Chapter Text
The train ride from Alberta to Avonlea was a long one but enjoyable, nonetheless. like his father Gilbert loved train rides. The beauties you could see from the waggon were endless.
Gilbert wasn't unhappy to go back to the village he grew up in. It was the reason why they were going that upset him. Over the course of three years John Blythe’s health had deteriorated a lot. Gilbert had been in denial for most of that period but has now come to accept that there was no cure that would save his father. The reason John hadn't wanted to stay in Alberta when Gilbert mentioned it was simple according to him: "You need community when I'm not here anymore.”
The fifteen-year-old wanted to say something along the lines of: "You will get better!", but it would have fallen on deaf ears if he had voiced his thoughts.
The older man had known what his son had wanted to say. With his hand on Gilbert’s knee, he had said: "We both know that there is nothing we can do, son. And besides, I would love to travel by train one last time."
That had done it for Gilbert. So here they were two weeks after that conversation halfway through their journey back to Avonlea, back home.
"Are you excited to see your friends again?", John had asked at one point.
Gilbert contemplated. He was happy to go to school again, that he was sure of. But see his friends?
Yes, he had missed Moody and Charlie during the six months that he was gone. He had also missed the games of hockey the boys played. He hadn't missed their company, he then realised. At least not as much as he thought he would at the beginning of this trip. And certainly not enough to be excited at the prospect of seeing them again. Did that mean that he didn't value their friendships? Gilbert frowned, which of course his father noticed.
"Son?"
Gilbert shook his head and gave his dad a weak smile. "I'm okay, dad. Thinking, that’s all."
John knew not to press, if his son wanted to talk to him, he would. It's how it's always been between the two remaining Blythe’s.
The rest of the journey was peaceful, full of small conversations and moments of quiet. John didn't have a bad coughing fit for almost the whole duration of the trip, which Gilbert was grateful for. He pushed the thought away, ashamed of how selfish that sounded.
When the train reached Avonlea, it was nearing twilight. Gilbert took their suitcases and put them in the carriage. After that he helped his father up and made sure he was covered, protected from the cold. It was dark when they arrived at the Blythe family home, but Gilbert didn't mind. He was eager to go to bed and sleep off the long trip. Which was what he did, but not before helping his father in his bed and making sure everything was how they had left it. It was with tired eyes that Gilbert collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering putting on his night clothes.
The first rays of sunshine woke him up from his deep sleep, as they always did. Gilbert was disorientated for a little while before he recognised his bedroom.
He got up from his bed and sighed, after which he started to get ready. The mindless routine distracted him from the fact that he would be leaving his dad for the first time in a while. Not that he always stayed with him, but he never was far away. It was by far the only thing he disliked about going to school. He had tried to convince his father that he would be fine staying at home, to take care of him, but his father had been adamant.
That's how he found himself checking on his father, who was still fast asleep, before leaving for school. Gilbert reminded himself that he had to go to Mrs. McKincannon’s house to ask her if she was still willing to work for them, as she had done before. Lucky for him her house was on his way to school, so he wouldn’t have to take a detour.
He knocked on the door and waited for the woman to open it. Mrs. McKincannon looked surprised to see him there but morphed her face into a pleasant smile soon enough.
“Gilbert, what a surprise! How are you, dear?”, she asked politely.
“I am well, Mrs. McKincannon”, Gilbert answered, before turning her down her invite to come in.
“Oh, no, thank you. I must get to school. I just came to ask if you were still willing to work for me and my father. I should be able to handle it, but I’d be less worried if there was someone with my father when I’m at school.”
Mrs. McKincannon nodded in understanding and gave him a more genuine smile: “Of course, dear boy! It is no problem at all. After all, you do pay me well for the little work I do. If it’s alright with you, I’ll finish up what I was doing, and I will head to your house. I suspect you would want me to work from 8 to 4, isn’t that right?”
After an affirmative answer the woman nodded once again, and Gilbert thanked her before making his leave. At least he didn’t have to worry about that anymore
Gilbert didn’t really hurry to go to school, he knew that he wouldn’t be too late, so he walked at a leisurely pace through the woods. He had missed the familiar greenery during his time away.
