chapter five: kiss and tell
"when you have your first kiss doesn't matter,
it's you have it with that does."
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CAROLINE WASN'T INTERESTED in anything that the older girls were talking about. All they seemed to be hung up on was the idea of being with a boy, specifically, an more experienced boy. After only a few minutes, Caroline had grown tired of listening to them exaggerate every interaction they'd had with a male over the past week. She wasn't one to judge a girl on what she was interested in but something about her just wasn't into that topic today. So, with a whispered 'excuse me', she cut across the classroom, turning a chair around and taking a seat in front of Cole. He was tapping his pencil against his sketchbook.
Reaching forward, Caroline grabbed the pencil and stuck it behind it her ear. Cole looked up in surprise and slight panic but relaxed when he saw her. They hadn't hung out with one another in a long while given that Cole was always working at his house and Caroline was typically found with Ruby, doing who-knows-what. She leaned back in her seat, eyes flickering to Cole's sketchbook then back up to his face. Something about him seemed tense and she couldn't tell what it was until the schoolhouse door opened. A crowd of boisterous boys raced through the front room, clapping one another on the back in laughter.
With a scoff, Caroline raised her eyebrow at Cole, "He still hasn't let up, has he?"
He hesitated then shook his head, "No, he has not, but, I guess we're in the same boat there."
This time it was her turn to falter, "He's always been like that with me, I thought he would stop eventually but, he keeps trying. If he wasn't so terrible, maybe I'd find it endearing."
Charlie Sloane took his spot next to Cole, who suddenly looked much more uncomfortable. When Mr.Phillips finally told the class to take their assigned seats, she quickly handed the pencil back to Cole before making her way beside Ruby. They sat beside one another, watching as their teacher seemingly droned one and one about the perimeter of a triangle. Caroline was lost but there was no way she would ask that man for help.
As soon as the class began to speak again, Anne turned around to face her older friend with a wide grin on her face. The sight of it made Caroline crack a smile too. She hadn't talked to Anne in a while and hoped that she was doing alright but from the look in her eyes, she was doing just fine. Anne was nearly shaking in excitement which made Caroline's eyebrows furrow. What do I have to do now, she wondered.
"Caroline, have you received any letters from Gilbert?", her voice was filled with enthusiasm.
Caroline's face fell quickly, moving her gaze to her lap. This seemed to be the only answer that Anne needed because she closed her mouth quickly. There had been no other letters, only one and it made Caroline wonder if Gilbert was sending ones to Green Gables but Anne would have told her if he was. What was going on? Why wasn't her brother trying to communicate with her anymore? She had returned his first letter and even wrote in a few questions, hoping to get a reply from him but nothing ever came.
She would be lying if she said that she never thought about where he was or what he was doing. What if his ship had sunk or it left without him and he had no way to get home? He's smarter than that, Caroline would try to convince herself but it didn't stop that evil voice in her head telling her everything that could go wrong. Anne was facing forward again but Caroline still hadn't looked back up. If her brother ever did come home, she was becoming less and less sure of how happy she would be to see him.
As soon as Mr.Phillips had dismissed the class, Caroline was rushing to Cole's side. After school was one of the boys favorite time to torture him so she figured that the two would walk home together. The idea of not being alone made Cole feel a bit better and it gave her a chance to air out her issues with her brother. Before she could reach him, blonde hair and a blue ribbon blocked her path. Josie Pye had a fake smile on her lips but the look in her eyes showed fire.
"What do you think you're doing?", Caroline had a lot to think about and was not in the mood for any of the girl's stupid games.
"Oh, Care.", Caroline's eyebrows raised, "I'm just here to invite you to a game, everyone else will be there, even Ruby."
She looked over to see Cole being pulled toward the backroom by Billy and the rest of the students. There was no way she was letting him go through that alone, so, with every fiber of sweetness in her small body, Caroline smiled back and nodded. As soon as she turned around, her face changed into a scowl. When Caroline walked into the room, Billy looked up at her and moved to the side, opening a spot for her.
The invitation was immediately declined as she took a seat beside Charlie Sloane who gave her a shaky laugh. Billy rolled his eyes then turned his attention to Josie, who was in the middle of explaining the rules as if everyone didn't know them already. After she moved a few people around, Billy thought it would be a good time to run his mouth again.
