Controlled Chaos

Headache

LET ME JUST SAY

That this chapter probably will be disappointment, and I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to upload. Writer's block has been attacking me lately and I've lost inspiration, but I will try to publish more frequently.

Poppy woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast. Which was strange, because typical trolls can't sleep-cook. She then remembered that she had had yet another strange dream that night, but she didn't pay too much attention to it.

She sat up in bed and let her mind clear of weird morning thoughts that she usually thought up when she was half-awake.

Poppy's head felt hazy still, no matter how much she tried to shake it away. So she just wandered towards the kitchen and saw Branch sitting at the table sipping at a cup of coffee.

He didn't notice her standing there, because his back was turned to her. She grinned and tiptoed over to the chair he was sitting in. "Boo!" she yelled, making Branch jump up out of his chair and spill his coffee on the table.

"Well, I see you're up," he said, his voice slightly annoyed. "And I've made you breakfast." Poppy looked at the plate infront of her chair, which was full of eggs and bacon and toast. A pretty good thing to wake up to.

"Thanks, Branch," she smiled as he pulled out her chair from the table. "Of course. Like I said, anything for you," Branch said, ruffling Poppy's messy hair.

She was halfway thru eating her breakfast when she groaned and gripped her head. Branch looked up from the book he was buried in to see her slumped down in her seat, yanking on pieces of her hair.

"Pops? You okay?" he set the book down and rose up out of his chair. Poppy rubbed the back of her head with her hand and nodded. "Yeah, it's just a headache.." she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.

Branch bent down next to her and stroked the back of her head gently. "Here?" he asked, resting the tip of his finger on the back of her head. She nodded slowly and winced a bit as he pressed down on the spot lightly.

"Sorry," he whispered. "What does it feel like?" he asked. She whimpered "Like someone's wrapping my head in bandages," she said, tugging on her hair.

Branch's eyes widened. "So it's tight?" he asked, rubbing her aching head. Poppy nodded again, and Branch reached over the table for his book. Poppy noticed on the cover it read 'Controlled Chaos', and then something about anxiety.

He flipped open the book and rapidly turned the pages. He finally settled on a page. Poppy glanced at it and tried to read, but it was all just a blur of words.

"I think you may have a tension headache, Pops," he said, tracing the heading of the page with his finger.

"A.. a what?" she asked, sitting up slightly taller in her seat. He read a little bit before answering.

"A tension headache. It's also called a stress headache, and it can feel like a tight, tingling sensation in the lower head," he read. Poppy winced and her hand shot back up at her head as she was overcome by another wave of pain.

"Well, how do you fix it, Branch?!" she hissed, gritting her teeth. She was rarely ever in so much pain that she got angry, but this was obviously serious. Branch hated seeing her like that, so he just quickly looked back down at the page and continued to read on.

"Aha! It says... either use something hot or cold to relieve the pain and relax the muscles..." he pointed at a sentence, rather proud that he had found a supposed cure.

"So, Pops, what's it gonna be? Warm or cold?" he asked, scooping her up out of her chair and into his arms.

"Which works faster?" Poppy cried out a bit as she talked. He picked the book back up with his free hand and started to read on. "Um... it doesn't say?" he replied, yet it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Hot!" she yelled, burying her head in his warm robe. He lightly pressed her head against his chest and started to walk to the kitchen cabinets.

"Do you have any heating bags?" he asked, opening up every door in the kitchen, desperately looking for something that would help his girlfriend. Poppy shook her head.

Branch looked around the kitchen and his eyes landed on a towel. His eyes lit up as he thought of an idea. He put Poppy down on the floor and quickly gripped the towel.

He ran to the sink and turned on the hot water. Once the water was steaming, Branch painstakingly stuck the towel  under the running water and groaned, as his hand was supporting the cloth under the scalding hot liquid.

After a few agonizing minutes of burning water soaking thru the towel and onto his hand, Branch took both his hand and the towel away from the water and rushed over to Poppy.

Poppy was still laying on the floor, holding onto her head. Branch carefully took her chin and lifted up her head so she was looking at him. He looked down at her and internally broke. Her eyes looked so dark, yet so pleading.

Branch shook his head slightly to chase away the thoughts that rushed into his mind. He took the cloth and gently wrapped it around her head.

Poppy groaned queitly at the heat but quickly shook it off. After a few minutes of the rag laying on her head, the pain started to drift away, until her head felt normal and her vision was better. "Are you better now?"

She looked up at Branch, who was looking down at her. "Yeah.. I feel better now. Thanks," she said, running her hand up her other arm. "Of course, I've got your back," he said, smiling.

The two ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, waiting for the rest of the day to fly by.