Avonlea MB  Fan Fiction   Nothing Else Matters Support Search RSS runboard.com       Sign up (learn about it) | Sign in (lost password?) Page:  1  2  3  4  5  ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters I actually studied after going back to the dorm, and after working hard for a few hours, I decided to reward myself to dinner. I went to one of the popular restaurants on campus and ate there. When I was finished, I walked outside and witnessed the unthinkable happen. Christine was kissing Roy with Anne nowhere to be seen. I couldn't believe it. Not only had the rumors turned out to be true, but Roy had lied to me in the library. He would never hurt Anne? Oh please. I just saw it with my own two eyes. How would Anne react to this? She was already upset about the rumors, but this could put her over the edge. Should I tell her? I know I have no right in intruding on her personal life, but her boyfriend was kissing another girl. I'm not just gonna sit back and let Anne suffer like that. And as much as it hurts to know the truth, it hurts even more not knowing, so I decided to tell her. As soon as I started to walk away, Christine pulled back from the kiss and noticed me. She excused herself from Roy and ran after me. “Gil, wait! It's not what it looks like!” she shouted. “Right...” I said. “Please! Let me explain -” “You don't need to explain, Christine. I know everything I need to know.” I left her there, speechless. I didn't care. So the note that was dropped earlier turned out to be as phony as I thought it was, and the fact that she didn't even deliver it herself made me skeptical to begin with. I now had my closure, and maybe – just maybe – I could move on. But not before I break the news to Anne. I took a seat at a bench near the dorm and took out my cell phone. I knew that if I met Anne personally before Roy got back that it'd look suspicious, and I didn't need any bad publicity around here. I dialed her cell phone number and waited for her to pick up. "Hello?" "Anne, it's Gil. I need to talk to you," I said. "It's very important." "Okay." "You need to hear me out on this one, and I think it's best if you have a seat while I'm telling you this." "What is it, Gil?" she asked. I took a deep breath. "As I was leaving the main restaurant on campus after dinner tonight, I saw Roy with Christine." I heard her swallow hard. "They were kissing." Her breathing quickened, and I worried as she said nothing for a minute or so. "Anne, say something!" "Are you lying to me?" she managed to ask. "Would I lie to you?" "Well, no but - " "Have I ever lied to you in the past?" "No." "Then why would I lie to you now?" She sighed. "You have a point." I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was about to lose it. "Anne, I'm sorry." "I just can't believe that he had the nerve to do such a thing. And after everything he said to me...argh!" "What'd he say?" "He loved me." Now it was my turn to be speechless. Why that little son of a gun had the guts to come straight out and tell Anne that he loved her and turn around to stab her in the back! So this marks the end of Mr. Nice Guy. "Gil, are you still there?" Anne asked. "Yeah," I replied, coming back from my little trance. "Sorry about that." "It's alright." I heard her blowing her nose into a tissue. "Thanks for letting me know. You're a good friend." Friend. I don't know if I'll ever fully get used to that word with her. "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for, eh?" "Yeah. Good night, Gil." "Good night, Anne." And she hung up. I decided to go to bed to prepare myself for the long day ahead of me. After all, I did have to face Roy first thing in class. 1/1/2007, 9:40 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters As soon as I walked into class the next day, Roy was already in there waiting for me. “Blythe, I need to talk to you,” he said in a serious tone of voice as he walked up to my seat. Okay. Let the games begin. “Yeah?” I asked as if I knew nothing. “What did you tell Anne?” he demanded. “What did you tell her to cause her to break up with me?” “The truth.” “Huh?” “I saw you with Christine last night and interacting in a way friends wouldn't normally act, if you know what I mean, and I wasn't about to let my best friend suffer because of it.” “Well, you know what, Blythe?” “What?” “You make me sick.” Ha! I make him sick? Wow. He's the one hurting Anne, not me. What'd I do to him? Nothing. And the guy already hates me. Beautiful. “I'm glad to see that things are even between us.” “Huh?” “When I said that you'd have to mess with me if you messed with Anne, I meant it.” “I see how it is. You love her. You love her, and you wanna keep her away from me!” So Roy Gardner actually has a brain after all! I never thought I'd live to see the day. “Maybe. Do I care for