▷ Every little thing she does is magic - The Police

«Every time that I come near her
I just lose my nerve»

___

SEBASTIAN LACROIX spots Gilbert Blythe doing his homework on the kitchen table. It's Sunday morning, and Gilbert's usual companion, Fred Wright, is nowhere to be seen. The older man can hear the tapping of Gilbert's pencil against the paper of the notebook as he tries to think of the answer of what he presumes must be a challenging mathematical equation.

As for Gilbert, he hasn't stopped thinking about Anne. He can't stop thinking what got her so mad, so angry and so broken at the same time. He wishes she could understood. Instead, he chooses to focus on Maths — they're simpler than the redhead's brain, that's for sure.

"Where's Fred?" Sebastian asks, groggily moving around the tiny and cluttered kitchen. After startling the boy with his entrance, he proceeds to fix himself a good cup of coffee.

"Out with Diana" Gilbert replies, writing down the answer to an equation. Sebastian offers him a cup and the boy thanks him with a nod before sipping caffeine straight out of the mug, the scent of fresh boiling coffee invading his nostrils.

"I see, Freddie-boy has a girlfriend!"

"Yup"

Gilbert doesn't want to talk. Mostly because he knows where this conversation is leading to and also because he's annoyed — Anne's somehow managed to affect his mood and now he's feeling both anxious and irritated.

"So, Anne seems like a really nice girl"

I knew it. I fucking knew it.

"Yeah, she is" Gilbert keeps his eyes on his notebook. He really doesn't want to talk about Anne now, especially since what happened at Fred's party two days ago. They haven't really talked — they just texted yesterday and he decided to leave her on read. Maybe she needs space to process whatever's going on with her.

"Is there anything going on between you two?" Bash asks cautiously. His deep brown eyes are filled with curiosity and his lips are curved up into a teasing smile.

Gilbert looks up to him. He's taken his usual seat in the kitchen table, right in front of him. The boy takes his time to answer — Is there anything going on between us? I thought it was. But I guess not.

"No, she's in love with someone else"

His own words put him through both emotional and almost physical pain. But he believes that saying that out loud will make him accept it sooner — she'll never be mine and I better get used to the idea.

"What about you?"

Gilbert considers Sebastian's question. He could just pretend he doesn't care or he could just simply be honest about his feelings for once. "I... am trying not to think about it" he admits.

Sebastian Lacroix rests his chin on his palm, studying Gilbert's face. The boy seems truly troubled. He wonders when exactly he did turn into this mess of feelings and emotions. John Blythe was known to be an openly hopeless romantic when he was Gilbert's age. His son, however, seemed to have chosen an alternative path of no relationships and no emotional attachment — until now.

"And how is that working out for you?"

Gilbert closes the notebook, running both of his hands though his hair. "I'm failing miserably because I can't stop thinking about her"

The man wasn't probably expecting the act of honesty coming from Gilbert. "Wanna know what I think?" Sebastian says after taking a sip from his coffee.

Gilbert knows Bash means well — he's always sort of been part of the family (he's been around for as long as he can remember) and he's always been a confidant and a great friend to rely on. "You're going to tell me either way"

"Ah, that's true" Sebastian smiles at him under his cup of coffee. "I think she cares about you. You should tell her how you feel."

"She knows" he mumbles quietly. "I don't have to tell her, that stupid mixtape I gave her for her birthday? It's a fucking love letter" he cringes at the mere thought of the track list. God, I've been such a fool. "Trust me, she knows"

"A love letter?" Bash raises his thick eyebrow, a grin of surprise on his face. "Since when are you the romantic kind?"

"I don't know, since her, I guess" Gilbert says. "Although I have to say that I despise the this-girl-changed-me cliché"

"I don't think she changed you" Bash realizes now. "I think she triggered something in you. Maybe you've been waiting for someone like her"

Had this happened months ago, Gilbert would've flipped him off with a teasing smile and a "She's just a girl" coming from his lips. But things are different now. Gilbert knows now that feelings exist. Feelings are real, feelings are strong and mostly,

feelings suck.

"Maybe. I mean, definitely" Gilbert finishes his coffee. "I knew it the moment I saw her — I knew it was going to be her"

"Then do something about it, Blythe"

Like?

