Hi! First of all, I wanted to thank all of you guys for reading this story and always having positive and kind comments. I truly appreciate it.

This is a "special" chapter but it does add tiny little details to the plot! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it (it was sooo cute and fun to write!)

I also wanted to wish you all a happy holidays :) Hope you all enjoy this time of the year eating, giving and receiving!

Merry Christmas,

blythexcarrots

(If you left a lot of comments it would make my day as an early Christmas present 🥰)

___

[PLAY THE SONG!]

November flew by, and so did the first half of December.

It's already the 23rd of December, 2019.

Gilbert Blythe left for London almost two months ago.

Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
But the very next day
You give it away

Anne Shirley-Cuthbert is lying on her bed; her eyes, drifting from a book to her iPad; her nose, all scrunched up in concentration. It's snowing outside, the house is perfectly decorated for the occasions and it all adds up to the whole Christmas atmosphere.

Anne came back from New York just a couple of days ago and now she's trying her best to focus on this assignment on narrative techniques.

But this task is getting more and more impossible, considering the infernal music coming from her brother's room.

With a note saying 'I love you', I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kiss me now, I know you'd fool me again

After rolling her eyes and slamming her book shut, Anne gets out of his room, matching to her brother's instead.

"Jerry, turn the volume down! I'm going to lose my mind if I hear that song again!" she furiously yells once she's at the door.

Her brother opens the door, wearing a Santa's hat.

"Don't be a boomer" he says, grinning widely. "It's Ruby's favorite Christmas song"

"Then go play it at Ruby's"

He leans against the door frame, clearly amused at her sister's state of fury. She's always like that, when she studies.

"She's busy wrapping up Christmas presents"

Anne face palms. "Alright, just... wear headphones, will you?"

"Oh no"

Jerry grabs her arm and drags her into his room.

"Jerry, I really don't have time for this"

"Sis, you're too stressed out. It's Christmas!"

"Technically, it's Christmas' Eve's Eve"

Jerry rolls her eyes. "I think you need to relax from your books just a little"

"And I think I should've bought you a pair of headphones for Christmas"

He shakes her head. "Let's dance!"

"No!"

"Come on!"

Jerry grabs her hand and spins her around, almost making her trip. He would've expected her to go mad, but instead, she lets out a loud, high-pitched laugh. "Jerry!"

The two siblings start dancing, twisting and twirling around the room. Jerry's not a skilled dancer at all, but least Anne looks happier for a change. They keep waltzing around the room to the beat of the song, even tripping some times.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

"Ruby's clearly making a huge impact on you, huh" she says between laughs.

___

At the same time that morning, Marilla Cuthbert stands under the porch that belongs to the Blythe-Lacroix-Wright residence. She rings the door and waits patiently for someone to open.

"Hello" she says once the door opens. It's Sebastian Lacroix, nurse and family friend.

"Morning!" he says, wearing his usual blinding smile. "Uh... Ms. Cuthbert, right?"

"Yes, but please, call me Marilla"

He smiles again, holding out her hand for her to shake. "Sebastian Lacroix, but I go for Bash. I believe we met shortly at John's funeral"

"Oh, yes. Pleasure to finally meet you"

"What can I do for you?" he asks politely, clasping his hands together. "Would you like to come in?"

"Oh, no, don't worry. I was here for Fred?"

"Fred! Marilla Cuthbert's here to see you!"

It only takes two seconds for Fred to rush down the stairs and meet the two adults at the door.

He takes his spot right next to Bash, under the door frame, giving his best and politest smile to Marilla — he's got the chance to get to know the woman every time he's visited Anne it Jerry, but she was still... scary. She looked like the kind of woman you didn't want to mess with.

Some how, despite not being related, Anne had learnt that quality from her.

"Marilla! Hello!"

"Hello, Fred. I suppose you two must be busy-"

"Busy? Oh, no. Not really"

Marilla chuckles, looking down at her snow-covered boots before looking back at them again. "Anyway, I was just wondering if you two would like to spend Christmas Eve with us, since Gilbert's spending the holidays away?"

