First Kiss

Poppy made it back just in time to see everybody waking up and starting their day's work. Some trolls were up early picking fruit to start cooking their breakfast, others were already by the river doing their laundry. The delicious smell of fresh grass in the morning had an energetic effect on her.

She had learned a lot from Barb the night before. Rock was so inspiring and she couldn't wait to mix some good rock rhythm on her usual songs. Still, her mind wandered back to the picture she saw on the wall. Barb had given her a copy when she asked, but she didn't really pay attention to why Poppy really wanted it. It was the Black Rock Band that had been on tour since forever. They were legends, Barb had explained, but they had so many concerts to attend to that they didn't stay around The Volcano City. Eventually they'd send a letter to King Thrash just so they would check on him.

"They had been at the Trollachella Music Festival not long ago..." Poppy said aloud involuntarily as she folded the picture and hid it in her hair. She really wanted to meet them, she had a hunch that screamed out that Branch wouldn't like the idea of going after a rock band, but still she didn't want to tell him that she thought the vocalist was his father... because... if he wasn't, Branch would be crushed.

Maybe it was best to keep it a secret until she was sure of it. Besides, she grinned to herself, - as she paid good mornings to her friends on her way - she had her own girl band concert as an excuse to leave the village more often. She was so excited about it she couldn't wait to tell the others.

Barb had come up with the girl group idea, but Poppy had a few suggestions and they changed the rock concept. Poppy had been open to listen to Rock, so she wanted Barb and Carol to learn a little about Pop Bands... In the end, they decided they would make a big concert mixing all kinds of music with the main subject: Strong Women! They just had to get Delta Dawn and Essence to join in.

"I know what that look means!" Branch just came out of a bush when she was lost in her thoughts, making her jump in fright. "You're hatching a plan to get the whole village involved in a pop-rock party."

"You know me so well..." She squealed in excitement.

"Well, that's how the good connection works, right?" He said, raising his hand to a perfect timing high-five just to prove his point.

"Right!" They were interrupted by the sound of children playing and different kinds of trolls appearing. When the world tour was over and they all harmonized, Poppy made a suggestion to quickly rebuild their destroyed lands. Each country would send their best construction workers to re-build as fast as they could. Meanwhile, while they worked, Poppy would introduce the foreign children to their education system. "Oh, look, they've arrived, so it means all other villages are rebuilt already."

"All right!" Poppy held back a laugh when she saw Branch getting his tools out of his hair. She couldn't believe how happy he was to get some real work done. "Let's finish rebuilding our place in no time."

"You have fun with that. I'll drop my things and get to the kids." Poppy announced giving him a small hand squeeze before leaving. She had to hurry, she didn't even finish her history scrapbook, yet.

The day was the longest. Poppy didn't remember being so tired before. She relaxed in her bubble bath, feeling her feet pumping painfully after running after a Country baby troll who had decided to find a puffalo to milk. He ran around the whole village, giving Poppy quite a fright when he jumped on the new pods that were being lifted in the tree. In the end, to her surprise, the baby did know how to milk the poor puffalo.

"We had bottled milk." Poppy leaned against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Those four legs made country trolls really fast...

"They prefer it fresh." Hickory said, carrying a piece of wood under his arm, almost getting a jealous hair blow from Branch who was just behind him.

Thinking about Branch... - Poppy lowered herself into the water, just leaving her nose and eyes out -, she was a little curious how he came to live with his grandma... she had never noticed how his colors looked exactly like most rock trolls... besides, he had looked really good dressed as a rock troll.

Her fingers were getting a little wrinkled, so it was time to leave the bubble bath. She could be in there for two more hours, but she still had to check the map where the next Black Rock would play. She had to do it before bedtime because Branch would certainly be there early in the morning and she wouldn't get the time to properly see it.

She dressed in her shorts and top and opened her bathroom door, welcoming the cold air outside. But there he was, sitting down on her bed, reading the scrapbook she had made for the kids. He looked freshly showered and had a huge grin on his face while reading the last page.

"Hey there." She said, sitting down in front of him. He lifted his eyes to watch her. She adoringly crossed her legs and rested her elbows on her knees, holding her hands together to support her chin. "What's up."

"Nothing's up, just... I wanted to spend time with you." He said, a little nervous. They didn't have the time to even talk since they returned from their adventure. It was a lot of scheduling and working and rebuilding. "You look... good, by the way." He saw her green pajamas and how it matched the rubber band that was holding her hair up. Her crown was laid by her dresser until next morning. He noticed she took her time, trying to come up with a reply and he beat himself up mentally for making her feel uncomfortable. "I meant it purely in an observational manner."

"Oh... thanks... I guess." She stretched herself up and jumped off the bed, making her way to the kitchen to grab something to offer him. That was the weirdest reaction she had until they sort of confessed their feelings. She knew she loved him with all her heart, but he seemed to be expecting something... else? Chocolate was the answer. Chocolate made everything better. Always.

