Chapter Twenty-Seven:
"You're Certainly Not Alone."
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Mabel could barely hear herself think over the loud chattering of her friends in the classroom. "Are you serious right now?"

"Of course I'm-" The room silenced as a paper airplane flew through the center of it.

"I believe we've yelled enough about  the incident. How would you like to proceed? My first recommendation is to talk at a level that won't cause deafness." Miss Stacy spoke sternly, her hands on her hips as she examined each one of the students.

"We're arguing about the wrong thing." Gilbert said, gesturing to the people surrounding him.

"Is that what we're doing?" Mabel rose her eyebrows, "Hm. Interesting."

"Yes. This isn't about what Anne wrote. This is about what's fair." He continued, causing Mabel to scoff. She didn't exactly agree with how Anne went about the situation, it felt as if she didn't care how it could affect Josie.. how it could affect her, and affect her it did.

"What's fair? My piece is literally and precisely called what is fair-" Anne said, putting emphasis on what is far

"Anne, it's time to listen. Gilbert, please elaborate."

"I mean.. fairness to us. The team. You could've pitched your idea, and we could've worked on it. Together."

"It might not have hurt.. uh, Josie.. that way." Mabel said slowly, pausing for Anne's reaction.

"I'm sure that there's a way that we can talk about equality without.. ruining a girl's life." Gilbert continued, stepping forward to be in the center of the room.

"Oh, so now you have an opinion on equality?" Anne snapped, crossing her arms.

"It's the same opinion I probably would have had yesterday, had you bothered to ask."

"Interesting! Because at the fair, I could've sworn I saw you negotiating for an attractive new parcel of land. I mean.. a wife."

"Alright, then.. Why don't I tell you my plan before this room spontaneously combusts?" Miss Stacy looked around at the students, "From now on. we will be following a rigid guideline I'd assumed was clear from the beginning. I am the editor in chief. As such, all articles must be met with my seal of approval before they go to print or else they don't go to print. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Wonderful! On the topic of the next issue, please break into groups and begin discussing what you'd like to see in its pages." Mabel sighed, her body slumping as she rested her head on her forearms.

The article that Anne wrote had brought up all the memories that she'd worked so hard to get past.

She felt so dirty. So wrong. She hated it. Mabel hated how she felt. She hated that article. She hated that it had caused such an uproar in the town. She hated that it had hurt Josie more than anything she'd ever hated before, and she hated that Anne was the one who wrote it.

~~

"I wish I had better news. I think the best option is to play by the rules for a spell," As Miss Stacy spoke, Mabel leaned her chin her palm as she tried to blink the tiredness away. She didn't sleep much last night, if she slept at all. Her cheeks were stained with tears, almost as if they were permanently etched into her skin from the amount of crying she had done. Her mind kept replaying what her uncle had done to her. "And then down the road, maybe they'll.. reconsider."

"No one's forcing them to read the paper." Gilbert said, earning nods of agreement from the kids. "What are the new rules, anyway?"

Miss Stacy scoffed as she handed him the piece of paper. "The weather, hat fashions, farm stories, but no references to animal husbandry."

"How riveting, I'm invested entirely." Mabel yawned, swiping her hand across her cheek to try and wake herself up.

"It's good they fired her." Moody cast his eyes towards the ground, his arms crossed. Mabel rolled her eyes, scoffing audibly.

"What did you say?" Diana glared at Moody as she stood from the bench.

"If Anne were here, she'd just say: "Use your imaginations!" And then find some way to ruin whats left of the newspaper for the rest of us." Moody said bitterly.

"Hold on, let's not forget where this all started." Gilbert started, his voice raising as he looked at Moody. "It started with Billy Andrews disrespecting Josie Pye."

"Anne should've left well enough alone." Tillie said, her tone patronizing.

"Anne stood up for a person who suffered a cruelty. That person could've easily been you." Gilbert turned to look at Mabel, "Or you."

Diana glanced at her, assessing her reaction. Mabel gulped, shifting uncomfortably as she suddenly felt that all eyes were on her.

Gilbert picked up the newspaper and began reading it. "Women matter on their own. Not in a relation to a man. Whom here disagrees? We all deserve the rights to bodily autonomy and to be treated with respect and dignity. To say stop and be heard. Instead of pushed, derided, and told that a man knows more about our basic rights and desires than we do."