"No, that's not an option"

Gilbert Blythe doesn't have a physical list of the reasons why he shouldn't confess his feelings to Anne Shirley-Cuthbert. But if he did, it would look like this:

1. She has a boyfriend (who is a quite cool guy, by the way)
2. I would die of embarrassment
3. She'd whack me over the head with a random book

"What do you have to lose? You'll be going separate ways when you go to college"

The mere thought of being separated after summer makes his heart sink. Sometimes he forgets about the fact that he moved in to Avonlea just for a year. Then he'll go to college. Then he'll leave this little town, Fred, Jerry, Ruby... He'll have to leave Anne as well. "What do I have to lose? Everything! I could lose her"

"From what I've seen, she cares way too much about you to let you go. The girl brought you home and stayed with you all night when you got that drunk — just to make sure you were okay. And when your father was at he hospital... do you really think she came to see your dad? No, Blythe. She came for you"

His mind flashes different memories of Anne and him. Him and Anne. Every pleasant and happy memory contained in his brain ever since he moved in here has Anne in it.

Yes, she does care about me, he thinks. And for a while I thought that maybe she returned my feelings, that whenever she saw me standing somewhere she wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted to kiss her. But then Fred told me — she doesn't like me like that. I'm just a friend.

"For me?"

"Of course, Blythe. Romantic feelings or not, she cares about you. If she doesn't reciprocate your feelings, she'll still want to be your friend anyway"

That could be true. But again, his mind goes back to the other night. She seemed pretty angry and Gilbert quite can't figure out yet what got her so mad and so sad at the same time.

"I doubt that" he says. "She seemed to be mad at me at Fred's surprise party and she's been distant ever since"

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he says, clearly offended by the man's insinuation.

"I'm sure you did something"

Annoyed, Gilbert looks back at his notebook. The numbers and letters seem to gather together and somehow he has an epiphany. The answer is clear now.

Oh.

What if-?

"I just- I think she-"

Oh. Crap.

"What, Blythe? Has your brain stopped working?"

Gilbert realizes now. Oh.

"Holy shit" he mumbles under his breath.

"What is it?"

Gilbert abruptly stands up from the table, dropping his notebook to the floor. He doesn't even care to pick it up — he paces from one side of the table to another, biting his nails and with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Blythe, what is it?"

"What if after all, she does like me?"

"Then you have to tell her. You might not be able to tell he with words, but you have to find a way"

Not be able to tell her with words...?

"I think you just gave me an idea!" The boy exclaims. His face has turned to a cheerful grin that makes Sebastian smile back. Bash winks at him, causing the boy to give him a huge bear hug as the man is still sitting.

The first thing Gilbert does that afternoon is visit Jane Andrews. What takes the hazel-eyed boy by surprise is that, just as soon as the girl opens the door, she throws herself at his arms, wrapping hers around him and burying her head in his neck.

___

After driving him home, Ruby walks Jerry to his door. "I had fun today" she says once they've got to his door.

This is their second date under the label of "official date". They went for lunch to a place downtown that the girl suggested. She still can't understand how nervous Jerry is around her — they've hang out alone multiple times, at his house, her house, school... but she can't help but feel guilty about how tense and agitated he looks most of the time.

"Me too. I mean, I always have fun when I'm with you"

Ruby Gillis kisses his cheek as a way of saying both "Goodbye" And "You're so sweet". Jerry notices how her lips linger there for more than a few seconds. He could just kiss her. She is so close, it would only take a slight turn of his head and a lot of bravery. Kiss her. Kiss her!

"Jerry?" Ruby whispers, her mouth still close to his cheek; her warm breath caressing his skin.

"Yes?" he murmurs, thinking how pathetic he must look right now. He's standing right there, stone-cold rigid like a statue.

"Kiss me"

Jerry hesitates for a moment, wondering if he's heard right. Is the one and only Ruby Gillis asking me to kiss her?

The girl moves to look at him then, batting her expectant eyes at him with a crooked and innocent smile. Jerry Baynard will never know where he took all the boldness from, because before he even realizes, he cups her face with both of his hands. and plants a soft, warm kiss in her mouth.

The girl tenderly kisses him back, taking the lead because she knows it's his first kiss — the mess, innocence and clumsiness of a first kiss. The caress of Jerry's lips were softer than she could've ever imagined and the touch of his hands on her face feels almost velvety. She'd been wanting to kiss him for a while now, but time was worth the wait.

Ruby Gillis realizes now that she's never been kissed like this. And there's just one reason behind that fact, plain and simple —

no one's ever liked her like Jerry Baynard does.

