wondrous • gilbert blythe

tension

"So, you really punched a boy in the face?" Gilbert clutched his stomach from laughing so hard. Adelaide scoffed and shoved his arm.

"I was sick of them making fun of me. What, do you think I'm not strong enough?" She asked him.

"No, I know you're strong enough, I just can't believe you would do that!" He laughed again.

"Well I might end up doing it again if Billy Andrews mocks me one more time." Adelaide told him and smiled brightly at the boy.

He had arrived at her house early that morning to walk her to school. Gilbert hadn't noticed her mother around, but didn't question it.

Much to Adelaide's dismay, she enjoyed his company. Gilbert was very nice to be around and she hated him for it. He was almost impossible to dislike.

"Adelaide?" She heard Gilbert ask.

"Hmm?" Adelaide blushed when she realized she had zoned out. She quickly looked down at her boots and didn't meet his gaze.

"It's snowing." Gilbert said with amazement in his voice. Adelaide glanced at him to find his brown eyes staring at the sky, watching the white flurries come down.

A soft smile crept upon her face when she noticed they had stopped walking.

Gilbert transferred his eyes from the morning sky to Adelaide. She didn't drop his gaze, but instead stared back.

The proximity between them had gotten smaller, and before she knew it, they were almost touching.

Adelaide wanted to kiss Gilbert, she really did. But, as soon as their lips were centimeters apart, her conscious made her jump back.

She couldn't like someone. He didn't actually want to kiss her, he was just caught up in the moment. No boy could ever like Adelaide, let alone want to kiss her.

"We- we should get to school." Adelaide tried not to feel guilty as she saw the look on his face. He hid it immediately, and nodded, following after the girl who had just rejected him.

•••

The school day couldn't have gone by slower, seeing as Adelaide didn't speak a word unless directly asked a question.

When she got home to empty house, Adelaide couldn't get rid of the guilt that ate away at her. She knew that Gilbert didn't like her, but why did he look so sad when she pulled away?

Adelaide kept the thought in her mind as she looked outside through the window. The snow had fallen the entire day, creating a thick blanket of white that stretched as far as the eyes could see. Adelaide frowned at the sight of it, since snow reminded her of the conversation earlier that morning.

A cup of tea sat on the windowsill, and a book with wrinkled pages sat next to it. The only thing to get her mind off of him was for Adelaide to read, and so that's what she did.

Her fathers favorite book had been given to her as a gift for her twelfth birthday, the year before he died. It was an amazing book that told the story of an explorer that traveled the world.

Adelaide wished to one day do the same.

Falling into her comfortable bed, she dwelled on the thoughts of her father and the kiss she almost shared today with Gilbert.