Unrequited// OC x Gilbert Blyth // OC x OC

07

EVER SINCE THE HOUSE FIRE, EVERYONE'S OPINIONS OF ANNE SHIRLEY-CUTHBERT LIGHTENED. She had contributed to the putting out the fire, making a great sacrifice. It was news all over town.

Mrs. Barry had allowed her daughter to hang out with her again and in no time, Anne became a somewhat respected person in the town. Hearing everything Anne had done, and Emma being there in the time she had run in, Katherine's parents approved of her socializing with Anne, even though Katherine would have talked with her every now and then anyway.

Anne had invited Katherine, Diana, and Ruby to a small wooden shelter in the woods. There, the girls had worn crowns made of leaves, vines, and some flowers.

"The inaugural meeting of the Avonlea Story Club is now in session," Anne declared.

"Oh, Anne, this is so, so... "

"Deliciously secret and scrumptiously exciting?" Anne smiled excitedly.

"You have such a way with words," Diana complimented.

"I hardly know what you're saying half the time," Ruby confessed.

"Thank you," said Anne. "Now, before we begin cultivating our imaginations, each of us should pick our nom de plume."

"See? It's happened again," said Ruby.

"A nom de plume is a pen name for purposes of anonymity," Anne examined. "I shall be writing under the name of Rosamond Montmorency. Oh, that gives me such a thrill.

"Once a week, we'll read our completed stories aloud to each other and talk them over thoughtfully."

Katherine had an idea of her first story. The plot of one watching your best friend falling in love with your other friend. It was sad, tragic, and heartbreaking. But Katherine knew Thomas was better at writing, often contributing some stories of his for the newspaper.

"I can't think of anything!" Ruby said.

"Oh, I've got heaps of ideas if you need a little prompting to start," said Anne. "How about A Tale of Romance Most Divine and Tragical?"

And in the following days, the school had started up again. Katherine arrived at the school with high spirits. It had been her fourteenth birthday that weekend and her mother and father had gifted her with a brand new dress for school.

"Is that a new dress?" Diana asked and Katherine gave it a twirl. "This shade of red suits you so well."

"Why, thank you, Diana," Katherine smiled. "You look quite exquisite yourself."

Soon, the school had officially begun and Mr. Phillips started writing on the chalkboard. "Settle down," Mr. Phillips commanded. "Don't make me ask you again. Open your readers to chapter twelve. When I turn around, you best have your readers open."

"It's Anne!" Diana exclaimed. "Anne! She's here!"

"Anne!" Ruby smiled.

Katherine gathered her things, then sat in the first row in front of Diana and Anne, who smiled gratefully for giving up her seat.

The fall season had soon came to an end. Winter had come quick. The trees lost their leaves, snow piled up on the branches, the ground was covered in inches of snow, and the air grew cold and crisp.

There was a fun event happening in the school. It was the class's spelling bee, girls against boys, and each one was eager to beat the other. Anne Shirley-Cuthbert and Katherine Turner were the last standings for the girls and Thomas Flint and Gilbert Blythe were the last standings for the boys.