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Anne was thirteen and she hated Gilbert Blythe.
She knew it the second she got back their geometry tests. She saw five big red "x"s on her paper, and next to her, only three on Diana's. But when she sneaked a small look to the side, Gilbert was smirking at his paper.
Mr. Phillips finally finished passing out the tests and walked back to the front, letting out a massive, melodramatic sigh. Anne glared at her sheet, at the red marks, wishing she could burn it up with enough fury in her gaze and never have to look at it again.
"I'd like to congratulate Gilbert Blythe for being the only student to get every question correct," Mr. Phillips said in a voice that sounded more like he wanted to sleep than congratulate anyone.
All the boys grinned, and Charlie knocked his shoulder against Gilbert's. Anne turned her glare to Gilbert. The cursed boy, always doing better on geometry! She would study harder tonight, and the next night, until she got an 101% on the test because she was so good! And then he wouldn't have a smirk on his face any longer, and he'd know she was better. An orphan who never learned long division.
Gilbert finally noticed her glare. First it was a shift of the eyes in her direction, then a small, smug smile that made her grind the heel of her boot into the wooden floors, and then finally turning to her.
"Is there something you need?" he asked. His eyes were alight with mischief, but there was something else in his smile now. Anne didn't care what it was. She didn't care about Gilbert Blythe. Unless he was beating or losing to her.
"No," Anne said. Her voice was short and she heard the conversations behind her lull and tune into hers. She turned from Gilbert with a huff, but he continued.
"How did you do, Anne?" She heard Ruby's small inhale and tightened her fists around the hem of her dress.
"Fine," she muttered.
"If you ever need help, I'd love to come over. Or we could stay after school." She sneaked a small glance at him, and his face had softened, looking at her with curiosity.
"I'd love for you to tutor me, Gilbert!" Ruby piped up, and Anne thanked God that Gilbert had now turned his attention to the blonde. The smile had dropped from his face, and he dropped an awkward nod in both girl's directions.
Anne hated him. She hated how he was better than her, and that he was willing to help her, and he somehow managed to be both sweet and devious all at once.
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Anne was almost fifteen and she sort of liked Gilbert Blythe.
He'd just come over to Green Gables with a sack full of apples. She never liked the apples because they reminded her of him.
But when she bit into a red apple, while he still stood in her kitchen, she realized she didn't recoil at the taste, or even his gaze on her. She felt the sweet juice flow through her veins, and it made something inside her feel warm and fuzzy as she looked back at him, chewing awkwardly as he lingered at the door.
She didn't even mind he didn't immediately bolt out the door. She almost wanted him to stay.
"Um, I heard it was your birthday tomorrow," he said as she took another bite. She swallowed the piece.
"Yeah. Fifteen. These apples are good."
He laughed. "I've brought these over once a week since last spring, and that's the first time you said it."
"Well, I'm feeling generous since it's almost my birthday. Do you need another compliment, Gilbert?"
"Oh, yes," he said, grinning. "I'll take all that you can come up with, since I'm sure they'll be the last once I ever hear coming from your mouth."
"Too late. My munificence has been short-lived."
"How horrible. And I thought being fifteen would change you."
"Same old me." She finished the apple and placed the core on the counter self-consciously. "Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow."
Gilbert's smile faded a bit. "Yeah. Uh, Bash and Mary say hello."
"Tell them I'm baking a pie, and they can come tonight if they wish to taste it."
"Am I invited?" Anne didn't miss the light in Gilbert's eyes, and how he just couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from turning up.
"Of course."
He smiled and finally turned toward the door. "Great. I'll-uh-I'll see you later."
She kind of liked it when he turned up at her doorstep, obviously freshly washed and wearing his best farm clothes. She kind of liked how he gave her a bouquet of flowers for her birthday. She even kind of liked the way his eyes danced whenever she spoke, and a smile came to his lips every time she looked at him.
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Anne was sixteen and she loved Gilbert Blythe.
Every word in every letter made tears come to her eyes, not because they broke her heart, but because they filled it. He talked about Toronto and his classes, but in the end, his words always turned back to her.
He used words she'd never though someone would associate with her. "Beauty", "enchanting" and "perfect" were some of the most common, and no matter how many times he used them in his many letters, her stomach still flipped.
And when he came to visit her-well, she couldn't stop herself from running into his arms.
She loved him, she loved him, she loved him. She loved how he was the smartest person she knew, and how a smile never faded from his face once he saw her, and how every look he gave her was just so him.
And every time she looked at him, or read his name on an envelope, she realized maybe, just maybe, she never hated him at all.