Hi Everyone!
Thank you all for your feedback! Keep them coming! I know shocker last week of them actually kissing and Anne enjoying it! Mush mush kiss kiss, so what's going on there huh?
So the next few chapters may break your hearts but I hope you enjoy them all the same!
love Carrots x
Anne smiled and she hugged Diana as they met in the coffee shop. It was a week later Anne had got home the day before at a late hour, as ever she was running late but she as glad to be home. "Do you have any Green Tea?" Anne asked the waiter as he came to the table.
"Oh um, we have herbal tea is that the same thing?" he asked her.
Anne smiled "No, but that's okay, herbal tea… Do you have any peppermint?" she asked him.
"Our Mint herbal blend Miss." He said with a smile.
"Sound divine!" she said. "and two sugars please?" she asked him.
"Yes Miss and you?" He asked Diana.
"A café mocha please with a shot of caramel." She said.
"Coming up." He said with a smile to the two pretty ladies.
"So how was your last term?" Diana asked her.
"Oh you know." Anne said with a shy blush. "Shakespeare, Chaucer, highfalutin mumbo jumbo, that doesn't really matter" she said with a laugh.
Diana eyed her careful for a moment studying her face. "Something's changed." She said.
Anne took a deep breath not replying directly "Everything changes eventually." She admitted. "How is the wedding planning?" she asked her directly.
"Now I know something is wrong if you're asking about the wedding!" Diana exclaimed.
"I'm interested in the wedding!" Anne exclaimed. "If its important to you its important to me." Anne said with a smile to her friend.
"Good, then you won't mind going bridesmaid dress shopping with me." Diana told her.
"Of course not." Anne stated. "Who are your bridesmaids going to be?" she asked Diana.
"Well, only one." Diana said "and a flower girl, I promised Mini May she could be a flower girl."
"well bridesmaid then." Anne said wondering why Diana was being so cryptic.
Diana laughed "You, you goose!" she exclaimed. "My maid of honor."
"Me?!" Anne exclaimed jumping up in excitement. "Really?!" Anne exclaimed hugging her friend.
"Oh," Diana started as they pulled back "Fred was wanting to know when Gilbert would get…" Diana noticed her friend flinch at Gilbert's name. "Anne?" she asked. "What's wrong?" she asked her as the waiter came with their drinks setting them on the table.
"I'm afraid Diana, I think I've made a terrible mistake." She said swallowing hard. Diana looked concerned but quizzically at her before Anne started explaining what had happened.
When Anne had finished Diana looked in horror at Anne. "Anne!" she exclaimed.
"I know I know you'll reprimand me, he did…" Anne said unable to say his name because it hurt so much to. "Phil did and I can't blame you…"
"No, not that." Diana said a small tear running down her face. "I mean, everyone expected something would happen between you and Gilbert…" (again Anne flinched at his name) "…but if it really was unexpected and you really… I mean, he's your best friend…"
"Diana no you're…"
"No, he's been your best friend for a long time and I'm okay with that." Diana admitted. "I don't mind, I would say Fred is my best friend followed by you of course, its natural don't worry." Diana sighed. "When did this happen."
Anne looked in her tea "Just on Friday." Anne admitted. "He said he needed space so I haven't seen him since, but for how long? A week, a month?" she questioned.
"And if he really does go to NYU, that's really far away." Diana admitted.
Anne let out a huge sigh. "Oh Di!" she exclaimed before she started crying again. "what am I like? Crying into my tea cup for a boy who just ups and walks away!"
"Its just space." Diana said.
"And he'll fill that space between us with other things won't he?" Anne said sobbing. "with football and lambs and gir… girls!" she stuttered.
"Oh Anne please don't cry!" Diana tried. "Of course you're upset." Diana said trying her best not to place her own opinion above that of Anne's emotions. Personally, she thought Anne had been in love with Gilbert from the first time Anne had seen him.
"Is your high school really divided into social groups?" Anne had asked Diana the first day of school. Diana had been assigned Anne's guide for the first few days of school. "That sounds ridiculous!" Anne exclaimed.
"Oh it is ridiculous!" Diana exclaimed. "Oh those lockers over there…" Diana explained "as you can see belong to the jocks."
"Jocks?" Anne questioned.
"Right." Diana continued. "Cute boys play football, Charlie is the team captain until Gilbert gets back." She said off handly.
"Gilbert?" Anne asked.
"Oh he's captain everything, tall dark handsome, strong and silent." Diana said swaying. "He's dreamy!" Diana admitted. "Though too sort after which is why I don't care for him too much." Diana admitted. "And why I prefer Fred over there." Diana said with a sly look at her crush "isn't he handsome?" Diana asked her.
