Green Eyed Beauty

Chapter 12

Ever since Jade had practically smacked sense into him 3 weeks ago, Gilbert was starting to feel better regarding the Anne situation. He found that since Anne had shut down his confession rather vehemently, he was able to receive some closure and move on. Truth be told, he did find himself stealing a glance at her every once in a while but never with that same longing and need to be recognized as he had done many times before. No, Gilbert Blythe was slowly starting to realize he had been pining after a "what if?", making the process of losing feelings much easier than he anticipated.

A flick of long, dark hair caught his eye. He looked over at Jade, who was scribbling furiously onto her paper, a curl slipping into her line of view every few seconds that she would flick back over her shoulder. Gilbert had the overwhelming urge to walk over and tuck it behind her ear.

Wait, what?

Gilbert tore his eyes away from the brunette to listen to Ms. Stacey's drawn-out explanation of trigonometry only to find himself staring at Jade again not too long after. This seemed to be a habit he developed in the recent weeks since Anne's rejection and honestly, he didn't mind it. He didn't have the sick feeling of being despised when he looked at her or the sad pit in his stomach that she might not even look in his direction. Much to his surprise, Jade would catch him staring sometimes and quickly shoot him a smile or wave that he eagerly returned.

He watched as Jade bit her lip, eyes scanning her paper for any mistakes before turning it in to Ms. Stacey. Her foot tapped the floor lightly as she released a sigh and crouched over her paper once more to scribble something in the margins, no doubt.

Charlie nudged him in the side, bringing his attention back to reality. Gilbert rose an eyebrow as if to say "What was that for?". His friend's smirk grew as he pointed a finger in Jade's direction and back at Gilbert with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Gilbert's eyes widened as he quickly smacked Charlie's hand away. "Don't point!" he hissed.

Charlie rolled his eyes, smirk not leaving his face. "Seems like it didn't take long for you to get over Anne." He whispered smugly.

Gilbert furrowed his brows. "It doesn't take much to get over a girl who yells at you for admitting your feelings and never truly loved." He defended in a hushed tone.

His friend nodded. "Well, now you can focus on the girl who actually gives you the time of day and doesn't bicker with you over every inconvenience."

"What girl?"

Charlie rolled his eyes, pushing Gilbert's head so that he was looking straight at his regular sight. Jade Peyton. His eyes widened.

"She's just a friend!" Gilbert whispered, pushing Charlie's hand off as he desperately bit back the blush starting to take place. To his dismay, Charlie noticed.

"You're blushing!" He grinned.

Gilbert ducked his head, hoping his idiotic friend would shut up before the entire class heard their conversation. "Shut up!" He hissed, kicking Charlie's shin.

He yelped, holding his leg and shooting Gilbert a dirty look.

"Is everything alright boys?"

The pair both snapped their heads to Ms. Stacey, who looked unimpressed by their lack of attention. Gilbert felt the class's stares burning into his head and wanted to sink into the floor. They nodded, mumbling an excuse as their teacher turned back to the board.

He glared at Charlie. "I'm going to kill you."

His friend just laughed, leaving Gilbert to avoid everyone's gaze and calm down the burning of his cheeks. Not being able to help it, he glanced in Jade's direction. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed that she was looking at him, eyebrow raised and teasing smile resting on her lips. He shot her a quick grin before forcing himself to keep his eyes on Ms. Stacey.

She's just a friend.

Right?

-----------

"I have an announcement for all of you before you get up and leave!" Ms. Stacey yelled, catching the attention of the class who was scrambling to gather their materials and go home. "The city council will be holding an Autumn Dance on the second week of October, and you're all able to go!"

The class erupted into excited chatter and questions, effectively cutting off the rest of Ms. Stacey's statement. Gilbert immediately looked at Jade who seemed to be trying to calm down Ruby who in turn looked ready to pass out. The girls loudly giggled, pointing in the direction of the boys every few seconds as the students went to grab their coats and hats.

"So who are you gonna ask to the dance?" Moody asked as soon as the boys finally grabbed their stuff and left the schoolhouse. Charlie adjusted the cap on his head and jutted out his chest.

"I'm going to ask Diana." He stated definitively. "Right now."

Gilbert and Moody looked at their friend in shock. "Now?" Moody asked, scanning over the groups of children all talking amongst their friends.

"Shouldn't you wait-" Gilbert started but Charlie made a bee-line for the dark-haired girl, ignoring his friends' questions. "Ok, no waiting then." He rolled his eyes.

The boys watched as Charlie pulled Diana to the side, looking slightly more nervous than he did prior. "Is he actually going to do it?" Moody gasped.

Gilbert looked over at the group of girls who gasped and furiously whispered among themselves as Diana seemed to nod at the something Charlie said.

"Did she just say yes?" Moody grinned as Diana finally rejoined her friends and Charlie walked back over to his friends, face flushed red.

"Well?" Gilbert teased. Charlie opened his mouth to respond but the shrieks of delight that erupted from the girls gave them the answer they wanted.

"Congrats man!" Gilbert laughed, clapping his friend on the back. "That's one down, you're up Moody."

All the blood drained from his face. "W-what?"

Gilbert and Charlie shared a look. "Come on, this is the perfect time to tell Ruby you like her!"

Gilbert didn't know it was possible for one's face to get paler than Moody's was but apparently he was proven wrong. "You don't have to do it now," he assured him. "You have 2 weeks to work up the courage."

Moody nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, yeah, of course." His eyes flickered over to where the blonde was giggling with her friends. "I've got all the time I need." He muttered.

"Since Moody's chicken right now, that just leaves you, golden boy." Charlie smirked. Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Don't even think about it." He scoffed, absentmindedly looking at Jade.

"You literally stare at her all day." Charlie deadpanned. "I'm starting to think you may have a picture of her in your room that you pray to before you sleep."

Gilbert's eyes widened. "What? No! I'm not a creep!"

"That's what a creep would say." Moody chimed in.

He groaned, eliciting loud laughter from his friends. "I'm going home before you both try to convince me that I like her or something." He laughed.

Charlie and Moody rose their eyebrows but stayed silent as Gilbert turned to start his walk home. "He definitely likes her." Is the last thing the curly-haired boy heard from Charlie, causing his eyes to flick over to Jade for the last time.

"Nope!" He called over his shoulder.

Then why is your heart beating so hard?