𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋! [𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐑]

HAPPY MEMORIES AND PIANO LESSONS

THE DEAL
seven | ❝you're not mad at me?❞

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         Not most people knew exactly how Carl and Poppy's friendship had begun, for they were completely different from one another- some would even say opposite.

Funny enough, they met at school, a place that neither were quite fond of.

It all started with a box of sixty-four crayons. One of those really big ones, with a built in sharpener.

The kindergarten class was having a Secret-Santa celebration for Christmas, and it was the day of exchange.

Six year old Carl was forced to look up from his coloring when a package wrapped in candy cane paper was placed on his desk.

He looked up and saw a small girl with big green eyes. She wore a cute smile as she intertwined her hands behind her back.

"Merry Christmas, Carl," she said simply, before trotting back to her own table, making her small pigtails bounce.

Curious, and very intrigued, Carl grabbed the package and pulled at the candy cane paper, until it was all gone.

His eyes went wide when he saw the large box of crayons. To a kindergartener, that smelly box filled with sticks of colored wax was gold- and gold was something Carl had never had before.

As he admired the box, his gaze shifted to the girl, and it occurred to him that he didn't even know her name.

He quickly took the wrapping paper and smiled once he found what he was looking for, unwrinkling the tag so that he could read it clearly.

Merry Christmas from your Secret Santa!
To: Carl
From: Poppy

That was a story that Carl thought about a lot when he was feeling stressed or upset, for some reason, it made him smile.

Maybe it was the fact that that tiny little bubbly girl who happened to be his Secret Santa in kindergarten was now his best friend, or maybe it was the fact that he still had the large box of crayons stashed in his room, he didn't know what it was, he just loved that memory, it was his go to happy thought.

Unfortunately for Poppy, she had grown so stressed from the pressure of her parents, that she could never even have the chance to think of a happy memory.

She was currently sitting on one of the stools in Patsy's, alone.

She had just finished another one of her stupid piano lessons that she was just not good at, and of course her parents gave her an ear full about it.

She looked out the window carelessly and her gaze fell upon Carl talking to Dominique across the street.

It made her frown. She felt annoyed that the plan was already working so efficiently for Carl, but not at all for her.

"You alright, Poppy?" Lip asked as he threw the rag he had just finished cleaning the counter with over her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she answered quietly, not feeling in the slightest way up for talking to anyone.

"Nothing Carl did, right? 'Cause if he did something stupid to you, I'll kick his ass."

Poppy gave a small chuckle before shaking her head. "No, Carl didn't do anything. But, thanks, Lip."