▷ You shook me all night long - AC/DC

«She told me to come
but I was already there»

___

RUBY GILLIS can sense that there's an air of awkwardness in the table they're all sitting in. Diana and Jane are still singing, Moody and Tillie are complaining about some school project and Josie and Billy are now being two lovebirds — and Ruby can't help but feel a bit jealous. Will she ever find romance?

She looks at her left. Jerry Baynard, Anne's brother, is playing nervously with the hem of his T-shirt. Ruby studies him with a pitiful look on her face. Poor boy, maybe he doesn't know how to make friends — he's never hung out with us before, she thinks. He walked me home the other day and he seemed pretty cool.

"Thanks again for walking me home the other day" She says out of the sudden. The others are talking about something that seems really interesting, but Jerry has been awfully quiet since Gilbert and Anne left for drinks.

"It's alright. Are you feeling better?" he replies, trying not to sound too nervous. Although, the thing is, that Ruby Gillis makes him insanely nervous.

"Sure! I'm fine" she replies, not looking at him but at the brick wall that covers the club.

"Good..."

And that seems to be the end of the conversation. Awkward.

Thank God, after a few more shots, Gilbert and Anne are back, they don't join the others on the table, though. They stand up, a few feet away from the table.

"Well, fancy a song, Shirley?" Gilbert's voice calls her, making Anne look at him. It's the first time that she takes her time to actually look at him. He's wearing a plain black T-shirt and black jeans that go annoyingly perfect with his dark curls. His forehead is a bit sweaty because of the insane heat of the club, and some curls are sticking into his skin — he's handsome, he really is handsome. She notices now that he's staring straight at her, probably waiting for an answer.

"Um, no, thanks"

After mumbling an "I'm sorry", Anne walks past Gilbert and leaves the building, quickly looking for her cigars in her bag and leaving the boy standing petrified with a face that looked like a question mark.

"Don't go after her" a voice behind Gilbert says. "She probably wants to be alone"

Jerry.

"Did I do anything wrong?" Gilbert asks. Jerry is now standing beside him.

"No, she just gets anxious some times and needs air" Jerry explains. "She'll be back soon"

"I wasn't going to go after her, anyway"

"Sure, sure" Jerry says, patting Gilbert's back playfully. "I know you like my sister"

"I don't" Gilbert just says. "She's just a friend"

___

Anne's right leg is shaking as a sign of nervousness and anxiety. She's sitting on the pavement as she smokes to make the anxiety go away when an unknown voice startles her.

"Have fire?"

It'a just a boy.

He is quite tall and very, very skinny. Even more than Jerry! "It's all bones", Marilla would say. His long black hair ir really curly and his pale face is covered in freckles — his figure basically gets lost in a black leather jacket that's way too big for him.

From where she's sitting, he looks like a giant.

"Yeah, here" she says. The boy ducks down next to her and she lits his cigar. "Thanks" he takes a look at her "Nice t-shirt by the way"

She is wearing her AC/DC T-shirt today. It was one of Matthew's presents from last Christmas. It's actually a bit way too oversized for her, but Matthew wasn't the best at choosing clothes. However, for obvious reasons, this T-shirt became her favorite ever since Matthew died.

"Thanks"

The giant boy doesn't leave.

"Are you here on your own?"

"My friends are inside, but I needed some air" she sighs. "You?"

"My shitty parents got into anorher fight and I needed some air" he says this as if it was a regular and recurring situation.

"Sorry to hear that". She means it.

"No problem, I guess I'll leave you alone" he says, standing up again and aiming to leave.

"Nah, you can stay"

He smiles, although the girl doesn't notice of course. She's staring at nothing in particular, probably just cars passing by, whilst she smokes quietly. He sits next to her, both smoking.

"I'm Fred"

"Anne" she offers her hand, which the boy shakes amicably. Fred studies the girl's face. There's something wrong with her, so he has to ask, although it's none of his business and she seems like the kind of girl that would kindly tell him to go to hell.

"What's wrong?"

"As if Im going to tell you"

Obviously.

"Well, you don't have to, tiger, but I'm a complete external agent to any possible situation, so I won't judge" he smokes calmly by her side. "Sometimes it's better to talk your shit with people you don't know"

Actually, Anne's the first person he's ever told about the shitty situation with his parents. And she's a complete stranger to him — or at least was about a minute ago.

The takes a deep breath before starting to speak. She knows she's going to regret her own words as soon as she mouths them, but she has a heavy sinking feeling in her chest that she knows won't go away until she tells someone.

"I have a boyfriend and I kinda... feel attracted to this guy?" she says. "I haven't stopped thinking about him ever since we met"

Fucking finally. She needed to let that out. A certain someone's been bugging her mind more than she'd like to admit. She doesn't know why, though, and it's becoming an annoying habit, having someone floating among her thoughts.

"I see"

She thinks about how this guy that's been constantly bugging her mind likes old music to much, how witty and sarcastic he is... fuck.

"He's like my dream guy but I love my boyfriend so it's never gonna happen"

"Hm" Fred seems to understand some how — or at least he tries.

"It's like some kind of tension between us whenever we're together"

"Sounds complicated" he finally says.

"Yeah..."

"You know what, why don't we go inside and sing some kick ass song?"

"Uh, um"

"Oh, the dream guy is inside, I believe"

"Please, don't call him like that"

"Alright, I won't call him anything at all" the boy stands up, throws his cigar to the ground and offers his hand to her. "Let's go, tiger-Anne"

She frowns. Tiger-Anne?