He never would have thought that his morning would start with hearing Billy Andrews taunting another person. But he did. He wasn't able to see what was going on because of the morning fog but he definitely recognised the voice of the boy he once considered a friend. He wasn't sure when he stopped seeing Billy as a friend, but he had and he really wondered why he had been his friend to begin with.
It wasn't clear what Billy was saying until he heard a thud of something falling on the ground and then Billy's voice again: "I'm gonna teach you a lesson, Fido. You're a bad dog. Bad dog."
When he heard that he knew he had to intervene before Billy hurt the person. Billy was known to be a brute, and no one deserved whatever he had planned.
"Hey, Billy", he shouted out, "How's it going?" He walked close enough to just see Billy turn around, surprised to see him.
"Hey, Gilbert", the boy said with a tight grin. It was then that Gilbert noticed the other person, a girl, probably a few years younger. What stood out the most about her was her frightened face and her red braids. She had dropped her basket and books. So that was the thud from before.
"Man it's, ehm, it's good to be back", Gilbert directed himself to Billy completely. The boy had now stepped away from the girl and turned himself completely towards Gilbert.
"Eh, yeah. yeah, welcome back", he didn't sound very convincing, but Gilbert hadn't expected him to be.
"Yeah, it's good to see you, buddy", he said with a smile, glancing at the girl who stood there petrified.
He had to get Billy to leave before the girl, so next he said: "So, are you guys playing a game or something? Looks fun but we should probably get to school, eh! Hate to be tardy. Mr. Phillips sure gets his dander up about that."
"Yeah, I was just about to get going. see you there", Billy said but directing that last bit at the girl who still hadn't moved an inch. After that he turned around and left. Gilbert followed the boy with his gaze until he wasn't visible anymore and then turned to the girl: "You alright miss?"
That made the girl seem to snap out of her state of terror, she bent down, picked up her basket and books and uttered the words: "School."
And before he knew it, she was running away, in the direction of the school. Gilbert was somewhat perplexed at the whole encounter, but he was more surprised at his own next words.
"You're welcome! Need anything else, any dragons that need slaying?"
The girl didn't even look back as she said: "No… thank you...", Before disappearing between the trees. Gilbert frowned and called out as he ran after her.
"Who are you? Eh, who are you?"
He only caught up with her when they were near the schoolhouse.
"Ehm miss?", he said again, hoping that she would acknowledge him. "What's your name, miss?"
Still no response whatsoever.
"What, you can't tell me your name?", he said jokingly. Gilbert noticed that she was slowing down a bit, so he ran towards her, finally catching up.
Right as he reached her, she made a beeline for the door. Gilbert, who had longer legs, took a few long strides and got to the door right before the girl did.
"Here. Here, allow me", he said as he opened the door. As they got in the girl finally stopped and turned to face him. What she then said surprised Gilbert a bit.
"I'm sorry if I was rude."
He wanted to tell her that she wasn't rude and that it's all right but she didn't leave him much time before saying something else.
"I'm Anne."
Anne. Her name was Anne.
He opened his mouth and said: “I’m…”
But he didn't get far with that since he got cut off by a chorus of: "Gilbert!"
The next few minutes were filled with questions and remarks from his friends and Anne disappeared from his line of vision. As always when questions concerning his father came up he brushed it off without actually answering. He didn't need pity.
It was then that Charlie asked: "Why were you walking with that orphan girl?"
Gilbert frowned at that and asked: "why not?"
It was Moody's turn to voice his thoughts. "She's a loon"
Gilbert snorted, although not sure where that came from. “Says you", he retorted.
"Hope you didn't catch any asylum cooties", Charlie said and now Gilbert was sure they were being ridiculous. Why would it matter where she came from? Even though he found it ridiculous he decided to play along.
"Uh oh, there is one", he said as he pointed his finger at Charlie's chest and as soon as he looked he flicked him on the nose.
At least it made everyone laugh. as the laughter died down he said : "Besides I don't care where she is from." No one's worth is determined by where they come from.
