When Gilbert kissed Anne (Shirbert One-Shot)
Seated in their usual circle, the young girls of Avonlea excitedly chattered about whatever gossip had the small town abuzz this week. Or, at least, most of them were. After being scolded about her gossiping by Miss Stacy, Anne tried her very best to avoid joining in with Josie Pye, Jane, Tillie, and Ruby by engaging in the most wonderful conversations with Diana. Although, today - with Diana ill at home - Anne simply withdrew herself into her mind as she stared out the window at the heavily falling white snow. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine a handsome prince astride his dark stallion, riding through the icy wonderland to save his beloved. Who had, without his knowledge, escaped the clutches of the Haunted Forest’s creatures and was on her way to an empty home.
“Anne,” Ruby said softly, poking her with a gentle finger.
Blinking away her daydream, Anne turned towards her friend and smiled kindly. Ruby was regarding her with furrowed brows, her eyes darting toward the world sealed away from the girls by the window, as if trying to figure out what the redhead had found so interesting about the sparkling snow that coated Avonlea like a thick blanket.
“Oh, Ruby,” Anne exclaimed dreamily, glancing back out at the winter wonderland, her eyes bright and sparkling. “Isn’t it absolutely magical out there? Oh, how I wish it was winter all year long!”
With a wistful sigh, she turned back to a confused Ruby who was looking out at the frozen world with displeasure. When she turned back to Anne, Ruby frowned and shook her head, rubbing her arms as she shivered slightly. The smaller girl shook her head before speaking.
“Anne, you say that about every season. I, on the other hand, cannot stand the cold. Even just looking at the snow makes me shiver. It’s horrid! My nose and cheeks are red all the time and I look absolutely terrible. And Gilbert is here every day to see me in this awful state!”
Ruby huffed, clearly distressed as she fussed with her lovely hair and periwinkle skirt, her eyes darting to where Gilbert Blythe sat, completely absorbed in the book that lay open in front of him. Lately, he’d been staying inside, as the girls did, trying to learn everything that he could about becoming a doctor. This made Ruby anxious all the time, something that irritated Anne a little. Not that she’d ever admit it aloud.
Instead, Anne placed a reassuring hand on Ruby’s shoulder and smiled brightly at her friend. Ruby, however, still frowned sadly at Gilbert, who had yet to notice her attention, and raised a hand to her pink tinted cheeks.
“But Ruby, pink looks so incredibly magnificent on you. It appears as if your cheeks were blessed by the loveliest of wild roses. Of course, I look positively dreadful with my pink cheeks but that’s only because of my absolutely ghastly red hair. You look beautiful, Ruby,” Anne said. “Besides, Gilbert won’t care if you don’t look perfect in the cold. If a boy will love you, should he not love you for more than simply your appearance?”
It was not a question Anne was expecting an answer to, but Ruby shook her head nonetheless, her pretty curls flying about her in a flurry. By now, the other girls had begun listening to Anne and Ruby and it had become a group discussion. Josie Pye’s eyes darted between Gilbert and Ruby. Anne could practically see the wheels turning behind her eyes as she thought up a scheme that would no doubt be posed as helping Ruby while humiliating Anne in the process.
“But then why has he not kissed me yet?” Ruby wailed, her rosy lips beginning to quiver with the emotions that were so near overflowing. Jane placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
Josie Pye smiled slyly, her eyes quickly darting to Anne before she voiced her idea, “We have yet to play Spin the Bottle since Gilbert Blythe’s return to Avonlea. I’ll get all the boys to play as well so even he could not refuse.”
