Okay, so this is my first human AU. At first it was just gonna be a bunch of fluffy oneshots (my specialty, if you haven't already noticed) based on pop culture, real-life experience, and some OTP prompts I've found in various places that I feel would better suit humans. I still might do that in another story. But for now, it's pretty much just gonna be human Broppy's random fluff scenes based on real life or any other idea that pops into my head, in chronological order. Anyhow, this is just the first installment to get the story going . . . sorry that it's a little cliche. Tell me what you think in the reviews! :)
Oh, speaking of emoticons, there is a little texting in this story. I'd prefer using emojis, which Google Docs has, but I'm not sure they'll go through, so I'm using emoticons instead. I'll let you get to reading.
"Alright, everyone," came the gentle, calming voice of Sunny Willows High School science teacher, Cybil. The teacher's eyes were closed as she stood in a yoga pose in front of her classroom. "Breathe deeply . . ."
The giggles coming from the school's power couple were enough to snap Branch out of his trance—or rather, they would have been, had he been in one. This whole zen thing was irritating, and Poppy and Creek were just making it worse. He shot them a glare, which they didn't see because they were too busy fooling around. "Boop!" Poppy whispered, poking her boyfriend's nose, and they erupted into giggles. Creek returned it: "Boop!"
Branch rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. All around the room, students' eyes were closed. The high schoolers of Sunny Willows were, for the most part, cheerful and willing students. Of course, they were still high schoolers: energetic, rambunctious, but they didn't do much boundary-testing the way most other teens did.
That part was great. If they could only be serious about their work—or the rest of their lives—Branch would be satisfied.
As was, he gave a quiet sigh, not wanting to alert his teacher that he wasn't doing her exercise. Not that she would ever really punish him for it. The worst part would be Poppy and Creek's reactions, as well as, probably, the rest of the class'. But really, couldn't they ever do real science for once? Cybil was a great yogi, but she was not qualified to teach science, no matter what the school said.
After what seemed like forever, the teacher opened her eyes. "Open your eyes to reconnect with the world."
Or because this is science class and not naptime, Branch thought bitterly. He had a C+ in science for a reason that was unknown to him (probably his "negative energy" and hippie teacher—her students didn't even know her last name), and if they never did any science, he wouldn't be able to raise it.
Once all the students had opened their eyes, Cybil smiled at them, as though standing there with her eyes closed for ten minutes had made her the happiest teacher in the world. "Now that we've meditated, I have a project for you. You'll need a partner."
Great. A partner. Branch raised his hand—
"You cannot work alone," added Cybil. "I sensed your question in the air, Branch." It was almost like she expected to be praised for anticipating his question.
"Or maybe you guessed it because it's what I ask every time," he muttered under his breath.
"Don't question the power of zen," Creek said from the row of desks in front of him. His voice was irritatingly calm, and the smug little smile he wore was worse. Worse than the smile was the dreamy smile and giggle that adorable, pink-haired Poppy gave the jerk.
Branch rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the turquoise-haired boy. Most SWHS teens had brightly colored hair, all because of the trend Poppy had started when she'd started high school and become popular—done while sporting bright pink hair. Personally, he thought his black hair was fine. Better, even, than pointless and distracting colored hair.
"Your project is to create a display that fully, neatly explains the cell theory, the cell's structure and function, and cell division. The best animal cell project and the best plant cell project will be sent to Sunny Willows Middle School students to be used for study. But remember: it's not a competition. All of your projects will be great."
Mine will be, at least, Branch thought. Good handwriting, a neat project, and hard facts—that was all he needed to raise his grade in science. Luckily, those three things were his strong suits.
In front of him, Poppy and Creek were already chattering about what their project would be.
"Oh, and to help you socialize beyond your comfort zone, I'll be assigning the partner pairs," said Cybil, who had gone back into a tree pose with her eyes closed.
Whatever. It wouldn't be enjoyable, but Branch could tolerate working with a partner. It would be annoying, but it had happened before. He'd be fine, as long as he didn't have to work with Creek or—
"Poppy, you'll be working with Branch," announced Cybil.
Branch could practically feel her smile falter. "Oh. But—"
"Poppy and myself were actually planning on working together, if you don't mind, Cybil," Creek said in that smooth, calm voice of his. It was all Branch could do not to punch the guy in the face.
"My deepest apologies, Creek," said their teacher, "but this is what Principal Gumdrop wanted us to do. You'll be paired with Dennis."
Creek shot a glance across the room at their resident theater nerd, who returned his gaze with a cheerful wave. "Are you sure there's not an arrangement that can be made? Branch can be paired with Dennis—"
"Exactly!" Branch blurted out, hating how desperate he sounded and hating how willing he was to agree with Creek. His feelings toward Poppy could not be categorized with a single word, but he knew he could not be paired with her. Period.