her? Yes. Do I want to keep her away from you? Hell yeah!” “Ooh. So is the highly intellectual Gilbert Blythe challenging me?” he laughed. “Huh? What?” I just glared at him. “Yes. I could take you.” “You wanna go?” “Bring it!” That's when I lost it. I truly let my emotions get the best of me and simply went after Roy. I'm not proud of what I did because I usually don't lose my temper like that, but I couldn't help myself. As I punched him left and right, I thought about Anne. What would she think about all this? Of course, she'd probably roll her eyes and think that we were both foolish to be fighting over her. Then it hit me: I'm still in love with her. No matter how hard I try to get over her, I'm still in love with her. I'm a goner. Seeing myself punch the daylights out of Gardner made me realize how much I would go to do things for her; I'd willingly take a bullet for her. And it's all for love. Yeah, I'm a goner, and I don't care. I gave Roy one last punch, and I sat back down. He fell back on the floor and held his cheek. He was in awe as if he couldn't believe that I had to guts to go after him like that and that I had actually won. Luckily for us, the professor was running late, so neither of us could get in trouble for the little brawl. Roy went back to his seat, and that's when the professor finally arrived to start class. 1/1/2007, 9:41 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters After my classes for the day were through, I went over to the same restaurant that I went to the night before. There I met Anne who was sitting at a booth all by herself. "Mind if I sit with you?" I asked. "Sure," she said. I took the empty seat, and Anne gasped at my hand. "Oh my gosh! What happened?" I looked down and didn't realize that I had a pretty nasty looking cut on my right hand from the fight this morning. I guess I was too focused on not getting in trouble to notice, but I didn't feel anything wrong with me. And it didn't bleed too badly since the blood clotted on its own. I didn't want Anne to know about what happened between me and Roy, so I simply replied with, "It's nothing." Anne didn't think so though. She took some napkins and poured some of her water on it. "Give me your hand," she said. I obeyed, and she took my right hand as she took her napkins and gently cleaned up my cut. I'm not ashamed to admit this, but I love it when she takes care of me. It's just part of her nature. Anne took out a band-aid from her purse and put it over the cut. "There, that should be better now," she said. "Thanks, Anne," I said. "Well, you should have taken care of that earlier. It could be infected by now." "I know; I know." "You ought to know since you're going to be a doctor, Gil," she teased. "Heh. I was just testing you," I teased back. "Sure you were." We then both ordered our meals and talked some more while we waited for them. "I've been thinking, Gil," Anne stated. "What?" I asked. "Men are pigs." I raised my eyebrow in skepticism. She went on. "That's why I think I'm gonna lay off them for awhile." What? Is this the same girl who kept on rattling about her ideal man for so long? So does that mean that I don't have a chance anymore even if my chances before were slim to none? "What?" "Yeah. They're mean, they're greedy, and they're stupid." "Whoa. Timeout there, Anne. Not all of us are like that." "Then how come all the good ones are taken?!" There's a good one sitting right here, Anne, and you don't even know it. I simply replied with, "I don't know. Maybe you haven't found him yet." After a few minutes, the atmosphere of the place got darker when Roy walked in. He now had two black eyes and a swollen lip, all courtesy of me, and he was walking right past us. He showed no emotion when he looked at Anne but was absolutely furious at me. His eyes were like the flames of Hell, and it was as if he wanted to kill me. Anne looked at Roy and me and put her hand over her mouth. "You fought him, didn't you?" she blurted out. I didn't want her to know, but at the same time I didn't want to lie to her either. I looked into her eyes, and she got her answer. "I can't believe you would do such a thing," she said sadly. I looked away. I knew her reaction would be like this. As much as I loved beating Roy (both physically and intellectually speaking), I knew what I did was wrong. Anne was ashamed, and she didn't even talk to me during the rest of the meal. So this is my current situation: Roy wants to kill me, Christine wants me back but only to get to Roy, and Anne won't even speak to me. Well, aren't I a lucky guy then, eh? 1/1/2007, 9:41 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters A few weeks passed, and I still didn't hear from Anne. Her stubbornness was at it again. Does that mean that I have to wait another five years until I can get