I'm back and thank you so much for the favourite! It's greatly appreciated!!!

Special thanks to my old friend Rebey for again being my partner in writing. While I do have knowledge of Latin, African and Asian culture. Rebey is definitely helping with learning about Italian, Irish, French culture. Along with Rock history. I can always use help on certain topics.

Purple-Eyes Dragon - Yes, I am gonna wait. I'll only give small hints of Branches brothers and Viva in this story until November. As for Trollex, as much as I like the ship, I've fallen in love with aro ace Trollex. The whole neon pallet was always appealing to me because it includes a lot of black, with glowing colours. Just like how asexual and aromantic colours are mostly black as well. And then Trollex is purple (kinda? Blue purple kinda.) and green just like the asexual and aromantic flags. Also, I head canon the Trolls as the race of their actors. Trollex is Latino and a lot of people stereotype Latino men as romantic, love making machine's. Our culture is indeed romantic but that doesn't mean a Latino man is gonna automatically be that. Not to mention aroace always seems to be more accepted in women than men. And I just LOVE the idea of an aro ace brave king who loves his people. He's just that dude that everyone wants to be friend's with and he's always willing to listen and spread love. Plus, we can always use more aroace representation. And aroace is something I want to talk about in this story. Oh, and the reason I paired Cooper x Suki in the first place was because of this story. XD I wanted an interracial couple in this story so I did a coin flip to either pair Suki with Cooper or G.D. Cooper it was!!!!

Rebey - Thanks girl! I love you and I know you'll always have my back just like all my other friends in both the Ducktale and Trolls fandom! And I'll have your back no matter what.

Disney Boy (pm) - Baby bro, I love you! Thanks for being there for me and always helping. I hope I get autism right for this story. I will do my best to get it as accurate as possible and go to you for advice.

Katie (through pm) - Thank you thank you thank you!!! Super happy you enjoyed the original version of this story and I promise, this version will be even better!!! Oh! Hairspray was the one that inspired this story.

You can review here or send a pm on this website or Tumblr. I'll respond no matter what.

ON WITH THE STORY!!!!

Guilt is…….. hard. It weighs you down like a pack of rocks on your chest. Or like a giant hand wrapping itself around you and tightens you until you can't breathe. And what's worse, guilt doesn't allow love to grow. Instead, sorrow grows. But what use does guilt have? All it does is make you feel horrible about the smallest things. It's a chain to the past.

Lunch time was close. Branch was sitting in his English class writing an essay on what he did in the summer. He still had a pit of guilt in his stomach for what he did to Cooper in Theater. And the fact Cooper was sitting a few seats away from him didn't help. Branch was almost done, just one more paragraph. But his attention shifted when Cooper got out of his seat and took his paper to the teacher.

"It's not 100% finished." Cooper said casually.

"It's ok, I understand." The teacher didn't seem to mind. Branch arched a brow at this. The teacher told them they could leave once they were done even if the lunch bell didn't ring yet. Key word, done.

Branch watched as Cooper walked up to Suki, who was at the very back of the class. He whispered something to her , and she nodded. Suki grabbed her things and turned in her paper that she had finished. The two friend's hurried out of the classroom as if they were late for something.

Branch looked up at the clock and saw they left 15 minutes before the lunch bell. As inquisitive as he was, he went back to his paper. 10 minutes before the lunch bell, Branch turned in his paper. He hurried out the door and walked around the halls. He wanted to put his guilt to rest and find the two to give them a proper apology.

"No." He heard a girl whisper.

"Why not?" It was followed by a male voice.

"No one needs to know what happened in the summer." Branch recognized the voice as Sukis. He followed the voices and soon found the two at Suki's locker.

"But what if our friends can help?" Cooper seemed beyond worried as he watched Suki check on her makeup in the mirror.

"I feel bad that your family already got involved. We can't drag our friends into my problems, too." Suki sounded distressed.

"Suki, my family got involved willingly. There's no need to feel guilty." Cooper said with more concern in his voice.

Realising they were having a serious conversation, Branch slowly stopped and wondered if he should interrupt.

"I know……. I….. I don't……" Suki was having a hard time finding her words. She let out a distressed sigh as she dug her face into her hands. A long silence stood between everyone, making Branch even more unsure if he should interrupt or leave.

"Suki….. I won't tell them. On one condition," Cooper finally spoke. He pulled his hat off and took out what looked like a small white box. Suki lifted her face from her hands and looked at the box, "You stop trying to return the gifts my family gave you."