"Creek," said Cybil. "I know you, son of the earth. You must not resist change. Go with the flow, and life will be good to you. Resist, and the universe will resist you."
Branch rolled his eyes, but at least it shut Creek up.
"So . . . I'm partnering with Branch?" Poppy asked, just for confirmation.
"Yes, dear Poppy," replied Cybil tranquilly.
"Okay!" she said, bright and perky once more. But Branch could read her tone: it was more than a little forced.
"Now that we've settled the issue and the universe is once more in balance . . ." Cybil said, smiling at her students. "Everyone, come look at this list and begin to brainstorm with your partners."
Most of the class, cheerfully chattering amongst themselves, got up to see the list and find their partners. Branch, on the other hand, stayed in his seat with his arms crossed, wearing a scowl on his face.
In front of him, Poppy and Creek stood up as Dennis walked over. Poppy smiled at Branch, ready to join him, but Creek grabbed her arm and whispered something to her that Branch couldn't hear—something that was evidently about the dark-haired boy, from the way Creek kept side-eyeing him.
Poppy listened closely to what Creek was saying, then nodded and looked up at him with a grateful smile. She threw her arms around him and gave him a hug, kicking her leg up behind her, then left for Branch's desk.
Grinning, she pulled a chair up to the empty desk on Branch's right. "Hey, Branch!" she said, resting an arm on his shoulder. "How're you doing on this fine day?"
Poppy's skin on his neck sent a shiver down his spine, too quickly to suppress. "Not great," he muttered, refusing to look at her.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, it is kind of cold in here," she said, pulling her arm back and wrapping it around herself. "Eh, we both have lunch next, right? It's always warm in the lunchroom."
Branch glanced at her. "Uh, yeah. We should work on our project—we've only got a couple minutes of class left."
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Well, if you say so, Branch. I don't really see the harm in playing around for a couple more minutes!"
"That's because you never see the harm in anything!" said Branch, his voice sarcastically bright.
Poppy giggled. "Well, at least it's better than how you see the nonexistent harm in everything."
The fact that she wasn't serious as she said it only made it worse.
Her partner bit his lip, irritated. "Can we just get on with the project? The sooner we get started, the sooner we finish, and the sooner we can go back to never talking."
She frowned, an adorable pout on her face. "I talk to you."
"Fine. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to you pretending to like me just to pester me all the time. Satisfied?" He looked away, unable to stand the way she flaunted her pink bottom lip in her pouty face.
"Not really," she replied, shaking her head. "You know, what you should have said is, 'The sooner we finish, the sooner you can go back to doing projects with Creek.'"
"You know, I don't care about your love life enough to say something like that," retorted Branch. He looked back at Poppy just in time to see her face match her hair color.
"You—I mean—" She took a deep breath. "I don't love Creek," she managed to get out, but her words were nothing more than a squeak.
Branch smirked. "Sure," he said, making it clear he wasn't convinced. He never would be.
She took a lock of her long pink ponytail in her fingers and began to twirl it, a nervous habit if he'd ever seen one. "Do you think he likes me back?" she said quietly, glancing at her boyfriend—or whatever—across the room.
Branch bit his tongue, taking a moment to respond. "Thought you didn't like him," he finally replied.
She smacked his arm lightly. "Branch! Not so loud!" she whispered fiercely.
The dark-haired teenager raised an eyebrow at her and glanced across the science classroom. "He can't hear us, Poppy," he said, a sarcastic smile on his face.
The mayor's daughter shot him an unimpressed look, opening her mouth to say something—
The bell rang.
Branch groaned, grabbing his books. "We didn't even get started on the project!"
"Don't worry! We can text about it later. Here, give me your phone—I'll put in my number."
Her partner sighed as he handed over his phone after putting in his passcode.
She took it and started typing. Branch wasn't the type of guy who was used to exchanging phone numbers with anyone—the orphanage he'd had to live in since he was six was one of the only contacts—but she seemed to be taking a long time just to type in a phone number. (Even for her; he'd already deleted her phone number from his phone a couple of times after having to use it for other projects.)
They were the only two students left in the classroom (even Creek had left to go to lunch) when she held up the phone as though taking a selfie.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Branch asked, moving to look at the screen. She was taking a selfie.
"For contacts," she said as though it was obvious. "Do you have any filters?"
"No, why would I have that?" Branch said, snatching his phone back out of her hand.
"Hey, I haven't added it to my contact yet!" she said, whirling around to face him.
"All I need is your initials to know who you are, okay? Pictures don't matter."
"Pictures—!" She cut herself off and sighed. "Okay, fine, just please add that one? Please?"
He rolled his eyes, but couldn't avoid the adorable face she was making. "Fine."
