Chapter Four: Wild Feelings

The guitar started the song, the drums followed and so did the bass. Experienced fingers did a good job with the cords. Poppy adjusted the microphone in front of Barb and went back to hers. She gave Branch a shy smile and he gave her a 'thumbs up' in return. She didn't miss his feet tapping the floor following the music's rhythm.

Since Riff was at the drums, she took him to their rehearsal. Barb didn't look happy about it at first, but Poppy insisted Branch was very good with music. He even displayed his eletric guitar skills to prove her point, earning Barb's respect.

Carol was at the bass, and Poppy wondered how come nobody had ever noticed how they looked like. Her gaze kept going from Branch to Carol, almost distracting her from her cue to start singing.

"Didn't I make you feel

Like you were the only man, yeah

Didn't I give you everything that a woman possibly can?

But with all the love I give ya

It's never enough

But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough"

Branch sat at the edge of his seat, watching her closely. Poppy noticed there was a different fire starting in his eyes. She looked around nervously. Barb was lost in her guitar, Carol was... well... in her own world as she played... and Riff had his eyes closed, beating his drums; nobody realized how Branch was changing his attitude in front of them.

"I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it

Take it!

Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!

Oh, oh, break it!

Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah, yeah, yeah

Oh, oh, have a!

Have another little piece of my heart now, baby

You know you got it if it makes you feel good

Oh, yes indeed"

Branch intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them, giving Poppy a piercing gaze that made her feel very exposed. She looked down to check if she was fully dressed. She was wearing fishnets, jeans shorts and a simple black top, but she had left the troll village by his side looking like that and he didn't seem to mind. Branch had a predatory look.

"Okay, stop." Poppy said, looking nervously at Branch, just to see him snapping out of his state of mind.

"It was so good, why did we stop?" Barb asked,

"I wanted to go through the songs we'll play..." Poppy said, trying to sound normally, but she was really worried about Branch. The idea of going through talking for a while made Riff jump from his drums.

"I'm off to grab something to drink." He announced. "Do you want to come, Branch?"

"Sure," Branch answered, standing up as well. "It would be nice to look around, too."

As the boys left, Poppy felt relieved, taking her attention back to Barb.

"Boy-toy has no idea what he's got himself into." Barb laughed. The Pop Queen frowned at her. "What? Riff will take him to see the article he's developing for college. He'll be bored to death."

"Okay, first..." Poppy said, "Please, don't call him a boy-toy." Barb gave her a curious look, almost as if she was seeing the pink queen as a naive girl who needed to be introduced to the adult world. "Second... college?"

"Yes!" Carol answered instead of Barb. "Riff's going to be an astrophysicist." Poppy had to literally hold her chin up, because it dropped when she heard Carol. She continued. "You see, he's taking a while to graduate, kind of a slow dude... I got my degree in Aerospace Engineering two years ago."

"I got mine in Chemical Engineering." Barb nodded, since she realized Poppy wasn't familiar with the Rock way of living, she continued, "We, rock trolls, are great with science. It's in our blood; my dad is the best neuroengineer we have, he even designed and built his own wheelchair."

Everything matched. Branch had to be a rock troll, he was a self-taught mechanical engineer. Those trolls on the picture had to be his real parents. She felt happy that she could deliver Branch to his parent's loving arms, after all he went through in his life, he deserved to have parents, he deserved to feel how she felt when she was with her dad.

At the same time... she was a little scared. Would he leave Pop Village to stay where he truly belonged? Would he leave her? He certainly was fond of rock...

"What do we do about the other kinds of music?" Carol changed the subject. "Since we're talking about the playlist, I think we should decide if the others will fit."

"About that..." Poppy went through her backpack, picking up a piece of paper where she had listed endless music titles she had been researching in the past days. "I went through some songs that the construction workers and the children talked about - they will be in Troll Village for a few more days - I've got these..." She handed the paper to Barb who nodded and smiled. "I think we can actually pull it off."

"It's going to be a challenge to fit Symphony Ville in." Barb read down the list.

"Not at all, look at this one." Poppy pointed at a piece in the middle. "It was an older Classic Troll who remembered this one... I just have to get Trollzart to agree to it."

"And how do you plan on getting the guest appearance?"

"Well, since I'm off to see the Black Rock Band during the weekend, I thought about stopping by the other countries on the way and to invite them properly." Barb took a step back when Poppy pulled out a scrapbook card. "Without glitter..."

It was the last party they would give to the foreign trolls. They were celebrating the last rebuilt pod, the last ballroom installed inside a hollow tree. It was a chilly night, welcoming autumn with its brown and yellowish colors. Trolls in general didn't like that season, but there was one troll who would be in a particular good mood when summer paid goodbyes.

