A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's reading and reviewing, I'm thrilled to bits by you all.
All these characters remain the property of LMM, as I think you all know.
Anne studied Diana's flushed face and watched her friend's gaze firmly fixed on Fred as they sat down together at the table again. She already knew that Diana was 'dead gone' on Fred, but Anne had never known her friend to get this intense so quickly with a boy.
"Charlie passed out, so Gil and Ruby took him home," Phil was telling Diana. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in the morning. Although he might have a bit of a headache."
"He's never been able to hold his liquor," Stella said, giggling. "But I do think Anne's had an intoxicating effect on him tonight."
"Yes," Priss agreed. "I think Anne went to his head."
Anne rolled her eyes at them as she joined in their laughter.
"I don't think I had anything to do with it," she laughed. "And I certainly don't remember a boy getting drunk to impress me before."
Suddenly remembering Roy was sitting next to her, listening intently to this exchange, Anne flushed uncomfortably and kept her eyes lowered as she felt his gaze focused upon her.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that inappropriate behaviour, Anne," Roy said, leaning towards her. "Sloane is really very embarrassing."
"Oh, he's harmless enough, really," Anne shrugged.
"Yes, he's all right," agreed Phil. "He was just being Sloane-ish; he can't help it. Besides, Gil was looking after him, like he always does. This isn't the Yacht Club, you know, Roy."
"Ooohh, Roy, do you have a yacht?" Gertie sounded impressed, as she grabbed hold of his elbow to get his attention. "I'd simply adore to go sailing."
Roy turned his face towards Gertie briefly.
"Why, yes," Roy replied politely before he turned back to face Anne. "There's a race on next weekend, as a matter of fact. Perhaps you'd like to come and watch, Anne?"
"I'd certainly love to see that," Gertie tugged on his arm again.
"That sounds like fun," Phil agreed. "Maybe we should all go and watch. What do you think, girls?"
"Oh, yes, of course, everyone is welcome to come, Philippa."
"Excellent," Phil looked satisfied with that arrangement.
"We'll be there, Roy," Josie sounded delighted.
"Doesn't anyone else have to study?" Anne was perplexed. How did Phil manage to get such terrific grades when she was off socialising all the time, and playing with the band?
"You're only young once, Queen Anne," said Phil cheerfully. "Please say you'll come."
"No, I really can't. I've got that Classics paper coming up and I'm awfully behind."
"You might catch up this weekend," Phil said hopefully.
"I've got all the songs to practice this weekend, too, Phil," Anne reminded her.
Phil waved her hand in the air dismissively.
"Oh, you're fine," Phil turned to look at Fred, who was seated at the end of the table with Diana. "Isn't she, Fred?"
Diana and Fred had their faces very close to each other. Diana's right hand was resting on Fred's left bicep, and her other hand was caressing the back of his neck. His left arm was leaning on the table, with his hand outstretched and undeniably close to Diana's right breast as they whispered to each other.
"What?" Fred looked startled as he finally glanced around when he heard Phil repeat his name.
"Isn't Anne doing great at practice?"
"Oh, yes," Fred nodded his agreement as he smiled over at Anne, who noticed Diana's fingers were still caressing his arm. "You're really great, Anne."
"Perhaps I'll come to the next practice and listen to you playing, Anne," Roy said, looking delighted.
"Oh, no," Anne looked mortified. "I'm still practicing, Roy, and I think it would be quite boring for you."
"Nonsense, I'd love to hear you playing," Roy insisted.
"We're rehearsing again on Monday afternoon," Phil offered helpfully.
"No, Roy, really," Anne said a bit more firmly this time. "I don't think you should come on Monday."
"Maybe you could go to one of the practices later in the week, Roy?" Diana was glancing at Anne. "Or maybe in another week or so? Then Anne will have had a bit more time to practice with the band."
Anne sent a grateful look to Diana, and nodded.
"Yes, I think that will be better," she agreed.
Josie looked delighted again.
"So why don't you meet Gertie and I at that poetry lecture Professor Phillips is giving on Monday afternoon instead, Roy?"
"Oh, well, I suppose I could," Roy agreed.
As Josie and Gertie turned excitedly to each other, giggling about this new development, Roy turned back to Anne.
"I'm looking forward to the Shakespeare sonnets on Tuesday, aren't you?"
"Oh, yes," Anne agreed. "I love his sonnets."
"Which is your favourite?" Roy asked.