"Yay!" She threw her arms around his neck and kicked her leg up in a hug. "Thanks, Branch!" She pulled back. "Send me a picture of yourself when we text later, okay? See ya!" She bounded right out of the door.
Branch rolled his eyes again as he headed for the door himself.
"I'm going to go lead a meditation class in the library today, alright? Alright," Creek said calmly, standing up from the lunch table almost as soon as he'd sat down.
"Okay! We'll miss you!" Poppy called after him, watching him leave the cafeteria. When he was gone, she turned back to her friends and sighed, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her face.
"Oo-ooh, Poppy's in love!" sang all her friends at once.
"Guys, stop it," Poppy whined, but she was smiling. "I don't even know if he likes me back!"
Suki rolled her eyes. "Of course he does!"
"Everyone likes you," Smidge pointed out, her deep voice contrasting the way her chin was level with the table.
"Yeah, any boy would be lucky to have you," Satin said, throwing her free hand in the air. Her other hand was permanently connected to her twin sister, Chenille's.
Chenille opened her mouth to say something, but Poppy beat her to it. "But the tables are turned this time! This time I'm the one who'd be lucky to have him!"
"So you're perfect for each other," Biggie reasoned, stroking his pet rat, whom he'd named Mr. Dinkles. Mr. Dinkles was not allowed in the school cafeteria, or anywhere else in the school, but after getting over his initial guilt Biggie had decided that his pet was too important to leave behind.
Poppy sighed as though her friends just didn't understand, but she couldn't suppress the grin on her face from Biggie's words. "You think so?"
"Yes!" said her friends together, so loudly a student walking by jumped.
"Sorry!" Poppy called after him as he went to his table. Then she looked back at her friends. "Thanks for the reassurance, you guys . . . but I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to tell—"
Creek's arm reached around from behind her to grab something on the table. "Oops, I forgot my dream journal," he said, punctuating his sentence with one of those charming little chuckles he did.
Poppy's face turned bright red as she stared straight ahead at her friends, refusing to look at Creek. "Have fun meditating, Creek," she managed to get out.
"You have fun at lunch," he responded, sitting down to tap her nose. "Boop!"
She gave a weak smile and slowly turned to look at him, hoping he couldn't see her red face. "Boop!" she said, tapping his nose back.
With that, he got up and left the cafeteria.
"You guys, please tell me he didn't hear the part where we were talking about him," Poppy said pleadingly, looking back at her friends that sat across from her.
They all glanced at one another and shrugged.
"Hard to tell how much he heard," said Suki.
"But probably nothing before we all shouted 'yes,'" added Chenille.
Poppy took a deep breath. "Oh, good. Stop giving me that look, Smidge; I'll tell him eventually."
"Besides, Smidge, it's not like you've confessed to Milton yet," pointed out Guy Diamond, leaning around Poppy to give his small friend a judgmental look.
In a flash, Smidge had leaped over Poppy and had Guy by the collar, their noses almost touching as she glared at him threateningly. "He might hear you!" she hissed.
Guy leaned away from her. "Yes, um, sorry, Smidge," he said, clearly just wanting her to get off of him, but not taking the chance that she'd beat him up if he tried to manhandle her.
"Well, Poppy, is there any extra time you'll get to spend with him?" Biggie asked. "I'm not so great at this love advice stuff, but the more time, the better, I'm sure is a good rule."
Poppy sighed. "There would've been, but we have assigned partners for our project in science class, so no Creek."
"But who is your partner, Poppy?" asked Cooper, leaning in as though her answer was a matter of life and death.
"Branch."
"Oh my gah," Smidge said, having climbed back to her original seat. "Grumpy Branch? That Branch?"
The mayor's daughter nodded. "That Branch. Which, you know—of course it's not a bad thing, but he's just gonna spend the whole time criticizing my ideas until I can get him to loosen up. And I will get him to loosen up."
"Plus there's not as much time with Creek," said Suki, giving her friend a sympathetic look. "How 'bout this: to cheer you up, we'll have a party tonight? I'll DJ!"
Poppy cracked a smile. "Of course you will," she teased. Suki was an amazing DJ, called to a lot of the parties in Sunny Willows. "Sounds fun! I'll definitely be there! Where are we throwing it?"
Satin and Chenille glanced at one another. "Our house is free tonight," offered Satin.
"With all our fabrics, the decorations will be great," put in Chenille.
"I'll bring food!" offered Cooper enthusiastically. They all knew he was an amazing chef.
"Perfect!" exclaimed Poppy, her spirits lifted. "This party will be great, guys! Who should I send the invitations to? The whole school? Or is this a small party?"
Her friends all glanced around. "Small party," Satin said decisively, sharing a nod with her sister.
"Our house isn't that big," said Chenille.
