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"You've got number three wrong"
- Gilbert Blythe
---
CHARLOTTE FELT IN LESS grumpy mood the next morning as she walked with Anne, walking as she finished the work she didn't get time to finish yesterday. She eventually looked up as she felt her slate being plucked straight out of her hands.
She rolled her eyes, seeing Billy glancing at the sums on the chalkboard. "Come on give it back."
"Does Cocoa want her board back?" Billy sneered. "Don't you show off enough already. I'm here to talk to Anne."
Charlotte rushed to the side as Billy flung her slate to the right, stepping towards Anne. "You said some pretty nasty things about my sister."
"Who's your sister?" Anne asked. Charlotte tucked her slate into her sack, standing beside her.
"Prissy Andrews dummy."
"I didn't mean to be nasty," Anne said.
"Is that why she was crying all night?" BIlly stepped forward. "My parents say that's slander. You want to get slandered. I'm going to teach you a lesson. You're a bad dog."
Charlotte stepped in front of Anne, glaring up at Billy. "Just leave her alone she didn't know."
"Get out of the way," Billy scoffed.
"No, leave her alone and walk away."
Charlotte let out a groan as Billy grabbed her by the collar, slamming her into a nearby tree, anger clear on his face.
"Get off," Charlotte attempted to shove him away, the realization striking her on how much Billy had really grown during the school break. He had gotten taller, stronger. She hadn't. An emotion she hadn't felt in a long time invaded her insides, fear. If Billy could easily pick her up by the hem of her shirt, he could easily throw her around if he felt it.
"I didn't have a problem with you today," Billy glared at her, slamming her harsher into the tree, the crown of her head bashing into the rough bark.
"Anne didn't know, give her a break, Charlotte yelled, kneeing him in the stomach. "Just walk away. You've got problems with me but leave her alone."
"So I'm supposed to let her get away with the things she said," Billy snapped in her face.
"Or maybe you could think why your minor sister was hanging out with a man twice her age in a supply cupboard," Charlotte said loudly.
Billy's eyes darkened, his hand moving forward, grabbing a fistfull of Charlotte's hair, yanking harshly while moving to whack her into the tree for the third time. This time, the air left her chest as her body slammed against it. Her eyes widening as the wind was completely knocked out of her. Instead of solid breaths, rasps left her throat. Panic filled her insides as she continued wheezing for the air that simply wasn't there. Her hands flew in front of her head as Billy's fist face into view.
"Hey Billy."
She slowly lowered them as no impact came. Instead, Billy was turned towards the boy that had come at exactly the right time. "How's it going?"
Billy glared down at Charlotte. "Hey Gilbert."
Charlotte's knuckles went white as she gripped the bark of the trees behind her. Air was begining to come, the feeling of her passing out any moment still evident. Tears brimmed in her eyes as the dreaded feeling still camped out in the insides.
"Man, it's good to be back." Gilbert stepped forward until he was in front of Billy and Charlotte, putting himself between the two.
Billy glanced over his shoulder towards Anne, then Charlotte. "Welcome back."
"Yeah, it's good to see you buddy." Gilbert glanced behind him at the brunette who was practically shrinking into the tree out of fear, her body physically shaking, then back at Billy. "Are you guys, playing a game or something? Looks fun but we should probably get back to school."
"Yeah, I was just about to get going," Billy replied before glancing over at Anne and Charlotte. "See you there."
As Billy walked away, Anne walked towards Charlotte. "Are you okay?"
Charlotte simply nodded, not being able to form words. She whispered the only ones she could form. "You go, I'll catch up."
Anne looked regretful as she nodded, glancing at Gilbert before following the path Billy had taken.
As soon as she left, Charlotte placed her hand over her chest, attempting to get her breathing back to normal.
"You alright?" Gilbert spoke up, alerting Charlotte to the fact he was still standing there, watching as she gasped for breath.
Charlotte winced. Gilbert had only ever seen her in school, or at other Avonlea gatherings or when she bumped into him sometimes. But all those times, she had been confident and outspoken. Not shaking with fear over a boy. She didn't want him to see her like this, didn't want for him to think she was cowardly or weaker than she really was. But she couldn't help the fact she shrunk into the tree, wheezing from the force Billy had slammed her several times.
Gilbert leaned down slightly to look at her, aware of the loss of breath she was experiencing and knowing the quick paced bursts of air she was taken weren't going to help her with anything. "Just take a few deep breaths, count to ten in your head, and match your breathing with your numbers."
Charlotte closed her eyes, doing the steps he said. As she opened them again, Gilbert was still there. She had expected him to leave, hoped he had left. "Thanks."
Gilbert nodded, leaning down to pick up her sack, handing it to her, watching as her still shaking hands took it from him.
To him, Charlotte was interesting. Any girl he had ever met, Charlotte wasn't like any of them. She was smart, loud, quick-tempered and terrifying at times. She was the top student, alongside him. He enjoyed competing against her, the way she always somehow managed to make him try harder at the work, just so he could keep up with her.
