cruel summer

three

hold on to the memories, they will hold onto you.

anne lay in her old bedroom back at green gables, looking around at the walls that were covered in band posters and fairy lights and photos of her and her friends. she knew there were photos of gilbert up there, but she couldn't even look at them never mind physically remove them from her wall. she tried to avoid looking at photos of him, however, she still had a very clear image of him in her mind.

marilla had of course been extremely happy to see anne, and matthew had given her the biggest, warmest hug she had ever received. she was trying her hardest to kill time while she waited for diana to get home that evening, which was when all the girls were meeting. she picked up a book that still lay on her nightstand,  letting out a long sigh as she inspected it. the goldfinch by donna tartt. she noticed how the pages were bent from where she had marked her page after losing her bookmark last summer. the book brought back memories of herself and gilbert, laying on her bed last summer. it was the book they had read together, they took turns reading each chapter to one another.

summer 2018

"are you serious?! no!" said anne, pouting as gilbert announced the death of theodore decker's mother. she knew that was going to happen, but still it made her heart break either way. "poor theo. i mean, his dad left, he doesn't really seem to have any actual friends, there isn't any family there for him, and now his mom is dead?! i mean.....he's me. oh my god. i'm theo!"

gilbert looked at her, smiling softly. he loved the way she would get so invested in a book.

"i feel like authors enjoy the pain we feel when we read their books." said gilbert, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"i know. i mean, i knew she was going to die, but still. if this is only the beginning, imagine the rest!" said anne. gilbert gently took her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder. anne smiled widely at the boy beside her, three words desperately wanting to jump out of her mouth but she held it in.

anne was brought back to reality when she accidentally dropped her book onto her chest. she sat up, putting the book into the bottom drawer of her nightstand and walked over to her window. she had missed the cherry blossom tree that sat outside, and how she spent endless days talking to it as if it would respond to her. she reached out, grabbing a handful of flowers as she saw diana barry, ruby gillis, jane andrews, jose pye and tillie boulter walk up her path. she almost fell out of her window with excitement, before bursting out of her bedroom and down the stairs, making sure to knock (or bang) on bea's temporary bedroom door on her way.

as the redhead reached the bottom of the stairs, her friends were walking inside. it took them a moment to notice her, before all five of them wore wide smiles. they all emerged into a group hug, giggling and telling each other how much they all missed each other.

when they all pulled apart, anne noticed bea teaching the bottom of the staircase. she held her arm out, indicating for bea to come over.

"guys, this is bea. my roommate from college. she's gonna be spending the summer here!" anne introduced, hoping to god that they would all get along. "bea, this is diana, ruby, jane, tillie and josie."

"hey everyone." said bea. she wasn't shy at all, so anne knew she would fit right in.

the seven girls made their way out the door, saying goodbyes to matthew and marilla. they thought they'd go to the cafe the girls spent most of their high school years going to, since it was open twenty-four hours and they hadn't been in a long time.

it felt strange to anne, to be there with all of her friends again. she somehow felt like they hadn't been apart for the year, but at the same time it was as if she hadn't seen them in forever. a sudden wave of nostalgia hit her, and she so desperately wished they could go back to high school. she pushed the thoughts away, engaging herself back into the conversation.

———

"oh my god! i love you already!" jane said as bea finished telling everyone a story about a party she had gone to last summer. jane and bea were alike, in terms of they both liked to party and they were both extremely loud and outgoing.

anne played with her napkin that lay on the table in front of her, thinking of things she could say about her first year of college. it wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed it, she had, it was more the fact she didn't really have any fun stories like bea did. sure, some of bea's stories included anne, but anne felt like she didn't really have any of her own.

"you okay?" diana whispered from beside anne, giving her a slight nudge on the arm. anne turned her head, nodding slowly.

"yeah. just overwhelmed." she said, a small smile on her face. she hadn't seen diana in months, why wasn't she happier?

the bell above the door rang, signalling someone coming into the café. usually, this wouldn't cause any concern to anne. but that night it did. because the person who walked through the very door was the last person she had wanted to see, yet strangely the only person she had wanted to see.

he wandered in, an unknown boy beside him along with charlie sloane, billy andrews and moody spurgeon. they were laughing at something as they searched for a booth. her heartbeat was dangerously fast, and was she sweating? she couldn't really tell because at the same time she was freezing. she was looking for ways to hide herself, but with being the only redhead in avonlea and the fact she was sat in the middle of bea and diana, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

diana noticed her fumbling around, she looked uncomfortable. like she was going to cry, or scream, at any moment.

"diana. he's here." anne whispered, trying not to her voice crack. diana looked up, immediately spotting him. she grabbed anne's hand, looking at her with such warmth and love that it actually made anne calm down.

"it's okay." diana whispered, a smile on her face that said don't worry, you're okay.

bea seemed to notice the sudden change of mood, because she looked at anne beside her. she looked like she had just ran a marathon and was about to throw up.

"are you okay?" bea asked her, resting her arm on her shoulder.

"it's him." was all anne said, and bea immediately knew what she was talking about. she looked up, and spotted the very person anne had been so distraught over. he was even more attractive in person, but she would never tell anne that.

"it's okay. you want me to kick him in the balls?" asked bea, making anne laugh. it was a quiet laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

anne was going to respond, but soon enough she noticed he had spotted her. please don't come over, was the last thing she thought before tearing her eyes away.

———

hey guys ! i'm so sorry these updates are so slow. please bare with me! i'm aiming to upload at least once or twice a week!
i hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
don't forget to comment & vote!