DIANA WAS RIGHT in the fact that Anne would definitely be a part of all the "hot gossip" of Redmond. Even as Anne went out to eat, (which probably wasn't a good idea since she was a broke college student and the only money she earned was from a newspaper internship she took the summer before) there were pointed stares in her direction and whisperings of her name linked to Gilbert Blythe's. It wasn't great to say the least. Anne kept her head up, nonetheless; it wasn't like words would stop Anne from being who she was.
Anne wasn't exactly sure what the gossip entailed, though, but she did get texts from Phil, Pris, and her other friend Stella Maynard questioning if she actually did say what she said to Charlie Sloane and if the rumors of Anne smacking a tablet atop Gilbert's head was true. She didn't confirm it, as she would rather do such a thing in person than on a phone, but she did question from where they heard that. They all said they'd just been going to classes or going out to eat where they heard Anne's name and started to listen in.
For Anne to say that people actually knowing her name wasn't thrilling would be a lie, but she wasn't sure whether it had been linked to a good thing or a bad thing. Her friends assured Anne that for the most part, people were praising her for being the girl of the 21st century or whatever, and there was the ever-present jealous person wanting to be in her position of having two boys vying for her attention (Anne scoffed at that). There were the haters, of course, that questioned what gave her the right to do such a thing, although Anne knew that she could do whatever she wanted no matter what. It is a free country after all!
Anne knew she shouldn't be bothered by gossip, especially since she'd already experienced the majority of it back in Avonlea when she first arrived. Plus, she lived with Rachel Lynde for a time and she knew exactly what kind of gossip to stay away from, and this one isn't that bad. Anyways, there are thousands of people on campus so it's not like everyone would hear about it like in high school. The only people who would really care are those who don't have any other reason to go to college besides for the parties and purposely wasting their parents' money for no other reasons besides thinking it would be fun.
Still, she and Diana were able to have a somewhat peaceful evening. Anne pointedly ignored the looks and whispers that seemed to follow her no matter what. Her main goal was to also keep Diana out of whatever drama seemed to always trail behind Anne, as she didn't want their relationship to be damaged because of some words other people have said about them. So, throughout their lunch, Anne made sure to not include Diana's name (though it would be leaked eventually) in much of their conversations and tried not to speak of extremely private information that could bite them in the butt eventually. Of course, Anne might be taking it to the extreme, but one can never be too careful around nosey teenagers that would do anything to cause trouble. Plus, Anne wouldn't want to be involved with a collegiate version of Josie Pye who would do legitimately anything to cause drama between friends and make a good story in the gossip column of their school newspaper.
Anne did hear about the popular Ruby Gillis, though. She was in Anne's American Literature course, and she was quite pretty. Ruby seemed so extremely nice that Anne couldn't even find a reason to hate her. She was one of the Redmond sweethearts, and was also another name linked with Gilbert Blythe (and in all honesty, who wasn't?).
Ruby was invited to go to Redmond on a cheerleading scholarship and she's one who is extremely peppy. She can make anyone smile without even trying. She is considered to be a bit boy-crazy, though. People on campus say that she can't keep a boy for more than a month, but all of her ex's only have words of praise. She really is an enjoyable person, and she was even nice towards Anne! For some reason, this shocked Anne, especially since she thought Ruby would've caught wind of the more pessimistic and mean gossip about her.
Anne was grateful nonetheless, and it was nice having someone to talk to in between lectures.
Anne found out that Ruby enjoyed story telling, though Ruby believed she wasn't much good at it. Anne, being the person with an adventurous spirit and imaginative mind, declared that they could create a story telling club.
"It's a wondrous idea!" Anne claimed as they packed for the end of class. "There are probably many other people who would enjoy writing stories as well. There's so many computer labs and places here in this university where we could meet! I think Professor Stacy would willingly be able to endorse us. That way we can reach a broader amount of people! Just think about it, Ruby! We can actually do this!"
Ruby gave Anne an incredulous look. "I don't know, Anne," she said cautiously. "I'm quite busy at the moment and it does seem like a lot of work to set up a club here in a college campus. I mean, you can go ahead and do it by all means and I'll be a huge supporter and I'd definitely join, but I just can't help on the founding of it. But hey! What about Gilbert Blythe? He seems like he can help you. Plus, it would be a good thing for him to put on his campaign for class president."
Anne scoffed at the idea. Gilbert Blythe! Helping her! No way! Plus, there's absolutely no possibility that she would get a guy like Gilbert Blythe to help her at a story club. If she were to stoop so low as to ask him for help, she can just do it all by herself.
