Green Eyed Beauty

Chapter 23

The music faded as Gilbert and Anne walked further away from the crowd and closer to a vacant bench outside the celebration. Gilbert slipped on his jacket as the chilly, October air seeped into his shirt through his collar and saw Anne rub her arms slightly. He hesitated, wondering if he should offer his jacket but decided against it. That was too intimate for someone he barely saw as a close friend now.

Anne took a seat first and he followed. For a few moments, awkward silence filled the space between them and it was finally Anne who spoke.

"So you said something happened between you and Jade?" She asked, lifting her eyes to look directly at Gilbert.

"That's the thing," He sighed. "I don't know what happened. I don't know what's been happening between us for the last couple of months. All I know is I can't get her out of my head."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Ok, did either of you say something that's led to you not talking for the last week?"

Gilbert remembered when Jade had stopped by his home and told him about the conversation she had with Anne. His heart clenched when he recalled the look on her face when she told him to ask Anne to the dance and he also recalled his deep regret for not confessing his feelings then and there.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you remember when you stopped Jade to speak to her alone?"

The redhead nodded.

"Well, Jade came over to tell me what you guys discussed." He admitted. "She told me about why you had been avoiding her and how you also, you know..."

He trailed off, watching as Anne's face went from concentration to realization to embarrassment.

"She told you?" Anne squeaked.

"For good reason!" He quickly cut in, not wanting Anne to perceive Jade as a gossip. "She came by to tell me that you also harbored feelings for me and that I should ask you to the dance."

Her confusion reappeared. Then her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"That's what she meant when she said she knew what to do!"

Now it was Gilbert's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"

"When I told her the reason why I was avoiding her was because I liked you and didn't want to discuss it with anyone. She had suspected I liked you but I kept denying it." She explained sheepishly. "Her solution must have been to tell you and try to set us up."

Gilbert sat in silence, head spinning with endless questions. But all he could muster clearly was, why?

"And I'm well aware you don't feel the same way about me anymore." Anne continued, starting to fiddle with her fingers and kicking the leaves near her foot. "But I'm more than certain that Jade likes you. Perhaps much more than I ever have and will."

He shook his head. "Then why has she been avoiding me?"

"That's where you have to talk to her." Anne shrugged. "I have no idea what's in her mind or what she's feeling. And frankly, I think a conversation is needed between the two of you. You can't continue this endless cycle of delusion and keeping quiet."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you cared if I end up with a happy ending?"

Anne bit her lip and all Gilbert could think of is when Jade would do it when she was concentrating on a task.

I'm losing it. He thought miserably.

"I don't want what happened to us to happen between you and Jade." She stated. "I've seen the way you both light up around each other and how you look at her like nothing else in the world matters."