"And we're off!" Gilbert smiled as they sat in the back in his father's buggie smiling. He looked over to Anne on the other side of the buggie where he saw her head bowed. "Nan?" he questioned and moved over to the other side to be beside her. "Nan?" and wrapped his arm around her, she looked up and he saw her sobbing before she buried herself into his chest. "Aww Nan, its okay..." he whispered. "come on... " he said wrapping his arms all around her.

"it's home. " she whispered.

"I know." He said. "but we'll still have each other. " he smiled "isn't that all we ever needed?" he said. "come on remember when we ran away together? And we were gone for nearly a week before your papa found us.. It was an adventure right? So is this." He said holding her in his arms for a few minutes he reflected how natural it felt to have her there wrapped in his arms.

A few minutes later she sighed and pulled back. "oh this is so wildly inappropriate." She blushed.

"Come on Nan its only a hug." He told her. "Nothing we haven't done before."

She shrugged him off her shoulder, "You can't be like this with me Gil." She said quietly thinking of Josie.

"Oh?" he said plainly before sitting back.

"What are you going to do, come through my open window every night when we are in Charlottetown? People will get the wrong idea. We aren't children anymore." She said reluctantly.

"No," he said quietly swallowing sadly. "I suppose we aren't."

Anne had become ever so distant with him since the dance he took Josie to. He couldn't figure out why. When he called, she was 'out with the girls' and her window had been locked so he couldn't even sneak up to her room. Whenever he brought up the subject of the dance she would swiftly change the subject and refuse to go back to it. It seemed even Moody had been a little off with him since. Then Anne had gone on holiday for part of the summer with her parents, touring the island. Anne had despised these trips every other year, but seemed almost glad to go on it this year. Yet, something about what Anne said about them not being children anymore did ring true. They weren't children anymore and she was as ever right, he couldn't just climb through her window here. He looked to her, her perfect tiny nose was upturned slightly with determination, yet he was determined himself.

"Come to the beginning of term ball with me?" he asked her.

She looked to him a look of shock spread on her face for a moment. "What?" she asked him.

"Come to the beginning of term ball with me? I want to take you." He told her.

She was silent for a few seconds. Her heart was racing fast. Her heart had broken two months 5 days ago when she had seen him kissing Josie and it seemed fate wouldn't allow her to get over him. She had tried. She had tried all summer. She had even gone away willing with her parents on their annual holiday, actually asking for a few extra days away they had luckily been able to provide. When she had come back, she was convinced she was finally over Gilbert, but then saw him the day after coming back and managed to get herself back to square one. Josie, she knew wouldn't approve of their friendship being as it was either, she was attempting to do the only thing she could do for him now, and that was to make his life as easy as possible with Josie (of whom she had received several snide remarks from since). "I can't." She finally said. "I promised Charlie I would go with him."

"Charlie?!" Gilbert said stunned. "After what he did the last time?!"

Anne sighed. "He assured me he would try no such thing this time and has apologised several times over since, aren't we suppose to forgive? And anyway we're only going as friends, I would have thought you had other plans anyway" she said glancing at Gilbert for a moment. She didn't wait for a response, but instead pulled out a book from her bag she was carrying and started reading silently to herself.

Why did everyone have dates?! Anne with Charlie, Ruby had agreed to go with Moody, even Jane Andrews had a friend of the family she had promised to go with, which stuck him with Josie Pye, again!

He sat quietly and moodily in the back of the carriage with said group not breathing a word. Listening to Josie prattle on. He looked over to Anne who seemed to be trying to have a lively conversation with Charlie. Charlie wasn't a stupid boy but still lacked a tolerance for Anne's fancies and relating them to the real world. He had had many many years practice at doing it and loved playing make believe with her, giving everything around them a touch of magic as they went.

He silently mooded in the carriage and into the hall, where he sighed up to dances with all the girls. He came to Anne and said quietly. "Now tell me, we are still allowed to dance in this grown-up world of ours." He tried to joked.

He received little response from her, "Of course." She replied quietly. "dance six." She said quietly.

He smiled and wrote her down, "another one too?" he asked.

She looked up at him trying her best to shake off this uneasy feeling "Gil…" she whispered.

"Please Anne." He asked of her.

Just at that moment Josie came over "A full dance card!" she exclaimed, "You're lucky you came with me Gilbert." She told him taking his card out his hand "one and fourteen!" she said scribbling her name in them "that is the tradition isn't it."

He looked to Anne and saw her starting to shuffle away "Nan…?" he started.

"I think it's for the best we don't Mr Blythe." She said quietly before being taken in arm by Charlie unaware of the situation.