A/N: Hey guys! Trying to update faster this time, and this is by far my longest chapter. I really like this chapter and I hope you all do too. As always love all my reviews!

Warning: There is drinking in this chapter, please if you are under age you've been warned. Also some very slight adult content and cussing.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"Ugh!" Poppy yelled as she threw her pen down on her notebook.

"Why is this so hard?!" She put her face in her hands, feeling utterly defeated. She had been trying to write this song for weeks now but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't come up with any lyrics. It was mid-semester and her project was no closer to being done than it was when classes started. The pink haired girl sighed loudly, she didn't think it would be this hard to write her own song, but the difficulty level was proving to be high. She really didn't want to have to ask Suki or Guy for help with this because she knew how busy they were with their own lives, but at this point she had almost no choice.

Taking a break from her frustration Poppy checked her phone and saw she had a message from Chenille.

"Hey girl, we're all meeting at the library later, join us?"

Poppy quickly replied, "Sure what time?"

As she patiently waiting for a response, she turned on her tv while trying to put the music project out of her head for now. She didn't have to wait too long for a reply as she heard her phone chime.

"About half an hour."

This would definitely help Poppy get her mind off the project for now, "K I'll be there."

She set her phone down and returned her focus to the sitcom, but she was feeling kind of disappointed. The girl was hoping that text would have been from Branch. They had texted occasionally, amazingly he had texted her first after Guy gave, or more accurately put her number in Branch's phone himself, him her number. But the conversations usually were short and to the point, mostly seeing how the other's day was going. The two had even hung out a few times, but it was never for long and was always at the library, Starbucks, or the cafeteria. Poppy wasn't 100% sure how he felt about her, but whenever he was around it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach and she couldn't get her heart to slow its beating pace. Branch on the other hand was much better at hiding his emotions, if he did like her he didn't really show it. Guy said that this was a huge leap for Branch, but this all seemed normal (if not kind of slow) for her. Much like how she would normally treat her friends, but she didn't just want him as a friend. For now though she would accept it, taking it slow seemed to be just how it worked with Branch. He still occasionally snapped at her for saying or doing something stupid, but it was still an improvement since they had first met. She knew she could be irritating too, her optimism and happiness did not always sit well with him, but she always tried to hone it in a little when she could tell he'd had enough. At this point though, she may have to come out and just ask him how he feels. She figured he wouldn't put up with her if he didn't like her, but a small part of her still doubted that.

Sighing after her very long mental rant to herself, she checked her phone and decided she might as well head to library. Poppy gathered her laptop, books, and homework and headed out the door, locking it behind her as she always did.

Once she reached the library Poppy headed to their usual spot and found Guy, Suki, and Biggie already sitting there.

"Hey guys!" Poppy said, greeting her friends and sat down at the table.

They each greeted her in return as they looked up from their homework or whatever it was they were working on.

"Um, where's Satin and Chenille?" Poppy asked, aiming the question towards Suki.

Suki looked up from her laptop, "They'll be here soon, I think they said something about making a coffee run."

Poppy just nodded in understanding as she pulled out her laptop and hooked up to the campus' wifi. The four students sat for a few minutes in silence before Guy's voice broke through.

"So Pinky, how's Branch? You guys official yet or what?" Guy smirked at her.

Poppy blushed, "Come on Guy, I know you guys must talk. And at this rate, I'd just be happy to get asked on a date."

Guy laughed, "Sounds like Branch. He really doesn't tell me much, it's hard getting any info out of him."

"What else can I do Guy? We've hung out, texted a bit. He's just so…." Poppy struggled for the correct word to describe her crush.

"Frustrating? Grumpy? Handsome?" Guy replied.

"Yes, to all three of those. Ugh, of course I pick the one guy on campus to crush on that shows the least amount of emotion possible." Poppy put her face in her hands getting frustrated again.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Guy leaning towards her, "I told you he was difficult, but I really think he does like you. Just keep at him, maybe one day you'll chip away that grumpy exterior. I've known him for years and this is the longest I've ever seen him deal with a chick. Give him time, he's never had a real relationship before."

Poppy looked around the table to see Biggie and Suki nodded in agreement with Guy. "Okay, I'll try to be as patient as possible about this. But actually, I do need your help with something else."