The sun was setting on the horizon and the sign was in place... the backup sign was also in place - thanks to Branch -, the drinks were icy, the table was set and the food smelled delicious. Gia was preparing the playground for the kids to have their kindergarten party while the adults had their own.

On top of a ladder, lightening up the lanterns with a small firebug, Poppy was dressed in her regular fancy-party white dress, with her hair done and candy-jewelry in place, humming a song trolls didn't pay much attention to. Biggie and Guy chatted animatedly at the entrance, welcoming everybody that arrived. DJ Suki had picked a collection of ambience music that would agree with everybody's ears and, as boring as it sounded to a few trolls, most of them were pleased.

Poppy finished lightening up the lanterns and looked around the crowd, trying to find Branch, but his dark blue hair couldn't be spotted. The ladder suddenly moved, a few kids decided to play catch and stumbled on it, making Poppy lose her balance. The last thing she needed was to fall on her butt in the middle of a fancy party. She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact, but it never came. She landed oddly in muscled arms, who were just below waiting to catch her.

"Thank you, Bran- Chaz?" She couldn't be more surprised. The red-haired troll took his time, placing her back on her feet, which made her feel awkward.

"Queen Poppy, I had to come and thank you personally for saving Smooth Jazz." He picked her hand and placed a long kiss on her knuckles.

"Yeah... no problem." Poppy tried to pull her hand back, only to slap someone behind her. It was another troll who she had never seen before, dressed in a strapped shirt and a bonnet.

"Merci aussi, Reine Poppy. Vous avez sauvé mon cabaret..."

"Je ne savais pas que nous faisons de la music de cabaret ici..." Poppy answered in perfect French.

"Well..." Chaz snatched her back with a hand on her shoulders, looking at her from head to toes, "If you need anything I'm at your service. "

Before Poppy could answer as diplomatically as she could, she spotted Branch walking in her direction, eyes narrowed, pace steady and looking dashing in his blue suit. Her heart skipped a beat when he completely ignored his friends and other trolls who tried to talk to him. His eyes targeted her like a panther that moved silently before rushing the next steps to short the distance and spring to its prey.

He didn't care they were in public, he didn't care if she was involved in her queen duties. He pushed Chaz and French-guy aside, taking her firmly in his arms and planting a territorial kiss on her lips. He ignored the gasps, the party music scratching silent, Guy Diamond's whistle and he certainly ignored Poppy's surprised look.

"Smidge is looking for you." Branch said, parting their lips. He held her hand and pulled her with him until they were backstage.

"What was that?" She asked in a trembling voice.

"It's about time everybody knows you're not available." Branch answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Poppy watched him in awe. That possessiveness of his was so wrong and so magnetic at the same time. "By the way, since when do you speak French?"

"I'm Queen, Branch, I needed a proper education, I guess..." Her voice trailed off, but shaking her head, she returned to the main subject. "Anyway, I was hoping we could announce it - she gestured their joined hands - to the village a bit later..."

"Take it as a shortcut." He shrugged,

"Oh my Guh!" Smidge came running towards Poppy, the gang quickly followed. "For how long have you been together?"

"Since the World Tour, isn't it obvious?" Satin said,

"We're soooo designing your wedding dress!" Chenille completed, making Poppy blush.

"That's way too soon to talk about marriage, people."

"Ha! I knew Romeo here would make a move." Guy Diamond said, spinning around, glittering in delight. "I could smell romance miles away."

Branch was very pleased with himself, from what Poppy could observe, he had a smirk on his face and he even dared a wink. His attitude reverberated through her, sending an electric wave from her toes, but still, something whispered in her ear that they had to be discreet. She just would have to talk to him later.

"Branch, may I have a word?" The winner's attitude got ripped out of Branch's face when King Peppy's voice called him from behind their friends. Poppy had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. The struggle between running away or pretending he was the proud male of the relationship was evident.

Branch had completely forgotten about her father. The red and orange troll didn't look happy with their bold display of affection. His cane suddenly looked very threatening. Quietly, he followed the older troll away from curious ears.

"I really like you, Branch." King Peppy started, Branch didn't look in his eyes. His feet were very interesting at the moment. "But help me Hair, if you hurt my daughter I'll personally scalp you." His voice lowered to a whisper and Branch had to lean closer to listen to him. "I also count on you to keep her away from trouble, you know how reckless she can be when she sets her mind on something."

"Uh?" That got Branch by surprise. Peppy was being serious.

"I've kept her away from many things, either to protect her, like the whole misunderstanding with the strings, or because I couldn't bring myself to approach the subject." The retired king didn't have to say anything else. Branch knew how naive Poppy could be and there was a big wild world out there that she was very inclined to see.

"Sir, I'll do my best to keep her safe."

"I know you will." King Peppy smiled just before frowning dangerously, "I'll be watching you, young man."