She kinda likes this Fred guy.

___

Nobody's asked about Anne or tried to go after her, so Gilbert assumes this must be a regular Anne-thing to do. However, he wonders how her friends have left her reach this situation. He believes all this behavior has to do with her personal trauma, which she shared with him last night. How come nobody's tried to help this girl? She clearly needs someone, he wonders.

Well, she has a boyfriend. He's probably "her someone".

After Anne leaves, Jerry tells Gilbert that he should talk to Ruby and try to smooth things over with her.

"Rubs, hey, can we talk?" Gilbert asks her. The girl just nods and stands up from the table, taking her strawberry vodka with her.

Now it's just the two of them in between the mess of the crowded club. There's no music playing at the moment, so it's the perfect time for a talk

"Look, I'm so sorry for rejecting you yesterday. It's just that I think you're a great girl, you're so kind and you don't deserve to be played with"

"No girl deserves to be played with, kind or not"

He agrees.

I'm a jerk.

"I would really like to be your friend, is that okay with you?"

"Sure, don't worry"

Maybe I overreacted, she thinks. I can't force someone to like me.

"Great" Gilbert smiles and leans in for a small hug that the girl accepts. "Also, I wanted to talk to you about..." he notices then that Ruby's eyes are not looking at him anymore but at something happening behind his back. He turns around to see Anne Shirley-Cuthbert walking back into the club with some guy he doesn't know, and by the look on Ruby's eyes, she doesn't know him either.

Who the hell is this guy?

Anne and Fred are making their way through the crowd when the boy whispers into Anne's ear. "So, this is the dream guy", he says with his eyes directed towards Gilbert Blythe.

"I never told you who he was"

There was Billy, Moody and also Jerry. It could've been literally anyone, how did he know?

How did he know that she's been thinking about Gilbert much more than she'd like to admit?

How did he know that she's stalked Gilbert's Instagram every day ever since the moment he clicked the button "follow"?

"You don't have to" Fred says. "He's too obvious, hasn't stopped staring at you since you came back"

The dream guy, also called Gilbert Blythe, walks up to them. "Hey, Shirley" That smile — that damn, sly, amused smile. "Who's this"

"Ah, this is my new friend, Fred..."

"Wright. Fred Wright"

"Gilbert Blythe" he offers his hand.

Such a gentleman.

"Oh, so you're one of those guys who loves shaking hands" Fred Wright lets out a small chuckle that assures Gilbert Blythe that he's a good guy. "Okay, okay"

"Wanna have shots instead?"

"I'd love that man but didn't bring my wallet. Another time" Fred says. Anne just watches the scene amused. These two look like two potential best friends.

"Another time my ass, c'me here" Gilbert grabs his by the arm, leading him to the bar. Just then, Fred's head turns around to scream:

"Tiger-Anne, I like this guy!"

Anne rolls her eyes, watching the two of them leave.

"Who the hell is that?"

Diana Barry, her best friend, is standing right next to her, watching the two boys get lost in the crowded club.

"Fred"

"Fred who?"

"Fred Wright, I just met him"

Anne explains how she's met the boy just a few minutes ago, although she obviously doesn't tell her about the Gilbert part.

"He seems cool" is all Diana says.

"Of course I'm cool! And you and I, tiger-Anne, are going to sing the song I just picked up!" Fred appears again, out of nowhere, along with Gilbert.

"What?"

Fred just drags her to the stage. Diana can tell that Anne is probably freaking out, being that... exposed to people. She stands awkwardly in the middle of the stage, until the song begins. Fred Wright did choose right.

She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I've ever seen

Anne is not the best singer in the world, not even in the karaoke club — Jane Andrews has a goddamn great voice and Diana Barry sings like an angel. But the way that Shirley moves her body across the little stage and how words leave her lips passionately to the rythym of the song has Gilbert Blythe staring like a fool.

The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And you were making it and you
Shook me all night long

Fred Wright, on the other hand, has a raspy-made-for-punk-and-rock voice that makes the whole club cheer for him. But the curly haired boy who is watching from the bar with a gin tonic in his hands only has eyes for a certain redhead.

"Stop drooling" Jerry says out of the blue. Gilbert doesn't know how long he has been there for, but he wishes that he hasn't noticed how he has been staring at her sister during the whole performance.

"What?"

"Never mind"

Just like that, Anne and Fred's tribute to AC/DC is over. Ecstatic, they both walk back to their friends, who are still clapping and whooping.

"Nice duet" Gilbert says, although he is technically just looking at Anne. "I'm impressed"

"Thanks"

"Wonder when we'll sing one. Bet we have lots of songs in common, don't you think?"

Before Anne can think of an answer, she notices that Fred Wright is leaving. Diana watches him walk away with a frown on her face.

Diana Barry never frowns.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Anne jogs after him.

"My house"

Anne thinks of every possible word she or her friends could've said to make him leave, although he doesn't look hurt or annoyed.

He's just leaving.

"Stay! My friends will like you"

"My work here is done, tiger-Anne" he smiles. "But I'll see you"

And just like that, the club main door closes and Fred Wright's gone, almost as if he was some kind of vision trick.

Anne won't see him again for two long months.

___

A/N - Don't you love Fred Wright? Because I love him SO MUCH. Friendly reminder that he's supposed to look like Finn Wolfhard (:

What do you think of the story? Any ship you like?