me to the fair. I will have fun nonetheless! Why is it that you all think we must have a suitor to be happy? I truly just want to enjoy the day and you, more than anyone, know that I perfectly know how.”

Anne was laying on Diana’s bed while her bosom friend meticulously analyzed the fabric and color of each dress she owned, to find something which could truly be made for Anne. As for Anne herself, she was positively excited to wear something so astonishing as one of the dresses Diana owned, yet she couldn’t seem to focus on that topic for more than three seconds, before the words of her friends started playing into her head.

It’s because no one walks you home, Anne.

Anne, I am sure Charlie laid his eyes on you at least five times this morning, maybe he wants to post about you!

Since when had posting on an old board become the replacement of a spoken invitation? She’d very much rather be asked out by someone in flesh and blood, than having to guess who wrote about her. Sure, she loved handwritten letters, but the notices on the board were hardly close to them. She knew part of her hatred towards this new…system of advance was given by the fact that she was more than sure of the fact that no one in Avonlea wanted to be with her. It hurt more than Anne would have liked, yet she always tried to focus on the beautiful things she cherished in life, and a boy wasn’t between them.

“So if, for instance, Gilbert Blythe invited you – which of these do you prefer? –  you wouldn’t accept it?” Diana asked, a brow raised as she showed two beautiful green dresses to her friend. Anne’s heart skipped a couple of beats and she thanked the heavens for the fact that no one could hear it.

“The one on the left is exquisite. I appreciate you for your attempts, Di, but there’s no way he will ever invite me, and secondly, he told me loud and clear that he is not a take-notice kind of person. Which, to me, is a clear sign of the fact that he’s not interested in me, and probably in no one else here. And honestly, I don’t need Gilbert Blythe, and I don’t know why you think he could ever want to go out with me” Anne replied, voice still and calm, unlike her whole insides.

Not that she had feelings for Gilbert, of course. She just thought he was dedicated, gentle, polite, kindhearted and beautiful. Each time she visited the Lacroix family to bring some help, her heart twisted seeing him play with Delphine between his arms, before he noticed her arrival and called her auntie Anne and she could feel herself passing out right there. He was smart too, and they had shared their own opinions on books quite a lot of time when they were the last ones to leave the classroom in the late afternoon, after working for the Avonlea Gazette for hours. And when they left the school, sometimes she believed he wanted to ask her to walk her home, until he kindly waved her goodbye and they parted ways.

Oh, but she didn’t have feelings for Gilbert. At all.

“Anne?”

“Yes?”

“Did you hear me? I said that he has been gazing at you incessantly lately. Even Ruby noticed” Diana said, finally closing the wardrobe.

“That’s funny because I haven’t noticed at all” Anne replied, getting up from the bed to look properly at the dress Diana had picked for her. It had at least three shades of green, with darker lace details and the delicacy of a summer flower. “This is scrumptious, Diana, I owe you so many debts now. This dress is the epitome of beauty” she earnestly said, a sincere look of admiration on her face.

“Come on, try it on. Maybe this time you’ll convince yourself of the fact that you’re beautiful. And that I’m not the only one who thinks so. In fact-”

“I love you dearly, but now I just want to focus on this gorgeous dress and forget the rest” Anne concluded, and Diana reluctantly accepted her loss.

For now.

During the following days at school, Gilbert noticed the thrill of girls and boys stealing glances and secret chuckles when the first notices were posted on the board.

Josie Pye has the most angelic face of any girl in Avonlea. Will she come with me to the fair?

Diana’s hair smell of roses

Paul M. would like to invite Tillie Boulter to the winter fair next week

Moody Spurgeon thinks Ruby Gillis is the sweetest girl

Many more came during the next days, and he was genuinely happy to see his friends having so much fun, yet his mind was elsewhere. If he, perhaps, had invited, er, someone to the fair…would they have accepted? That someone surely had a name and not one, but two last names and Gilbert hadn’t missed how she had been smiling at him, and him alone, each time she entered in the classroom during those days. It was probably ninety-nine percent out of pure politeness and friendliness, yet that small one percent kept him awake a tiny bit more during the night, wondering if maybe he was just misunderstanding again. It wouldn’t be a surprise, Gilbert thought.