He then said: "A cute girl is a cute girl." None of the boys disagreed.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Classes were pretty standard and Gilbert was happy that he hadn't fallen much behind during his time away. When Mr. Philips announced that they were about to do some poetry recitations Gilbert sat up a bit straighter. This had to be his favourite lesson. When he glanced at Anne, as he had done for most of the day if he was being honest with himself, he noticed that she had perked up as well.
Diana Barry started with the recitation of the poem "The fisherman", but she seemed to be struggling a bit.
"A perilous life, and sad as life may be. Hath the lone fisher on the lonely sea…", she had stuttered at the word perilous after which the teacher said to sit down and told Anne to continue.
What happened next wasn't something Gilbert was expecting, nor was the rest of the class.
"O'er the wild waters labouring, far from home,
For some bleak pittance e'er compelled to roam:
Few hearts to cheer him through his dangerous life.
And none to aid him in the stormy strife:
Companion of the sea and silent air,
The lonely fisher thus must ever fare;"
As she recited Gilbert couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
"She's good. invested", he said to Charlie when the boy had shot him a confused glance. And invested, she was. It reminded him of the theatres he had been to, of the actors on stage that poured their hearts and souls in a piece of literature. Only he seemed to be the only one to think so if he was to believe the snickers and wide eyed expressions of his classmates.
"Without the comfort, hope, — with scarce a friend,
He looks through life, and only sees— its end!"
When Anne had finished her recitation the class burst out in laughs and giggles and Gilbert felt bad for her. Everyone was laughing except for himself and Diana. In his opinion she had done a great job of bringing the poem to life. But it seemed that his classmates didn't think the same.
"Sit down!", Mr. Philips barked. "Sweet merciful Lord", he then muttered.
It seemed that Anne only then realised that the class was laughing when she had sat down. The laughing only stopped when Josie Pye started reciting "The Downfall of Poland" in the same monotone as every other student.
And that's how the class went on for the rest of the lesson until Mr. Philips dismissed them for lunch. Gilbert then noticed that all the girls sat together, without Anne. She must have a hard time making friends. It was then that he decided that he would be her friend. He took his apple and went to look for her. She wasn't that far away, just next to the creek sitting on a stone.
Gilbert had reached her but she had yet to look up or even acknowledge him.
"Hey, ehm, I, eh, thought you might like to try one", he said, reaching out his hand to give her the apple.
When she didn't reply he said: "They're from our orchard. they're real sweet."
At that moment she mumbled something through clenched teeth.
"I beg your pardon?"
Again she said something incomprehensible and Gilbert was confused.
"I'm - I'm sorry. I- eh…"
But she cut him off by standing up and exclaiming: "I'm not supposed to talk to you."
Now, that he hadn't expected. He frowned and asked her why. Which only seemed to make her more exasperated than she already was, as she took her belongings, let out an annoyed huff and walked away. Gilbert followed her with his eyes until she disappeared and let out a sigh. Well that went well, he thought sarcastically.
He didn't understand what had just happened. Why wasn't she supposed to talk to him? Did it concern him alone? Was that why she was alone? And who would forbid her to talk to people. Nothing made sense, but Gilbert wouldn't let a thing like that stop him. Whoever told Anne that she wasn't supposed to talk to him could come to him first. He would give her that apple and become her friend.
It was during the algebra lesson that he saw an opportunity to give her that apple. But first he had to get her attention. Maybe it was childish but he began throwing little pieces of paper at her, hoping she would look at him. when that didn't elicit a response, he threw pieces of chalk at her.
Still no reaction except for the fact that she had sat up straighter. Mr. Philips had his back turned to the class and was writing the problem on the blackboard.
This is my only chance, he thought and got up from his seat, apple in hand.
He crept closer and closer to the girl's desk and when he got there he placed the apple on it. Then he did probably the dumbest thing ever. if you would ask him why he did it, he wouldn't be able to find a good answer. It only made sense at that moment and so he did it.
He grabbed one of her braids, tugged on it and said: "Carrots."
If he was surprised by his actions, he was even more surprised by what she did. She stood up, took her slate, and yelled: "I'm not talking to you", as she smashed the slate on his face.
Both of them were shocked, actually everyone was shocked.
