(ʟᴏᴠᴇʀʙᴏʏ!)//sʜɪʀʙᴇʀᴛ

xvii.

anne wasn't one for parties but when it came to one of her best friends coming home, she was up for anything.

anne hasn't seen diana in months. since graduation is right around the corner, her mother finally let her come out to visit. cole and anne sat in her car waiting. "have you talked to saw-"

"i don't want to talk about it." he nodded and remained quiet. "she's here!" anne ran out of the car and hugged her best friend tightly. "my di di baby! i missed you!"

they both almost cried. "it feels so good to see you, my big hollywood star!" she carried her bag to her car when cole caught her eye. "i-is that cole mackenzie!?" anne nodded. they got in the car and diana tried to remain calm. "COLE I AM A HUGE FAN!" he bursted out in laughter.

"nice to meet you, diana. can we hurry up and get to jerry's? xavier is already there and i miss him." cole clapped as she began to drive.

"and i want to see charlie." diana whispered, causing anne to almost crash the car. "i know i told you there was nothing going on but we have been talking a lot and i really like him! so i am going to surprise him!" anne's smile quickly faded as she realized everyone was in a relationship. ethan and jane. ruby and jerry. xavier and cole. willow and autumn. now, charlie and diana. was she happy? of course! her friends were happy so she was too. but she couldn't escape the feeling of loneliness that took over her body. then she thought of a friendly face she longed to see. gilbert blythe. the boy that could've been hers. "hey, you okay?" all she could do was nod to her best friend with a fake smile.

✵

they arrived to jerry's house just as the sun began setting. loud music played, almost thumping the street. anne prepared herself for what was going to come. she came in with diana in her arms and her ukulele strapped to her back. xavier was outside waiting for cole, giving him a tiny peck before his eyes trailed to diana.

"diana! does charlie know you are here?" he gave her a hug.

"no, it's sort of a secret so shh while i sneak in." she walked past the three and snuck inside.

xavier gave anne a hug before going back into cole's arms. before she could head in, xavier stopped her. "before you go in, you should know that g-" he was cut off with the door opening, allowing some of the music to escape. in front of them was the boy that wouldn't leave her mind.

"h-hey guys." gilbert awkwardly said, staring straight at anne. it felt like it was just them. they were in the middle of space, millions of miles away from each other. "forgot my charger in your car, x." he quickly walked past them, leaving anne trying to catch her breath

"i'll go in." the house was fairly crowded, some faces she has never seen. she saw her friends scattered over the couch. after saying hi to a few friends, she went to look for jerry. she finally found him in the kitchen with ruby, taking pictures.

"anne!" ruby yelled, hopping into her arms. "i'm so glad you came! i was just filming for my vlog, wanna join?" she nodded causing ruby to grab her camera. "i am here with my two favorite people! jerry, the birthday boy, my boyfriend." she kissed his cheek. "and anne, my bestie!" she gave her a kiss on the cheek too. "let's go party!"

"she is a crazy one but i love her." jerry took a sip of his drink. "how are ya, kid?" after the whole break up with sawyer, jerry comforted anne while ruby was away. building a friendship between the two.

she shrugged, taking his cup and gulping whatever was in it down. "could be better. i saw gilbert and i think my heart stopped." she casually laughed, while her eyes travelled to gilbert who was mid conversation.the two talked for a few more minutes until she saw jerry staring behind her. the front door opened and two people stood together, looking fearless. josie and sawyer. her stomach dropped. "shit."

anne found her way outside, playing her ukulele for a group of people. ethan and jane there, dancing along. she sang a variety of songs for the crowd. gilbert kept glancing over at her, singing her heart out. it made him happy seeing her do what she loves. he was about to make his way over to her when someone stopped him.

"look who it is, good old gilly." sawyer smirked.

"sawyer, i really don't feel like kicking your ass right now, okay?" he just laughed. "why are you here with josie? aren't you dating anne?"

"oh, i was. now i am with josie. the hotter friend so go have your fun with anne." gilbert got his fist ready to punch when willow and autumn came over. "willow, autumn! nice to see you ladies! well i should go find josie. bye ladies! gilbert." he smirked and walked away.

"i hate that guy." autumn mumbled. "where's anne?" he pointed over to where she sat, causing willow to smile.

"gilbert, stay put. i will be right back!" she ran over towards anne and pulled her over. gilbert felt his heart stop. "autumn, it's anne!" the two shared a hug while gilbert looked to willow angrily. "um, i left my phone in your car autumn. can you come grab it with me?"

"but anne is here, i haven't seen her in fo-" willow shook her head towards the both of them, nonchalantly. "oh yeah! be right back!" the couple ran away leaving anne and gilbert alone.

"hi." anne smiled, putting some hair behind her ears. "how are you?"

"g-good. just chillin'" he laughed at himself, trying to catch his breath. he suddenly couldn't hear the music, only his heart beating. after a minute of awkward silence, he spoke up. "i'm s-sorry, this was a b-bad idea."

he walked away breathing heavily but anne grabbed his hand before he could go far. "you okay?" he didn't answer. "here let's take you somewhere quiet. okay?" she guided him through the house and up the stairs. they checked each room until there was an empty one. the lights shone a bright red, leaving a filter on the room and their faces. he sat on the bed and she followed. "you needed a little breather." he just nodded and smiled. "how are you?"

"besides this? fine i guess. getting ready to go on tour? how about you?"

"going through life one day at a time. i'm about to graduate and i'm filming almost everyday. my fanbase is getting bigger by the day." she just smiled. "thanks, i wouldn't be able to do it without you. i mean i could've but it would've taken forever." as his breath calmed down, she got up. "i'm sorry."

"for?" he leaned back on the bed.

"everything. not listening to you about sawyer, cutting you off for sawyer, and just being a plain nuisance!" they made eye contact  and awkwardly chuckled. "he cheated on me. with josie. that's why they are here together. then, he tried to act like he didn't by not telling me. oh did i mention, he did that possession thing? you're mine. shut up, sawyer! oh, the kiss. he tried to freaking kiss me!" the pieces connected and it all made sense. anne was trying to kick him out, not get back with him. "then i said, you wouldn't do that to me." he slowly got up and walked towards her. "what are you doing?"

"well, if you want me to, i could kiss you. but if you don't want me to, we can both leave this room and act like none of this ever happened." he whispered, getting closer. she backed up against the door, gilbert an inch away. she could feel his breath.

"i-i like the first option." he tucked a piece of her red hair behind her ear and smiled.

"good, i was hoping you would want to." he connected their lips. both seemed scared but their fear went away once they realized what they were doing. they were kissing. something they have been wanting to do since they met. she pushed him off of her and onto the bed. he fell back and looked up at her. he was in love and he knew it. she got on top of him and began kissing him again. she went down his jaw to his neck. he didn't want anything else. nothing. "i love you."

she stopped and sat up. "w-what? are you okay?" he put a hand on her shoulder.

"i-i can't do this. i'm sorry." with that, she ran out and slammed the door. gilbert got up and threw a pillow. what was wrong with him? he sat back on the bed again, putting his head in his hands. replaying the last ten minutes.