another word in? God, I hope not. I got word from her roommate Phil Gordon that she recently got a job at the campus book store. Phil advised me to go in there and “knock some sense” into Anne, and after a bit of thought I did it. I had nothing better to do on Saturday afternoon, so I decided to go to the book store and hopefully find Anne. I looked in the aisles and found her in the fiction section with a box of books. She was having trouble reaching up for a book, and since she didn't really have the heart to kick out the girl that was sitting on the stool reading Pride and Prejudice, the only way she could reach it was by standing on her tip toes. I went up to her. “Need a hand?” I asked. Anne turned around and looked at me. “No, I think I've got it.” At least she's talking to me now. Sort of. “Alright then.” I watched as she struggled to reach for that same book near the top shelf, and when I couldn't stand it any longer, I reached up and handed the book to her. She looked embarrassed. “Umm...thanks,” she managed to say, trying to hide her red cheeks. She then reached down to the box on the ground and picked up more books. I could tell that she was ignoring me again, so I decided to speak up. “Anne, listen. I'm sorry for fighting Roy, okay? I know what I did was wrong, but I couldn't stand what he did to you.” She looked me in the eye, and it looked as if she was about to cry. “Why do you care so much?” Because I love you, that's why. “I don't want you to get hurt. No one hurts my friends, especially you.” “Me?” “Yeah, you.” “And why am I so special?” Do I really need to explain it to her? I don't want to scare her off (again) just yet because we've just not re-established our speaking terms, so I'll restrain myself from saying what I really feel for her. “Do you know anyone else that has the guts to whack me over the head and get away with it?” “No.” I laughed. “See? You're special, Carrots.” “More like special ed.” “Oh hush.” She laughed. “I really should be going back to work since I am getting paid, Gil, but before I do I have something to show you.” I followed her as she led me to the front desk. She handed me a professional edition of a doctor's handbook. “I figured this might help you out a bit since you're going into the field. I was going to give it to you as a peace offering, but I guess I'll just give it to you now.” I reached into my back pocket to get my wallet since I wasn't going to let her spend her hard earned money on me, but she stopped me. “No, Gil. No. I want you to have it.” I tried to offer some money to her again, but she refused. “Please, Gil. It's my gift to you. You've done so much for me, and I feel as if I've done nothing for you. Let me return the favor.” The look in her eyes forced me to cave in to her wishes. “Okay then. Thanks, Anne.” “No problem.” “Get back to work now, and don't slack off, you hear?” She laughed. “I'm on it, sir.” “Good.” She went back to work, and I happily went back to the dorm. 1/1/2007, 9:43 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters A couple months flew by, and it was getting close to finals week. That meant that Anne and I were busy studying our heads off for our little friendly competition. Whoever got the better grades would get to choose what they wanted to do while the loser would pay all the costs. I knew Anne would take the challenge seriously just as she had back in the day when we first went to school, and although I would never fully admit it to her, deep down I wish she would win. But for her sake and mine, we had to have a little fun with it first. I wasn't going to let her win that easily. I am competitive in my own right when I feel like it. The time finally came. One by one we each took our finals, and surprisingly enough, we tied on everything. Every numerical grade on our finals and semester grades matched up even though our classes weren't exactly the same, and I'm proud to say that we both got A+'s. Hmm...I guess we really do have some sort of kindred spirit connection after all. “What are we gonna do now?” asked Anne after we compared our grades after classes were over. “Have fun just for the heck of it?” I asked. “How?” I thought about it, and it dawned on me. “Nothing's been settled yet officially, Anne.” “Huh?” “We need to figure out who's the stronger one between us.” “And just how are we gonna do that, Gil?” I only needed one word, and I knew she would agree with me the minute I said it. “Bowling.” Anne's face transformed. There was a glimmer in her eyes, telling me she was up to it. “Deal.” We put on our coats and got in my car to go to the nearest bowling alley. While the weather outside was freezing, our little round of bowling would surely make up for it. Once we arrived inside, we got shoes and settled in a lane. “Ladies first,” I said to Anne in