kindred spirits || anne and gilbert

chapter four .

gilbert couldn't help but repeatedly look over at her during school. each time, anne would look back at him, but he'd look forward before they made eye contact and clench his jaw in pain.

he feels so ridiculously embarrassed that he asked ruby to the dance last night, especially since it was over the phone- she doesn't seem to mind it, though.

"dude, just talk to her," charlie whispers. "she probably has a good excuse. i know she likes y-"

"charlie sloane, care to explain why you're babbling on during my lectures?" mr. philips calls out, gaining the attention of every student. anne looks over at the two boys. charlie's cheeks are pink.

"i-i was talking about a, uh, a plan that i'm... planning."

"and what plan is more important than mathematics?" mr. phillips asks, sounding bored yet angered.

charlie looks at diana and anne, and then down at his hands. "well, i was going to ask diana to be my date to the dance," he mumbles. "but, you kind of ruined it now."

"well, mr. sloane, next time you're planning something, do not let it interfere with my lessons." our teacher warns. charlie responds with a thumbs up, and mr. philips turns back to the chalkboard. charlie then sheepishly peeks over at diana, who smiles and nods. the blush on his face deepens, and a smile grows on his face. gilbert looks over at the girls and makes eye contact with anne. for a few seconds, they just stare at each other, until gilbert blinks and looks away, pain clear on his face. anne frowns, confused.

"what's wrong with gilbert?" diana asks.

"i don't know," she reveals. "but he asked ruby to the dance." she swallows a lump in her throat.

diana scoots closer and whispers. "did you want him to ask you?" the redhead nods slowly, feeling numb as she stared up at the equations on the board. "oh, anne. i'm so sorry." she wraps a comforting arm around her bosom friend, who now has to force back tears threatening to spill. she squints at the board as her eyesight becomes blurry, and she finds herself breathing heavily.

"anne shirley, are you crying?" mr. phillips bellows.

anne reaches to touch her face. surely enough, her cheeks are wet. everyone is staring at her like she suddenly grew two heads. "anne?" ruby whispers. gilbert feels a pain in his heart at the sight. the girl he loves is sitting in math class, crying, and he doesn't know why.

anne explodes, letting out heavy sobs. she covers her face and calls out, "m-may i g-go to the b-ba-bathroom?" moody's eyes widen and he looks at cole.

"what the hell?" moody mouths silently. cole just looks down at his desk and sighs, his heart dropping. he knows what's wrong.

"...yes," mr. philips says, clearly uncomfortable. "do not come back until you're calmer." anne jumps to her feet and rushes out of the classroom.

without thinking, gilbert follows her out of the classroom, mr. philips shouting at him to sit down. ruby watches with a hurt expression on her face as he chases after another girl, but gilbert doesn't pay any attention.

far down the hall, anne is rushing to the girls bathroom. gilbert runs after her. the closer he gets, the louder her sniffles become. "anne," gilbert calls out softly, grabbing her wrist. she stops. "what's wrong? what happened?"

she keeps her eyes on the floor. "shouldn't you be with ruby?" she spits rudely. gilbert frowns.

"ruby is fine, you're not. what just happened to you?"

she inhales deeply, her breath shaking, and keeps her eyes on the floor. "i don't know what's happening to me," she whispers, her voice cracking.

"anne..." he says with a voice full of sympathy. "look at me." anne shakes her head.

gilbert gently grabs her chin with his hand and lifts her head. he sighs. even with bloodshot, puffy eyes and tears coated on her pink face, she's still beautiful. 'how does she manage this?'

"my date to the dance is cole," she says with a shaking voice. gilbert nods- he already knows, of course. she continues rambling. "i was afraid i would have nobody to take me. i didn't want to go alone. cole understood, so he is taking me. we're just going as friends."

gilbert frowns. 'just friends? am i an idiot?'

anne huffs. "i knew no other boy would willingly go with me- maybe jerry, but he would go just to get some secondary school experience." she bites her lip. "i hate going to dances with no date. it's utterly humiliating."

gilbert smiles sheepishly. with his hand still on her chin he says, "anne, i was going to ask you to go with me," he reveals. her eyes widen.

"but you asked-"

"i asked ruby because i didn't know who else to ask. i was walking to green gables to ask you, and i saw cole kiss your cheek. i assumed that..." he shrugs sadly, "that he beat me to it."

anne pouts. "cole and i are just a good friend, he's helping me out. we're nothing but that."

gilbert nods, staring in to her blue eyes. "anne, i like you." she frowns. "i mean, i love you. i've been in love with you since you slapped me with that slate- i've never met a girl like you before." anne feels butterflies in her stomach. gilbert swallows a lump in his throat. nervously, his voice shaking, he says, "please tell me i'm not the only one with those feelings here."

anne hesitates. whether she exposes her feelings towards him or not, everything will be different. nothing will be the same because gilbert blythe just confessed his love for her.

and she decides to tell the truth.

"you're not," anne says. "i feel the same way."

quietly, he whispers, "i still want to go with you, not ruby."

anne nods. "i want to go with you too," she confesses. "but you can't hurt ruby by changing your mind. she thinks you love her, that you want to be with her."

"but i don't," gilbert insists. anne lowers her head, and gilbert pushes her chin back up. "anne, i don't."

"okay," she whispers. she doesn't know what to say after that. both of their hearts are racing. they've never stood this close before. their lips are a mere few inches apart.

slowly and hesitantly, gilbert steps closer to her, closing some of the space between them. he pauses, so anne can slap him or run away if she wants to, but instead her eyes flutter shut. gilbert slowly lifts her head higher and plants a gentle and quick kiss on her lips. anne feels her heart melt.

he pulls away. "i'm sorry," he apologizes for no certain reason. "i-"

anne stands on her tippy toes and cups his face in her hands, closing the space between them. gilbert kisses back, the kiss deeper and more passionate this time, as he pulls her closer to him.

the bell rings. anne quickly pulls away and rushes down the hallway as kids come piling out of the classrooms. "anne!" gilbert yells after her, his heart still racing.

anne closes the bathroom door behind herself. she reaches her hand up and places her fingers on her tingly lips. 'oh my gosh, i just kissed gilbert blythe.' there's a mixture of joy and fear inside her- on one hand, she just kissed the boy of her dreams. on the other hand, if anybody finds out, ruby will be crushed.

anne sighs sadly and pulls open the bathroom door. she knows what she has to do.