True Colours

Chapter 5 - Branch's Bunker

"Celebrate freedom from the Bergens!"

The singing of Popper's special invitation filled the bunker while (Y/N) stared at it with a sorrow-filled gaze while her head lay against the table. Branch, however, didn't dare look back at it, instead stocking the shelves with sticks, too stubborn to be swayed by it.

"Celebrate freedom from the Bergens!"

But, as he looked over at (Y/N), seeing her saddened expression, he felt his stubborn streak falter. It hadn't been the first time he'd turned down a special invite from Popper. And, as he looked over to a special shelf, used only to house all the invites that had piled up over the years, he had to admit to himself that he tended to miss out on a lot of events, and by extension, his sister did too.

Yet, despite that...Popper always invited both him and (Y/N) every, single time.

He quickly shook off the guilt-ridden thoughts that began to take over, letting out a grouchy huff as he declared, "We're better off not attending anyway."

His sister gazed over at him, sensing something was off as she asked, "Is that how you really feel?"

"Of course. Parties are loud and dumb and everyone would just annoy me."

There was a bead of silence and it seemed he had even fooled himself into believing his words.

"Liar."

He sighed, knowing she was right, as he stopped his stick stacking and let his arms fall to his side. "You're right...but it's not important. We're safer here and we have everything we need here."

"That's true. But..." (Y/N) slowly walked over to him, invite in hand. "Popper always invites us to these parties but we never go. What if this was the last one?"

Branch turned to face her and was somewhat taken aback when he realised how upset she looked. Her eyes were glossy, her expression was filled with regret, and yet she still hesitated to say what she wanted.

"What's wrong with being careful?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. And I know that. I know we're safe and I know that this way of life keeps us safe...but does it make us too scared to have a little fun?"

He was unsure how to respond but it seemed he didn't have to. Because, before he could even open his mouth, loud bangs suddenly filled the air, radiating from the front door with Popper's thunderous yells accompanying it.

The sudden appearance of a guest - which was not a normal thing in the siblings' lives - caused all the invites to scatter out of the special shelf. As a result, they all popped open and began to scream the siblings' names and they frantically rushed to shut all of them and stop all their noise.

Branch was panicked as he didn't want to embarrass himself, letting Popper find out that he had, in fact, kept every single invitation that the pink Troll had ever given him. He didn't think Popper needed the ego boost and he certainly didn't want to admit that, even by the smallest amount, he appreciated it.

...

"Branch! (Y/N)! Branch! (Y/N)!" Outside, Popper banged on the bunker door with all his might, calling out to the two Troll siblings in an impatient manner. "Guys, are you in there!?"

A slot instantly opened underneath him, showing two sets of eyes poking out of the 'go away' door mat. He stared down at them with confusion and unease but those feelings quickly vanished when he immediately recognised one pair of (E/C) eyes.

He could never miss them.

"We're not going to your party." Branch's voice harshly spoke out.

"Sorry, Popper."