˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

thirty-seven

mr. philips fled avonlea when prissy left him at the altar, meaning a new teacher would soon be on their way. along with this debacle, a fox was reported stealing chicken eggs. billy was determined to catch the animal, despite autumns pleas. "oh, billy, it doesn't mean any harm! it's just hungry, the poor thing." she cries, standing in front of billy's shot aimed at the auburn red fox. the boy scoffs, angered by the girl's action. "autumn! move out of the way! i was just about to shoot!" he yells, leaning the gun against his shoulder. autumn walked toward him, placing her hands on his cheeks. "darling, let it be." she says before lightly kissing his nose. billy smiles softly, his heart racing as butterflies flew around his stomach. he grabs her hand with his empty one before beginning their journey to school.

the couple was a tad late due to their situation, making a bad impression to the new teacher. autumn was the first to hang her coat and hat and make her way into the classroom, introducing herself. "i'm terribly sorry miss, i came across a slight issue. my name is autumn winters, i'm willing to do anything to make up lost time." she beams, holding out her hand for the teacher, who simply smiles. "please, call me miss stacy. please join the rest of the children." autumn nodded before quickly walking towards anne and diana, who were discussing anne's new obsession with the teacher. "i know just how it is to be new and judged harshly." was all she heard before the attention was turned to her. anne, as always, gasped and complemented autumn on her dress and bow. a grand and resounding noise fills the classroom, reverting everyone's attention to its source. miss stacy had dropped a globe right before billy's feet. She chuckles as she looks down at it. "ha, i  just laid the world at your feet, didn't i?" she smiles at billy, who kindly picks up the large object. autumn smiles, thinking of his kind gesture. "here you go, little lady." he smiles widely, winking as he hands the globe back to the teacher. autumns smile turns to a cold frown, glaring at the boy who had suddenly noticed what she said. miss stacy demands he take his gun outside of the classroom, claiming that weapons do not belong inside. billy does as instructed, glancing sadly at autumn. "please, move all the desks to the side and take a seat on the floor." she beams, walking to and sitting on her desk. the classroom does as they were told, billy walking in whilst autumn struggled to do so. "let me help you." he said, pushing her desk with her. it moved quickly across the room and to the side of the classroom. without a thank you, autumn dusts off her dress and takes a seat. billy quickly rushes to her side, sitting beside her with an eagerness for her attention. when he doesn't receive it, he frowns and twiddles his thumbs. "alright class, we are going to play a game!" miss stacy exclaims, standing in the middle of the circle the students had created. "it's a name game. we will go around the circle and you'll say two words that represent you, using the first letters of your given name and surname. i'll start." she sits down between anne shirley and ruby gillis, straightening out her dress once she does so. the woman clears her throat before stating her name, beginning the activity. "muriel stacy," she says, "mischievous... scholastic!" anne stared at her with awe, her eyes wide at the teacher. "Those would be my descriptors if we had the same initials." she says, beaming up at the teacher who smiles plainly at the girl before instructing ruby to continue. ruby stands up, her hands held in front of her. her pink dress slightly swayed as she looked around the room in search of words. "romantic..." she starts, caught on the one word. ruby looks down to gilbert, who sat beside her. "girl?" her voice hightens, making her statement seem like a question.

the activity continues around the circle from gilbert "global and bookish" to prissy "pragmatic and actualized", anne filling the teacher in on every detail. she brought up the wedding, earning stares from the class and a subtle scolding from miss stacey. the circle soon came to billy, he stood up, scratching his head. "um." he blurts, looking down at autumn. "boisterous... affectionate." he smiles, watching the girl beside him with heart eyes. miss stacy applauds him, autumn standing up. she was nervous, she hardly ever stood before her peers. josie glares at her, smirking at her uneasiness. "apathetic and willful." she says confidently, smiling as she sat back down. billy's heart warms as her scent explodes around her when she sat. the sweet honey smell, the spiciness of the mint that only empowers her sweet nectar scent. she glances at the boy, catching his stare. despite this, he never looks away. billy looks at her with love, although she was obviously irritated with him.

class goes on as usual, autumn ignored billy at lunch. miss stacey was quite likeable, she was passionate about teaching and noticed autumns best areas. she sent each student home without an assignment, which was new to them. billy ran up to autumn as she walked down the path towards home. "autumn, darling, i'm terribly sorry. it just slipped! this whole thing is just so new to me and i don't know how to act." he says, walking backwards as he faces her. she rolls her eyes, trying to ignore him and walk faster. noticing her sudden speed, billy walks alongside her. "autumn, please." he whimpers, grabbing onto her arm. she stopped, staring at his hand on her bicep. billy's eyes were sad, a new emotion to him. "you have to believe me... i've never felt this way about anyone before. i promise you. i-i think i love you. i think i'm in love with you." autumn smiled, her heart warming at his words. she turns towards him completely, holding out her pinkie. "pinkie swear?" she asks, chucking at her childish ways. billy does the same, intertwining his pinkie with hers. she kisses her thumb, waiting for him to do the same. when he does, she presses her thumb to his and embraces him.

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next chapter is the last one so i'm making this one and the next long 🤧. i'm sorry bbys.
xxx,
sof.