Here it is, another chapter!
thewarmsummer123- Thank you very much! I am glad you enjoyed! :)
Animal Girl1507- Thanks! Make sure to keep reading! XD
Branch panicked. He had rose from his bed, put on his usual patched shorts and leafed vest, and went to comb his hair. He pulled down his hair so he could comb the ends and.. they were charcoal black.
You brought this upon yourself. You grew jealous. Why'd you let Creek get to your head? Branch thought, but Branch had a comeback.
It's Poppy's fault!
No it's not!
Yes it is!
Yes it is!
No it's not!
Sure, fine, it's not.
Grr! He thought, and laughed at himself, in a mocking way.
He pulled out his scissors and tried to cut the black away, but the ends grew back, black as ever.
Think happy thoughts!
Poppy! But.. she loves Creek, does she not? Why else would she have forgiven him.
"Branch. Branch. Branch. Branch. Branch! Branch! Branch! Branch! Branch! Branch!? Branch, are you in there?!" He heard Poppy's angelic voice ring out. He opened the mat for her to come through, after staining the ends with blueberries. Luckily, his shampoo smelled of blueberry, so he was in luck. Of course, no mixture could ever get the royal colour of his mane, but it should do well enough, at least for now.
"Hey Branch!" Poppy said, kissing his cheek. "Do you have any paper?" He nodded, and went to go get it from the lower part of his bunker when Poppy took matters into her own hands, as usual. She looked through his drawers and kitchen cabinets (his upper bunker home was one room) and then finally, opened the curtains to reveal cards.. her cards.
"You kept them?!" She exclaimed, and Branch looked down at his feet in shame. He felt embarrassed, he had never wanted to show them to her. Hey, every couple has secrets! He slowly nodded.
Poppy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Not the lousy kiss they had had last night, a real kiss. Pure passion. Branch melted into the kiss, not ever wanting to let go. It ended too soon, Branch felt.
"You okay, Branch? I know, it must've been so hard, with all this Vocal Strain stuff going on, and Creek coming back." Poppy sighed. "When you think about it, we have Creek to thank for this." She held up their latched hands, and smiled back at Branch. "That's why I gave him a second chance. Sure, he made a mistake, but it led to us, so how can that be a total mistake? I love you so much, Branch, and I know you love me too!" Branch eagerly nodded, and kissed her nose.
"Haha, Branch, wanna go out and see how Creek is doing?" She seemed to have completely forgotten about pad of paper. "Can you perhaps.. Oh!" She exclaimed, and started searching through a box under his bed, which neither of them noticed was labeled Traps.
She dumped the whole thing on the ground, and a bear trap caught her leg. She screamed; half in pain and half of shock. She fell to her knees before faceplanting completely, obviously in pain.
'See,' he thought. 'I could carry her bridal-style, orr..' He picked her up and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, as she pounded his back, screaming and laughing, before giving up.
"Meanie!" She said, face red from giggling so much. He would have said about how she knows she loves him, when he realised, once again, he couldn't talk, and the smile disappeared from his face. As her fists lightly punched at his backside, it returned.
He pulled the lever down to the bottom part of his bunker, and flipped her onto a worn red couch, her face red from laughing so much.
He grabbed his first aid kit and immediately began wrapping her foot in cobwebs, turned on a stove, and made a mixture similar to painkillers for her pain.
"Thanks, Branch. You know, I never did find a pad of paper.." She trailed of as he sprinted towards the wall, where notebooks and pencils were littered in a cabinet. He sat next to her feet and began writing, smile still wide. He didn't realise that most of its contents were filled with poems and songs, not at the time.
Poppy, I love you. Thanks so much for trying to help me. What kind of boyfriend am I to not help you? I will pack you up some more cobwebs and medicine, it should be all fixed up by tonight or tomorrow. The medicine will make you sleepy. Hang on, I will get you a pair of crutches. Xoxo
He handed the notebook to Poppy so she could read it as he looked through his wood supply and tied some sticks together with twine to make two crutches. He came back and helped her off the couch, grabbing the notebook, and gave her an easy demonstration of how to use them. She was slow and wobbly, so Branch stayed behind her as they made their way over to the elevator. He lifted the lever and it sent them up.
"Branch, thank you. You are the best boyfriend ever. I love you." She kissed his cheek. Boyfriend. That almost sounded.. wrong to Branch, but he ignored that thought. He knew he had to wait.
