☁ o, dreamer || gilbert blythe x reader ☁

chapter six: a visitor

You opened your eyes slowly, making out the details of your bedroom in the morning light. Since you hadn't slept much the night before, you went back to sleep after doing the morning chores. It was probably about noon now. Somehow, you mustered up the willpower to sit up and stretch. You were still wearing your clothes, but your hair was sticking up in all directions. 

Ms. Cuthbert was downstairs, alternating between preparing lunch and sipping on a cup of tea. She was a bit caught off guard by a light rapping at the door, as they seldom got visitors at green gables. Smoothing her apron with her hands, she answered the door.

"Ah, Gilbert, dear! Wonderful to see you again. What can I do for you?" To Marilla's surprise, standing on the front porch was none other than Gilbert Blythe.

"I was here to see Oliver, if that's alright." Gilbert smiled politely, taking off his hat.

"Of course! Come in, it's terribly chilly." She ushered him inside, closing the door. "Oliver is up in his room, I'll fetch him for you." Walking over to the bottom of the stairs, Marilla called after you. "Oliver, dear, your friend Gilbert is here."

GILBERT?!

 Why on earth was Gilbert here? After last night's revelations you weren't sure if you would even be able to look him in the eye, let alone talk to him. You shot out of bed, quickly smoothing your choppy pixie cut in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, you swiftly descended the stairs to see Gilbert standing in the kitchen talking to Marilla. He smiled brightly when he saw you. 

"Well, I was wondering if Oliver might like to come out for a few hours." He looked at you hopefully, then at Marilla.

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to." You, too, turned to look at Marilla. "May I?"

"Well, you've already finished your chores, so I don't see why not." Marilla cracked a soft grin. "But be careful, and be back by supper time. And take a jacket!" She called after you, but you and Gilbert were practically out the door already. 

"So, what did you want to do?" you mused, walking next to Gilbert as you two traveled down the long dirt path that wound through the forest all the way to the lake. This was the first time you'd seen him outside of school.

"I'm not sure, I just wanted to see you. I thought we could maybe walk down to the lake, if you want to." He replied. Your heart fluttered at his words for a moment, but those butterflies soon sank down into the pit of your stomach. He didn't mean that he way you wanted him to. 

"Yeah, sounds good." You replied quietly, eyes trained on the ground you were walking on. 

He looked at you with slight concern. "Hey, I brought your book. The one you let me borrow," he stated, pulling the leather-bound volume from his jacket. 

"Oh yeah, how did you like it?" You lifted your head to look up at him in mild curiosity. A few weeks ago you had loaned him your copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, a collection of Whitman's poems. 

"I loved it. Whitman has a very romantic gaze, you have good taste," he chuckled lightly. You smiled to yourself, sort of happy that he enjoyed it. It was sort of ironic how some of the poems in that book described your exact feelings right now. 

The two of you walked around for hours, making it down to the lake and circling back. You skipped rocks, climbed trees, and talked about all sorts of topics, some deeply intellectual and some stupid, but funny. He had quite a good sense of humor, and made you both laugh until your stomachs hurt. It was the perfect afternoon, but the golden sky was slowly turning a pinkish hue as dusk grew near. Though you had already made it back to green gables, neither of you wanted the day to end. Making sure no one was around to see, you and Gilbert snuck into the barn and crept up to the hay loft. There, you continued your conversations about anything and everything.