Mabel sat up straight as he continued to read from her article, "What do you think, Moody? Do you know more about the contents of Ruby's mind than she does?"

"I barely know one thing."

"I certainly know more than that." She stated as matter of factly.

"Women are not made whole by men. Women are made whole the moment they entire this world. You know she'd stand up for any one of you. Even in spite of what you're saying about her, she'd do what was right. That's who she is."

Mabel sighed, an overwhelming wave of guilt washing over her from feeling hurt by the article.

The sounds of crashing and boards dropping caused Mabel to turn around, swallowing thickly when she saw Anne standing at the doorway awkwardly.

"I know I'm not your favorite person right now-" Anne started, quickly being cut off as Ruby, Diana, and Tillie ran towards her.

"No, Anne, not at all." Diana spoke quickly, taking the redhead into her arms.

"We're sorry!"

"We didn't understand.."

"We're sorry, you shouldn't have ever been blamed."

Anne locked eyes with Mabel as the brunette inhaled sharply, blinking away the tears as she gripped the fabric of her dress in her fists.

"Well, I, uh, I came to say.. I, uh, I have enough of these.. for everybody." Anne raised the wooden board in her hand. "I have a plan."

"Oh, good. Because Miss Stacy's plan is terrible!" Ruby said, nervous laughter over taking her body.

Minutes later, after everyone had left the building, Mabel felt someone grab her hand. "I need to talk to you. Walk with me?"

Mabel pursed her lips, looking away from Anne's gaze. "Where are we going?"

"Green Gables." Anne replied, "S-So.. Will you join me?"

"I'll join you, Anne." Mabel sighed, gripping the fabric of her dress, "You know I always will."

Anne smiled nervously, looping her arm with Mabel's and pulling her along. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

"I'm sorry." Anne said quickly, "I-I didn't think how the article could have hurt you, or Josie, I-I-I.. I was just so angry at him! And, I should have asked you and Josie first. I should have thought about it. I should have-"

"Anne, stop. It's okay." Mabel said, squeezing Anne's arm. "I understand.."

"You do?"

"I do."

~~

Mabel stared up at Josie's house as Anne knocked, the door opening seconds later revealing a woman. Anne swallowed thickly, "May I speak with Josie?"

"May I ask who's calling?" She asked, eyeing both girls.

"A sympathetic friend." Anne said, her voice filled with concern.

"And an empathic one." Mabel said, blinking away the tears. She nodded before disappearing. Mabel and Anne stood in silence until Josie appeared minutes later.

"When I wrote the piece I had no clue of the consequence you'd face because of it." Anne spoke rather quickly as she straightened her back, "I was hot-headed and heedless, and in my eagerness to do good, I did you and Mabel harm. I-I didn't mean to, but I did. You needn't forgive me, Josie. That's not why I'm here."

Mabel sighed, folding her hands together in front of her, smiling gently as Josie took quick glances at her.

"In fact, you should be angry with me for as long as you like, but please know that I understand the extent of my wrongs.. and I am very, very sorry."

Josie stared at her in boredom, turning her head to lock eyes with Mabel momentarily before glancing back at Anne. Anne gulped, glancing at Mabel, "You can slap me again."

"She slapped you? Huh.." Mabel hummed, nodding to herself.

"Your face has paint on it." Josie said simply, causing Anne to reach up and touch her face.

"Right.. We're planning an action tomorrow, a show of solidarity to remind the town that all voices matter. The whole newspaper is involved. You could join us, if you like."

"Not a chance." Josie crossed her arms, staring at Anne in annoyance.

Anne nodded to herself, turning around to leave before she was stopped by Josie's voice. "I want to ask you something."

"How did you know to write about equality and dignity?" Josie asked slowly, causing Anne to turn around and nod. "It's not as though you've had a lot of experience with that."

"For most of my life I've had to fight the idea that I'm.. nothing more than someone to throw away, or pass around as needed, or that I'm not capable of being of real help because I'm a girl." Anne answered honestly.

"Right. Trash." Josie cut her off, narrowing her eyes. Mabel choked on her saliva, widening her eyes as she puffed out her cheeks.

"Yes, that." Anne nodded, "But I came to understand that I was the same person the whole time. I'm loved now, but when I wasn't, it didn't mean that I wasn't worthy of it. No one but you is allowed to dictate what you're worth."

Josie nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked over at Mabel.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us tomorrow?"

