-O-
Picturebook Romance
A Trolls fanfic
By Dreamsinger
Chapter Fifty-Three
A Conversation with Creek
"Oh, sweetie," Poppy said sympathetically, "I'm so sorry you felt left out. I didn't know." She sighed. "Although, to be honest, it was kind of confusing for me back then, too. You were so friendly some days, and then other days…"
"Yeah, I know. I sent a lot of mixed signals, didn't I?" I said wryly.
"Yes. Also, I was still trying to figure out how to treat you like a brother, like I thought you wanted. Even though I still kind of had a thing for you at the time." She patted my hip. "I still do."
I smiled fondly. "Thanks. I still can't believe I'd totally forgotten I ever said that. That makes me feel better." I matched her sigh with one of my own. "Oh, well. It's probably for the best. I was the wrong Branch for you back then anyway."
"Well, you're definitely the right Branch now." My girlfriend put a hand on my cheek, drawing me in for a sweet kiss. She said thoughtfully, "You know, I'm kind of surprised that Maple never told me you had a crush on me. Somehow she managed to keep your secret. It must have been so hard for her. It's been seven whole years!"
"I know. Even if she wasn't completely sure I was in love with you, it was still really cool of her. Especially since she loved to tease me a lot back then."
"Aww. She must have really cared about you. Maybe you should go pay her a visit. I'll bet she'd love to renew your friendship," Poppy said brightly.
"You think so?" I smiled, enjoying a warm feeling spreading through my belly. "Yeah. I'd like that."
I got lost in thought for a minute, recalling long, peaceful afternoons playing chess with Maple, or contentedly watching a game between Maple and Leafe while I cooked dinner. I could hear Hearty's gentle voice in the background, chatting with Acorn. The two of them had become close after what had happened with Acorn's father, when Acorn and I first became friends. I was glad about that. I liked Hearty. He wasn't as big a fan of intellectual board games as his two younger siblings, but he had a knack for clever jokes and riddles that often managed to put a smile on my face, even when I'd had a bad day. I'd had a lot of bad days back then, so I'd really appreciated his sense of humor.
Maybe I should visit Hearty, too. And Leafe. I need to check up on him, anyway. And Cherry Blossom, of course; and their daughters. Oh, that reminds me; I promised to come teach their daughters the Heimlich maneuver. Although since Leafe used the technique with such spectacular success, he probably doesn't really need me to teach it to them. But it'll make a good excuse to visit.
In my head, I caught the echo of Hearty's voice. 'You don't need an excuse to visit, Branchkin. Come on over any time. You know we'd be glad to see you. Right, Acorn?'
'Right. Come see me soon, okay, Branch?'
That's a lot of visiting. I felt a slightly melancholy smile cross my face. Maybe I should start with Acorn… If he wants to see me. If he doesn't-
Poppy unknowingly interrupted my tentative plans. "So I guess knowing that somebody had found out your secret made you feel like you needed to hide it even more, huh?"
Gratefully, I switched to a new train of thought before I went too far into that dark tunnel. "Actually, just the opposite. I got even more desperate to make you notice me, before someone else caught on."
"Really? Because I remember hanging out with you a lot around that time, and it was great. I really thought we were connecting. Then one day, you just…stopped." Poppy started to look worried. "Branch, what happened? What made you stop trying? Was it me?"
"No," I said automatically. Then I reconsidered. "Well, maybe. Partly, I guess." I made a rolling gesture in the air with my hand. "No matter what I did, you didn't seem to notice me. Not the way I wanted you to. I didn't know you were trying to think of me as your brother – actually, that would have been weird." I wrinkled my nose. "Eww. But really, it wasn't just you. It was a couple of things. One bad thing, and one good."
"Oh. Um… Well, at least it wasn't all bad," she said encouragingly, looking on the bright side as usual.
She was sounding more like herself with every minute that passed. I gave her an affectionate boop on the nose. "Now, there's my bright Sunshine."
She giggled and booped me back. I booped her nose again, and she returned the gesture, and for a minute we lost ourselves in the kind of silly play I'd indulged in so rarely as a trolling. I was happy to have the chance to make up for it.
In the end, she settled things by meeting my extended finger with her lips, kissing it quickly.
"Hey, no fair." Quickly I took her hand and kissed her fingertip. "Mwah. There. Now we're even."
