constellations [DISCONTINUED]

corona boreale

"Anne!" I heard him shouting as I left the photography room "Anne, wait up."

And so I did. "What is it, Blythe?"

"Can we have lunch together?"

"Why?"

"Please?"

I quietly pondered the thought. It meant that we'd need to talk. It meant Ruby might get jealous. It meant a lot of things that weren't pleasant. But also a a part of me thought it might mean we could just be having a nice lunch as friends.

"Okay."

"Okay..."

"So—" We said at the same time

"Where do you usually go?" I ask.

"Usually I just get some samosas at the convenience store, honestly."

"Sounds good."

We walked quietly in the hallways, sometimes a look would be exchanged but nothing much. As we left the school, I felt a tension growing, like a growl inside someone's gut just roaring silently, waiting to be released.

"Look Anne..."

"If you're going to talk about the party, don't."

"You can't avoid it."

"Yes I can! I have been since then and I'll be doing a perfectly good job in continuing to do it, and I recommend you try it out too."

"Fine, let's just have one conversation about it and then we don't have to ever mention it again. Clear?"

"As the Lake of Shining Waters."

"Good. So I'll tell you what happened in my perspective and you do the same. Okay?" I nodded "So, I was having a good time, maybe had too much to drink but frankly Moody insisted, and then Ruby comes up to me and asks me what I'll be doing Friday. I told her that I had no plans yet. She asked me if I was interested in having plans with her, and I said alright. Then, she smiled and left. That's when you came in, you were stumbling and your hair was everywhere, not in a 'The Ring' way, but in a drunk messy way—"

"Thanks Blythe, appreciate it."

"And I said 'Hi Princess' and you got annoyed, I..." He started stuttering a lot and muttering too, I could understand the words 'mad' and 'adorable', I knew what he was talking about "And then you got a bit mad, and I said it was weird that Ruby and I were going out..."

"You said it was crazy."

"Right. Anyway, you said it wasn't, because she'd been in love with me forever—"

"Which I now understand was an exaggeration. She definitely likes you, but 'in love' is a very strong way of putting it."

"My version now. Then, you said I was—"

"I know what I said!" I blushed profusely, he was obviously doing that to embarrass me, that conversation surely had no other purposes.

"God, I cannot finish one sentence!"

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, well, you said what you said and then you told me to shut up, I told you to make me and you put your hands over my mouth, which I thought was pretty funny. Then we held hands and you started talking and a kiss happened, which was followed by you running away."

"My turn now. I was having a great time, but just like you, too much to drink. I went up to talk to you and I 100% agree on the whole Ruby part. I agree with everything that happened until I put my hands over your mouth, but then we didn't hold hands, you grabbed my hands and held them. Plus, a kiss didn't just happen like that, you said 'want to make me shut up' or something like it and I started talking and you kissed me, which was followed by me running away."

"I might've started it, but you kissed me back!"

"It doesn't matter! Anyway, when I left you there I drank more, and threw up a lot. Diana thankfully helped me, and now I have your jacket which I'll give back as soon as I wash it."

"Yes, after you left, a bit later I saw Diana run upstairs and come back with you after a while, but you had your hair up and your makeup was gone." I blushed with the idea that everyone saw me in my bare face. "And so I worried and did as much as my wasted self could do, which was to give you a jacket. Ruby even hugged me afterwards for being so kind."

"Well, after that Diana took me to her house and let me sleep on her bed, which got me in a bit of trouble with Marilla but that's okay, then I assumed she'd come back to the party."

"She did. She asked me to be kind to you and Ruby and to stop drinking at that moment, which I did but eventually threw up too. Not my proudest moment."

"So you puked too?"

"Yup."

"So I was not alone on that boat?"

"Nope."

"Okay, wow... weirdly comforting Blythe, thank you."

"I... I'm glad I could help." Silence was established for a couple of seconds when Gilbert started talking again. "So, what do we do?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, did you feel something?"

"Again, how do you mean?"

Gilbert turned to me and stared me in the eye right through my soul. "Did you feel something when we kissed, or was it just a kiss?"

I stumbled with my words for a second, trying to find an appropriate answer, but what came out was: "I felt like I was having my first kiss, drunk, with Blythe. Because that's what happened."

"You... your first kiss?"

"Oh I swear to God, if you make fun of me for it being my first kiss, I'll set the bar real low for my expectations of you!"

Gilbert stared at his feet and fidgeted with his fingers "No, I... well, I'm sorry you had it with someone you didn't intend to..." Unfortunately to my proud heart, that felt like a lie. "And, and also while drunk but... but at least it was with a friend, someone you know. Right?" He looked at me, and now I felt like this wasn't consolation anymore, but a desperate need of confirmation that we were indeed friends.

"That's right. With a friend."

I smiled.

He smiled.

I think I lost track of time just then.