"Okay, so I'll make invitations for us, Creek, and Branch. I mean, he'll never cheer up if he never gets invitations to parties," Poppy said, already pulling out supplies to begin her crafting.
Smidge glanced over her shoulder and smiled. Any one of her friends would assume she was looking for Milton, but no. She'd seen Branch. And everything was going perfectly.
When Branch got back to the orphanage after work that night, he sighed and began to think about his homework. He should probably get started on his science project first because the earlier he could text Poppy about it, the better. Wait any longer and it'd be him versus her friends and Creek vying for her attention. It was anyone's guess who she'd choose.
He picked up his phone and began to type.
Branch: So for our project, I was thinking we could have a black poster as the background. Then we'll make little fact sheets on white paper and glue them onto the black poster for contrast. Of course, all of this will be typed so that it looks neat and organized.
It took a moment for her to begin typing back, but not too long for someone who must be out with her friends right now. She simply wrote:
Poppy: Ugh, Branch!
Defensive, Branch starting typing again. She just wanted to get as much glitter in his and the teacher's hair as possible.
Branch: What? That will definitely earn us an A+!
Poppy: I think ur forgetting our teacher is Cybil
Branch: So?
Poppy: I don't think she'll like that very much
Branch: And I suppose your idea is perfect?
Poppy: It's better than urs! :P
Branch: We'll let Cybil be the judge of that.
Poppy: So do u wanna hear my idea or not?
Branch: If I have to.
Poppy: Doesn't matter, I'm telling u no matter what u say
Branch: I saw that coming.
Poppy: My project is big and beautiful! We'll scrapbook our project so at first it just looks like a colorful birthday card, but when the kids open it, a huge pop-up science project pops out of it! There'll be glitter and rainbows and everything! After all, my motto is, can't
Branch squinted at the screen when she sent the message. It was really long and written without any texting slang (it got on his nerves how she didn't use punctuation or full words), which meant she must be excited, but she hadn't even finished her sentence. After a moment, he wrote back:
Branch: You didn't finish.
Poppy: Can't go wrong with glitter and rainbows!
Poppy: There, now I finished. R u satisfied?
Branch: No, not at all. We want our project to show that we know the material, not that we're covering our lack of knowledge with sparkles and bright colors!
Poppy: Hey! The sparkles and bright colors make the schoolwork more exciting!
Poppy: :-P
Branch: I know I don't text you very much, but every time I do, you use that emoji for literally no reason.
Poppy: No, u do!
Branch: I really hope you have a little sister who stole your phone, and that's the reason you told me I use the party emoji more than you.
Poppy: That was Suki! Every1 just got here for the party I'm throwing! I invited u earlier
Branch: And I said no, because I'd rather get ahead in school than get alcohol poisoning and diabetes.
Poppy: Sadly u did. Creek wants me to dance and I can't say no 2 that, so gtg! Bye!
Branch: What about our project?
Poppy: We'll text l8r!
She sent a happy emoji before she left.
Branch sighed. He would do their project alone, but he knew that with Poppy, it was smarter to just compromise on the glitter and bright colors. She'd throw a fit if he did it his way without talking to her.
Might as well get started on his math assignment . . .
After that dance, Poppy made up her mind.
She was telling Creek how she felt.
She was telling Creek how she felt.
She would tell Creek how she felt.
She wasn't backing down.
She wasn't chickening out.
She. Was. Doing. It.
The mayor's daughter walked to lunch the day after the party, repeating those words in her mind. After a heated argument with Branch about whether or not glitter was bad for the environment, she wasn't in the right mindset for romance, but she would be if she kept telling herself that. Romance and confidence.
She grabbed her lunch from her locker—she'd packed herself a bunch of dessert-flavored energy bars in the hopes that it would help her out—and fixed her headband and ponytail in the little mirror on the inside before closing it. Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her reflection, then headed off to lunch with the same smile on her face.
When she arrived at her table, Creek wasn't there. Oh, cupcakes! He'd better come soon. She might have been the most outgoing girl in school, but it wouldn't take long before her nerves took over.
Still smiling, she sat down in her normal spot. "How's it going, guys?"
"Oh, we're fine," Suki said. "Last night's party was fun."
"Poppy, you seem stressed," Biggie noted, peering at his friend intently.
The pink-haired girl forced her smile even wider. "Who, me? Stressed? Of course not! Why would I be stressed? It's not like I'm planning to tell Creek how I feel about him and doubting myself even more every second that passes!"
Her friends all glanced around at one another, silence falling. Then they squealed.
Poppy winced. Was this how Branch felt all the time? Too much attention? She hadn't realized someone could feel this way.
Why was she thinking about Branch anyway? She pushed the thought out of her mind and slowly nodded at her friends. "Yeah, I'm gonna tell him," she said, trying to get used to the idea.
