My Fairy Queen Anne

seeing the shape of your name still spells out pain

After an afternoon of festivities, most everyone had gone home except for Anne, Diana, and Josie. College had changed so much for Anne, as the three of them were now found attached at the hip compared to Josie's previous kinship with Jane and Tillie. Some things, like Anne and Diana's everlasting love for each other, would never change though. 

The three were walking with arms linked together, stopping through town before Green Gables. Josie felt no pressing desire to return "home" to her parents, so she told her mother that she'd be sleeping over at Anne's with Diana tonight.

"Oh, wait right here! I promised Marilla I'd pick up some vanilla from the store!" Anne proclaimed, dashing inside the store after squeezing both their hands once. Before she ran inside, she called out, "I'll buy us some chocolate caramels! I feel the need to indulge in all I can!"

Diana giggled from beside Josie and waved her off. They stood in comfortable silence for a couple moments, gazing at the idle town around them.

Avonlea was perfectly picturesque in December, the kind of town where sins were erased and no one could imagine a thing going wrong. The joy of the season permeated every person's heart. The roads were covered in a light blanket of powder fresh snow, pure white with perfect splashes of vivid emerald in the old-as-time conifers. There was an infectious buzz of laughter in the streets. The faint smell of cocoa wafted through the air, and every person's face was flushed rose from the nipping cold.

"And how about you?" Diana asked calmly, looking to the side to hide her smug smirk.

"Excuse me?" Josie said.

"Anne's engaged, isn't she? You followed her relationship by... 5 weeks, was it not? Are we due to see you with a ring on your finger any time soon?" she inquired, hiding the seriousness of the question with a small snicker.

"No," Josie responded vehemently. She shook her head quickly, quite sure about her answer. "I think... I would like to in the future, but... I don't want to rush into it like I did Billy. It's far too soon to decide anything. Mother and Father had already started wedding plans last year, for goodness sakes! It makes sense for Anne; she's had three years of build-up with Gilbert and she knows what she wants to do and doesn't want to spare more time than she already has. But for me, I'm still deciding what direction I want my life to go. With Alex, I can take it at my own pace." She finished with a satisfied smile. She had come so far since that organized action seven months ago.

"Hey, I heard my name!" a boy called from behind them. Josie tensed at the familiar sound, the painful sound. He ran up to them, brushing Josie's shoulder as he ran by. His face was twisted into a vicious smile, malice glinting in his eyes. "You talking about me, Josie? I'm flattered."

"Billy," she greeted coldly, unconsciously grasping Diana's hand tighter. She'd need a friend's comfort for this. Diana was equally put off, staring coldly into the other boy's eyes.

At that moment, the door to the general store opened, and Anne walked out, a box and a bottle of vanilla essence in tow. "I brought... chocolate caramels," she started happily, yet trailing off and eyeing Billy warily. She went to go stand on Josie's other side and put a protective arm around her friend.

"Billy, care to explain why you're here?" she asked, a stiff smile quickly turning into a scowl.

"Yes, we really must be going," Diana cut in before he could respond, starting to walk ahead briskly and pulling Josie's arm with her. Josie and Anne started to follow after. Josie's head was turned downwards so that she didn't have to look Billy in the eyes, and her long golden hair hung in a silky curtain in front of her face. Billy seemed to gain a sick pleasure from the fact that she was pained by him, hiding from him.