Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 68

Taking the long way back to the bunker simply to spend more time with one another, Poppy and Branch walked through the forest together, the new couple holding hands as Branch leaned his head gently against his best friend's, his eyes gently shut in great content, and heart overflowing with pure utter joy...

He never thought he could ever be so happy in his entire life... and he certainly never imagined that he would ever find his true colors again after all these years of being gray and miserable... and yet... here he was... and it was all thanks to this one special troll he now held so close to himself... the one troll he truly loved more than anything else in the world...

    "We should celebrate!" Poppy suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere, Branch immediately snapping out of his wonderful thoughts at the sound of her over enthusiastic words as he opened up his eyes to look down at his girlfriend.

     "Celebrate?" he questioned, not understanding what she meant. "Celebrate what?"
"You, silly!" the young princess giggled, ecstatic that she had finally succeeded in her life's mission. "You have you're colors back! You're finally happy again! Gasp! We should throw a party!"

Branch frowned slightly as he gazed over at his true love, not exactly loving the idea she was proposing...

"I... I don't know, Poppy..." the now blue troll started softly, feeling a bit skeptical about how this plan would turn out.

     He knew full well how he got when put in those types of situations... and he just didn't want to mess anything up...

     "Are you sure I'm ready for that? I mean... I'm still the same paranoid introllverted village grump I've always been... even with my colors..." He paused, thinking about the suggestion a little longer before finally letting out a sorrowful sigh of defeat when the thought of how the other trolls would react to his presence came to mind... "And besides... I'm not exactly... welcome... at parties..."

     "What are you talking about, Branch? Of course your welcome!" Poppy objected with a smile as she playfully booped her boyfriend's nose. "You already went to your birthday party after all!"
"For one second..." the survivalist opposed with a sorrowful sigh. "And then I freaked out and ran away like the loser I am..."

     He had tried... he had tried so hard to be like everyone else... but he just couldn't seem to stop himself from freaking out in stressful situations like that... situations that any other troll would be having fun in... and he knew it... he knew he was different... even before this whole wolf thing took over his life...

     "I can't go to that party... I'll just ruin it... just like I ruin everything... Face it, Poppy... I'm just... a good for nothing freak..." he muttered under his breath, his head low in shame as he slowly followed behind his best friend. "And everyone knows it..."

It was Poppy's turn to frown now, the young princess stopping dead in her tracks at the sound of Branch's sorrowful words, the pink troll immediately turning back to her boyfriend in stunned disbelief...

"Don't do that..." she insisted firmly, the pink troll seeming incredibly offended all of a sudden. "Do what?" the survivalist asked in slight confusion, looking to Poppy in complete non-comprehension as he quickly stopped walking as well, the two trolls now making direct eye contact with one another as Branch waited for his girlfriend to continue...

     What had he done wrong now?

"Talk bad about yourself!" she informed in a loud angered shout. "You're not a freak, Branch!"

     "Psh..." Branch scoffed, slightly rolling his eyes at his love's words. "Of course I am, Poppy. I mean... I'm a Bergen obsessed hermit who ruins everyone's fun on a daily basis... I'm a party pooper... a gray grump... a nuisance... I've heard it all..."
"Wha... what do you... mean?" Poppy asked, not understanding what Branch was saying... where he was getting all these horrible thoughts from...

Lowering his gaze from his no longer secret crush, Branch sighed yet again before continuing in a low tone...

"I know what the other trolls say about me..." he informed softly. "I have ears, you know... I'm not completely deaf..."
"But... but that's not..." Poppy stuttered, looking to the light blue troll in complete disbelief of what she was hearing. "They do?"
"Yes... they do..." Branch sighed, his ears drooping as his watering eyes fell gently shut. "Everyday... every time I go to the village for any reason... they all talk about me behind my back... hurtful things that you could never imagine anyone ever saying to you... and you know what...? It's all true..."

Her heart felt like it shattered at the sound of those words...

The other trolls were being mean to him? She... she honestly didn't know that... how could she have been so oblivious... so naive? And he had been hearing these awful things every day? For the past fourteen years!?

"And on top of that..." Branch suddenly continued, his hands seeming to involuntarily curl into tight fists as he slowly raised his gaze back up to Poppy, the young princess gasping in shock when she saw that his gorgeous crystal eyes were now glowing a terrifying blue, anger quickly replacing his previous sorrow as his own thoughts managed to successfully beat him up into the point of no return. "I'm a killer wolf who everyone wants dead! I'm not only a freak... I'm a dangerous freak of nature!" he yelled out uncontrollably, his teeth transforming into sharp fangs before her terrified eyes. "I'm a monster! I don't even deserve my colors back! I don't deserve to be happy!"

Branch paused his angered argument, suddenly noticing the tears forming in his girlfriend's eyes, the village grump immediately regretting his harsh shouting tone as he realized what was happening to him...

     Fear... fear quickly took hold of the poor Weretroll as he looked fearfully down at his own hands, fur already beginning to sprout out of his skin alongside his vicious wolf claws...

"No... no, no, no, no, no..." he panicked, quickly forcing the wolf back down deep inside of himself, the survivalist finally looking back up to Poppy with wide terrified eyes once he was finally back to normal...

He could see it... he could see how frightened she was... how scared she was... of... of him...

Sighing softly, Branch lowered his head once more, the poor boy's ears drooping down in shame as he finally continued speaking, his voice low...

     "I don't... I don't deserve you..."

Cold... hollow... broken...

Those words seemed to describe Branch perfectly right now...

His world seeming completely empty in that moment... the young boy was shocked when he suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap tightly around him...

Confused, Branch opened his glossy eyes, looking up to see Poppy's loving embrace welcoming him back into reality... a reality... where he wasn't alone...

"Please, Branch..." the princess started in a gentle and calming voice. "Don't say these things about yourself... you're not a monster... you're Branch... the kindest... cutest... funniest... most prepared for anything troll I've ever met..." Pulling slightly away from the hug, Poppy lightly wiped the tears from her boyfriend's eyes before continuing softly. "You're perfect, Branch... just the way you are... and if I have to say it a thousand times for it to finally sink into that big brain of yours... I will..."

Unable to hide his small smile, Branch sniffled as he wiped away his last remaining tears, the survivalist's loving gaze locked on his beautiful kind hearted girlfriend...

"Thanks, Poppy..." he whispered, wrapping the pink troll in another hug, the young boy suddenly feeling much better with the love of his life right there in his arms. "I'll... I'll try to remember that..."

"Good," Poppy giggled, placing a sweet kiss on her boyfriend's cheek, making him giggle right along with her. "I love you, Branch..."
"I love you too, Poppy," he responded softly, tightening the hug to hold the one he cared so much about even closer to himself. "More than you'll ever know..."