He munched on his thoughts now and then, and on the Friday of the week of the fair – which would have taken place on Sunday – he was almost sure that it could have been a good idea to invite her. What harm could he do, anyway? If she didn’t feel comfortable enough, he would have accepted it. He would have never wanted her to feel pushed to do anything, so he would have politely nodded and understood, even if with a broken heart.

However, he didn’t have much time to think about it when he arrived at school and found Jane and Tillie giggling in front of the board, with a very mad Josie Pye next to them, who turned towards him as soon as he came into view. She stepped in front of him, glanced at him up and down, and shook her head.

“Why exactly her, out of all the people here? What’s wrong with you?” she asked, and without waiting for an answer she walked away and into the schoolhouse, soon followed by her friends. Gilbert was almost tempted to check the board to see what could have caused such a reaction, but once again the bell rang just in that very moment, and he had to leave his curiosity out of the door. As soon as he stepped into the room, though, he felt like something was off. He turned his head to the usual spot of sunshine next to the window, where the light shined exactly on Anne, only to find her eyes focused on her books, despite the attempt of the girls to persuade her to speak.

“So, how did you manage to convince him, Anne?”

“I-I didn’t do anything” she murmured, shaking her head and silently praying the lesson could begin soon.

“Impossible. Did you beg him or…I don’t know, threaten him?” Josie bitterly asked.

“This is enough. I’m not some-” Anne started replying, voice louder as she turned towards Josie, but as soon as she spotted him, she interrupted her own sentence and turned her back to him.

“Good morning” Gilbert said tentatively, only for his words to be followed by an almost inaudible reply. He was now beginning to get seriously worried, asking himself if he had unconsciously said or done something to cause such a reaction from Anne herself and from the people around her. He mentally thanked Miss Stacy for beginning the class almost immediately, yet his mind rushed incessantly with thousands of questions.

And then the answer came. More or less.

The sun was shining in its warmest light, leaving a kiss on each leaf and gently enveloping the room into a silent embrace, when classes finished. Everyone seemed particularly eager to get out as quickly as possible, still whispering into each other’s ears and curiously looking at him and Anne. He noticed Diana trying to drag her best friend out of the room as well, but she must have received a negative response, because he noticed her leaving the schoolhouse with a worried I’ll wait for you outside. And that’s when he realized it was just him and Anne in the room. She slowly turned to him, with what looked like a shy smile on her face. She was more gorgeous than a summer day.

“Hi” she said, her books still in her hands.

“Hello” Gilbert replied softly, waiting for her to say something which seemed to be sitting exactly on her lips.

“I saw it. I mean, I saw the note. I must admit I was pretty shocked, because I was sure you told me you didn’t have any intention to post whatsoever, but well, not that I didn’t appreciate it. I just didn’t expect it. But well, I wanted to be sure that you truly meant what you wrote. I’m sorry if I wasn’t really talkative today, I just felt pressured by everyone and that is why I waited until now to talk to you. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to post out of pity for me because of what Josie said, or whatever. But anyway” Anne blurted out in more or less ten seconds, and Gilbert almost had to sit down for how confused he was.

A post? From him to Anne?

“Gilbert?” she called him, her blue eyes searching for his.

“Er, I… Can I see the note?”

“The note?”

“Yes, please, if you still have it” Gilbert said, and when she gave it to him and he read it, he got it.

Gilbert Blythe thinks Anne Shirley-Cuthbert looked lovely with that turquoise dress last week at the Cuthbert-Lacroix dinner. He might want to invite her to the fair.

 “I didn’t write it” he immediately said, purely out of confusion.

Anne’s face dropped.

“You…you didn’t what?”

“I didn’t write this note, I don’t…I don’t get it” Gilbert replied, the little piece of paper still pressed between his thumb and finger.

“But you are the only one who knows that I wore that dress last week. How could it not be you?” Anne asked, probably more to herself than to the boy standing in front of her. She felt her whole body crumbling down and the embarrassment she was feeling was possibly the worst sensation she had ever felt.

“Anne, I would never write this” Gilbert said, and he was sure his brain created a sentence which sounded much worse than what he was actually trying to say as soon as she noticed her eyes losing their beautiful light. Anne took a step back, chuckling bitterly.

