▷ Lover - Taylor Swift

«Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?»

___

[DON'T PLAY THE SONG YET]

GILBERT BLYTHE's life for the past twenty four hours has been far more interesting than any other life Anne's ever encountered.

"So when I got to the airport... the flight had been delayed! Six hours, can you imagine that?! Then another three hours, then my phone died and...!"

"Talk about luck" she says.

Yes, events that surrounded Gilbert Blythe's journey before getting to Fred and Diana's wedding were, to say the least, curious.

Both of them are currently leaning against the wall, secluded from all the crowd in the center of the ballroom.

They should probably go find Diana and Fred, but none of them makes the attempt of leaving and they haven't caught anyone's attention yet.

She wonders if it's him or the wall behind their backs —which resembles a familiar row of lockers, to her eyes at least— that seems so magnetic.

Anne soon realizes it's him. She could hear him talk for hours, watch how his lips move and shape at the sounds that his words makes. She's missed him so much, she's missed the way he talks, the way he gestures, just that very personal way he has of recalling past stuff.

She's missed everything about him.

To this point, Anne knows these things about Gilbert Blythe's odyssey:

1. He got to Gatwick's airport and stayed there for almost nine hours.

2. The flight lasted another eight hours.

3. He didn't get to text anyone about it because his phone died.

4. He took a taxi from Charlottetown's airport to Josephine Barry's house,

and

5. He's here, right now, right beside her.

"So you seriously got changed in a taxi?" she asks, looking up to him.

"Yes!" he nods excitedly, as if he was narrating the most amazing events. "Just imagine the shock when I asked the driver if he'd mind me taking my shirt off"

Just imagining the situation makes her burst into laughter, especially because Gilbert has such a way of making things sound funnier than they actually are. As a consequence to the sound of her laughter, he laughs as well.

"I'm glad we're okay again" he says once their laughter fades away.

"Me too"

Anne gives him a quick, curious look before asking him a question she's been both dying and fearing to ask him. Dying to ask because, well, she's missed him and she genuinely wants to know what's his life has been like all this time they've been apart. At the same time, however, there's a 50% of her that doesn't want to ask because she might not like his answer.

What if he's been seeing someone?

What if he's truly over me and this whole song thing it's just a nostalgic way of getting our friendship back?

What if there are no hard feelings anymore?

She doesn't notice how, while she's in deep thought for a few seconds, his eyes don't leave her.

"So, um... how was London?" she finally asks, voice low and soft as a whisper.

He quickly takes his eyes away from her, looking at another direction and pretending to be distracted by something else.

"It was alright" he says, scratching the back of his neck. "Um... you know, tea, rain, fish and chips..."

"But you hate battered fish!" she exclaims, looking at him in disbelief. "You always talked about how unhealthy and greasy and just how horrible it was and-"

He looks back at her, allowing himself to completely admire her. He doesn't care if she notices his gaze upon her. It just amazes him how she still knows him that well.

"Sorry" Suddenly, Anne feels like she's embarrassing herself. "Too soon to be talking this much?"

He frowns a bit. "No, not at all"

Anne wonders if he still knows her the way she still knows him. They've been apart for two summers and being reunited at last, this third summer, is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

Perhaps he was right. Perhaps things will never go back to the way they used to be.

"What if they get better?" Ruby's words last a Christmas echo in Anne's mind.

Anne tried to shake any romantic thought out of her head. Yes, she loves him, but there's something more important than that, something that she really needs to ask him and something that she should've asked the moment she first saw him.

But perhaps it's more convenient now that they seem to be more comfortable around each other.

"And... are you okay?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you" she says, emphasizing the word "you". "You know what I mean"

Gilbert instantly knows she means his father. She doesn't have to say the actual words because just the look on her face —which is not a pitiful one, by the way— tells him that she cares enough to ask and expect an honest answer.

He also knows that she'll murder him right in the spot if he dared lie to her.

"I'm good" he says, a tiny, reassuring smile playing on his lips. "It's been rough but I'm good. Thank you, though"

She gives him a sympathetic smile before she lets silence reign over them again.

"I've been seeing a therapist" Gilbert whispers after a few seconds, as if he was scared to share it with someone. "It's been so much help"

However, Anne's words make him realize that he's done the right thing sharing such thing with her.

"You have? I'm glad you did. And it makes me happy that you appreciate mental health"

She obviously understands in a way than no one else could — that's why she's the only person he's ever told.

