fine line.//shirbert au

10

Autumn Blythe returned home from school that day with a spring in her step. She felt her cheeks heat up every time she thought about Josie. She had never felt like this about anyone before. The whole world seemed a little bit lighter that walk home from the Avonlea school. The birds were chirping, she sound of the crunching leaves under her boots as Summer was now long gone and in came the new season. Everything seemed to be going her way for once. Well that was until she reached her front porch and heard the sound of two male voices arguing again.

Autumn knew the best thing to do in this situation was to slip through the back door and tip toe up to her room to avoid being dragged into her brother and father's disagreement. This was now a daily occurrence as everything Gilbert did somehow annoyed his father, which only made his father annoyed at Autumn too. She was about to walk up to the patio and when she saw her brother thrust open the back door and begin to march right towards her.

"Don't follow me" huffed Gilbert, it was apparent he was not in a good mood. His eyes were puffy from what seemed like he had been holding back tears and his face was bright red. "Gilbert what happened" Autumn replied as she tried to help him steady his breathing. "Nothing happened, Autumn. Just dad and his usual bullshit!" laughed Gilbert bitterly with a shake of his head. "Well where are you going? Let me come with you. You're not in the right state of mind to go off on your own" but by the time she had managed to choke out all her words, Gilbert had disappeared down the path. This meant Autumn had two options: Go after him or resort to her usual plan of quietly sneaking into her bedroom. The latter was the one she went with because Autumn knew he would only get annoyed if she followed and she realised there was someone he was going to see.

Anne Shirley-Cuthbert was sitting in her room and reading peacefully. This was her favourite activity to do after a long day at school. Most kids her age would spend hours on their phones but Anne found social media to be too toxic and all she wanted to do was to hide away from the rest of the world and curl up with her favourite novel. Sometimes her and Diana would go to the mall after school, or sometimes Josie would invite her out but recently she had been hanging out with Josie a lot less and Diana was always too busy to hang out. This did not bother Anne because she would much rather read than go on some long shopping haul. Anne had also made a new friend and he was a great companion to just sit a read with. Nether the less, Anne Shirley was never bored just being by herself.

The sound of rocks hitting her window caused Anne to look up from her book and pull herself out of her now messy covers and to go investigate what was going on. She peered her head out to find a rather sad looking boy peering up at her. She lifted the window hatch and poked her head out so he would be able to hear her. "Gilbert Blythe what in heck are you doing?" smiled Anne softly. He merely shrugged his shoulders and gestured for her to come down. The brown haired boy seemed to be trying to keep a nonchalant expression but Anne knew the Blythe boy all too well and she instantly rushed down the stairs. "Where are you going in such a rush?" Inquired Marilla with a stern look on her face. Anne knew just from her look she was scolding her for running around the house. "I'm meeting Diana" Anne lied through her teeth. She was not the best liar but it seemed Marilla hadn't doubted she was telling the truth and gave a swift nod before disappearing out of the room. Anne didn't know why she lied exactly but she didn't want Marilla to know she was running out to meet Gilbert. Anne quickly opened the door and rushed outside to find Gilbert stood with his head hung low. "Hey" Anne gave a small wave and a small smile in an attempt to cheer him up. She walked closer to him and that was when he finally raised his head slightly so the girl was able to see his teary eyes. "Gilbert I-" Anne tried to say as the boy began to break down a little. Gilbert had tried his best to hide his tears by wiping them away abruptly and attempting to give her a reassuring smile. This did not work and tears also began to spring to Anne's eyes. "It's fine, okay? I'm fine." Gilbert had forced the words 'I'm fine' out of his mouth so many times before but this time it was absolutely apparent he was not fine as he couldn't help but stutter every time he tried to say something. Anne's heart broke for the boy, she didn't know exactly what happened but she had a good guess it had to do with his dad. She quickly threw her arms around him and ran her hand up and down the back of his head and neck soothingly. It took Gilbert a minute to realise what was happening before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "I can't take him anymore" cried Gilbert, it was as if all the angry and sorrow that had built up inside of him for years was being released into this one moment and he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to. He craved the feeling of affection for so long, this hug was everything to him. This was the first time anyone had ever hugged him so affectionately in years. He didn't want to let go, not ever. He wanted to stay in the safety of Anne's arms for all eternity but that was not possible. For too short of a time for Gilbert's liking, Anne slowly pulled away and brought her warm hands to his face. She caressed his cheek as she pulled him down to her eye level and pressed her lips to his forehead. It was a tender kiss filled with love. She began to whisper sweet things to him as their foreheads connected and after a long while his breathing began to slow and he moved his head back. "Thank you" he whispered. Anne simply smiled in response as she held his hand and squeezed it.

They ended up spending the evening roaming the streets and watching the sunset over the horizon. Gilbert didn't want to go home, and Anne knew that but it was beginning to get dark and Marilla would worry if she didn't come home. "You should go home" Gilbert said reluctantly as he looked down at their hands. They were still intertwined as neither of them had the desire to let go. "What about you" asked Anne quietly, she knew Gilbert would not go back to his house after his argument with his dad because his dad would surely be drunk but he had no where else to go. "I'll figure something out" shrugged Gilbert. "Gilbert Blythe I'm not going to leave you wondering the streets all night" Anne was stubborn and Gilbert knew she would not leave him if he didn't have somewhere to go. "Anne you have to go home, Marilla will get worried. Besides, I'll just see if Charlie will let me crash at his" Gilbert had never actually stayed at Charlie's house before but there was a first time for everything. Anne seemed unsure. "At least text him first. I'd feel better if you did" sighed Anne as she pulled her hand away from the boy's grasp so she could face him. Gilbert sent Charlie a text and received one back with a simple 'whatever' from Charlie which indicated Gilbert could stay. "see? Now come on, I'll walk you home"

They reached Green gables again in complete silence but before Anne walked away she turned to the boy and threw her arms around him once again. This time the hug was lighter and they were both smiling because of the close contact. They didn't usually hug before saying goodbye but after the sorrowful evening, Anne felt like he could do with another hug. As they both pulled apart they remained there, Gilbert's hand snakes around her waist and her hands around his shoulders. They were just gazing into each other's eyes as they usually did, but underneath the moonlight sky this time. The evening became night as they were walking home so now it was time for them bid each other goodbye. It wasn't until Marilla came out of the house and yelled for Anne to come inside that they stopped staring at one another. They both laughed it off.

"Goodnight, Gil"
"Goodnight, Anne-Girl"

Anne let go of his shoulders and turned on her heel towards Green Gables. With one last look at the boy she opened the door and slipped herself through. Gilbert remained there for a second longer before beginning his journey towards Charlie's house.

Author's note: thank you for 500+ reads!!! I'm trying my best to be active but writing is not on the top of my to-do list sadly. Anyways, I really hate this chapter but I tried my best to write as much as I possibly could🥺