Just Sing and Dream
A/N: Finally! After two long months of trying to get this thing done, I have finished it! Sorry for the long wait, guys. But things have been a little crazy since I first posted on this story. Well, I hope that this chapter will be worth the wait. So let's get on with it! Roll it!
Chapter 2
A Melodious Night
A few nights later, after Poppy's big concert, Branch was at his family's condo in Hollywood, enjoying a nice, quiet afternoon of writing songs before heading over to Poppy's house for their little dinner date. He was sitting at his desk in the music room, humming under his breath a little sensual tune before putting the notes down to paper as he sang some lyrics out loud.
Just send your heartbeat,
I'll go to the blue ocean floor
Where they find us no more
On that blue ocean floor.
Ever since he became a famous singing star himself, he already had two original albums released within the past year, both of them reaching high spots on the music charts. Right now, he and his producers were working on a third one, but there were so many songs in his head that he wasn't sure if all of them were going to fit on one record. Well, two more albums probably wouldn't be too much of a chore. He was at least thankful that he got a little bit of time off before the producers wanted to work overtime to get at least half of the songs done before his own big concert, which was only a couple of weeks away.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. He turned around and saw his younger adoptive sister, Harper, standing in the doorway. She was now seventeen, almost eighteen years old, and she was wearing an old white T-shirt with rainbow splattered paint stains on it, faded jeans, and socks. Her indigo-colored hair was pulled into a braid over her shoulder, which also had some paint stains in it. But this time, her face had a couple of paint splatterings, which meant that she had started another art project.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" She asked her brother.
Branch rolled his eyes. "I still have about an hour." He assured her. "Plus, I was just fine-tuning this song so that I can show it to Suki tomorrow. Let her see what she thinks of it."
Harper smiled as she came over to him. "All joking aside, I really am happy for you, Branch." She said. "People now see the real you whenever you sing, and you're with the girl of your dreams."
Branch chuckled at her words. "Well, I also have a good job that pays well, and deals with something I love." He added. "Helps me support both you and Grandma."
"And we appreciate it." Harper said. "Especially since I'm a senior this school year, turning eighteen this spring, and will be graduating this summer."
Branch exhaled. "Whoo. Who would've thought that my baby sister is going to be through all of that within the next few months?"
Harper rolled her eyes back at him. "Funny, bro." She said.
Branch snorted as he went back to his song. After toying with the melody for a couple more minutes, he put down his pencil and headed towards his closet.
"What are you and Poppy doing tonight?" Harper asked.
"I was just going to hang out at her place, now that she finally managed to get her dad into a nice little home for himself." Branch replied. "Then, we're just going to order some pizza, have some ice cream, while singing karaoke."
"I thought that you were going to take her out." Harper said. "When was the last time you two ever did something like that?"
"A couple of months." Branch said. "But we both know that since my concert is coming up soon, we're going to wait until after it to go out somewhere. We'll make it a reason to celebrate."
Harper smiled while shaking her head fondly. "Whatever you say, bro." She said before she left the room and closed the door.
Soon, Branch was dressed in a nice green shirt, black pants and converse sneakers. He grabbed his car keys and headed towards the door. When he passed by the living room, he saw his grandmother, Rosie, on the couch. Her sea green hair was pulled up into her usual bun, but she was dressed in her heart shawl along with a blanket around her shoulder.
"Grandma?" He asked her, coming over to her and then carefully placing a hand on her shoulder. His grandmother's warm green eyes went over to him. "Are you okay?"
Rosie smiled at her grandson. "I'm fine, angel." She assured him. "But as you already know, I am getting on in years. I've been getting more tired lately."
Branch solemnly smiled. "Well, we do have your doctor's appointment tomorrow." He said. "Hopefully, we can get a diagnostic."
"Don't worry about me, Branch." She said to him before leaning over and kissing his hand. "You go and have fun. Say hello to Poppy for me."
Branch smiled a little brighter. "I will, Grandma." He said before giving her a quick hug and then leaving the living room. "I'll be back soon!" With that, he left the condo, went over to his navy blue Volkswagen Beetle; which he had bought to avoid attracting attention to himself unlike with his girlfriend's six super fancy cars; and started it up, heading for Poppy's.
It had been a couple of hours, and the pop star couple were in Poppy's mansion in Beverly Hills, both of them munching on some pizza, sitting on the couch. Poppy was snuggled up into Branch, who had his arm around her back, holding her close.