"Not the time, Anne." Mabel whispered, shaking her head. "Let the pretty girl absorb what you said."

Josie rolled her eyes, "No, Anne, I don't. Do you want it in writing?" Josie backed up and slammed the door in her face.

"Well." Mabel nodded, "That could've gone a lot better."

Anne giggled, turning around and hopping down the steps. Mabel slowly walked down the stairs, turning her head to look at her bedroom window.

The sound of Anne's horse galloping off filled her ears as she nodded to herself and turned around.

"Wait!" Mabel turned around, knitting her eyebrows together when Josie stood at the door. "Can you stay with me tonight? I'd really like some nonredheaded company.."

Mabel paused, taking slow steps towards Josie as she thought. "Okay, I'll stay."

Josie smiled shortly, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her into a hug. "Thank you."

~~

Mabel sat in Josie's bed, watching as her mother tied her hair. "They can't take your beauty away from you. Goodnight, dear."

Mabel inhaled sharply, looking down at her folded hands as her mother left the room.

Josie stared at herself in the mirror, an unreadable emotion clear on her face as she reached up and pulled her hair down. Mabel grinned, moving so that she was sitting on her knees. "You look real pretty, Josie. You always do."

Josie locked eyes with her in the mirror, a small smile appearing on her face. "Thank you."

The sound of pebbles hitting the window caused Mabel to jump. Josie knitted her eyebrows, standing from the mirror and walking over to the window.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice quiet but harsh.

Mabel quietly slipped off the bed and crept over to the window. She pressed herself against the wall as to not be seen by Billy.

"I like you.. I mean.. I still like you." He said.

Still? What's not to like in the first place?

"I liked you too." Josie said, glancing at Mabel.

"I can fix this. Want me to fix this?" He continued, his voice becoming pleading.

"I don't want anything from you." Josie sneered. "Least of all redemption."

Josie slammed the window down and walked towards her bed. Mabel slowly walked over at sat beside her, slipping her arm around her shoulders. "I'm proud of you."

Josie nodded silently, "I feel so alone."

"You're certainly not alone." Mabel said, shaking her head, causing Josie to look at her.

"Is that what Anne meant today? When she said she didn't mean to hurt me or you?"

Mabel nodded silently, "Yes.. You're not alone in this, and I'll stand up for you and continue to do so."

"Was it Billy too?"

"No. It was my uncle." Mabel swallowed thickly, causing Josie to frown deeper. "I lost count of how many times."

"I'm so sorry." Mabel nodded, looking up from her lap and towards Josie. She inhaled sharply, suddenly becoming overly aware of their clowe vicinity. She forced herself to maintain eye contact, not allowing herself to look down at Josie's lips. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"It was Thanksgiving. Every single time." Mabel swallowed, "I-I wanted to tell someone, and I did.. but she didn't believe her brother could do something like that. I just.. I felt so dirty and so.. unworthy of anything. Sometimes I still do-"

"You're not." Josie cut her off, grabbing her hand and interlocking their fingers. "You're beautiful, and you're smart, and you're a wonderful.. friend."

Josie's voice trailed off as she found herself looking down at Mabel's lips. She felt the need to take what Billy did to her back.

"Josie?" Mabel whispered, glancing down at her lips as she slowly leaned in and pressed her lips against Mabel's.

"I'm so sorry! I-I don't know why I did that-"

Mabel cut her off by leaning forward and connecting their lips for a few seconds, feeling Josie's hand touch her face, before she pulled away, fear flooding her body as she looked into Josie's eyes.

"Woah." Josie muttered, "I.. Uh."

"I'm sorry." Mabel apologized, "You didn't mean to kiss me, I shouldn't have kissed you."

Josie shrugged, looking down at their connected hands, "It's okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

~~

"Look, Mabel." Josie started, watching as Mabel tied the bow in her hand. "Last night... our kisses.. it can't happen again."

Mabel stopped, looking at her through the mirror, "I know."

"I'm not.. I like boys." She continued, gripping a fistful of the fabric of her dress in her hands.

Mabel nodded, looking down at the hairbrush. "I know.."

"It was a mistake." Josie continued.

"I know.." Mabel sighed shakily.

"We can never bring it up again." Josie spoke, crossing her arms and locking eyes with Mabel through the mirror.

"I know."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ A/n: when josie and mabel have kissed more than anne and mabel,,,, sigh }

{ Edited: No }