CHAPTER VII

The Moment

in which something more than a truce begins

Green Gables, two months and a half ago.

Summer. Never-ending, boring, monotonous summer. It was the first week without school and Anne Shirley-Cuthbert was filled with despair. She had been doing some chores for Marilla as she usually did during the academic year, and most of the time she also helped Matthew and Jerry with the farm, but nothing felt as satisfying as those hectic weeks of school in which she kept doing homework and revising to maintain her place as top of the class so that she could beat Gil-

"Jerry told me I'd find you here"

-bert Blythe.

The boy in question's voice filled the quiet silence of the barn, where Anne was lying in a pile of hay with some book in her hands. She had decided that her spiritless and unexciting summer was going to be spent like this, enjoying Belle's company in the quietness of the barn as she added more and more novels to her collection of already-read. Just as she was reading an extract in which the charming prince appeared in scene riding his horse, another heroic prince appeared in the barn. She did not find him as alluring as the one in the novel she was reading, no, not at all, and he was not riding a horse either. He was standing right under the door, wathing her with hopeful eyes.

Little did the red-headed princess know that the hazel-eyed prince was going to save her summer in some way.

"Hello" the boy mumbled rather quietly as he embraced the sight of the girl. Rays of the typical sunshine of a summer in Avonlea entered through the windows and reflected their light in her hair, giving it a golden shine over her natural auburn colour. She was lying on her back, with her legs swinging in the air against the barn's wooden walls as she held some predictably romantic novel in the air. Such a view.

"Gilbert" she quietly returned to a normal sitting position as she watched the boy approaching her. Anne did not really understand what her rival was doing there. Yes, they had gotten somewhat closer ever since he came back to Avonlea a few months ago. They had spent Christmas together and their talk after Bash and Mary's wedding seemed like a starting point to a forthcoming... friendship. Still, they did not usually meet outside school unless it was an occasion for gatherings involving the Cuthberts and Bash. No, they were not friends. He was not a kindred spirit like Diana or Ruby. But he was not just an acquaintance either.

"Anne" he said quietly, now standing right in front of her, his hands stuck in his pockets and his eyes narrowed at the sight of bits of hay in the girl's hair. "Is everything alright?" she asked, putting her book down and giving the boy with a concerned look. She figured something must be going on, since they never visited each other just

"What? No" he said abruptly. "N-no, just, uh" Why is he so nervous? The Gilbert Blythe she knew from school never stuttered. That day with Miss Stacy, at school, he described himself as global and bookish. But if you asked Anne about Gilbert Blythe, she would have added confident and self-assured. However, in that moment, the tall boy standing there was nothing like that.

As if he was some sort of mind-reader, he suddenly gained his confidence back. "I actually came to ask you if you wanted to have coffe with me"

"Oh, we, we don't drink coffee at Green Gables" she said, furrowing her eyesbrows. "But I can always offer tea, I can ask Marilla to prepare some if you want to but I don't even know if she's ho-" Anne started one of her many usual rambles, not even looking at the boy, but focusing her gaze on the horse.

"I meant in a coffee shop, Anne" he said, stifling what the girl suspected it was a laugh.

"There are no coffee shops in Avonlea" she rolled her eyes.

Good, Gilbert thought. We are back to our usual dynamic. I say something and she rolls her eyes before walking away from me.

But this time, Anne did not walk away. She was still sitting in the barn, completely not expecting the boy's next words. "I know" he replied, trying really hard not to smile. "There is one in Charlottetown, though" he raised one of his eyebrows. "Am I right?"

Anne was confused. "Yes, you are" she admitted. "But there is no posible way for us to get there"

"Let's hop on the train" he simply said, as if it was a normal thing to do. "It's not like you haven't done it before" a mischievous smile covered his face.

"Are you telling me that Gilbert Blythe is willing to hop on a train?" Scandalous. "This is completely off-character". Anne was the one that was now trying to contain her laughter. Gilbert Blythe, responsible, charming, obedient, Gilbert Blythe, hopping on a train.

"Are you in or not?" he offered his hand, but the girl shooked his head lightly before getting up. He feared that she would probably decline his invitation for coffee. Maybe the whole hop-on-a-train thing was too much?

The girl aimed towards the door as the boy stood there, regretting everything he had just said. How could I ever imagine that she would say yes?

"Well" her sharp, autoritative voice shook him from his own thoughts. "Are we going or not?" she asked, keeping a serious expression in her face. "We don't want to miss the train, Gilbert."

He looked at her from where he was standing, his hands on his hips as he smiled at the sight of her, narrowing his hazel eyes. The sun behind her silhouette gave a blacklight scenario which created such an artistic perspective that made her look like a painting.

"This is where you told me you were leaving" Anne said, when they walked into the coffee house. The journey on the train without paying for their tickets was succesful, and there they were, sitting on the exact same spot.

"Yes" he answered, looking out of the window, the thought of younger versions of themselves lingering in his memory. "It was also where we stablished our truce"

"T-R-"

"U-C-E" he finished.

They both laughed at the remembrance.

"That reminds me..." he suddenly said "I have something for you"

"For me?" she was confused, again. "Why?"

"Just wait" he looked for something in that messenger bag he always carried with him everywhere. "Here" he grabbed something and then looked up to her. He placed a tiny book with a green cover in the wooden table.

Anne's eyes widened. Jane Eyre. A first edition. Of Jane Eyre. Her favourite novel in the whole world. Seeing that the girl was speechless, he spoke again.