Guy just looked at her questioningly.

"The music project, I've been trying to write my own song, but I can't come up with anything. Do you think you would be able to help me?" Poppy looked to both Guy and Suki pleadingly.

"Sure Poppy, we'd love to help you." Suki replied first.

"Yeah, all you had to do was ask. We're finishing up our mid-semester testing this week, so how about we start on Monday?" Guy said.

Poppy beamed at her friends, feeling so lucky for having them, "Thanks guys! You have no idea how much this means to me."

Before anyone could reply another voice chimed in, "Coffee, anyone?"

The group turned to see Satin and Chenille walking towards their table with a carrier of six coffees. All of them practically screamed "Yes!" as the twins began passing the coffees around to their friends. Each student took a sip and sighed in contentment as the caffeine entered their system. The twins sat down with the rest of their group, but unlike the others they had no books or bags with them. Poppy noticed this but decided not to say anything about it, maybe they didn't have as many midterms as the rest of them had.

"So, anyone up for a party this weekend?" Chenille asked looking around the room with a smile on her face.

"Of course!" Guy and Suki were the first to respond, full of excitement.

Biggie nodded in agreement, "I would love to go! I haven't been to a party since the summer."

Everyone then turned to look at Poppy, "Well, I've never been to a college party before. But all of you will be there with me, right?"

Suki put a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, we'll take care of you. Make sure you don't get too crazy."

Poppy gave her a grateful smile and then turned back to the conversation.

"Where's this one gonna be?" Guy asked looking at the twins.

"It's going to be at the Sigma sorority house, pretty much the whole campus is invited since it's mid-semester. They're throwing it Friday night, probably won't start till 9 anyway. There will be alcohol of course." Satin replied.

Poppy gulped, she'd really never been to a party. Birthday parties of course, but if they ever contained alcohol she never drank any. Was she going to be expected to here? She'd seen a few parties in high school get out of hand due to alcohol, and she usually tried to help the kids that got drunk get home safely or at least make sure they had a safe place to stay. A few times she'd just had to leave when it got too crazy, but that was only once or twice. Shaking her head from her mental rant she began listening to the conversation again.

"Do we need to bring anything?" Biggie asked.

The twins looked at each other, thinking. "Oh!" Chenille exclaimed, "You should totally make cupcakes!"

Biggie clasped his hands together in delight, "I would love too! How many do you think?"

"Probably a hundred or so. There will be other food there too so feel pressured to make that many." Chenille replied, shrugging one shoulder.

"I can do that. Could I get some help getting them there?" He looked around the table.

"I'll help you Biggie." Poppy spoke up.

"And me and Suki can too." Guy said, giving Biggie a warm smile.

Everyone then looked at the twins, who looked guilty. "We're sorry guys," Chenille started. "But we promised our friends at the sorority house that we'd help decorate and get the house ready for the party." Satin finished.

"Oh, girls it's totally okay. Just let us know where to put the cupcakes when we get there." Biggie grinned at them, showing no signs of being upset or disappointed at all.

"And Poppy?" Chenille looked at her pink haired friend. Poppy looked at her waiting for her to finish what she had to say, "Since this is your first official college party Satin and I have made you a dress, don't worry it's nothing super fancy but it is super cute, and we found some heels to go with it."

Poppy clapped her hands together in front of her, "Oh my gosh you guys! You did that for me? That's so sweet, thank you!"

"You're welcome." The twins said in unison.

"We'll come by your dorm room on Friday before the party to drop off the outfit." Chenille said.

Poppy smiled, she couldn't believe her friends had done that for her, "Thanks guys, that would be great."

The group continued chatting and studying for midterms as the evening passed. At one point they all finally realized they needed to head back to their homes since most of them had tests the next day. As Poppy headed back to her dorm she pondered if she should invite Branch to the party, Chenille had said that pretty much the whole campus was invited. She knew how they felt about the Branch, but if this was going to go anywhere with him they would just have to get over it. Honestly though, she wasn't sure if he would even come. With the way he acted he rarely went to social functions. Besides his job and school, Poppy didn't think he really left his apartment. This debate continued in her mind as she finally reached her dorm and got ready for bed. She checked her phone before she crawled into bed, seeing that she had a text from her dad asking how day had been and that he loved her. She quickly sent a text back and headed to bed after plugging her phone into its charger.