"Cooper, I can't -"

"Lownote is starting to think you didn't like the shoes he got you." Cooper said half jokingly. This caused a short giggle by Suki before she jumped up and pulled his hat over his face.

"You know he only got me the platform ones because he keeps calling me tiny!" Suki said jokingly back. She turned back to the mirror in her locker to fix her hair.

"Is he lying?" Cooper laughed as he placed the white box on the highest shelf in Suki's locker. Suki groaned as she hung onto his arm, trying to prevent him from placing it out of her reach.

"It's too expensive-'' Suki laughed and pulled onto his arm like a kid. Cooper struggled a bit to keep her from getting the box.

"You're accepting my gift one way or another." Cooper switched the box to his left hand and laughed in victory when he managed to put the box on the shelf. Suki sighed and rolled her eyes at her friend's actions. She went back to look at the mirror in her locker.

"You missed a spot, too." Cooper playfully pulled her hair up to reveal a dark bruise on the back of her neck. Suki swatted his hand away, laughing and pulling her hair back down.

"My hair covers it, don't worry." She seemed to be in a more cheery tune now. Branch was a bit taken back from how fast Cooper was able to get her smiling again. He decided he would apologise later and let the two have their privacy.

"Branch?" Or at least he tried. Cooper's voice pulled Branch back to them like a rope.

"Hey." Branch nervously turned back around to see Suki looked terrified.

"How long……" Suki's voice sounded like she was about to break.

"I just got here, I only heard something about gifts." Branch assured the worrying girl. Branch was happy to see Suki's face relax back to a smile. She closed her locker as Cooper fixed her pony tale to hide the bruise that Branch didn't bother to bring up. But he did notice a dark bruise on Cooper's wrist.

"You had us worried for a bit." Cooper commented. When he was done fixing her hair, he pulled what looked like an ice pack from his bag and put it on his bruise.

"Say uh…… Cooper, was it?" Branch said in an unsure tone. Cooper nodded his head, indicating he had his name right, "That ice pack right there, it wouldn't have anything to do with me pinning you to the ground, would it?"

Cooper looked down at his wrist before looking back up at Branch with a smile, "Yeah, actually. It started to bruise in third period, so I had to go to the nurse. You had an impressive grip on me. It almost felt like you were gonna snap my hand in half."

"10 years of boot camp training will do that to you." Branch comment.

"10 years?" Cooper's eyes widened.

"Boot camp?" Suki's jaw hung open.

"How did you survive?" Cooper chuckled and was impressed.

"I started at the age 6 and joined every summer and weekend." Branch explained to a shocked pair of teens. It was nearly impossible for them to believe he trained in boot camp for over 10 years.

"Impressive." Cooper smiled. Branch returned the smile, but he still didn't feel very comfortable around the two.

"I just wanted to give a proper apology," Branch started to get that guilt off, "I could buy you two lunches if you like? I heard the lunch here is very nutritious."

"Oh, no thanks." Suki shook her head.

"I told ya, man, we're cool. No hard feelings." Cooper shrugged. He placed an arm over Suki's shoulder, and the two walked past Branch. Branch felt the grip of guilt let go, though it still left a mark of pressure on his chest. Before he could walk away, Cooper and Suki turned back around and signaled for Branch to follow.

"Me? Branch looked behind him to make sure there was no one behind him.

"Of course!" Cooper chimed, "Let me buy you lunch as a peace offering if you will?"

Branch couldn't help but give a short and breathy laugh. He adjusted his backpack and followed them to the cafeteria.

At the lunch tables

Branch was enjoying his baked potato, wheat bread, and glass of water below a tree. He waited for Suki and Cooper, who were still inside getting their food. As he ate his food, he took notice that there was still no one at the lunch tables. Completely empty, and the doors to the cafeteria were closed. Even teens who were out early couldn't get in yet. He had to admit, he liked the isolated environment. He didn't want to socialise too much today, even after Poppy's invitation. He thought she was just trying to be friendly. Seeing a new boy and instantly feeling pity for him. He didn't want anyone feeling that for him. He was perfectly fine being alone, eating alone, and living alone. As he waited and nibbled on his food, he scanned the lunch area. Nearby was a very colorful but very small brick wall. It seemed random, like a bed in the middle of a kitchen random. It was just there with a baby tree behind it.

The sound of the lunch bell finally knocked him out of his thoughts. That and the feeling of two familiar presences rushing over to him.

"Made it!" Cooper laughed as he and Suki flopped down next to Branch. The two were out of breath, making Branch wonder why they were in such a rush.