"But Poppy, Creek's not coming to lunch today," Cooper said when the squealing died down.
"What? Why?" Poppy asked, almost desperate. She needed to tell him before she got scared!
"Oh, Cooper's right," Guy said thoughtfully. "The school play auditions are today in the auditorium." Suddenly his face melted to an expression of horror. "I should be there!" He stood up, ran to throw his trash away, and sprinted out the cafeteria doors, glittery hairspray and jacket catching the light.
All of his friends turned to wave him goodbye. "GOOD LUCK!" they called, one collective voice.
He stuck his head back through the doors, shot them a thumbs-up, and ran away again.
Poppy sighed as they all turned back to each other. "Well, at least they'll both get great parts. Guy's a great actor, and everyone loves Creek."
"Sorry you couldn't confess, Poppy," apologized Satin, her voice sympathetic.
"You'll do it tomorrow, though, won't you?" asked Chenille, sounding worried that her friend might change her mind.
Poppy smiled, determined. "Of course I will. I don't care how scared I get. I'll tell him how I feel no matter what."
"Then maybe you should text it to him tonight," Smidge offered. "The sooner, the better."
Poppy gasped and hugged her friend. "Smidge, you're right! That way I can tell him without having to stare him in the face, but since I can FaceTime him and see him every day I can stare him in the face if I want to! It's perfect!"
She just didn't know how awry her plan would go.
Branch was sitting at his desk at the orphanage that night when his phone buzzed with a text. Instantly he saw it was from Poppy. Had she finally taken the initiative and decided to focus on schoolwork for once? He picked up his phone and opened the texting app.
Poppy: I have something to tell you
He waited for her to continue, but after a moment it became clear that she wouldn't. He decided to prompt her:
Branch: . . . Yeah?
Poppy: It takes a lot of courage to say this...
Branch: Okay?
There was a long pause, then:
Poppy: I love you 3
What? What was going on? Did she mean it? No, she couldn't. It was a prank, or a mistake, or something—all he knew was Poppy didn't love him. Not as anything more than a friend, at least, which he'd known since middle school. He had no idea what to respond, so he replied with what he saw as the safest answer:
Branch: . . .
Poppy: I'm sorry, maybe you don't like me like that
Poppy: Maybe you don't want to be anything more than friends
Poppy: I'm sorry I said that, please can we still be friends?
She sounded so worried, yet Branch still didn't have the words to comfort her. It only took three of them, but somehow the mere thought was so scary he found himself constantly typing and deleting possible answers. After what had to be a solid two minutes, maybe more, he finally (painfully, slowly) wrote what he'd wanted to say to her for years.
Branch: I love you too
He'd forsaken the punctuation just like she had, but he didn't care. All he cared about was her answer. Even though he would never do it in any other situation, he started chewing his nails. This must have been what Poppy felt like only seconds ago. But now she had her answer, so would she put him out of his misery?
Almost immediately (though it could've been years and Branch wouldn't have been able to tell the difference), she texted back.
Poppy: Really?
Branch: Um, yeah
Poppy: I'm so happy!
Branch: You always are ;)
Poppy: Well, c u tmrw
Poppy: Sleep well cutie
Poppy: ;)
Branch: You too
Branch set down his phone, not quite sure he wasn't dreaming. Although it was silly, he even pinched himself—and nope, he was awake. He couldn't keep himself from smiling a little, imagining Poppy smiling and dancing around after receiving his text.
He knew he needed to finish his homework within the next hour, but somehow he couldn't find it in him to concentrate.
When Poppy arrived at school early the next morning, she didn't realize that she should have been prepared for the heartbreak of her life.
She'd texted Creek how she felt the night before, and she would've definitely FaceTimed her new boyfriend if her dad hadn't asked for her help decorating their house, which she definitely couldn't turn down. But now! Now she would get to love him and kiss him and they would be together forever! She'd even stayed up late last night planning their wedding, but she wasn't tired. No, her romantic fantasies kept her more awake than ever.
She knew Creek would be at school. SWHS had two courtyards, both of which were beautiful, and he always got there an hour and a half early to meditate. He would be in the courtyard on the left side of the school, which the students had collectively decided was named the "Glitter" courtyard because of its polished, almost shimmery appearance.
Grinning, strands of hair in her face, pink ponytail swinging back and forth, she confidently strode down the hallway, to the Glitter courtyard. She pushed open the door, about to call out her new boyfriend's name, when she saw him—
He was holding someone in his arms, someone female, someone whose lips were pressed against his.
Poppy stared silently for a long moment, going through a series of emotions that were so fast she couldn't even tell what they were. Finally she seemed to settle on one, her eyes filling with tears as she quietly slipped out the door. Somehow, the idea of Creek knowing what she'd seen only made the pain worse.
