Shirbert in the Modern Era

Chapter Twenty-Two: Fools Rush In

It was like they were waiting to hear the outcome of a surgery. Nobody had spoken for about four minutes, and Anne was in a state of paralysis.

"Anne," Ruby said gently, "are you alright?".

"No, I most certainly am not." Anne responded.

"Oh."

The girls exchanged worried glances, all wondering how to console Anne. Diana was the first to try.

"It's really a bit romantic, if you think about it."

Anne turned to Diana.

"How, pray tell, do you figure that?" She said, her voice quivering.

"Because from where I'm standing," she continued, "I have made an utter fool of myself again! I'm sure I've horrified Gilbert, who wouldn't be horrified? We've only been dating for a month and a half!"

With that, Anne's face crumpled. The hot tears she had been holding back finally spilled over, and she clumsily dropped to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms tightly around them.

In a second, she felt the arms of her friends embracing her. Diana gently petted her hair, and Ruby sat in front of her, placing her hands on Anne's knees and begging her not cry.

Anne's sobs stopped after a few minutes, and she was able, through her sorrow, to feel grateful for the girls surrounding her.

Tillie broke the silence.

"Anne, don't worry, please. I'm sure Gilbert feels the same way."

"It's obvious, really. He looks at you like you hung the moon." Added Josie.

Anne snuffled a laugh, and wiped her face. She thought she must look rather silly, crying over a simple accident of the tongue.

A Freudian Slip her mind said to her, but she decided to ignore it.

Just as Anne began to stand up from the grounded huddle, the doorbell rang.

Gilbert.

The sound pierced through the air. All was quiet for a moment before Diana said, "I'll go get that".

She hurried downstairs, while the other girls flocked Anne once more, wiping her face and fiddling with her hair.

"I truly love you all, honestly, many people would not put up with my emotional outbursts and generally foolishness."

"Yeah, we really are saints." Josie deadpanned.

Anne snorted an ungraceful laugh, and stood up.

"I suppose it's time to face the music."

She left the room and made her way down the stairs, resting about three from the bottom to peak over and watch Gilbert and Diana talking in the foyer.

Diana sported Anne our of the corner of her eye, and gestured for her to come over.

Anne descended the stair slowly, and Gilbert thought faintly that she looked like a prom queen. She bore no sartorial frills, but her loose hair and radiating beauty brought his mind to corsages and slow dancing.

By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, Diana had disappeared into the air, having muttered a "goodbye" which neither of them had been in the headspace to hear.

The air hung heavy with unspoken sentiments, and Anne was first to break the silence.

"Gilbert, I truly am sorry if I've scared you, it's just that—you know I care about you so deeply, and I didn't mean to, well-"

"You didn't mean it, then?"

Gilbert looked unexpectedly crestfallen, and Anne was alarmed.

"No!" She said loudly, then, "well, no, I meant that-that I-well, I didn't not mean it, I just..."

Anne trailed off, wide eyed, unable to complete a coherent sentence. This, she was coming to understand, was not really something she could hedge her bets on.

"So," Gilbert began softly, "you did mean it, then?"

"How would you feel if I did?"

"Well, I might return a similar sentiment."

"And you wouldn't think us foolish to be saying such a serious declaration so early in our relationship?"

"They do say that only fools rush in." Gilbert said teasingly.

Anne smiled. "Well, I believe that explains my foolishness. But you have been acting like the perfect gentleman, how do you explain that?"

"On the contrary Anne," Gilbert replied, "Bash has been keeping me well informed of my utter foolishness when it comes to my feelings for you."

"Your feelings for me?" Anne said coyly.

"Deep feelings, ones I could talk about for a long time, but-"

"But?"

"But they are best summed up in three words."

Anne walked closer to him, holding his hands in her own.

"And what words are those?" She said in the softest of tones.

Gilbert leaned forward, so that their foreheads touched. He ghosted a gentle kiss onto Anne's lips, and pulled back so that they were eye to eye.

"I love you, Anne."

Anne bit her lip, keeping her smile at bay. She pushed up on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss to the tip of his (perfect) nose, before she said, "that was actually four words."

Gilbert opened his mouth, mock offended. "You really are the cruelest girl I've ever met."

He shifted away from her dramatically, clutching his arms to himself as if he were cold and dying.

"Gilbert," Anne said, giggling.

"No, don't touch me, you're heartless!" He turned farther away as Anne scampered around him giddily.

"Gilbert!" She exclaimed again.

"Oh what a twist of fate, that I have fallen in love with-"

Gilbert could not finish his sentence, as his lips were occupied most ardently by Anne's.

She kissed him hungrily, and he responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist and hoisting her up so that her legs wrapped around him.

Anne squeaked in a most undignified way at being lifted, and Gilbert shot her a teasing look. Anne, with an uncharacteristic burst of confidence, was determined to kiss the smirk right off his face.

She begun her quest by first pressing light kisses from his mouth to his jaw, then kissing and sucking more tenderly along his jawline up to his ear.

She sucked on his earlobe gently at first, then more aggressively. She ran her hands through his missed up hair, relishing the feeling of his curls and the pleased noise she could hear coming from low in his chest.

"Where did you learn to do that?" He softly groaned.

Anne pulled back to face him, growing shy.
"I read a lot of books."

Gilbert chuckled, and Anne was pleased at the sound. Slowly, he set her down on the ground, but his arms remained around her.

"Oh before I forget, I have something to tell you."

"What?" Replied Gilbert.

"I love you."

Anne thought Gilbert's grin was the most beautiful sight she had ever laid her eyes upon, and she told him as much as they walked together, hand in hand on their way to Green Gables.
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A/N
-20K?!!!! OMGOMG THANK U ALL SM I LOVE U😍🥰🥰😍😘😍 this is actually so crazy to me ahhhh
-I love all your comments—what should happen next?
-what did you think?