Poppy laughed and turned the hand I was holding to pat my cheek. I gave her palm a quick kiss. She snerked and withdrew her hand. "Okay, come on, Branch, back to your story. What was the good thing? No, wait, tell me about the bad thing first, so you can end on a happy note. Oh, unless the good thing happened first, of course…"
"Poppy." I had to grin at her, chattering a mile a minute. If she still had problems with unhappiness from now on, I knew exactly how to cheer her up. A little affection worked wonders. It sure did on me.
"Sorry. Go on, Branch. I'll be quiet." She mimed drawing a zipper over her lips.
I smiled fondly at her antics, wanting nothing more than to stay in the here-and-now, surrounded by her love. But another part of me recognized that I was deliberately avoiding the subject. I knew I'd have to tell her sooner or later. My smile faded. I hoped I would only have to tell the tale once, and then never have to visit those dark days again.
Reluctantly I sent my mind back to troubled times. "The bad thing came first," I told her, my voice low and somber now. "Someone did catch on, and because of that, I went full-on hermit for a while. It didn't last, but for a while I… I was really in a bad place," I admitted, pointing at my head.
"Aww." Poppy nodded with a sad, sympathetic look on her face. She took my hand in hers, giving me the courage for what was coming.
I gave her a grateful look, appreciating her support more than I could ever say. It was hard, talking about one of the bleakest times in my life. I'd honestly never expected to talk about it ever again. Since I'd gotten back my colors, my plan had been to start a completely new life; to live as if the past had never happened. Poppy and my friends had all seemed okay with that, filling every day of the last six months with fun and games, laughter, and love. No downer-talk about my gray days. I'd been okay with that; too content to experience the wonder of a life relatively free from worry to want to stir things up by declaring my love to Poppy.
Not that I wouldn't have taken the plunge eventually. It was on my agenda, literally, marked "indefinite - wait for the right time"; but it had been on my agenda. Poppy had been the one to jump in before I was quite ready, as she always did, leaving me scrambling to rise to the occasion. But I was starting to recognize that by doing so, she left me no time to worry or second-guess myself. Poppy kept things moving, and I needed that. So if she wanted me to talk about my past, even if I didn't feel quite ready, I would try. Because she asked.
Again Poppy interrupted my sober ruminations, and again I was grateful for the interruption.
"So who found out about your crush on me? Who made you stop trying?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think? Who was the worst person who could possibly have found out my secret?"
-O-
Oddly enough, I had Creek to thank for snapping me out of my self-indulgence and inadvertently leading me to make one of the most profound discoveries of my life; one that would change my life for the better.
For months now I'd been indulging my foolish fancy, letting work pile up to go rollerblading, or whatever Poppy's latest craze was. I knew I couldn't keep it up forever. I felt like I was freewheeling out of control, but I couldn't stop. Sooner or later, there was going to be a crash – and this time, there wouldn't be anyone there to help me pick up the pieces.
After the incident with the trollings, I spent more time than ever hanging around Poppy. Recalling Moonglow's criticism about my appearance, I took special care with my personal grooming. I made some new clothes. I used hair gel, even though it limited the full use of my hair.
I did whatever Poppy wanted without complaint, to the point of faking enthusiasm for stuff that bored me or drove me crazy. I gave her lots of compliments, too. I even tried to make non-sarcastic jokes. I did whatever I could think of to make myself seem more attractive; more interesting, more charming. I was hoping it might rekindle whatever feelings she'd had for me, nearly two years ago now. What did I have to lose?
But no matter what I did, nothing seemed get through to her. Poppy was her usual perky self, unaffected by the fiery rush of feeling inside me whenever I saw her, or heard her voice. She couldn't seem to sense my pounding heart, my sweaty palms, or the way I fought to keep my nervousness from making my voice tremble when I spoke to her. She didn't know how badly I wanted to reach out, cup her face between my hands and passionately kiss her. To run my fingers through her hair. To pull her close to me and caress her body.
Nothing in her oblivious cheerfulness let me fool myself into thinking she'd be okay with me doing that. All I could do was keep hinting, hoping for a spark of interest from her. Of course, I wasn't always successful at hiding my lovelorn reactions to everything she said and did, but even when I slipped up, she never seemed to notice. After a while, with my hope fading, I stopped really trying. I think I was hoping she'd catch on.
Someone did, but it wasn't Poppy. It was a certain irritating, orchid-skinned, two-toned haired, arrogantly humble, self-styled "wise guru".