"Oh, sure. I mean, we were having Diana for dinner but-"

"Of course, Diana's welcome too" Marilla's eyes drift from Fred to Bash. "And your girlfriend too, Sebastian. It would be lovely to host a Christmas dinner for all of us"

"It's Bash"

"Oh, well, your girlfriend too, Bash"

"We'd love to" the man says, giving her a toothy smile.

"It's very kind of you, Marilla" Fred says. "To think of us during this time of the year"

"Oh, Fred! Don't be all polite!" Marilla reaches her hand to mess his hair a little. "I know Anne will love having you around"

"Yes" he says, way more shy now. "Thank you"

And with that and a bit of small talk, Marilla Cuthbert left the Blythe-Lacroix-Wright residence with a long mental list of groceries to buy.

___

24th December

Her guests (which are a lot more than usual) are about to come, and as much as Anne would love to say she has everything under control,

she doesn't.

Marilla left about an hour ago for a last-minute grocery shopping, Jerry's setting up the table and she's trying to make mince pie but things are not working out.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the book she has in her left hand whilst the other prepares the dough is not a recipe book. There's also the fact that she's trying very, very carefully not to mess the velvet green dress Marilla chose for her to wear for the occasion.

"Baking and reading at the same time?"

Anne turns around to find a curly haired boy standing under the kitchen door frame.

"You could've used the main door, you know"

"The others did" he says. "I just love making an entrance"

Anne rolls her eyes — that boy's never going to change.

"Hi, Fred"

He's wearing a grey shirt that he has definitely borrowed from Gilbert. Anne knows because he wore it for her 18th birthday, and even after all this time she can't seem to forget the way he looked that night. It looks good on Fred, of course, but it's not the same.

Still lost on the memory, she doesn't notice how Fred Wright walks over to her and takes the book off her hands.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"Pride and Prejudice..." he reads out loud, holding the book right above his head so there's no way Anne can reach it. "You should read something that belongs to this century, y'know"

"You're unbearable sometimes" she huffs. Fred can't help but think she looks funny with flour on the tip of her nose. "I can't believe Diana is marrying you!"

"Me neither" he says, leaving the book aside and resting his elbows on the kitchen table. "Hope you didn't mind us coming for dinner, by the way"

"Why would I mind?" she asks, wiping her hands on her apron. "I love having you guys here"

"I know" he says. "I just thought it might remind you of him"

"Oh, it does" she bites her lip, looking away. "But it's okay. It's just that Christmas were already sad before the Gilbert thing... but now that he's not here..."

And she means it. There hasn't been any particular Christmas that she has enjoyed.

The first Christmas with Gilbert (as a friend, of course, because apparently they never were anything else) was also the first Christmas without Matthew.

Then, last Christmas... the accident happened. It was the Christmas that everything  ended because of her stupid selfishness.

And now, well. She shouldn't complain. She's having her best friends for dinner, she's with her family... but there's definitely something missing.

"Sorry" Fred says out of the sudden, probably realizing what Anne must be thinking right this second. "I should've thought about Matthew and-and your parents, I'm so sorry-"

"It's okay, Fred" she gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm okay and I hope Gilbert's doing alright too"

"He sent me some pics yesterday. Wanna see?"

She doesn't know why, but she nods. Well, actually, she does know why. She misses him, of course, and considering Gilbert's lack of publications on social media, it would be great to see him again, even if it's just in a picture.

Fred gets closer to her and shows her his phone.

It's a photo of Gilbert in Trafalgar Square. Everything is covered in snow and the fact that Gilbert's wearing that beanie she gave him as a birthday present when they were friends makes her heart spark with the thought that maybe, just maybe, there's still hope for them.

He looks happy, she thinks.

"He looks happy"

"Yeah, he does" Fred agrees, smiling at the sight of his friend.

"You did the right thing" she murmurs. "When you stopped me at the airport"

"You really think so?" Fred asks, eyes drifting from his phone to his friend. "I thought you were going to be mad at me for years"

"He's your friend, your brother. And what you did... I'm sure it helped him. I mean, he looks really happy now and that's all he deserves — happiness. And right now, it's clear that his happiness doesn't include me. It was all for the better. I just want him to be the happiest person in this world because he deserves to be."

