Chapter 14

"Anne!" a tall lanky good looking male who approached with Stella called out as Gilbert and Anne were crossing the quad.

"James!" Anne shrieked happily upon sighting him and rushed to hug him. Gilbert followed her frowning as he studied the fellow Anne was excited to see. Once again wondering just what the two's relationship was and hoping it wasn't romantic. He hadn't caught a hint of anything romantic when Anne mentioned him, but it was impossible not to notice the warmth she said his name with. And the fact that it had been three weeks and Anne was still rejecting him.

"How's my girl?" James said picking Anne up in a bear hug and spinning her around.

"I am doing well," Anne said grinning when he set her down.

Taking note of the good looking guy that had followed Anne over and was frowning at him, James looked at Anne, his eyes dancing, and then stuck out his hand to Gilbert and said, "James Maynard."

"Gilbert Blythe," Gilbert said gripping his hand firmly and shaking it.

James quickly realized that Gilbert was insanely jealous of him and on edge about his relationship with Anne. He felt between, Stella, Priscilla and even Anne he had a fairly accurate idea of the situation and decided he better put the Adonis standing close to Anne out of misery and said, "This campus is crawling with cute guys, the real question is though which ones are playing for my team and which ones are playing for yours," to Stella and Anne.

"Hey, no chasing boys until I've wiped the mat with you," Anne protested.

"Anne," James said with mock seriousness, seeing Gilbert process what was just said and the relief that washed over him. "I will be wiping the mat with you."

As Gilbert realized James was gay, a smile of relief broke out across his face and his attitude to him warmed considerably. "So you're into martial arts?" Gilbert said grinning. "I know Anne has been going to the gym to practice but I haven't been able to figure out where."

"That's because I practice alone or with Stella and Pris," Anne said rolling her eyes.

"You let Diana watch you practice," Gilbert pointed out.

"Diana didn't drool over Anne when she did yoga," Stella said with a smirk.

Gilbert shrugged and said, "I'm a guy and it was yoga."

"You invited yourself to join us, which lead to everyone deciding to give yoga a try and then you, and Charlie, kept staring at Anne," Stella reminded him.

"Yoga," Gilbert said with a grin.

"Delusional, " Anne said dryly.

Gilbert grinned at her and said, "It's not my fault you're gorgeous and look hot in yoga pants. You really can't blame a guy for staring. Fred was staring at Di, and she didn't glare at him for it."

"Next time stare at the Pyes," Anne grumbled.

"Why would I stare at the Pyes?" Gilbert asked. "I'd much rather stare at you."

"James!" Priscilla's voice called out as she rushed over to greet them with Phillipa.

"Pris!" he said hugging her and then turning to Phillipa, he said, " So we finally meet in person, huh?"

"Yes. Jo will be disappointed to have missed you. He gets back in a few weeks," Phillipa said grinning.

"No internet, no cell phones, no running water, uggh," James said.

"It's for a good cause. By turning off their devices they are really able to connect with the tribal people."

"Your boyfriend is likley chasing down an antelope on foot and hurling a handmade spear at it this moment," James said.

"Oh come on," Phillipa said. "It is perhaps a bit primitive, but you exaggerate. Remember, I was there this summer."

"You say that and then you just wait and you'll see when he brings you back some sort of bloody animal trophy."

"Eww, gross," Anne said. "I'm sure any caracasses Jo brings back will be cleaned and non bloody."

"Speaking of bloody, are you ready, Miss Shirley?" James said.

"I've got to get changed and then you're on," Anne said.

"You go change and Gilbert can show me where the gym is," James said.

As Gilbert and James walked the opposite way from the girls, James said, "I don't think I've ever seen a guy so relieved to find out I was gay. So you like our Anne, do you?"

"Yea. I do," Gilbert said.

"Hmmmmm. She's been steadily rejecting you for three weeks, I hear. I believe she expects you to just give up eventually," James observed.

"I'm not. She's not someone I can just give up on. She just has to get to know me," Gilbert said.

