▷ Just my type - The Vamps

«She lets me down, then gets me high,
don't know why — she's just my type»
___

BILLY ANDREWS' party is absolute shit.
A seventeen-year old red-headed girl is now in one of the balconies from the second floor, looking at nothing in particular while smoking one of her organic cigarretes. The typical cold air from the last days of October makes the girl shiver from the chilly breeze and she suddenly regrets wearing a skirt instead of something more covering. She zips her black leather jacket, popping the collar up.

"Anne?" she turns around at the call of her name to reveal a brunette girl from her Biology class whose name she doesn't remember.

Anne raises an eyebrow in response. "I think you should come downstairs" she said with a worried look on her face. "There's something wrong with Ruby Gillis"

Still not answering to the nameless girl, she throws her cigar away and makes her way downstairs, completely unbothered by the girl's words.

As Anne opens the first floor bathroom door, she found finds best friend Diana trying to cheer up an upset Ruby Gillis.

"What now?" Anne was annoyed.

"Ruby saw Gilbert Blythe making out with some girl from other school" Diana said, caressing her friend's hair as an attempt to comfort her.

"So?" she scoffs. However, as a result of seeing her friend so upset, her face softens. "Honestly, Rubs, get over him." she said, leaning against the door frame.

"Why doesn't he want me? Am I not worth it?" Ruby says between sobs. Anne can't believe her ears. Ruby is one of the prettiest and kindest girls of school, of course she's worth it!

"Look, he's just an asshole. Yeah, he might be hot and everything, but he's not worth it"

"Who's an asshole?" A raspy irritating voice fills the emptiness of the corridor. Anne turns around to face the Gilbert Blythe. Stupid, Mr-I-Know-Everything Gilbert Blythe.

"Diana, why don't you take Ruby home?" Anne turns to her friends again. "This party is fucking shit anyway"

"But Anne, how are you going to get back h-?" They came to the party in Diana's car, so Anne had no one to drive her back home.

"I'll find a ride, don't worry about me" she says, now facing a puzzled Gilbert Blythe. "There's something I need to sort out"

Diana and Ruby leave instantly. Ruby doesn't even look at Gilbert — she feels humiliated. She told all her friends that he would kiss her at Billy's party. Gilbert however, had other plans in mind, and ended up making out with some random girl instead, despite Ruby's attempts of flirting during the whole night.

Now it's just Anne and Gilbert in the Andrew's house's corridor.

"Don't you ever get tired of making out with random girls?"

"What, are you jealous or something like that?" he says, raising an eyebrow and clearly amused by the situation. "What are you gonna to do about it?" he crosses his arms against his chest and raises his head in a cocky way that makes her want to punch him.

"What makes you think I'd want to make out with you?" she imitates the boy, crossing her arms up her chest but shotting him a glare instead of that stupid flirty smile that he always wears. "I'm not even single" she added. "And even if I was, you're not my type"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Shirley" he says, biting back a laugh. "Who said I wanted to make out with you?"

"Uh, not me, I couldn't be less interested in you"

"Then why did you tell your friends that I was hot five minutes ago?"

The girl just groans in response and starts making her way to the stairs, trying to leave, but the taller boy blocks her way in the corridor.

"Tell me, Shirley" His tall body is blocking the way and she hates the fact that she has to raise her head to look at him. He's a few inches taller than her.

"Believe it or not, there's more in life than good looks" she says "You hurt Ruby, you know?"

"Better hurt her now than making her believe I want something with her, don't you think?" he says. And Anne agrees, somehow. But she has to stand up for her friend. "If she wasn't a good friend of mine, I would've kindly kissed her"

Anne is about to answer, probably with a sarcastic or witty remark to remind him that he's not as smart as he thinks, when Gilbert phone buzzes.

"Oh, Shirley" his eyes are fixed on his phone's screen. "You're not gonna like this"

She noticed how he's trying to hide a smile.

"What is it?" she asks, getting closer to him so that she can see whatever he means. She checks his phone to reveal a message from her brother.

Jerry
I'm leaving with Diana to make sure Ruby's okay
Drive Anne home?? Pls?

"No" she groans. She's not mad or angry, though. But she really doesn't want Gilbert Blythe to drive her back home. "I'll call a taxi"

He laughs so hard that Anne thinks he could be heard in the whole neighborhood.

"Come on, I'll drive you home" he makes her turn around and head to the staircase. His hands are on her shoulders and he is guiding the way for her.

His hands doesn't leave her shoulders until they get to his car. She doesn't talk, but that means she doesn't protest either.

___

"So, how's everything?" the boy says, looking over at her and waiting for an answer that doesn't come. The girl just stares out of the window, wind blowing her mid-length auburn hair. "Okay, no talking then" Gilbert turns the radio on. It's a ten minute drive or so to Green Gables.