Poppy was leading one of the loud, glitzy, extravagant song-and-dance numbers she loved so much. Using my dull colors to my advantage, I'd concealed myself in the deep shadow under a tall mushroom, gazing at my beautiful muse though shimmering, starstruck eyes. Standing with my hand over my heart, I'd taken advantage of the noise and commotion to freely express myself through verse.
Rose-colored glasses must get their name in honor of you
Your radiant spirit glows brighter than any star
Your sunrise hair-
But I must have been talking louder than I thought, because close to my ear, I heard a loud gasp.
"Branch?"
"Ahhh!" Leaping upward, I whirled around in midair to see my worst nightmare.
My old classmate Creek was staring at me with his mouth open. As his flabbergasted gaze met mine, I recoiled. He knows! My face couldn't have gotten any hotter if a dragon from my Trial Run board game had blasted me. Even my ears were burning.
As Poppy's spectacular performance ended with glitter flying everywhere around us, neither of us moved. I think we were both too stunned.
Then Poppy was there. "Hey, guys, what did you think of our-" She suddenly noticed my fierce blush. "Oh my gosh, Branch, your face is on fire! What's wrong? Are you sunburned? Do you have a fever?"
Gladly I seized the opportunity to escape. "Uh, y-yeah. I-I-I'm not feeling well. I must have a cold. I think I'd better go home now," I called over my shoulder, already running for the safety of my bunker.
"Okay, Branch. Don't strain yourself. I'll bring you some sugarfruit soup later on, okay?" she yelled after me.
She had. I'd refused to come out while she was there. "Just leave it by my front door. I don't want you to catch my cold. I'll be fine."
"Well… All right, but I'll be back later to check on you. Get some rest, Branch."
"I will. Thanks for the soup, Poppy."
As she walked off, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was over. I'd spent the last hour pacing my bunker and freaking out, but Creek obviously hadn't said anything to her. It looked like I'd been worried over nothing. Maybe Creek hadn't overheard as much as I thought. Besides, it wasn't as if I'd actually said Poppy's name or anything.
I'd gotten reckless. I needed to be more careful. Although, to be honest, the way I've been acting lately, it's weird that only Maple and Creek have caught on to my feelings so far.
As always, I decided on a more pessimistic explanation. Maybe some of them have. Maybe the whole village knows, and they're just keeping quiet about it because they don't want Poppy to find out. I mean, it's one thing for us to be "just friends", but who wants the weird troll who'd rather work than go swimming cozying up to their princess?
Poppy did come by later with more soup, and cupcakes for dessert. She had baked a whole batch of my favorites especially for me, warming my heart.
Again, I made her leave them outside, wishing so much that I could invite her in, but just as glad she couldn't see me. I knew the minute our eyes met, I'd be a stuttering mess all over again.
When I woke up the next day, I was in full hermit-mode. All I wanted was to be alone to brood. I knew Poppy was likely to visit me again, so I decided to head outside the village to gather gladnuts, which grew on vines among the branches of the rosetwirl tree. Gladnuts had always been a favorite of mine. Each big nut was the size of my palm, with a thin, shiny, rainbow-swirled outer layer that was sweet and crunchy. The inside was filled with delicious, creamy gladnut-butter.
I was peacefully swinging from my hair, plucking gladnuts and dropping them into a large sack I'd brought with me when I heard another troll approaching, stirring a flash of irritation.
Leave it to Poppy to check up on me, even all the way out here. I tried to stay annoyed, but tender feelings were already flooding into me, making my stomach flutter. I'd enjoyed the soup Poppy had brought me yesterday. I'd enjoyed her caring attention even more, even though I'd tried to disguise it by being extra grumpy and blaming it on my "fever".
"Branch? Is that you?"
Oh, no.
I knew that voice, and it was certainly not Poppy's.
Creek. Man, what is he doing here? I spotted an orchid troll with sleek aqua-blue hair shading into light green coming toward me. He appeared to be floating through the air, but I could hear the telltale buzz that accompanied him even before he "landed" next to me on the wide branch.
Ugh, he's so annoying! Mister Smooth Talker, with his fake guru act. He doesn't even really float – he talks flyer bugs into carrying him. I gave the big, cheerful bug hovering above Creek a sour look as he thanked the bug and it flew a short distance away to wait for him.
"Namaste, my friend," I mimicked him under my breath. Swaying the minds of the crowd with cheap theatrics. What a con artist. What does Poppy see in him?
Unfortunately, con artist though he was, Creek wasn't stupid. In fact, just the opposite. He was extremely clever, socially savvy in a way I could only envy, and understood exactly what to say and how to say it to influence others to do what he wanted. Including me.