Gilbert reached for his aching jaw and then said: "You just did."
Anne dropped the slate in surprise and Mr. Philips then called her to the front. The man started berating her and Gilbert stood up and said: "It was my fault sir. I, eh, I teased her." But the man didn't want to hear anything.
Gilbert felt awful for having caused so much trouble for Anne. As she stood there at the front he saw tears forming in her eyes. She then started walking, head held high without paying attention to anyone. not even the teacher that was calling her back. before Gilbert could blink she had left the schoolhouse.
Mr. Philips was still calling after her when Gilbert decided that he could only do one thing. He got up himself and ran after her. "Gilbert Blythe, come back here this instant!", Mr. Philips bellowed, but the fifteen year old didn't pay him any mind.
In the distance he could see Anne running into the woods and Gilbert sped up to try and catch up with her. It helped that he was taller and thus faster than the smaller girl.
"Anne!", he called out when he was close enough for her to hear him. She stopped, looking back startled before running again. But her stopping was all he needed to catch up with her. Even if he caught up with her she didn't stop again and he realised then that she was running to the cliff. It is only when they reached it that she came to a halt and so did he.
Anne didn't turn to look at him, but he could see her shoulders shaking. Guilt built up in his chest. You did that. you caused her to be so upset.
"Anne…", he whispered tentatively.
The girl then turned around and he could finally see her. Her eyes red, her cheeks streaked with tears and red from running. But it was the look in her eyes that really struck him to the core. There was anger, hurt, defeat and exhaustion.
"What are you doing here?", she hissed. "Have you come to humiliate me some more?"
Gilbert flinched at the harsh words but he knew he deserved them. He had acted as a real jerk. He knew he had to make it up to her. it didn't matter how long it would take, he just couldn't stand the thought of her staying mad at him.
In his silence she almost ran away again, but Gilbert grabbed her wrist and said: "Wait, please.”
She pulled her wrist from his grasp, but didn’t leave.
“I'm really sorry, Anne. I didn't mean to cause you trouble", he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. She looked at him incredulously. Her mouth opened, but she snapped it shut right after.
"I really mean it. All I wanted was to give you that apple and maybe we could be friends. but when you said you weren't supposed to talk to me, I don't know what went on in my head. I decided that I needed to get your attention and I'm really sorry."
Gilbert knew that he had been rambling, he knew that nothing he said excused his poor behaviour but he didn't care. He wanted Anne to know why he did what he did, even if he didn't really know why he did it.
"You want to be friends but insult my hair?", she all but yelled after a while.
Wait what? Insult her hair? Gilbert didn't know what she was talking about and it was clear on his face apparently, because the redhead said: "Carrots? and pulling on my braid?"
Realisation dawned on Gilbert. Oh goodness, he was an actual idiot.
"I didn't mean it that way, it really was just to catch your attention, which to be fair it did", he said.
"I like your hair. It's such a nice colour!"
Anne quirked an eyebrow at that and Gilbert looked away, bashfully.
“You’re kidding, right?”, she then said with a huff. When Gilbert didn’t know how to respond to that she continued: “What do you gain from this? What are you trying to do?”
Now Gilbert was lost. He didn’t know what the girl was implying, but it sounded like she didn’t believe him. Even better, it sounded like she believed that he had some ulterior motive. He sighed and tried to get his thoughts straight before even voicing them.
“Anne, I promise you that I didn’t mean to upset you with the carrots comment. Should I have refrained from doing it? Yeah, probably. Were there better ways to get you to talk to me? Yes, definitely. I just didn’t understand why you are not supposed to talk to me and I really just wanted to befriend you. You sat all alone and I thought it would be nice to offer you an apple. What happened in class shouldn’t have happened and it wouldn’t have if I had thought of the consequences.”
Anne gaped at him, but at least didn’t leave or yell at him, which he counted as a win. The tears had stopped flowing, even though he didn’t know if it was in anger or because of the fact that she had cried so much.
“Do you really want to be friends?”
The question wasn’t expected, but really it was becoming clear that the girl in front of him didn’t understand why he would want to be friends with her.
