Chapter 2

2 years later

Gilbert stopped in his tracks and scanned the students he could see when he heard her tinkling laugh, one that he had not forgotten in two years. His heart sped up, knowing it was her, hoping to spot the elusive girl with bright red hair he had never gotten to meet, but had so wanted to. By the time he got back to the hallway, the curtian was open but the room had been vacated. All that was left behind was a carefully folded paper flower and a note that said, May you be your father's sunshine. Best of Wishes. C-

Not knowing her name Gilbert had taken to thinking of her affectionaly as Carrots. Every visit to the hospital with his dad, he made a point to stop by likely teenager hangouts in the strange town, but never found the girl with the distinctive red hair. He had attempted to ask about her at the hospital, hoping to at least get her name, but the staff refused to divulge it.

Now his eyes landed on a beautiful red head who was speaking with Diana Barry, a girl a few years younger than him from his hometown. It was her, he thought with elation, she was beautiful and he would finally meet her. His next thought was that her hair would look marvelous spread out on his pillow as he felt an intense attraction punch him in the gut. He eyed her with appreciation thinking that the pretty girl he had seen at the hospital had blossomed into a real beauty. Realizing he was gawking at her, like an inexperienced 13 year old, when she eyed him puzzled, he gave her a wink and a half smile, the kind designed to make a girls blush. To his suprise she didn't blush or flutter her eyelashes back at him. She turned back to Diana and said something instead.

Seeing the two girls link arms, he quickly headed towards them and was pleased to see they entered the same room that he had been headed too. He deftly secured a seat right behind the redheaded girl, cutting off another student that had been about to enter the row behind her in the large lecture hall, but before he could do anything the professor called the class to order, introducing himself as Professor Phillips.

Gilbert, in an attempt to get the red headed girl's attention crumpled up some paper from his notebook and threw it at her while the professor droaned on. She though didn't appear to notice. Trying again, he threw another larger piece, but she still didn't acknowledge him. Frustrated he grasped the long red braid and giving it a light tug, yet hard enough to get her attention, he whispered, "Carrots, hey Carrots!"

Her attention garnered, his twinkling hazel eyes met angry gray ones seconds before he felt something liquid land on his head. He blinked in confusion, droplets hanging off his long lashes and his curly hair.

"What is the meaning of this?" Prof. Philips demanded from the front of the class room, angrily glaring at the red haired girl. "What is your name?" He demanded striding toward her.

"Anne, Anne Shirley with an E," she said meeting the professor's glare with wide eyes as he stopped at the row she was in.

"Well Miss Shirley, what do you have to say for yourself? Stand up and speak! In whatever little highschool you come from it may be acceptable to pour coffee of a fellow student, but it is unacceptable here," he yelled as he glared at her as she rose shakily to her feet.

"It wasn't coffee, Sir," Anne said unthinkingly correcting him. "It was tea."

"I don't care what it was!" the professor barked at her. "Do it again little Miss I-can't-control-my-temper and you'll find your insignificant self in a world of trouble."

"It was my fault. I teased her, Prof. Philips," Gilbert said rising to stand next to Anne, supremely aware of the fact that on level ground if he were to embrace her, she stood just tall enough that he could rest his chin on her head, a thought that had him smiling despite being covered in tea.

Not even glancing at Gilbert, he continued to glare at the younger girl and said, "Behavior such as you have exhibited will result in your failing my class, Miss Shirley. Now if you can refrain from distracting the class with another inappropriate outburst we can continue going over the syllabus."

Anne nodded her head and wordlessly sat back down. Gilbert quietly slid into his seat as well. He tried to catch her eye, but she resolutely stared forward, her shoulders straight and her head held high. Gilbert's eyes remained focused on her for the rest of the class, but she didn't look at him once.

When the lecture ended, and Anne gathered her things up, Gilbert quickly gathered his as well and rising to his feet before she could leave the row in front of him, he said, "I'm sorry, Anne. Don't be mad for keeps. Where's your next class? I'll walk you there," with a grin, fully expecting the girl he was already planning on taking with him to his frat, the Lambs, first formal of the year in a few weeks, to forgive him.

Anne though simply walked by, her head held high, as if he hadn't said anything. Gilbert felt his mouth drop open. No girl had ever ignored him, quiet the reverse, they had tended to throw themselves at him and he had come to consider it to be his due. He had plenty of hook ups but had never bothered with taking any of those girls on dates or even pursuing them in any way, used to them throwing themselves at him. He had never had to chase a girl to get ones attention, now the one girl he wanted to spend time with, that he wanted to do more than hook up with, ignored him.

He had spent two years wishing to see her again, and after she dumped her drink on him, he had spent the rest of the lecture planning their first date and eventual attendance at the Lambs fall formal, along with all the potential moments in between and his mind hadn't even focused on the sex part of it. He had been thinking of playing with her hair, having her rest her head on him while they watched Netflix and her snuggled under his arm as he walked her to class. Seeing her and Diana about to leave the lecture hall, he quickly scurried to catch up to them. He arrived in time to hear Anne say, "I will see you back at the room later, Di. My next class is the opposite way."

Gilbert gave Diana a quick nod hello and fell into step by Anne, but when he opened his mouth to speak, she had sped up so she wasn't walking by him. He knew he could easily enough catch up to her, but he realized he likely wouldn't have much better luck in apologizing. Another idea occurred to him and he let, Anne stride away from him, following close enough to see exactly where she went.

As he watched her disappear into a classroom he paused outside the door, out of sight to those in it, and seeing some students headed toward the same room Anne had just entered, he casually asked them what the class in that room meeting now was. Creative writing with Prof. Stacy, one of them told him blushing. He thanked them and strode off. He figured he had a free hour and could use another elective. A stop by the administration office and he was pleased to have successfully been added into Prof. Stacy's creative writing class, the same one Anne was in.