In fact, as I was about to find out, the only reason he wasn't already married to Poppy was because he didn't want the job of being king.
"Well, it's nice to see you, Branch-" he began, but I cut him short.
"Creek, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I just had a sudden craving for gladnuts."
Yeah, like I believe that. I didn't challenge him, though. Sullenly, I continued to pick gladnuts, hoping if I didn't answer, maybe he'd go away. That worked with some trolls.
No such luck. Creek made no move to reach for the bright-colored nuts, choosing to stand there and watch me work instead. He wasn't going anywhere.
Finally, I set my sack down and pulled out a bottle of water from my hair, pointedly not offering any to Creek. He acknowledged my deliberate rudeness with a raised eyebrow, then bided his time and then spoke while my mouth was full of water.
"Our pretty Poppy is certainly growing into a lovely young lady, isn't she?"
Water sprayed everywhere as I coughed and sputtered for a while before finally choking out, "Oh, is she? I hadn't noticed."
"Really? I could have sworn I'd seen you making eyes at her the other day. And - what was it, something about sunrise hair?"
I let out a gasp before I could stop myself.
Creek's pleasant expression changed just enough to let me see his not-so-hidden smugness, but he continued in the same light, innocent tone, "But I guess it must have been some other gray troll."
He does know!
I continued to gape at him, my brain spiraling. Before I could pull myself together and deny it, or defend myself, Creek said smoothly, "Well, that's probably all to the good. After all, the troll who becomes her life partner someday will need to be an exceptional person. Far better than the likes of either of us, eh, mate?"
Still stuck in defense-mode, I spoke before I thought. "What – what are you talking about? Poppy could pick me if she wanted to." Inwardly I winced, then hastily added, "Or you. Or somebody else. It–it–it doesn't have to be me, heh heh…"
Forcing a fake chuckle, I rubbed the back of my head. My scalp prickled fiercely, the same way it did when I inadvertently walked into a dangerous situation in the forest. What will he do now? Use this information to blackmail me in some way? Or tell the trolls Poppy calls our friends, and turn them all against me? Oh, man, what if he tells the king? What if he tells the entire village? Worst of all, what if he tells Poppy?
My stomach clenched as my anxiety skyrocketed. Creek doesn't like me any more than I like him. He could easily twist things to make me look really, really bad. With his powers of persuasion, he could probably even get me exiled from the village for good!
As I pictured that worst-case scenario, something shifted inside me. No way. Not gonna happen.
Creek had become the enemy.
My indecisiveness vanished. I stopped cringing, planting my feet firmly as I glared at him with narrowed eyes. My hair tensed, ready and waiting.
Creek's eyes bugged out as he recognized the silent, threatening aggression in my stance. His hands flew up in front of him. "Now, calm down, friend." His voice cracked. "N-nothing to get violent about."
The note of sheer panic in his tone made me pause. What was I going to do, attack him?
For the briefest of moments, I considered it. If I really wanted to, Creek would never be able to escape me. He knew it, too. But as I looked into the round, thickly-freckled, panicky face I'd known from trollhood, the desire to harm him faded. He was one of my people. As much as I resented him sometimes, I didn't have it in me to actually hurt another troll.
My ears and shoulders drooped. "You aren't going to tell her, are you?" My plaintive voice betrayed my fear, and I looked away, loathing my own weakness.
After a long silence, during which my shrewd former classmate clearly considered all the angles, he said unexpectedly, "Tell her what?"
Surprised, I looked up to see him gazing at me with a serious expression, not quite pity. Understanding, maybe? Certainly not the smugness I would have expected.
"Who wouldn't want to catch the eye of our fair princess? She is a troll of many admirable qualities, after all. But so far, she's shown no interest in returning anyone's affections."
For just a moment I sensed a hint of regret, but then he shrugged, adopting a casual air. "Makes sense, I suppose. She'll be looking for the future king, someone to follow in her illustrious father's footsteps. But really, who could meet the outstanding standards King Peppy set, rescuing the entire village from those bloodthirsty monsters you're always on about? And her wanting to be just like her dad? She'll need someone capable of keeping up with a firecracker like her. Speaking of King Peppy, I imagine he'll have pretty high standards too, for the life partner of his only daughter."
Creek shook his head, giving me a sly look. "I'm afraid that leaves you and me both out, old buddy. I'm very clever, if I do say so myself, but a tad bit too chill for such a demanding role. And as for you… Oh, don't get me wrong, you're a troll of many talents, but let's be honest; leadership is not one of them. Can you move people's hearts with a stirring, heartfelt speech? An impassioned song, perhaps? Oh, I forgot; you don't sing, do you?"
