Chapter 5

"Good morning Gorgeous, " Gilbert said sitting down across from Anne at the small table she sat at. "Looks like we are both early risers."

"What are you doing?" Anne asked him with dismay.

"Eating with you," Gilbert told her ignoring her tone. "So pleasant dreams last night?" Gilbert said with a wink. "Mine were."

"Why?" Anne asked.

"Probably cause you were in them," Gilbeet said grining at her.

"No," Anne said eyeing him like he was a strange insect she didn't understand. "Why are you eating with me?"

"I told you, I like you," Gilbert reminded her.

"I don't like you. At all," Anne said flatly.

"Yet," Gilbert added for her. "I figure the best way for you to realize how great I am is exposure to me," he said shrugging.

"Thus far I liked you more with less exposure," Anne said.

"So you no longer want to hold how we met against me?"

"No, it turns out you calling me carrots was the least of how annoying you could be."

"Persistent, not annoying. Now tell me where I went wrong yesterday," Gilbert said.

"From the beginning, I think about sums it up," Anne said sarcastically.

"That's a pretty blanket statement. Ya know I don't have much experience trying to pick a girl up, they usually just throw themselves at me," Gilbert told her grinning.

"Am I supposed to be flattered that you have decided to be a walking handbook of awful overused pick up lines for me?" Anne asked scornfully.

"Hmmm so it was the pick up lines. I figured girls like them, or at least if a fellow means them, then they do."

"Huh," Anne said.

"So what are your plans for between classes?" Gilbert enquired.

"Stuff," Anne said with a straight face.

"Stuff?" Gilbert asked hoping she would elaborate.

"Stuff," Anne confirmed.

"After my first class, I plan on hitting the gym. The coach wants me to stay in shape and once my academic probation is straightened out I'll be back on the team."

"The team?" Anne aksed confused.

"I play football," Gilbert informed her with a grin.

"That really shouldn't surprise me. You do seem a bit like a lunkhead athlete."

"I'm a kicker."

"Oh."

"It means I score points," Gilbert told her helpfully. And when she didn't say anything else, he added, "A good kicker is an important part of a team. Its a bit of a specialized position."

"So you're telling me your special," Anne said slowly

"Well, that I play a specialized position. I shouldn't have to tell you I'm special. That should be pretty obvious," he said with a wink.

"I'm sure we can both agree you are special," Anne said wryly. "Well as enlightening is this has been, I've got to get going."

"Where ya headed?"

"To class."

"I could walk you there," Gilbert said hopefully.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going the opposite way," Anne said flatly.

"Maybe not, what hall?"

"Let me restate that, whatever way you are going, I am going the opposite way even if it is twice as long to get to my class," Anne said turning and walking off.

"Bye Beautiful! I'll see you in Geometry this afternoon," Gilbert called after her and grinned as she tossed her hair and straightened her shoulders.

….

Gilbert leaned against the wall to the geometry room, his hair still wet from his quick shower after his workout, a chai tea in hand for Anne as he waited for her. He couldn't help but return the smiles of the girls that checked him out as they went past. When he spotted Anne though his face broke out into a wide grin. When she saw him she froze and he walked toward her and holding out the tea to her he said, "To make up for you spilling your's yesterday."

"I didn't spill it. I dumped it. On you," Anne said as if to remind him.

"Either way it was my fault," Gilbert said still holding the tea out.

"I don't want it," Anne said eyeing it warily before turning to enter the class room, Gilbert next to her. She selected a seat next to one that was already occupied and to her dismay Gilbert gave the girl next to her a smile and asked, "Could you scoot down one more seat for me?"

"Sure," the girl said breathlessly moving down the row and Gilbert slid past Anne and sat down. When she went to stand up, he said casually, "I can just as easily move seats too."

Her face flaming red Anne sank back down into her seat, her dismayed eyes meeting Gilbert's twinkling ones as he once again held the tea out to Anne. "Come on, it's a peace offering," he said with amusement.

"If I accept it, will you leave me alone?" Anne asked.

"Nope," Gilbert told her grinning. "Might as well accpet it though."

"Why?" Anne grumbled still not taking the tea.

"You already know the answer to that, " he said grinning.

"I do?" Anne said doubtfully.

"I like you, remember?" When Anne went to open her mouth he said before she could, "I know, you don't like me. You've told me. Now if you don't take the tea, next time I'm showing up with tea and chocolates, possibly flowers."