Crossing the school with the opposite energy that she'd had only moments before, she made her way to the other courtyard—which she and the other students had deemed the "Spectrum" courtyard (it had been "Rainbow" until Branch had managed to convince everyone that "Spectrum" was more delicate and sophisticated; how he'd done that, she had no idea). She sat down on a bench in a garden of flowers—in this warm spring weather, there were also a couple of butterflies—and let herself cry, something she hadn't done in forever. It wasn't that she'd been suppressing tears, it was just that she'd had no need for them (unless, of course, they were happy tears).
Her sparkly makeup ran down her face, but she really didn't care. It was a miserable experience, but honestly, she felt strangely cleansed.
She must've cried for a long time, but at some point, she felt two hands resting on her shoulders. If she had to guess, she'd say they were male hands, but she didn't even care who it was. They had a warm, comforting feeling, and on instinct she turned and cried into their chest.
Definitely male, then. He—whoever "he" was, although she could already tell it wasn't Creek, Biggie, or Guy (probably not Cooper, either)—wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, rubbing her back and letting her cry.
After a while, when her tears slowed down, he said, "Bad day?"
Startled, she looked up at him, but stayed in his arms. The face that smiled back surprised her. "Branch?!" she asked, shocked.
Branch still wore a playful smile on his face. She'd never seen him like this before, but she had to admit, it suited him. "Why so surprised?" he asked teasingly, as though he expected her to know some sort of reason why she shouldn't be surprised.
"Because—because—" Poppy stammered, but she couldn't find a good end to her sentence, and finally, she sighed, Creek almost forgotten. "I don't know. I didn't know you knew how to comfort people like that."
He shrugged modestly. Why was he being so friendly? "When I found you crying, I couldn't not come cheer you up. What kind of a boyfriend would I be then?" Before she had time to fully process his words or the twinkle in his eye, his lips were on hers.
The kiss was tender, sweet, everything that a first kiss should be. By the time Poppy realized she should be kissing him back, he'd already pulled away.
If she hadn't been shocked before, she certainly was now. Had the roles been reversed, she knew, it would be safe for Branch to assume that the kiss was because she was an affectionate person (although that kiss screamed "romance"). But as was . . . Branch was not an affectionate person.
The pink-haired girl was about to ask what had just happened when she saw the worry in his crystal-blue eyes. She'd never noticed their color before, but it was beautiful. "I'm sorry, was that too soon?" he asked, biting his lip.
Poppy suddenly found herself in the midst of a revelation. How many times had Branch looked out for her, and how many times had she disregarded his concerns? How many times had she chosen Creek's silly nose-booping and handsomeness over Branch's true care for her? It didn't even make sense . . . Branch was just as handsome as Creek was, if not more . . .
Now he was stammering something about text messages and wanting to do that forever, but she was lost in his eyes. Slowly she lifted a finger to his lips.
"Shh," she murmured, leaning up to kiss him again.
This kiss was everything the first one had been, and even more. This time she was prepared; this time she kissed him back; this time she was ready to enjoy it. Fireworks exploded in her mind.
Once they realized they needed to breathe, the two teenagers pulled away and stared at each other, breathless. Poppy grinned bashfully, seeing a smile appear on Branch's face as well.
She took him by the hand, standing up suddenly. "C'mon," she said, and he stood up too.
He stood, and she practically jumped onto his back in the hopes of a piggyback ride. This was an old romantic fantasy of hers, being piggybacked by her boyfriend. When she'd fallen for Creek, she'd accepted that it would never happen, but she doubted Branch would care the way he would.
Branch staggered forward, then straightened and held her on his back with a laugh. She'd never heard him laugh before, but it was a wonderful sound. She threw her arms around his neck from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. "Why don't we walk around for a while?" she said in the most charming voice she could.
He turned his head and saw her attempt at a flirty grin and batted eyelashes, and laughed again. "Okay," he relented, beginning to carry her out of the courtyard.
They avoided the inside of the school and instead walked around the gardens outside, in the front of the school, looking at all the scenery.
Poppy didn't want him to ask her why she'd been crying, at least not right now. Right now, she'd rather forget about what she'd seen. So, never lifting her chin from his shoulder, she said, "Why so eager to be my boyfriend today, of all days? I thought you hated me." She realized how insensitive that sounded and quickly added, "I mean that in the nicest way possible."
Branch glanced at her with an amused smile. "Yeah, I know. And you texted me about it last night, remember?"
Poppy's face crinkled. "Texted you? No, I didn't. I didn't even text you about our project last night."
"You didn't text me about the project, but you texted me, I promise you. You texted me how you love me and then you got all nervous and said we should still be friends. Do you know how conflicting that was for me?" He turned his head to face her and gave her a mock-irritated look.