Anne didn't even understand why he was taking this class in the first place. She'd heard around campus that he was studying pre-med currently, so it didn't make sense why he was in an American Literature class. It would be a question she would ask him if she wasn't so bothered by him constantly to get in a decent conversation.
And, just as if he knew exactly what they're taking about, the devil himself swoops in. "Hello ladies, how may I brighten your lovely afternoon," he says, throwing a wink in Anne's direction. She felt as if her eyes can see the back of her brain since she rolled it back so far.
"Oh, Anne was just talking about making a story telling club," Ruby said, nodding over at Anne. "Isn't that right?"
"Oh yes, but I must get going," Anne excused herself. "I'm meeting up with Phil today and I mustn't be late!"
Hurriedly, Anne practically threw all of her books, paper, pencils, and her laptop into her backpack, said a rushed goodbye to the girls and flew out of the lecture hall doors. Before Anne was able to make it out of the second set of doors to make it outside of the building, a voice called, "Anne! Wait up!"
Mentally cursing the owner of the voice, Anne didn't slow down remotely. In fact, she tried to increase her pace, enough to make it seem like she couldn't hear the person, but not enough to make her seem rude. The plan itself backfired as by the time she turned the corner as she exited the building, the person caught up to her.
"Yes, Mr. Blythe. How may I help you?" Anne inquired politely with just a little bit of spite.
"I thought I might accompany you on your walk to wherever you need to meet Phil," Gilbert replied, a hint of cockiness easing through his tone of voice.
"And which one of my actions hinted at me wanting some sort of assistance as easy as just crossing the street and walking?" Anne pressed, her annoyance showing.
"Listen Anne," he started, dropping whatever teasing he used to start off, "I'm sorry about startling you and calling you 'Carrots.' I had no idea what affect it would had on you, and I sincerely apologize. Can't we be friends?"
Anne scoffed. The nerve! "Friends? Honestly Mr. Blythe, I thought you'd be smarter than that to realize it would take more than a simple 'I'm sorry' to go so far as obtaining a friendship."
At this, Anne stormed off, crossing the street, not bothering to even check if the cross light was on. It wasn't necessarily a smart choice of hers, but she needed to leave and there were luckily no cars passing at the time.
She left Gilbert wondering where he honestly went wrong. He knew that he does have a big mouth and he had suffered severely for it as shown through his numerous accidental verbal battles he's had during the high school hockey season.
It honestly surprised him how Anne reacted. Usually, girls (and some boys, oddly) would be so flattered to even have him look in their direction. Then, here comes this girl on his first year of college that completely threw all his knowledge of the opposite gender out the window and instead left him pinning after her, begging for her forgiveness over something that usually wouldn't be such a big deal.
He ran his hand through his already messy hair, making it even worse as he wondered what Anne meant by it taking more than an "I'm sorry." What else could he possibly do?
Meanwhile, Anne was fuming by the time she met Phil in a restaurant where they had agreed to meet for lunch.
"I saw you walk over with Gilbert," Phil said as they sat down waiting for their food.
Anne's eyes rolled at the even first syllable. "Don't even get me started on that, Phil. I really don't want to talk to that bastard. How's Alec and Alonzo? Have you preferred one over the other yet?"
"Oh, Anne," Phil mused, thinking about her short comings between the two boys. "I really do try! Every time I think I like one more, I just so happen to think about the other and then I'm back to square one... Hey! Don't distract me from what we were talking about!"
Anne smiled sheepishly as she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, Hey, I tried.
"Why did Gilbert walk with you? He seemed really sad or repentant about something."
"He tried to apologize to me," Anne confessed, "but I wouldn't have it. How could I after someone deliberately tried to flirt with me and then insult me by calling me carrots! Of all things! And I thought my hair was more of a darker auburn versus the neon red that it was when I first moved to Avonlea and when Diana first met me. He just made me feel as if I was an insecure 11-year-old again. I hate the feeling Phil! I really do! There's some things and some people who can never be forgiven. Gilbert Blythe is one of them."
Phil gasped. "You can't say that! Diana told me that you'd forgiven your childhood bullies quite easily. What makes this one different?"
Anne pondered this for a moment. Why did she loathe Gilbert Blythe so much? She didn't even know him! "There's just this aura about him that automatically makes me feel as if I should hate him. It's hard for me to explain it, obviously, but I feel as if I can't really trust him with anything, for some reason. Usually, I'm so great with words and I can so eloquently explain my feelings and thoughts of a person but this is just so different!"
Phil nodded numbly, trying to see what she could make of this situation. "I see," she said, though she really didn't. Why couldn't Anne explain herself? And why was she so reluctant? Plus, that was an awfully long pause that she took to answer that question. Perhaps it meant something.
