Branch's wretched backstory

Undeniable love

The title pretty much says it all , just sayin' 

When Poppy woke up, she quickly got dressed, throwing on a white sundress and a headband to go with it. She left the pod without eating breakfast, but the king didn't seem to mind. Everybody else seemed to be busy running errands , and the young princess had no one else to play with. She finally decided to go see Branch , even though he might be busy as well. Her father's words from last nights conversation echoed in her mind. She definitely wasn't going to bring this up to anyone, especially DJ. Just because they were best friends, that doesn't mean they have to know EVERYTHING about each others personal lives. Besides, the last thing she needed was to have somebody feel sympathy for her. Then it dawned on her, this was exactly how Branch probably felt when she tried to help him. She knew that she would probably be unwelcome at his bunker, but she had to try. Poppy figured he would like something to eat , so she brought a basket of strawberry cupcakes. 

It wasn't long before she reached the outskirts of the forest. She remembered how scared she used to be whenever she even came close to the forest as a little girl. But since she's been visiting the grey troll for as long as she could remember, she suddenly wasn't afraid anymore. When she found his bunker, she knocked on the door, in hopes that he would respond. She groaned in frustration when he didn't answer. Typical Branch. After knocking for a long time, Poppy took out her shiny cowbell and banged on it to get his attention. Inside of the bunker, Branch had woken up to all of the racket going on outside. He was really drowsy with sleep, and he ran a comb through his hair one time before going over to answer the door. He didn't even bother to put on his vest, that's how tired he was. He peered through the eye slot to see who it was. " Hi Branch! " Poppy exclaimed. Just great. The last thing he needed was somebody to come bother him. He rolled his eyes at her and closed the eye slot. 

Poppy's smile faltered as her shoulders slouched in defeat. Just when she was about to go home, Branch opened the door for her. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized Branch still wasn't wearing his leafy vest. She ignored the flutter in her heart as she approached him. " I  brought you cupcakes !" Poppy sang. He frowned as his eyes darted from the cupcakes to Poppy ." I'm kinda busy right now." Branch grumbled. The  princess couldn't help but  giggle.  Are you sure about that, 'cause it looks like you've been asleep." Poppy pointed out. " Can you just go away ?" Branch replied in a pleading manner. " Nope, you're stuck with me all day!" She replied happily. The grey troll let out a disappointed sigh and walked back into the safety of his bunker. Poppy, of course, followed him inside and set the basket down on his table. Since it was already noon, Branch figured he'd better get ready for the day.

As he started to walk away , Poppy gasped when she saw his awful limp. Branch turned around to face her , with a baffled look on his face. He didn't even realize what she was staring at until he looked down at his injured leg.       " What happened to you ? " Poppy asked with concern. " Don't worry about it." Branch replied dismissively. He started walking again until a voice stopped him once more. "Branch."  The mention of his name made him turn around to face the concerned princess. " You can tell me what happened ," she began , " I promise I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."  He actually considered telling her for a moment, but he didn't need her worrying about HIS  problems. " Poppy..." he said in a warning tone. She ignored him and pulled him into a hug. She smiled as he ACTUALLY began to hug her back. She got this really weird feeling in her stomach that she couldn't really explain. She normally got this feeling around Creek but, this time it was stronger. This could only mean one thing.....

She was in love.

He was secretly enjoying this , but their " special moment " was cut short when she pulled away. Out of the corner of her eye , she spotted a curtain she never even noticed before. " Hey, what's that ? " she asked curiously. Branch went into panic mode and grabbed her wrist before she got any closer to it. " Don't go anywhere I near  that curtain. " Branch warned. The grip on her wrist was so tight and he finally let go when she began to whimper. " I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what it was. " she gave him an apologetic look and his features began to soften. She had almost forgotten about the cupcakes until her stomach growled. " Hey , you want some cupcakes? " she asked ,quickly changing the subject. Branch shrugged. She pulled out two cupcakes and handed one to Branch. He stared at it as if he's never seen one before. " Eat up, buttercup! " Poppy chirped. 

He bit into the cupcake , feeling a bit relieved since it had been a while since he had anything sweet to eat. When Poppy finished , she had some frosting on her face and a little bit on her hands as well. Branch snorted in amusement as the 12 year-old wiped the frosting off. She shot him a dirty look and crossed her arms. " Just because I'm a princess, doesn't mean I have to act like one. " she protested.  He looked up at her in surprise," I thought you liked being a princess."  

" Yeah, but being a princess is not all it's cracked up to be. " Poppy replied matter -of -factly.         " Wouldn't you just hate it if everybody is constantly making a huge fuss over you? "   He shook his head." I never thought it bothered you. " he replied  truthfully. " Of course it bothered me! " Poppy shot back. She didn't mean to sound so fierce but, she was sensitive when it came to things like that. " And besides, you would never know how I feel about this stuff, " she continued, " All you care about is your stupid  bunker!"  she balled up her fists and glared at him. " Excuse me? you don't know anything about me. " Branch said defensively. " Well, you don't know anything about me! " Poppy replied angrily, stepping closer to him. " I don't have time for this. " Branch replied irritably. " Oh really? all I did was try to spend some time with you, and you keep pushing me away. " she replied with agitation. " I never said I wanted to spend time with ANYONE. " Branch replied hastily. He stepped even  closer to her , and Poppy wondered where this sudden closeness could lead. " I. just. want. to.be. alone." He stated each word bluntly .           " Branch, I-I just want to help." she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. 

" Can't you see that I like- " she stopped herself before she even got a chance to say it. " Like what? " he dared himself to pry further. The princess squirmed around under his icy blue stare.   " Poppy, tell me." he demanded. She bit her lip and blushed fiercely, " I can't tell you. " Poppy mumbled. He hooked one finger under her chin and lifted her head up so they could lock eyes. He started to lean forward until they were 3 centimeters away from each other. They were lost into each other's  eyes but it all ended, when Poppy gently pushed away from him. " What's wrong? " Branch asked suddenly. " I should be getting home, I promised my dad I'd be home for lunch." Poppy explained, while grabbing her basket. " See you later. " 

Branch locked the bunker doors behind her after she left. He felt so confused about all of this. Even though they were getting even closer to each other, Branch still felt as if they were so far away. 

Their love was undeniable.

Author's note: I was originally going to have them kiss in this chapter , but I feel as if the age gap is kinda big. Even if it is only 4 years. I hope I didn't disappoint you fartnuggets. If you find spelling errors, I'm sorry about that because I was rushing.