The next morning Poppy woke early, dressing in a yellowt -shirt, blue skinny jeans and her converse and put her pink hair in her usual ponytail before heading to Starbucks. She figured she might run into Branch there and invite him to the party. Sure enough when she walked in the door, Branch was just a few people in front of her. He was wearing his signature leather jacket, jeans, and black boots and had his black hair sort of styled up, like he had just ran a hand through it when he got out of bed. Instead of letting him know she was there, Poppy decided to stay quiet and just watch him instead. She rarely got to stare at him without him noticing. Luckily, he hadn't looked back at her the whole time he was in line and sat down at a small table in the corner of the room away from everyone after he'd collected his coffee. Poppy soon got her coffee too and walked over to the table where Branch had his nose stuck in a book. Just when she was about to tap him on the shoulder she heard his voice.

"Poppy, I know you're there." He turned to look at her with his sky-blue eyes.

She took the seat across the table from him and looked dumbfounded, "How did you know?!"

He gave her a look that said 'Really?'

Poppy sighed, "Oh yeah, I forgot you have super good hearing."

Branch shrugged and took a sip of his coffee, "And I might have seen you come through the door."

Internally Poppy squealed but on the outside she remained as calm as she could manage, "Either way, I wanted to invite you to a party Friday night."

"Poppy, I don't go to parties." Branch said flatly, as if she should already know this.

"Aww come on Branch, it'll be fun. It's my first college party." She pleaded.

Branch sighed loudly, "I'm not a partier Poppy, my idea of fun is not going to a party and watching pretty much everyone there get drunk and do God-knows-what. It's not safe, and if you're going to go you need to be careful."

"You don't have any ideas of fun." Poppy murmured under her breath. She realized too late that Branch had heard her comment as he narrowed his eyes at her and had a scowl on his face.

"I heard that." He said through clenched teeth, but a moment later his face lightened a bit even though the scowl was still there. "And I have to work Saturday."

This was pretty much how Poppy had seen this conversation going, but she had really hoped Branch would go with her. Yes, she'd have her friends there but having Branch there would have meant a lot to her. She knew he didn't see it that way and there was no way to convince him otherwise. And with him having to work it probably wasn't the best idea for him to be out half the night. Realizing there was no way to win this conversation Poppy sighed audibly and grabbed her coffee, "Alright Branch, you win." She took a sip, grabbed her bag, and got up to leave, she really didn't have to be in class just yet but she didn't see this conversation going anywhere positive for the time being.

She felt a hand grab her arm before she could even walk a foot away from the table. Looking down she saw Branch looking at her. "Where are going Poppy?"

"To class." She replied blandly.

"Oh, so this conversation wasn't going your way so you're leaving?" Branch looked confused and irritated.

Poppy put her hands on her hips after setting her coffee back down on the table. She knew this was irrational, but she couldn't help the words falling out, "No Branch, that's not it. I've basically been chasing after you for the last month and you've given me no indication of where this is going. And this party means a lot to me and I can't even get you to make an appearance. I know Guy told me to be patient with you, but something's gotta give Branch. When you figure it out you let me know."

With that she stomped out without looking back. Walking quickly she headed to her next class, she still had about 30 minutes but she could sit in silence that long. She was doing her best to hold back her tears. This was ridiculous and she knew it, but she just needed Branch to either show his interest or tell her to back off. After a few minutes she calmed down and pulled out her notebook to study for the midterm she was about to take.

Poppy was so thankful it was Friday afternoon and all her midterms were over. The last few days had been stressful with all the tests and of course Branch. She hadn't heard from him since she'd snapped at him a few days ago. She'd felt a little bad about it, but since she hadn't heard from him maybe this silence was his answer. Perhaps she'd been foolish to think he'd liked her in the same way she liked him. For now though she would try to think more positive thoughts, like the party tonight. Poppy didn't really know what to expect, she knew there would probably be alcohol and music. The girls assured her that even though a lot of people would be there nothing bad would happen. Poppy figured she would just stay close to her friends and that would keep her safe.