Gilbert nodded eagerly: “I really do! I have never been the new kid anywhere but I can see how it can be lonely at times.” At that Anne slowly sat down in the grass and Gilbert followed suit.
“I don’t understand why you would want to be my friend after I hit you like that.”
Gilbert snorted: “I kinda deserved that, didn’t I?”
Anne laughed. It was the first time that she had laughed and he hoped he would hear it more in the future. “Yeah, you did. But I still want to apologize for doing that. I shouldn’t have”, she said abashedly, a blush rising onto her cheeks.
Goodness, she looked really cute with that blush.
“It’s water under the bridge”, he said, a blush creeping onto his face from the thought he just had. Anne gave him a small smile and the two stayed in comfortable silence for a while. It was Gilbert that broke that silence by voicing the question that he had since lunch.
“Why aren’t you supposed to talk to me? Is it only me?”
And just as that question left his mouth he knew that he wouldn’t get an answer right away. Anne looked away and bit her lip. She seemed to be contemplating a few things and that's why silence overcame them again.
She then sighed and said: “I can’t really tell you, it’s not my secret to tell. But basically the other girls said I couldn’t. And really that’s ridiculous! As if I’d ever try to …”
Anne blushed again and snapped her mouth shut. Gilbert wanted to try and guess what she was about to say but shook his head and decided that it didn’t matter.
He’d focus on the fact that others had told Anne not to talk to him. Had they done that before? Told someone they couldn’t talk to him? Why would they even do that? “It is ridiculous”, he then said.
“Can I ask a question?”, Anne muttered out, shyness overcoming her again.
Gilbert nodded at her and gave her an encouraging smile. “Why do you want to be my friend?”
He thought for a bit and decided to go with the truth. “When I saw you this morning, with Billy, I felt bad for you. But when you wouldn’t give me your name I must admit I felt a bit hurt. I had helped you and now you weren’t even acknowledging me. I know it’s stupid and childish off me but it's the truth”, Gilbert said remorseful.
“But it is when I heard you recite that poem in class that I decided I wanted to get to know you better. A person that can recite something so beautifully is bound to be interesting. It was ridiculous how the rest of the class wouldn’t stop laughing when you were the only one that brought the poem with passion and feeling. So I thought what better way to approach you than to offer you an apple and the rest you know already.”
"You really liked how I recited the poem?", Anne asked expectantly.
"Of course!"
The smile on her face was worth every misunderstanding that had transpired in the few hours they have known each other. it lit up her whole face and the boy would pay everything to see it more often.
Gilbert hoped that the girl believed him on this. She was so talented and only needed to believe in herself.
"Thank you", she beamed, "It was the first time I recited something for a crowd. even though the others didn't seem to like it, I'm glad you did."
Now it was Gilbert's turn to smile a similar bright smile. The fact that she appreciated his opinion made him all warm, even if he didn't know why it did that.
"I'm glad we're friends", Anne said when silence overcame them once again.
"Even if we can't be friends in school, because of the girls, I still want to be. You are the first person that is nice to me like that, besides Diana and my new family."
Gilbert reached over to her arm and gave it a squeeze and said: "I'm glad we are friend's too."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-
The two of them decided that it was high time that they went home. It had been a few hours of silly banter and small talk and they knew that school was about to let out. Gilbert reminded Anne that their belongings were still at the schoolhouse and they had to fetch them to avoid questions from their families. Anne agreed but was adamant that she wasn't going to face Mr Philips today. Not after what he did to her. Gilbert understood. He was not that fond of the idea of seeing their teacher again, but he would do it if it meant he had a chance to set things right for Anne. he decided he would explain everything to the man and hope that he wouldn't be so cruel to Anne anymore.
The walk to the school house wasn't quiet at all, which they both enjoyed immensely. It was spent laughing and talking in hushed voices, because they had to be careful to not run into any of their fellow classmates, as many would take this path to go home.
"Tell me Anne, who is it that adopted you? I don't think I have asked before and you haven't mentioned them", Gilbert asked as they had just successfully dodged Charlie Sloane. He had wanted to bring that up for a bit now, but didn't know how to do so. To say that he was scared of Anne's reaction would be putting it mildly. He$ wasn't even sure if Anne was willing to tell him, after all.
