𝓐 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓐𝓭𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮 || 𝓖𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽 𝓑𝓵𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓮

A Light Snow

Flora had a few guesses as to why Gilbert Blythe was missing school these days. She knew that boy well after years of despising his existence, so she could say with certainty that he wasn't the sort to skip days of classes in a row without a reason.

With Gilbert absent, Flora was the smartest student in class -- with only Anne as a possible rival (not that she would ever see Anne as a rival). That should have made her happy. She should have felt relieved without the constant bother of Gilbert Blythe's presence.

Yet for some reason, something about school just seemed less...appealing this past week. She knew without a doubt that it had to do with the forced dissolution of her friendship with Anne. Every day, she sat right in front of Anne, close enough to speak with her but forbidden from doing so. And that disappointment caused frustration with her family; she hadn't spoken to Grandmother in over a week.

But she couldn't help feeling that her lack of interest in school these days also had to do with the lack of competition. Flora was always competing. As a young girl, she would compete with some of her classmates back in Charlottetown, and now she did it here in Avonlea. And not just with Gilbert Blythe; whenever possible, she was always having competitions with her brothers. She enjoyed the thrill of a game or contest. So now that school was missing that, something just felt...different.

She would never dream of admitting it, but the longer his absence went on, the more she found herself feeling something similar to concern. Concern for Gilbert Blythe was something she never could have imagined feeling -- around him, all she ever felt was disdain and annoyance.

Still, somehow, here she was; trekking through the snow alongside her brothers to reach his house.

When the twins found out that Anne was delivering Gilbert's work after school every day, they offered to do so in her stead and give her a day off. And they dragged Flora along with them.

Her first instinct was to protest. But then she ended up giving in. She didn't know why; she just did. Flora maintained that she didn't want to see Gilbert Blythe. She just wanted to know why he was missing school. She didn't want him to fall behind for when he eventually returned.

...He would return sooner or later, wouldn't he?

Adjusting her hat, she sniffled from the cold. Her nose always became red just minutes after she first stepped outside. Flora Thompson hated the wintertime.

When they reached the house, she made sure to stand behind her brothers. Her cold, mittened hands brushed down her coat, but her stomach twisted uncomfortably. She was nervous. What reason did she have to feel nervous?

She found herself inhaling a little when the door opened. Before she could even risk meeting his eyes, she dropped her gaze to the basket in her hands.

"Hi." Gilbert did sound surprised to see them.

Liam nudged Lucas. "Listen to how stunned the boy sounds."

"We certainly did surprise him." Lucas said.

Flora could hear the smile in Gilbert's voice. "You do have that effect on people."

"That's what we always say! There he goes quoting us!"

"Ah! I'm so proud."

Still standing quietly behind her brothers, Flora took a chance at glancing up. Considering how often it happened, she shouldn't have been surprised when she met his eyes. She was quick to look away again, just like she always did.

"So, uh...what brings you all by?" Gilbert asked them.

Lucas pulled a folded slip of paper from his pocket. "We brought the list of work from Mr. Phillips. And we wanted to come and check on you and your dad."