M-m-m-m-m-my more than meets the eye
To tell the truth you be a liar
I saw her out on Friday night, misunderstood
She's balling for a guy
That's cigarette needs a light
Pluck up the courage and
Invite her nowhere good

The girl leans forward to turn the volume up, she loves this song. "Whoa, hey" Gilbert says "So you're not talking to me but you feel like you can touch my car?"

"Everytime you say something like 'whoa, whoa, stop'" she said, imitating his deep voice "you get even more and more cliché"

"I'm not cliché, I'm unique"

She lets out a sarcastic laugh that makes the boy smile. He keeps his eyes on the dark road, though.

"See? That's something that only people who are not unique would say"

"How am I cliché, genius?" he takes a brief glimpse at her. She's not looking out of the window anymore, but at him. He fixes his eyes on the road again, a bit more satisfied by the fact that he's making progress. At least she's looking at me, he thinks.

"You're wearing a fucking The Smiths t-shirt, you drive a navy blue Jeep and you would not let anyone touch it!" she says "Seriously, take a look at yourself"

"I'll give you right on the car part" he nods. "Any problem with The Smiths?"

"No problem at all, I love them"

"You like The Smiths?"

Well, of course she does. She remembers the first day of school. He was wearing the exact same T-shirt he's wearing now, and she was wearing another T-shirt if the same band. Somehow she hoped that he would've noticed that, but now she knows that he didn't.

"I just said I loved them" she rolls her eyes.

"Favorite song by them?"

"Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me, obviously" she replies. Her eyes go back to the window.

"Ah, good one. Mine's Asleep" he says, smiling widely.

"Fine"

"Fine"

After ten minutes of a silent drive, Gilbert breaks the silence. "Are you going to give me the directions to your house or am I supposed to keep driving in circles?"

"You've been driving in circles this whole time?" she yells, and he thanks God she's wearing her seatbelt, because otherwise she would have jumped into his seat and murdered him instantly. "You've been to my house before!"

"I know" he says with a mischievous smile that makes her anger fade away a bit. She doesn't know why.

"You're an asshole" she takes a look around, trying to know where the hell they are before giving him the actual directions to Green Gables. "Turn left"

___

"You're welcome" he says as soon as he parks in her driveway, knowing that she won't say a "thank you" in the first place. She unfastens her seatbelt and he knows that she is going to jump out of the car any second.

"Let me walk you to the door" he says when she opens the door. "It's dark"

She does not reply but he gets out of the car anyway. That gesture makes her groan silently. The air is too cold for an October night and her outfit doesn't help.

He is walking after her, hands in his pockets. Now that she's not looking, he takes the chance to admire her outfit — black leather skirt, combat boots and her red hair against the strength of the wind. She looks really pretty. He's noticed before, of course. The first time he saw her he didn't even know her name, but he found her attractive anyhow. It's not just her looks though; there's something magnetic about her that makes him want to follow her even to Hell if she asked.

But she won't ask. She has a boyfriend and he has to respect that. But who says they can't be friends?

He thought that she would just get inside, but she stops before getting to the porch to lit one of her cigarettes.

"You shouldn't do that, you know" he suggests, pointing to her fingers holding the cigarette. They are standing right in front of each other, a security distance of a five feet between them.

"You think I give a shit about what I should or should not do?" she says, breathing out the smoke.

"No, I don't think so" he chuckles lightly under his breath, hands shoved in his pockets. "Hasn't your mother taught you some manners, Shirley?"

"No, she's dead"

"I met her last week"

"I mean my actual mom"

She loves Marilla. She really does. But it's just not the same.

"I'm sorry" realization hits him after a few seconds. "I'm so stupid, I should've..."

"Don't do that, don't give me that pity look. I'm an orphan, yes, but I'm probably just as fucked up as you are" she wipes a tear away. Shit, she thinks. She's on her period and her hormones are making her do these kind of things. She never cries in public. She just hopes he doesn't notice, because she really doesn't need Gilbert Blythe comforting her right now.

He looks at her.

Fuck.

"Are you crying?"

Fuck.

"No" she says, although it sounds more like a "No?".

"Yes, you are" he walks towards her, and that makes her body tense up. "Look, I know that you hate me"

"I don't hate you" she keeps crying. She looks up to him. He's closer. She actually doesn't think they've ever been this close. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

Gilbert looks at her too; he places both his hands on her shoulders again. He tilts his head a bit so that he can take a better look at her. He's not looking, he's staring. It may be the fact that it's late at night, a few hours passed midnight, or the fact that they're standing below a sheet of stars, but she looks so pretty tonight. Her eyes are puffy yet bluer than ever, her cheeks are rosy and she is biting her lip as some attempt to stop her crying. And her freckles — he believes the stars should be jealous of this girl's freckles.

She looks beautiful.