"Um, well…" Anne tried "I try to leave my choices open." She said as they past them.
"Hey Diana!" Charlie called and the two girls turned "Who's your friend?"
"Anne Shirley." Diana said her nose upturning and walking away. "Ignore him, that's Charlie Sloane, and a Sloane is a Sloane."
It was then they heard him wolf whistle and exclaim to another jock "she's hot!"
It was a few week later when Gilbert had returned to school. They had been sitting on a bench outside as Gilbert had walked past. Gilbert had paused for a moment before he opened the door.
"Heyyyy Gil-man!" They heard from beyond the door as it shut behind him.
Diana smiled at her friend as her eyes were still on the door. "That's Gilbert Blythe." Diana said before Anne asked
"Who?"
"Who?!" Diana exclaimed standing up "the boy you couldn't take your eyes off!"
Anne cleared her throat and held her head high as she started to walk "That's not true," Anne continued "I am determined to at least be introduced to him before passing judgement." Anne said her head still high. Anne looked at Diana as they came to the door, Diana unable to keep a straight face. "I mean it Diana!"
It was then Diana watched as Gilbert wasn't watching her she could clearly see Gilbert's eyes following Anne. "He's watching you!" Diana squealed to Anne, to which Anne couldn't help but look up, her eyes locked with his and Diana couldn't help but see the sparks between them, Anne trying to keep her face from flushing. It made Diana smile to see Anne's head snap back.
"Isn't he handsome?" Diana asked.
Anne blushed her nose held high "He is tolerable I suppose." She said with a grin to Diana "but not handsome enough to tempt me."
Diana looked at her friend across the table her head low looking into her lap. It was hard to believe the same boy had such polar effects on her in such a short time.
"Hello Anne, Hello Diana." They were greeted about an hour later.
Anne looked up and her eyes went wide, there stood Mrs Blythe before them.
"Hello Mrs Blythe." Diana said politely as Anne seemed to be momentarily mute. "How are you?"
"Oh as well as a broken hearted mother can be." She said lightly. Anne looked horrified for a moment before she continued "though I tease you a little, Gilbert is working back at the newspaper in Kingsport for this week, he comes back on Christmas Eve but is gone the day after boxing day and heading to New York."
Anne flinched. Gilbert wouldn't be home at all. He loved Avonlea as much as she did. Although she knew in the brief moments, Mrs Blythe definitely didn't know about what happened between Gilbert and her.
"He seemed a little heavy hearted on the phone about it but who wouldn't be." She continued. "I hope he's not working too hard." She continued lighter. "You'll know Anne?" she asked her directly.
"Oh um…" Anne stuttered a moment. She blushed away before saying quietly "he always works hard Mrs Blythe, but I don't think his work load weighed him down."
'No,' she thought to herself. 'That was me.'
"Gilbert Blythe?" The boy asked him as he opened his door.
"Um, Yeah." Gilbert answered.
"Hi I'm Ronald Stuart, please call me Ron for short."
"Hi?" Gilbert said tentively.
"I'm President of the Lambs here at NYU." Ron explained to which Gilbert nodded.
"Yes of course the lambs." He said with a smile. "Josh said to look out for you."
"See I thought it would be more useful just to introduce myself." He said with a smile. "So, are the lambs as active in Redmond as they are here?" he asked.
"I wouldn't know yet." Gilbert said with a smile.
"That's true." Ron said with a smile. "in that spirit, we're doing a sponsored event next week. If you fancy joining the cause?"
"Next week?" Gilbert asked. "You certainly are active."
"We do the sponsored stuff at least every couple of months, and we do a lot of sports in the meantime, keep ourselves healthy." Ron paused "You were on the football team, right?"
"That's right, football scholarship actually."
"Oh nice!" Ron said impressed.
"So what's the event?" Gilbert asked.
"A skydive?" Ron said calmly.
"Skydive?!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Really?"
"Look you don't have to take part if you're not sure." Ron said. "But it'll be good to come along and meet some of the other members."
Gilbert nodded automatically.
"Good man!" Ron exclaimed. "I'll send you the details on Facebook. Are you on Facebook?" he asked.
"Um Sure." Gilbert admitted.
Ron pulled out his phone typing in Gilbert's name "ah, there you are." He said. "Now we're very active on social media, we really use it for our charity work and hash tag thelambsfrat. Maybe its something you can take back to Redmond with you." He said with a smile.
"Yeah maybe." Gilbert said with a smile.
"Where are you off to this early?" Phil asked her as Anne hurriedly ate her toast.
"Class, you know I have a class with Professor Stephenson first thing." Anne said.
They were silent for a moment while Aunt Jimsie hustled around them before she left the room.
"I know you have class first thing but that's not for another half an hour and it's only a ten-minute walk."