Once again, Poppy marveled at the difference in his demeanor ever since this morning. But she didn't have time to think about that. "No, I swear I didn't text you that."
"Okay, fine, but check your phone and I promise you'll find it."
"Alright . . ." She pulled her phone out and held it in front of both of them, giving a skeptical I-know-I'm-right look to him. She went to her messaging app, then clicked on his contact—
Poppy nearly choked.
Instantly, Branch looked at her and set her down, obviously concerned. "Poppy? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she stammered, still surprised. "You win . . . I did text that to you," she added, paling as she looked at her phone in disbelief. "But I didn't mean to . . . your contact is right next to Creek's . . ." She shook her head, still staring at her phone, incredulous.
Branch looked at her, suddenly looking very worried, this time not for her but for himself. ". . . Poppy?" he asked, tentative.
The pink-haired teenager snapped out of her trance and looked up at him. "Sorry, I just . . . wow." Slowly she put away her phone.
He was like a turtle receding into its shell, and it worried her. She'd just gotten him to open up. "Are we . . ?" he asked, trailing off.
Poppy gave him a warm smile and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I'm glad I sent it to the wrong guy," she said. "Especially after what Creek did."
"Is it wrong to ask what Creek did?"
She sighed. "I'll need to talk to someone. I came to school, thinking he's my boyfriend now, and . . . he hasn't been coming this early to meditate, he's been coming this early because he's seeing someone in secret. I mean, I know technically we weren't ever together, but he was still flirting and hiding it . . ." Her heart hurt as she said the words.
Branch took her by the waist and hugged her to his side, leaning his head into hers. "I'm sorry, Poppy," he said.
"I guess I'm fine." She pulled away and grinned at him. "I just realized you're better."
If only he'd use that smile more often.
"Hey, come sit with us at lunch!" Poppy said to Branch as the bell rang for the end of science class a couple hours later. She'd spent most of the period glowering at the back of Creek's head, Branch constantly having to remind her there was plenty of time for being mad when they weren't working on an important project. Now she stood up, fingers interlocked with his to pull him up too. "I want to tell our friends we're official."
He let her pull him up. "You mean your friends," he corrected her. "I barely know them."
"Fine, but you guys will all be besties by the time lunch is over. So are you gonna sit with us, or no?"
Branch sighed. This day had been amazing so far—he'd pinched his left wrist so many times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, the skin was red. And, of course, he'd love to sit with Poppy, but the attention her friends would give him certainly wouldn't be positive.
Still, she would just keep pestering him until he gave in. So: "Okay, I'll sit with you."
"Yay! Are you gonna buy lunch?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, do you wanna come to my locker with me while I get my lunch?"
"You'll be fine without me, I think." She was really milking this relationship thing.
"'Kay, then. I'll meet you at the cafeteria doors."
"Okay." He let her kiss his cheek, then they parted ways at the door of the science classroom.
After only a minute or two of waiting, Poppy walked up to the cafeteria doors and held her free hand toward him even before she was close enough to grab his. They interlocked fingers again and walked through the cafeteria doors.
Even if many of the students were more concerned with their own lives, Poppy was still the most popular girl in school, maybe even in town. Branch was aware of the eyes, even if it was less than half of the fairly small student body, that were on him, and it was very uncomfortable.
Soon enough, they arrived at Poppy's table. She sat down, then grinned up at him and patted the empty seat next to her. "Sit here, Branch!"
"Um, okay," he agreed awkwardly, painfully aware of the way all of Poppy's friends stared at him.
Poppy turned her gleeful, sunny smile on all her friends. "Hey guys, guess who my new boyfriend is," she said, obviously very happy with the answer.
Her friends didn't answer for a moment, looking very, very confused. Their eyes flicked between him and Poppy, then at each other, as though trying to tell the others' answer. All of a sudden they collectively forced bright smiles. "Creek?" they asked in unison, clearly trying to make their answer sound exciting.
Poppy dropped her smile, rolled her eyes, and scoffed dramatically. "No way! I'd never date that jerk! I meant . . ." She smiled again and leaned into Branch's shoulder.
He awkwardly patted her back, uncomfortable with all of the incredulous eyes that shot straight to him.
Many of her friends' jaws dropped. "Branch?" they asked.
"Hey, Branch stole my seat!" came another voice. It was very deep, and Branch instantly knew who it belonged to when he heard it. Turning, he saw a small, angry Smidge standing there with a lunch tray, glowering at him.
"Oops," Poppy said. "Sorry, Smidge. I was just so excited about inviting Branch to sit with us, I wanted him to sit next to me."
"So he's not your boyfriend?" Cooper asked.
Hearing this, Smidge asked, "Branch is your boyfriend?"
"I'm so confused!" said Cooper.
"So am I. Make up your mind, woman!" Guy said to Poppy, dramatically shaking her by the shoulders.