“Yes, right, I should have realized it. It was too odd, now that I think of it. How could you out of all the people, think something like that of me?”

“No, Anne, that’s not what I meant-”

“Yes, it is exactly what you meant. You probably think you’re too smart or-or too serious to post for someone on the board, let alone for me” she replied firmly this time, turning her back to him.

“That is not true, Anne, you know it. You said you thought the whole thing about inviting someone through the notes was stupid and that you didn’t need anyone to post for you” Gilbert said back, more and more aware of the fact that he definitely wasn’t making things right.

“Yes, well, turns out it’s not really awful to have someone saying nice things about me now and then, you know? I never said I wouldn’t have appreciated someone posting for me, I just said I think there are better ways to make an advance” Anne replied, facing him this time. “But I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable and if now everyone thinks you find me lovely, which – now I know – is very far from the truth, since you would never write this, as you said. I feel so stupid, how could I even think of something like that” Anne concluded, opening the door to go out.

“I told you I didn’t mean to say that! You know I’ve been in…I’ve always appreciated you, from the moment we met, Anne. I was just-”

“Oh, please, leave it for another time where you feel like you’ve degraded yourself enough to be able to compliment someone like me” Anne interrupted him, walking away as quickly as a lightning, and leaving Gilbert crestfallen and with a stingy flavor on his tongue.

Great. I messed up.

“You should have seen his face, Diana, as I thanked him for the note which he hasn’t even written. I feel so stupid” Anne stated, as they walked through the forest to head back to the respective houses. “But how could it happen, then? I mean, last week we did have dinner together with our families and he saw the dress I was wearing, he was literally the only one in school knowing about it, apart from-”

Anne stopped in her tracks.

Now this explains it all.

She turned to Diana, who had been silent for the whole stroll, and was now looking at her friend with pleading, mortified eyes.

“Diana” Anne murmured, her own view getting blurred as tears started filling her own eyes. “It was you?”

“Anne, I-I can explain!” Diana exclaimed, but it was enough to make Anne’s blood boil into her veins from frustration and shame.

“You seriously did it! How could you? Now not only am I the laughingstock of Avonlea, but I also made a fool of myself in front of the only boy that actually has ever shown a bit of decency towards me! I see Gilbert almost every single day, Diana, and not just in school, how am I supposed to behave around him now? I cannot believe this” Anne replied, feeling her face getting red and her hands shaking from anger. She started walking her way towards Green Gables, ignoring the desperate voice behind her.

“He has been looking at you a lot in the past months, Anne, how could you not notice! And you wouldn’t admit you would have loved it if he had invited you to the fair, and I thought that you were both being too discreet, plus no one made a move, so-”

“So you thought it would be a good idea to make a move for us, right? You really think so little of me, Diana? I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions and face the consequences of them, as I always did and will do. But you completely…threw away everything I told you about not needing someone to be happy, all because you have this messed up idea of how a woman should desperately look for a suitor to determine her value. Well, for once listen to me this time: let me go home” Anne concluded, turning her back to Diana once again and running towards her house, letting tears fall freely down her cheeks as they traced a path of humiliation and rage.

“I think we could invite the Cuthberts for lunch on Sunday, so we could all go to the fair together in the afternoon” Mary proposed, chopping some vegetables and pouring them into a big pot. It was almost evening, and the sun was waving the day goodbye, welcoming a timid, bright moon in its place.

“Er, no, I don’t think it’s a good idea” Gilbert answered, as he cut the crunchy bread Rachel Lynde had brought for them in the morning.

“Oh, right, you might be taking a girl to the fair! Who’s she?” Mary asked curiously, but before Gilbert could ask, Bash came into view with a jolly baby between his arms.

“We all know whom he’s taking, right?” he said teasingly, but Gilbert shook his head.

“I’m not taking anyone. I just think the Cuthberts might want to take their time to get ready.”

“Ah, right, because they usually take hours to prepare for a fair” Bash replied again jokingly, but this time his laughter wasn’t reciprocated. “You seriously didn’t ask Anne to come with you to the fair?”

Gilbert was sure he felt the knife slipping out of his hand.