"Is everything ok?" Branch asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't everything be ok?" Cooper took a jug of his water to calm him down.

"You just ran out of the cafeteria." Branch pointed out.

"Of course, we don't want people crowding us." Suki said this as if Branch would know what that means.

"Crowding?" Branch whispered. He looked back at the cafeteria to see it was filling up with hungry teens. This didn't answer a single question he had. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but another voice took his place.

"Branch!" Branch heard a familiar high-pitched voice. He sighed, knowing exactly who it was. He saw Poppy sit down next to his left by the corner of his eye, "Hey guys!"

"Sup!" Cooper greeted.

"Hey girl!" Suki followed.

"Hey Poppy," Branch politely smiled. He wasn't upset that she found him. He just wasn't comfortable around people yet. Growing up isolated in your orphanage room can cause a boy to be anti-social. He took a drink from his cup before turning to the girl, "How's school been?"

"Great! Haven't seen you since drama. How's school for you so far, made any new friends?" Poppy asked. excitedly.

"No, not really." Branch took a few bites from his lunch before looking back at the small brick wall.

"Ouch." Cooper held his heart like he was just shot, "That was a deep cut Branch."

"Hey, I don't think tackling a guy is a form friendship." Branch said seriously. The comment seemed to cause a laugh from the group.

"I like him, paranoid but funny." Poppy nudged his shoulder. Branch's cheeks blushed when he felt her contact again.

"I'm not paranoid." Branch told her.

"Mhm." Suki raised a brow at Branch. Branch knew he was, but he didn't want to admit it exactly.

"I just thought you were being attacked. Can't blame me for trying." Branch tried to explain. He looked back at the wall to try to avoid the situation.

"Guess not." Suki shrugged with a smile. Poppy noticed that Branch was looking away, so she positioned her head to see what he was seeing.

"Oh, you're looking at the creativity wall?" Poppy sat back the way she was.

"Is that what it's called?" Branch looked over to her. Poppy nodded yes to him," What's it for?"

"Come on." Poppy got up and pulled Branch with her. She took him to take a closer look at the wall.

"The creativity wall stands for all the kids who made a difference in this school, Each brick has a student's name on it." Poppy explained to him. Branch placed his lunch aside, kneeled down, and took a look. He saw many colorful and decorated names on the bricks. " All my friends have their names on it!"

"Not you?" Branch asked a bit in shock. Poppy kept her smile on even though she felt a wave of disappointment.

"No….. but I will one day! I'll do something BIG or invent something grand to change this school!" Poppy was full of pride and confidence. She wanted her name on that wall for years. Since preschool! But she's a junior now and still hasn't gotten her name on it.

"What about you? Is your name on here?" Branch looked up at Cooper. He looked around the wall for a while before pointing at one.

"Right there," He touched a brick with his name painted in blue. The background was pink with cupcakes and paintings of sweets, "I got this brick in the 5th grade, baked a cake large enough to feed the whole school."

Branch's eyes widened when he heard that. A whole school. Does that mean…….

"Yes, I baked a single cake for the whole school," It was as if Cooper read his mind," Took me a few months of planning but by the end of the school year, I made it happen. And I'm baking another for this year's parade, celebrating the school's 18th anniversary.

"Wow." Was all Branch could say at this.

"It was the best cake ever!" Poppy dreamily sighed at the memory. Branch turned to Suki before asking her.

"How about you?"

"Yep," Suki pointed at her brick that was right next to Coopers. Her name was painted in orange while the background was magenta and was decorated with insects and musical notes, "In the 7th grade, I made a soundtrack by only using insect and animal noises"

"Really?" Branch was impressed. Suki smiled and nodded. She was clearly proud of herself.

"I'll love to hear it one day." Branch was genuinely interested. Suki gave a bright smile when he said this.

"Of course! I'll bring my records tomorrow!" Suki's face was lit up like the new year's sky.

"I'll bring my mom's cupcakes tomorrow too if you like? They are amazing!" Cooper added in.

"Oh oh oh! Better yet!" Poppy raised her hand like she was a child in class, "Come over to my tree house today after school! We're gonna plan out the parade there. Cooper always brings the snacks, and Suki is always playing tunes."

"That sounds…… like a good time." Branch gave a genuine smile at the invitation. At first, he was scared he wouldn't be able to handle being around others. But this was nice. He may not be used to being around people yet, but thankfully, it was just these three.

