Complicated Love

Chapter 23

" Now back to earlier. How did you two get together? I wanna hear all the details!", Smidge says eager.

" Well it isn't a trolling friendly story so you might wanna give Tiny to his mother for a while. ", Branch suggests honestly.

" Awww... But, I wanna hear it!", Tiny whines.

Then the next Pop song started playing grabbing the couple's attention. They knew this song. This song was tied to their past. To how they first met. Poppy immediately looks at the stage seeing Ed Sheeran on the stage and so does Branch. There is a big smile on her face.

" Oh My God! Branch, it's the song from when we first met in High School. ", Poppy exclaims in awe and happily.

Branch and Poppy look at each other happily as fond memories of the early days came back to them. Ed Sheeran was performing at their first High School dance when they first met. His song, Shivers, was basically the soundtrack of the moment.

" Remember how I couldn't get his name right? ",Poppy says happily.

" Yeah. And how I corrected you but, it took me a moment to remember myself. ", Branch replies happily.

" Only reason we were the only ones who recognized him was cause of our moms. ", Poppy happily and amused.

Both Branch and Poppy laugh completely forgetten about the Snack Pack. Their minds started flashing back to how they met as they laughed. Poppy was standing for Barb who wasn't with her at the moment while Branch was just walking by. Neither of them expected to meet like they did.

I took an arrow to the heart
I never kissed a mouth that tastes like yours
Strawberries and somethin' more
Ooh yeah, I want it all
Lipstick on my guitar (ooh)
Fill up the engine, we can drive real far
Go dancin' underneath the stars
Ooh yeah, I want it all
Mm, you got me feelin' like

Flashback; a teenage Branch slowly walks in certain direction. The lights were dim and nobody was dancing. Most of the other Hard Rock trolls watched the Pop troll performing blankly there must had been a mistake. This was a Rock troll school dance so a Pop troll was out place. Then as Branch reached the big table of snacks suddenly teenage Poppy falls almost on top of him by accident but, luckily she planted her feet in time. They lock eyes for the first time as they started staring at each other with wide eyes. Time seemed to pause in that moment. Their hearts beat to the rhyme of the song.

I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes
I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I'm
Like my soul's on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night
Yeah, you got me singin' like

Poppy and Branch smile at each other fondly and happily. The Snack Pack said nothing as they watched the couple be lost in this moment. It was so pure and genuinely happy. It showed how long Branch and Poppy had known each other subtly.

" Come on! Let's go dance! ", Poppy says eagerly.

Ooh, I love it when you do it like that
And when you're close up, give me the shivers
Oh baby, you wanna dance 'til the sunlight cracks
And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

Without words Branch takes hold of her hand. He immediately takes her away to the dance floor without a single thought. Their smiles become a little bigger. Barb is just walking by when she sees Branch and Poppy having more fun together. She didn't know about their date but, she stopped and started to watch them as she noticed they had something special between grow in that moment. Barb had feeling she knew what it was and smiled simply approvingly.

And we'll say, ooh, I love it when you do it like that
And when you're close up, give me the shivers
Oh baby, you wanna dance 'til the sunlight cracks
And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

More memories would come back to Poppy and Branch as they just danced not caring at all about what was going on around them. Branch twirls Poppy around then she got closer to him locking their eyes on each other. They hip bumped like they would do every now and then when they danced before. They couldn't take their eyes off each other even they wanted to as they continued to dance.

Meanwhile back in the Pop Village... Rosiepuff is laying in an hospital bed sleeping as Olivia and Noah are in the room. Rosiepuff had a sudden moment of feeling weak again. Noah sits on one of the hospital chairs as he watches his wife walk back and forth nervously. She felt so upset and guilty.

" Olivia, it isn't your fault. Dr Plum Plumsy warned us that it will happen to your mother at anytime. ", Noah says caringly.

" I know but, it's not just that. We can't keep this secret from Branch anymore! Mom is getting weak and he will never have the chance to be here with her again if we continue to leave him in the dark. You know how much he loves his grandma and he will probably break if he finds out later when it's too late!", Olivia says upset and worried softly.

" I know but, you know what your mother wants. We promised we wouldn't tell Branch to protect him. ", Noah replies softly.

" But, what if it only makes it harder for him to accept that she will never come back after she crosses the bridge? We are not protecting him as much as we like to think. ", Olivia argues softly and unhappily.

Then Rosiepuff wakes as she heard what her daughter was saying. It made her feel sad and guilty as she realized that Olivia was right. Maybe she did make the wrong choice shielding Branch like he was still a little boy who couldn't handle the world. She let's out a heavy sigh. Olivia and Noah turn to the elderly troll as she begins to talk.

" I changed my mind... We should tell him as soon as possible but, not in a letter. He needs to be here...", Rosiepuff says clearly and sadly.

AN: I don't own " Shivers" by Ed Sheeran!