"Oh, the Cuthberts. Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. There had been a misunderstanding at the beginning but now that it's all okay again I think I can be genuinely happy there. It is a first time that people actually want me and not just my service."
Gilbert didn't know what to say to that. He had learned that Anne was 13. Two years younger than he was. And to hear that she had been in service before. He found it hard to imagine this free-spirited girl he had come to know a bit more in the last few hours, working for other people instead of being just a kid? All afternoon she had been headstrong as to not answer anything about her past, so he also found it weird that he was privy to such information.
"Were you in service for long?", he then asked. If she wouldn't answer that was okay, he just had to ask. Anne looked thoughtful, seemingly contemplating what she would tell him.
After a bit she said: "Four years in total, on and off. Never longer than a year in one place. I've been placed in half a dozen families."
Four years. Anne spent four years of her short life working for other people. Gilbert couldn't help it but to inquire more about that part of Anne's life. "What did you do for work?"
"The basics, cleaning, cooking, taking care of the kids", she said as if it wasn't a big deal.
Right at that moment they reached the schoolhouse, so any questions that weren't voiced would be left unanswered for a while longer.
"Wait here and I'll be right back", Gilbert told her and walked up the steps and got into the schoolhouse. His mind was still trying to process the new information he learned, but he pushed it aside to focus on the conversation with Mr. Philips. The man was still inside of the schoolhouse, reading a book it seemed.
The teacher looked up as he heard the door close and let out a sigh when he saw Gilbert.
“What are you doing here, Blythe?”, he said as he put down his book.
“I came to retrieve Anne’s and my belongings and talk to you, sir.” Straight to the point, no use of beating around the bush.
“And what makes you think that I’d want to talk to you, Blythe, after you disrupted my class and then left the schoolhouse without permission?”, he drawled. Gilbert sighed, he really hated this man. Not only was he an incompetent teacher, he was straight out a bad person.
“I came to apologize for that, sir. I shouldn’t have disrupted the class and that is completely my fault, not Anne’s. She had already told me to leave her to be and I provoked her by teasing and distracting her from her work. She didn’t deserve to be punished because of my actions”, Gilbert pleaded his case in an even and steady tone.
If the man would be cold and detached, so would he.
Mr. Philips gave him an unimpressed gaze "Miss Shirley might not have started it but she did behave inappropriately by hitting you with her slate, if you recall, Mr. Blythe."
"I do, sir. But she apologised for that and therefore hasn't done anything else to disrupt the class. I will take whatever punishment you deem fit for my misbehaviour and if you really want to give Anne a punishment, I will take it in her stead."
That seemed to give the man pause, a questioning look slowly forming onto his face.
He then sighed and said: "I want 150 lines of 'I shall not disrupt class for frivolous matters anymore'. Tomorrow morning on my desk." Gilbert nodded at that. He could do that. He was about to leave when Mr. Philips called after him. "And make sure to tell Miss. Shirley that at the next mishap I won't be as clement as I am now."
The boy didn't even acknowledge him and left the schoolhouse.
There he found Anne waiting on him, biting her lip anxiously. Gilbert shook his head fondly. She even looked cute when she worried. He didn't understand what was wrong with him when it came to this girl who had been a stranger mere hours ago, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"What did he say?" she asked when she noticed him. Gilbert handed her the basket, books and broken slate that belonged to her and started walking, clearly wanting to leave the school. Anne followed in silence. When they were out of view of the schoolhouse Gilbert recounted what had transpired between the teacher and the boy. He didn't mention offering taking her punishment, she didn't need to know that.
"I can't believe he is leaving it at a warning", Anne said, relief evident in her voice and demeanour. Gilbert smiled, glad that he could do this little thing for Anne after what he had put her through. They reached a point where the path split into two separate paths and they both stopped.
"I've got to go that way", Anne said, pointing in the opposite direction that he had to take. He nodded towards the other path and said: "And I've to go that way."
Even though they both had to leave, both being awaited at home, they made no move at leaving.
Gilbert then remembered the broken slate and asked: "What are you going to say to the Cuthberts about that?"
