My heart skips a beat when I hear those words. What do I do? What does he want to talk to me about? I pull myself away from the door. I hear Poppy and Branch still talking, but I can't make out what they're saying. My senses are skewed, my hearing dulled and my vision blurry. My heart pounds in my chest and I start pacing back and forth around the room. This is my chance. It's that moment I've been waiting for; the moment to tell Branch how I really feel...how I've always felt. I dash over to my mirror and check my hair. Tall and neat, perfect. My teeth: white and clean. I roll my shoulders back a few times and give my knuckles a crack. I wish I had more time to prepare with a meditation session, but there's no time for that.
"Well if you're not going in - I am!" Branch says. With that, my front door flies open and there is Branch, standing in the doorway. He looks different than I remember. His hair is an electric blue, his skin a beautiful teal color. Despite sounding gruff and tough when he was outside, there's something new about him that gives off a cheery disposition. I don't like it at all.
"Branch! Eh - um, what are you doing?" I blurt out to end the awkward silence. I take a few steps towards him, and it's never felt easier to do so. He seems so much more approachable, and I suddenly feel the most comfortable around him I've ever been.
"We've got to talk." Branch replies, advancing over to my living room. "Do you mind if I sit?" I nod my head and follow him over to the sofa and we both sit down. Right next to each other. There's tension in the air. I can feel it. Something about Branch's aura is off. It's been completely shifted.
"Let it flow, Branch. Tell me what's going on, man." I tell him, crossing my legs and assuming my standard sitting position. Branch holds his hand down for a brief moment and turns and looks at me.
"Why?" He asks. A question that could be interpreted a thousand different ways. A question that could mean one thing, but assumed to be something entirely different. I'm not sure what he means by asking me this, and I can't make any assumptions. I cock my head and furrow my brows to let Branch know I don't understand what's he's asking me. He sighs and puts his head back down. I'm starting to get worried. My heart is beating faster than before, my chest aching. "Why did you sell out to the Bergens?" A wave of relief washes over me, but I still feel panicked, knowing there's no positive way to spin my answer.
"It was my life. I had no other option." I mutter. I look up and Branch is looking directly at me.
"No other option?" Branch repeats back to me. "You didn't think that what you were doing would end killing us all? Everyone in Troll Village was put into a giant pot to be cooked and eaten! Do you realize how inconsiderate that is?"
"Inconsiderate!" I cry, floating up off of the couch. "You know you would have done the same thing if you were me. I was going to be eaten by King Gristle and that was the only way to save my life."
"From what I'm getting at, you believe your life is more important than everyone's in the village?" Branch starts, raising his voice at me. "You don't know what we went through, and how scary it was. You don't know what it felt like to be given a death sentence." I drop to the ground, taken aback.
"I do know what it feels like, Branch. I was put in the same situation. Look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I say, my voice quieting down. Branch steps towards me and helps me off the ground. "It's done now. I made a mistake. But I want to move past it, please?" The weakness in my voice is real. I just want to be forgiven. Not by Guy Diamond, not by Mr. Dinkles or Poppy, but Branch. I want him to forgive me. I need him to move past what happened with me.
"You're right." He says. I'm frozen in shock. How can I be right? How can he truly agree with me? "I think...and as much as I hate to admit it, I think I would have done the same thing. And I understand. Who wouldn't save themselves when given a chance? I know I would. I know...I would." Branch continues. This cannot be happening. He agrees with me and he confesses he'd do the same thing? The Branch I used to know would have never admitted anyone was right but himself. He's being so sweet to me, and so understanding. The Branch I knew never did that. He's changed. He has a sweet side. Or maybe it's been there all along. I like it. A lot. We're just sitting in silence and we constantly keep glancing up at each other. I'm not sure what's going to happen next. Do I say something or does he? It feels like we've been sitting here in silence for hours but it's only been a couple seconds.
"Would you like some tea?" I offer. Tea always helps me focus and calm down and right now I'm the most tense I've ever been. "I have Black, Green, Oolong, Camomile, White, Puer, Masala Chai, Tisanes, Rooibos, Herbal, Matcha, Yellow, Dark and a couple hundred others." I tell while I float over to my kitchen and open up the tea cabinet. My tea cabinet is my everything. 20 rows and columns of tins filled with teas, that are 35 tins deep. I'm sorta of a tea professional.
"Do you have any normal tea?" Branch inquires as he walks up to the tea cabinet.
