camp | awae au

nine

the second day of camp had been pretty dull after his encounter with anne. they had been placed on different teams for the week and probably wouldn't see each other outside of free time. gilbert was incredibly disappointed about this and didn't even try and hide it, complaining to bash whenever he got the chance.

bash, of course, would just chuckle and tell him that he'd see her soon enough. gilbert would reply with something along the lines of 'anne's life didn't revolve around me,' or 'she will probably be busy with other friends.' but he silently hoped that bash was right, and that anne had actually grown a fondness for him or would want to spend time with him in the light of their new friendship.

so although he had hope, he was still surprised when his phone pinged as he was in the shower. he got out quickly, wrapping a towel around his waist and turning the phone on. the screen lit up with the words 'new message from: carrots' and he smiled, clicking on the notification quickly and as he read it he tossed his phone onto his bed.

he got ready in less than ten minutes and walked out of the cabin. he saw that the sun was setting and as he felt the cold air hit his face he rolled his eyes, summer in avonlea would never truly be warm would it? his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening behind him. he turned around and saw a rather beautiful anne shirley standing in front of him. she smiled at him, but spoke shortly "blythe."

he chuckled, "oh, so are we not on a first name basis anymore, shirley?" she laughed and began walking, he matched her pace, walking beside her. "so is there any specific reason you invited me to go on a stroll with you? or am i just that lovely to spend time with?" she scoffed but still had a smile plastered on her face, "whatever helps you sleep at night."

they talked for awhile before the usual, comfortable silence fell around them. it was just about the nicest thing gilbert could think of, really, to be in anne's company, whether it was constant chatter or just silence. it made him rather happy, giddy even. they passed the fire pit in a route that was all too familiar and walked the trail to the tree.

this time they didn't climb up, instead they sat on the patch of grass under the tree. there was complete silence for a few minutes before anne said something, "thank you." gilbert looked up from the grass he was playing with when he heard anne's voice, "for what?" she shifted towards him until they were side by side and she placed her hand on his knee, "for today, not many people would have sat in a tree with me at five in the morning. it was sweet. so thank you i guess." he giggled, "you already thanked me, and it really wasn't that big of a deal anne. i'd do it again." she looked up at him for a few seconds before speaking up, "i know  you would. that's why i'm grateful."

he put an arm around her without thinking and cringed when he realized he probably shouldn't have. but then she put her head on his shoulder and he sighed in relief, "it's nice," she looked up at him and he continued, "to just be friends, without the yelling and constant disagreement. it's really nice." he felt her smile against his shoulder, "it is nice isn't it."

he looked at her for a few seconds before pulling his arm away, she sat up quickly and when he saw the worry in her eyes, he spoke quickly, "we should get going before it gets too dark," she nodded reluctantly and he put his hand on top of hers, grabbing it and pulling her up with him. she groaned, "fine...let's go."

he rose his eyebrows, "unless...you don't want to?" she scoffed, "get over yourself." he smirked and continued talking, "you don't have to get so defensive." she shook her head, "i knew you'd say that. you are so predictable."

gilbert put his hand on his chest and gasped dramatically, "me? predictable? i am not-" "you so are!" he nodded slowly at her but was silent, and anne looked at him, slightly confused. then gilbert's expression slowly turned into a smirk and he looked back at her, taking her hand, "gil- what are you doing?" he started running and pulled her along with him, she picked up her pace, and he yelled back at her,

"being unpredictable!"

"you're ridiculous!" she yelled back and they laughed as they stopped and laid back on the grass, looking up at the stars.

gilbert smiled at her before looking down at their hands, fingers still intertwined, his heart swelled but he still spoke as though he was joking, "shut up. you love it."

she turned her head towards his and he admired how anne's eyes sparkled in the pale moonlight as she replied, "i suppose i do."

(a/n)

been a minute since my last update and i'm sorry for that. i've been struggling with personal issues, so i hope you all understand if i don't get updates out often or if they're short.

your comments really made me want to continue writing so thank you for all of them. i'm so grateful that people enjoy this book as i've worked extremely hard on it.

thank you for 2k reads <3
i'll try and update soon.