Hi Folks!
I can't believe I'm in AOTI territory already!
Thanks to CatieGirl as I do with you, you do with me, we have half brained ideas and somehow make them into stories and developments in characters. As always my thanks to you!
OriginalMcFishie as always your support is unfailing, even if you're not sure of what I'm doing.
caprubia, queenofthenight82 ineedaname, Kim Blythe thank you for all follow and reviewing, its hard when I don't get reviews because I don't know what people are thinking it, what people want to see and sometimes I can accommodate, so please every keep reviewing!
So here we are chapter 1 AOTI!
love
Carrots
She felt movement beside her she didn't bother opening her eyes from under her sunglasses she knew who it was, there was only one other person it could be as they lay down beside her.
"How'd you know where to find me?" she asked him.
"Lucky guess I suppose." He said. She finally turned her head and opened her eyes to find a wide pair of hazel eyes looking at her. "It spooked you last night, didn't it?" he asked her.
"Just getting married at our age is awfully young, don't you think?" Anne asked him.
"For me, yes, absolutely." He said. "But we're not all the same Anne." He said logically. "And you heard what they said they'll be engaged at least two years so Fred can make it through his apprenticeship at the bank anyway."
"I can't believe she wants to marry an accountant."
"Oh now don't be like that, there's nothing wrong with Fred, you like Fred…"
"He's stealing my best friend."
"First off, I hardly think stealing is the right phrase and best friend? What am I your next-door neighbour?"
"She's my best friend for different reasons…" she muttered.
"Hair braids and pillow fights? Boy talk?" Gilbert asked.
"Is that what boys think girls do?" Anne asked.
"I'm sure I can learn to braid hair…" he said with a smile to which Anne chuckled. "And stealing?" he asked.
Anne sighed a sat up to which he followed. "Just we had such high ideals of the men we would marry, Fred is nothing at all like the one Diana wanted to marry."
Gilbert grinned.
"Fred is just good."
"What's wrong with good?" Gilbert asked.
"She wanted to marry someone dashingly handsome who had a secret dark side." Anne huffed.
Gilbert swallowed then looked at her "and what was on your list?"
She sighed then said "That'd be telling." She laughed as he play pushed for her for a moment.
"You know I think for all we had to grow up fast as a consequence we missed out on some of the emotional training you get as a teenager." Gilbert said quietly to her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"We were busy dealing with all these problems we had some of them very grown up things to deal with. In the meantime our peers were dating and yes sometimes they might have been too young and with the wrong people, but they were learning to deal with the emotional impact of a relationship and balancing it with having friends." He said he put his arm around her "I envy them sometimes."
She sighed and leaned her head in the crook of his arm next to his chest. "Yeah me too." She whispered with a tremor in her voice which meant Gilbert knew Anne was crying "does it scare you too?" she asked him.
"I don't know if scare is the right word exactly." He admitted. "I just wish for things to both slow down and go faster at the same time."
"Oh?" she asked.
"I want to be a doctor now but as well sometimes it would be nice for things to just…" he sighed.
"Stay still." She finished.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"Me too." She whispered.
He sighed and brought her in for a closer hug. "I won't change. That's the least I can promise you Anne."
"Thanks." She whispered. They sat in silence for a few minutes before she said reluctantly "I'm going to have to go and apologise to Diana for last night aren't I?"
"Oh we've been waiting for hours but we just had to tell you first!" Diana exclaimed. "well after our parents!" Diana continued "and I'm just so excited!"
"Diana slow down." Anne said patiently. "Tell us what?" she asked.
"We're getting married!" Diana exclaimed.
"What?!" Anne exclaimed her eyes wide. There was a thundering silence in the room before Anne burst "You can't!"
"Anne…" Diana started quietly.
"You're far too young, what do you think your doing eighteen years old! What one in two marriages end in divorce did you know that? I bet its even more in our age group!" Anne turned to Diana "You can't get married Diana, you barely know Fred."
"I've been dating him for a year and a half Anne I know him plenty."
"Are you pregnant?!" Anne asked aghast.
"What?!" Diana asked.
"Anne…" Gilbert tried.
"Because that's no reason to get married!" Anne told her.
"I'm not getting married because I'm pregnant, gosh Anne we take precautions!"
"Anne we won't be getting married for two years at least…" Fred tried.
"Oh and there's a lot of difference between an eighteen year old and a twenty year old marrying!" Anne exclaimed.
"What is wrong with you!?" Diana exclaimed to her. "I'm happy and you're ruining it!" Diana exclaimed. "We don't all have your social inadequacies Anne Shirley and we don't all go running around and flirting with a boy we have no intention on even dating!"
This had made even Gilbert burn, his cheeks flushed he felt his own temper slipping but Anne beat him to it.
"We don't flirt!" Anne exclaimed. "Why would I want to flirt with Gilbert?!"
"Oh its funny you know who I was talking about I didn't even mention a name!" Diana retorted hotly.
"Well at least I don't accept marriage proposals just because it's the first one I ever received!" Anne threw back.
"That's it!" Diana exclaimed. "We're leaving!"
"Fine with me!" Anne shouted as they left the sitting room before she broke down in tears. Gilbert had immediately sat beside her giving her the shoulder to cry on. She'd cried herself to sleep before Gilbert took her to bed lay her there and kissed her forehead gently.
It was only when he got back in his car, Gilbert looked on his phone a whatsapp message from Diana.