Perhaps it's a bit soon to say what he wants to say, but his thoughts leave his lips effortlessly, and he guesses that maybe it's the right moment to word them:

"You know, you're still my favorite person to talk to"

"Really?"

"Of course. There's no one articulate and argumentative as you. You and I can talk about anything" Gilbert says. "I really appreciate your friendship and I'm so glad to have it back"

Friendship. Oh. Well, she could work with that.

For a moment she could've sworn that he wanted more than a friendship, considering his dramatic entrance, the song and their little dance. But it was fine by her if he wanted nothing more than being friends. She could work with that.

"I'm so happy to have your friendship back too" she smiles. "I've missed our talks"

A sly smirk curves up his lips, one that Anne got to see a lot when they were friends. It's a smirk that anticipates that he's about to tease her.

"Just our talks? No music exchanges?"

"God, yes!" Anne basically jumps in the spot because of the excitement his words puts her through. "There are so many albums and songs I need to show you!"

He quietly laughs. "Oh yeah, I know what you mean"

"It was horrible, Gilbert... because every time something good happened... you were the first person I wanted to talk to"

"I felt that way too"

Anne tries to forget about the past and focus on a present, on this present where they are good friends and there's nothing convulse or problematic between them.

"Have you read something worthy of mention lately?"

"No, not really"

"Too busy being the best doctor even across continents?"

He laughs again, his eyes crinkled. He hasn't stopped laughing, chuckling or smiling ever since he's gotten to the wedding, and it's mostly because of her.

"I guess you've been reading non-stop"

"Your guesses are correct"

Still leaning their backs against the wall, their eyes meet for longer than they should and their minds both travel in time to the days when this prolongated eye contact was the usual dynamic between them.

"You're so cool" he whispers, and Anne realizes they're looking at each other and standing very, very close. Their shoulders are brushing and she can almost feel his minty breath in her face.

You're so cool, Anne mentally repeats in her head.

It's a reference. She doesn't know if he's quoting The Great Gatsby or the song she was listening to that September evening when they first met.

Who knows. Maybe he didn't reference anything,

maybe he wanted to reference everything.

"You're not too bad yourself" she finally responds, locking eyes with him.

Gilbert chuckles again, not realizing how a waiter carrying two trays approaches them.

The voice from the man in a tux standing in front of them distracts her from the trance that his eyes put her in.

"Wine?"

"Absolutely not" she says, a smile still plastered on her face. "Can I have a beer, please?"

Gilbert just shakes his head politely as the man offers Anne a beer, then disappears after giving them a nod.

It's just the two of them again, the rest of the ball room falling away. The could be back in 2018, back in high school, their backs against that old row of lockers, with them bickering about literally anything, talking about books and discussing music alb-

"I read your letters"

Anne almost chokes on her beer. The liquid runs fast down her throat, some of it remaining on the corner of her lips. Suddenly her heart starts beating even faster than it's ever beaten since he first walked in.

Holy crap.

"You- you did?" Anne asks, wide eyes completely in shock, as she wipes the rests of beer foam off the corner of her lips.

"Yes" Gilbert speaks very, very casually and calm, as if he was talking as something as simple as the weather. "They weren't signed but I knew it was you. Your handwriting and the overuse of adjectives is still very... you"

Something in the way he speaks about her "overuse of adjectives" makes Anne's stomach flip completely, in a terrible and yet at the same time pleasant way.

"I- But I didn't-"

Gilbert looks at her, and finally, something clicks in his mind. Things seem to add up and he realizes then that-

"You didn't send them" he mutters.

Cheeks red as her hair and dress, Anne shakes her head very, very slowly, not knowing if he's just as shocked as she is or simply mad at her again.

It wouldn't surprise her, though, that he decides to forget about her again.

"Of course, that's why you were so shocked when I walked in and-"

He pauses, thinks for a few seconds, and then speaks again:

"Then who sent them?" Gilbert asks, furrowing his eyebrows, trying to decipher the strange journey of that letters and everything that came along with them.

They don't do it on purpose, but both their heads, in perfect synchronization, turn to look at the same person,

a giggling Ruby Gillis, standing in the middle of the ball room as she talks to some school friends.

"Motherfucker" Anne mutters under her breath.

Gilbert chuckles, nervously running a hand through his curls. "Okay, I think I know what's going on here"

Gilbert tries to recover from his own realization — Anne didn't send the letters.

"Someone sent them. I believe it was that little one over there" he says, pointing to Ruby. "And she... she also sent that a copy of that one story you wrote for some writing contest, oh, and a mixtape too"

Oh, no.

No.

Not the mixtape!

Anne is horrified, completely mortified. She silently prays for some strange superior force to bury her alive because it will sure be better than facing Gilbert right now.

Letters, words and sentences are running fast down her brain. Anne's processing everything that she wrote back then, everything that she spilled on those letters. Even her short story which was so pathetic that didn't win that contest, even the mixtape, that deplorable mixtape she made in such desperation for him...

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no" she says, pacing around Gilbert. "I'm going to kill her"

Gilbert, on the other hand, doesn't seem so show any emotion. He simply watched her taking short steps, pacing from left to right.

"They were wrapped in pink ribbons and they smelt like lavender" he whispers. "I should've known, that you always preferred cinnamon"

Anne's brain is a labyrinth right now — she's thinking of the very different outcomes this conversation could take.

"Oh- um, Gilbert, I- I never meant to bother you with those-" she groans, trying her best not to start pulling out her own hair.

She stops pacing when she realizes there's a tiny smirk plastered on Gilbert's face.

Is he smirking? she thinks. Is he seriously smirking right now?!

"Oh, no" he mouths.

"Oh no, what?"

"She's coming right this way"

And it's true, with hurried and messy steps, Ruby Gillis (or Anne's next victim, as you prefer) is making her way towards them.

"GILBEEEEEEEEERT"

Ruby throws her hands around Gilbert and for a moment Anne can't help but feel a bit jealous. Not because of Ruby, of course — she knows her friend can be way too affective and she knows that what's between her and Gilbert is nothing but a pure friendship...

but Anne wishes she could hold Gilbert like Ruby's doing right now. No romantic connotations, just a friendly hug that doesn't end up like their last hug at his father's funeral.

"Woah, hey, little one" he says, separating after the hug and and steading her on the floor, seeing she's a bit tipsy. "What's up"

"You're up" she manages to mumble. "How tall are you? You look like the Empire State Building, y'know? Have you ever been to New York?"

Gilbert's eyes travel slowly to Anne, his expression a bit more serious. "No, Rubs, I... I haven't been to New York"

Anne awkwardly coughs, trying to catch Ruby's attention for a minute.

"ANNE!"

It's now Anne's turn to get a huge bear hug from Ruby.

"You look so pretty in red" the blonde girl says, as if she wasn't the one who helped her chose her dress.

Gilbert tries her best to bite back a laugh but he can't. Ruby's clearly not... in her best state and seeing Anne so annoyed after all this years is such a sight.

His Anne, however, sends him a murdering look that silently tells him to shut up.

Ah, feels like we're back to usual, he thinks.

"Sorry" he mouths, shoving his hands into his suit's pockets and allowing himself to enjoy the scene.

"Ruby, I think I need to have a word with you-" Anne says, adopting a very stern tone in her voice that reminds her of Marilla.

Drowsily and blinking very, very slowly, Ruby looks at Anne with confusion in her eyes.

"Oh, no, I can't stay, I have to..." the blonde says, taking a confused look around. "I forgot"

Gilbert's eyes travel from Anne to Ruby. He looks down at his feet so that Anne can't see how hard he's trying not to laugh.

This is hilarious.

"For the love of God, Ruby, you're drunk!"

"I'm not drunk, I'm tired of waiting, and waiting and waiting... the waiters... oh my god, that makes so much sense, doesn't it? We wait and waiters come, and bring... champagne..."

Anne grabs her shoulders and shakes them furiously. "Ruby! You need to sober up, your best friend's about to get married!"

"You're getting married?"

"Not me, Diana!"

"Oh... yeah, that makes sense... because I saw her wearing a white dress and you're wearing red... you look so good in red, Anne" Ruby says, her eyes looking for Gilbert. Oh, there he is. "Doesn't she look pretty in red, Gilbert?"

"Oh, yes" he mumbles. "Very good indeed"

As drunk as she is, something in Ruby's mind seems to click.

"Wait! Didn't you guys hate each other?"

Anne's about to reply when Gilbert speaks.

"Oh, yes, I'm afraid we still do, Rubs. In fact I was just telling her how much I her"

The redhead looks at him, a bit confused, but after the "play along" look he gives her, she can't help but feel a bit mischievous and confuse an already confused Ruby Gillis.

"Oh, yes, totally"

"Wow..." Ruby says, her eyelids dropping. "That sucks..."

Thankfully, Ruby's knight in shining armor arrives to the scene.

"Gil!"

Jerry jogs to where his girlfriend, sister and a friend that he hasn't seen in months are.