“No, I didn’t. I was planning to, actually” he begun, looking down at the kitchen table, “but I’m afraid I messed up, pretty much.”

Mary put the pot on the stove and covered it with a big lid, before finally turning towards Gilbert raising an eyebrow.

“Anne, huh? Why am I not surprised at all?”

“Because he’s been head over heels for that girl for ages. The first time he talked to me ‘bout her he described her as a redhead with fiery temper and you should have seen this moke’s eyes, Mary, he was probably seeing angels all ‘round him” Bash said, and Mary gently slapped him on the arm to make him shut up.

“Why do you think you messed up, Gilbert? What happened?” she asked, and Gilbert wasn’t completely sure if he truly wanted to share how awfully he had behaved and how stupid he had felt. However, eventually he told everything to his family about what had happened, so meticulously that even Delphine had gotten quiet.

“That poor girl deserves so much more than what she often has to go through. She’s such a sweetheart, and she really is beautiful too. I don’t get why no one is interested in her, if I were a boy of your age, I would pay gold to have someone like Anne by my side, just saying” Mary said when he finished his speech, shaking her head.

“This town has always been full of prejudice and hypocrisy, that is why. Anne’s too…different from them. A good different, of course, and she’s slowly bringing them to open their eyes on so many things they’ve always slept on, and they don’t like people who bring change” Gilbert replied, still slicing the bread which was beginning to assume the shape of little cubes rather than thick slices.

“But you do, don’t you?”

The yes Gilbert whispered was barely there, but certainly not low enough for the Lacroix family to miss it.

“Well, d’you plan to cut that loaf of bread all night long or perhaps you want to do somethin’ to fix things with her?” Bash asked.

“Now? How do I explain to Matthew and Marilla why I’m there at such a late hour in the night?” Gilbert asked, as Mary finally served the wonderfully smelling soup she had made.

“You have dinner here first” Mary stated, scolding her husband for having such insane ideas, “but then, perhaps, you can go there and, I don’t know, try to call her attention without being seen from Marilla. I wouldn’t worry about Matthew too much.”

Gilbert, for the first time that evening, smiled.

“So, you’re literally telling me to sneak into her house at night and hope not to be caught?”

“Nah, just wait for her outside once she notices that you’re there” Bash answered, Delphine now asleep between his arms. Gilbert nodded unsurely, and even as started eating their dinner, his mind was still elsewhere, thinking and thinking.

It could be a good idea, after all.

Anne enjoyed summer nights. She loved the crispy, yet warm air that sept through the window of her room, and she had learnt to appreciate the gentle sound of leaves and branches brushing between each other, rather than being scared of it. She adored the way her room became filled with moonlight and how everything felt so incredibly romantic and sublime around her. She sometimes wished that stars could pour down on Earth like raindrops, so that she could fill her room with them, too. But perhaps their place was up in the sky, far from such a terrestrial place. She very much would have wanted to be a tiny, shining star too, just to see if the galaxies were made for her more than Earth was.

“Comets, importing change of times and states” she whispered, brushing her long hair in front of her mirror. She should have been already asleep by now, the utter silence of Green Gables and its surroundings being a sign of the late hour, yet she felt restless. She has such a huge variety of feelings inside herself, from anger to disappointment to something harder to understand, like her heart almost ache, yet she didn’t know how to put it properly into words, for once. “Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky” she concluded, and she was ready to continue her comforting Shakespeare recital when she heard a thump.

Anne suddenly jolted into her seat, her head immediately turning towards her window, which she had closed just a little while before that moment. She waited still, not making a move, when it happened again. It felt like a little pebble was being thrown against it, and she was ready to get out of her room at once and call Marilla, if she hadn’t immediately recognized the gentle voice that pronounced her name in a loud whisper. She walked to the window and opened it, her hair falling like a cascade of fire around her face when she spotted him and realized she had guessed right.

“Gilbert? What in the whole world are you doing here?!” she asked, more as an exclamation rather than a real question.

“May I speak with you, please?”

His voice is so soft that I think I might cry, she thought.

“Now?”

“If you want.”

Anne considered it for a moment, unsure of how to handle the fact that Gilbert Blythe was standing right under her window on a summer night with a lantern into his hand and eyes as deep as universes of their own kind.

