Chapter 3
It didn't take Gilbert long to convince Fred Wright they should go check on the Avonlea girls that were freshman at Redmond this year. He knew Fred had a crush on Diana prior to graduating high school and still did, even after a year away at college. Fred, as Gilbert expected, knew exactly what room belonged to Diana, and therefore Anne. Gilbert was thrilled when he found out it was in the same building his single room was. He had elected to stay on campus that year, because when his dad was given the all clear he hadn't had an opportunity to look into off campus housing and upperclassmen rooms at his frat had been assigned before they knew he was returning. Thanks to the Lambs he at least had a single room. Now he found it providential that he was not only on campus, but in the same dorm as Anne.
Gilbert rolled his eyes when the Pye cousins, Josie and Gertie, upon spotting him, began to wave and call out his name. The two cousins had certainly made their interest known to him and he had resignedly assumed that he would find either, or both, in his bed sometime this year without an invitation,where he would then summarily throw whichever out, now that the two were in college given how bold they had been even in high school. He had avoided encouraging either in Avonlea, knowing they weren't angling for a simple one night stand and was uninterested in anything they had to offer. He had lost interest in an endless stream of one night stands after his father was diagnosed with cancer. Any girls that showed themselves into his bed this year, unlike his last year at college, he would be showing the door rather than anything else. He had finally found his red head and he wasn't interested in anymore one night stands ever since his first glimpse of her two years ago.
After waving back but continuing on, Fred explained that Josie and Gertie, roommates, where on the same floor as Diana, along with Ruby Gillis and Jane Andrews, also roommates. In the same building, but a different floor, was Charlie Sloan and Moody Spurgeon, who were rooming together as well.
Fred, blushing, told him that Diana absolutely raved about how much she loved her roommate on facebook and that Charlie had begun to make a nuisance of himself on her Facebook page after he met her roommate, commenting on every picture and post her roommate was in. Gilbert pulled out his phone and seeing he was in fact a Facebook friend of Diana's, he checked out her page and found quite a few posts featuring Anne. Clicking on Anne's name he sent her a friend request.
"Hullo, Diana," Fred said blushing when the black haired girl opened the door.
"Hi Fred," Diana said also blushing and then spotting Gilbert her eyes widened. She knew who Gilbert was, every teen girl in Avonlea knew who Gilbert was, even those a few grades behind him like her. When he had gone off to college single and unattached, they had all shed a tear or two. Then after a single year, his dad had gotten sick, diagnosed with cancer and Gilbert had returned home to help out with his family's farm. He hung out with Fred Wright and the others a grade behind him that first year and through Fred he got to know Charlie and Moody, spending some of his free time with them after Fred had gone off to college. The girls at home had been as wild for him as ever, but other than a wink and some flirting Gilbert didn't encourage any of them. Josie and Gertie were convinced it was because he considered them high school girls, but once they went to college they were positive Gilbert would do more than wink. Remembering Gilbert trying to walk Anne to class, Diana eyed him warily.
"Hullo Diana," Gilbert said flashing a grin. "Is your roommate in?"
"No," Diana said carefully.
Gilbert felt a flash of disappointment at this, but considered that she had to come back sometime, preferably while they were there, and if nothing else, it would be an opportunity to learn a bit more about Anne. "So are you going to invite us in? Show some of that Avonlea hospitality?" he asked grinning.
"Sure, come in," Diana said with a blushing glance toward Fred, opening the door wider so the two could come in. With Diana and Fred occupied talking and blushing at each other, Gilbert strolled toward what he assumed based on the pictures, was Anne's side of the room.
He paused to study the pictures on her wall. There was a few of her with the gray haired man he realized was the same one from the hospital. All of these appeared to have been taken on a farm, including one of Anne holding a small calf. In some of these was a sternfaced older woman. One of a white farmhouse with a green roof caught his attention. Next to it was a picture of Anne with two girls and beside that was one that caused him to frown. Anne had on what was obviously a prom dress and stood next to what he assumed was her date, based on the coordination of their clothing and how close they were standing. A quick scan of the remaining pictures revealed the male in question not to be in any other pictures, causing a sense of relief to rise up in Gilbert. What did suprise him though was to see a familiar face in one of them, another prom picture. How did Jonas Blake know his Anne, Gilbert wondered.
