sunflower

thirty-seven

you said it was a great love, one for the ages.

anne could've sworn that she stopped breathing in that moment. gilbert really just told her he liked her too. she sat in silence, her lips slightly parted as her mind went blank. gilbert stared at her, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"anne?" he questioned, waving a hand in her face. she jumped back, her eyes focusing back on him as she was brought back to reality.

"you- you what?" she finally asked, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. he must be joking.

"i. like. you." he said slowly, laughing softly.

"you like me? like me as in anne shirley? you like me?" she questioned further. she was so confused.

"yes, anne. i like you. why is that so hard to believe?" he asked her, watching multiple emotions flash across her face.

"i just- what? i'm sorry my brain literally can't process this. you like me? and i like you?" said anne, trying to figure it all out in her brain. gilbert laughed, taking her hands into his and making her look at him.

"listen to me, anne shirley. i like you. i have feelings for you. pretty strong feelings at that. i don't think you realise just how long i've even holding this in. i never imagined you would like me back, i thought i was always going to be the annoying boy you thought of as a brother." explained gilbert. he found it amusing how distraught she was over this, she just couldn't get her head around it.

"you really like me." said anne, a wide smile creeping up on her lips. "i didn't think you'd like me back either. god, maybe it's a good thing emily hates me enough to spread this rumour around the whole school. i definitely would have never told you if this hadn't happened. i just...everyone told me you liked me. i never believed them. but they were right all along."

"you didn't think i liked you? what, you think i just go about almost kissing girls on their beds after tickling them on a daily basis?" said gilbert, laughing softly. anne laughed with him, shaking her head.

"shut up. i thought it was just a heat of the moment thing." she said, giggling at him. anne thought her heart could've burst at any moment then, she felt fulfilled. truly happy.

"you have no idea how much i wanted to kiss you that day. i definitely would have kissed you if diana hadn't walked in, but i was overthinking it so much." gilbert confessed, moving closer to anne on the bench. it had been well over five minutes since anne had sat on that bench, they were both dangerously late to class but neither seemed to care.

"you still want to kiss me?" asked anne, a playful smile on her face.

"of course i still want to kiss you." said gilbert, grinning at her. anne couldn't help but blush a bright pink. gilbert blythe wanted to kiss her, not some other random popular girl, but her. anne shirley. "are you blushing, shirley?"

"no!" she protested, hiding her cheeks. he laughed a little, taking her hands away from her face. he gave her a look that he only ever saved for her, a look full of love and happiness.

"it's cute. don't hide your face." he said quietly, moving his hand up to tuck some hair behind her ear. she gave him the biggest smile she possibly could.

"gilbert, what do we do now?" she asked him suddenly. they had admitted their feelings, but they didn't really know what that meant for them.

"well, we could start by going on a date. tomorrow night, i'll pick you up at 7?" said gilbert, smiling widely towards the girl. this was like a dream come true for him, the very moment he had been waiting for since he had started at avonlea high.

"yeah, okay." anne agreed, smiling back at the boy in front of her. was this real? did gilbert blythe really just ask her on a date?

the two stood up, getting ready to leave each other for class which they were both 15 minutes late to.

"okay, well, i'll see you tomorrow, curly shirley." said gilbert, who couldn't stop smiling. as he started walking away, anne suddenly got the urge to do something.

"gil! wait a second." she said. the boy turned back to her, walking over to her again. she smiled shyly, before pressing a hand on his left cheek carefully, and leaning up to press a soft kiss on his right cheek. "thank you."

"for what?" he asked her, his cheeks tingling from her touch.

"for being you. i don't know what i'd do without you." she said, grabbing her crutches. the boy wrapped his arms around her protectively, pulling her into a warm embrace. she hugged him back immediately, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. she thought she could've stayed in that position forever.

"i adore you, anne shirley." gilbert said quietly, pressing a gentle kiss onto her forehead. what he really wanted to say was i love you, but he didn't know the extent of her feelings, so he went with i adore you.

the two teens stood in the empty corridor, wrapped in each other's arms, not caring about the fact they were almost half an hour late to class.

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A/N: not my best chapter BUT ur welcome. this is what you've been waiting for, am i right ????
we haven't got many chapters left !! but i hope you guys have enjoyed this emotional rollercoaster so far :)
also sorry i was gonna post this chapter earlier but i was busy redecorating my room !! it looks so cute !
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