A knock at her door released her from her stupor and she got up to answer it. She opened the door to find Satin and Chenille standing there with a dress bag and a shoe box. "Hey guys!" She exclaimed excitedly as she backed up allowing them into the room.

"Hey girl." Chenille said setting the shoe box on the bed. Satin hung the dress up in the closet. Poppy immediately went to look at the dress. She pulled up the dress bag and what she saw rendered her speechless. The dress was sleeveless, light blue at the top and slowly transitioned into a light teal green at the bottom. It had white and silver trim at the bottom. Up top it was form fitting but was movable and flowy on the bottom half. Poppy loved it! It was simple but absolutely beautiful.

"Oh my gosh guys, I love it! I have to pay you back for this." Poppy gushed.

Chenille put her hand up, "Nope, we wanted to make this for you and your first party. Oh, and these should match that dress." She turned around and grabbed the shoe box off the bed to hand it to Poppy.

Poppy took the box and opened it, inside there were silver heels. They were maybe 2" so she hopefully wouldn't be tripping on herself all night. There was a strap that connected the toe strap and ankle strap that had shining silver gems. Poppy looked at her two friends, "Thank you guys so much! I love them."

"Oh, and one more thing." Satin said as she went over to the dress bag and reached towards the hanger. She pulled out a headband and handed it to Poppy. It was green and had blue flowers on it. "That should go great with your dress." Satin finished.

Poppy was really shocked, the twins had gone through so much trouble and she had nothing for them in return. She absolutely loved the dress, shoes, and the headband.

"Thank you guys so much! But I wish I had something for you." The pink haired girl looked at her friends guiltily.

"Just have fun at the party tonight, and don't forget the cupcakes." Chenille said to her smiling brightly.

Poppy nodded and smiled, "Deal."

"Well I'm glad you like the outfit, but we've gotta go help get the house ready for tonight." Satin said, pulling on her sister's arm towards the door.

"Of course, see you guys later!" Poppy said excitedly as the twins exited her dorm room.

She waited a minute to be sure they were gone before letting out a loud squeal and running over to look at her dress again. Poppy was so happy and excited she couldn't believe it. She still had a few hours before she needed to start getting ready, but she couldn't stop looking at the dress, and shoes, and headband. The twins had really put some work into this just so Poppy could look good for her first actual party. It did sadden her a little though so think that Branch wouldn't get to see her in this dress. But for now she would push those thoughts aside, she wasn't going to let him ruin her night.

A few hours later Poppy had finally gotten to put her dress on, it fit perfectly. She wasn't sure exactly when Satin and Chenille had got her measurements, but she'd worry about that later. The dress was similar to a halter top, but it had a collar on the neck so that the back could connect to the front. It reached almost to her knees, the twins must have known she would not have appreciated a super short dress. The headband matched almost perfectly, she had set it behind her bangs so they could still be side-swept and she'd put her hair up in a ponytail. If she did drink tonight she didn't want to think about the mess her hair would be in the morning. Poppy had also put on her heels, which gave her just a bit of height but not so much that she would be taller than most of the guys there. The silver in the heels helped to bring out the silver trim on her dress. She'd also found some diamond studs in her jewelry box that matched her outfit as well. Her makeup was simple for the most part: dark green eye shadow with glitter in it, black eye liner, black mascara, and just a hint of light pink blush on her cheeks. Again, she didn't want to wake up looking like a mess from wearing too much makeup. With that Poppy headed out the door to help Biggie, Suki, and Guy with the cupcakes.

Luckily it wasn't a long walk to the culinary arts building, and in the parking lot out front she could see her three friends standing around the back of an SUV with it's back hatch open.

"Hey guys!" She called out.

Her friends turned to her and stared. She walked up to them cautiously, "What's up?"

"You look gorgeous Poppy." Suki said, "Satin and Chenille did an awesome job on that dress."

"Yeah Pinky, you look awesome." Guy chimed in.

"Yes, you look lovely Poppy." Biggie said last.

Poppy blushed, embarrassed by her friends' comments, "Thanks guys, but it's just a dress and some make-up."

Guy went up to Poppy and put his arm around her shoulder and leaned in so only she could hear, "Poppy, even Branch's jaw would drop seeing you right now."

Poppy blushed even more and looked at Suki, who just had a smirk on her face as if she knew exactly what Guy had said to her.

"Thanks Guy." She barely managed to say as she wriggled herself free from him. "So, are we loading cupcakes or what?"

"Oh yes," Biggie seemed to remember, "Come on guys, we've got several trays to gather."

For the next fifteen minutes or so the group continuously carried trays of cupcakes out of the building and into the back of Biggie's SUV.

When they were finally finished Guy asked, "Man, how many of these did you make?"

Biggie shrugged, "Around 200 or so, I lost count after a while. I just love baking!"

All of them laughed at this and then got into the vehicle to head to the party.

Poppy looked back at Guy and Suki in the back seat, "Are you guys not taking one of your cars?"

Guy and Suki both shook their heads, but Guy was the one to speak up, "Nah, we'll both probably be drinking so it won't be safe to drive. We'll find a way back or just crash there for the night."

Poppy nodded in understanding and turned back around to face forward. The ride was pleasant as the four chatted about their midterms and whatnot. It only took about ten minutes to get to the sorority house, the main reason being that students were everywhere in the streets making it difficult to drive and find a suitable place to park. Biggie finally found a spot close to the house so it wouldn't be too hard to carry in all the cupcakes.

The house was massive, it had to be three stories and large white pillars were on either side of the entrance to hold up the building overhang that formed over the porch. The sigma sign was on the front of the overhang clear for everyone to see. Upon entering Poppy had not expected to see so many people, it was still early, maybe 7:30 or so and the house was nearly packed already. Suki had been there before with the twins, so she led the way to kitchen where there was a table for them to set down the desserts.

"Hey guys!" Satin and Chenille came up behind the group and greeted them all with hugs.

"Those cupcakes look delicious." Chenille said to Biggie.

"Thanks! There are all different flavors to choose from and of course they are free for everybody." Biggie smiled back.

The twins then looked to Poppy. "Omg girl," Chenille started, "You look amazing!" Satin finished the sentence.

Poppy smiled, "Thanks, I love this dress."

"We hoped you would." Chenille replied and then turned to the whole group, "As you can see the party hasn't officially started yet, but we'll be helping the sorority sisters out for most of the night so if you need anything just text us. Drinks are right over there, sodas are in the fridge and help yourself to any of the food. Have fun!"

The twins then walked away leaving the group to stare after them.

"Well I'm getting a drink," Guy said and then turned to Suki, "You want anything babe?"

"A rum and coke sounds good, but go easy on the rum." Suki replied, smiling at her man.

"How about you Pinky?" He asked Poppy.

Poppy really didn't know much about alcohol, and of course being underage she hadn't really drank much. "I guess just whatever Suki is having."

"Don't worry, I won't make it strong. We don't need you getting too crazy tonight." Guy winked at her before walking away and fixing the drinks.

The night went by rather quickly for Poppy, she'd had at least three rum and cokes by now and was starting to feel them. Her head spun a little, but that didn't stop her from dancing and having a great time. After watching Guy make her drink the first time, she'd taken it upon herself to start making them herself, but she was now thinking she'd mixed them a little too strong. She had tried to eat some of the snacks throughout the evening, so it would help soak up some of the alcohol, but it did little to help her. She was just coming out of the bathroom when she noticed Guy down the hallway with his phone pressed to his ear. 'Who would he be calling this time of night?' Poppy wondered to herself as she walked towards him.

Loudly and obnoxiously Poppy yelled, "Who are you talking to?" Her voice was a little slurred due to the alcohol, but not too bad that she couldn't be understand.

Guy turned to look at her and smiled, "Branch."

Poppy smiled, "Hi Branch!" She screamed towards his phone.

"Yeah that's her." She heard Guy say, "Thanks man, will do." He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Uh Pinky, I think you've had enough. Let's go sit down and chill for a minute." Guy said to her trying to get her to come sit down with him.

Poppy resisted, "But I'm having so much fun! Why are trying to stop me?" The logical part of her brain knew she should go with Guy, but the other part told her to keep on partying.

