Both Poppy and Branch searched the area in which the sound had come from but found nothing "Maybe we should head back to the party," she suggested.
"Poppy wait," Branch said carefully taking hold of her hand "I got a better idea."
"What could be better than a party?" she asked.
Branch gave her a shy smile "You'll see," he said.
Poppy followed Branch back to her pod where right in the middle was a blanket laid out covered in all her favorite slumber party snacks. "What's all this?" she asked turning to face him smiling.
"Well I was thinking that maybe it would be nice to sit up late and eat lots of snacks together just like we did before," he said shyly as he turned his face away from trying to hide the deep blush that had appeared.
"I love that idea!" Poppy exclaimed pulling him over to the blanket full of snacks "Where should we start?"
It did not take long before both trolls were sitting on either side of the blanket munching on the delicious sweet goodies. Branch loved the way her face lit up when she talked about something fun and the sound of her laughter. About halfway through their snacks Poppy decided it would be fun to back a cake together.
"We still have a lot of snacks," Branch tried to point out, but Poppy just waved it off "I know," she said "that's why this cake will be for later Silly." Playfully booping his nose after calling him silly and giving him a goofy smile "What do you say Branch?"
Branch smiled back "I guess we are making a cake,"
"YAY!" she cheered rushing to the kitchen to gather all the ingredient they would need to make the cake. Branch watched as she carefully measured out each amount and placed them in a bowl for him to mix together. "Branch," she said giggling "you have a little something on your face."
"What…where?" he asked as he stopped mixing the batter to wipe his face.
"Riiight here," she said playfully before dipping her finger into the batter and bringing it up fast to dab on his cheek.
"Hey!" he gasped quickly wiping it off his cheek and then dipping his own finger in the cake batter "That's it!"
"Don't even think about!" she screamed as she ran to the opposite side of the kitchen to get away from him.
"That's right," he said loudly "you better run."
"Like I'm really scared," she said playfully and sticking out her tongue to taunt him.
"You should be," he teased back as he slowly began walking towards her with a devilish grin.
"Stay back!" she warned backing herself up against the wall of the pod "Or else I will have to use my secret weapon."
Branch shook his head "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" she asked with a raised eyebrow "Are you willing to take that chance?"
"Yes, I am," he said making a quick grab for her with his good arm, but she managed to evade him.
"Branch this is your last warning," she playfully "don't make me use it."
Ten minutes later both trolls had cake batter all over their faces and in their hair "I think you got it my ear," Branch said holding up his hands to show he wanted a truce.
"Let me see," she said coming out from underneath the kitchen table to have a look. "Sorry," she laughed "I didn't mean to."
"We should probably clean up this mess before your dad gets home," Branch said when he noticed how messy the kitchen was from their little Cake Batter War.
"Oh Snap!" Poppy gasped "He's going to be home any minute!"
Hurrying to clean up their mess Branch couldn't help but to feel happy, he liked this feeling he felt when ever she was with him and the way they always had fun. She was making feel like a totally different troll all together, one that he hadn't felt like since his parents were still alive. He felt like a better troll when he was with her not the worthless one his aunt always said he was. After cleaning up the kitchen the two trolls then went to wash themselves up. By the time they were clean the cake they managed to make with what little bit of batter they had left was ready to decorate which they each decorated a side.
By the time Peppy returned both trolls had settled down and were now calmly eating a piece of the cake they had made and playing a sort of guessing game that Peppy was sure they were making up as they went along.
"Branch," Poppy said sitting up straight and looking at him seriously "can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he replied looking into her eyes.
Poppy could feel her cheeks getting warm as she asked, "Did you want to kiss me earlier?"
Branch felt himself go numb not knowing what to say, he could feel his face getting super-hot. "I…I…I," he stuttered feeling his embarrassment grow within him.
"I wouldn't have minded," she whispered, "I like you Branch."
"You…you do?" he asked as his face made a silly grin before he shook it off hoping that she hadn't noticed.
Poppy gave him a tiny smile as she leaned towards him and whispered, "Are you going to kiss me or not?"
Branch swallowed hard before he slowly leaned in until their mouths touched, it wasn't anything face but just a quick peck on the lips. As soon as it happened both trolls quickly pulled away blushing, it had been the most exciting rush they had ever felt. "That was amazing!" Poppy exclaimed falling back on her hands.
"Yeah," Branch replied shyly as his heart stilled pounded a mile a minute from all the excitement. A moment of silence went by before they decided it was time to clean up their mess for the night. Poppy stood up and stretched knocking an unruly piece of hair loose from the hair clip she was wearing. Carefully reaching out Branch fixed it for her to which she thanked up by giving him the sweetest smile. It was at the moment that they both leaned in slowly until their lips touched again, this was different than the last one. This one warm, gentle and sweet, neither troll wanted it to end.