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📚Broppy CollegeAU | "Campus Days"

Part 6: My Safe Space

Thursday, Week 3 of 16.

"Do you play an instrument?" Poppy asked, she took a break from painting and sipped from her water bottle. It had been 2 hours since class started and it was almost time for their break. She looked over to Branch on her right. He was in deep thought, mumbled, and counted with his fingers.

"I play a few instruments, most of the ones that I have played are not the ones I'm skilled with. The ones I can say I am better playing with are Ukelele, Guitar, and uhh" He paused for a moment, he tried to recollect his experiences, "a Lyre." He hummed, he remembered his childhood when he messed with the string instruments, most of the time he was only goofing around recklessly strumming.

"Wait what's a Lyre?" Poppy curiously raised an eyebrow.

"It's a string instrument, think of it as a Harp but smaller and compact, if you played medieval-themed games you'll know which one I'm referring to." Branch finished up the last of his painting before the distant bell announced their break time. They both grabbed their wallets and made their way to the cafe.

Outside the cafe there was an unusually large crowd of students who walked around dozens of tents, it seemed like there was an event the college hosted. Poppy leaned over the rail, iced coffee in her left hand as she watched the bustling crowd take flyers and free swag from the staff members. Dozens of tents were set up with the college name on the top, and a couple of blank unassociated tents were set up farther away.

"We should go check it out, they have an info booth at the bottom of the steps!" Poppy bounced on her toes, she loved social events, and this was her zone. Branch seemed unsure and glanced at his phone, "I mean, we have 10 minutes left until we have to get back to class, I guess we can?" He shrugged, unsure of how to respond.

Poppy squealed as she slid her hand into Branch's and dragged him to the info booth. They both received a black and white flyer with large text at the top, "CLUB FAIR". They walked around and saw all the props and decorated tents the clubs dedicated to the event. Students signed up or talked with the members, most of the students were Freshmen looking for a club to join.

The two walked around heading in the direction of their class before Poppy stopped abruptly. Branch bumped into her nearly dropping his Iced coffee.

"Hey- watch how you walk Poppy, you can't just stop like that-" He paused when he noticed a purple troll. He stood directly in front of Poppy, only 2 feet of space between them. The stranger was towered over the both of them, he seemed familiar but Branch couldn't put a finger on it. His train of thought was interrupted when Poppy squeezed his hand tight.

"Well hello, Poppy." The troll finally spoke, his voice was predatory, a condescending smirk on his face as if he locked onto a target.

Poppy frowned, she held her chin up to stare at the purple troll directly into his eyes, it seemed like she did her best to act fearless. "Creek." She flatly stated. She pulled Branch a little closer to her body.

Creek's eyes slowly panned toward Branch, when he glanced down to see their linked hand, he sharpened his stare. His chin held high as he stared down at Branch, analyzing him. "who's your little friend?" he asked, his glare forced Branch to straighten his posture, his intimidation was working on him.

"That's none of your business Creek, leave us alone." Poppy squeezed Branch's hand, she did her best to suppress her anger as she gritted her teeth.

"But Poppy, I only want to chat, we can grab lunch and catch up. It's been a while since we spent time together don't you think?" Creek sounded condescending, he stood tall and held his hands together.

"No, I'm good."

"Are you sure? It's a nice warm day today-"

"No Creek, now leave us alone before I call campus security." Poppy snapped at the Purple troll.

"I only want us to-"

"We can't chat, we're busy and on our way back to class." Poppy quickly said, she pulled Branch along as she shoulder-checked Creek. He seemed unfazed by the gesture. Then quickly reached for Poppy's left hand that held her coffee, with a tight grip he squeezed and twisted her arm to force her closer to himself. Poppy winced and let out a pained gasp, she attempted to free herself by clawing his fingers.

"Now my love, that's no way to talk to your former fiancé now is it?" His grip tightened, he pulled her even closer to him and stared down at her. He was only a few inches from her nose. Before Branch could react, Poppy used her free hand to grab her coffee and tossed her drink into his eyes. This worked and he dropped her arm. Poppy saw the opportunity to grab Branch's hand again and sprint off into the distance back to their art building. Behind them was a commotion, a crowd surrounded Creek. Trolls were recording the incident, cursing could be heard from behind them, and it seemed like her coffee was successful in temporarily blinding him.

They both hid within the trees and shrubbery between the art buildings, Poppy let go of Branch while they caught their breath. She seemed shaken up, yet, proud of her escape. Then she looked over at Branch, he was disheveled and was leaning against the wall, he was trying to cover up his labored breathing. After a few minutes, Branch finally spoke up.

"Poppy what was that??" he huffed out, his chest rose and fell with each breath, he sipped his coffee to stabilize himself more. Poppy wiped beads of sweat from her forehead before she looked at him.