"Jerry, hey!"

Gilbert pulls him into a quick hug that Jerry separates from within seconds — he's always in a hurry.

"Look it's great to see you and... all, I'll go find Diana and Fred and tell them that you're finally here" Jerry explains. "And you, pretty one, need to sober up!"

Anne can't really tell if Jerry's noticed the different air around her and Gilbert, but she could've sworn her brother winked an eye at her before taking Ruby away from her and disappearing from the scene, leaving her and Gilbert alone again.

"So. Beautiful words you wrote there, huh"

Anne just prays that minutes go faster so that Jerry finds Diana and Fred quickly and she can ran away of this pathetic situation, because she knows Gilbert and he's not the one to drop a conversation just like that.

She just blushes, looking down at her feet, although she can feel his eyes in her, traveling from head to toe, taking in every inch of her body covered by the red dress.

"I almost called you when I read them, you know"

He is serious now, the teasing tone disappearing completely.

"But you didn't"

"Yeah" he nods. "I was so mad at you"

"You had the right to, in fact, I think-"

"But then I thought how confused you must've been this whole time" he says. "I understood everything. Your words told me everything"

"I..."

"Why didn't you send them?"

His eyes roam all over her face, looking for a logical answer not to send those letters. They created something in him that he can't even put to words.

Anne's eyes leave her own feet and finally look at him, defeated.

"I-I was going to but... the day I was on my way to the post office... Marilla called me and told me-"

"My father" he says, voice dark.

"Yes, your father... and then I tried to get to you but... so many stuff happened, at the funeral you said- and, and... The airport thing and-"

"What's the airport thing?"

Anne takes a deep breath before telling him. Reliving all the lost chances and opportunities doesn't make her feel precisely ecstatic.

"When you left, uh, for London... I tried to see you but... Fred- Fred said-"

"He stopped you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did" she mumbles, holding her tears back. "And he did the right thing"

"Whether he did the right thing or not, that doesn't matter now"

"It doesn't?"

Gilbert takes a step closer, standing very close to her. Anne notices how she holds her own breath, not knowing what to expect.

He looks down, then up to meet her eyes again.

"It doesn't matter because I guess that, despite the terrible timing, those letters still found their way to their destiny."

"You" she whispers.

"Me"

"So..." Anne scans his face, carefully looking for signs to read. "Is that truly the reason why you've forgiven me?"

"Partly" he nods. "I've been giving you a lot of thought for months. But then, one day, someone knocked at my door with this box, containing a mixtape, a story and that bunch of letters"

"Oh..."

"I sat in bed and read them, whilst playing that mixtape in my old Walkman. And read them again, and again. I read them a thousand times, each one of them"

She panicks. Now Gilbert knows. He truly knows her heart, he truly knows what she's been feeling and still feels for him.

She didn't exactly write the words "I love you" but still, it was pretty obvious. Especially with the company of that mixtape that she should've never made in the first place.

He holds eye contact with her for more than seconds. His gaze is strong, his hazel fixed on hers, pupils dilated.

In the dim light of the room, illuminated with candles all along the way, she could see the tiny spots of honey in his green eyes, she could smell his familiar fragrance of apple and wood mixed with the scent of old books...

"Well, um- They weren't exactly letters!" Anne says out of the sudden, startling Gilbert and making him take a step back. "I- Uh- they... they're were literary artifacts, yeah. That's it. For a personal project"

"Literary artifacts" he chuckles. "You're such an English student, did you know that?"

She mimicked him in his chuckling, but hers obviously more nervous.

What Anne wasn't expecting is how he opens his arms for her, raising a questioning eyebrow.

If she's read his signs correctly (and she hopes she has), he's asking her for a hug.

So she takes a step forward, and wraps her arms around his torso. His gentle arms pull her closer, giving her little space to breathe — not that she complains, there nowhere else in the world where she wanted to be right now. His embrace, strong and delicate at the same time, seem to tell her that everything in him, body, brain and soul, are here with her, again.

Anne rests her head on his chest. Gilbert places his on top of hers, her velvety red hair caressing his chin in a way that he's missed so much.

"I've missed you, you know" she whispers.

"I've missed you more, believe me"

"So, everything's fine?"

"Everything's good, Shirley"

Oh, that nickname, again!

"We're okay"

"Yeah, we are"

They separate from the hug but remain very close, faces barely inches from each other's. Their noses are almost touching and if one of them dared to close the distance between them, they could be kissing in just a second.