"Where does that leave Cole?", he asked, relishing in the way the boy winced and the room laughed.
"Shut up, Andrews!"
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Before the game of spin the bottle had even come close to finishing, Caroline had left. Not only was the game making Anne extremely uncomfortable, but she was also growing tired of the way Billy was looking at her. When they were younger, she hadn't minded as much, knowing that everything he said or did was a way to get under her skin, but, now, she wasn't so sure. He was acting differently, she could see it as soon as he'd asked about her forehead. Billy was getting comfortable with her and she didn't like that.
The upper level of the Cuthberts barn was about the same as she'd left it, save for a few piles of hay in the corner. Caroline swung her legs off the edge while Jerry shoveled beside her. When she'd shown up, they had had a long talk about the boarders and what he had gone through that night. She had wanted to hug him but it didn't seem like the right thing to do. So, she listened to everything he had to say and waited till he was done to put in her input.
A few months ago, the two had made a deal. Caroline would help Anne teach Jerry by reading with him and Jerry would teach her French in return. She was getting pretty good and could already insult people in over twenty different ways if she got creative. Sometimes, they would only speak in French just to get Anne all riled up. It was pretty funny. Caroline recalled a time when Anne nearly shoved Jerry out of the barn's upper window because she was sure he had insulted her. After Caroline had helped him, she smiled, saying that she was his hero now.
"Anne devrait être là bientôt.", Caroline said, watching the gate for whenever her red-haired friend would show up.
Jerry hummed, "On se moquera d'elle."
She laughed, dusting off her dress as she stood up, "Tu seras trop occupée à regarder Diana."
Jerry turned bright pink, immediately pointing his eyes back down at his shovel, "Tais - toi."
Caroline snickered as she watched a bright blush take over his cheeks. Nobody had to be a genius to see how he looked at her friend. It was like a lovestruck child and it was nice. She hoped that one day, someone would look at her that way. Jerry looked over at Caroline, noticing how zoned out she was. Quietly, he leaned over to the hay pile, scooping some into his gloved hand. With a sudden strike, he had thrown it at her neck.
She squealed at the attack, scrambling to brush the substance off of her. Jerry had nearly fallen over in laughter. With both eyebrows raised and jaw dropped, Caroline lunged at him, shoving him into the pile of straw. She was sure that Matthew could hear their laughter from inside the house. Jerry ended up being poked in the eye with a piece of hay, but he hadn't minded, only trying to defend himself from Caroline's relentless clumps of straw.
A loud clear of someone's throat was enough for them to break apart from each other. Anne had a scowl on her face while Diana was only giggling. If Caroline had turned back to look at Jerry, she would have noticed how his face had become bright red. Climbing swiftly down the ladder, Caroline ran to Anne's side, pulling her a little ways away while Diana and Jerry conversed about whatever they felt like. Anne looked confused at why her friend had led her aside.
"Are you alright?", Caroline's voice was soft and her eyes were sparkling.
Anne nodded slowly then vigorously, "I'm fine, I just don't understand why kissing is such a big deal."
Laughter rang out, "It isn't, trust me."
"You've done it?", Anne sighed in amazement but Caroline only winced at the memory.
"Yes, and believe me when I say that it isn't something you want to rush. It isn't something you should do in a stupid school game, either."
"What was your first kiss like?", Anne marveled, gripping onto Caroline's arm when she tried to walk away.
She only got a firm head shake, "There is no way I will ever talk about that experience. It was the same day I got my scar though."
"Please, please, please!", Anne begged, not even minding how Caroline dragged her the dirt in an effort to get back to the barn.
Diana turned her head to her friends, laughing at the sight, "What do you want to know so badly, Anne?"
In a final effort, Anne ran beside Diana, standing slightly behind her, "Caroline won't tell me about her first kiss even though I so desperately wish to know."
The brunette laughed again, "Oh, Anne, I can tell you that story."
"No!"
"We were around ten years old..."
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A/N: The next chapter will be a flashback into Caroline's childhood, so it is possible to skip but please don't, I need validation.