"That was Creek, my... my ex." She wheezed and stood up taller, it looked like her fight-or-flight mode was still active, and kept watch over Branch's shoulders. She needed to make sure Creek hadn't followed them to their building. "He was the one I was telling you about, the guy that… that..." She struggled to make out any more words, her throat felt tighter at every attempt. She massaged her wrist and realized it was red with Creek's handprint on it, it would bruise soon.

All Branch could see was how vulnerable she felt. Slowly, he moved closer to her, he didn't want to alarm her so he made no sudden movements.

Gently he spoke, "Poppy, are you okay?" He asked, his voice was a soft whisper. He set his coffee down in the shade. Then, his hands carefully hovered closer to hers, but he didn't dare touch her first. Branch patiently waited for her. After a moment, Poppy slowly reached for his hands, gently touching his palms with her fingertips, and slowly held his hands. She admired how soft they were and noticed that only his thumbs, index, and middle fingers were calloused at the tips. Curiously she studied them.

"Are your fingers calloused because you play instruments?" She finally spoke, she gently caressed his hand, and her fingers explored the history engraved in his palms. Branch felt relieved to see her mood improve and opened his hands, he wanted her to have full access to see everything.

Quietly, he happily sighed, "That and I like to study plants, so I have to dig and work with dirty tools most of the time." He watched her explore the scars he had on his hands. Poppy's eyes seemed a bit empty, she ran her fingers through his more and hummed.

Softly she stated, "You're a good person, y'know?" Her grip slightly loosened but never let go of him. She looked up at Branch and a twinkle of hope sparkled in her eyes. She gazed into his eyes, it seemed like she wanted to say or do something at that moment. So, with slow, careful, small steps, she closed the space between them. Branch was frozen in his spot, he wasn't sure what she planned but he didn't feel like stopping her. Poppy quickly glanced down to study his lips, then looked back into his eyes. With hesitation, she leaned in. Branch squeezed his eyes shut and anxiously waited for the contact, he wasn't sure why but his lips and mouth felt dry. Then... nothing happened, all he felt were a pair of arms that gently wrapped around his shoulders. Branch's eyes shot open when he realized that Poppy hugged him.

"Can you... hold me?" Her voice cracked as she asked, her voice muffled in his neck. Branch obliged and wrapped his arms around her waist gently squeezed her tighter, and felt her sigh with relief. They stayed in this position for a while, each moment accompanied by the sound of singing birds and the breeze brushing the trees above. Branch never let go, he knew she needed this hug. All he could do was bury his face into her neck and take a deep breath, her sweet citrus perfume comforted him.

They blissfully floated in their little bubble.

After a while, Poppy loosened her embrace. She slowly slid her arms off of Branch's shoulders and gently cupped Branch's cheeks with her hands. She playfully squished his face and attempted to manipulate his mouth into a smile. He gave her an unamused look, he was more than okay with her touchy antics. Branch still held her by the waist, she never protested or seemed bothered by it. He closed his eyes and waited for her to finish, at the same time, he quietly enjoyed the touch of her soft hands on his face, wishing for her to continue to her heart's content. He could fall asleep to this.

He felt a pause and expected her to pull away to say something goofy. Instead, he felt a quick kiss on his cheek. Branch's eyes shot open to see Poppy smiling, he felt flustered and stuttered. She kissed his cheek and some landed on the corner of his lips.

Before he could mutter anything, she giggled, moved away, and walked toward his drink. Poppy bent down to pick up his coffee and took a sip. When she looked back, she couldn't help but smirk at Branch, he hadn't moved.

Branch had short-circuited.

She walked over to him and waved her hand in front of him, he had a thousand-yard stare with his arms in the air, where her waist was. Suddenly, Branch's phone rang and it snapped him out of his trance. He quickly collected himself to decline the call. Slowly his eyes met Poppy's playful, yet smug smile, she was still taking small sips from his coffee.

"Oops, I got some of my lipstick on your uh-" She gestured to her lips and left cheek, "-your face." she giggled.

Branch felt flustered and used his sleeve to rub off the lipstick mark. He cleared his throat and took back his drink. "L-let's start heading back to c-class, we're very late and we still have work to do." His voice cracked and his cheeks deepened in color. Poppy hummed in agreement, she had both of her hands clasped behind her while she rocked on her heels. Then the two quietly walked back to class together.

Back in the classroom, none of the other students or the professor seemed to acknowledge their tardiness. The couple sat at their designated stations and picked up their work again. Branch turned to his left to add more paint to his pallet when his hand was grabbed by Poppy. She leaned in closer and whispered, "Thank you for being there for me, I usually break down or freeze when I'm alone but.." She bit her lip, adjusted her posture, and gazed into his eyes again, "but you were there, and I didn't feel alone or scared. You helped cheer me up, even if it meant that you put up with me pestering you." She giggled, gently rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles.

Branch set his paint bottle down and cupped her hand in his. With a swift motion, he pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles.

"Only for you, Princess."

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