"Its twenty five the way I walk." Anne told her.
"what?!" Phil exclaimed confused. "You walk straight down Pine take a left onto Maple and the building is straight across the road." She said. "Are you so dreamy that you get that lost."
"It's not about getting lost." Anne told her.
"Then its about…" Phil asked slowly.
"I can't walk down Pine Street."
"What's wrong with Pine?" Phil asked confused.
"Nothing!" Anne exclaimed. "I have to go." With this Anne turned and left the room.
Phil sighed looking after her friend and shook her head. Honestly Anne was the most confusing person the world lately. She leisurely ate her breakfast, bid adieu to Aunt Jimsie and headed down that route herself. She was heading for the library, of all the things in the world there was no digitized edition of a book she needed for her maths class and she was damned if she would actually buy a book! Her bedroom unlike Anne's was not cluttered with books, she had her kindle on her desk. If she wanted to read she had a whole library at her fingertips. When she reached the end of Pine she suddenly stopped looking at the house in front of her and her jaw dropped. She suddenly knew why Anne couldn't walk down Pine, even in the winter air Anne would still choose to head up to main and walk all the way back down to the university buildings. Phil's heart dropped for her friends, because there on the end of Pine Street was the Frat house for the lambs. Phil carried on her walk down to the library and stood in line for the librarians. Finally with book in hand she headed for the exit where she saw a group in the lobby setting up a stand. It looked like one of the clubs were starting a stand and if she had to guess it was religious. She must have stood too long because she heard a voice from behind her.
"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?****"
She turned and for a moment was mute. The man she saw had nothing too appealing to look at. He was skinny to the face that he looked jaunt skinny to the body that he looked positively ill. His blond hair was gelled back which didn't compliment his face and his face was home to the roundest pair of glasses Phil had either seen.
"Neither I hope." She replied honestly. "Religion is far too serious for my liking."
He smiled which made Phil curious to him again. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world**." He looked to her "what have you against that?" he asked.
She turned her whole body towards him, her brow furrowing. Who was this little man who believed himself able to stand up, to her?!
"Nothing, only religion is rarely that." She opposed.
"Ah!" he acknowledged and nodded, "you go by man's understanding?"
"I go by mine and no man's understanding." She objected.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.*"
"Trust a man?" Phil started.
"God is not a man."
"Ah, God is a woman? Now there is a religion I can follow." Phil said with light heart.
The man laughed which brought to Phil an odd sensation of satisfaction to please him so easily.
"So you believe in a God?" he asked her.
Phil thought for a moment. "I hate to be on the fence about anything. I hate to believe in a deity who could let all the suffering which happens in this world take place, yet, I suppose, I do believe in a power greater then even me." She said with her twisted smile, which again seemed to please the man in front of her.
The man nodded. "you know a long time ago God tried to be more direct with the people on the earth. He directed them more closely, they still wouldn't listen."
"Oh?" Phil asked. "What happened?" she asked.
He pulled a smile and leaned in a little closer to her and said "The old testament."
Phil looked to him incredulously as he walked away, to her surprise not towards the table but out of the library doors. She went after him surprised and once she caught up with him asked "Hold on, aren't you with them?" She asked him.
"Nah." He said with a wry smile. "With those religious nuts?" he asked.
Phil looked confused. "You just quoted the bible galore in there if you aren't with them?..."
"If God is for us, who can be against us.***" He said with a grin.
"So…" she asked confused. "You're for God?"
"Absolutely." He said with a smile. "I'm not looking to convert you, they are, I'm not."
"What were you standing there for?" Phil asked him.
"I was curious as to who they were, and what they were doing." He admitted. "but after hearing the way they spoke to people, to each other, I couldn't stand it." He said with a smile "then I saw you."
"I'm Phil." She told him. He looked confused at her for a moment "Its short for Philippa but I don't like it."
He smiled "That makes more sense." He said. "I'm Jo, well Jonas, most people call me Jo." He looked to her and smiled "and you major in maths." He said rather then asked.
"Oh now how do you know that?!" she asked him. He chuckled and pointed to her book to which he cheeks turned pink. "Oh." She said suddenly feeling stupid. "And you?"
"theology. I'm in my fourth year. I'm looking to join the graduate program for master of divinity." He said.
"I thought you said you weren't looking to convert me?" she questioned.
"I'm not." He said with a smile. "Only God, he or she can do that." They stood in silence for a moment before he offered "Coffee?" he asked.
To Phil great surprise she found herself nodding.
*I like the KJV of this verse much better interesting it reads "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Acknowledge and direct sound so much kinder! -Proverbs 3:5
**James 1:27
***Romans 8:31
**** Galatians 3:2