Next Gilbert found himself in front of a bookcase, he smiled to see some dog eared copies of some of his own favorites. He noted she also appeared to have every single Jane Austen book written along with a few other classic romances. A collection of Tennyson's works caught his attention and next to it was the complete Harry Potter series. Seeing a notebook he reached out to pick it up but Diana's sharp, "Don't," directed at him stopped him.
He turned around towards her sheepishly. He blushed, knowing it was one thing to learn a little more about Anne from pictures she had out and books on her shelf, but that spying in her notebook completely crossed the line. He normally would never even consider invading someone's privacy like that and wasn't sure why he had almost done so unthinkingly now. All he could think guiltily, was that his curiosity over Anne would have gotten the better of his own values if not for Diana.
"So where is Anne?" Gilbert aksed jamming his hands into his pockets.
"Out meeting a friend. One sure to be sympathetic to the fact that a horrid insufferable jerk, her words, taunted her about her hair," Diana said smiling awaiting his reaction.
Gilbert shifted and one of his hands made its way from his pocket to rub at the back of his neck. "I wasn't trying to taunt her about her hair," he protested.
"And what were you trying to do?" Diana asked as Jane, Ruby, Moody and Charlie along with two girls he didn't know, but recognized from Anne's photos showed up in the open doorway and entered the room calling hellos. Diana had her own suspicions and was hoping they would be confirmed. Anne may not have noticed Gilbert staring at her for the rest of lecture, but Diana had. Just as she had noticed him gaping at Anne before class and brushing through other students to secure a seat behind Anne.
"Well I, ah, well, that is to say," Gilbert said shifting as he eyed the group in the doorway. "I, um, wanted to meet her."
"Meet who?" Jane asked curiously.
"Anne," Diana said simply.
"Oh I just adore her!" Ruby said enthusiastically. "Pris and Stella went to high school with her," she said gesturing to the two girls whose names he didn't know.
"It's almost dinner time," Moody observed. "Shouldn't Anne be back soon? Or do we have to wait to go down for her?"
"Anne should be back soon," Diana assured him. "The dinning hall doesn't open for another 15 minutes, Moody." Then to Priscilla and Stella she said, "This is Gilbert Blythe and Fred Wright. Fred graduated a year before us from Avonlea High and Gilbert the year before him." Then to Gilbert and Fred she said, "This is Stella Maynard and Priscilla Grant. Their room is just across the hall. They went to Queen Charlotte High with Anne."
"Are you guys joining us for dinner?" Charlie asked. "You are on campus this year right, Gilbert?"
"This building even, one of their single rooms, and Fred signed up for a meal plan even though he is off campus so he wouldn't have to cook," Gilbert said grinning. "I got moved in late last night finally."
"Awesome. We would have helped you get settled if we had known," Moody said.
"I had my dad's help," Gilbert said with a shrug.
"He really is doing better then?" Diana asked tentatively.
"He had a check up at the end of the week in Charlotte that confirmed it. It's gone, so here I am."
"That's really good to hear," Ruby said smiling.
"Well maybe you should call Anne to see if she is on her way back," Moody suggested once again concerned about when he would get to eat.
"On it," Stella said pulling out her phone. After dialing and when she heard Anne's distinctive "Ring, ring banna phone," ringtone in the hallway coming towards the room, she burst out laughing and said, "No, need here she comes."
"Stella!" Anne's voice could be heard to say. "You don't have to call me! I'm here," she declared wrapping her arms around Stella's waist from behind. "Though I did spot the most beautiful-" her eyes narorwed spotting Gilbert and she spat out, "You!"
"Hi Anne," he said smiling broadly at her, undeterred by her reaction. "We didn't really get to meet before. I'm Gil-"
"You're insufferable is what you are," Anne said her chin rising.
"What did you do?" Priscilla asked Gilbert curiously.