The pink-haired pop star sighed contently. "I wish that it could be like this all the time." She said, looking up at her boyfriend.
Branch smiled down at his girlfriend in his arms as he swallowed his last bite of pizza. "Me, too." He said. "But alas, such a time as right now is hardly possible when in the spotlight of fame."
Poppy snickered at his pretty words. "Hey, at least we make time for some quality time with the people that are most important in our lives." She added. "And we are in control of our own lives, too."
"Things have changed since we first met." Branch said, taking a trip down memory lane. "I was a total nobody who preferred life out of the limelight. Who would've thought that I would meet the love of my life, Poppy Summers, one night in Los Angeles after she hit me in the head with a door?"
"You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Poppy asked him, her eyes narrowed dryly, making her boyfriend smirk.
"Nope." He said, popping the 'p'. "But you gotta admit, that's not the way one would think of when meeting their future significant other."
The pink-haired pop star rolled her eyes fondly at him. "I guess not." She said. "But all that happened afterwards, I wouldn't change a thing about it, both the good and the bad. You taught me to step up and take control of my life, and of what I want in it."
"And you taught me to finally use my voice to really speak out." The blue-haired musician added. "In the best way that reaches out the most to people."
Poppy smiled up at him lovingly and nuzzled into the crook of his neck, while Branch just rested his cheek on the top of her head. Their hands instinctively interlocked together in front of them. After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Poppy reluctantly released her gentle hold on Branch's hand and got up from her spot.
"There is something work-related that I wanted to talk to you about, though." She said, walking over to a nearby grand piano.
She could already see the annoyed glare coming from her boyfriend, even if her back was facing him. "Just for five minutes." She said. After hearing him exhale through his nose in complacency, she continued.
"Suki wants both of us to try a different take on a pretty popular song, as a duet." She explained. "It's a soft rock song, which might be a challenge since it is a little bit out of our comfort zone and all we've been singing is pop."
"And….that's gonna be a problem?" Branch asked, getting up from the couch. He didn't really quite see what could be so difficult about learning a song from a different genre. All in all, it was music, which meant that they could learn it, then sing it.
"I said 'challenge', not 'problem'." Poppy corrected him, grabbing a vinyl record from the top of the shiny red piano. Then, she gave it to him. "What do you think of this song?" She asked.
Branch saw the title of the song on the front of the thin cover, and a fond smile came up on his face. "I know this song." He said.
"Doesn't everyone?" Poppy questioned, making the blue-haired musician shake his head with a light chuckle.
"I meant that this song actually has special meaning to my family." He amended. "My grandpa sang this to my grandma when he proposed to her. This was their song."
A soft smile came on Poppy's face when she heard the short story. "Aw, that's so sweet." She cooed. "I bet this would mean a lot to her."
Branch returned the smile. "Let's give it a try." He said, and he went over to the record player on a nearby shelf. Then, he carefully placed the record on it, turned on the player and let the needle drop on the edge of it, playing a beautiful yet somewhat haunting melody. Then, Poppy started singing along with the words, her beautiful voice soft and enchanting.
Poppy: I could stay awake
Just to hear you breathing;
Watch you smile while you are sleeping,
While you're far away and dreaming.
Then, Branch took up the next part of the first verse, his own sweet voice ringing out smoothly like honey. Then, it started to get a little bit more powerful as more real emotion seeped in, creating a romantic and passionate atmosphere around him and the love of his life.
Branch: I could spend my life
In this sweet surrender.
I could stay lost in this moment
Forever.
Every moment
Spent with you
Is a moment I treasure!
Then, Poppy joined back in again, stepping a little closer to her boyfriend. Then, they would take turns either singing together or just Poppy by herself as they slowly joined their hands together.
Poppy: I don't want to close my eyes.
I don't want to fall asleep,
'Cause I'd miss you, babe,
Both: And I don't want to miss a thing.
Poppy: 'Cause even when I dream of you,
The sweetest dream will never do.
I'd still miss you, babe,
Both: And I don't want to miss a thing.
Branch lightly smiled at his girlfriend as he gently pulled her towards him and placed one of her hands on his shoulder, keeping her other hand conjoined with his. Then, he used his free hand and then placed it on her waist, initiating a little romantic dance between them as he started singing the second verse. Then, sometimes they would take turns again singing together or by themselves.
Branch: Lying close to you,
Both: Feeling your heart beating,
Branch: And I'm wondering what you're dreaming,
Both: Wondering if it's me you're seeing.