"Normal tea? I figured someone as adventurous as you would prefer something a more exotic." I chuckle, reaching to the bottom of the cabinet and pulling out a tin filled with plain, boring tea.
"Adventure is more of Poppy's suit. I like adventure every now and then but I think staying at home is just a bit more in my zone." Branch tells me. "You know, building defense systems, gathering materials, preparing for another Bergen attack. People thought I was crazy and still think so, but you can never be too safe."
"I don't think you're crazy." I blurt out. Branch releases a quick chuckle and pats me on the back. His hands are so strong. I can feel it just by him touching me. It's been several seconds and his hand is still on me. I can feel a connection, or maybe I'm just making it up. The tea is boiling right now, about to spill out of the kettle. It's steaming. I shrug Branch off of me and quickly take the tea off the burner and pour it into two cups. We sit at the kitchen counter with our tea. We've slipped into another fit of silence. Branch looks like he actually want to be here. His expression isn't that grumpy lovable frown he's always had. I'm starting to feel at ease with him. "Branch, you consider me a friend, right?" I ask, trying to figure out what his stance on me is.
"Of course I am, Creek. I know that all of that stuff happened in Bergen Town, but it's done. It's over. There's no need to be angry anymore." Branch says. My heart flutters when he says these words. He must like me then. Not in the way I'm thinking, but he doesn't hate me. "Poppy on the other hand..." Branch starts, starting to sip his tea.
"She isn't so agreeable with me." I continue. Branch nods and drink his tea. He pulls it away and yelps in pain, dropping his cup. My hair instantly shoots forward and clutches the cup before it hits the ground. "Is the tea too hot for you?"
"The tea...is boiling!" Branch pants, trying to get a rush of cool air across his tongue.
"Welp, that's the tea!" and I take a sip of my tea, looking at Branch, who looks pretty adorable trying to get his burnt tongue to cool off. "Maybe this will cool it off." I float closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. We make eye contact. I can feel his heart beating. His hand slides to my arm and up to my shoulder as well. I lean forward and Branch suddenly falls back, startled by my front door slamming open. I tear myself away from him and look up and see Poppy standing in my house.
"Branch! I told you to only take 5 minutes. We have to go to the bridal shop today. Lines are always so crazy! How am I going to get a wedding dress? I mean I could make one out of leaves and grass, but I don't want this wedding to have a super organic look. It would be really cool if we made our clothes out of silk! That's natural! Then they're soft and fashionable." Poppy rambles, making her way over to Branch and I. My hair waves over to Branch and helps him up off the ground. He looks at me and smiles with an approving nod.
"I just was catching up with Creek." Branch says to Poppy.
"I wanted to talk to him too. But now we don't have time, so let's go, Branch. I'll talk to Creek at a later date." Poppy replies. Since walking in, Poppy hasn't looked at me or even referred to me directly.
"Would you like a cup of tea Poppy?" I ask as I already start pouring her a cup of tea. Before she can even respond, my hair hands it over to her. She thanks me and continues bickering to Branch. Leave it to Poppy to ruin a moment between Branch and I. I knew we were going to kiss, something was going to happen. I know I shouldn't be mad at Poppy because she's so sweet, but it doesn't matter. I don't care if she's sweet, she's pissing me off.
"I think I'm going to stay here and chat with Creek." Branch says. Poppy gives him a look of bewilderment and sips her tea. Poppy spits out the tea and cries out.
"Tea too hot for you?" I ask her.
"That's just the tea" Branch adds, giving me a quick glance.
"Branch...we made these reservations to these stores already. They're always so busy! We can't cancel on them last minute. We won't get to go to these places for years!" Poppy explains, stepping closer to Branch and taking his hands. "Come on. For me?" Branch sighs and continually glances between Poppy and I. He stands there for almost a minute, opening his mouth getting ready to speak, and then stops. He observes Poppy's sad expression and my grinning face. Branch nods and takes Poppy's hand.
"We better get going." Branch obliges. Just like that, they both start out. "Bye Creek." Branch says, giving me a hearty smile. My hair waves bye to him and he and Poppy are off. Not one word Poppy spoke to me. But I don't care, I know Branch feels something for me. He has to! There's something about him that I can't put my hair on. It seems like he still cares for Poppy and loves her, but I know he feels something for me. He's conflicted. And I know this is going to end one of two ways. He's either going to chose me or Poppy. Branch is going to have to make a decision.