"Branch, Poppy!" a British voice called out to them. A voice Branch didn't want to hear again.

"Biggie, Smidge, Fuzzbert! Sit down with us!" Poppy invited them.

Smidge? Fuzzbert? She had more friends?

Branch thought to himself. He picked his head up from his food and looked over at where Biggie was. He sat down in front of them along with a short girl with a small pink dress and a pink bow tying up her blue hair into a high ponytail. The second guest caught his eye even more. He had green long hair, and when I say long, I mean his hair covered his whole face. Only showing his soft jaw line and thin lips.

"Smidge, Fuzzbert, meet Branch, he's new." Poppy introduced him to her friends. She held Branch by the shoulders and pulled him closer out of pure excitement. Branch couldn't tell if his face was on fire because of the close contact or because he didn't feel well around this many people.

"HI!" Smidge startled Branch a bit with her deep scratchy voice. She held out her hand for a shake," I'm Smidge."

Branch looked at her tiny hand and then back to her. He slowly accepted her hand, to which she responded with a tight grip and nearly yanked his arm socket out.

"Strong grip." Branch squeaked after she released him. He was startled again when Fuzzbert, all of a sudden, started waving and throwing his arms around. He soon recognized this motion as sign language. After Fuzzbert finished, Poppy was just about to translate for him.

"Oh, thanks, nice to meet you too." Branch shook his hand as well.

"You understood him?" Poppy asked, a bit taken back at this.

"I studied sign language at the orphanage." Branch told her.

"Wow, what else did you learn?" Poppy asked.

Branch opened his mouth, ready to tell her, but another familiar voice came in.

"Oh, Branch! Hi!" The twins had found him with the others. They ran up to him and sat down to his right. Branch gave a gulp at the sudden large group. He was good with just Poppy. He's known her when she was a kid. He was ok with Cooper and Suki. Only because of the incident, and they seemed ok with him even after that. He barely knew the twins.

"HEY GUY DIAMOND OVER HERE!" Chenille shouted all the way to the other side of the campus.

Guy Dimond? How many more are there?

Another one he didn't know. Branch was definitely going to be awkward and silent around so many loud people. Hopefully, he's a quiet guy as well.

"COMING CHENILLE!" A voice sang out. A boy with brown skin like Branch came out from the crowd of people. He definitely stood out. His hair was painted white and sprinkled with glitter. Heck, he was a walking disco ball. His shirt was white and coated with silver glitter, along with a silver shimmering jacket and black pants and boots encrusted with fake white gems.

"Nope, this guy is insane as well." Branch mumbled. He looked down at his food and nervously started to eat. He watched as Guy Diamond guy skipped his way to them. He let himself fall right next to the girls.

"Ohhhhh, is this the famous Branch you girls have been talking about?!" Guy Diamond cheered while the girls chuckled.

"Branch, meet Guy Diamond." Satin introduced him.

"I heard a lot about you, Branch," Guy Diamond started up a conversation with Branch.

"Really?" Branch tried to continue the conversation, even though the large group felt vexatious to him. He kept his gaze down while Guy Diamond nodded yes.

"The girls and some drama kids were talking about you in math class." Guy Diamond told him. Branch wasn't sure how to feel about this. Is it a good thing that they were talking about him?" They told me how you tackled Cooper down to the ground and started to beat the snot out of him, all because you thought he was hurting Suki."

Guy Diamond laughed. Branch forced a smile on him. He was embarrassed enough in drama class, and now kids are spreading what happened, exaggerating it even.

"Just for the record, I did not beat Cooper up," Branch looked up from his food and made sure he made himself clear," I only tackled him to the ground and twisted his arm."

"What's the difference!?" Guy Diamond laughed as he started to eat his salad. Branch was starting to think he's a bit too hyper," You know, people claimed that you were trying to show who the big man was to the first big guy you saw. Being new and everything.

"What?" Branch didn't understand him.

"People think you came out of jail, and that's why you're so violent." Satin told him. Branch nearly choked on his potato. He couldn't believe it. One day at this school, people were already spreading rumors about him.

"Oh, this is a good one," Chenille dropped her apple and said," This girl told me that Branch came from Bergen Town."

Poppy gasped, dropping her juice into her tray. She looked over at Branch with worried eyes, "You're not from Bergen Town, are you?"

"Bergen town?" Branch questioned. The name sounded all too familiar to him. Memories started flooding in, filling his mind up with what happened.

Grandma! Grandma! Please be ok!

