Trolls Band Together (feat. Flower and Willow)

Just Friends

Okay, there is a minor spoiler in this chapter, but y'all probably won't notice it. It's not a major plot point.

Enjoy!

"Synth, if you don't mind my asking, how exactly do your water powers work?" Willow wondered as she waded her feet in the water while the purple Techno Troll floated on his back.

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "I just feel these very intense feelings... like a beating bass, but in my chest... I extend my hands, and water rises up. I can also use them to manipulate currents, but I usually just use them for fun."

"So, they're powered by your emotions?"

"I guess so," Synth replied.

Curious, Willow jumped into the water, swam towards her new friend. "Demonstrate."

"Umm... Okay," Synth replied. He treaded through the water, lifted one hand up, and began using his water powers to create five geysers on top of each other, similar to a fountain. Willow placed a hand on Synth's shoulder and used her empathic abilities to feel his emotions. Despite Synth's upbeat nature, Willow was feeling... an unusual mixture of pain, relief, and confusion.

"You alright, Synth?" Willow asked. Synth just turned and gave her a questioning look. "I'm just asking because I can sense and sometimes alter someone's feelings by touching them. I thought you'd be feeling something more happy."

"Oh, I was just thinking about how I left some things back in Techno Reef," Synth admitted.

"Like...?"

"Well..." Synth paused for a moment to figure out how to explain it, then said, "... I don't really like talking about it, but your boy Synth had kind of a rough childhood. I grew up in a cold, dark place with a few other... kids."

Willow tilted her head. "You mean, like an orphanage?"

"You could call it that," Synth answered. "I eventually escaped... I mean, ran away... but on the way out, I smacked my head against a rock and was out cold. When I woke up, I was in a much nicer place and bein' nursed back to health by other Techno Trolls. The guy who found me was really, really nice to me. A true friend, helped me get back on my fins. Though I realized he wanted to be more than my friend."

"Oh, that does make things awkward," Willow admitted, remembering her own unhealthy crush on Poppy.

"Yeah," Synth said, "and while I admit he's extremely handsome and all, I don't really like him that way. Part of the reason why I moved here is because I wasn't sure how to tell him without hurting his feelings and making him hate me for the rest of my life. Like, how do I do that?"

"Don't do what Poppy did to me?" Willow lightly joked. She, then, suggested, "Why don't you just tell him you'd rather be just friends? If he really is your friend, he'd understand."

"Oh, I could never say something like that," Synth chuckled nervously. "Or, at least, not by myself."

"Want me to go with you?"

"Hey, what a good idea, yo!" Synth praised. "Why didn't I think of that?!"

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The following day, Willow and Synth took a Caterbus to a beach, then a Whalebus to Techno Reef. On the way, Synth decided to ask Willow a few more questions about Talent Diamonds.

"Well, no Troll has seen one in at least a thousand years," she explained. "While Pop Village does have mines that are rich in some magic gems... and a lot more crystalized sugar... we've never really had any Talent Diamonds in them. Anyone who ever used one on someone had to have been from somewhere else."