Sorry, for the wait, guys! I was busy with exams, and then I was busy with friends and parties and commitments, and then I was busy because I started working two jobs, and then I was just straight-up-now-tell-me lazy. Buuuuuuuuut, I hope this is worth the wait.

Gil sought and cornered Anne, attaching himself to her side for the entirety of the party. As for Anne, she grew increasingly weary as the endless conversations murmured on and the pair wove throughout their friends. Slumping on Gil's side, Anne gave up on the night.

"I'm tired, Gil. I think I'm just going to go home…"

"Let me walk you home?" Gil asked, smiling down at Anne's head propped against his arm.

"Er, no, I don't think—" Anne tried to extricate her arm from his and pull away.

"Please, Anne? If I don't completely monopolize your time, people will get suspicious, you know?" Gil teased, retaining his hold on her hand.

Anne's face twitched with discomfort.

"Oh, Gil, I don't know… I was trying to get home quickly. I'm exhausted."

"I won't take too much of your time, Anne. Not without cause!" Gil pleaded, both his hands anchoring hers.

Anne's weary eyes searched Gil's face and found what she had been dreading.

"Okay," she relented, her stomach twisting uneasily.

"Good," Gil said, his eyes sparkling with hope. Tonight was the night, and he just needed to be brave.

So the pair exited the party, catching quite a few eyes. Redmond was awaiting an engagement any day now, and the hopeful shine on Gil's face and Anne clutching his arm indicated the wait would soon end.

Phil, surrounded by friends near the door, caught both hazel and grey eyes as they passed through the door. The contrasting expressions, excitement and anxiety, made Phil laugh nervously. This night was not going to go just as Anne suspected.

But Phil hoped for the best.

Anne and Gil descended the staircase in silence. Once they turned out of the building, though, Gil began to chatter anxiously.

"I thought we could stop by that park you love so much? It's a beautiful night, and it's only 9:40ish…"

Anne felt the weight of exhaustion and dread bear down on her body.

"Gil, I don't know…"

"I could get you coffee first! At that place you and Phil like?" Gil scrambled to keep his plan in order.

"Uh, I suppose…." Anne agreed.

So Anne found herself adding a third shot to her drink as Gil fidgeted beside her. The line had not been nearly long enough for Anne, and the barista made her drink within a matter of minutes. Anne wished to linger in the comforting glow of the hanging strings of light bulbs and antique lamps, but Gil pulled her out into the stark night as soon as she stirred sugar in her drink.

"Feeling better?" Gil questioned concernedly.

"Mmm," Anne pretended to sip her obviously scalding coffee.

"I'm sorry to keep you out… but we haven't had much time alone, lately" Gil said. "At least, not like we did back in Avonlea."

"I know, Gil," Anne sighed. "I've just been so busy, you know…"

Gil and Anne approached the ivy-covered iron front gate of the park.

"I know," Gil replied softly. His mind whirred with prepared speeches and transitions, and his hands twitched uneasily in his pockets, one hand brushing the little circlet.

"Yeah," Anne said automatically, never feeling so unsafe and uncomfortable with Gil.

The pair wandered through the park, each building up a particular brand of courage. Anne looked up to sky where murky clouds erased the stars one by one; losing her focus in the sky, Anne missed Gil's comment. She was brought back to earth by the sound of her name.

"Anne?" Gil repeated.

He had stopped walking a few steps behind Anne, gesturing to a cove of birches. Following him into the ivory trees, Anne felt her stomach drop to China. She found a large boulder amongst the birches and propped herself against it for support; she would need it.

"Anne…" Gil said, easing softly into conversation.

"Yes," Anne replied, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"I need to tell you something… and ask you something," Gil said, his voice not much above the breeze whistling through the leaves.

"Gil," Anne began.

"Please, let me get it out," Gil cut in.

"No, no, please don't!" Anne pleaded, her eyebrows drawing together as she finally met Gil's eyes.

"Anne, please," Gil said, launching into his speech. "I love you. So much. Since you first smashed that white board over my head in math class. I need you to know. Well, I know you know, but I need to say it, and I need you to hear it. Anne, I love you, and I need you. I need you to say—"

"Stop! Gil, stop!" Anne cried out, her breath shorting out.

"No, Anne, please. I need you to say you love me too. Finally. I need you to say…" Gil breathed, sinking down in front of her. "Yes."

The moment seared itself into both of the participant's minds. Anne glanced from Gil's hopeful face to the sparkle in his hand. Gil fixed his eyes on Anne's stormy expression.

"Anne, I—"

"Gil, please—"

The moment paused again.

"I can't," Anne said.

"No, I…. you can, Anne. I love you, and…"

Anne held up her hand.

"Gil, I can't say yes," Anne replied firmly.

"Anne…"

"I don't love you."

Gil's face drained of color and his eyes deadened. Anne felt guilt flood her system for causing that reaction, but she continued on.

"I'm sorry if I led you on, but we were never supposed to be more than friends," Anne said. "I love you as my friend, Gil, my best friend."

Gil scoffed and rose to his feet.

"You know, Anne, I'm not sure what to do," Gil spat, running one hand through his hair while shoving the ring into his pocket with the other. "I wait for you for years. I practically worship at your feet. I give you every implication that I'm madly in love with you, and you don't have the decency to let me know you couldn't care less about me."

"Gil, that's not what I meant! I care for you so much!" Anne said, placing a hand on Gil's shoulder. "You're my best friend. Please, say we'll be friends. I need us to be friends."

Gil glanced at her hand before taking it in his.

"Friends… It's funny, Anne. I begged you to be my friend for years and years, and now that I want more than that, you find yourself in my former position. How does it feel, huh?"

"That was cruel, Gil," Anne said, her eyelids dropping as she pulled her hand from his.

"Well, I should hate to be cruel," Gil whispered with a trace of malice. "Of course we can be friends. It's always nice to have fragments of my heart underneath your feet, isn't it, Anne? Does it give you power? Does it make our friendship feel stronger to you?"

"How dare you, Gilbert?" Anne said, her voice raised. "I'm sorry I didn't dispel your romantic notions earlier. I'm sorry I didn't treat you better when I was eleven. I'm sorry—"

"Oh, please, Anne—"

"No, I can do whatever I want, Gilbert Blythe, and I am done listening to you blame this on me. I don't recall signing any contract obliging me to marry you, and I am not responsible for fulfilling whatever fantasies you have concerning your life and your perception of mine."

Gil stepped further back, and Anne clung to the crags of the boulder.

"If you aren't content with my friendship, then…" Anne continued. "Then… I guess, that's it."

"I guess it is," Gil replied lifelessly, shuffling back further.

The birches and the breeze and the clouds watched the estrangement of the pair. A low rumble of thunder dispelled the silence and Gil's voice followed.

"Goodbye, Anne."

Anne did not process his departure until after he had disappeared from sight. Her breath shallowed, and her heart beat painfully. Her thoughts materialized from the clearing haze, and she felt her hands grab her cold coffee cup and her feet move towards home. Lights and cars flashed past, and by some miracle, Anne found herself rounding the cobblestone pathway to Patty's Place just as the first raindrops drummed against the plastic lid of her drink.

The End