Swift - AWAE

Come In With The Rain

Hello all ! This absolutely magnificent One Shot was written by the absolutely amazing and talented blythexcarrots
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"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?".

Diana Barry was the quintessential mom-friend. Anne can't even count all the situations in which Diana has actively helped her or Ruby when they needed it the most.

Today, though, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert didn't ask for help. She didn't want to actually voice the words "I'm an emotional wreck and I need you", but Diana knew. She always does. So today, Diana Barry picked Anne up and took her to the mall to watch some stupid romcom and drink overpriced smoothies, because that's what friends do when one of them is in the depths of despair.

After that, the two of them went back to Anne's to fill in college applications. Anne had her mind pretty much settled: University of Toronto. It was a decision that she had considered and matured for the past year, and now, she was sure. Toronto was the right place. It was close enough to her family, to Avonlea, yet far away from everything that was upsetting her. It was what she needed to finally move on.

"Yes, Di. Thank you," she sighs. "I just need to be alone".

"You know I'm here if you need me, right? Just text me or Ruby if you need anything".

"I will".

Her day out with Diana should have helped Anne clear her mind and think about something else for a couple of hours, but the truth is, it didn't help at all. Anne knows that there was no plan, however exciting, that could take her mind off what she had been thinking for the past year.

Him.

He has been occupying her thoughts for as long as she can remember. There hasn't been a single time, in her teenage years, that he hasn't casually invaded her thoughts...

but things got way worse during the past year.

You see, watching the person you've been in love with for years fall in love with someone else is a heart-wrenching experience. A year ago today, Anne was ready to confess her feelings to the boy who captured her heart at age 11. She remembers that day very clearly. She'd finally gathered up the courage to tell him that day at school, first thing in the morning because she was sure he felt the same way about her. He had to feel the same way. Anne had analyzed every single interaction between the two of them and she was sure she had correctly interpreted every sign, and just then, when she spotted him walking down the hall, eyes fixed on her with that familiar, warm smile playing on her lips, he said the words that have been haunting her for the past twelve months:

"Guess what, I'm dating someone. Your best friend has a girlfriend now".

A girlfriend. He'd found himself a girlfriend. She'd misread all the signs. It was all false, every smile, every hug, every glance; it was all part of this stupid teasing game in which their relationship was based entirely upon, and the worst thing is that everyone surrounding her had led her to believe it, Diana, Ruby, Marilla, even Matthew.

"He's dead gone over you, Anne".

Bullshit.

Tonight, Diana hugs her and tells her it's gonna be okay, and for a second, Anne believes her. She doesn't know what she's going to do without Diana or Ruby close by. None of them were going to the same university she's chosen. She doesn't know what she's going to do without him either, but she guesses this is for the best. Leaving Avonlea behind could be the starting point for a fresh new life.