Before Anne had a chance to reply, Roy leaned close to croon in Anne's ear.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments, love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds…"
Anne glanced around the rest of the table, slightly embarrassed by Roy's outburst. Phil looked delighted, Priss and Stella looked amused. Diana and Fred only looked at each other, and apparently hadn't heard Roy. Josie looked aghast.
"Oh, I looove that, Roy," Gertie simpered, as she tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "Which sonnet is that?"
Anne felt herself let out a breath as Roy turned away from her and back towards Gertie.
"Some of the girls were asking a question about Tennyson earlier," Josie interrupted, suddenly standing up. "I'm sure you'd know the answer, Roy. Would you mind helping us with the discussion over at the bar?"
Gertie and Josie grabbed an elbow each and were pulling Roy to his feet.
"Yes, do come over, Roy," Gertie agreed. "I so love to hear you talk about Tennyson."
"Oh, yes, of course. Excuse me, Anne," Roy said over his shoulder as they dragged him away.
Phil frowned slightly as she watched them leave, and turned to Anne, who had breathed a small sigh of relief as they walked away.
"Well, Queen Anne," Phil said with her eyebrows raised in amusement. "You seem to be making quite an impression on the boys tonight."
"Oh, no, I don't think so…" Anne flushed glancing quickly over to where Roy was standing at the bar with Josie and Gertie.
"Don't worry, honey," Phil patted Anne's hand. "Josie and Gertie don't stand a chance with Roy. I've seen the way he's been looking at you tonight. And he's never taken anyone to the poetry reading twice."
"Oh, um, Phil?" Anne began.
"Yes, honey?"
"I've been wanting to talk to you about that. I hope you won't be upset," Anne mumbled, before she went on in a rush. "I really appreciate what you're doing, Phil, really I do. But I'm just not really interested in Roy... not like that. Only as a friend."
"Really?" Phil's surprised eyebrows shot up almost into her poppy covered hat.
Anne nodded, her large grey eyes imploring Phil to understand.
"I'm not upset, honey, but I had hoped to match you two up. I would have loved for him to see someone smart for a change."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Phil," Anne looked remorseful. She hated to disappoint her friends.
"I think that might be a first, you know," Phil said contemplatively.
"A first?"
"A girl not being interested in Roy of course, honey. Every girl he's ever fancied has nearly swooned at his feet immediately." Phil nodded towards the bar. "Look at them."
By now a couple of the cheerleaders had moved closer and were smiling at Roy, although Josie and Gertie each still had a firm grip on his arms.
"Oh, well, I hope he'll understand," Anne replied. "He's very nice, but it's just…"
"You don't have to explain it to me, honey," Phil reassured her, patting Anne's hand comfortingly. "I know exactly what you mean. Stella always says there's really nothing in him."
"There really isn't," Stella declared stoutly. "I'm glad you're not interested in him, Anne."
Phil chewed on the inside of her cheek meditatively as she gazed over at Roy again.
"But, still. I can't let the Pyes get their claws into him," she said as she stood up and resolutely walked over to the bar.
On Monday, Gil was striding briskly along the Redmond campus whistling to himself when he spotted Anne sitting alone under a tree, reading a book. She was sitting cross-legged, with her long skirt of blue flowered muslin rippling over her knees so it was spread out on the grass, and her loose white peasant blouse was fluttering against her body in the gentle breeze. Her back was propped up against the birch tree, with her head bent over the book she held in her left hand, and she was absently twirling one long red braid around the fingers of her right hand.
Seemingly oblivious to the three girls who were trailing along and giggling just behind him, Gil jogged over to where Anne was sitting in the dappled shade of the tree.
"What are you reading?" he asked by way of greeting.
Anne looked up at him from her book and squinted a little in the sunlight as the three girls wandered off, looking disappointed.
"'Persuasion'," she answered, smiling a little sheepishly. "It's one of my favourite books."
"Of course it is," he smiled as he pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head, along with a few of the curls that were tumbling over his forehead, so she could see his hazel eyes twinkling at her.
"What do you mean, 'of course it is'?" Anne was slightly affronted by his remark, ready to defend her reading choice.
"Well, you would love a book with a heroine called Anne, wouldn't you?"
"Do you read much Austen then?" she asked, a bit more relaxed now. "It doesn't seem like very, um, masculine reading. If you don't mind my saying so."
"You should know by now, I read all kinds of things, Anne Shirley," he said as he sat down on the grass next to her.
Gil's brown curls were being ruffled by the slight breeze as he reached up to brush them out of his eyes. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles, rocking his feet from side to side as he leaned back on his hands to smile into her clear grey eyes.
"Have you started that paper on Ovid yet?" she asked.
"No, I'm finishing off a biology paper first."
"It's just, I wanted to ask you about this phrase in Book IV," Anne looked uncertainly at him. "Would you mind?"
Gil shook his head, trying not to look thoroughly delighted that she'd asked him such a question. "Sure."
Putting her novel down on the grass next to her, Anne searched in her bag before pulling out her notebook and a worn looking copy of Metamorphoses. She flicked through her notes to the appropriate page and then flipped through the textbook until she found the passage she was looking for.
He leaned forward, crossing his legs in front of him, watching as she scanned the text.
"Here," she murmured, running her finger along the page. "The story of Pyramus and Thisbe, whispering through the wall to each other." Pointing to the Latin text on the page, she handed the book to Gil, so he could read it. "The translation in the book says 'nothing can escape a lover's eyes' but I wanted to translate it as 'but what does love not see?' What do you think?"
He took the book from her and read the passage she'd indicated, his brow furrowed in concentration. After he'd finished reading, he looked up at her again, and his hazel eyes suddenly seemed very close. Anne's breath hitched slightly in her throat.
"I like 'but what does love not see?'" he said softly. "But I guess 'nothing can escape a lover's eyes' would work, too."
"Oh," Anne's voice was barely a whisper. "Okay. Um, great. Thanks."
Gil held her gaze for a beat before he cleared his throat a little and looked away, leaning back on his hands again.
"I, um, didn't see you at the game yesterday," he seemed to want to change the subject.
"Ah, no, I didn't go," Anne admitted. "I was working on that Classics paper. Did you win?"
"Yep," he nodded. "The team played really well, even without Fred." He looked up into her face, his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled. "Charlie missed you, though."
Anne bit her lip, embarrassed as she remembered Charlie's invitation to the game.
"Oh, right. I think I was meant to call him or something," she started apologising; before she realised he was teasing her. "I hope he was okay after Friday night?"
"I think he'll live," Gil grinned. "The last time I saw him, he was talking to one of the cheerleaders after the game. A sophomore."
"Was he very mad?" Anne winced a little.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Gil said, he waggled his eyebrows impishly at her and leaned forward to whisper confidentially. "Phil told me that sophomore he was talking to is mad for bass players. I think he'll have forgiven you by rehearsals this afternoon."
The mention of rehearsal reminded Anne that she had a class before that and she glanced at the time on her phone.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, hurriedly standing up and brushing grass off her skirt. "Sorry, Gil, I'm late for class. I've got to go. See you at rehearsal."
Later that afternoon, Anne and Gil were the first to arrive for rehearsal.
"No Fred and Diana?" Gil asked, glancing around the room.
"No, I've hardly seen Diana since Saturday," Anne smiled. "Sorry I had to rush off this afternoon. Thanks again for your help with Ovid."
"No problem," Gil shrugged. "I'm happy to help."
"Why are you doing those Literature and Classics classes anyway?' Anne blurted. "Aren't you meant to be doing a degree in biology?"
"I like Literature and Classics," he replied simply. "But mostly it's because they'll look good for my scholarship application. I'm hoping to win the Cooper Prize and they love that kind of thing, especially Classics."
"You're going for the Cooper Prize?" Anne was impressed. "I thought nobody's won it for five years."
Gil shrugged again.
"I come from a family of farmers, Anne. I can't afford a medical degree without that scholarship."
"Your family are farmers?" she looked at him blankly.
"The only reason I could come to Redmond at all is because I won the Queen's Medal and a Football Scholarship."
Phil swept in to the room, wearing a large and dramatic-looking floppy black hat and huge black sunglasses.
"Is that your Jackie Onassis look?" Gil asked her smilingly.
"I was going more for Audrey Hepburn," Phil replied, taking her sunglasses off and adjusting the string of pearls at her neck. "Anyway, I've got a hangover. Too many drinks after the game yesterday. You boys will keep winning."
Phil took her hat off and placed it on the stage next to her sunglasses.
"Ugh! I feel horrendous. Let's get on with it."
"Yes, ma'am," Gil smiled. "Would you like some water?"
"That would be lovely, honey," Phil beamed at Gil.
Charlie entered then with a blonde, snub-nosed sophomore who was clinging to his arm and smiling up at Charlie adoringly. Anne recognised her as one of Ruby's cheerleader friends.
"Anne, I'd like you to meet Sophie," he announced proudly.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you, Sophie," Anne smiled at the other girl.
Anne tried not to notice Gil's droll wink from behind them.