They stare at each other in an odd way, as if they were having a silent conversation just with their eyes. Their glances battling against each other until Anne's eyes drop to his lips

and so do his, staring at her red lipstick.

"I... um..." Gilbert mumbles, not noticing how a chaotic and a bit less drunk Ruby Gillis gets up onto the stage.

It's Ruby's high-pitches voice blasting through the speakers that makes the two of them take a step back, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Get over here, people! The wedding is about to start! They are actually getting married! Come on"

"Guess that's our call" Gilbert says, scratching the back of his neck.

He's nervous.

"Our what-"

"Bridesmaid and best man, right?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah" Anne blinks twice. "Of course, heh"

He looks to the stage, not so far away from where they're standing. They have to cross a crowd of guests, so he decides to offer his arm for her to cling at.

"I know, I know that you can perfectly walk on your own" he says, rolling his eyes. "Let's just follow wedding protocol"

Perhaps teasing and joking around could be the best option to make the sudden air of nervousness and blushing cheeks to fade away, for now, at least.

"Alright"

"Let watch these fools get married at 20" he says, beaming as they make their way the stage, arms linked.

"Gilbert?" she asks, curious blue eyes.

There's just something she needs to ask.

"Yes?"

"Did you choose a red tie on purpose?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shirley"

That's a yes.

___

Fred and Diana are already there, hiding behind the curtains that lead to the front stage where their wedding is supposed to take place.

"You're here! You emo, grumpy, piece of sh-"

That's the first thing Fred Wright tells Gilbert as soon as he spots him jogging to where he is. Following right behind, there's Anne, lecturing Ruby (and also Jerry, for letting her drink so much) as she walks.

"Eight months without me and that's what you say to me? Piece of shit?"

Both Fred and Gilbert roll their eyes in unison as they hug each other.

"Well, I'm afraid we can't make out now because my soon-to-be wife is here!" Fred says, scrunching his nose.

"Alright" Diana says, and even though her wedding dress is supposed to make her loo like an angel, she looks very, very annoyed. "This is charming but can I actually get married, please? Because I've been waiting for five hours and I'm hungry and really looking forward to consummate my marriage!"

"DIANA!" Anne yells, scandalized.

"As if you didn't consummate a month after dating"

"JERRY!"

"What? It's true, isn't it?"

Diana marches to where Jerry is standing, grabbing him by the solapes of his suit under the terrified gazes of all their friends.

"Well, Baynard, my sexual life is none of your business so you better get ready because this man and I" she extends an arm to grab Fred by the sleeve of his suit and drag him to stand beside her. "This man and I are getting married right now"

Diana lets go of Jerry, turning around to face the rest of her friends.

"Unless any of you have anything else to do or say to delay this wedding- my wedding even more!"

A quiet mumble of "no" and "no, of course not" is whispered into the air.

"Touché" Gilbert mumbles once Diana's out of sight.

"She can be scary sometimes" is the last thing Jerry says, with a tiny amused smile, before the ceremony starts.

___

The stage where Fred recited his speech hours ago is now decorated with more pompous floral ornaments and a beautiful wedding arch, with the company of a few candlelights around.

"We are gathered here today to finally witness the union of Fred and Diana. Welcome friends and family! We're glad to have you with us"

Apparently, Josephine Barry got a marrying license for the occasion, and to Fred's eyes, there couldn't be anyone more convenient than Diana's aunt to get them married.

"Today is the beginning of a remarkable journey for this couple. Drawing on their mutual admiration, respect, and trust, they are ready to embark on the next chapter in their lives. We celebrate the love and light evident in their relationship, and wish them well on this joyous occasion"

Diana stands to the left, Anne and Ruby a few steps behind her. To the right side of the stage, there's Fred, and Gilbert and Jerry similarly behind him and although Diana's undoubtedly a beautiful bride, Gilbert can't keep his eyes off something else.

Someone else.

He hasn't teared his eyes from Anne ever since he arrives but he can't help but admire how wonderful that red dress looks on her. Her hair is wavier, it must be Ruby's doing, and her make up is simple (she's done it like that many times before), just black eyeliner and red lips, nothing else.

"If anyone has cause to object to the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace"

"This is a Taylor Swift reference" Ruby whispers into Anne's ear.

"Shut up, Ruby, it's my freaking wedding" Diana whispers back. "No Taylor Swift"

"For now"

"I will now invite the couple to share their vows with one another. Fred and Diana, would you please face each other and join your hands as you exchange your vows"

The couple take steps closer to each other, now standing under the flowery wedding arch.