The afore mentioned Jerry Baynard can't stop smiling like a fool when they do separate from each other. The girl, starry eyed, studies his expression — he looks happy. She wraps her arms around him, resting her chin on the tall boy's shoulder.

"I like you a lot, Jerry" she whispers quietly. The boy mentally thanks God and the universe itself not only for the kiss and the embrace they're sharing now, but also for the fact that Anne's not home right now and she can't possibly see them like this. She'd be laughing at them for months.

"I like you a lot too, Ruby" he mentally high-fives himself for saying that without stuttering.

"I have something for you" she announces, taking a folded piece of paper out of her purse. She hands him the note, and Jerry studies it carefully, holding it in his hands. Too afraid to open it, she looks down at the girl, as if he was asking her what was it that she just gave him.

"Gilbert told me that you think you're flawed" she says. For a split second, Jerry thinks about ways to murder Gilbert Blythe and go unnoticed. "And you are. Just like everyone else. But I wrote a list of things I like about you — it's not as beautifully written as if Anne had written it but-"

A list of things she likes about me? Vanishing his latest thoughts away, Jerry now believes Gilbert Blythe is his favorite person in the universe. If he got Ruby to do this for him, then he must be an present sent directly from the Gods.

"Could you- could you read it for me?" he asks. The girl nods, taking the paper from his hands and clearing her throat after.

"Things that Ruby Gillis likes about Jerry Baynard-Cuthbert:

- The way you speak so passionately about the things you like
- The grey beanie you wore last Winter
- How your eyes look like two cups of hot chocolate
- The way you take care of both Marilla and Anne, because they are your first priorities
- How you timidly smile when you lock eyes with me
- Probably lots of more things that I'll discover with time"

She locks eyes with him as soon as she finishes reading.

"Discover with... time?" he asks carefully. He doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, but that sounds like...

Ruby blushes under his gaze. "If you want to, yes, I'd like that"

She's asking me to be my girlfriend. Oh my god, this can't be happening.

"If I want to? Ruby? I've been crazy for you for years, you may not know that but-"

"Oh, trust me, J" she laughs, biting her bottom lip as she pays his arm. "I do know"

"Oh, okay" he says, way more relaxed now. There's a comfortable air between them now. It's like he can finally breathe when she's around — it feels good. "Oh, the rest are going to tease us so much"

That's all it takes. His words light a mischievous spark of trouble in her blue eyes.

"Let's do something" she says.

"Mm?" the boy mumbles as he confidently (this is new, he thinks) wraps his arms around her, drawing her closer to him.

"Let's not tell them until prom — imagine the look on their faces when we kiss at prom!"

Seeing the excitement for naughtiness and mischievousness in her face, the boy can't do other thing both start laughing.

"You're insane, Ruby Gillis" he says, poking her forehead with his index finger.

"I know"

"So... what... are we?" he asks, maybe because he still can't believe the fact that he's dating Ruby Gillis — she's his girlfriend. And he's her boyfriend.

"Call it what you want" she says, tipping on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Is that a Taylor Swift reference again?"

"Jerry Baynard, is you don't stop realizing and supporting my devotion for Taylor Swift, I'm afraid I won't be able to contain myself and I'll end up kissing you every single time you breathe!"

She wraps her arms tighter around his body.

"I won't complain" he says right before she kisses him once again, standing in the porch and surrounded by a green garden covered in flowers whose colors seem brighter than usual today.

___

Gilbert Blythe plays with the little box in his hands. It's 6 p.m. and he's standing at Anne's porch, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Considering how bad he is with words when it comes to her, he looks at what his hands are holding.

Calm your ass, Gilbert, he mentally tells himself. It's just Anne. Your friend Anne. Your Shirley. You know her very well. Yes, you've had a crush on her ever since you laid eyes on her, that's correct. There's also an undeniable sexual tension between you — that's correct as well. Yes, she's been distant since Fred's party. But you can do this. You're Gilbert Blythe.

It's curious, he thinks. He used to tease Jerry all the time about how heads over heels he was for Ruby Gillis and how stupidly he acted when the blonde was around. And now he's here, it's spring, petals are falling from Anne's favorite cherry blossom tree and Gilbert Blythe can't help but wonder what happened to him. One day he just woke up and realized he was heads over heels too.

Just when you thought things couldn't get any more romantically — Gilbert's prepared another mixtape. He checks the track list in his mind. It's shorter, but more straightforward that the one he made for her birthday.

