______♡ You and Gilbert had been inseparable since first grade—best friends. the one who knew you better than anyone else and vice versa.

A secret's always meant to spill out.*

He loved you. He had for years, though he had never spoken of it. Afraid. Afraid that his heart wouldn't be able to take rejection from you.  

He chooses to bury his feelings deep in the bottom of his heart. In an attempt to forget, he'd turned his attention to Anne, hoping to like her enough to drown out his emotions for you. But no matter how hard he tried, his heart always circled back to you.  

His mother died during childbirth. Then came the loss of his father—a blow so heavy that it drove him to leave Avonlea entirely. Without a word, to you. And went on a steamship, taking a job that let him escape the suffocating weight of his grief. During his stay at the steamship he made a friend Sebastian or better known as bash. He made It was during those long nine months at sea that he helped deliver a baby, a moment that sparked his decision to become a doctor.  

To you, every moment without him felt like years passing by. And now, after all this time------ nine months to be exact. Gilbert was back. The news of his return spread quickly, but you hadn't seen him yet-not until now.

The morning sun cast a golden hue over Avonlea, the quiet town as serene as it had always been. The familiar cobblestone path beneath your feet felt oddly foreign as you walked toward Gilbert Blythe's house.  

You paused at the edge of the porch moments before knocking, heart pounding with a mixture of trepidation and unresolved emotions. Memories flooded your mind—his laughter during schoolyard pranks, the way his eyes crinkled when he teased you, the nights you'd spent talking. The I love you's... despite being platonic, something felt odd. The simple kisses on cheeks or foreheads that you both shared. 

Now looking back, were you really just friends?  

Do friends do this?  

The door opened-