renaissance [DISCONTINUED]

Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:

Charlie never got to know Anne's event in Gilbert's apartment. She told him she went there, yes, and she did tell him they drank in the company of Diana and Jerry. She didn't care to mention she slept there after the look on Charlie's face when she told him how she had spent her Monday afternoon.

On the Thursday following that day, she and Charlie spent the afternoon watching Netflix. It was all going well and normal, when suddenly Charlie started to feel distant.

"Charlie, I know this'll sound like I'm putting my nose somewhere it shouldn't be... but it's becoming routine."

"What's becoming routine, Annie?"

"This. Your distance, every time we're together, at some point something feels wrong and it's not even a 'you thing' anymore, it's an 'us thing'! I can't spend time with you, the air constantly gets thicker and your head goes somewhere else! I'm your girlfriend, and I don't like being in the dark!"

Charlie breathed deeply and stared at his feet "It's so stupid, Anne."

"What? What's stupid?"

"I... this... it's jealousy. I'm jealous."

"Wait, you're what?"

"Jealous! Of Gilbert! That day at the Warehouse where everyone was saying you guys were going to be together and then this? I mean, God I can see you both get along so well, and everyone thought you should be together so..."

"So you thought I'd cheat on you or break up with you because of a high school rumor?"

"No... well, now that you say it like that... it sounds so much more stupid."

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid. But now... now we can move on from that, okay?"

He nodded, and I hugged him "But could you... not hang out with him, you know, just as an insurance type of thing."

"Ha, funny."

"I'm serious, Anne. I don't like you two hanging out."

"You don't like us hanging out?"

"No, I don't."

"You don't trust me." I whispered.

"What'd you say?"

"You don't trust me! You don't trust me to be around him!"

"I completely trust you, Annie!"

"Then you should have no problem with me being friends with him."

"It's not my fault that I feel that way!"

"Get over it, then! In fact, I'll hang out with him tomorrow, if you don't mind! We're going to get coffee with Moody, Jane and Ruby!"

"At least you're in a group, then."

"But me and Gilbert will get takeaway dinner later!" They weren't, but Anne had to make her point. She wasn't sure if Gilbert would go with her, but nonetheless she said it.

"Oh. Great. Hope you have fun, Carrots." Then he got up and left.

Anne cried out in anger, throwing a pillow at the window.

...

"Annie Banannie!" Sang Ruby when coming in.

"Hey little dork." Jane said softly closing the door.

They only heard a muffled syllable, when they saw Anne madly devouring a slice of apple pie.

"Wow, calm down there, you cannibal."

"It's not a carrot cake, not eating my own species." Anne said jokingly, though still holding a mean streak.

"That was pretty funny actually." Jane whispered, but then raising her tone back "What is this about?"

"Charlie." Anne put another spoonful in her mouth.

"You guys have been arguing a lot lately, is everything okay?" Ruby sat on the couch, offering a shoulder

"He is jealous of Gilbert!"

"Did you give him a reason to?"

"No! I mean, there was Monday, but nothing happened and I'm allowed to be with my friends."

"That's true, but you gotta see that Gilbert is the guy everyone thought you'd marry, him being jealous isn't the most unnatural thing."

"Maybe, but instead of talking about it and working on it, Charlie simply said he doesn't want me to see Gilbert anymore! And that's not even it, when I said we were all hanging out tomorrow he said 'At least you're in a group, then', implying that if we were alone I'd do something with him!"

"Yeah..." Jane made a weird face "That's pretty bad, alright."

"Yeah! It is! Now someone get me another slice of pie and vanilla ice cream!"

Ruby and Jane quietly walked to the kitchen and got what Anne asked for.

"You know what?" Anne licked her spoon "I'm gonna invite Gilbert to dinner! Just to celebrate old times, you know? I told Charlie we were having dinner just to see his reaction, now that I saw it and it was 'Oh. Great. Hope you have fun, Carrots.', I'll do it just out of spite!"

"You sure?" Jane was hesitant, she didn't seem to comfortable with the idea "Won't that make Charlie even more upset?"

"He needs to get over it! I think Gilbert and I are starting to be friends again, I don't want to miss that because of my boyfriend! If anything he should be happy for me!"

"Look, if you're happy, we're happy." Jane looked over at Ruby, a disconcerting look in her eye "Right Rubes?"

"A hundred percent!" She smiled but Anne noticed the nervousness.

"What's up with you two?" Anne shouted, she started to get impatient.

"Nothing, like I said, if you're happy, we're happy!"

"Spill it, Jane!"

"I— it's just— look, you and Gilbert have a natural chemistry, I just worry that you, being the romantic you are, will fall in love with the possibility of an old, prohibited love."

"Excuse me?" Anne sprouted from her seat "I am a grown woman—"

"You're seventeen."

"A grown. Woman. You think I'm still ludicrous for impossible romances? I know their places are in the depths of fantasy and fiction!"

"You were in love with them a couple months ago, you can't have changed that much!"

"For your information, I did! I am perfectly happy with my nice boyfriend, my nice relationship and our not-so-nice arguments!"

"To be fair." Ruby intruded, ruder than she usually was "You weren't ever known for liking nice, simple things. You have a flair — and we love you for it — that you just can't help."

"Maybe Charlie showed me I don't need that!"

"If you say so..." Ruby sighted in spite of her disbelief.

"I'll just go pick up Josie in the train station, you guys need anything from around there?"

"I'm good." Ruby and Jane said simultaneously, in tired tone.

"Okay... see you later. Anne, cool off and think about it properly." Which was said too late by Jane, because Anne was at that exact moment, writing a text to Gilbert.

"Uh-huh, sure."

"I'm gonna go take a nap." Ruby stumbled to her room, leaving Anne alone with her thoughts, her anger and her phone.

You
Wanna go get a takeaway tomorrow? - 6:00pm
After coffee with Moody and the girls, I mean - 6:01pm

Gilbert
6:03pm - Yeah, sure, we can do that :)

You
Great :) - 60:03
See u tomorrow then - 6:04

Gilbert
6:04pm - See u