Asleep - 𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙀

Chapter Eight : Red Divine

A beat up leather satchel and a very worn in pair of black converse were Gilbert Blythe's most Prized possessions. Inside his bag was a collection of medical studies and messy notes, followed by a tattered copy of Lord of the flies. A book he hadn't been able to stop reading since he first met Anne, each time he finished the Novel, he started back at the first page, desperate to understand her deeper.

Her words circled around his brain in every conversation, her blue eyes filled his dreams, like tides he was dying to dive into. Her creamy freckled skin roamed his thoughts when she wasn't around. Gilbert Blythe was enchanted, seeking more of her at every opportunity.

Anne was magnetic, he couldn't help but be pulled in by her every habit. Their conversations replayed as he fell asleep, and her laugh was the soundtrack to his dreams. Every part of her felt like he'd seen it before, like whatever their souls were made of, they were made the same. He was mesmerized.

I'm not harbouring any feelings for her, she's just smarter than anyone i've ever known, and effortlessly beautiful. I'm really just intrigued, not romantically interested. Obviously.
He reassured himself over and over and over again. Never fully believing it to be true.

Gilbert Blythe was as charming as death, at first, intimidating, strong, but it begs for you to come in, and once you walk through the threshold, it's brings peace, the comfort of a loved one and the joy of an August day.

Anxiously he treaded the path to Diana's room, on a mission to pick her brain about the chemical balance of Love. Could attraction be calculated, and if so, what was the equation.

Unsure of exactly what he was hoping to find, he walked in. Anne stood facing the window opposite of Gilbert, jumping up to the top shelf, trying to reach a pair of heels she was borrowing from Diana. She was adorning a deep green, satin, backless dress.

Oh how Gilbert loved the color Green. The fabric clung to her skin.

Her skin. Anne's Skin. No
He tried to negotiate his thoughts away.

"Where, uhm, might Diana be?"
He asked lightly, treading thin ice with Anne after yesterday's incident.

Anne turned around, revealing a perpetually disgruntled look pasted on her face.

"She'll be back in a moment, she went to grab something from Ruby."
Anne responded.

"Right."

"Right."

They stood for a moment in awkward silence before Anne returned to her initial task.

"Here let me help with that"
He said, reaching above her head to retrieve them.

"I can take care of myself."
She snapped, again.

"I know."
He responded genuinely, handing them back to her.

"Thanks."
She said quietly.

"I wanted to apologize about yesterday, I'm really sorry for insinuating that you aren't able to handle your affairs. I just feel, sortve, uhm, like-"

"Sorry that took so long, Ruby was having an entire moment, swearing that Gil- Oh, Gilbert, you're here." Interrupted Diana. The pair quickly parted from their intimate proximity, looking around the room to deflect the tension.

"Right, yes, I was coming to ask you about imbalances of chemical activity in the brain but I've lost track of the time and, Promised Cole I'd help him with something so, I really must get going." Gilbert scurried outve the room.

"Wait! We're headed there just now!" Diana called out to him, but he was already far gone.

"Are we going to talk about the moment I walked in on?" Diana teased.

Anne rolled her eyes in a deep sigh. She had been finding herself taking part in a lot of romantic cliche's with someone she didn't feel for romantically.

The girls headed down to the greenhouse, where Cole and Gilbert sat with a canvas. While everyone else was comfortable Anne was dressed to the Nines, just as Cole had requested.

"I'm working on a piece called Red Devine, all about the beauty and passion of the color red. The rest of the work will be green, but the hair, Anne's hair, is what makes the piece. She is my muse, isn't she beautiful." Babbled Cole.

"Stunning."
Was all Gilbert responded with, breathlessly.

The next few hours, Anne sat delicately on the grass, talking to Diana and Gilbert while Cole insisted that he was far too focused to par take in such delivious conversations.

A few sprinkles turned into a down pour quickly, while Cole's art was safe in the confinements of a green house, Anne was drenched. She tried to stand but only slipped and hurt her ankle.

Strands of her red locks were sticking to her face and her satin dress was painted against her skin.

Gilbert Marched into the rain to help her walk, unsure of what's preventing her from
taking care of herself.

Once he's reached her and began to scoop her up as if she were as light as a feather, she fired back.

"I can take care of myself!"

In that moment, they looked into each others eyes with an uncertain intensity. How dreadfully romantic.

"I know."

Diana was miserable, finally something exciting had happened to her, a new friend came into her life and it was a whirlwind. She watched the drama and passion unravel around her. Gilbert and Anne seemed to be tied together by a string, the world handed them a chance at love on a silver platter and they were both trying desperately to deny it. Diana wanted that more than anything.

Cole noticed the sorrow on his beloved friends face, understanding the pain of being incapable of those experiences.

"Hey, that's just lust, it fades and leads to pure heartbreak. Me and you, we're better off without it."
He reassured Diana, gesturing to Gilbert and Anne.

"How would you know?"
She shot back. Hoping he'd open up about his summer romance, but she was met with nothing.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."
She wasn't. Cole was terrified to admit it, but he knew he how real and powerful love was.

Hey Guys !! Y'all got so much Shirbert content in this chapter!! How do we feel ? I really love all these characters and they way they're progressing throughout the story, and I'm so glad that y'all are enjoying it. Who might y'all want to see next chapter? More Billie and Cole ? More Charlie and Ruby, More Josie, who's storyline do y'all find to be the most exciting so far ?