"Alrighty, girls! You ready to get this girl talk started?" DJ Suki asks us. I nod eagerly and I see Smidge, Chenille, and Satin nod as well. I grin widely. We haven't had one of our girl's-night-only parties in a while! We're all gathered in Suki's pod tonight- we take turns spending the night in each other's pods and it was Suki's turn this time. This is gonna be so much fun! We've already eaten ice cream, played truth or dare, and we've played twister! This night has been awesome so far!
"Satin, Chenille, you two wanna go first?" I ask. I smile and look at them, excited to hear what they've been up to lately.
"Alright!" they yell simultaneously. Chenille pulls a sketchbook out of her hair and hands it to Satin.
"We've been designing a new fashion trend," Chenille says, smiling over at the outstretched sketch in her sister's hands. Ooh… Neato!
"Also, we've been making some new clothes for Branch! He asked us to because he must have been getting tired of his same old vest and shorts," Satin says. My mind drifts off to my wonderful boyfriend. So handsome, sweet, perfect… I shake my head to break out of the trance.
"We think that they're way out of style, and we suggested something bright and colorful. But he didn't exactly like that idea, and he wanted to stick with dark, drab colors," Chenille complains. I nod my head, agreeing silently. He is a little dark.
"But nobody said he didn't look one hundred percent handso-" Satin says and is interrupted by Chenille jabbing her in the side with her elbow. "OW!" I raise an eyebrow. Hmm… It almost sounded like she was about to say handsome. Weird. Oh, well! I wanna see the rest of those pictures they've got in that notebook.
"Can I see your sketches?" I ask eagerly. They exchange a glance and Chenille grabs the sketchbook, handing it to me shortly after.
"Sure," they say concurrently. I take the sketchbook and flip through it. Ooh… There are some nice ideas floating around in here. What a cool vest! It's an awesome shade of dark purple! I look at a few more pictures. Hmm… black vest, brown vest, gold vest, dark green vest, red speedos, dark blue vest- hang on a trolling minute! I go back to the previous page. What is up with this?! Branch would never ask for red speedos! Jeez, I don't even think he'd think about speedos, much less wear them! So… If Branch didn't ask for these, then why in the hair did the girls draw this?
"Oh, Poppy!" Satin grabs the book and takes it from my hands. I furrow my brow and look them in the eyes. What is going on here?! "We, umm," Satin stammers.
"We just were…" Chenille looks at Satin worriedly.
"Using Branch as a model for our new swimwear line!" Satin blurts out.
"Yeah, that's what we were doing," Chenille says and giggles nervously.
"So, Branch agreed to this?" I ask. This is kinda strange and it doesn't quite add up…
"Umm... Suki, you wanna go now?" What have you been doing this week?" I look at Suki, exchanging a concerned glance with her. She eyes the twins strangely.
"Okay… I've been putting together a new mix of songs for Poppy's so-called 'Just Because I Want To' party. It's got all sorts of sick beats that I hand-picked. I threw in some romantic pop, some rap because Cooper asked, and some classical waltz music that, according to Branch, would be a nice change of pace." Suki sighs and rolls her eyes as she talks about Branch, however still smiling. I force a half-hearted grin to throw her way. I look at the twins again.
Something's fishy. I just know it. Especially since they're not meeting my eyes and their cheeks are lit up with blushes. Wait, why's that? Why would they be blushing?
"Yes, that sounds awesome!" the twins yell together. I open my mouth to question their blushes, but they suddenly speak up.
"Smidge, what have you done?" Chenille asks. I growl lowly. This is getting irritating! They keep interrupting when I try to say something!
"I lifted two-hundred pound weights!" she shouts in her low-pitched voice. That's not really news.
"Good job, Smidge!" Satin exclaims as Chenille enthusiastically nods her head. Time for me to ask some questions. Everybody's had their turn to talk. Now it's time for "Poppy's Quiz Time."
"Satin, Chenille, why is Branch drawn up to be wearing speedos in your book?" I demand. They both freeze, blush, and exchange glances. I glare at them both, expecting an answer.
"Umm…. We told you already? Heh, heh," Satin laughs nervously. Chenille grins widely, showing her teeth. I frown and give them a deadpan look.
"Okay, then. Why do you two have blushes on your faces when I talk about him?" I ask, determined to get this answer out of them.
"Umm… We have blushes?" Chenille asks, covering her cheeks. This is infuriating! They won't answer at all! WAIT A TROLLING MINUTE! It just hit me!
"You two have a crush on Branch, don't you?!" I ask, accusatory. Their eyes widen in shock. Yep. I've hit the nail on the head.
"Suki does too!" they shout simultaneously, pointing at her. Suki, Smidge, and I gasp loudly. Suki growls under her breath.
"I told you two! For the last time, I do not have a darned crush on Branch! It's you two that do!" I look between the three girls, angrily. Ooh, I can feel my temper boiling!
"Look, who has a crush on Branch and who doesn't?!" I yell.
"I don't, Poppy! I swear I don't!" Suki shouts at me. I look in her eyes and see nothing but honesty.
"I believe you. Now, Satin, Chenille! Do you have a crush on him?" I ask, angry once again. Chenille and Satin sigh and exchange glances.
"Yes, we do," they say. I stare at them, surprised to hear that actually come out of their mouths. How could they do that?!
"You… You do?" I ask meekly. They nod, seemingly ashamed. I stare for a few more moments until I feel my temper rising to a nearly uncontrollable point. I hop to my feet and glare at them furiously. "I can't believe you two!" I yell and stomp out of the pod. I make my way through the limbs of the tree, heading to I don't know where.
I just can't believe that they just upped and decided that they have a crush on my Branch! MY BRANCH! They can't just start liking my boyfriend! He belongs to me and me alone! To me, this whole crush-thingy of theirs is one-hundred percent STUPID!
I finally stop storming around and take a moment to see where I am. I am greeted with a beautiful dark blue pod with light blue swirls on it: Branch's pod. Quietly fuming, I consider whether to knock or not. I think for a second but quickly decide in favor of the decision.
I knock three times and wait for a second. I knock three more times. WHY ISN'T HE ANSWERING?! I knock some more until Branch finally opens the door. He rubs his eyes and looks at me blearily.
"Poppy? What are you doing here at this hour?" He yawns. "Is there something wrong?"
"Something wrong? SOMETHING WRONG?!" I screech angrily. His eyes widen and he's more alert now than ever. I huff and puff, breathing in and out. "Yeah, something's wrong! Satin and Chenille have a crush on you, that's what's wrong!" I yell loudly. Branch shushes me.
"Poppy, there are other trolls around here sleeping. Please, keep your voice down!" Branch whispers. KEEP MY VOICE DOWN?!
"Oh, you want me to shut up, huh?! Don't wanna hear it, huh?! Well, check it out! I'm being as loud as I want to be! See-" I'm cut off by his hand over my mouth. He grabs my hand and pulls me into his pod, quickly shutting the entrance afterward. Branch walks me over to the couch and sits down, pulling me to sit beside him.
"I don't want you to shut up, I just need you to calm down enough so that I can understand what you're saying and help you fix this, okay? Now take a deep breath, let it out, and talk to me," he says and gently removes his hand from my mouth, instead placing it on my cheek. I quietly suck in a big breath and let it out slowly.
"It all started tonight when we were having our girl's-only sleepover. All of us were gathered around and Satin and Chenille talked about how they've been working on some new clothes for you. They had several drawings of you in their sketchbook that they showed us, and when I looked through it, I found a picture of you wearing speedos." Branch scrunches up his nose and sticks his tongue out in disgust.
"Just so you know, I'd never want to wear anything like that!" he says to me. I smile. The same old Branch.
"Yeah, I know! I was thinking how in the hair did that picture get in there and they said that they were using you as a model for their new swimwear line. I didn't believe it. Anyways one thing led to another until finally they said that they had a crush on you." Branch's eyes widen and he stares at me, presumably surprised.
"Okay… Rather strange considering that I'm already with you and they both know that. Besides, it's really just weird in general…" I grin and nod.
"Yeah, really weird!" I agree.
"So that's what you were mad about?" I look down sheepishly and nod. I feel his hand slide under my chin and lift my head up so that our foreheads are touching. Branch's eyes look lovingly into mine.
"Poppy, I understand how you feel. But don't worry about them. I'm sure that they'll get over it eventually and besides, you know that no troll can ever take me away from you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." I stare into his eyes and feel what is left of my temper simmer down into nothing. He gives me a light kiss on the nose.
"I love you, Poppy. Only you. No one else can take your place." My heart flutters at his words. I can't help but allow a huge love-struck smile overtake my entire face. This is such a nice feeling. Branch smiles and leans in, pecking my lips. Once he pulls away, I lean in and push our lips together so that we're connected once again. He gently touches my hair with his hand and I move my hair so that it starts to wind around his. Branch freezes for a moment, but I soon feel his hair wrap around mine. I pull away and snuggle into his chest, our hair still tangled together. Branch holds me against his body tightly and kisses my head.
We sit peacefully like this for a moment until my dodo-bird boyfriend has to say something.
"You know, you really need to go and apologize to them," he says. I huff.
"Hmmph. I think they need to apologize to me," I mumble.
"Maybe if you apologize to them, they'll apologize to you," he responds and I groan.
"But I don't wanna get up," I whine. Yeah, pathetic, I know. Resorting to whining, that is.
"But you have to." I bury my face into his chest.
"I'll go in ten minutes…"
"Five."
"Six?"
"Okay, six. But no more than that." I smile and glance at the time. Twelve-thirty. I'll go in just a few minutes. But first, I'm just gonna close my eyes for just a little while…
…
I open my eyes sleepily and look up at the clock. One-forty. Oh, well. It was a nice thought, anyways. I snuggle more into Branch's side, and wrap my arms around his torso. Ahh….. Paradise.
Hello, everyone! Sorry I've been gone so long, but in return, I've got this Broppy story as well as one more that I am releasing today! WOOHOO! Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed. Read, review, and have an awesome day!