"For the way I've treated you! I'm just not the best at making friends"

She notices his stare and her usual response would be to tell him to go to hell, but now... she feels relieved somehow. She has really told him her inability of making friends and meeting new people. It's not the fact that she doesn't like him, it's just that she doesn't know how to approach him. Diana was right — he's a good guy.

"Hey, I'm not the best at making friends either"

She eyes him, knowing that's bullshit. He has a special charm for people, everybody loves him. "Sure thing" He is the kind of person that makes everyone turn around to take a second look at him.

"Look" he takes her by surprise by taking her hand in his and making her sit on the doorsteps. "We could be the best of friends" he says, matter-of-factly, "Why waste so much potential?"

She looks at him but she says nothing. "So let's just..." his voice is a whisper and he is leaning in towards her — she could swear her heart stops beating for a few seconds. He takes the cigarette from her hands and a throws it to the ground "be friends, mm?" he says. "Hi, I'm Gilbert, Gilbert Blythe"

He offers his hand for her to shake.

"Hi, I'm Anne Shirley-Cuthbert" she tries to bite back the smile that was forming in her face. "Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too, Shirley"

"Am I gonna regret this?" she asks.

"Probably" he says as he types something in his phone. Then a song starts playing.

Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me.

"I'm sure this will make you feel better" he looks at her and offers her a crooked smile.

After five minutes, the music fades away and silence comes again.

"Do you want to know?" she whispers "About my parents and how I ended up here?"

"If you feel okay about it, yes, I'd like to know"

"Nobody ever asks so it feels good to know that someone is actually interested"

"I am insterested"

She takes a deep breath before starting to talk and he understands that this is hard for her. She hasn't probably tell much people, maybe Charlie or Diana.

"They died when I was around six" she says. "Drunk driver, so classic, huh?" ... "My mom died instantly. My dad made it to the hospital and died after two or three days"

He wants to hold her hand and say something comforting, but he doesn't know what to say and she would slap him the second he takes her hand, so he decides to listen. Sometimes listening is the best support.

"Suddenly, I was alone" she says. Her eyes are looking at nothing in particular, just the darkness of the night in front of them. Her face looks so serene. "I was sent to an orphanage which was terrible, by the way" she chuckles lightly. "I was so scared and I was holding up to the ridiculous hope that my parents would show up and pick me up. They obviously didn't"

Gilbert listens and feeling bold, places one of his hands in her back. She doesn't complain.

"But then I met Jerry" her face lights up at the mention of her brother. "He'd been in the orphanage all his life. His parents died in a fire when he was just a baby. The firemen were able to get him out, but it was too late for his family"

Gilbert can't believe his ears. It's a devastating story, and knowing both Anne and Jerry, they don't deserve that — well, nobody does. But must have been through a lot.

"Nobody ever adopted him because of his hyperactivity" she explains. "He felt lonely too, so I guess we conected somehow"

Gilbert chuckles, rubbing her back softly. "You really are the best of siblings"

"When Marilla and Matthew came to adopt a boy, they adopted me too" she smiles widely again when she mentions the Cuthberts. "I guess knew that we couldn't be separated"

"Who's Matthew?" Gilbert asks, not knowing that was still a delicate topic for Anne. "Marilla's husband?"

"Husband?!" She laughs a bit. "No, no. Matthew is... well, he, um, he was... very important to me" her voice cracks.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me, okay?" He keeps rubbing her back in circles with his hands, as a way of saying "I am here".

"Yeah" she stands up and he does the same. "Thanks. It was nice, um, talking to you"

He was to hug her, he really wants to.

Hug her. Hug her.

He doesn't.

"Anytime, Shirley" he shakes his head, whilst she plays with her keys. "Good night"

"See you, Blythe" she simply says, before disappearing into her house. She doesn't turn around to take a last look at him, but if she had, she would've seen him staring at her from the navy blue Jeep.

He doesn't leave until she's inside.

___

She wishes she could easily drift into a good sleep, but she stays in bed, lying on her side and staring at her alarm clock as the hours go by. It's almost 4 am and she still hasn't fallen asleep.

October 16th

Anne wakes up the following morning. It's Saturday and her usual morning routine consists on checking Instagram before her morning shower.

liked by ukelelegirl, billytheman and 102 others
drblythe last night I dreamt that somebody loved me

___

Gilbert Blythe has been listening to Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me on repeat since last night. And that was just hours ago.

It's when he checks Instagram when he realizes something.

itscxrdelia liked your post.

He has a tiny crush in a girl who has a boyfriend.

___

A/N - AAAAH, I loved this chapter, it was one of my faves to write 💘

How are you liking this story? Are you discovering new music? Do you read the chapter with the title track on? Favourite character? Anything?

Also, feel free to comment any kind of feedback on the plot/grammar or spelling mistakes!

Ily ✨