Before Gilbert could answer Anne said, "He was arrogant, rude, and unfeeling."
"Ah, said something about your hair did he, Anne?" Stella said laughing.
"Ooooo, then the better question is what did you do? He looks fairly unharmed," Priscilla said blushing as she scanned Gilbert with her eyes.
"She threw her tea on him," Diana said with a giggle. "The proffessor had just started going over the syllabus in lecture."
Jane and Ruby both gasped at this and stared at Anne in wide eyed disbelief.
"It was my chai latte," Anne said with a disgruntled frown, remembering not only had he insulted her, she had been deprived of her tea as well.
"Oh you poor dear," Stella said, side hugging her. "Insulted and deprived of your favorite drink all in one go."
"Eternal hatred it is," Priscilla said hugging Anne's other side.
"I'm famished let's go eat," Anne said rolling her eyes. "Come on Di, I have to tell you all about the beautiful tree I found," she said turning to her roommate and spotting Fred, she said cheerfully, "I'm Anne Shirley. That's Anne with an E," sticking out her hand to shake, completely ignoring Gilbert who was watching her with interest.
"Fred Wright, I graduated from Avonlea High," Fred said grasping her hand and shaking it.
"Wonderful to meet you," Anne said beaming at him, before crossing to the other side of the room, stepping around Gilbert to drop her book bag onto her bed and shooting a glare at him. "Let me put these in some water first," she said to the group, carefully extracting some flowers from a pocket in her bag.
"Oooo those are gorgeous, " Diana said enthusiastically. "Where ever did you find them?"
"I told you, Di. I found the most beautiful tree and these were growing at the base of it," Anne said with a dreamy sigh. "I could have stayed there forever and made a bed among their petals to sleep in. If one slept with such beautiful flowers, just think their spirits might come to dance with you in your dreams. So I gathered these so we could dance with them in our dreams tonight," Anne said happily.
"Can we go eat now?" Moody asked plaintively.
"Yes, of course we can, Moody," Jane assured the well fed boy.
"Ever since the beginning of freshman orientarion week we have all been eating all our meals together. We plan on making sure we eat dinner together every evening still now that classes are in. We meet up here. It was Anne's idea. Josie and Gertie have joined us for one or two meals in the dinning hall, but scoffed at dinner every night. Since you're in this building now maybe we will see you there too," Ruby said hopefully to Gilbert.
"I look forward to it," Gilbert said his eyes on Anne. "This time, every evening, here?"
"Yes," Jane said eagerly.
"I'll be here then."
"Yay!" Ruby squealed. She had noticed that his eyes hadn't left Anne, but the fact that Gilbert Blythe would be eating with them was simply to die for.
"You're welcome to join us too," Diana said to Fred blushing.
"I'd like that," he said blushing as well.
"The more, the merrier, right, Anne?" Charlie said eagerly, hoping to gain her attention.
"Oh my friend from earlier is joining us!" she said enthusiastically. "It was so nice to meet in person, after messaging back and forth for so long. Phil is such a kindred spirit!" Anne said happily, missing the way both Charlie and Gilbert tensed at the mention of the masculine name Phil.
"So it went well?" Priscilla asked.
"Brilliantly," Anne confirmed. "And Phil is so adorable!"
"Just don't toss us over for a new face," Stella teased.
Gilbert decided he didn't like this Phil fellow that he suspected had designs on his Anne. "Where did you say you found the flowers, Anne?" he said to change the subject. "I'd like some for my bed," Gilbert said thinking he would certainly like to have them in his bed, if it made Anne want to fall asleep there. Then realizing how that sounded he tacked on the word "room," quickly, "my bedroom," he clarified.
"Flowers in your bedroom?" Charlie asked in disbelief that a football hero, and chick magnent, like Gilbert Blythe would do something as girly as put flowers in his room for no reason, wondering if him and Moody should put flowers in their room to attract girls since it seemed everything Gilbert did always attracted female attention.
"Yea. My mom is always putting flowers out at the house. Says it brightens the place up. My room could use that touch. Make it feel like home," Gilbert said with an unconcerned shrug.