"Diana, today you will become my wife. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully good times and bad. I give you my hand, my heart and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live..."

Anne gives Fred a little wink of her eye from where she's standing. After all, she was the one to help him memorize his vows.

"Fred, today you will become my husband. I promise to love you with all my heart, from now until eternity, and be with you, even in the darkest of times. I cannot wait any longer to begin building our life together..."

Hearing Diana's words, Fred is almost tearing up.

"After your vows, Fred and Diana, it's time to join hands"

Diana extends her hands for Fred to take, and he does, caressing her knuckles softly as Josephine speaks and the people from the crowd stare at them, becoming a married couple.

"Fred, before your family and friends, do you take Diana as your beloved wife, to have and to hold, through laughter and in sadness, through challenges and successes, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do"

"Diana, before your family and friends, do you take Fred as your beloved husband, to have and to hold, through laughter and in sadness, through challenges and successes, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do"

Anne and Gilbert step up then, giving their friends their rings. Gilbert doesn't even look at Diana or Fred, but simply looks at Anne with such adoration that it would make her heart flutter if she noticed.

"Wedding rings are a traditional symbol of the strength of the bond between two soulmates" Josephine Barry says. "This bond is never broken, and continues in a perpetual circle of two souls in a perfect union. By wearing these rings, you will be always reminded of the connection you share and the vows you have made today"

It's just the way Josephine Barry talks about soulmates and a circle of souls in perfect union what makes Anne tear his eyes off the couple and look at Gilbert.

He's already staring at her, a short smile playing on his lips.

"You may kiss each other"

As Diana and Fred embrace, kissing each other passionately, hands wrapped around each other, all their guests start clapping, including their friends on stage.

"Ruby! No crying, remember?" Anne says, squeezing Ruby's shoulders. Although she has to admit that she's almost at the verge of tears.

"I can't help it" she says. "But don't worry, I have something that will cheer me up!"

Anne shakes her head — God knows what this sobered up version of Ruby Gillis has in mind.

As they all make their way down the stage to watch Diana and Fred's first dance as an official married couple, Ruby whispers something in the DJ's ear, then walks to speak through the microphone.

"Okay everyone, pair up and dance because this..." she squeals. "Because this is the song of the decade, do you heart me? This is for the lovely couple!"

[PLAY THE SONG!]

Diana takes Fred's hand and drags him to the dance floor, joining other couples, including Ruby and Jerry.

They take their place in the middle of the room, illuminated by a spotlight.

"I can't believe I'm married!" Fred tells her as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Me neither! I can't believe we just did that"

In pure and complete post-marital bliss, they start laughing and kiss again as they swing around the room.

This is our place, we made the rules

Anne, on the other hand, stands awkwardly between swaying couples when Gilbert Blythe, smoothly making his way through the crowd, offers his hand to her.

"Its typical for the bridesmaid and the best man to dance together, you know?"

And there's a dazzling haze
A mysterious way about you, dear

"Is it?"

"Wanna dance, Shirley?"

"Yeah"

As she accepts his hands, Anne looks up to him, her eyes meeting his for the hundredth time tonight.

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

His eyes...

There's something in his eyes... It is the excitement of meeting someone for the very first time mixed with a familiarity that has never left.

Can we always be this close?

"I see you're still a skilled dancer" he whispers in her ear, just in time to when the chorus comes. "Nothing's changed"

Anne allowed herself to get lost in his gaze when her body returns back to his — after all, they were back to being friends, and wasn't this exactly what they always did when they were friends? The odd buzz of electricity she always felt when it came to him, however, seemed to be growing louder and louder with each passing second.

"Doesn't this bring back memories?" she whispers.

Being there, dancing with him, only brings back more and more memories. Being with him is like a trip down memory lane and also a tiny window into the future.

"Prom, yeah..."

If only he wanted a future with me, she thought.

"We had so much fun... even though they didn't play The Smiths"

Their bodies were nearly touching, moving slowly across the ball room, surrounded by other couples who they seem to have forgotten by now.

One of Gilbert's hands creep around her back and lets warmth flow from his body to Anne's. The bustling chatter of the room eventually fades away, and even though Gilbert's never been a fan of Taylor Swift himself (much to Ruby's disfrace) he's silently thanking a certain blonde for choosing this song as a first dance.

"Well, they played Forever Young so I guess we could call that a win"

Gilbert talks as he spins her around, smoothly as she watches her enjoying herself. He wonders if someone's ever made her feel like this all the time they've been apart.