Charlotte pulled her sack over her shoulder, stepping away from the tree. "We have to go."
Gilbert nodded, not leaving her side as she continued walking. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," Charlotte brushed him away, just wanting to be left alone. Though since the Cuthbert's adopted Anne, the sound of silence didn't feel as comforting as it used to.
"Who was the girl with you?" Gilbert asked. He knew Charlotte was stubborn, the signal she didn't want him there flying right over his head as she ignored the question, clenching her jaw and pulling out her slate, continuing to finish the sums she was given.
"You know you can speak to me," Gilbert continued walking at the same pace as her, sneaking glances at her work. "I won't bite you."
"I'm trying to focus."
Gilbert nodded, staying silent for no more than a second before glancing over her her shoulder again. "You've got number three wrong."
Charlotte sucked in a breath, stress filling up her insides along with the overwhelming feeling of Gilbert always being better than her in everything. Frustration boiled up inside her as he just stood there, she didn't even know why. "Can I just be alone with my thoughts?"
"Are you sure your okay-"
"God, I'm fine," she snapped. "Either walk with me in silence or don't walk with me at all."
Gilbert couldn't help the grin sliding along his face as she glared up at him. "You're nose goes red when your mad."
Charlotte huffed, storming away from him. "You're insufferable."
No matter what he could do, the smile stayed on his face at the fact he could rile her up so quickly without even trying. The other girls would just stare at him with love in their eyes, Charlotte wouldn't even look at him, only scrunching her nose out of frustration. "Let me know if you need anything else, any dragons need slaying just come to me. Or something simple, like a tutor."
"You're so annoying," Charlotte spat back, her back turned as she continue to march away.
—
As soon as Charlotte reached the school house, Gilbert darted in front of her, opening the door before she could. Despite her complaints, he continued to walk behind her and irritate her from Green Gables to the building.
"By the way, how did you know to do the breathing thing?" Charlotte asked him.
"I want to be a doctor, so you have to know how to calm people down when they're stressed or injured," he answered, closing the door behind her.
Anne walked up to her the second she set foot inside. "I was so worried about you are you quite alright."
"I'm fine," Charlotte replied. "By the way Anne this is-"
"Gilbert!"
She was interrupted by every boy in the hall yelling out his name, pulling him away from the girls and onto their side of the room. He glanced behind him as Charlotte walked out of the hall with Anne towards the stream.
"How were the mountains?" Moody asked. "Were they big?"
"They're mountains," he replied, placing his stuff down on the desk while he sat atop of it.
"Why were you walking with the twig?" One of the boys asked, referring to Charlotte as she was naturally thinner than several of the girls at the school, as well as the shade of her skin.
Gilbert pulled his scarf off. "Why not?"
"Because she's mean," Moody shivered, remembering one of the times she had yelled at him when he accidentally whacked her over the head with a stick.
"She's not mean," Gilbert replied. "She just has a strong personality. Besides it doesn't matter. A cute girl is a cute girl."
He glanced out the window, sneaking a peak as Charlotte sat alongside Anne at the stream, standing up as Josie Pye stormed out, several of the girls behind her.
"Both of you, I don't know what you were doing thinking you could talk to Gilbert Blythe," Josie scowled, alongside Diana, Tillie, and a crying Ruby.
"Maybe because he's a human being, and it's rude to ignore them when they talk to you," Charlotte smiled fakely.
"You can't even look at Gilbert Blythe," Tillie said.
"Ruby has liked him for three years, she has dibs," Josie held Ruby closely. "Now there, the nasty girls didn't know any better."
"Okay, first of," Charlotte began. "You can't call dibs on a living human being. He isn't your property, Ruby. Second of all, it's not our fault that he hasn't even spoken to you in three years and that in not even one day of knowing him, Anne has gotten more attention from him than you, and third, don't tell me who to talk to or so help me I will have a whole picnic with him purely out of spite. And lastly, we can't control the fact he just so happened to be walking on the same pathway as us, and seeing as we can't ban people from stepping on the actual ground, there was no problem with him being there other than the fact Ruby can't hold in her tears because a guy didn't look at her."
Ruby looked up at her in shock. The girls at school were used to the random outbursts Charlotte had every few weeks, but never had one been directed at Ruby.
"I mean, if you're never going to even talk to him how do you expect him to like you back," Charlotte finished.
"Don't let it happen again," Josie spat, glareing fiercely at the two girls.
As the three girls stormed off, Diana looked over at Anne. "I'll try to smooth things over."
Charlotte huffed as she walked away, watching as Anne sat on the ground numbly. "Why don't they like me?"
"Because you have a personality and they can't handle it," Charlotte shrugged. "Just try to ignore them. They have nothing better to do."
"I just want friends," Anne sighed. "Real friends."
"I did not ride all the way to the mainland for you to call me a fake friend." Charlotte placed Anne's milk in the stream.
"You and Diana seem to by my only real friends."
"It's better to have two close friends, than multiple fake ones."
—
The two girls sat in the same position at lunchtime. Charlotte, by the stream as usual, Anne talking to her about how water worked and how it would be 'incredibly joyful' to be a mermaid. Charlotte could see the the other girls peering over at the two through the window, they're faces changing as Gilbert walked towards them.
As soon as he did, Anne's words silenced, she sat there glancing at Charlotte for help. Anne desperately wanted the girls to like her, so she kept her mouth shut and glanced down, Charlotte didn't care about their opinions so she looked up, wondering what he wanted. "Yes, Blythe?"
"You know the way my family has an orchard?" he said, pulling two apples out of his back. "We had to many so I brought some to see if anyone wanted any before they go rotten."
Before Charlotte could reply, Anne did through gritted teeth. "Please, go away."
"Pardon?" Gilbert looked at Anne, then the brunette.
"You need to walk away right now," Anne said, her mouth hardly moving.
"I'm sorry, I can't-"
"I'm not supposed to talk to you," Anne yelled, standing up to grab her things, grunting in annoyance as she stormed away, knocking his shoulder as she did.
Gilbert glanced around confused, before looking over at Charlotte as she stood up. "Did you want one?"
Charlotte looked behind her, to where the girls were still spying on her through the window. "Sure."
As she took it, she spun around, firing the apple towards the window directly at Josie's head. Several yelps and screams were heard as the apple split apart on the glass, Josie flying back on her chair, bringing Ruby down with her. Miraculously, the glass remained in tact, unfortunately, so did Josie's face.
Charlotte smiled at her work, turning around to look at Gilbert. "Thanks."
With that, she walked away, following Anne to the other side of the school building. As she reached the doorway, Josie stormed towards her, nostrils flaring in rage. "What was that?"
"That was me letting you know if you spy on me again or attempt to yell at Anne for things she can't help again, I'll throw something at you at a time glass isn't present, and you saw how accurate my aim was. Did Gilbert offer you something too Ruby, or was it just Anne and I?" Charlotte walked away, leaving Josie fuming in anger and Ruby, again, close to tears.
—
The sound of chalk scratching was one of the only things that could soothe Charlotte. That could have been the reason to why she did so well with her studies, because she found numbers and sums soothing, or words and letters relaxing. What she didn't find soothing, what the sound of chalk being flung across the room towards the seat behind her, or the clatter it made as it hit the floor.
The second time the sound stuck her ears, the turned around, spotting Gilbert rising from his seat to kneel down beside Anne, glancing at Mr. Philips as he did. As he kneeled down beside her, he placed the apple he tried to hand to her at lunch in front of her, leaning down to grab the chalk he dropped. "Whoops."
Anne continued to keep her eyes forward, attempting to ignore him. She needed the girls as school to like her, and if this was the way she had to to that, she would.
"Hey," Gilbert muttered to her, lowering his eyebrows as Anne didn't even flick her eyes in his direction. His hand went up to her braids, yanking one downwards. "Carrots."
Nothing could prepare him as Anne stood up quickly, slamming her slate into the side of his head. "I'm not talking to you!"
Charlotte widened her eyes as the whole class turned to look at the two standing up. Laughter sounded from the class room as Gilbert smirked at her, moving back to his seat. "You just did."
"Shirly!"
Charlotte looked over the Mr. Phillips, his chest rose and fell in rage. "Get up here now! What a vicious display."
Charlotte glanced over at Gilbert as Anne slowly moved to the front. Her jaw clenched at the teachers next words.
"Is this what they taught you in that orphanage."
Anne stood up the front as Mr. Phillips wrote the words above her head. Ann Shirly has a very bad temper.
Charlotte was tempted to raise her hand and say he spelt her name wrong, but she didn't.
"Mr. Phillips it was my fault," Gilbert admitted, standing up. "I teased her."
"Quiet, Blythe," Mr. Phillips snapped. "That is hardly an excuse. Quiet all of you, and return to your lesson."
Charlotte glanced over at Anne, her eyebrows furrowing as the redhead took a step forward, then another.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mr. Phillips asked.
Anne didn't reply, continuing to walk towards the door. Despite the teachers yelling, the walked forward, grabbing her hat and running out of the door.
Charlotte stood up, attempting to follow behind her to check on her, before she was stopped.
"Wells, you walk out that door your grade drops," Mr. Phillips pointed at her.
Charlotte stood there. Her grades were the most important thing in the world to her. She stood there caught between her friend and her future. Charlotte's dream was to become a therapist. She wanted to help people the way nobody had helped her when the thought of having no one ran through her head.
As it still ran through her head.
As soon as she sat down in her seat, a bit of her heart felt like it was getting chipped away.
---
22/11/2023
Charbert
Gilbotte
Which one do we like more, or you guys can think of better ones because I actually love them so much with all my heart. And this is only the first interaction.
I found a heap more names, some of by favs being:
Bells ( blythe x wells )
Wythe ( wells x blythe )
Readers: it's your call what their ship name is.