At the mention of showing up with flowers Anne yanked the tea out of Gilbert's hands.

"No flowers," Anne said with determination.

"No flowers next class period, but I feel we shouldn't completely take them off the table. I mean, I'm pretty new to this, I might screw up again and need them to say sorry," Gilbert told her.

"What are you talking about?" Anne whispered in confusion.

"I told you most girls just throw themselves at me. And it's fine your not, but I'm just saying you should be prepared to make allowances for me."

"What is wrong with you?" Anne asked in disbelief. "And what do you want?"

"Well that should be fairly obvious, you," Gilbert said grinning at her. "And I wouldn't say anything is wrong with me. I think most people would be wondering what was wrong with you in this situation-"

"Seriously? I don't swoon all over you and your assumption is something is wrong with me?" Anne hissed.

"I didn't say that. I said most people, not me," Gilbert said hastily.

Anne silently glared at him and he said, "See this is why we can't take flowers of the table for when I mess up. Besides you like flowers. I should definitely get you flowers."

Before Anne could say anything else the professor started class.

"So where to now?" Gilbert said as he followed Anne out of class as she shouldered her messenger bag, having been unsuccessful in his offer to carry her stuff.

"I'm meeting Di, Pris and Stella for lunch at the student union," Anne said with resignation, realising unless he had somewhere to be, he would likely follow her and be invited by the girls to join them. With any luck it was such a busy place something else would attract his attention and he would stop in his, whatever it was he was doing, she hoped.

"Lead on," Gilbert told her slinging an arm over her shoulder and meeting her frosty glare, he promptly removed it.

"So you, Pris and Stella went to high school together," Gilbert said. Anne nodded, so he asked, "Did you play any sports in school? Join any clubs?"

"No," Anne said.

"Why not?" Gilbert asked curiously having always liked to be involved at school.

"I just wasn't," Anne said frowning at him.

"Well what did you do after school?"

"Helped Matthew out on the farm."

"What type of farm?"

"Grains mostly. Though the Cuthbert's have some live stock. Matthew gave me my cow Dolly when they adopted me," Anne said smiling at the memory.

"So you're a farm girl?" Gilbert said grinning.

"Yes," Anne said. "I am." He couldn't help but admire how she sounded so proud of that fact or think she looked beautiful when she sighed dreamily and said, "Green Gables is the most wonderful place on earth."

"I know how you feel. I love my family's farm. Our Orchard has been in the family for generations."

"An Orchard?" Anne exclaimed excitedly. "I have always loved apple Orchards. Green Gables didn't have any Apple trees but Matthew planted some for me this year. Outside my window is the most beautiful cherry blossom tree. I named her Snow Queen."

The two fell into conversation about their respective farms, Anne not even noticing as they stood in line together that she was beaming at Gilbert as they talked. Or how Gilbert, spotting her friends, placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the table they were sitting at. Diana, Pris and Stella all noticed. Before the two could make it to the table though, a femine voice shrieked, "Gilbert Blythe! I've been waiting to run into you. You'll have to come over to my new place and we can rehash old times."

"I'm afraid not Christine, " Gilbert said. "How are you and Dawson doing?"

"Andrew's old news. We just broke up. I only started dating him after you didn't come back to college for sophomore year. I hear you've been playing farmer. Are you sure you wouldn't like to come over and play doctor?" she asked laughing.

"No thanks," Gilbert said watching as Anne greeted her friends.

"I must say, ever since you left it was like you dropped off the face of the earth. You barely even went on facebook the last two years."

"Well I was plenty busy," Gilbert said glancing toward Anne and her friends again, wanting to hurry the conversation along so he could join her again.

Seeing his glance, Christine said, "Don't tell me you actually settled down and got yourself a girlfriend, Gilbert? I don't believe it! You could never limit yourself to just one girl! Does she know about how you are? She looks so young! She might not understand how one night stands work," She said and then teasingly she added, "Decided to conquer the newest class of freshman girls, Gilbert? I would think you will find quite a few willing ones in them, your practically an upperclassman, if not in grade level than in age."

"No. It's not like that," Gilbert said. "This year is going to be different than my freshman year."

"Yea right. I saw on Facebook you are living in a residence hall again. You will have those girls throwing themselves at you in no time and it will be a different one all the time, just like our freshman year."

"Good seeing you Christine," Gilbert said turning to go. As he walked away though she slapped his butt and laughed and he found Anne, Diana, Stella and Priscilla all staring right at him.