Poppy: Then I kiss your eyes
Both: And thank God we're together.
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever,
Forever and ever.
Poppy then gently removed her hands from both Branch's grip and his shoulder to entwine both her arms around his neck, bringing herself even closer to him. Branch just smiled even more lovingly at her as he moved to place both of his hands to her waist, their dance becoming much more intimate due to their increased proximity as they started to sing the chorus together.
I don't wanna close my eyes.
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe,
And I don't wanna miss a thing.
'Cause even when I dream of you,
The sweetest dream would never do.
I'd still miss you, babe,
And I don't wanna miss a thing.
The pink-haired star smiled up at her boyfriend as memories of the past year went through her mind. From the moment she first met Branch, she knew that he was different from most other guys. Granted, their first meeting could've gone a little better, but maybe it wouldn't have done much to help either way, since he obviously wanted nothing to do with her at all in the beginning, thinking that she was an egotistical, arrogant superstar.
But in the mere span of just over eighteen hours, she learned so much about him and why he had held up such a barrier, and brought it down little by little. In turn, she also learned more about herself than she ever had in years and what she really wanted in her life; the most important things being her freedom as an individual, and Branch.
Poppy: And I don't wanna miss one smile.
Both: I don't wanna miss one kiss.
Poppy: Well, I just wanna-
Both: Be with you
Right here with you,
Just like this.
At those specific lyrics, Branch gently pulled Poppy even closer to him, until there was practically no more space left between them. But Poppy didn't mind it; in fact, she relished in their closeness. During the first couple of months in their relationship, she quickly learned that while Branch wanted closeness, he was afraid that he might hurt her if he went too far too soon. But she assured him that they would figure out a nice and steady pace together, and that he would never hurt her. And they did work something out; a pace that both of them were comfortable with.
The key factors in their relationship is trust, closeness and subtle contact. Other than that and a few passionate kisses, they never went any further, and they were fine with that. Just actually being together, through both the good and the bad, was enough for them. As long as they had each other by their sides, it was like they could do anything, and that they could handle anything and everything that their crazy lives can throw at them.
I just wanna hold you close,
And feel your heart so close to mine,
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time!
Branch: Yeah! (Poppy: Yeah, yeah!)
Both: I don't wanna close my eyes,
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe,
And I don't wanna miss a thing.
Even when I dream of you,
The sweetest dream would never do.
I'd still miss you, babe,
And I don't wanna miss a thing.
'Cause even when I dream,
Poppy: The sweetest dream would never do.
Branch: I'd still miss you, babe,
Both: And I don't wanna miss a thing!
Branch: I'd still miss you, babe,
Both: And I don't wanna miss a thing.
As the song came to its gentle conclusion, both singing stars locked eyes with each other. Natural pink became lost in sky blue, and vice versa. Then, they both shared a deep, loving kiss. When they slowly broke away, they just stood there, their arms around each other in an intimate embrace as Poppy nuzzled into her boyfriend's shoulder and Branch gently ran his fingers through his girlfriend's hot pink hair.
Just the two of them standing together in a loving hug, feeling lighter than air, it made Branch realize something. The two of them had been together for just over a year, and even with their music careers, they still found time for both each other and their families. Recently, he had been toying around with a certain idea, but didn't think too much about it, thinking that it was still a little soon in their relationship to be thinking about it. But now, at that moment, with Poppy in his arms, he realized that he needed this in his life; for every single day after this.
Holding her close to him, he made a mental note to start looking around the shops after his concert, in disguise, at best. For rings.
A/N: A ton of Broppy fluff for you guys!
The songs that I used is first: a small segment of "Blue Ocean Floor" by our very own Branch in real life, Justin Timberlake. The second one is "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", originally by Aerosmith, but I found this super sweet cover sung by this couple, Caleb and Kelsey. Go check them out, they are incredible! However, I don't any of these songs. All credit goes to their rightful owners.
One more thing. Please, please, PLEASE check out the poll on my profile. I really want you guys' opinion. Since I have little to no votes, I've decided to keep the voting going until next time I update this story; give you guys some more time. But please let me know, because I plan on making a trailer for the option that gets the most votes and post it on my YouTube channel. So pretty please, go check it out and leave your vote.
Now that all of that is out of the way, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I think there's one more chapter before things start to get interesting! Please leave a review about what you think, check out the poll on my profile, and remember to stay healthy!
Got to fly! ;)