Di: I never meant to embarrass you Gil, I'm sorry.
Gilbert had sighed his head momentarily rested on the steering wheel. His own anger had raised there.
He wasn't angry because Diana nor anyone else had noticed they flirted.
He was angry at himself for flirting, for making his own feelings so painfully obvious.
Over the past year and a bit, he had slowly come to a realisation. At first it was as if he was grasping at it through a veil, he hadn't known his own feelings, his own regards well enough to put his finger on the new-found emotions he was feeling. He had read about love of course, he had crushes before, mostly on the nurses who came to and looked after his dad or particularly pretty girl on the TV, but no one real before, no one he could share himself with, the whole of him. Gradually the veil dropped and the feelings he had were no longer a foreign or strange. It was a real a tangible love. One he could touch with his own fingers and feel in his own arms and the girl he was feeling them with, she was like a vivid dream of colour and life. Those extreme and raw emotions felt during a dream were very real, the colours of red and green grey purple and blue, rich and deep in hue, simulated his senses to a new lease of life. He was real when she was with him.
Its true, the old Avonlea saying, he was dead gone on Anne Shirley.
But he was Gilbert Blythe, he was painfully careful when it came to showing who he really was to other people. He didn't know how or why it happened, as a child he had been a sociable child. He easily pleased people, he was happy, he was a tease but nothing more then gradually through his dad's illness he noticed, little things, small differences, his act of rebellion as a twelve-year-old was miniscule next to the antics of his friends and the differences were like a gulf which shied him away from his peers. He was still well liked, he was just extremely guarded.
He wasn't with Anne.
At first, he had no idea why he would share just imitate details of himself with a stranger, but slowly even in the time they weren't really talking, she'd became so familiar to him and this past year only solidified his first opinion of Anne.
She was different.
He liked different.
Because it made them fit together.
And her personality, her intelligence, all of the things which made her Anne, he had fallen for hook and sinker.
He'd tried with all of him to pinpoint the moment he had fallen in love with her and failed miserably, every time he thought he had found the moment another earlier memory had surfaced debunking the prior moment to just another moment he had loved her.
Finally he knew. He'd loved her since 'carrots'. He'd always loved her.
Could he really hold it against Diana that she had lost her temper and used it in a moment of weakness.
Gil:'You could warn me next time Barry…soon to be Wright ;-) Congratulations.'
Di: 'Thank you Gil, you're so sweet, I'm really really sorry.'
Gil: 'Forget about it Is it really that obvious?'
To which he received a gif with some love heart eyes poking out of Donald Duck.
Gil: 'Dang!'
Di: 'Sorry'.
Gil: 'Forget about it Di, and Anne will come around, she's just shell shocked.'
Di: 'Tell me something I don't know.'
"Yeah." He finally agreed. "Should we meet up with them?' he asked Anne.
She sighed "You're going to stand by me?" she asked him.
"Always." He told her.
It was Diana who opened the door she stood with her face like stone for a moment before Anne started to talk.
"Is Fred here?" Anne asked her.
"Yes." Diana said plainly.
"Good what I have to say I have to say to you both." Anne said, she didn't miss Diana's eyes flicking up to Gilbert who gave a brief nod.
"Come in." she still said as stiffly.
Anne and Gilbert entered the family room where Fred was sitting quietly. "Gilbert." He said to his friend. "Anne." He acknowledged.
Anne cleared her throat as Diana sat down. "Before I came to Avonlea, things were always changing." She said softly. "Foster homes, schools, so called friends." She said. "And those changes weren't always good." She continued. "I'm not using it as an excuse, but I have an innate need for things to stay the same, and I will fight tooth and claw to keep things the same, you know this I fought against becoming friends with Gilbert and look where it got me." She said with a tried laugh. "My point is, sometimes the very things I fight so hard against, are the very things which should happen and I don't always see that even when it's staring me in the face." She took a breath before she continued "one of those things are the signs we are growing up, happy landmarks I suppose, falling in love, marriage, all seems so grown up and I just… I sometimes need things to stay the same a little longer then everyone else." She looked up from her feet and said "I can bet that out of the 52% marriages that succeed, yours will be one of them." She bit her bottom lip. "I am so sorry for the way I reacted." She said with a tear coming down her cheek "and I just wanted to say…" she said more slowly "congratulations." She managed in a teary whisper.
"Oh Anne!" Diana exclaimed jumping up and hugging her friend. "You ninny, what would make you think this change anything!" she exclaimed, "it's not as if when I get married I'll doff a lace cap and turn into an old lady!" As Diana was hugging Anne, Anne looked up with Gilbert with a raised brow to which Gilbert only managed to hold off a laugh to.
"Fred I mean it to you too." Anne said from in Diana's arms.
"I know." He acknowledged "You'll forgive me, won't you? If I refrain from the hug?" he said with a tease in his smile.
"That would be much appreciated." Anne muffled.
Diana suddenly pulled back "Oh I will miss you Anne." She said with a smile. "I can't believe you're going to university!" she exclaimed. "Both of you!" she said turning to Gilbert. "You'll go and make bosom friends with some girls and boys at university who think and talk like you and forget about your simple friends back in Avonlea." Diana said.
"There's nothing simple about you Diana." Gilbert said with a reassuring smile to her.
"And we'd never forget about you, ever!" Anne assured them. "we'll be back every holiday, won't we Gil?" she asked him.
"That's what friends are made for." He agreed.