Anne was lying in her bed that night, immensely disappointed that she had witnessed Gilbert kissing Clara. Anne was heartbroken. She wanted Gilbert to act like he used to around her- flirting and teasing and mooning over her. But all of it was gone, and she'd just have to accept that Gilbert no longer cared about her. And Anne had just realized that she had deeper feelings for Gilbert. Why had it taken her so long to realize that there was more to their relationship than friendship? If only she could have had such a revelation just a few days before Gilbert had met Clara, everything would have worked out!

Anne got out of bed and walked over to her desk. She opened the first drawer and scavenged through it, pulling out pens and scrap paper and letters and documents until she found what she was looking for.

It was a picture of her and Gilbert, taken the previous summer at Diana's wedding by a photographer from Charlottetown. It had been taken behind her and Gilbert's back when they were in the middle of a playful argument. Anne had her hands on her hips and was smiling lively at Gilbert. Gilbert's arms were crossed as he looked down at Anne, his eyes twinkling with joyfulness. The meadow and its flowers glistened in the background of the image. Though she didn't realize it at the time, Anne loved talking with Gilbert and even arguing with him. She and Gil had been so engrossed in what ever they were talking about that they didn't notice Diana's secret plan to capture their rivalry in a photograph. Gilbert had never even known of the photo. Anne had been planning on sharing it with him, but couldn't now that Gilbert no longer cared. Anne walked back over to her bed, snuggled herself in under the covers and clutched the photo close to her heart. Her tears continued pouring out of her eyes, and one stray drop dripped onto the picture she held in her hands.

Just a moment later, Anne heard a knock at the door. Who could it be at this hour? Anne's mind jumped to the thought that it would be Gilbert, but she knew that such a prospect would be too unlikely. She reluctantly crawled out of bed, setting the photo down on her nightstand, and walked over to the door, undoing the latch slowly. She inched open the door quietly until it revealed Gilbert, in his pajamas, looking crushed and disheartened, much to Anne's surprise.

"I know it's late, Anne, but I just wanted to say that I'm unbelievably sorry," Gilbert whispered. "It all happened before I could comprehend it. I had to ask Clara for help on getting back to the boardinghouse. Otherwise, I would have had to spend the night at the Pringle Hotel, and that would have been far worse."

Gilbert waited for Anne to yell at him and scream for him to get out of the room. But instead, for once, she stayed silent. Her sobs had quieted down, though tears were still dripping down her cheeks.

"Anne, what is it?" Gilbert asked after Anne remained speechless.

"Oh, Gil..." Anne muttered as she ran toward Gilbert and pulled him in to a hug, wrapping her arms around him and cuddling him closely. Gilbert returned the gesture and squeezed her in return, pressing her body against his. The hug seemed to break the barrier between Anne and Gilbert and made up for troubled pasts and regretful mistakes. Embracing Gilbert felt amazing to Anne, and she realized that she had been hiding her true feelings for their entire relationship. "I'm sorry, Gilbert. I'm so, so sorry..." Anne cried, her voice muffled by Gilbert's body. Gilbert just squeezed Anne harder at her words.

Finally, after savoring each other for nearly a minute, Gilbert pulled away, as he was curious to find out what exactly led to Anne's unexpected hug. "Why did you do that, Anne?" Gilbert asked. He hated to break the romantic atmosphere of the moment, but he just had to know.

"I just felt like I...needed to do...it," Anne admitted.

So many thoughts and emotions were running through Gilbert at the moment. Did this mean that Anne loved him? That she cared about him? That she finally realized that they were meant to be together? Gilbert took a deep breath and reminded himself not to rush anything so the moment wouldn't be ruined.

"Anne, I didn't mean for Clara to kiss me. You know that, right?"

"Of course, Gil," Anne replied.

"I just want you to know that I was planning on saving my first kiss for..."

"...for what, Gil?" Anne begged, wanting to hear his next words.

"...for the most beautiful person in the world."

"And who would that be?" Anne inquired.

"...you..." Gilbert said in a husky voice, trailing off.

Anne's heart fluttered at his words. She needed Gilbert. And he needed her. Anne slowly gained the courage to lean in slowly. Her face was so close to Gilbert's that she could feel him breathing.

"Kiss me, Anne," Gilbert murmured. How Gilbert long had been waiting for this moment, and it was finally here!

Anne wrapped her arms around Gilbert, embracing him once again. As her lips neared coming into contact with his, their hearts beating wildly and their breathing quickening, they were interrupted by a knock at the door and were mortified when they saw...

A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging! Who is at the door? Predict and review! (: