LOVELESS - G. BLYTHE

4. running and reunions

RACHEL AND THOMAS LYNDE screamed as they chased after a teen girl whom they had just seen in their house stealing food. The married couple were not the wealthiest; nobody with ten children would be. So, they basically needed everything that was worth something, that they could get.

As the pair chased after the anonymous, hooded young girl, they quickly ran out of breath. Partly because they were simply running, but also because they screamed curses at the girl as they chased after her.

"Curse you, child!" Mrs. Lynde called.

"You get back here at once, you filthy pest!" Mr. Lynde shouted.

"Spawn–of–the–devil!" The woman screeched between pants.

"A child from hell!" Thomas cried.

The 'child from hell' was none other than the infamous Audrey Blessing. The girl had been fending off of stealing from others during her time in Avonlea, and sometimes eating berries from the woods that she used to spend most of her time in, too. That was, until, she came across a boy, which destroyed one of her rules, so it only felt right to leave. She didn't completely abandon the woods, but she didn't go very often; only when there were no houses with decent food nearby.

Fortunately for her, Rachel and Thomas Lynde had enough food to feed a village. The family had ten living children. Audrey felt astonished upon learning this. When she entered the Lyndes' home, she counted: one, two, three– ten children! And the adults, of course. They also had a guest over; an elderly woman who was eating lunch with them. Audrey saw them all through a crack in a door– she was in their kitchen, stealing and feasting on scraps. When, suddenly, a loud sound echoed from behind her. She had knocked over a pot. The sound made her ears bleed; and the Lyndes (parents) came storming into the room. When they did, they saw Audrey half out the window with her pockets filled with food. The couple called out to their guest.

"Marilla! Look after the children whilst we're gone– please!"

And quickly began chasing after the girl.

Audrey ran past many people whilst fleeing the couple, however, she ran into only one.

"Umph!" Was the sound that escaped Audrey as she fell to the ground.

"Uff!" Was the sound the person who she had bumped into made as they, too, fell to the ground.

The girl struggled to get up, but she did it before the other person did. She brushed herself down and her head quickly turned to look behind her– the Lyndes were nearing closer and closer.

"Im so sorry–" the girl said in a rush and held out a hand for the other person, who was still on the floor.

"–No, no, it's my fault– I wasn't looking, I'm sorry," the person said. He was a boy.

The voice was familiar, but Audrey couldn't put her finger on it. That was, until, she actually looked at the boy.

It was the boy from the woods. Gilbert Blythe.

"Gilbert?" Audrey said through a sigh. "Wow. It's been a while. Oh my– I'm sorry for the inconvenience– and the sudden request– but could you please hide me?" She helped Gilbert up as she spoke.

"...Hide you?" Gilbert chuckled with a smile as he raised his eyebrows, but didn't question further. He grabbed her hand and sped to an alleyway behind a nearby shop; the Lyndes didn't see them, and the two teenagers laughed as they watched the slightly elderly couple run by.

Neither of them had noticed until they stopped laughing, but they were still holding hands. Audrey was the first to let go and her cheeks flushed a rosy pink as she put her hands behind her back. The two stared at each other for a moment.

"What's your name?" Gilbert said, breaking the slightly awkward silence. Their faces were inches away from each other; it was a tight alleyway.

The question was random, and strange. Audrey raised an eyebrow until she realized that she had never told him her name. She found it funny, though. She had just been caught running from two adults, and his only question was "what's your name"?

"And why would you look to know that?" Audrey questioned with a small smirk as she lifted her head up slightly.

"I've been..." the boy stopped himself. "Wondering."

"Wondering..." the girl tasted the word in her mouth. She wondered a lot, too. "My name is Audrey."

Gilbert let out a loud breath, and his shoulder seemed to drop like a weight had just been taken off of his shoulders.

"Audrey," He smiled, but he wasn't talking to her, more to himself. "I like it."

"Thank you," Audrey said with a small smile in reply. "I like your name, too. It's very classy."

"Why thank you," he said, returning the friendly smile.

Their faces reflected others; both had a smile, and both had cheeks which were the shade of crimson.

A/N

sorry this took so long lol

love u guys x