"You guys, I have made up my mind. First of all, Smidge can sit there"—she pointed to the seat a little ways across from her, next to Chenille—"so I can see her face, and second of all, yes Branch is my boyfriend!"
Branch wanted to bury his head in his hands from all the confusion, but he didn't want Poppy to think he was ashamed of her.
They all stared at one another for a long time, each searching for someone who had suspected that this would happen. No one had.
"Branch is your boyfriend?" asked Aspen Heitz, who happened to be passing by. He stood stock-still, staring at them as he held his tray—then all of a sudden, ran across the room to his table. "You guys, Branch is Poppy's BOYFRIEND!"
"Well, at least they'll all know soon," Poppy said with a bright smile, looking jittery.
"Um, Poppy," Biggie started nervously, glancing at his friends.
"Can we talk to you for a minute . . . alone?" finished Suki.
All their eyes traveled to Branch again, and he felt himself shrinking under their gazes. Lunch, the most uncomfortable time of the day.
Poppy's gaze was by far the friendliest. "That okay with you, Branch?" she asked, just as perky as ever.
"Uh, yeah. I mean, I have to go buy lunch anyway, so . . ." He squeezed her hand and stood up to join the lunch line.
As he walked away, he heard one of the twins say, "Poppy, sweetheart, yesterday you said you were confessing to Creek. . . ."
He bit his lip and advanced in the line. Another girl walked up behind him, wearing a flowy white off-the-shoulder dress with a small black purse and round purple glasses. Her hair was shoulder-blade-length and dyed the same color as her glasses—she wore it loose, with a couple of vines braided into small purple braids that framed her face. Her white flower-shaped stud earrings sparkled as she said to him, "So . . . you're with Poppy now?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so?" Branch knew she was an introvert like him, which only served in calming him a little as he talked to her. "As of this morning."
"Congratulations. If you don't mind my asking, what happened? Did you ask her out or something?"
Branch took an apple from the lunch line, considering her question. "More like she asked me, but by accident."
"How do you ask someone out by accident?" Meadow asked, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.
"The magical device called a smartphone," Branch said sarcastically. "She clicked the wrong contact."
"Meant to text Creek, huh?" It was an easy thing to guess. "So, what? She realized she'd sent it to the wrong person and was too lazy to correct it? Doesn't sound like Poppy."
Branch couldn't help it: he laughed. He wasn't used to school—or any aspect of life, really—being this enjoyable, but Meadow's guess was so far off from something Poppy would ever do, ever, that he couldn't help it. "No, Creek was . . ." He trailed off. "Well, you should ask her. Not my story to tell."
Meadow nodded. "Okay. That's good that you respect her privacy. You'll make a good boyfriend for her, I'm sure."
"Uh, thanks," Branch said, blushing a little, unsure how to respond. But by now he'd filled his tray with cheap school food and was paying for it. "See you some other time, Meadow," he said as he walked out of the lunch line and back to Poppy's table.
He sat down next to her, pretending calmness. "So, what's going on here?" he asked casually. Thank you, Meadow, for putting his social skills into motion.
"Nothing," said Poppy, but it wasn't the usual forced "Nothing!" he would normally get from her. This was warm and friendly, obviously actually nothing. "At least, nothing you'll have to worry about."
"So we're good?" he asked her friends, looking at them skeptically.
Poppy's grin was teasing as she leaned into his shoulder. "Yeah, you don't mind that he's stealing your best friend, do you?"
"You're gonna be mad no matter how we respond to that," Smidge pointed out, rolling her eyes as she bit into her sandwich.
"Yeah, I would."
"Oh, Poppy, you can have my cupcake," he said, placing the cupcake from his Styrofoam tray in front of her.
She sat straight up, face brightening. "Yay! Thanks, Branch! This is my favorite kind!"
"I know; that's why I got it."
"Aww, you're so romantic!" she exclaimed, pressing a hand to her heart. "See, guys, I told you."
"But Poppy, we agreed with you," Biggie said, a slight frown on his face.
"I know, but I was the one who convinced you to," she said, nodding and smiling like she was very pleased with herself.
And the conversation went on, just as it would every day. But this day wasn't every day. This day Branch wasn't sitting at a table far in the back of the cafeteria, all alone, doing schoolwork and watching Poppy doting on Creek. This day wasn't painful. This day brought happiness, a rare feeling for Branch.
And if he was lucky, it wouldn't be so rare anymore.
So yeah, that's just the first part to get it going. It's short, it's rushed, I know, and I'm sorry. If enough people want me to, I could probably make just this part into a longer story, but I don't know why you guys would want me to make this very cliche idea any longer. I like my next few ideas a lot, though, so I should have those up soon. Again, tell me what you think in the reviews! And, of course, have a nice day/evening/night! :D
