OMG YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUN I HAD WRITING THIS CHAPTER! Hope you enjoy it!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Anne and the rest of the girls had one more day of vacation before they had to go back to their studies. Thought they would end their break with one final Huzzah, and invited the boys to celebrate with them. Anne, however, couldn't even pretend to feel celebratory. She stayed in the library instead, and tried to organize her thoughts. All she could think of was Ka'kwet, and how he had let her down. She knew her parents were still out there, waiting for her, But what good will that do? They couldn't just wait for those dreaded nuns to finally feel enough compassion to let them go, they needed to take action.
But what was it that she was supposed to do? They wouldn't even respond to bribery, which was surprising because people like that could only care for one thing, and that was money. She would have to force them rather than plead with them. So how would she do it? How could she, by herself, make enough noise to force them out of silence? To admit their wrong doings?
She was pulled out of her train of thought when she heard footsteps approaching her table. She looked up to see Roy, standing there with two drinks in his hand.
"Roy?" She said, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out there with them, celebrating?"
"Uh, Actually I was sent here by Diana," He explained, "She said if anyone could convince you to relax and hang out with us, it was me."
Anne smiled and gave him a confused expression. If there was anyone that could get her out there, it would probably be Gilbert. But even Diana had a better chance of convincing her than Roy. "Did she really say that?"
"Eh, I may have exaggerated that last bit." He admitted, taking a seat next to her, "What could you possibly be studying so late at night?" He asked, looking over at the book she was reading.
"'Nuns conspiracies' ?" He said, reading the title, "That's a strange subject. What class is that for?"
"It's not for a class." She admitted, blushing slightly, "I have a native friend, who had been attending a school in Halifax. She escaped the school, but was taken back by those… They are supposed to be women of God! I don't understand how they could be so cruel!"
Roy immediately understood. "I've seen one of those schools nearby where I live in Halifax." He told her, "I thought I'd stop there to observe, and maybe have something to write for the school paper, but they wouldn't let me in. Kept giving me excuses, that honestly didn't make any sense."
Anne turned to him quickly, giving her all his attention, "You went there?" She asked him, "In Halifax? What exactly did you see? I need to know everything! Leave nothing out!"
Roy smiled a little, amused by how desperate she seemed for answers, "I didn't see anything." He told her, "They wouldn't let me so far as through the door."
Anne slumped down in her chair in disappointment. She laid her head on her hand, willing her brain to think harder.
"I can see this is really important to you." Roy noticed, "Although I agree that this is a completely unjust and disgraceful matter, something tells me this is troubling you for a different, unrelated reason."
"I wouldn't say it was unrelated." Anne said, looking back at Roy. Roy just sat there, looking back at her and waiting for her to explain further.
Anne let out a sigh. "It's important to me because I feel I can relate to it." She explained, "I'm an orphan. I lived in an asylum and spent most of my life being passed from family to family. But not because they wanted me there. I was there mostly to help with children and take care of the ill. But something always happens and they would always send me back. Until one day, the lady at the asylum told me that there was someone who wanted me, not as a worker but as a daughter! I was ecstatic. It was the house of my dreams."
Anne looked back at Roy, hoping that she wasn't talking too much. But Roy just listened there, seeming to be completely interested in her story. "Marilla didn't seem to like me much at first," She continued, "And Matthew… He barely said 2 words. But he never seemed to mind how much I talked. It was relieving because back at the asylum and other homes, I was often scolded for talking too much. It felt nice, you know? To have someone hear me talk." Anne stopped, realizing now that she was getting off topic.
"They were the first to really treat me like their own. The first to show me what love REALLY is. After being told for so long that I didn't matter and I'd never have a real home…." Anne let out a shuddering breath, "It just kills me that these people are doing it to them! Taking them away from the feeling of home and love and actually teaching them that who they are and what they believe doesn't matter! They don't deserve that. NOYONE does."
Anne was surprised to feel Roy's arms wrap around her, but let herself give in to the confort she felt. It was what she needed right now. Not celebrating, not a distraction, but confort.
"Noyone deserves that." Roy agreed, whispering to her, "Not your friend, and definitely not you."
Anne pulled away from him and gave him a small smile. "I know that Roy." She assured him, "But I am grateful that it happened to me. If I didn't, I don't know if I could sympathize with Ka'kwet as well as I do now."
"Ka'kwet is your friend?" Roy asked. Anne nodded in response. "That's a beautiful name."
Anne smiled, looking down at the table, " I thought so too." Anne told him. They sat in a comfortable silence before Roy spoke up.
"I think what we need is proof," Roy suggested, "As soon as we get some, We could spread the word. I'm sure we could use the story for the school newspaper, since it's pretty popular with the students here. Once people know just how terrible they have it there, I'm sure they'll want to do anything to get them out."
Anne wrapped him in another hug in excitement, "That has to be the most perfect idea you could've ever come up with! You have no idea how relieving it feels to finally have a plan!" She exclaimed, "I am so happy to have you on my side."
Roy smiled at her. He was just as happy to be on her side. He had never been as happy to be by anyone elses side before. He always thought women were merely an accessory, making him look better. But Anne was different. If anything, men were an accessory for her. All other women paled in comparison, which was why he just had to have her. He could never settle for anything else.