I’ll regret this, I know it.

She didn’t give him an answer, before she closed the window and made her way out of her room, careful not to stumble – as expected, she did stumble, and had to stop for a couple of minutes to be sure she hadn’t woken anyone up – and when she reached the front porch, she closed the door behind herself as silently as she could. He attempted a weak, sorrowful smile, and was about to open his mouth to say something when she quickly grabbed his hand and started leading him somewhere else.

“No questions, don’t talk until we’re far enough” she muttered, and he simply nodded and followed her lead, ignoring the way her hand felt so perfectly made to hold his. They reached a small portion of land right behind the stable, where a couple of trees triumphed in their majesty and with their perfumed apple blossoms. No sound came from all around them, if not that of talkative crickets and the wise wind blowing, and when Anne turned towards Gilbert, he was sure she was a moonlight dryad, her eyes shining like stars on their own. It was dark, but not enough for them not to see each other well and recognize the awkwardness standing behind them like a wall. He wanted to break it.

“So” Anne started, not letting the thousands of questions in her head mess with her tongue, “May I ask why you’re here? I mean, why now? Can you imagine what Marilla would have done if she had seen you?”

“But she hasn’t” Gilbert answered, placing the lantern on the soft grass and sitting right next to it, waiting for Anne to do the same. She seemed hesitant for half a second, before she soon followed his moves.

“Yes, well, we don’t know this yet. I hope she won’t wake up while I’m here” Anne said, eyes pointed towards the half-moon carved in the sky. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

Gilbert took a deep breathe, his fingers playing with the strands of grass right under his palms.

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior about the, er, take-notice board thing. I didn’t mean to say that I would have never written it. I meant that I would have never written it. With an emphasis on the verb” he tried to explain, and he was sure his way with words would have just made her angrier, but he raised his eyes to her and there she stood, an amused smile sitting right on her lips and fitting her like the most gorgeous diamond. “You’re laughing.”

“Mind explaining what you mean by saying that you wouldn’t have written it?” Anne asked, still grinning genuinely.

“I mean that I really do not love that take-notice board. I’d rather say things face to face, even when it comes to making a compliment.”

“Well, but you haven’t made any compliment as far as I’m concerned, not even face to face” Anne said, and he knew she was – partially – joking, but she was right. He didn’t want to mess with her feelings, and he certainly didn’t want her to think he hadn’t noticed her, because he had. He totally, utterly, absolutely had. “But I get what you mean, and I appreciate your apology. Next time I’ll think twice before getting so excited for- I mean, before making assumptions. I’d rather speak with people than write through notes as well. At least we’ve made this clear now” she concluded, her bare feet brushing between each other as she let her eyes fall on his for a moment, before turning them away again.

Gilbert was mesmerized by the young woman sitting right next to him, and not for the first time. Yet, with her loose, natural hair falling on her back so gorgeously, and her skin competing with the surface of the moon to see which was more spectacular to look at, he found her sensational.

“Anne, I… I do think you’re the most extraordinary person I know. Inside as much as outside” he said, and this time she looked at him. “I don’t want this to sound like an excuse, but I was still trying to figure my own feelings out, and I messed up the way I behave towards you. I wasn’t…I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to make a move or not. It is the first time I feel…well, I just don’t quite know how to behave exactly. I didn’t want to hurt you in the process, but I really, really, did want to ask you to come with me to the fair, and when I was about to do it the whole situation happened and…well, yes, I pretty much screwed up, I am sorry” Gilbert blurted out, unsure of how much of what he had said made sense to her. Yet, his doubts were eased by her sweet chuckle and her head shaking, almost as if she couldn’t believe her ears. “Do you intend to laugh at everything I say for the rest of the night?” he asked, but he was laughing too.

“You’re such a lost cause, Gilbert Blythe” Anne jokingly said, imperceptibly switching closer to him. “But I guess I’ve been just as dumb as you, from this point of view. It’s not like I was really letting my feelings out, too… I wasn’t very sure of myself and, honestly, how could I ever expected you to invite me to the fair, or anywhere else really? I’m a huge dreamer, it looked very sweet in my head, but I hardly thought it could happen in real life.”

Gilbert felt his heart aching because how could she not recognize how breathtaking she was? How smart and brilliant and unique? He could have listed at least a billion reasons why she was the most incredible creature he had ever met, but the words got caught into his throat when she looked at him after not receiving a response, the playful smile on her lips slowly fading, letting her eyes get lost into his and his into hers. He knew his glance must have fallen quickly on her lips and then up again, because she did the exact same. Gilbert was unable to look away, the depth of her eyes in the darkness drowning him in the beauty she was, and he felt like she was stealing his breath and bringing it away with her. She was a siren and he a hopeless sailor, with the only difference that she didn’t have to use her voice to catch his heart because she had been doing that with her only mind and soul and presence for years.

They were only inches apart, and it felt like an eternal, but oh so wonderful wait between them. Gilbert was sure than in a couple of seconds he would have finally got a taste of her love, and he imagined it, pictured it, his heart racing right within his ribcage, when a sudden thud woke them up from their floating universe.

They both jolted, turning their heads to the source of that noise, yet their eyes couldn’t distinguish exactly where it came from and what – or who – had produced it.

“It must come from the stable, I think. I-I better go back inside now, I wouldn’t want anyone to, you know, wake up and not find me there” Anne said, hands fidgeting incessantly between each other.

“Sure, yes, I should go back too, Bash and Mary are probably worried.”

“I wouldn’t want them to think I murdered you or something. I wasn’t that angry” she replied, and Gilbert chuckled.

“I feel like they think I deserve at least your anger” he said, but Anne shook her head.

“Right now, I am too tired to be angry. Plus, we’re okay, right? You are not mad because of the others’ assumptions about the note and the invitation?”

“Mad? Why should I be mad?” Gilbert asked, not waiting for an answer before getting up onto his feet and extending his hand out for her to take. “Actually, I wondered if perhaps I could have one more chance to play my cards and try with a proper, real invitation this time?”

Anne smiled, taking his hand to get up as well.

“You don’t have to invite me for pity” she said with her head low, but Gilbert shook his head with certainty.

“I am not, I promise” he replied, taking both her hands into his. “So…Miss Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, will you do me the honor of coming with me to the never-existed-before summer fair on Sunday? I can be a very good escort, you know?”

“Ah, of course, I would bet on it” Anne said, trying to stay serious but – happily – failing.

“And…I would be very happy to have you with me. If you want” Gilbert added, and Anne’s heart so easily became a puddle for how softly he had pronounced those words. “So?”

“Mr. Blythe… I would be pleased to accompany you to this glorious event. I must let you now early, though, that I tend to get excited very easily and I get attracted by all the oddest, most fascinating things, so if you want to back away, speak now or forever hold your peace” Anne stated, but Gilbert simply raised her hands to his mouth for a very quick, yet sweet peck.

“Turns out I adore fascinating things too” he murmured, and Anne knew in that very moment that Gilbert Blythe had her heart. And she was more than happy to let him take care of it.

As expected, Anne barely slept that night. She could actually feel blood rushing through her veins and her heart racing so weirdly, that she could barely stay still. She stared at the ceiling for a while, her fingers tapping nonchalantly on her stomach; then she got up because, again, she was too restless to be able to fall asleep, and she walked up and down her bedroom, bare feet on the rough wood floor. And then she went back to bed because what else could she do? She knew she needed sleep but everything she was feeling was just too overwhelmingly exquisite not to be awake to live it.

Gilbert had walked her back to the front porch right after his invitation, and she didn’t miss how her heart twisted when he softly wished her a good night with a happy smile on his face. She appreciated how respectful and kindhearted he was with his moves and gestures, yet when she reached her room as silently as she could and got under the soft blanket, she wished he could have stayed a little longer. And she really wished that noise from the barn hadn’t interrupted that… something which was about to happen. She didn’t know if she knew how to kiss, honestly, but if she had to try, she wanted it to be with someone she loved and cherished. She wondered if Gilbert had already kissed. Her immediate assumption would have told her that of course he had, maybe by now he was an expert, and he would have been hugely disappointed by her lack of experience. But she knew better than to make assumptions, so she tried to push away those thoughts from her head and hoped that, in any case, she could have given him love.

She still hoped she was a good kisser, though.