"And we drank Prairie Fire!" she chuckles, just like a little kid.

The candles that Josephine Barry and Ruby have so conveniently lit to give a romantic atmosphere to everything is only building up to this moment. They provide with a soft, flickering lightning as she slips into his arms, swaying around the room as he keeps spinning her around every once in a while.

"You have to thank me for orchestrating a perfect prom night"

I've loved you three summers,
but I want them all.

He gives her a wide smile, almost foolish, with crinkled eyes as she moves quietly in her arms,

yet buried emotions so deep from their past come afloat to say hello.

"It wasn't perfect" she says, looking up to him but still dancing, not wanting to separate from his embrace.

However her expression turns more serious, but he doesn't say a thing.

"It wasn't perfect because you told me you were leaving" she says, her look turning a bit sad, even melancholic. "Everything was over that night"

This probably isn't the best thing to say after being reunited after so long, and Anne knows that. But she needs to know that she's not making this up, that he's here, that he's silently giving her a chance.

Because all these looks he's been giving her, all the sky, crooked smiles and every word that's left his lips... they have to mean something? Right?

"It was never over for me" he whispers, stopping right in his tracks.

The rest of the room keeps dancing, but they went unnoticed long ago. They stay there, static but still in each other's arms.

"I guess there could've been better ways for us to spent prom night" he concludes.

Gilbert looks at her, Anne looks at him and for a split second it crosses Anne's mind that he's about to kiss her.

It's just the way he slowly leans forward or how his eyes soften at the sight of her.

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

"Shirley..."

All you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

Gilbert is definitely about to lean in for a kiss when they interrupt him, a pair of hand resting on his shoulders from behind.

"Now it's time for our Gilbert Blythe's speech!"

Anne's never been less delighted to see Josephine Barry.

"Me? Oh-"

"You're the best man, boy!" Josephine says, squeezing his shoulders. "Fred specifically said he wanted you to read. Didn't he tell you?"

"Well, yeah, he-" he says. "I did write something but, uh..."

"But what?!"

He looks at Anne, who is curiously gazing at him, then at Josephine again.

"I mean, yes, of course, I'll do it"

He squeezes Anne's hand before disappearing and making his way to the stage again.

Gilbert clears his throat before speaking his words through the microphone.

"Uh, hello?

Yeah, I got your attention.

Um... the day Fred told me he was getting married, it blew my mind. Completely. I remember I got mad because I was being selfish. And Fred and Diana have taught me that love... love is about not being selfish.

Love is about being selfless, devoted and caring" he reads carefully.

He takes a split moment to direct his gaze to Anne, who is listening attentively from down below.

"Love is about forgiveness.

And there are so many types of love... the love of a friend, a parent... Uh... the love of a parent, uh..."

Suddenly, the words in the paper he has written himself and he carried with him the whole flight seem to get blurry.

"Oh, no" Jerry whispers from the audience, a concerned look on his face.

Gilbert feels the words before him getting blurrier and blurrier, almost as if they were written in another language. He thought he was okay with it, but the remembrance of his father is piercing his memory.

Anne doesn't hesitate as she makes her way through the crowd and up the little staircase that leads to the stage or pseudo-altar.

She gives him a look of understanding and gently takes the paper off his hands, her fingers purposely caressing his.

He nods.

"But there's another kind of love" she continues. "That begins sometimes slowly, sometimes as fast as a spark, and evolves into something even deeper, more powerful than you could've ever imagine. It's a kind of love that works just like energy. It begins with a 'tender curiosity'..."

Anne stops reading for a seconds. A tender curiosity. That's The Great Gatsby.

A tender curiosity. Her mind flashbacks to the way he tries to get to her at the beggining of their relationship, all the chasing around, all the unnoticed looks-

"Until you'll end up... 'getting deeper in love every minute' because... 'there are many kinds of love, but never the same love twice'. There will always be, in terms of my favorite novel, a green light for each of us, to chase and... dream about, every night, at the end of a... metaphorical dock"

Anne feels her hands getting a bit shaky as she reads. It can't be because of her, right?

"Fred and Diana made me believe in the green light. I, for one, believe in the green light and the future that year by year, recedes before us"

Anne clears her throat after finishing the speech Gilbert wrote. He is standing right beside her, looking straight at her. She felt her strong, prolongated gaze through the course of her reading and she looks back at him now.

His eyes are a bit glossy, locked on her like magnets and giving her such an adoring, tender look that makes her want to forget about everything else, grabs his face and kiss every single inch of skin in that covers it.