determining our start order. “Alright then,” she said, taking a ball in her hands. When I saw that she was about to bowl, I took an opportunity to tease her. “Are you sure you don't want gutter guards, Anne?” She turned around and stuck her nose up in the air. “I'm just fine, Gil. Thank you.” She turned around again and bowled the ball down the lane. Fortunately for me, it went in the gutter. She went again, but this time the ball hit a few pins. “Beat that!” “Fine, I will,” I stated, picking up a ball of my own. I was in the middle of releasing the ball down the lane when she yelled “Brick!”, causing me to drop the ball down the gutter. I turned to look at her, and she looked as if nothing happened. “Is that your way of cheating, Miss Shirley?” I asked with mock formality. “Maybe,” she replied. “If I'm in the mood, Mr. Blythe.” I snickered and went up again. This time I got half the pins to go down. “Beat that.” “Okay.” Instead of bowling regularly, Anne caught me off guard by setting the ball down on the floor. She then kicked the ball, and I watched as it slowly went down the lane and hit all ten pins. “What the heck?” I asked in awe as Anne did a little victory dance. She laughed. “Admit it, Gil. That was awesome.” I couldn't deny it. “Yeah, I guess so.” I watched her beam with pride. “So is that how we're gonna play now?” “Maybe.” “Alright.” I decided to come up with my own style. I put the ball between my legs and rolled it down Granny style. To Anne's dismay, it went down as a strike. “No fair!” she exclaimed. “Two can play this game,” I said with a smirk on my face. “Oh really?” “Yeah.” So one by one we each came up with more outrageous stunts to beat each other. Not only did the number of pins count, but style counted as well. People around us were giving us weird looks, but we didn't care. I even caught Anne off guard by bowling another ball the same time she was up, which marked the beginning of creative tag team bowling. The announcer over the intercom kept on saying, “Lane 35, one ball at a time!” We didn't listen. Even other lanes started copying us, and by then, the employees at the alley couldn't do anything to stop the madness. “I guess we started a trend, Anne-girl,” I commented. “We sure did,” she said. “Want something to eat?” “Sure.” We ordered food, and it was delivered to us at our lane. We ate and bowled some more until we grew tired. I finally decided that it was time to go. We returned the shoes and went outside to discover that it had snowed the entire time we were in there. “Gil, how long were we in there?” asked Anne. I looked down at my watch. “Whoa. Five hours.” “Five hours? No wonder there's a bunch of snow out here!” I figured that this would be the perfect time to have a bit more fun somewhere else. “Wanna go to the park?” “Yes!” 1/1/2007, 9:44 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters I knew she would agree to it. After all, who wouldn't want to go to the park after snow has fallen to have a snowball fight or make snowmen or snow angels? We got in my car again and went to the park on campus. Luckily for us, it seemed as if everyone had already went home for the holidays, giving us the park to ourselves. As soon as I parked the car, Anne ran out like a child on Christmas morning. “Whee!” she exclaimed. I locked the car and followed her. “Wait up!” It was dark outside, and the park lights were illuminated, creating a gorgeous effect against the snow. Since Anne wouldn't listen to me in my pleas to slow down, I threw a snowball at her that hit her in the head. That got her attention. “Are you messing up my hair?” she demanded in mock outrage. “Yes,” I admitted. “Why you little -” She made a few snowballs of her own and threw them at my face. “Hey!” I yelled. Anne laughed. “What? You can't handle a few snowballs, Gil?” She stuck her tongue out at me. “That's it.” I ran towards her to tackle her. “Oh no, you're not!” She ran away from me. I chased her around the park. I was just about to get her when she lost her footing and slipped. I caught her hand, but she took me down with her. We fell to the ground. “Anne, are you alright?” I asked, concerned. I could tell by her laughter that she was okay. “Yeah. I'm fine.” “Whew.” After all that running, I could sure use a break. Bowling was a lot of fun, but I think this topped it. It was a beautiful winter night out, and I had Anne next to me gazing up at the stars with her head touching mine. I closed my eyes and savored the brief moment. “It's beautiful, isn't it?” asked Anne, referring to the stars. I opened my eyes and looked. “It is.” I turned to look at her. Her red hair was accented by the white snow, and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Man, she looked beautiful. I remember the green dress she wore at Homecoming that took my breath