"Ta-Da!" She showed him a big chocolate bar. "Do you want some?"

"You don't know the first thing about romance, do you?" Branch blurted out, raising a suspicious eyebrow at her.

"Romance?" She let out a high-pitched voice, almost jumping out of her skin in the process.

"Wait..." Branch rubbed his temples with his thumbs. "What do you think I meant when I said I love you?" The last thing he needed at the moment was to fall back into Friendzone and yet, he didn't want to rush into anything she wasn't prepared for.

She didn't answer. She just stood there, looking at him like he had grown a second head. He saw as she looked down at her feet and her chest raised and fell each time faster. For a second there, he thought she was going to hyperventilate. She could feel the intensity of his gaze on her.

A single teal finger brushed across her face, outlining it until it reached her chin and forced it up so she had no choice, but to look at him.

"What's going on?" He asked, uneasily.

She took a step back, trying to get some safe distance between them, only to find she was already against the soft pink wall. Her breath caught on her throat as she began to speak.

"I'm not really... sure..." She began and Branch closed his eyes, ready to take the blow. "How I'm supposed to act around you." Branch drew in a shuddering breath, trying to control himself. "What do you expect from me?"

That was it. Indeed, she knew nothing about romance. Branch didn't know if he felt relieved or apprehensive. He knew she understood it all in theory, she had read countless fairy tales to the kids, but aside from the fluffy tales and the warm lessons, hugs and girl talk, she probably never had a crush on anyone. Nobody had dared to approach the Queen like that and she never spared her time to even think about herself as the main role in a romance.

Unlike Branch himself, owner of countless romance novels, an assiduous Shakespeare reader, Lord Byron's fan and with a vivid imagination that gave him a vast experience within his years of self-exile. He had imagined kissing her pink lips so many times that he could even describe their taste without ever touching them.

"I want to kiss you." He murmured, burying his fingertips on her silky pink hair. She was frozen in place, staring up at him, with butterflies making her uneasy in the stomach. He was dying in there, and she didn't give him an answer. It was unlike her to be at loss of words. "May I?"

"I've never..." She started, but her words trailed off as his piercing blue eyes looked past her, diving into her soul.

"Neither have I." He whispered back, caressing her cheek, but still waiting for her positive answer.

Her heart was beating so wildly it could be compared to the finest work of a drummer. Getting a little courage out of his reassuring smile, she put her hands around his neck and closed her eyes. She didn't answer him with words, but invited him to meet her halfway. It was an invitation he gladly accepted.

He leaned forward, touching her lips with the lightness of a feather. He made a mental note to write down later how wrong he was about her lips. It was a million times softer and more enticing than he had imagined. He felt her sighing happily and deepened the kiss, becoming more confident. She tasted like strawberries. He allowed his hands to wonder down and hold her closer by placing them on her hips; only then he heard her hissing in pain. He quickly broke their contact and pulled back.

"Are you hurt?" He looked at her questionably. Her hazy eyes quickly shut again, trying to bring him down to continue what they were doing. She completely ignored his question and it only made him frustrated. His survival instincts kicked in and he looked down at her, realizing he had pressed her closer against him by her hips.

It was when he saw it. His eyes grew so wide they almost popped out of his face. Thanks to her short top, it was visible to him a small black tattoo just above her hip bone, on her right side. It was also very bright and reddish, meaning she had just gotten it done.

"A tattoo?!" He was bewildered. Poppy opened her eyes when she realized what he had seen. She completely forgot about their first make out session, having it washed away by fear that he wouldn't like it.

"It looked like a good idea at the time..." She said quietly, pushing him away from her gently, so she could walk across her bedroom.

"Are you going Rock on me?" He eyed her suspiciously. The last thing Pop Village needed was a Queen who wouldn't appreciate their music style.

"Actually, Branch..." She turned around, not being able to face him. "I did it because of you." He was puzzled. He had no idea how he could inspire a tattoo. She shrugged and looked out at the starry night. "When you became a rocker you had all these cool tattoos..." She continued. "You looked so hot I had to get one myself."

Now it was his turn to be in complete loss of words. He didn't know what stunned him the most: her confession that she had found him 'hot' or the tattoo itself.

She also had done it because deep down, she knew he was a rock troll, his looks confirmed it. She wanted to please him in his most primitive instincts, but it wasn't time to reveal that small secret to him. First, she had to find the Black Rock Band, then, make sure they were really his parents and just then tell him the truth.

"Can I see it properly?" He asked, walking closer to her, looking curiously at the small black ink beneath her top. She smiled at him and lifted the fabric so he could see it. It was a small line with fancy handwriting: Carpe Diem. Branch felt his heart beating wildly. It was hot indeed. He broke down in nervous sweat and took another step back. He had to stop himself from grabbing her in a fervent make out session that she was so obviously not ready for. "I've got to go." He said in a trembling voice.

Poppy watched as he jumped out of her pod, completely vanishing into the night.