His child's voice echoed in his mind just like a voice in a cave. He remembered what had happened. He remembered shaking his grandmother, desperately trying to wake her up. The two cars didn't even stop to help. He recalled Poppy's mother laying on the ground, barely breathing.

Branch felt his chest tighten, his vision was blurry, and all he could see was the outside world becoming a tunnel of blurry colors.

No... please no,

His young voice echoed even louder. His small cries started to sync with his beating heart. It got louder and louder until his heart and voice were the only things he could hear.

No, don't leave. I don't want to be alone.

More memories started to flood in. Memories he didn't want to remember. He tried to calm himself down to prevent himself from going deeper, but with every second that passed, the deeper he went.

Bye, see you later.

He heard himself say in a sad but hopeful whisper. That was the last push. He felt his head spin, and he started to feel dizzy.

"WAKE UP!!!" Branch felt someone or something shove him back. He landed on his back, but thankfully, someone cushioned his head before it hit the ground.

"Wasn't that too harsh!" Branch heard Suki's concerned voice. Branch slowly started to come back to reality. His blurry vision didn't allow him to see the face that was looking down at him in concern.

"Perhaps, yes." A regretful and unrecognisable voice said. This one had an English accent like Biggie as well. Branch groaned as he felt a headache coming in. Finally, his vision started to come back to him. Right above him was a slight blurry image of a familiar freckled face with pink painted hair.

"Branch? Guys! He's coming back!" Poppy chimed in relief. At that moment, Branch realised Poppy caught his head and laid him down on her lap. His face became red hot when this was fully processed in his head.

"Oh, thank the lord." Cooper signed with the rest of his friends.

"You ok? You look red?" Poppy was about to feel his forehead for a fever.

"I'm ok!" Branch shouted as he rolled off of her lap. He sat back up but nearly clashed his face with an unfamiliar one.

"You alright, mate?" The boy he almost smashed into asked in an English accent. He had long neon coloured hair, tied back in a low ponytail. He wore a purple shirt with yellow shorts. Everyone was looking at him strangely. Even the guy who he didn't even notice sat down with them.

"What?" Branch pushed himself back from the guy.

"You were breathing really fast." Suki placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"And you weren't responding to us." Cooper added in.

"Oh... It's nothing, really." Branch assured them.

"Here, my moms told me water can help calm a person down." Cooper offered him a water bottle from his backpack. Branch nodded as a thanks and took the offer.

"You seem a little down." The new boy placed a hand on his shoulder. Branch moved aside, not feeling comfortable with him. He was still lightheaded from the sudden experience.

"Who are you?" Branch asked, not meaning to sound rude.

"The names Creek! Your Branch, right?" Creek asked.

"What rumors have you heard?" Branch assumed he heard about him in a rumor.

"That you killed a man." Branch tensed up when Creek said this.

"I never killed anyone!" Branch claimed.

"Didn't think so mate, rumours are just a bunch of lies flying around," Creek told him in a spiritual way as he looked up at the heaven's. He then looked back at him, examining him carefully," So I assume you're not from Bergen town?"

"No, I'm from this part of town, but why are you all against Bergen town?" Branch asked. He already knew about the incident, but he wasn't there when Peppy gave the speech. He was too busy being signed up into the orphanage, and being isolated from everyone else didn't help either.

"Because those bergens are nothing but trouble." Satin stated.

"Boring even." Chenille added in.

"They don't even know the first thing about fun." Guy Diamond backed up the twins.

"That's all? Seems kinda unreasonable. " Branch was confused by this.

"It's because they……." Suki paused. She looked over at Poppy, who had a nervous and sad expression on her.

"It's ok, you can tell him." Poppy assured her friend.

"They killed her mom." Suki leaned into Brach's ear and whispered. The sudden whisper of information struck him like lightning. He felt his heart begin to beat at a rapid pace again.

"Branch?" Poppy took note of his reaction right away.

"Sorry, I have to go." Branch couldn't take this anymore. He grabbed his things and left his tray of half eaten lunch. He looked back as he ran and waved, "Thanks for the lunch, Cooper!"

"That's what friends are for!" Cooper gave a friendly wave back.

"He's a bit strange." Creek noted.

That's that! I had a lot of fun with this chapter! Loved it!! And yes, I am putting more focus on Suki's situation than the 1st version. It's because her situation is gonna play a big part in the story instead of being a side obstacle about racism and interracial relationships. Can't wait to write the next chapter!!!

OH!!! AND WHO SAW THE NEW TROLLS 3 TRAILER!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!