Guy put his hand gently, but firmly on her arm, "Seriously Poppy, I don't want anything to happen to you. Please, let's go sit down."

"Ugh!" Poppy yelled, "Fine, but only for a few minutes."

She followed Guy into the kitchen where there was a table with a few empty chairs, Suki was sitting in one of the occupied chairs eating chips. The two joined her and she pushed the bowl towards Poppy. "You need to get something in your stomach, especially if you're going to keep drinking." Suki said to the pink haired girl.

Poppy happily reached over and grabbed a handful of chips, she really was hungry. She saw Guy lean over to whisper something to Suki, but she couldn't quite hear it. It wasn't but just a few minutes before Poppy got up to rejoin the party again, she wanted to dance some more.

"Poppy, I thought we were gonna chill." She heard Guy say behind her.

This annoyed her, she wanted to come to this party to have a good time, not have rules. "Come on Guy, I wanna go dance!"

She could see Guy sigh in defeat, "Fine, but please come back in a few minutes. It's really late and me and Suki are not leaving you here alone."

Poppy didn't bother with a reply but headed back to the dance floor. She began dancing with some guy she didn't know and was having a blast. Her head was still spinning, but she didn't care. It wasn't long before the guy she'd been dancing with had tried to cop a feel by reaching behind her. She pushed his hand away, this wasn't why she came here. She just wanted to have fun. The guy just smiled at her and tried it again. Again, she shoved his hand away, "Stop." He tried it one more time and Poppy turned on her heel to leave the dance floor, no way was she going to put up with this. She'd only taken a few steps when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" The guy said to her.

"I'm leaving." She turned to face him and tried to pull her arm away, but he didn't let go. "Let go of me!"

"Oh, come on now baby, I thought we were having fun." He said to her with a creepy smile on his face.

Poppy began to feel fear, she really wanted away from this guy and to get back to her friends. She tried pulling her arm away with a little more force, but he still didn't let go and she shut her eyes, afraid of what might happen now. But suddenly, she was free. She opened her eyes to see Branch standing in front of her with his back to her.

"She said let go." Branch's stern voice sounded in her ears.

She looked around him to see the Guy sitting on the floor, and he looked mad. He stood back up and said, "Mind your own business asshole."

Branch suddenly grabbed the guy by his shirt and brought him within inches of his face and said in a low, deep voice, "She is my business. Now stay away from her." He shoved the guy away from him and turned to face Poppy.

"Let's go." He said sternly to her and pushed her ahead of him towards the kitchen. She didn't bother to fight, after the drama with the guy she was ready to go. Suki and Guy were waiting for her in the kitchen.

"Are you alright Poppy?" Suki asked her.

Poppy was fighting back tears and her face was red with embarrassment and alcohol, "Yeah," she nodded, "Let's just go."

The group walked outside to get into Branch's car. Branch drove while Guy sat in the passenger seat, so the two girls could sit in the back together. Almost immediately Poppy fell asleep.

She woke slowly, and she felt warmth on one side of her body. That's when realized she was being carried. She didn't want to open her eyes, her head was killing her, and she felt slightly nauseated. Every so slowly she opened her eyes to see that Branch was carrying her. He wasn't looking at her though, so she quickly shut her eyes again and just reveled in the fact that she was closer to him. A minute later he was opening a door and sat her down on an unfamiliar couch. Instead of sitting with her he continued walking into what she assumed was his apartment. She sat up and rubbed her hand with her face, her head was still spinning but she could see somewhat clearly as she opened her eyes. The room was dark, but a light came on from another room illuminating some of the furniture of the room she was in. It was the living room of course, she could see a recliner next to the couch, a tv in the corner, a coffee table in front of her, and a guitar case leaning against the wall opposite her. She didn't have time to think about this before Branch returned. After flipping on the hall light so they could see, he sat down next to her on the couch and was kind of scanning her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, actually sounding concerned.

Poppy nodded, "My head is killing me, and the room is spinning, but I'm okay."

"What were you thinking? You've never been to a party and you decide to get drunk at the first one you go to? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Poppy so did not want to hear this, but it was nice that he was concerned about her, "I didn't mean to. I made my own drinks too strong and didn't know it until it was too late."