Anne followed his gaze and she paled a bit. Clearly she hadn't thought of that. Gilbert chuckled despite the situation and offered her to swap slates, since it was his fault. Anne shook her head fervently.
"No, I want to be honest with Marilla and Matthew. And I can't take your slate when you need it for homework."
Anne looked at him and then asked: "Won't your parents ask about the bruise on your face?" He lifted his hand to his jaw. He had forgotten about it.
"My dad will ask and I'll tell him but he'll probably scold me for acting like a cad", the boy explained.
He didn't know if he had imagined it but had Anne flinched when he told her about his dad's reaction? Gilbert had no time to overthink this before the girl asked a follow-up question.
"And your mother?"
Of course she didn't know that the Blythe family only consisted of the two men. She was new in town and why would anyone talk about him or his family when they had been absent for months. It wasn't her fault that the question ached a little. and really Anne would understand better than anyone, she was an orphan.
"No mum, she died 15 years ago", Gilbert said and he saw the moments that Anne wanted to take back her question.
"I'm so sorry, Gilbert. I shouldn't have asked. it is none of my business", she rambled, guilt apparent on her face.
He shook his head and gave her a little smile: "You didn't know. and I was the one to pry into your life earlier, so it's only fair that I share something of mine."
Anne looked like she wanted to say something to that but only nodded her head slightly. Gilbert then noticed he still had an apple in his open bag and smiled. He took it, wiped it to his sleeve and offered it to Anne with a cocky smirk.
She looked at the apple, then at him and rolled her eyes in exasperation, but still took the apple to Gilbert's delight.
"You'll have to tell me if it's as sweet as I've told you", he said, his smirk still in place.
She laughed, shaking her head. She then took a big bite out of the apple. Her eyes widened and when she swallowed she said: "It really is sweet!"
The feeling in Gilbert's stomach was a new one he couldn't name. It would have worried him any other time but right now he couldn't do anything but smile. Anne smiled back. as if on cue a blush crept on both teens cheeks and they both looked away bashfully.
"Thank you, Gil, not just for this afternoon, but also for saving me from Billy this morning", Anne whispered.
"You're welcome, Anne", he whispered back.
Neither of them made a move to leave.
"Do you want to walk to and from school with me? we'll make sure no one sees us together, so no one suspects us of being friends", Gilbert offered, not saying that usually a boy shouldn't walk a girl anywhere. He wasn't really one to follow rules like that and one thing he knew about Anne was how she lived to defy the rules.
"I'd love to", Anne beamed.
"Alright! Well, see you tomorrow at this spot?", he asked, still not wanting to leave even though he knew he had to get home to be with his dad.
"Yes, see you tomorrow", Anne said. She was the first to leave but not without looking back a few times. When she was out of sight Gilbert turned around and hurried home. Even though he hadn't wanted to leave Anne he knew that his father was expecting him and would be asking questions about his whereabouts.
When he almost reached his home he crossed Mrs. McKincannon on her way home. He thanked her once again and promised her first pay at the end of the week.
When he entered the house was quiet, as it usually was. He dropped his belongings onto the kitchen table and went to check up on his father. The man looked up when Gilbert arrived at the room and gave his son a warm smile.
"Ah, Gilbert ! How are you, son? How was your day?", he asked with more energy than he had had in a while.
Gilbert couldn't help the smile as he sat down on the chair next to his father's bed: "I'm good, dad. My day has been… eventful."
It sure has been something, he thought by himself.
John Blythe chuckled and told his son that he would love to hear about it. The younger of the two promised he would, but went to make them some tea first.
When Gilbert came back with tea and some biscuits that Mrs. McKincannon had prepared, he had already made the decision to be truthful with his dad.
After serving them both tea and sitting back down his father frowned and reached for his son's face, turning it to the side so he could observe the side that had been hit previously.
"What happened? Did you get into a fight?", his dad asked, nothing but patience apparent in his voice. Gilbert sighed a bit and started recounting the day's events.
"When I was walking to school I intercepted Billy Andrews cornering a girl. I had never seen her before, but I knew I had to stop Billy before he did something."