away, but seeing her laying in the snow like that made me realize how her natural beauty won me over in the first place. This was the woman that I loved, and I couldn't have asked for a more picturesque setting. Anne turned her head to face me and smiled. I couldn't help myself; all the self-control I had faded away. I slowly leaned in and kissed her. To my surprise, she didn't resist. After all this time, I was finally able to taste the sweet promise of her kiss. When I pulled away, I noticed that her cheeks got redder. Either she liked the kiss or she was really cold. I'm hoping that she liked it. Since I didn't want to push things too fast, I decided that I needed to take her back to her dorm. I reluctantly got up and helped Anne up to her feet. We walked silently until we reached her dorm. “Are you going home tomorrow?” she finally asked. “Yeah. You?” I asked. “Yeah. I can't wait.” “Me neither.” As much as I hated saying good night to her, I knew I had to. “Good night, Anne,” I said as I gently caressed her cheek. “Thank you for tonight.” She blushed. “Good night, Gil.” She gave me one last look and went in. So I finally had one of my unfilled dreams come true: I kissed Anne without her pushing me away. It wasn't a Hollywood, dramatic kiss that they have in the movies, but it was something special. I wonder if this little glimmer of hope will actually lead to something greater. 1/1/2007, 9:44 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters Note: The song used here is "She's Got A Way" by Billy Joel. ****************** I now have a reason to smile. Well, three reasons actually: I got a kiss that was long overdue from the girl who held my heart, I'm going home for the holidays, and I get to spend time with Anne without any distractions (I hope). I called her in the morning to see if she wanted to go home the same time as me so we could hang out a little more, but she told me to go ahead without her since she needed to straighten things out at work before she left. So I did. I knew her well enough to know by now to do as she said before I suffered the consequences. As I drove back home, I took in the sights and sounds around me and pictured what it was like to be home. To be perfectly honest, I was homesick. I missed Mom's home cooking, watching hockey with Dad, walking in the country side, driving fast when no one's looking (I do have a bad side, you know), Anne. Anne...what was I going to do about her? Would she react to me in the same way when she sees me? She sounded fine when I talked to her in the morning, but was it just a bluff? As wonderful as it was, did I ruin all of my chances with that kiss? Maybe I'm just freaking out and over reacting and imagining the worst case scenario. In order to get my mind off of things before I totally lost my concentration and run off the road, I turned on the radio. Maybe music would clear my mind, but the song that was playing got me thinking even more. It was a simple piano melody that got to me, and the singer really described how Anne much meant to me without even knowing it. She's got a way about her I don't know what it is But I know that I can't live without her She's got a way of pleasin' I don't know what it is But there doesn't have to be a reason Anyway She's got a smile that heals me I don't know why it is But I have to laugh when she reveals me She's got a way of talkin' I don't know what it is But it lifts me up when we are walkin' Anywhere She comes to me when I'm feelin' down Inspires me without a sound She touches me and I get turned around She's got a way of showin' How I make her feel And I find the strength to keep on goin' She's got a light around her And everywhere she goes A million dreams of love surround her Everywhere She comes to me when I'm feelin' down Inspires me without a sound She touches me and I get turned around She's got a smile that heals me I don't know why it is But I have to laugh when she reveals me She's got a way about her I don't know what it is But I know that I can't live without her Anyway I turned off the radio as I got closer to home. For one, that song had me on the verge of tears, which was rare for me, and two, Mom would worry (as always) if she saw me teary eyed. When I pulled up on to the driveway, Mom ran outside to greet me. I could tell by her bear hug that she was happy to see me. Dad went outside to see why Mom ran out the door so fast and saw us. He patted me on the back after helping me get my suitcases out of the trunk of my car and said, "Welcome home, son." Boy, am I glad to be home. 1/1/2007, 9:46 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters When I got inside, I immediately ran upstairs and headed for my room. I then preceded to dive on my bed as I've always done since I was a kid. I think my landing caused a huge racket