Everything Has Changed (Trolls Spider-Man AU)

Origins

Age gaps between siblings meant everything, and Branch knew that all too well. The gap between him and his older brother was 13 years, and it showed. Branch was only five when John Dory left the household. It was a domino effect after that, Bruce left when he was six, then Clay when he was seven. All of them chose to attend a college that was more than an hour away. The only one that stayed was Floyd. Floyd wanted to be a music teacher after high school. He got a grant and attended a local community college. He lived with Branch and Their Grandma the whole time.

Branch didn't know a life where he didn't live with Grandma. He was only a year old when his parents died. That's when all his brother's began to live with their Grandma Rosiepuff. Though, he always noticed, even when he was young, that his brother's didn't view Grandma's apartment as home. Maybe that's why they all left so quickly.

After Floyd's graduation they went to a restaurant to celebrate. When Floyd told Branch that he'd gotten a job at Mount Rageous High School, Branch had finally built up the courage to tell Floyd he wasn't going there.

Branch always heard stories from Floyd about how fun it was to attend the same high school as your sibling. All of his brothers attended Mount Rageous High School, as it was the closest one to their house. Branch didn't want to go to Mount Rageous, frankly he wanted nothing to do with it.

"Don't you think it's incredible Branch! I'll be there while you're in school, it'll be like when I was in school with Clay," Floyd said, trying to excite Branch.

Branch winced internally as he gathered the words he wanted to say. "Well- I actually signed up for Sweet Garden's entrance exam." He looked at Floyd's face to see it holding a soft smile and disappointed eyes?

"Oh."

"It's nothing against you," Branch hurriedly added. "It's just that Sweet Garden has an incredible STEM program, and I really wanna do something with Engineering or Chemistry-"

Floyd cut him off with a laugh.

"Don't worry about it Branch, now get up and help Grandma bring the food, I think I just heard our order." Branch nodded and got up to do as he was told.

And of course when Clay was the last of his brothers to give Floyd a congratulatory phone call, Floyd had no problem blabbing to him about Branch's recent education development. Clay had seemed to keep it in mind when it came to Branch's birthday gift. As when he checked the mail when coming home from his first day of High School, he saw a letter for him from Clay.

It was a early birthday gift, two tickets for a tour at the EcoGenica building. It had been a company that strived for new advances in all corners of Biology and Chemistry. Branch had read about them a few times, many of the article praised them for their scientific advancements in the medical field, but a small few of them were about the unethical practices that took place within their company.

After much debate, it was decided that Branch would go to the tour with Floyd. His Grandma had to work a shift at the hospital that day and Clay said he had a business meeting come up that he couldn't miss.

A knock came at the door just as Branch was putting on his boots.

"Come in," He said as he tied up the laces.

The door opened and Floyd stepped into the room, he looked at Branch with a soft smile. "Hey B, you ready to go?"

Branch finished tying and stood up from his bed meeting Floyd's eyes. Branch was at least four inches shorter than Floyd, standing at 5'3, so he had to look up slightly to meet his eyes. He nodded and Floyd's smile grew.

"Great! Let's go." Floyd turned around and directed Branch out of the apartment.

They steeped out the lobby of their apartment and started walking towards the subway station. The city was crowded because of the weekend, but then again, branch never remembered a time where it wasn't crowded.

The subway to the EcoGenica building was quiet. Floyd knew that Branch didn't need to talk a lot to have quality time, and that was the difference between Floyd and his other brothers, wasn't it? Floyd knew Branch. He knew how to act around him, he knew his humor, Floyd just, got Branch. It a way his other brothers couldn't

When they got to the lobby, they were handed badges by their tour guide. Their guide explained that they could keep the badges as souvenirs but they couldn't be used to get in the building again. They went to various labs, and saw a room with lab rats inside. That of which Floyd said was barbaric, but Branch thought of it as apart of science. When lunch came, they were taken into a cafeteria, where a lot of the college interns were said to eat and hang out.

While they were entering the cafeteria Branch saw a Map and Immediately went toward it. Floyd looked confused but followed him.

"Uh- what are you looking for?" Floyd asked.

"The nearest bathroom, I've been needing to go since the second Lab."

Floyd's mouth made a 'o' shape before he closed it and nodded. Branch's eyes found the nearest bathroom and turned to Floyd.

"I'm going to go to the restroom do you think you can get me a snack?" Floyd smiled and nodded.

"Of course," He reached to ruffle Branch's hair. "Just don't get lost"

Branch dodged the hand and gave a snarky look to Floyd. He walked out into the hallway. The bathroom was only a few steps away, but that didn't stop Branch from colliding with a crying woman. It was an accident truly, he was trying to move aside, but unfortunately, he didn't move in time. The woman dropped the box she was holding.

Branch's heart sunk, this lady had been fired, and he probably just made her day a little worse.

Branch quickly knelt down to help her pick up the fallen things. The first thing he reached for was a small biosphere, the lid had opened slightly which made Branch feel even worse. He quickly closed the biosphere before it could be destroyed.

"I am so sorry, I wasn't paying attention and-" Branch was cut off by the woman's shakey voice.

"Don't worry young man, this isn't the worse thing that's happened today." Didn't that make branch feel eternally worse.

"That doesn't make me feel any less sorry," Branch said as he finished helping the woman.

"Yes well." She smiled at him and picked up the box, and Branch rose from the ground. "Thank you for helping me, you showed me a little bit of kindness on a very rough day." He nodded at her and she left before he could say anything else.

Branch would have stayed there longer, but he really did have to use the restroom.

As he washed his hands, he felt a pinch on the back of his neck. He quickly swiped his hands away from the water and up to his neck. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as he rubbed the pinched spot. He pulled his hand back to his view to see if he caught what hurt him and in his hand was a dead spider. He flinched the moment he saw it and waved his hand in hopes of getting the spider carcass off. After that failed he quickly put his hand back under the running water and the spider washed away.

After a few moments of relief, branch felt stupid. He should have looked at the spider properly, it could be venomous, or just lethal. But ultimately there was nothing he could do now, just hope and pray it's nothing serious.

***

It's something serious. The moment Floyd and Branch got home, Branch went straight to bed, feeling feverish and sick. He was sure that Floyd came in at one point for dinner, but he didn't wake up fully. He did remember Floyd coming into the room, and saying something about Branch not going to school. But that wasn't Branch's priority, his priority was to get over this stupid illness so his Grandma wouldn't have a hospital bill to pay.