"Eh, when I ask Anne to prom my Senior year she hyperventilated and said no," James said.

"What?" Gilbert demanded.

"It wasn't my fault," James said defensively. "I'm just letting you know you probably have a lot of rejection left ahead of you. And she only went with me after she learned I was gay. And if you can't handle more rejection you should give up now. Anne's a good friend. Everyone probably beats around the bush and doesn't say it, but prior to her adoption Anne had some scary shit happen. She's fine, but she isn't just gonna trust anyone easily."

"What happened to Anne before she was adopted?" Gilbert asked frowning.

"That's Anne's business," James said. "Oh and I should probably warn you, Anne and I don't hurt each other when we spar, but we do toss each other around. Accidents have happened, she did give me a bloody nose once. So don't freak out or worry about her. I've got a good feeling about you for her."

"Thanks. I'm trying. I spent the first week definitely blundering around, but I've tried to take Phil's advice and stop coming on as strong. I don't want to make her feel pressured or like I see her as some sort of conquest. She's not. Not to me. Any additional advice?" he askd wryly.

"Be her friend," James said. "That doesn't mean put yourself in the friend zone for all eternity, just remember that part of the word boyfriend is friend. And don't let Anne cast you in her mind as only a friend. She's an attractive girl but will find it all to easy to believe you are no longer attracted to her if you cast yourself as a friend and she thinks you are only a friend. She has a habit of doubting herself."

"That is some conflicting advice," Gilbert said eyeing him. "Be her friend, but let her know I want more, without pressuring her. Sounds complicated."

"Anne's a complicated girl," James said with a shrug.

Gilbert watched in disbelief as Anne smiled down at James who lay on the mat. She had flipped him easily and Gilbert all of a sudden understood what Phillipa meant whenever she said Anne could drop him to the ground.

"Holy shit," Charlie said from where he sat. "Anne just, he's like, and she-"

"OMG," I so want to learn how to do that," Phillipa said. "It looks even cooler in person. I've seen her toss him in videos before that Jo took, but that was great!"

"I guess you really never should underestimate an opponent's size. She looks dainty and delicate, but Anne-" Diana stopped when this time Anne was the one who ended up on the mat next to James when he knocked her legs out from under her.

"She should have seen that one coming," Stella said next to Gilbert with a shake of her head. "She's done the same thing to James how many times?"

"How ya doing over there, Gilbert?" Priscilla asked glancing over at him to see what his reaction to Anne being knocked down was.

"I think I need to learn some Martial Arts," Gilbert told her.

"Goody, we can both have Anne teach us," Phillipa said.

When James had Anne stand in the center of the mat and close her eyes and then grabbed her, Gilbert sat up straighter in alarm.

"He's having her practice self defense," Stella whispered to him. "He started teaching her martial arts for self defense her junior year, after the Cuthberts adopted her. She had been fostered with this other family in our town during freshman year. She was quiet, bookish, standoffish. And well late sophomore year James saw a bruise on her that shouldn't have been there. He asked her about it and of course she denied everything. He knew something was wrong though and brought it to the attention of one of his teachers. Of course everything exploded at once that spring, and the rumors were that Anne had been removed from her foster family and placed with the Cuthberts because they hit her. She came back Junior year a new person almost. James convinced her to let him teach her martial arts for self defense, so she could be confident in her ability to protect herself."

"She was abused?" Gilbert whispered in horror. "I mean I got the idea that her life wasn't happy before her adoption but," he said trailing off helplessly.

"I probably shouldn't have shared that. I mean Phil, Pris and Di all know obviously. I just didn't think. It's just you, her. I'm sorry," Stella said guitly. "You just seem such a part of her life, that I forgot myself. Please don't say anything to anyone else. She was such an object of curiosity when she came back to school at the start of junior year and she just hated it."

"I won't say anything," Gilbert said softly.

"You really do seem like a part of her life," Stella said with a wry shrug.

"I want to be a part of her life," Gilbert said his eyes on Anne. "A big part of it."