since Mom came up to see what all the noise was. “Having fun there, Gil?” she asked, trying to hold back her laughter as she saw me laid out on my bed. “A little bit,” I responded. “I'm so glad you're home!” She came in and kissed me on the forehead. “Dinner will be ready in a bit. Just relax.” “Okay, Mom.” She went downstairs to finish cooking. I took this opportunity to call Anne to see if she made it back yet. “Hello?” “Anne, it's Gil,” I said. “Hey,” she said weakly. “You sound tired.” “I am tired.” I resumed worrying about her again. “Did you get things straightened out at work?” “Yeah. My boss was being a little mean about my time off of work, lecturing me about how he needed people to work. He's the one to speak! He took off so much for vacation that he shouldn't even be talking. I don't know, Gil. As nice as it is to have some extra money, I don't know if I wanna work for some hypocrite.” So that's what bothered her. “I'm behind you one hundred percent, Anne. Do what you think is best.” “Thanks. At least someone's behind me.” I didn't like the tone in her voice when she said that. “What do you mean?” “Oh never mind, Gil.” “Anne, it's okay. You can tell me.” “Well, now's not the time. I have to go anyway. Marilla needs me to help cook dinner. I'll see you later. Bye.” After she hung up, I had a bad feeling in my gut. I know she's hiding something from me, but I don't know what. I wonder if Gardner has anything to do with it. If he's part of it, then I have a feeling things are going to be much worse between us, me and Roy that is. “Gil, dinner's ready!” shouted Mom from downstairs. I quickly washed up and went to the dining room. I offered to help set up the table, but Mom insisted that I just have a seat. I guess she was still overjoyed from me coming back home that she mind doing all the work herself. She joined me and Dad at the table. “So, Gil, what have you been doing with yourself at school?” asked Mom as she passed me the bread basket. “Studying,” I replied. I was not ready to explain the whole Christine, Roy, and Anne ordeal to anyone, including my parents, just yet. “Come on, son. There's gotta be more to college life than studying,” commented Dad while trying to get me to loosen up. “Alright then,” I admitted. “I have been doing more than studying.” “Like what?” asked Mom. “Meeting girls, Gil?” joked Dad. “Maybe,” I said. “Why didn't you bring one back with you? I would have loved to meet one,” said Mom. Oh boy. “'Cause it's not like that, Mom.” She raised an eyebrow up at me. “Really, it isn't.” I took in a bite of food and swallowed. “But did you actually meet one?” “I did, but -” “What's she like?” blurted Mom. “It's a long story, but things didn't really work out between us.” Please stop the questioning before I go insane! “Oh.” There was little conversation during the rest of dinner. I assume it's because Dad suspected that I wasn't feeling comfortable and signaled for Mom to stop. I put my plate in the sink and decided to go out for a little walk to clear my mind. 1/1/2007, 9:47 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters As I went near the “haunted wood”, I saw Anne sitting by herself, lost in thought. I could tell by the expression on her face that it wasn't happy thoughts that were going through her head, so I sat down next to her hoping that she would spill what was going on in her mind. “Hey,” I said. “Hey,” she murmured back. I took a look over at her, and I honestly thought that she was going to cry. I always hated it when she cried, and I wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on. “Anne, please tell me what's going on,” I pleaded. “I can't stand it when you're like this.” She remained silent, so I had a feeling I would have to question her in order to get something out of her. “Is it about work?” She didn't answer. “Is it school?” She still didn't answer, so I had to ask the dreaded question. “Is it Roy?” She nodded, and slowly tears started running down her face. I put my arm around her, and she turned to put her head on my shoulder. I felt her hot tears touching my neck and wanted nothing more than to make them go away and force Roy to pay for whatever he did to her. I put both of my arms around her and listened as she finally told me what happened. “After I straightened things out at work, I ran into Roy and Christine outside on the way to my car. I could tell from the glare from the ring on Christine's left hand that they were engaged. It seemed as if Christine was rubbing the fact in my face, acting as if she was the only one in the world that was engaged. She seemed quite happy to have broken up me and Roy as she gave me an evil stare. I just don't get it, Gil. Roy was so sweet to me when we first started going out, but then he changed. He too gave me an evil look as I passed by. So