After Anne had readied herself for the day, she crept softly downstairs, trying not draw any undue attention. The warped, creaky stairs made that feat nearly impossible.
She had descended half the staircase when she heard the swift opening and shutting of a door at the top of the stairs.
"Anne Shirley! I've waited long enough!" Phil yelled, sliding haphazardly into view and steadying herself on the bannister. "You absolutely must tell me what happened!"
Another creaky door swung open.
"What happened?" Stella's voice rang out, and Anne froze in place.
"What happened between Anne and Gil!" Phil answered, as Stella's shocked face poked around the hallway corner. "Last night!"
There was a muffled clatter of a metal pan on the kitchen's linoleum floor, followed by a crescendo of high-heel clicks.
"Anne and Gil?!" Priscilla gasped, her wide eyes peering up at Anne from the downstairs landing. "What about Anne and Gil?"
"Nothing—" Anne began, fiddling with a loose string on her black, striped sweater.
"She went to his apartment late last night!" Phil interrupted, her left eyebrow quirking up.
"But I thought she went out with Roy?" Stella said, her confused voice echoing down the stairwell.
"I—" Anne began again, looking up to where Stella and Phil stood.
"Roy proposed!" Phil interrupted again.
Stella and Priscilla gasped in unison.
"Then why were you at Gil's apartment?" Priscilla asked, her mouth gaping open.
All three roommates turned to look at Anne, who blushed deeply under her impromptu spotlight. Phil and Stella crept down and Priscilla up the stairs toward Anne.
"Well," the auburn-haired woman said, her tone measured. "I was at Gil's apartment because….Well, Roy proposed and I said no….."
Anne paused, and household froze.
"And that's when I realized I had been entirely stupid when it came to Gil," Anne breathed out, casually. "So I ran across town, snuck into his apartment building and declared my love for him."
Her final statement left her friends as silent as before—though brand-new smiles bloomed on all their faces.
Three quick taps on the front door broke the reverie. All four heads whipped toward the sound. Priscilla, being the closest, scrambled down the steps and swung the door open.
A curly-haired man with hazel eyes appeared. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but when he noticed the crowded tableau before him, he shut it nervously.
The five people stood awkwardly for a moment. Suddenly, Philippa took two steps down, grabbed Anne's upper arms and maneuvered her down the stairs. As Phil shoved Anne off the landing, she grabbed a dark green purse from a hook near the front door and tossed the strap over Anne's shoulder. Then, she guided Anne out the front door, nodded briefly at Gil and slammed the front door shut.
"Hello, Anne," Gil said, his tone gentle and deep.
"Hey, Gil," Anne smiled, pointedly ignoring the three sets of eyes inspecting them from the tall rectangular window next to the door.
"Wanna take a walk?" Gil asked, his eyes scanning her face as if to memorize it.
"Of course," she answered.