Roy pulled away from her slowly, but still had his arm wrapping around her body. There was only a small gap separating his lips from her. All he had to do was close it, And it would tell Anne everything he didn't have the words to tell her himself. It was almost too easy, which was why he hesitated. Just when he had made up his mind to do it, he was startled by the noise of someone clearing his throat.
He turned abruptly with his arms still around her, to see the man standing before them. It was a man he recognized, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember how. Surely, if it was someone important he would have remembered. But the way this guy was looking told him that HE at least thought he was important.
"Gilbert?!" Anne said in an excited tone.
When Gilbert walked into the room that… MAN had his arms around her. It made him so angry he couldn't even keep his thoughts straight, much less his heart. It was beating like it was getting ready to burst out of his chest. His thoughts were running so fast, he could barely figure out what exactly he was thinking.
All he knew was that he was angry. Crazy Angry. Probably Angrier than he had ever been before. This man, this...ROY… He had the TEMERITY to… What exactly WAS he doing? He knew Anne was spoken for, didn't he? Yet Gilbert recognized that look in his eye. This wasn't an innocent friendship, at least not on his end. His eyes were full of wanting. Surely Anne could see that. She wasn't BLIND. Anyone could see it on his face clear as day, So why wasn't she immediately shutting it down?
Gilbert didn't even try to hide his anger. His eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his jaw so tight, it began to ache. He glared intensely at Roy hard, and was shaking with anger. He wanted to say something, and put him in his place. But his mind just kept racing, too fast for him to articulate an actual sentence. All he could do was glare, and he was sure he was saying enough with just that.
Finally, Anne jumped out of the table to greet him with a hug. So she really didn't see it? If she did, surely she would've been embarrassed or ashamed. But she didn't have a guilty expression at all. She really didn't have any suspicions towards Roy. For a woman so smart, she could be so incredibly naive.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, separating from him.
"What are YOU doing here?" Gilbert repeated, still glaring at Roy. Roy rose from his seat and walked up to them.
"I'm Roy Gardner." He said, holding out his hand to shake.
Gilbert just narrowed his eyes at him. "We've met." He said in a firm voice.
"Did we?" Roy asked with a smirk, as he lowered his hand back down to his side. This made Gilbert even more angry. He knew very well that they've met before. He knew because he was giving him that same stupid smirk he gave him the first time. Like he knew who he was but just didn't care.
"Roy was just helping me with something important." Anne chimed in, "Now what are you doing here? You should be in Toronto!"
Gilbert tried his best to direct his attention back to Anne, but it was very difficult with the way that… MAN (Gilbert found it difficult to even mention the man's name, even in his head) standing right there, STILL smirking(if you could believe it)!
"School has been delayed until further notice." Gilbert explained, "There's some kind of error...I don't know much, only that they'll send me a letter when we can go back."
"Oh, how I wish I could spend more time with you before you go back!" Anne said, slipping her hand in his, "I'm afraid I start school again tomorrow."
Gilbert's face softened slightly. He was happy to know that Anne was happy he was here.
"I could at least offer you one last night together." Anne said, "If that's alright with you, Roy."
Gilbert's face immediately returned to one of annoyance, as he turned to Roy to glare at him some more. Why would they need his permission to spend time together? Next she was going to ask if it was okay for her to hold his hand.
"Fine by me." Roy shrugged, "Just one last thing before you go…" Roy leaned in and moved Anne's hair out of the way. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile. She turned to him, and gave him a small nod. Gilbert was completely disgusted. How DARE he? Especially when he was standing RIGHT THERE.
"I'll be off then. Good to meet you..." He stopped, trying to remember something, "Gilbert." He said finally.
Gilbert scowled at him, watching him leave. He could hear Anne asking him a question next to him, but was too irritated to make out what she was saying.
"Gil?" She called, "Did you hear what I said?"
"What did he say to you?" He asked her, still angry.
"I'm Sorry?" She asked him, not knowing what he was referring to.
"He whispered something in your ear." Gilbert said, "I want to know what he said."
"Ohhh," Anne said in realization, "He was just asking me if I wanted to meet up with him again sometime this week."
Gilbert was taken aback by her response. The way she said it so plainly was just...he had absolutely no words. "Meet up?" He asked her, raising his voice a little, "Meet up for what?!"
Anne gave him a confused look, as if she really didn't know why he was acting the way he was. "I told you," she reminded him, "He's helping me with something important."
He wanted to ask her so many questions, like What was so important that they had to meet together alone? And why wasn't he included? But he settled for what he felt was the most important: "He knows you're spoken for, right?"
Anne looked at him with a confused expression. "You make it seem as if you own me or something!" She said, laughing.
Gilbert looked to the floor, ashamed. This was exactly what he didn't want to do. He'd been extra careful, not to try to limit Anne's freedom since their courtship. He thought he had been doing really well, but… This… GUY was really throwing him off. But he knew he needed toget his act together, because if he didn't, Anne might want to leave him, and he wouldn't be able to bear it.
Anne smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sure he's guessed it." She assured him, "Even if he didn't, it wouldn't matter."
Gilbert smiled back at her, trying hard to forget Roy and focus on the beauty standing before him. He pressed his lips against hers, hoping it would help, and sure enough, it did. She pressed back, and let her hand hold his face. Even when they finally separated, her hands stayed on his face. He smiled brightly, loving the way it felt to have her hands on his face. He almost couldn't even remember why he was so angry before.
Almost.
Hope u guys liked it! Pls let me know what u think!