He smiled as he helped her out of the bunker and over to her castle. Then they faced a new problem: the stairs.
"Carry me." She held her arms up like a baby, and her crutches fell, making her stand on her one good leg.
He, once again, threw her over his shoulder and patted her good leg, grabbing her crutches and the bag, with her cobwebs and medicine, sticking his notebook in it. He accidentally stepped on the pencil, pain shooting through his leg as the lead went into his foot. He swore under his breath, which no one could hear since he had no voice.
Once he reached her room, he made sure to tuck her in nice and tight, her foot elevated with pillows. He set the bag up next to her on the bed, patting it so she wouldn't forget.
"Branch, do you have to leave? I'm not," she yawned. "Tired." He looked at her, her face defeated as he rose an eyebrow.
"Love you too." She mumbled angrily as he kissed her nose. He waved as he closed the door, blowing a kiss, and she 'caught it.'
How he had wanted to whisper as she fell into a deep sleep that he loved her.
He went home to clean up the traps, and he looked in the mirror. Black hair slowly creeped down his royal mane, and he hated it. When he heard a knock, he made sure it was completely coated in blueberry juice before answering. It was, surprisingly, Creek.
He waved, trying to be nice. Poppy would want that.
"Mate, can we talk?" He asked sincerely. He curtly nodded and reached for his notebook, when he realised it wasn't there.
Poppy opened her eyes, pain shooting up her leg again. She changed out the cobwebs quickly, which helped to numb the pain some, but not enough. She reached in for some more of that soupy medicine when her hand rested on a notebook.
"Oh." She said aloud, surprised. "Did he mean to leave this here? No matter." She flipped through the writing when she landed on a page with a poem.
Eyes bright like the sun,
She is surely the only one
Her smile, oh so blinding
She surely is so mesmerizing
I slowly, surely seem to see
We are surely meant to be
I know how much hope I carry
Isn't enough for this bright strawberry
She felt implied to read more, almost like he had wanted her to. She flipped the page and saw another entry, but this time, his handwriting wasn't in calligraphy (still smudged) but natural, hard to read.
I know I can never be with her. With who? I wish I could tell her I am in love with her, but she would never accept it! She always wants to know how to make me happy, but there is no way she can like me like that. Poppy would never want a grump like me. Poppy gasped when she realised that Branch has had feelings for her much before they began dating. She wondered how he had dealt with seeing her and Creek flirt all those years. She couldn't see how she had ever liked that creep. Last night, she wanted to wring his neck, but she gave Branch a second chance, so Creek deserved one too. Maybe one day, if I can ever be happy again, I could have a chance. But no, I am a murderer, A beautiful princess like her doesn't deserve a murderer like me. He is a murderer? This was news to Poppy. Anyways, I hate writing, so signing off, Branch. Age 16
"How is Branch a murderer? Ugh, my leg!" She exclaimed, and drained the bottle of soupy liquid.
Branch frantically looked around his house for something, but Creek didn't know what. He seemed almost.. desperate for whatever it was.
"Hey, Mate, what is it?" Creek asked. He moved his finger across his hand. "Notebook?" He nodded and gave a thumbs up, and looked everywhere for it.
He snapped his fingers and raced out the door, signalling for Creek to stay.
"Alright, I will be here, waiting for you to be back, Mate, to tell you that I was not lying." He whispered the truth. "Even Gristle knew, so please believe me. I just want it to be like old times, you and me, best friends. I miss those times the most."
Creek looked around the bunker he had watched Poppy go to all the time in the past. He had to admit, it was pretty nice. He noticed something red on his blanket: blood.
He ignored it, though, because he was a survivalist, always going out. He probably often got cut by the branches and twigs as he collected things for his bunker.
He just sat, and began to meditate. That is, until he was jolted back to reality by Branch, who held something in front of him to read.
Sorry, left it at Poppy's. So, what's up? I'll listen.
The handwriting was messy, obviously written with the left hand, and was smudged from a hand rubbing over it. It was small and slanted from writing quickly.
He didn't read the message above it, because it started out with Poppy's name and he didn't want to read into their romantic chats.
Creek began explaining in full detail how the Chef had been able to put a spell on him so he was under her command, and how he wanted everything to go back to normal and wanted them to both be friends again, like old times. Branch wrote down three words in his notebook.
I believe you.
So, anybody see that coming? I fulfilled my promise of making the chapters longer! I will try to keep them around at least this length from now on. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! 3
~GalaxyMegaGirl