Branch walked through the forest, heading towards pop village, his heart racing as he spoke softly to himself.

     "So... Poppy..." he said quietly. "I was wounding if you maybe wanted to... no. That's dumb. Um... hey, Poppy. How would you like to... no..."

     He stopped walking, covering his face with his hands, as he sighed.

     "I can't do this..." he muttered quietly.
"Can't do what?"

     Branch jumped at the sudden voice, looking up to see a pink troll standing in front of him with the biggest smile on her face. The most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

     "Poppy!" he shouted out in fear, backing away slightly. "I... uh... didn't know you were there..."
"I was actually on my way to your bunker," she informed. "I had something I wanted to ask you."
"You... uh... you did?"

     She nodded, smiling wider.

     "Oh... well... I was actually coming to ask you something too..." Branch said with a small smile. "You were? What did you want to ask?" she responded.

Branch's eyes widened, his smile fading. Why did he say he wanted to ask her something!? Now he had to tell her.

     "Well... I... I wanted to ask you..." He sighed, lowering his head. 'Come on, Branch,' he thought to himself. 'Stop being a wimp. Tell her you love her.'

He looked back up at Poppy, taking a deep calming breath.

"You know how we've been hanging out a lot since we befriended the Bergens?" Branch said softly, nervously rubbing the back of his head, as he looked away from Poppy again, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Of course, Branch," Poppy replied with a smile. "I love hanging out with you."

"Yeah... well... I was just thinking..." he said softly. "Maybe... we could..."

He sighed again, looking up at her, as he took his poem out of his hair.

"I like you, Poppy..." he said. "Like... like you, like you."
"I like you too, Branch," Poppy said, smiling wide. "I'm glad we're friends."

She hugged him, and he frowned, the word 'friend' echoing in his head.

"I'm glad we're friends too, but..." Branch said, pulling away from the hug to look her in the eyes. "I like you... more than just friends." He held out his poem, expecting her to take it from him, but she didn't even seem to notice it.

Poppy's smile faded for a moment.

"You mean... like... BEST FRIENDS!?" Her smile came back, as she jumped up and down with joy.

Branch frowned, lowering his head, as his ears drooped.

"Y... yeah... best friends," he said sadly. "That's exactly what I meant..."

"This is great, Branch! I feel the same way about you!" she yelled out excitedly, giving him another hug. "I'm heading home to put your picture on my best friends wall, right away!"

She gave him one last tight hug, and then ran off towards her pod.

Branch watched her leave, and then sighed again, looking down at his poem. "Best friend..." he muttered, with a sigh, tearing the paper in half before dropping it onto the ground.

"That was just pathetic," he suddenly heard from behind him, causing him to jump.

     He turned looking around frantically, but no one was there.

     "Who said that!" Branch demanded, looking around defensively.
"It waaaaaaaaaaaasssss...."
"Oh please no," he groaned, covering his face with his hands, as he shook his head slightly.

     "Me..." a white, puffy cloud, wearing socks said, poofing up in front of the blue troll.

     Branch groaned, rolling his eyes.

     "Great... just what I needed..." he groaned, crossing his arms. "What do you want, Cloud Guy?"
"I want to help my best buddy with his lady problems," Cloud Guy said, punching Branch's arm playfully. "Please don't..." Branch sighed, turning to walk back to his bunker.

     "Hey, hey, hey. Slow your roll, grumpy diapers," Cloud Guy said, grabbing onto Branch's hand and pulling him back.

     "Please just leave me alone," Branch begged, pulling away from Cloud Guy's grasp. "Nope. I'm helping you. I've already decided on it," Cloud Guy said.
"Yeah? And how do you plan on doing that," Branch asked, crossing his arms.

     "First... give me a high five. Then we'll talk," Cloud Guy said with a toothy grin, holding up his hand for a high five.

     "I'm leaving," Branch said dryly, turning back towards his bunker, but as he turned, he jumped, seeing Cloud Guy suddenly in front of him again. "Can't you just get a life!?" he yelled angrily, not wanting to deal with Cloud Guy's mischievous antics. "Can't you just be a man?" Cloud Guy said back, with a grin.

     Branch raised an eyebrow, looking at him confused.

     "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"You're a wimp, Branch," Cloud Guy said. "You have no guts."
"Gee... thanks..." Branch said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Super helpful."
"I know," Cloud Guy said. "I told you I was here to help. And now that I have... see ya later, alligator," he said, pushing Branch away.

     "What?" Branch said confused. "But you..."
"Bye!"

     Branch looked at him for a moment, and then turned walking away, completely confused.

     Cloud Guy watched him leave, and then looked down at Branch's poem. He smirked, using his cloud powers to piece the paper back together, and then created a strong breeze, blowing it away.