John Dory's Hair Raising Eggventure

Chapter 10: Muffins For You

A week had gone by since John last visited Creek. He couldn't bring himself to see the troll after what happened that day he ran. He didn't quite understand himself and didn't want to bother the troll with all his rampant emotional behavior so he just opted to stay away but... He received an apology letter today from him with a bit of purple flower attached that smelled really good. It had to be delivered personally by Poppy in secret who looked questionably at him at the time but she didn't say anything and left.

John sighed as he tucked the letter under his mattress and got up. He was going to steel his resolve and go see him. So that's what he was going to do until one of his brothers stopped him for a moment.

"John, don't forget, my Kismet Crew is coming next week. We can ask Ablaze if he was there that night at the party." Branch was again ready to kill, maybe not as much as he did the other purple troll who's name he wasn't going to mention.

"Yea, sure. You done?" John asked as he shifted from one foot to the next, eager to leave as he looked at the time and wondered how long Branch was going to take.

"Did you hear a word I said? You've been spacing out a—" He didn't get to finish when his brother hightailed it out of the bunker. "Okay, goodbye Branch. See you later! Yep see you too, be careful." He mocked a fake conversation as he sighed and went about with what he was doing.

***

John was walking the path as he lightly slapped his cheeks a bit to prepare himself. He was almost to Creek's when he froze at seeing Poppy.

"I knew it! You're on your way to see Creek." She had a hunch.

"How long have you been waiting to tell me that?" John asked as he eyed her.

"Few hours, give or take." Poppy motioned her hand from side to side before she stepped closer to him. "That's not the point though, if Branch finds out. He's going to be angry."

"Are you going to tell him?" John asked worriedly.

"What? No, of course not! I was just saying. I'm more curious about why you're visiting him and more so the way he begged me to give you the letter in secret just shocked me!" She chuckled as she repeated his words in his accent, "Please, for the love of all troll kind, do not let Branch find out!"

John laughed at her attempt, it was pretty close and almost the same. He was impressed when he decided to award her with an answer. "I asked him something last week and he probably thought what he said offended me or something."

"Oh, that makes sense, for a moment there, I thought he was... nevermind! Anyway, I'll leave you alone and not to worry. My lips are sealed!" Poppy smiled as they both waved each other bye.

John was pretty sure he dodged a cuddle pup. He would probably have to be more careful, if more trolls find out then the higher of a chance it gets back to Branch. At least he could trust Poppy. He nodded as he made his way over, the nervousness settling back in as he approached.

Once again, Creek was meditating in the garden but he seemed more rigid than the last time. Again, John was going to tiptoe over and as soon as he got close enough, his wrist was grabbed which made him jump a little.

"You're not going to run away from me... are you?" Creek asked as he stood up, still holding onto him, gently though, in case he wanted to pull away.

"No, I won't." John felt his cheeks warm a little and hoped it wasn't noticeable when he felt Creek let go slightly when he held his hand and tugged him a little.

"Come here, I have something for you." Creek spoke as the troll stiffly followed him inside his house. Creek didn't notice as he let go and grabbed the small basket off the table to hand to him. "I was really worried you wouldn't show. I made these for you as a second apology. Also, don't worry, I made sure to exclude any ingredients you can't eat." He had to get that information from Moonbloom who had looked at him with interest. He was glad she hadn't asked anything.

John's cheeks were getting warmer as he removed the small cloth on top to see the muffins underneath. They smelled really good. "You bake?" He asked not knowing.

"A little, I'm not great at it but I like to use fresh ingredients from the garden. Those are pretty healthy so they should promote good energy for you and the baby." Creek wondered if he liked it.

John covered them back up as he hugged the basket closer to himself. "Thank you, I'll make sure to eat them." He wished he could cover his face right about now, it was on fire. He had to look away, anywhere but at Creek. He glanced around when his eyes finally landed on the door but a hand cupped the side of his face. He had to squeeze his eyes shut for a while when he heard the other huff a small laugh. That's when John looked and a muffin was carefully placed against his mouth before his hand was grabbed and made to hold it.

"Don't strain yourself, you can relax here." Creek spoke in a soothing voice as he grabbed something else he had prepared and placed it on top of the covered muffins in John's basket. They were the same purple flowers he had applied to the card. "The smell they give off is supposed to relieve stress."

John wasn't even sure how to thank the troll at the moment, he was just so out of it as he took a small bite of the muffin. It was really good he thought when he whined a little.

Creek grabbed the troll's shoulders as he glared a little. "What did I say about doing that?"

"I can't help it. It just came out." John hadn't meant to. He knew the other didn't like— he was hugged.

"I'm sorry, I must be making you uncomfortable, that's probably why that happened but don't worry, I'm sure you'll find your partner." Creek let go when he decided to walk over to the door and open it. "You coming?" He asked.

If John didn't know any better, Creek sounded a little sad when he spoke but he wasn't sure, the troll looked a bit how he usually did. John would think about it later though, right now, he just wanted to spend some more time with him. He finished the muffin while he watched Creek stretch and do some yoga in the garden.

***

John smiled happily as he looked down to the basket as he walked back to the bunker. He thought he heard someone while hugging the basket tightly but ignored it as he spun around and he came face to face with Clay.

"Uhh, Bro Bro, what's up??" John asked as his light and fluffy mood disappeared instantly from the small scare he received.

"What's up with you?" Clay wondered because he had never, in a million years, saw John like he was moments ago. It was almost terrifying. Probably more than Branch was when he was pissed off.

"Oh... s-someone gave me this stuff and I was just happy about it. That's all." John hoped his brother believed him.

"....Okay..." Clay didn't but ended up dropping it because he really didn't want to pry at the moment, he had someplace to be. He and Viva were going on a date and he didn't want to be behind. "Well , I have to go, stay safe." Clay gave him a peace sign as he left.

John groaned when he once again blamed the pregnancy for his outlandish behavior. He wished Bruce was still around so he could ask about it but it was too late. His brother had already returned home. Now, he could go and visit but that would take a while and he didn't want to leave at the moment for certain reasons. Mostly because he was pregnant and also due to...

"Okay, let's think about something else." John decided as he started walking again but not as fruity as before. He kept that under control as he made his way back to the bunker. He got on the lift and down he went.

***

Floyd was looking through another magazine to see if any names on the list were as famous as that last troll but didn't find anyone noteworthy when he heard the lift. He had a hunch it was John since Clay left and Branch was in his room. He was right once he saw him.

"Hey John..." Floyd started out when he got up and walked over to see what was in the basket but the eldest put it behind his back and zoomed away before he could say anything.

"Weird..." Floyd thought aloud before letting what happened go and taking his place back on the couch to look through the booklet once more.