(ʟᴏᴠᴇʀʙᴏʏ!)//sʜɪʀʙᴇʀᴛ

xxiv.

TW: PANIC ATTACK!

anne's paced around her dressing room while diana talked about her upcoming events. so much has been happening in her life. her movie was currently being filmed, her books have been selling like crazy, and she was getting homesick. being on the road for so long made her miss gilbert more.

"you okay?" no response. "come here." anne laid next to her best friend as she played with her hair. "it's all going to be okay, lovey, i promise. you will see gilbert soon and your movie will be done. everything is going to work out. i mean you are you. a nineteen year old girl who has a record label, book, and a movie coming out! you are a role model." she hugged her best friend tight.

"i love you so much." anne said.

diana laughed. "i love you more, curly shirley." the rest of the day, they just talked about their lives and their boyfriends. cole climbed up the ladder on the bunk, frantic. "cole, what's up?" he tried to speak but no words came out. "no, no, no! you cannot lose your voice now! let me call a doctor. anne, make him that tea you make when we get sick. diana got off the phone and sighed. "she is meeting us at the venue. right now, you are on complete rest! go lay down and no speaking!" he sadly walked to his bed while anne panicked. "go call gilbert, i have to call a few people."

she ran into the bathroom and began to hyperventilate, typing in his number. his face came over the screen with a smile but it soon dropped when he saw her freaking out. "anne, what's wrong?" she tried to speak but she felt as if she could not breath. "breath, love, breath. it will be okay. i am right here. i am always here, okay? i am not going anywhere, i promise." after a few minutes of gilbert calming her down, she caught her breath.

"i-i'm sorry." she cried. her blue eyes stood out from her red face which was covered in tears. "everything has just became so stressful lately and-"

"hey, it's alright. i know you are going through a lot right now but you have me, diana, and cole. okay? so what happened?" she explained how cole lost his voice and she may have to do the whole show alone. "anne, you are one of the most talented girl's i know. if anyone had to do a whole show by themselves, it would be you. i have to go but i love you more than anything in this world, okay? will be together soon." she hung up the phone and sighed. they haven't seen each other in forever and she misses his touch. but the talk helped.

✵

they got to the venue in new york city and anne smiled knowing she was somewhat home. they brought her bags in and she saw her names in big letters. she wished gilbert could see it but he is somewhere far away from here. diana called her in, she sounded upset. "the doctor said he can't go on tonight." she was about to freak out but she remembered what gilbert said.

she took a deep breath. "i'll be okay." she hugged diana, then hugged cole. "i'll be thinking of you on stage tonight." she began her warm ups with her vocal coach then she got changed into a red sundress. she was about to go get her microphone when she saw a text pop up on her screen.

daisy 🌼💕: Hello beautiful! Your last show! AHH! Break a leg!

she smiled and texted her back before going. before she knew it, she was going on stage. the crowd roared as she stepped on. "hello my loves! cole got sick so it is just me tonight! i know but the first song is dedicated to him!" she sang their duet but instead of cole, it was the crowd. it came to her tenth song. "so, i wrote this song for someone special. a boy who taught me how true love should feel. i bet you all know who but here we go." the ukulele started her off then she began to sing. "they say you can't find the person who you want to love forever this young but i guess they haven't met you. the boy who changed my life forever. curly haired boy show me the way, show me the way." suddenly the crowd began to cheer loudly and she laughed, remembering the letter she gave gilbert saying the exact same things. she ended the song and felt to arms wrap around her. "GILBERT!" she hugged the boy, almost crying, while the crowd clapped. "i-i-i thought-"

"kiss me." she followed his orders and kissed him deeply. it was just them. gilbert and anne. no crowd, no crew. just them. "sorry i interrupted! you are doing great babe!" he kissed her cheek. she turned her head to the crowd and blushed. the concert ended and she ran to gilbert, jumping on top of him. "hello to you too."

"i missed you." she hugged him tighter, taking in everything about him. everything was the same yet new to her. "seven months is too long. next time i am coming with you." he laughed. "we are getting dinner, c'mon!"

they went to anne's favorite diner in new york. they all squeezed in a booth. "okay, i would like to make a cheers!" ethan stood up. "to annie!" everyone raised their glass of water high. everyone made a little speech about anne and everything she did. jerry may have cried telling anne how much he appreciated her. then it was gilbert's turn. she knew she would be in tears so she held his hand tight.

"anne shirley-cuthbert, hi." she blushed while everyone swooned and charlie filmed. "this girl has forever changed my life, for the better. i mean we all know that but i don't think anne knows that enough. i love you so much and i am so proud of you. doing all of this in a year is crazy but if anyone had to do it, it would be you. i can't wait to watch our lives unfold together. if i knew posting a screenshot with your video in it would bring you out sooner, i would have done it earlier. you are the light of my life and i love you." anne teared up and kissed his hand while everyone cheered. she placed her head on his shoulder and he kissed her head.

she looked up at him and smiled. never did she think she would be here. performing at concerts, publishing a book, making money for making youtube videos, and most especially being in love with a boy who doesn't degrade her. a boy who never failed to make her smile or blush. a boy who will be in her life forever.

gilbert john blythe.