Branch sighed, "Poppy, you've got to be more careful. What if something would've happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, wondering why he cared so much all of a sudden.

"If I hadn't come in when I did, that jackass could've hurt you. He was much bigger than you."

Poppy scoffed, "I was handling it just fine." She of course knew this was a lie, she was truly scared why might've happen if Branch hadn't shown up when he did.

"Yeah, sure looked like it." He said sarcastically.

Poppy didn't feel like fighting right now, the scene with the guy had actually left her emotional and really all she wanted was to be held. But she knew Branch wasn't going to let that happen, so she decided to take a different approach.

"Why were you there anyway?" She asked.

"GD called me asking me for a ride, he and Suki had been drinking. Then you needed a ride too so here we are." Branch replied.

"So, why'd you bring me here? Why not take me back to my own room?"

"Because number 1 you were asleep, number 2 I don't know where you live, and number 3 because you're a lightweight and someone needs to keep an eye on you in case you do get sick. GD and Suki were barely awake when I left them at their apartment, so we all thought this was the best option." Branch said.

Poppy didn't really know what to think, she hadn't heard from him in two days and now he was defending her and willing to keep an eye on her to make sure nothing bad happened to her. Maybe he really did care, but had a poor way of showing it. All of her emotions came pouring out at once as the tears started flowing down her face. She was an ugly crier and she knew it, but right now she didn't care. It was too much for her to keep it in, she really could've gotten hurt tonight and she'd been stupid by drinking too much.

"Poppy? Poppy are you okay?" She felt Branch move closer to her on the couch until he had one arm wrapped around her shoulder. She shook her head and just kept on crying. His arm was stiff and tense at first, but gradually he relaxed. It only took a few minutes for her to finally calm down and stop crying.

Branch pulled away from her and tried to look her in the eyes, but she just couldn't meet his gaze. She felt his hand under her chin as he made her eyes meet his, "You can tell me what's wrong." His ice-blue eyes were void of any anger, just full of concern and warmth.

Poppy shook her head, she couldn't tell Branch. Some things were meant to stay unsaid. "I can't Branch, I'm sorry. I can't talk about it."

She heard him sigh, "It's okay Poppy, you can tell me when you're ready."

In that moment, more emotions hit her. Branch was being really thoughtful towards her, and in her state of still kind of drunkenness she wanted to take her chance. Their faces were only about a foot apart and she started leaning towards him to kiss him. But as she closed her eyes she felt hands on both her shoulders.

"Whoa, Poppy what are you doing?" Branch sounded alarmed.

"Well, uh, I wanted to kiss you." She said plainly, in her state she wasn't afraid to say these things in front of him.

His face showed his shock, "Poppy, even if this were to happen," he gestured between the two of them, "you're drunk. No way would I allow this to happen now. You're emotional and vulnerable, and I'm not taking advantage of that."

Poppy pulled away from him and sighed. She knew he was right, but it still hurt. And she still had no idea what he thought of them. Were they friends or more? Did he want to take things further? Was he just being nice to her because of Guy? There was too many questions and it made her head hurt.

Quietly she mumbled, "Do you even like me Branch? Or do you just tolerate me?" She stared at the floor, afraid of the look she might see on his face.

It took a minute for a response, "Poppy, look, I do like you. But I don't think I'm right for you."

She was shocked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not a nice guy. I've got a dark past, which means baggage. Nobody wants to deal with that. You seem like a nice girl with a bright future, why would you want to be with a guy like me?" He asked her.

"I like you Branch, I don't care about the baggage. Everyone has it, even me. Stop selling yourself short, even Guy says you're not that bad." Poppy had finally turned back to face him.

Branch shook his head, "We can discuss this later. For now, you're going to bed. And I have to be at work tomorrow and it's late. Come on." He gestured for her to follow him as the two walked down a short hallway. They walked into a room that Poppy could only assume was his bedroom. "You can sleep in here, I'll sleep on the couch."

Poppy simply nodded, her tiredness was catching up with her. She pulled her phone out of her pocket so she wouldn't lose it in her sleep and climbed into his bed. "Good night Branch." She yawned.

"Goodnight Poppy."