pushing the limits | gilbert blythe (completed)

02 | butterflies

from the day i kissed your smile
i thought "this is gonna hurt"

A trio of friends made their way down the narrow path in the woods, the only sound they were able to hear was the birds chirping up above in the trees. They were all wearing dresses and bonnie hats, carrying small baskets in their hands filled with books. They had just been discussing the fact that Nate had shown Anne some gold and she hadn't been able to see it. Which was a great dissapointment to the tall red-head. "Why didn't you just tell Nate?" asked Diana, cocking her head to the side as she looked at Anne curiously, not fully understanding her best friend. She frowned and answered. "I thought seeing the gold in the soil would be so obvious. He thinks I'm a child. Pipsqueak." mocked Anne, holding a seldom face.

"You can't possibly expect to be his equal, Anne." Diana rested her hand on Anne's shoulder. "He is an adult and a scientist." added Diana, Anne sighing. "But that's just book learning, which you're good at Anne." said Amelia, looked behind to the two girls. The blonde had walked up ahead, as she looked at the pretty leaves from the fall. She loved how the changed colour. "What makes you special is your imagination, Anne. It's a gift that can't be learned."

"What good is an imagination if I can't see what's right in front of my eyes?" snapped Anne, huffing annoyed when her scarf got stuck in one of the branches. Diana and Amelia kept on walking, muttering between themselves. "This branch looks like a skeleton hand..."the two girls stopped to listen to what Anne had said. "An evil skeleton that lives in the haunted forest and feeds of the lives of the innocent!" she said spookily, as Amelia squealed. "Anne, that's horrible." said Diana amazed, looking towards the trees with wide eyes.

"Why are they clutching at us? Do they mean to do us harm?" she said seldomly, and Diana and Amelia looked around terrified. "Ghost on the wind bearing a warning: beware!" exclaimed Anne as the girls starting laughing and running away, holding hands. And all was forgotten in the moment.

The girls of the Avonlea school sat around in a small circle as they exchanged food, chatting about the most popular theme going around the small town : the gold. Amelia was busy staring at the newcomer that sat all alone in a corner. Cole, was his name. He was taller than the rest of the boys, his sandy blonde hair was swipped to a side as he slowly nibbled his food. Amelia was curious as to who he was personally ; she had spotted one of his drawings and she was amazed, another artist the same age as her under the same roof. She wanted to get to know him. Anne had been very impressed too.

"I'm sure Gilbert Blythe will come back once he hears about the gold." snotily said Josie, reassuring poor Ruby. She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing up and down. "Amelia is writing him a letter, aren't you, Amelia?" Amelia's gaze focused back on her friends as she snapped back into the conversation. "What? Oh, y-yeah. I've nearly finished." she stuttered, but nobody noticed she didn't seem very convinced, as Anne changed the subject. "Doesn't Cole look so lonely?" she said sadly, as all the girls looked at the boy sat in the corner.

"More like sad and handsome than lonely." remarked Josie, and Tillie smirked. "Josie fancies Cole now!" all the girls giggled as Josie scowled at them. "I am not! I am simply observant." she spitted out, defending herself with a measly excuse, her cheeks turning a soft pink. "There is no boy more sad and handsome than Gilbert Blythe." mentioned Ruby nonchalantly, and Amelia frowned, as she was reminded that the boy she cared about so much was gone. Diana and Anne noticed this as they nodded at eachother and stood up, picking up their baskets, and taking Amelia with them. The girls behind them frowned, looking as the famous trio stood close to Cole. "I know just how he feels." muttered Anne underneath her breath.

"Your drawing was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen. Art just simply brings things to life, don't you think?" asked Amelia merrily, as Cole looked up at them. "And Billy is a barbarian." smiled Anne, mocking the Andrews'boy. "I have strawberry tarts to share. May we join you?" Diana added, as Cole made a space as Amelia sat down on one side and Diana in the other. Diana called the other girls, and one by one they all started to include themselves in the circle, apart from Josie, who was reluctant.

Amelia couldn't help but feel a bit happier. She had made a new friend.

Amelia stood in her best light pink dress, as she chatted away to the guests in the Barry's house. Her father and her had been invited over to the party, as most of the Avonlea residents, in celebration of the gold. Amelia was starting to feel suspicious, feeling like maybe it was all fake, a trap. But she didn't mention anything, not wanting to make the party moody or create chaos. Who was she to doubt a scientist?

Soft piano was playing in the background, as Amelia smiled proudly at Diana, who was playing stupendously good. The brunette didn't notice as she was focused on the partiture in front of her. She observed as Nate and Mr Barry tried to convince different people to put their money in for the gold, starting with the minister. She frowned, but took her gaze away as someone shoved a plate with different cakes in front of her face. "Do you want one, dear?" asked Mrs Lynde. Amelia nodded and picked a piece up, and munched happily to it. "Thank you. Do you know where Anne is?"

"I do believe Marilla said Anne had been left at home, even if she wanted to come. Something about feeling scared of ghosts. Nonsense, if you asked me." muttered on Mrs Lynde as she headed of to her husband, and Amelia giggled at the thought of Anne trying to sleep with a lot of candles surrounding her. It was a rather funny thought for Amelia.

They all clapped as Diana finished her partiture, and she stood up, smiled and bowed for the public. Amelia clapped the loudest, as Diana smiled especially for her. Diana sat down and started playing again, and people starting singing, but Amelia couldn't help but zone out. She frowned and shook her head as she found herself thinking of Gilbert. How was he doing? Was he doing alright? She needed to write him the letter.

Gilbert sat on his hammack, lost in thought as he called Sebastian, or Bash as everyone called him. He was a friend he had made on the boat where he worked, and he liked to tell him stuff he missed about Avonlea. "What is going around your head, boy?" his accent came threw, as Gilbert glanced at him. "There was this girl, back in Avonlea." he pressed his lips and raised his eyebrows, smiling at the memories while Bash listened intently.

"Once she pushed me in the lake for arriving late." Gilbert chuckled at the thought, and Bash smiled looking at him. "I would too if I had the chance." Gilbert jokingly glared at the grown man who laughed.

"She had the most beautiful blue eyes. Always smiling." Gilbert got lost in his train of thoughts. "She should've done more than push you in."

"I wonder if I'll ever see her again." Bash frowned as he looked at the thoughtful teenager that sat in front of him. "How long are you plannin' to stay on this ship?" he asked seriously. "I don't know. I want to go wherever the spirit moves me. That's what my dad used to say." he smiled sadly.

"I feel like we'll be crackin' coal forever." Bash paused, before adding. "Like them pistons in the engine, always going and going and going nowhere." Gilbert nodded silently, pursuing his lips in thought. "I'm trapped here."

"I felt trapped in Avonlea." Bash noticed the pain in his voice and looked at him. "If I go back home, I may never be able to leave." another man who had been listening scoffed, and looked away. "You call that a problem, boy? Some of us ain't have no home." Gilbert looked back at him, but he kept silent as he watched Bash turn over and go to sleep.

And all he could think about was the blonde he left behind.

TEN VOTES AND THEN I'LL UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER