Daisy in the garden of roses {Gilbert Blyth x Oc}

The almost

Within minutes the two struck up a conversation. Gilbert told her all about his trip and about Trinidad and how he met Sebastian. How much he enjoyed it but somehow longed for this boring town nonetheless. They sat beside each other.

Neither realized that their pinkies overlapped the other. And slowly as the conversation continued and Alice informed him about the "secret" room their hands overlapped one another. With time they inched closer to each other. Alice told him all about the books she had read. And all about how the ignorant rodent that was Billy Andrews had been spending time with George and Liam.

Both of them had been smiling since the pleasantries of hello and how are you ended. Even when they sat in silence trying to collect their thoughts it was comforting, when they didn't have to say a word and yet understood. Alice even found herself explaining the pregnancy scandal truth and the mighty trick Emma had pulled. She even promised that the next time she saw him they would go up to the secret room and she'd show him all of it.

To be brutally honest Gilbert wanted to hear everything she said even though Billy had been over. Something about him made Gilbert infuriated. Whether it be the way he looked at the girls or the way he spoke to them. Even the way he spoke to people, in general, made Gilbert want to punch him. Or maybe just maybe it was the way he spoke to and about Alice. The way his eyes trailed her when he saw her. The sly comments he made about her, the same he made about every girl, even the way he hung around to make sure she saw him at least once.

In those moments sitting beside the giggling girl, he found himself falling for her even faster than before. The empty hole that rested deep somewhere in his heart. The one he had tried so hard to fill by running to Trinidad, the one that sitting beside Alice seemed to shrink. He looked from her to the ground, "You've been avoiding Billy in your own home?" For a second she looked at him worried until she realized he too was smiling.

They were silent for a few moments before Alice's soft laugh broke the silence, "Do you know how many times I had to run into the study to get away from him? Bloody hell I even dove behind a chair once." He liked the way she laughed now, it was soft not as rough as before. It no longer sounded seldom used now it seemed quite genuine rather than how normally forced it sounded. He had never noticed how bright her smile was, or the way her eyes sparkled with the emotion her other features rarely showed. Maybe it was the way pieces of her deep brown hair fell in her face. "Did you cut your hair?" He asked noticing how much shorter it was. 

Alice ran her fingers through her shoulder-length hair. "Oh yeah, Emma calls it a hack job but I don't think it's too bad."

 Their eyes met when Alice caught him staring at her again. Their faces were only inches apart when she broke the comfortable silence again, "What is it?" He leaned closer to her making the gap even smaller, "Nothing I just never realized how pretty your eyes are."

As the space between them was centimeters from being filled. Within only seconds would the whole course of our story would be thrown off balance. In those moments there was no question of whether it was right. If either of them had given the other enough time to grieve. Yet the true moment that would have sent our story closer to its end never happened. Rather a certain young woman ruined it, "It's getting cold out you should come inside. Gilbert we would love to have you over."

The two separated quickly both a shade of pink across their cheeks. Turning back to look at each other they both began to laugh. Looking at the doorway Alice noticed Lilian's stance. How her lips were pursed and her arms folded across her chest. She wasn't inviting him over rather she was being kind. Glancing back at Gilbert who was trying to contain his embarrassed laughter, Alice stated, "I think Gilbert has to go finish greeting his other friends before he has to be home." At first, he looked confused until he realized what she was driving at, "I really should be headed towards home. Can't keep Sebastian waiting for too long."

He said his goodbyes quickly making his way down the road. Before Lilian could even say anything Alice spoke up, "It was embarrassing enough already can you please not tell anyone else." Lilian sighed thinking it over for a moment, "Of course, I won't just please don't let him break your heart." Alice never got the chance to respond because Lilian had already made her way inside. Lilian's words stuck with Alice, making her in some strange fashion glad the almost was just that an almost.