Anne dismissed the topic of Gilbert Blythe especially if Phil wasn't going to press any further.
She was quite surprised that Phil wasn't going to pester her more about her love life. Since the first day they met Phil was rambling on and on about romance that even Anne was starting to get annoyed. It was quite ironic since Anne has always been the one fantasizing about her dark and brooding suitor to be. Still, she was just waiting for that perfect someone who decides to come along at the right time.
"So I hear you're a blue nose...?" Phil inquired tentatively.
Luckily, Anne laughed. "Even though I may be born in Bolingbroke, it doesn't mean I am one. I like to say I'm a Islander through and through. I felt more attached to that place than I ever were in the other houses and locations I've stayed at."
"I see," Phil said again. "But Anne, you must visit Bolingbroke with me when I go home. I promise you'll absolutely love it there! It's absolutely beautiful. You must see it in October as the trees and leaves are changing colors. It's the most gorgeous thing you'll ever see."
"Then you must see Avonlea during that time as well. It's also the most beautiful thing! It's wonderous seeing all the different colors changing. It's like a personal time table to show how much you've grown over the year and the trees are growing and changing with you! Don't you think autumn is divine?"
"That is so very true, Anne. And I must say, though, Redmond is looking exceptionally beautiful around this time. Were you able to see it before hand on the tour?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was too busy helping Marilla - that's my adopted mother, though I do think of her more of an aunt - with the farm, after... after Matthew died."
Though it's been about a year since Matthew had had a heart attack and passed quite abruptly, it was still a sore subject about which for Anne to talk. It was just that Matthew had been so dear to her heart that it was so sad seeing such a kindred spirit go. He had always been the one to have understood her the most and was able to cheer her up even when she was deep into the "depths of despair." Perhaps Matthew was still with Anne in spirit - well, at least Anne hopes so. Still, she can feel it in her soul that Matthew was still there, even though she couldn't see him. She will still strive to always make him proud, in everything that she does.
Phil sensed Anne's stuttering, yet she had a feeling that it was still an open wound, not yet fully healed. Yes, Phil still had a curiosity in her who this "Matthew" really was to Anne, though she already knew that he was her other adopted father and brother to Marilla, which was what she'd learned from talking to Diana.
So, she changed the subject once again, talking more about their classes and what they were currently binge watching on Netflix. Also, Phil told Anne about the newest Redmond gossip and what big parties were coming up.
Anne politely refused to attend any of them, claiming she had lots of homework to do and studying upon which to catch up, which wasn't a lie since college has been kicking her butt so far. Plus, she knew she was having a run for her money with Gi... he who shall not be named, in many of her classes, so she knew she really had to study if she wanted to be at the top of her classes.
Academia is something that has always been important to Anne, especially since she missed a lot of schooling as a foster child. She was always hopping from household to household, never really staying long enough to fill in a full year of school. Somehow, when she made it up when she went to Avonlea, though, which was great. Anne always studied hard and pulled through, no matter how difficult it was. Even though geometry and chemistry were her weak points, she was able to study through it, and understand it enough to pass with good marks. Even though she wasn't as well prepared or well trained as the other children, she was easily able to top all of her classes and easily make it into Redmond along with several other schools.
Anne was happy, nonetheless, at who she had become and her academic stand point. There was no way she could mess that up in college by going to measly parties that wouldn't do her much good anyways.
Soon, Anne said goodbye to Phil and walked back to her dorm. She looked around quite often, scared that a certain someone could come out and start trying to talk to her. When Anne stepped into the dorm without a single person trying to stop her, she sighed in relief.
She had quite a lot of decorating to do in her dorm still. It wasn't as homey as she would've liked it to be so she quickly got to work.
She strung up her fairy lights around her bed and rummaged through the boxes to find the quilt on which both Marilla and Mrs. Lynde worked together and laid it across her bed. Anne found some of her favorite Polaroid pictures she had took back in Avonlea and found some clothespins where she strung it across the lights.
The small lilies and mayflowers she'd brought with her from back in Green Gables added a bit of color and liveliness to her otherwise stagnant room. Along with that she'd placed some of her favorite books and picture frames on the desk made her feel more at home than before. After breaking down some of the boxes she had brought, she stepped back and admired her handiwork.
This was a place in which Anne would surely be happy staying and living for a while. Plus, she had her best friend (who as currently out with some other friends) living there with her so Anne couldn't be happier.
So, she plopped down onto her bed and grabbed her laptop. She had to be taking some more notes for her "Reading of Poetry" class for her teaching minor. Anne opened up the music app she had on her computer and turned on her music and she was finally able to concentrate and start working. She felt so engrossed in the music and the literature she was reading that she barely even heard the door open and Diana stepping in, her keys being dropped on the small counter top of the small kitchenette they shared.
Anne wasn't fazed by Diana coming into the dorm, rather she was more startled by the large groan Diana let out when she walked into Anne's room and flopped herself onto the bed.
"Diana dear," Anne mused, "What's wrong?"
"Fred Wright is what's wrong!" Diana cried, flabbergasted.
"Fred Wright? What does he have to do with anything?" Anne asked.
"He's here! In Redmond!"
"Wait... how do you know?"
"I saw him with Gilb-"
"That name should never be spoken Diana! Never!"
"So like Voldemort?"
"I suppose so... is that his name now?"
"I suppose why not... I mean he is also the other 'He who shall not be named.'"
"Okay, sorry. Continue on what you were trying to say."
Diana looked at Anne quite puzzled, as if she forgot the whole reason why she came in and seemed extremely frustrated. "Oh, yes! Fred!" Diana exclaimed. "He's back, Anne. He's back!"
"I mean he just came for college... we were bound to see people we knew."
Diana rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point, Anne. Can't you see? I thought he ignored me on purpose for the last few weeks before he left for Charlottetown. In actuality, he just couldn't bring himself to tell me that he's leaving for good and we probably wouldn't be able to see each other. Oh Anne! It was so sweet when I heard it from him.
"I was walking out from the library when I saw him, Anne. I saw him with Gi- Voldemort across the street and I was for sure that it was him, yet I knew that it couldn't have been. It was his distinct redness - Oh Anne stop snickering! You know he gets flustered a lot and the sun makes him burn a little! Well, that's besides the point. His back was turned to me at the time so I hoped I could get out of their way before I was going to be noticed. But of course they were standing at the exact spot I had to pass before I could get back to the dorm! It was quite unfortunate, though. Alas! (Oh how you rubbed off on me, Anne. I would never use such vocabulary on my own.) He turned around just as I walked up to the crosswalk waiting for the walk light to turn on. Anne, he flushed even more when he saw me! When I crossed the street, too, he came near and started to talk to me."
Anne couldn't help the amused smile that crept up onto her face. Diana was so funny when she was flustered and rambled.
It didn't happen often. Usually it was Anne who was rambling about some imagining she had done or a story upon which she had decided to elaborate and Diana was the one who was listening. Oh how the roles had switched! (Not that Anne minded; she was a good listener as well as a good talker.) Watching Diana ramble and talk about Fred made her forget about the certain someone for a while and think more about other people, not just her own little club of those who faced her wrath in one way or another.
"I don't know what to do, though, Anne!" Diana continued. "I don't know whether our relationship would ever be the same! You know how I feel about him, though, don't you? I told you that I was over him, and I thought so for sure. But now he's back and my heart's still longing for him." Diana paused to think for a moment. She shot up from her previous position of lying down on her back to sitting up and turned to face Anne. "I thought it was a measly school girl crush... I really did! Now that he's back, though, maybe what I did feel was something more. You know, I think I'm over thinking this. I think I need something else to do with my time besides think about these boys, Anne."
Not that Anne had a problem with the opposite gender, (no, she really didn't, though they were quite annoying and stupid from time to time), she had to agree that they were taking up a lot of their brain and conscious thoughts that could be used to better themselves as people and to the society.
"I think you need to take a breather, Diana," Anne advised. "Go on a walk or something. I heard there's nice trails here that provide great scope for the imagination. Or even read a book! That usually helps me take my mind off of things for a while. After that, just think about what you want. Plus, we have that club meeting on Tuesday that we can go to."
"That's true," Diana agreed. She reached over the laptop still in Anne's lap to engulf Anne in a hug. "Thanks, Anne. That was great for me to let out. I think I'll go on that walk now while it's still light out."
"Okay, Di," Anne said. "I'll see you in a bit?"
Diana nodded and left Anne's room. Smiling to herself, Anne put back her earbuds. Hopefully all this boy drama will end soon. She wouldn't want anything to interfere with her school work at this point, and plus, they're stupid and she just needs to get over that fact. Plus, who really needs a boyfriend anyways?
woop woop! another chapter done. also, whaaa no time skips? what's wrong with you, huh? eh, i didn't think it was that necessary this time (phew). also, i hope you guys don't mind that i introduced fred pretty early. my plans were originally for them to be introduced later on with anne and diana both surprised to see them in a secret thingie that i can't say yet because i'd probably put it in another chapter (whoops this is probably already going to be come a spoiler... hahahah rip)
OH WHALE! i hope you liked the chapter and i'll see you all later baiii!