But all she does is give him a short nod after getting off the stage.

There's someone she needs to talk to.

___

"Pick up Cole, pick up..."

Anne's outside the ball room, in one of the many mansion's corridors, pacing from one side to the other.

"Anne!" After a few "beeps", Cole's voice comes along the line. "Aren't you supposed to be at the wedding?"

"Oh, thank God! Yeah, I am, but I need your help" she says, biting on her nails.

"What is it?"

"It's Gilbert"

"Oh, he's not talking to you?"

"No, on the contrary, he's talking to me, like talk- talking! And he think he might me flirting with me, I don't know"

Anne holds the phone carefully to her ear, looking back every once in a while to check that there's no one listening to her conversation.

"You don't know? Anne, you're the smartest person I know"

"Not when it comes to him!" she groans. "Look, Cole, he- he played like a special song for me, alright? He's been looking at me... a lot, we slow-danced and... And then he- his whole wedding speech revolved around The Great Gatsby!"

"I haven't read The Great Gatsby"

"Well, it's like- it was our thing! So I don't know if he's trying to tell me something or-"

"He's clearly flirting with you"

"I'm not so sure. He can be a bit of an asshole sometimes, he might be joking around, I don't know"

"Maybe you just need a sign" Cole says. "For confirmation"

"Yeah, maybe I just need a sign" Anne sighs. "A hell of a good one"

After thanking and wishing Cole a good night, Anne hangs up. When she walks back to the ballroom, she realizes Ruby Gillis, with his long, pink dress, standing in front of some sort of board that Anne didn't notice when she first walked in.

"What is that?"

Standing behind her, Anne rests her chin on Ruby's shoulder, looking at the board with curiosity.

"It's a love board"

There are about six or seven handwritten notes displayed all over the surface of the board.

"A what now?" Anne stifles a laugh.

"A love board. You write notes for someone to see — they don't have to be romantic, of course. They can be friendly too"

"Oh"

"Of course Fred Wright had to ruin it, even at his own wedding!"

Anne takes a step and leans forward to check that, scribbled down in Fred's terrible handwriting, there's a note that reads:

«Jerry Baynard-Cuthbert has the best ass in all Canada.»

"Well, that's love too, right?"

"Yeah, there's one for you too" Ruby says, a content smile on her lips. "Look"

«Anne Cordelia Shirley-Cuthbert owns the color red. In every single possible way.»

Anne chuckles, a weight dropped off her shoulders. She'd recognize that handwriting anywhere. It's the way he writes the n's.

"Thank you, Rubs"

Ruby blinks twice when she looks back at her. Anne, however, has her gaze fixed on the board, a look of relief in her eyes, as if she had finally figured something out.

"But I didn't write it"

"I know. I mean thank you for sending those letters to Gilbert"

"How did you know it was me?"

"They were wrapped in a pink ribbon. It had to be you"

"Alright" Ruby rolls her eyes. "Maybe I should've been more subtle"

Anne turns around, her arms crossed against her cheeks as she faces Ruby. One of her eyebrows his raised in curiosity.

"So did you sneak into my room or...?"

"Yes. I wrapped them in pink paper and lavender but I didn't technically send them"

"You didn't?"

"I waited about a week and then told Marilla that I needed to borrow something from your closet. She grabbed it for me and I left the letters in a place where I knew she'd find them. She was the one who sent them"

"You're a smart one"

"I think you underestimate me sometimes"

"Anyway, thank you, Rubs" Anne says, squeezing Ruby's arm softly. "I mean it"

"Did you guys talk?"

"No, not about... that"

"Well, you should"

"I know" Anne takes a deep breath. "I'll go look for him. But... before I go... do you have a pen?"

Anne doesn't have to give it much thought — she already knows what she wants to write.

The memory of a recent almost kiss, two old almost kisses that never actually happened and the painful, haunting yet sometimes passionate, vivid memory of a kiss under falling snow with terrible consequences makes her realize that she never needed Gilbert's note a sign,

there were signs all along.

But she can't help but return the favor, so in her best handwriting, she sticks another note to the board.

«Gilbert Blythe will always be my green light. Especially in that suit.»

___

A/N

I love this chapter SO much! Can't believe Diana and Fred (we need to think of a shipname, warry? bright?) are married!

Also, after all the angst, this felt REALLY strange to write. However, I hope you enjoyed it :)

Thoughts?

What will happen in the next chapter?

Love,

blythexcarrots