Fred looks at her briefly before pulling her into a hug. It feels weird, at first, because they've never hugged before —probably because Anne is not the biggest fan of giving or getting affection— but still it feels good.

It feels good because Fred has understood that right now, she needs it. His hug is strong and affectionate, his arms squeeze her a fraction tighter as he rubbed her back. Anne doesn't have to verbalize a "Thank you" because he knows.

"You're so strong, tiger-Anne, did you know that?"

___

Later that evening, as everybody talks over dinner and their Christmas presents, Anne silently gets up from the table and goes to the living room.

She stands near the window, although she can't see anything in particular outside. There's just snow, snow and snow.

The Christmas tree beside her, decorated with red and golden ribbons of her choice, is semi-lit up with candles, considering a few of them are blown up.

Suddenly, she gets an idea,

and lits another candle.

"Merry Christmas, mom and dad" she whispers, placing it carefully on the tree.

and another one.

"Merry Christmas, Matthew"

Taking a few steps backwards, she appreciates the decoration of the tree.

Now it is truly complete.

"You miss him, don't you?" a voice says behind her.

Anne turns around to find her friend, Ruby Gillis, walking towards her. She's wearing a sparkly pink dress and the Santa hat Jerry wore the other morning — she's never looked any prettier.

Ruby doesn't have to explain who she means by "him". Anne knows.

"It feels wrong" she says, turning around to face the window again. "The five of us together and him not being here... it's wrong"

"I know what you mean" Ruby says. She's now standing beside hers, looking out of the window as well, as if there was something very interesting to watch. "After all, Gilbert was the one that brought us all together. He's the one that sort of made me realize how awesome Jerry is. And he's the one that got us to go to that karaoke club where we met Fred. If it wasn't for him, it would be just Diana, you and me"

"Yeah" Anne says. "The things we would've missed if we hadn't met Gilbert"

"If you hadn't met Gilbert"

Anne looks at her now.

"Uh?"

"Well, you met him first, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So if you two had not met that evening then, who knows? Maybe he wouldn't have approached you in class on the first day of school, don't you think?"

Anne smiles to herself, vivid memories of Gilbert and also their friends flashing rapidly though her mind. "Maybe you're right"

"You know I am, smartass" Ruby says, hitting her arm playfully. "Let me be the smarter person just for one"

"Okay. You're right"

"Things will work out in the end" the blonde says. "And we'll all be friends again. You'll see"

Anne wants to believe her. There are moments when she feels hopeful about everything surrounding Gilbert. But who knows, maybe Ruby's wrong. Maybe things will never be like they were during Senior Year.

"What if things can't go back to the way they used to be?"

"What if they get better?"

Anne looks at her friend, blinking twice.

"You know, Ruby" Anne says. "You truly are the wisest person I've ever met"

Ruby scrunches her nose, poking Anne's. "Why don't we make a Christmas wish?"

"Alright"

Ruby takes her hand and walks her to the Christmas tree, then explains the procedure. "It's very simple" she says. They just have blow out the same Christmas candle at the same time, while wishing for something very, very powerfully.

"What did you wish for?" Ruby asks after blowing out the candle.

"I can't say it, or it won't come true. You should know this kind of stuff"

"I know! I was just testing you"

Anne smiles. She's content. After her wish, she drags Ruby back to the dining room before they wonder what's become of them.

She hasn't asked for anything fancy like a new car or a new laptop this Christmas.

It's very simple, yet very complicated too.

Please, come home some day.

___

That night, when everybody's left and it's just her in the solitude of her own room, Anne looks out of the window.

It's kind of become a habit, really, this whole looking out of the window. It gives her time and space to think, as she merely focus on the snow or the starless dark sky.

23:59. Just one more minute and it'll be Christmas.

She stands near the window, in her new pajamas — it's a present from Bash and Mary.

She can't help but wonder about him.

So, silently, into the cold night's air and falling snow, she whispers:

"Merry Christmas, Gilbert"

The redhead doesn't know that miles and miles away from where she is now, there's a hazel-eyed boy, looking out of his window, who whispers the same words back.

Merry Christmas, Anne.