"Branch?" Poppy whimpered softly, gently shaking Branch's limp shoulder. "Please... wake up..."
Suddenly, Branch began to cough, panting heavily as he struggled to breath.
Poppy gasped, gently taking his hand in hers.
"B... Branch..." she cried softly. "Can... can you hear me?"
Slowly, his eyes began to blink open, looking weakly up at the queen of pop. His beautiful queen. The love of his life.
"Po... Poppy..." he muttered, barely able to speak, as his eyes slowly fell shut again. "I'm right here, Branch," Poppy told him, tightening her grip on his hand. "Just stay with me. You're gonna be ok."
"Poppy..." he muttered softly. So softly that Poppy could barely even hear him. He didn't even open his eyes, as he struggled to say his final words. "I... I..."
Being as gentle as possible, Poppy slowly stroked Branch's bloody cheek, tears flooding from her eyes.
"Branch..." she whispered. "Please don't... don't go..."
Slowly, Branch's eyes fluttered back open, gazing up at his beautiful girlfriend one last time.
"I..." he mumbled, trying his best to stay awake. "I'm... the prank masta!" he suddenly shouted, jumping up to his feet. "Woohoo! I pranked you, so good! Yeah!" He whipped out his prank master badge, sticking it onto his vest, as Poppy just stared at him in complete shock, her mouth hanging open, and her eyes wide.
"This... was all just... a prank?" she said softly.
"You know it!" Branch cheered with a big grin plastered on his face. "Barb and I set the whole thing up."
Barb walked in laughing, as she walked over to Branch, both of them fist bumping in victory.
"But... but your bunker..." Poppy said. "It's destroyed!"
"Not really," Branch shrugged. "It's just messy. I can clean it all up before the sun even rises."
"And... and Gary! You murdered Gary for a prank!?"
"Psh... no," Branch scoffed. "I would never put my son in danger. That was just a replica I made. See?"
He reached into his hair, pulling out the real Gary.
"What about the blood?" she asked, still panicking slightly. "And the knife sticking through your heart!?"
"Fake blood... fake knife," Barb explained, Branch pulling the knife, which was actually just a handle without a blade, off of his chest.
"You... you did all this... just so you could be the prank master!?" Poppy said, still in complete shock. "Now say it, Poppy," Branch smirked, crossing his arms.
"You... are the prank master..." Poppy admitted.
"And don't you forget it!" Branch yelled, fist bumping Barb again, before the two of them walked out of the room, laughing.
Poppy watched after them, until they where completely out of sight, her eyes still wide, and mouth dropped open.
Finally, she smirked, crossing her arms.
"Well played, prank master," she said softly. "Well played..."
THE END
By: Taylor Moore