"I found a box full of old books in the attic and I thought of y-" he finally said, eyes glued to the ground as he suddenly regretted his own honesty. "I know it's your favourite novel"

Filled with excitement and widened eyes, she opened the book and checked the first page, still not speaking a single word.

Property of John Blythe.

"Gilbert" her voice was softer than Gilbert had ever heard. There was a different tone in her voice that she had never used when talking to him. "This..." she whispered, stroking the words written carefully in the old page of the book with a delicate touch of her fingers.

"Yes, it used to belong to my father" he said with trembling voice after clearing his throat. He did not know why, but somehow Anne was the only person that had ever seen him actually mourn his father's death. He did not cry a single tear at the funeral, and Anne's attempts of talking about it that same day, outside his house, did not go too well. However, a few weeks after the funeral, they ran into eachother in this exact coffee house. And he opened his shell. Anne tore down his walls with such ease and gentleness that Gilbert felt understood for once – he felt some sort of connection, in ways he had never felt before with anyone else but her. Anne.

Little did he know that just two months after that brief encounter in Charlottetown, he would be sobbing for his father's in the girl's arms in his living room's floor.

"You can come home and take as many as you want" he told her, noticing the girl's brigh yet sad eyes as she held the book. "I can't accept this" she said, quickly closing the book and placing it in the table in front of him.

"Yes, you can" he said. "It's a present"

"Cuthberts don't accept charity" Anne replied proudly, as she had done too many times before, when the boy tried to show his affection for her by giving her some gift like last Christmas or inviting her to something as simple as cup of coffee in Charlottetown. She did accept the second one, though. How could he forget? It was the time their truce began. It was also the last time he saw her before leaving Avonlea for almost a year.

"It's not charity, Anne" he chuckled lightly. "You're much a faster reader than I am" he said with all honestly. "Besides, it's a tragical romance, right?" he tilted his head softly, not exactly knowing if his own words truly meant the romance of Jane and Rochester or some other romance.

"But I- I don't have anything for you" she complained, replaying the words she told him when he got her a present last Christmas.

"I told you" he said, remembering her and his words as well. "It's alright"

She tore her eyes from him, looking almost annoyed. Then she looked at the book again, still placed in the table, until his voice whispered in the warm atmosphere of the coffee shop. "Actually, there is something you can give me in return"

"Is it?" she asked incredulously. Is there anything I can give him? I have nothing but my humble belongings.

"Can I ask for something?" he questioned, lifting his head gently.

"I assume you can"

"I want your friendship" he placed is hand on the table. "Our friendship. Is that okay with you?" he smiled down at her with hopeful eyes. Just say yes, he thought as he looked at Anne, who wore a curious, unreadable grin in her face.

What she did next took Gilbert by surprise. She placed her hand on top of his, reminding him of how they shaked hands when they stablished that truce. Nevertheless, this time, the smell of a combination of coffee and tea created a warm, cozy atmosphere that made the touch more intimate.

"F-R-I"

"N-D-S" he finished.

"You forgot the-"

"Oh, right!" he said, giving her that mischievous smile that he had given her a few hours ago in the barn. "I don't know why, I always seem to forget to add the E"

And that was the moment in which they both established the beggining of their so-called friendship. This time they were no rivals, no acquaintances, not school partners. Friends. That word floated in both of their heads as they made their way back to the train station. Are we friends?

Whilst Anne watched the woods as the train was moving, Gilbert took the chance to look at her in detail. To scrutinize her. He thought about how much he had missed her when he was in that steamer. He thought about the letters. About Shakespearian sonnets. About Bash teasing him about liking her. He did not like her, of course. She's just a friend, his own words echoed in his mind. At least she is now, she had agreed to be.

Multiple thoughts and possibilities ran through Anne's brain. Friends. With Gilbert Blythe. She wondered what Ruby or Josie Pie would thought if they found out. They don't have to know, she thought. For now. She took a quick glance at the boy, who was looking at her with such intensity that made her think that he was studying her. Completely embarrassed, she took his eyes away from his, focusing on the trees again. Could we really be friends? Her mind went to what happened about half an hour ago, right before they left the coffee house.

"Where are you going?" she had asked him, watching the boy stood up from his chair.

"I'm paying" he replied, as if it was the most obvious thing, pointing out to the coffee house's employee. "Uh" she scoffed. "I can pay myself"

"I invited you" he was now standing up beside her chair, looking taller than ever. "I pay" he said with decision, placing his hand on her shoulder, brushing one of her braids. She shivered at his contact as he walked away.

Is this something you do for a friend?  she went back to the present. Do you invite your friends for coffee? There were millions of questions in Anne's head at that moment, as they both sat at that wagon, only enjoying each other's company. The wagon was filled with boxes and it resembled a warehouse. The only light that came in was through a little aperture they had left on the door so that they were not in absolute dark as they secretly made their way back home.

Had anyone seen them like this, they would have thought that they were just two teenagers in love about to elope. But they were just friends, Anne thought. And there is no posible way in this universe that I would think otherwise or question our friendship. Never.

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A/N - HI CAN I JUST SAY THIS STORY IS #2 in #awae AND I'M FREAKING OUT??????

i had like 0 inspiration to write this chapter, but i hope you enjoy it anyway! thank you all for the nice comments, you're so kind <33333

did you like this chapter? would you like more flashbacks? do you want drama?

ily all sm (and don't be a silent reader!)