At this not-so-innocent snarky remark, I crossed my arms and scowled. "You don't have to sing to be a good leader, Creek," I grumbled.
He gave me an amiable grin. "Sounds like someone has a secret desire to be king some day." He bounced his thick eyebrows at me. "The Hermit King? Or maybe a knight in shining armor, saving the damsel in distress, hmm?"
Images of my roleplaying game rose into my mind's eye, of myself at Poppy's side, protecting and supporting her. Of the two of us as partners, saving Damsel Creek from yet another dangerous predicament, and ending with a plunge into mud for a certain whiny orchid troll. Despite myself, I cracked a grin.
Creek looked startled. "You don't, do you?"
I hesitated, then waved a derisive hand. "No. Sounds like my worst nightmare. Spending the rest of my life covered in glitter, hosting cupcake decorating contests, and doing sports commentary? …Actually, I've always secretly liked the idea of being a sports commentator – but no." I shook my head to get rid of that idea. Although it was an oddly appealing notion, to have the entire village raptly hanging on my every word, instead of being regarded with the amused, patient tolerance most trolls seemed to feel toward the village eccentric. "I don't want to be king."
"I see." Looking relieved, Creek put his hands together, doing that "guru" act of his. "It's a wise troll who knows his own limitations."
Flattered at this bit of unexpected praise, I said, "Yeah, well… Wait, what?" Why did that sound wrong? Suddenly suspecting that Creek's praise was anything but complimentary, I said sharply, "Creek, why are you really out here?"
"I told you, I just had a sudden craving for gladnuts."
I snorted. "Riiight. Sure you did."
I used my hair to reach into the opening of my sack and tossed several rainbow-swirled gladnuts to him. "Okay, you've got your nuts. Now go away."
"Thank you, Branch. Have a nice day, friend." He tucked the gladnuts into his hair, gave me a graceful bow and crossed his legs as his helper bug lifted him into the air by the hair. Off to make another grand entrance somewhere.
As I watched him float away, my resentment faded and my uneasiness grew.
It's a wise troll who knows his own limitations.
The more I re-ran that conversation in my mind, the worse I felt. I wrung my hands and twisted my hair into knots. My stomach started to hurt, as if I'd swallowed a burning lump of ice. "What am I gonna do?"
Creek knew exactly how I felt about Poppy. Worse, he knew I couldn't afford to let anyone else know about it, especially the king.
The fact that Creek had brought up King Peppy felt a lot like a threat. The smug, superior yoga instructor would be happy to speak to the king and tell him the violent, troublemaking outsider was harboring unwise feelings toward his daughter.
It would be the perfect opportunity for Creek to get revenge. We'd never gotten along well together. I was two years older, and more than once when we were trollings I'd terrorized him during games like Bergen Attack, reducing him to a sniveling, begging wreck who'd offered me whatever I wanted if I'd go easy on him, which had disgusted and infuriated me. Poppy had never seen what a coward he could be when pushed hard enough. I'd humiliated Creek more than once in front of our classmates. I knew he hadn't forgotten.
But now the tables had turned. Creek had grown up suave, smooth-talking and popular. He was friends with the princess, which gave him a lot of influence, especially with the king. Just a few words from him in the wrong ear could get me banished for good, just like I'd feared all those years ago.
The lump of ice inside me bled out into my veins, and I shuddered.
I need to stop this, before I lose her for good.
-O-
"Ooo, that Creek! What a - How could he be so – urgh!" Poppy growled. "It's a good thing he never came back, because if he did, I'd – I'd - give him a piece of my mind! I had no idea he was so mean to you!"
Her hair swirled protectively around mine, linking us together as if daring Creek to appear and try to separate us. She linked our fingers together, too, looking so cutely determined that I chuckled. "I would seriously love to see you give him a piece of your mind. Right before I toss him out on his perfectly-combed two-toned quaff. It would seriously be one of the most satisfying moments of my life."
Privately, I had my doubts that the traitor would ever come back. There was a good chance he was dead – sent into the treacherous forest with the murderous Chef as a companion. She probably ate him, and good riddance. If he was still alive, it gave me great pleasure to think of him frantically running for his life from a horde of ravenous forest creatures.