01. In my life - The Beatles
02. Every little thing she does is magic - The Police
03. Just like heaven - The Cure
04. Unintended - Muse

And the last one, the most obvious one.

05. Staring - Tipling Rock

He takes a deep breath before knocking his thumbs against the door, straightening up his posture. Marilla Cuthbert is the one to open.

"Oh, hello, Gilbert" the woman's eyes crinkle, forming a smile. "I'm sure you must be here for Jerry"

"Uh, hello, Miss Cuthbert" he says politely, just like his father's taught him. "I was actually hoping to talk to Anne"

"Anne?"

"Oh, yes, she does still live here, right?" he jokes around as he shots her a blinding smile. A smile that falls down his face when he notices the look of confusion in the woman's face.

"I guess you don't know" she says as she holds the door.

"Know... what?"

Million possibilities run through his mind. What happened?

What the hell happened?

What if she's hurt?

What if something terrible happened and I'm too late?

"Anne's gone, Gilbert"

Gone?

Gone as in...?

"What do you mean she's gone? Miss Cuthbert, what happened?" he asks with a hurried voice and hazel eyes filled with worry.

"She left for Charlottetown's airport this morning. She's flying to New York, to visit Charlie" the woman explains. "You do know Charlie, right?"

The boy lets out a sigh of relief.

Oh, my god.

Pragmatic and rational Gilbert Blythe's both heart and brain stopped working for a second. For a split second he's thought that something terrible had happened. See? he wants to scream. This is what your daughter does to me — she's turned me into a dramatic ass. I thought she was dead for a moment!

"I do, yes"

Oh, how Gilbert wishes he could hate Charlie. But he doesn't.

"Anne's has a rough year, Gilbert"

Marilla's eyes tell him everything, and that's when he knows — all of this must have to do with Matthew. Every problem Anne could be dealing with is rooted in the loss of Matthew.

Gilbert doesn't know the story behind Matthew yet; Anne hasn't told him and it's not something he wants to go asking around. She'll tell him whenever she's ready. But he understands now that the girl has to deal with her loss before she can deal with other stuff.

"Yes, I know"

And by other stuff he means his own feelings.

She needed Charlie. And he wouldn't come between that.

"I'm sorry, boy, I thought she'd told you she was leaving"

"Well, she didn't" he clenches his jaw without even realizing it.

"Want me to give her that for you?" Marilla's eyes focus on the little box the boy's holding with his hands.

"This? No! This is- this is for my dad, yeah" he mumbles. "I'm sorry, Miss Cuthbert, I'll just go home"

Although Marilla Cuthbert insistes in inviting him for dinner with Jerry and her, the boy declined her invitation politely. He turned around and made his way back home. He didn't bring his car, so he took the chance to elongate his way, enjoying a quiet walk with the only company of his own self.

As he walks down the street, observing the gardens and front yards from the different neighbors, he wonders how it is possible for it to be spring when the flowers look so drained from their color.

___

Eight in the evening. Anne leans her head against the window. It's going to be a long flight, almost four hours. She can't wait to see Charlie.

She can't wait to kill all the butterflies she feels down in her stomach whenever Gilbert Blythe is close. Those will fade away as soon as she landed in New York — a week with Charlie and without Gilbert seemed like the solution to all her problems.

She's about to take off when her phone beeps. It must be Charlie, wishing her a safe flight before she takes off and her phone loses signal.

Gilbert Blythe
have a safe flight

Then, another beep.

Charlie
can't wait to see you xx

___

It's half past eight in the evening when Gilbert gets home. As soon as he walks in, he words a loud "I'm home!" causing his father and Bash, who are in the living room watching a movie, greet him as well.

He's half-way up to his room when Sebastian comes out of the living room and finds him in the staircase.

"Wanna get fast food and tell me how it went with your girl?" Sebastian says with a toothy grin from the foot of the stairs.

With a disappointed, tired, yet quiet look on his face, Gilbert replies. "I'm not hungry, Bash"

That's only half of his answer. The other half is too distressing to even say it out loud, but he thinks of it as he eventually gets to his room, closing his door behind him and playing in his speakers that album from The Neighbourhood Anne likes so much, the one she told him about after Christmas break.

And she's not my girl.

___

A/N

Questions time!

Do you understand Gilbert? Or do you understand Anne more?

Do you like Ruby and Jerry?

What do you think it's going to happen next?

Thoughts on this chapter? Although shirbert didn't interact?

DROP YOUR THEORIES