The Garden [G.BLYTHE]

[06] MISSABLE

Alice looked back at her customer with a chuckle. "She's a piece of work, that one." She shook her head with a slight grin.

Aurelie was extremely excited. So much so, that when she left the store, she ran directly into someone else, who was holding a small box. She quickly let out a mumbled apology, however when she looked up to see who it was, her face instantly went pale, despite the chilly weather, which would normally render her cheeks a dark shade of red.

"Gilbert." She exhaled

"Aurelie." Gilbert said at the same time.

That seemed to be the only word that she could manage to say in his presence. He smiled at her. Aurelie hadn't seen him since the funeral, so seeing him with a smile now felt odd.

 "It's...nice to see you." Gilbert spoke in an awkward tone, confused by Aurelie's terrified expression. 

"Y..." Aurelie stopped herself. The two went silent. Gilbert cleared his throat.

"So...what are you doing here?" He wondered.

 "I--" Aurelie truly was speechless. She had so much to say at once and was overwhelmed. Gilbert tilted his head. "Do you want to sit down?" He offered. Aurelie quickly nodded.

They arrived at a small bakery and sat by a window. Aurelie removed her jacket, setting it down on her chair. Neither of them said anything. They studied their surroundings, averting each other's gaze, until, coincidentally, they both looked in the direction of each other at the same time.

There was another pause.

"Sor--"

"How--"

They spoke at the same time. They chuckled silently, before another silence fell. "How have you...been?" Gilbert inquired. 

"Fine." Aurelie mumbled. She fiddled with the petunias in her hand. 

"Wow. No 'I missed you'?" Gilbert joked. Aurelie scoffed, rolling her eyes. Her lips curved up only slightly.

"I've already got pretentious boys to deal with everyday at school. What's to miss?" Aurelie responded with a grin. Gilbert hummed in response.

 "I do miss the competition, though. It's no fun competing with Moody." Aurelie chuckled. Gilbert nodded in agreement, stifling a laugh.

"However, I would completely understand if you missed me. I mean-- I'm very... missable." Aurelie smirked. 

"That's not a word." Gilbert stated. 

"It is. Can you spell it, though?" Aurelie raised her eyebrows. Gilbert snickered. "M-I-S-S-A-B-L-E." He stated. Aurelie grinned.

 "What? Did I not get it right?" Gilbert asked with a foolish smile. 

"No. No, you did." Aurelie assured.

The two laughed for a moment, until they grew silent. Their smiles fell. Gilbert took a moment to stare at the flowers in Aurelie's hand. "They're lovely flowers. Are they from your mother's shop?" He wondered. Aurelie looked down at her hands. "Oh-- yes...they are. I probably shouldn't have taken this many out, I'm gonna kill them." She sighed.

Gilbert pursed his lips. "What kind are they?" He inquired.

 "They're petunias. It's a genus of 20 species of flowering plants of South American origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word petun, meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language. An annual, most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids." Aurelie recited from her flower book, which she had imprinted in her brain.

Gilbert listened intently. Though he never took much interest in flowers, listening to Aurelie be so passionate about them made him want to hear more. 

"Despite their pretty nature, they symbolize resentment." Aurelie added, then looked back up towards Gilbert. She grinned, handing him one of the flowers. "Here. For my resentment."

Gilbert stifled a laugh, taking the flower, causing their hands to touch for just a moment. "Have you got a flower for 'know-it-all'?" Gilbert raised his eyebrows. Aurelie huffed. "Irises represent wisdom." She smirked. "I just love Irises. I'd love to be called Iris." She mentioned.

"Why, you don't like your name, Aurelie (Ora-lee)." Gilbert teased. 

"Iris is harder for you to mispronounce." Aurelie explained. "Spell that. Mispronounce." She quickly noted.

"M-I-S-P-R-O-N-O-U-N-C-E, and that's not true. I can say Eres." Gilbert countered. 

"Of course you can." Aurelie playfully rolled her eyes.

It seemed that they could never escape that terrible silence that would fall every time they ran out of things to say. "I, uh... I'm sorry that I haven't spoken to you since the funeral. I just... I wasn't sure if what I had said to you then had made a bad impact or a good one and.. I was worried you would be angry with me so I...I just avoided confrontation altogether." Aurelie admitted.

"It's alright. What you said that day did help...just so you know." Gilbert assured. 

"I'm glad." Aurelie smiled softly. Aurelie looked back down at the flower in Gilbert's hand, suddenly remembering the shop. "Well, I really better be off to the shop to help my mother." She quickly stood up. "It was nice to...talk with you, Gilbert." Aurelie made sure to pronounce the 'G' as a 'J' to spite him for mispronouncing her name.

Gilbert chuckled to himself as he watched her leave the shop, forgetting her jacket on her chair. With a slow shake of his head, he took her jacket, following after her. "Aurelie!" He called out. She stopped running with a sigh. "What?" She spun around slowly, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Forgetting something?" He waved her jacket in the air. 

"Oh!" Aurelie ran back towards him, reaching for the jacket, but he pulled it back. "Gilbert, do you want me to freeze?" Aurelie finally grabbed her jacket, sparing Gilbert one last glance before parting, knowing she would probably not see him for a long time.