Poppy smirked, then laughed. "I know I shouldn't say this, but there are actually some things that are really hard for me to forgive. After what he did – Well, all I can say is, watching you toss Creek out would feel way more satisfying than I'd like to admit."
I laughed, too. "I won't tell." I squeezed her hair with mine, and she returned the gesture.
Take that, Creek. Poppy chose me to be her boyfriend after all. Our friends all support us. Even her dad, the king, gave me his approval. Poppy wants me by her side, not you. And you know what? I belong there.
-O-
I didn't sleep all night. Creek hadn't seemed ready to expose my secret just yet, but he could still change his mind, the sneaky little snitch. What should I do? Confront him? Avoid him? Apologize to him for everything I'd ever done to him and beg him to keep my secret?
Honestly, if I thought an apology would help, I wasn't too proud to offer one. I'd been especially hard on my former classmates, growing up. After I slapped Poppy, none of them had ever really been on good terms with me. They'd seemed relieved to let Poppy take on the burden of being my friend. Creek was the only one who still spoke to me, probably because he was part of Poppy's closest circle of friends. Also, because he enjoyed needling me.
No. Even though trolls were big on forgiveness, I doubted an apology would work. The other options were equally bad choices. They all gave Creek too much power over the situation. What I needed was to find a way to influence the situation that didn't rely on his goodwill or cooperation.
What if I went on the offensive instead? I'll bet if I tried even harder, I could improve my reputation. I could prove to everyone that I can be a true troll, happy and fun-loving. Then it won't matter what Creek says about me. No one will believe him. For once, they'll all be on my side, not his.
"In fact," I said aloud, "maybe I should move back to the village. I could rejoin troll society; do my best to fit in and act like a normal troll. The bunker will still be here if the bergens do come. I don't actually have to live in it, do I? It's a great plan. Right?"
I straightened up and lifted my chin, imitating the bold, easy positivity every normal troll possessed. "Right. Of course this will work. No problem."I attempted to maneuver my lips into a bold, charismatic smile, but it didn't feel right. Was one side higher than the other? Did I look weird? Then my lip caught painfully on a tooth, and I twisted it free. Maybe I should practice my smile in front of a mirror before I head out.
Moving back to the village was a good strategy that ought to have worked, but I forgot about one thing.
I was Branch. The gray troll.
Standing in the village in the light of day, surrounded by gleaming white smiles, reaching arms, never-ending glee and glitter, it felt so wrong. This isn't me. I can pretend all I want, but I will never be happy here.
I craved the dim, quiet comfort of my bunker. My true home. The place I built with my own hands and hair, just for me. The one place in the world where I felt safe, and at peace. That's where I belong. And Poppy doesn't. She'd never be happy there. Never.
Never.
My shoulders sagged. I knew it would end like this. I should never have let myself fall for her. As I stared despairingly down at the ground, a familiar bleakness washed over me, and the world seemed to lose its color. I was right all along. Associating with other trolls causes more problems than it's worth. It's a waste of time, and causes nothing but pain. When am I going to learn that I'm better off alone?
Once again, the tie that tethered me to another person I loved began to come unraveled, torturing me with freedom. Once again, for everyone's sake, I had to move on. I'd always known my dream could never come true, but oh, it hurt! My eyes filled, and began to spill over as a deep, throbbing ache overpowered my chest. I wanted to collapse into a ball of desolation right there in the middle of the village. Only the knowledge that I'd have a mob of trolls surrounding me, asking me questions I didn't want to answer kept me upright.
Slowly I began to shuffle home, my arms crossed over my chest to try to contain the pain. Losing Poppy hurt so much. Not that I'd never actually had her. She didn't even know I loved her. And I can never, ever tell her. If she knew I was in love with her, it would just make things weird between us. I've lost so many people already… My parents, my grandma. My dads. The Whizbangs. Leafe and Cherry Blossom. I just…I can't. I can't lose anyone else. She's all I have left.
Poppy was my only friend. I couldn't afford to do anything that might make her uncomfortable around me. I had to accept the fact that she and I just weren't meant to be, and go back to being her weird friend who was good with tools and advice and was absolutely not in love with her.
Even if it broke my heart.
Author's Note:
It's not Creek's threat that deterred Branch so much as it was his questioning whether Branch had what it took to be king that triggered our poor gray troll to get so down on himself. No matter how much Branch accomplishes, there's a part of him that still feels he falls short. Still not there yet. Still lacking what Poppy and the village needs. He has no idea that if others could see into his life, they would be impressed by a lot of things he's learned and done.
