Situation with a Secret Santa

Chapter 1: A Christmas Tradition

     It was Christmas time in the land of the trolls and many were preparing for the holiday. Lights hanging from every tree, candy canes given to everyone in town, carols being sung from all around, anything you can imagine to get the spirits high.

     The snack pack however, were preparing for their annual Christmas tradition. Secret Santa's. This has been a tradition they've had since they were all kids, and still enjoy it to this day.

     But this year, it was special. This year was the first year Branch was going to participate in it. Poppy was extremely excited, while Branch on the other hand, didn't really care as much as she did.

     "Why exactly do you guys do this?" The teal troll asked the energetic pink one.

     "Well, we just love each other so much! And it's super fun to do because everything's a secret. It's fun to get surprises every once in a while."

     Branch smiled and rolled his eyes. Surprises really weren't his thing, but he really wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for Poppy. In fact, he wouldn't really do much if it wasn't for the pink troll.

     Branch had always admired Poppy from afar. He's felt that way for a while. Watching her sing and dance, while at times it made him upset, it also left him content and happy. Her hair reminds him of cotton candy. Her eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky. Most of the things he liked about her was written in his secret books of poetry.

     After their adventure with the Bergen's, their relationship went somewhere, but he didn't exactly know where it was. She was definitely spending a lot more time than ever with him, including him in many activities and sometimes just hanging out in the bunker. But they never really brought anything up about taking it a step further.

     Besides, she probably forgot all about it. With how often she throws "I love you's" around to everyone she saw, he didn't have much faith it would go far anyway.

     The pink troll skipped along towards their meeting mushroom while the teal one walked. The snack pack waved with excitement to the two, finally being able to start.

     "What took so long? We've been waiting forever." Said Guy Diamond.

     "We're only 1 minute 33 seconds late. It's my fault though. I forgot where I put our name cards." Spoke Poppy.

     "Anyway, let's get started! Does everyone have their name cards filled out?" Suki said as she pulled hers out. The rest of the crew took theirs out.

     Each card had their name, favorite color, and some things that they liked. Everyone took their cards and dropped them into a basket. Branch, hesitant at first, took a deep breath and dropped his inside.

After mixing the cards, one by one, everyone picked a card at random. Branch slowly placed his hand inside and picked a card. It's only been the first 30 seconds participating and he's already anxious. While the basket was passed around, he looked down at the card. Folded in half, he was tempted to look inside. But followed the rules and kept it closed.

Guy Dimond was last to take a card. Setting the basket down, Poppy spoke.

"Remember, make sure your presents remain a secret to your other half. Don't be afraid to ask for help though. Make sure you have fun too! Now go ahead and open your cards!" She bounced as she quickly opened her card.

Just like everyone else, the dark haired troll opened his card.

"It's simple. You look at what they like, and get do something with it. What's the worst that could happen Branch?" He thought to himself.

His eyes opened wide when he saw the name on the card. Even if it didn't have a name on it, he'd recognize those loops and hearts and smiley faces anywhere.

"Poppy :)" The card read.