Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 70

     Branch never thought he would ever actually admit this... but... believe it or not... he was surprisingly having fun at this party! He was having fun with Poppy... the love of his life had truly been right about this... he would have to mark that down on his chart...

     The Macarena just now beginning to come to an end, Poppy suddenly stopped dancing before the music even completely faded out, the young princess turning happily to Branch as she seemed to instantly get lost in her boyfriend's gorgeous joy filled smile, watching happily as he laughed, continuing the dance without the knowledge that the young princess had now stopped to watch his spectacular 'performance'...

     "You have the cutest smile..." Poppy complimented out of nowhere, her own loving grin glowing brightly on her face as Branch instantly turned to the pink troll in shock of those genuinely heartfelt words, the survivalist blushing slightly as his girlfriend slowly reached out to place a gentle hand on his cheek, his dance moves faltering to a sudden stop as his knees seemed to grow weak at her touch. "I'm glad you're finally letting it show..."

     Much to Branch's surprise, the young princess was now gazing deep into his crystal blue eyes as she lightly stroked her soft fingertips across his cheek, the caring action that he never thought he could ever possibly receive from anyone never mind the actual love of his frosting life causing the bunker dwelling introllvert to giggle softly as he quickly turned his gaze away from his date's eyes, the lovestruck troll seeming suddenly too nervous to even look in her direction...

     "Well..." he began shyly, the young boy nervously rubbing his arms as if that would somehow give him the courage needed to continue, all the while being completely unable to wipe that adorable little grin of his off of his face with the thought of how absolutely ecstatic he was in that one moment shooting through his mind at full speed. "It's hard to hide when I'm with you..."

     Laughter... laughter was what sounded after his response... but not just any laughter... the absolutely perfect, smile enduring laughter only one special troll could produce... the laughter of the young princess her self... the laughter of the only troll who fully captivated the survivalist's heart...

     "Wow..." Poppy chuckled, smirking at her boyfriend in a slightly teasing manner. "I never realized how cheesy you are..."

     She must have seen the sudden frown on Branch's face... noticed the over powering regret of his own words sparkling in the poor boy's gaze which was still nervously turned away from her... because at that moment... the young princess paused... looking at her date in slight confusion...

     "Y... yeah..." Branch stammered almost silently in response to his girlfriend's words, the absolutely ashamed survivalist's ears slightly drooping at the sound of her seemingly making fun of him. "Sorry... I... I won't do it again... I promise..."

     Slowly reaching out yet again to carefully raise her friend's chin, Poppy gently forced Branch to look back up at her, the poor thing still seeming to be trying to avoid eye contact...

     "I liked it..." she informed softly with the most loving smile ever created. "I love everything about you, Branch... so never stop being yourself... ok...?"

     Finally raising his eyes to re-meet his love's gaze, Branch smiled lightly at the young princess, his heart truly beating only for her...

     It was clear that she had succeeded in raising the village grump's spirits once again... and it was true that she was the only one who could do so...

     "I love you so much, Poppy..." Branch finally whispered after a few short moment of just standing there gazing at each other, the young boy gently taking her hands into his own, Poppy instantly giving him that adorable smile he adored more than anything else in the world. "I love you too, Branch," she responded with an almost silent giggle.

     Oh god... he loved that giggle...

     Slowly... getting completely lost in this absolutely perfect moment... Branch began to involuntarily lean forwards, his eyes falling gently shut as Poppy quickly decided to meet him halfway, the young princess smiling wide as she began leaning in as well, the two of them heading directly for each other's lips...

     That is... until...

     "Hey, Poooooooooooooppyyyyyyy!"

     The sudden auto-tuned shout made the two trolls jump quickly apart from each other in slight panic, both of them briskly turning around to see Guy Diamond standing just a few feet away, the whole snack pack gathered in the center of the raging party as they all waved enthusiastically to their best friend in hopes of catching her attention...

     "Guys!" Poppy yelled out in excitement upon seeing her group of friends so close by before swiftly turning back to her date with the largest smile he'd ever seen from her, the sight actually making him quite nervous. "Come on, Branch! Let's go say hi!"

     And with those words... Branch's eyes instantly widened in horror... his previous worry now being confirmed...

     He... he didn't want to go... he was perfectly happy here... on the edge of the party where he wasn't surrounded by millions of people getting all up in his personal space...

     However... he certainly couldn't hold Poppy back... away from her friends... could he?

     No... that would be wrong... he wanted so badly for Poppy to be happy... and if being with her friends would make her happy... then she should be over there with them, right?

     But still... he really didn't want to leave this spot unless it was to go home...

     "Oh... w... well... you... you go ahead, Poppy," he finally stuttered after a few moments of difficult contemplation, the young boy taking a small step back as he began fiddling nervously with his fingers, the formally gray troll seeming to find the ground very interesting all of a sudden as he lowered his gaze from the love of his life. "I... I'm good here... not in the center of... everything..."

     Giggling softly, Poppy rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's apprehensiveness before suddenly taking hold of his hand and dragging him off towards her friends despite the paranoid recluse's clear agitation...

     She was sure he was simply worried about nothing, and once they got over there he'd have fun just like when she convinced him to do the Macarena with her!

     It would all work out just fine... yeah... just fine...

     "Come one, Branchie," she giggled, dragging him against his will deeper and deeper into the crowd. "It'll be fun! Trust me..."