I just wanted to thank everyone for the response I have received so far for this story. It allays my fears and lets me know that I must be doing something right! SO to all of you out there thank you for your favs, follows and comments. You have all made me find my own Happy!

So without further ado, I give you Chapter 2 of Still Falling For You. Enjoy my dear readers :)

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Chapter 2 Scrapbooking Can Wait

Poppy happily snipped away at her latest scrapbooking project, humming happily to herself as she pulled a blue sheet of paper towards her. She knew she had promised Branch no more 'new keepsakes' but this was different, well at least she thought so. A book to show Branch what he truly meant to her. She smiled fondly as she snipped the dark blue paper into the shape she required and glued it down with a flourish of glitter. "Perfect!" she whispered to herself.

There was a light tap on her royal flower pod. "Uh huh?" she sang out as she tilted her head to judge her handiwork. It had to be flawless.

One petal of the pod slid open. "Er, Poppy?"

The voice sent a gleeful tingle to course down her spine but then she realised her scrapbooking supplies and special papers were still scattered before her. "Oh!" In an inelegant fashion she quickly swept everything up into her hair, her pink craft scissors tumbling out and bumping her on the nose in her haste to get every hidden away. "Ouch!"

"Um, I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"Branch! No, No everything's good!" she bounced to her feet, quickly stuffing the scissors into one of her pockets instead. The grin she was wearing vanished when she noted what Branch had slung across his shoulders.

She canted her head slightly. "Are you going somewhere Branch?" she asked uncertainly.

Branch gripped the straps of his backpack and looked back at her a little uneasily. "Um, yeah. I'm er, going to trek back to the old village and er, collect a few things."

"Really?" Poppy frowned curiously. "Why?"

"Well, from what you were saying earlier reminded me, there are one or two things that I would like to retrieve."

"Oh!" she capered up to him. "That's good to know!" she tugged his tensed hands into her own. Poppy sensed that something was amiss, Branch had seemed nervous about telling her where he was going but why was a little puzzling. She shook off the doubt with a renewed smile. "I'll go with you."

Branch's hands unexpectedly flew up from her own as he waved them before himself. "NO! Ah, I mean no. It's okay Poppy, I can do it on my own. I mean you have a lot to do around here, don't you? I'll be back before you know it," to reassure her he gave her a warm smile.

After a moment of slight confusion Poppy shook her head. Back before she knew it? It would be a two day trek there and back again, not counting how long he needed in the old village. The mere thought of not being able to see him for at the very least four days, was inconceivable. Now that Branch was in her life heart and soul, it literally ached to be apart from him. Until that fateful day Poppy had no idea that having such a close connection to another troll was possible. They were so in tune with one another, naturally anticipating each other in dance and song. It was like magic and she never wanted to lose it.

"Oh, I'm sure my dad will be happy to look over things whilst I'm gone."

"Poppy, I'll be alright. Really."

Poppy frowned for a fraction of a second, which for her was far too long. She then quirked a mischievous smile.

"I'm not about to take no for an answer

No

If I tell you I can't I'm still gonna go

I did it all by myself

I found, found my way around it..."

She cut her song short when she saw Branch's shoulders relax and slowly smile back at her letting out a half laugh as he responded to her impromptu performance. "Well how can I refuse now?"

"Soooo, I can come?" Poppy grinned.

Branch nodded. "I'll meet you in the root tunnels when you're ready Poppy."

Unable to stop herself the young troll queen embraced Branch who received the hug with a stumbling backstep due to her enthusiasm. She planted a quick but warm kiss on his cheek as she drew back. Poppy instantly felt the tension flood back into Branch's body, almost as if he were in shock. It was in that moment she realised what she had done. Her cheeks flushed, feeling the warmth build as she quickly backed off and unnecessarily brushed down her dress as she tried to divert her gaze.

Branch cleared his throat and she finally glanced up, seeing his own blush that looked as hot as her own. "Ahem, yeah, I'll just um, be in the root tunnels then," he quickly backed off.

"Branch, wait! I-," but it was far too late. The seemingly embarrassed troll was long gone.

"Urgh!" Poppy groaned, facepalming herself as she fell to the floor and lay flat on her back. She had kissed him. She had got caught up in her own joy and happiness and let her actions run away with her feelings. It wouldn't have been the first time.

It was true that she had wanted to do it for a while but she held back, knowing Branch would probably let her know when he was ready. He seemed quite content, to hug and hold hands, sing, dance but no further, at least that's what it seemed to her. It was obvious she had blindsided the poor troll. Branch had never seen it coming, no wonder he high tailed it out of her pod so fast.

Poppy sighed and stared at the ceiling. She kept forgetting that Branch was still adapting to his new life and things that came naturally to every other troll was still somewhat of a challenge for him. She recalled in the first days in the Troll Tree, that he quickly got overwhelmed and had to back off to get a breather from all the cloying attention before diving back in. He had gotten a lot better since then but he still had a mountain to climb.

Poppy finally sat up and pulled the scrapbook she'd hidden out of her hair. It naturally fell open on the page she had been working on. Her stressed expression faded and the tension in her breast eased. They would get there in the end. If Branch could find his happiness and confess his love trapped inside a cooking pot, well, together Poppy realised they could do anything. It just would take a little time.

Poppy pressed a finger to her lips and tapped it gently against the tiny cut out of Branch in her book. She smiled fondly, "I love you Branch," she whispered.

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Poppy let out a sigh of relief as she finally found herself travelling down to the root tunnels. It had taken her longer than she had anticipated to organise everything and letting everyone know that she was going to be away for a few days but it was done now. Although she knew she would miss her friends, in her heart of hearts she knew that she would miss Branch even more. With a giddy little skip to her step, she descended deeper. Four days alone with Branch, oh the fun that they could have! Singing and dancing and- ooh! She honestly thought she could burst.

Poppy hitched the straps of her pink backpack that Branch had made her further onto her shoulders and at long last dropped down to the main escape tunnel. With a giggle she remembered the last time she had traversed down the tunnels, chasing after Branch yelling at him to leave that curious Cloud Guy alone. It had been terribly frustrating at the time but thinking back on it now it was rather funny. Her gleeful giggle travelled down the tunnel and she suddenly heard movement up ahead of her.

Poppy scampered further along, heart suddenly thudding in her chest. A blue and green figure was sitting against the wall ahead. Upon seeing her, the figure immediately stood.

"Branch!" Poppy sprinted over, closing the gap between them. "You haven't been waiting too long have you?"

"A couple of hours, give or take," he half smiled.

Poppy winced. "Did I take that long?"

"It really doesn't matter Poppy. The village isn't going anywhere," he extended a hand to her and without hesitation Poppy grasped it, feeling the warmth of his fingers wrap securely around her own. Her heart gave a little flutter. "C'mon," he smiled.

The young troll queen grinned back, glad to see that her little kiss hadn't seemed to have ruined anything. Without further word the pair carried on out of the root tunnel to begin their journey, one that they were unaware would turn out to be a lot more eventful than they both realised.

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Just in case anyone was wondering where the lyrics from Poppy's song came from it's Avril Lavigne - Always Get What I Want. I spent a good hour trying to find the right lyrics to insert there! :D