John felt a surge of pride. He had always hoped that he raised his son to be a good person, but to hear that he actually did.
"So you stopped that Andrews boy and got into a fight", he said, thinking that's what happened.
Gilbert shook his head: "No, Billy left and I was alone with the girl, her name is Anne, by the way. With an ‘e’.”
He remembered her telling him that it made her name less boring. He had found it ridiculous that she thought her name was boring. It was hers after all, and Anne was anything but boring.
“She had this bright red hair and all these freckles on her face."
That John hadn't expected. his son seemed to be talking about this girl with a certain kind of fondness. Could it be…? The man decided to not interrupt his son and motioned for him to continue.
"But before I could ask her her name or anything she left. I was perplexed, dad. I said something about dragons needing slaying, which was really dumb now that I think about it."
His son had it bad, it seemed. John couldn't help a snicker of laughter.
"We got to the schoolhouse and as any proper gentleman I opened the door for her. It is then that she told me her name after apologising for being rude. Before I could say my own name I was being dragged away by my friends."
The slight pout on his son's face was one he hadn't seen since he was a little boy.
"Then dad we had to recite poetry in class and of course everyone was dreadfully monotone, it was almost painful to hear. Except for Anne. She brought the poem to life, said it with such raw emotion and passion. It was amazing, dad!"
John couldn't say that he was waiting for his son to show interest in a girl, but now that he did he was very grateful to have been there for it.
"Then everything went south. At lunch I wanted to give her an apple. She was sitting all alone and I genuinely wanted to make friends with her. but she told me she wasn't supposed to talk to me. I must admit, father, that what I did after that makes me feel shameful. During class I distracted her in order to give her that apple."
The frown apparent on his dad's face was expected. John Blythe had taught his son better than to disrupt class.
"That's not the worst, though. When Mr. Philips had his back turned, I went up to her and gave her that apple, but I also did something very foolish. I pulled one of her braids and called her carrots. I later learned that she thought I had insulted her, which hadn't been my intention, honest." Gilbert flinched, really regretting what he had done earlier.
John sighed: "I'm not happy you disrupted class, nor that you teased that girl. This still doesn't answer the bruise on your jaw."
Gilbert nodded, understanding his father's disappointment and confusion still, surrounding his bruise and how it got there.
So he told the rest of the story. How Anne had hit him with her slate and how utterly shocked they both had been. How Mr. Philips wasn't fair when he only punished Anne and not him. How Anne had walked away without looking back and how he had followed her.
How she had yelled at him and how he had apologised and explained his actions. How she had apologised for hers and the honest disbelief she felt when he told her he wanted to be friends. He told him everything except for the personal things Anne had revealed during their walk to the schoolhouse.
“She sounds like an interesting girl. Who did you say adopted her?”, John asked when Gilbert had stopped talking.
“The Cuthberts. Anne told me that there had been some misunderstandings at first, but they decided to adopt her in the end”, Gilbert said.
He then contemplated telling his father about their plans for walking together but then decided that he’d better be honest with the older man. His dad then asked if he knew what people would say if they knew and Gilbert blushed.
"I know, but I don't think she knows and frankly I don't really care. I just want to be her friend and if that's only possible before and after school for a short period of time I'm going to take it."
John smiled softly at his son, wondering when his little boy had grown up so much. He knew that his illness was a big factor in Gilbert having to grow up so soon, but he was happy his son was such a good young man this early in life. He did know that it was his duty as a father to inquire about his son's intentions.
"If you really know, then why did you ask it like that? Unless you mean it like that."
Gilbert blushed at that: “I don't really know, dad. I mean she is cute and I love her fiery personality and want to get to know her better, but do I want to court her in the future? We are both still so young.”
Gilbert blush deepened at the idea of him and Anne courting in the future. So what if he only met her today? It wasn't as if he was going to do anything about it. Anne wanted a friend and that's what he was going to be.
John nodded and knew to drop the topic for now. If this was going to become something else, he knew that Gilbert would come to him. Hopefully he’d still be around for that.
"Would you read me some Whitman, son?"
Gilbert nodded, took the book left on the bedside table and began to read for his father. He wondered if Anne liked Whitman as much as his father did.