much for his claims that he loved me. He then went on to say some stuff that I just can't bear to repeat since it hurt so much.” That was enough for me to hear. “Anne, what's in the past is in the past. You can't change it, but you can move on from it.” “I just can't stand it because he not only said bad stuff about me, but it was about you, too.” Wow. Gardner has to have some serious guts to think that he can get away with that sort of thing. “Oh really?” “I guess there's still bad blood after the fight you two had.” I sighed. “Yeah.” “Gil, if I could beat up Roy, I'd do it in a heartbeat.” She startled me there. That wasn't like the Anne-girl I knew. “Anne, that's not the best thing in the world to do. I know because I've done it.” “I know, but you just don't say that kind of thing about me or my friends, especially you.” Me? Is she implying the fact that she has feelings for me? Am I looking into this too deeply? “Thanks,” I managed to say. “No, Gil. Thank you,” she said. “For what?” “For being there for me whenever I need someone to lean on.” “You're welcome, Carrots.” She looked up at me. “Don't get me started,” she laughed. “I might if I feel like it,” I joked. Anne playfully slapped me across the arm, and I laughed. I noticed that it was getting late and both my parents and Marilla would be worried about us. I reluctantly let Anne go and walked her back home. When I let her off at the gate, she kissed me on the cheek and said, “Thanks again, Gil. I'm so glad you're not like the other guys.” “Huh?” I asked. “You're sweet, funny, and smart. Why can't they all be like you?” Because then I'd have some serious competition in getting you, and it's hard enough as it is. “I don't know, Anne-girl. Maybe it's because I'm a stud.” I raised the collar of my shirt underneath my jacket, causing her to laugh. “Good night, Gil.” “Good night, Anne.” I walked back home tired and happy since I got Anne to smile for a bit. I started thinking about the list of people that I had to get Christmas gifts for, and I would have to start on it very soon. I knew I had to get a very special gift for Anne. I wanted to give her a present that she would never forget. The idea finally came to me as soon as I walked through the door when I got home. 1/1/2007, 9:49 pm ladybell101 Dance Card Stealer Global user Registered: 12-2006 Posts: 100 Kindredness: 4 (+4/-0)  |  Re: Nothing Else Matters I looked at Dad's guitar that was randomly sitting in the living room. Since Dad worked so much, he rarely had time to play it anymore. I remember him playing some songs when I was little, and I would randomly make up lyrics. I walked over to the guitar and plucked some strings. I don't know if it was in tune or not, but after playing around with the open strings, I realized that had just played the opening to “Nothing Else Matters,” the song that Anne and I danced to at Homecoming. Then it hit me. If the beginning of that simple yet beautiful song was composed of only open strings, then the rest of it couldn't be that bad since it was slow. I decided that my gift to Anne would be me playing that song to her, but then I remembered that I couldn't play and that I couldn't sing. I think Dad sensed my distress because he went over to me. “You want to learn how to play, Gil?” he asked me. “Yeah,” I said. “I'd love to play something.” “What do you want to know?” “Anything that you could possibly teach me in a short amount of time.” I think he knew I was up to something when I said that because he then asked, “Are you trying to impress someone?” “No,” I lied. He laughed. “It's okay, son. Anne will love whatever you play for her.” “How'd you know?” He patted me on the back. “Gil, everyone in this town knew you two would be together since the day she first came here. Even though she doesn't know it yet, you'll get her.” “How are you so sure about that, Dad, after all you and Marilla went through?” He sighed. “I just know. Now have a seat, and let me show you a few things.” For the next hour Dad and I went through some basic technique like the names of the strings, basic chords, and how to read music. He was shocked as how fast I was picking up on stuff, and to be honest I was surprising myself. Dad gave me the book that his father gave him when he first started playing, and that helped a lot. He then offered to give me his guitar, but I refused to take it. I couldn't let him just give it up like that since I knew it meant a lot to him. After a few minutes of us debating about it, Dad finally decided that he would get me an instrument of my own as part of my Christmas gift, and he would get it as soon as possible so I could practice. 1/1/2007, 9:50 pm Page:  1  2  3  4  5  Link to us   -  Blogs   -  Hall of Honour   -  Chat You are not logged in (login)      Board's time is: 11/29/2009, 12:15 pm