Catch a Rising Star

A/N: Finally! This chapter was hard to write down. The first half of it was easy to write, but the second part, not so much. You'll see why soon.

In the meantime, let's get on with Chapter 11. Roll it!

Chapter 11

A Perfect Day Gets Ruined

After they had finished their little lunch, Poppy and Branch headed back outside and got back to Dahlia. Poppy unlocked her, and she and Branch got inside. As they started to buckle themselves in, Poppy stole a little glance over at Branch. The little smile that was on his face, she could tell that that smile was 100% carefree and genuine.

He had a really nice smile, too. One that was starting to get her chest tight and her stomach pooling in warmth.

"So where to next?" Branch asked, getting Poppy to snap out of her little daze before she could realize the heat bubbling up in her belly at the sight of that oddly enchanting smile being aimed at her. She quickly distracted herself by tucking her pink locks under her sun hat again.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked him as she started up the ugly orange car and carefully pulled out of their parking space.

"You're the one who offered to be my tour guide." Branch said with a shrug and a little teasing smirk on his face. "You choose."

Poppy just smiled back. "Okay, wise guy." She said with a playful smirk of her own as she turned on the radio and put her sunglasses back on. "Get ready for a whole lot of fun."

Branch just laughed out loud when he recognized the song that was playing on the radio, slightly shaking his head. It was the same one that was playing the night before. At least this time, he was in a better mood to listen to music.

There was something about Branch's laugh that gave Poppy butterflies in her stomach again. Branch was really lightening up a bit.

True, he still was a little rough around the edges, but once he let her in, she saw that he wasn't as grouchy as she first thought. Maybe because of his sad past, and with all of his responsibilities to help his grandmother and younger sister, he doesn't really find time to have fun. But now, he can have all the playful fun he wanted and deserved to have.

Wake up to the blue sky.
Grab your shades
And let's go for a ride.

Breakfast by the ocean.
We'll do lunch
At Sunset & Vine.

****************************

A few minutes later, they were at a tourist stand, and Branch tried on some goofy-looking sunglasses. Poppy just laughed and then grabbed a nearby cheap camera to take a picture of him. But then, the salesperson took it from her, saying that she hasn't paid for it. Poppy apologized to him and then paid a hundred bucks for it.

Every day's a dream in California.
Every night, the stars come out to play.
Wish that I could always feel this way.

"Really?" Branch asked her.

"What?" Poppy retorted back.

The black haired man rolled his eyes, and then grabbed a few more things from the stand: a couple of paper road maps, a couple of shiny red apples and some granola bars and candy bars as little snacks for later. He then raised a brow at his companion, a little knowing smirk on his face. Poppy just rolled her eyes with a little smile as she and Branch left the stand.

*******************************

There's something about the sunshine, baby.
I'm seeing you in a whole new light.
Out of this world for the first time, baby.
Oh, it's so right.

Later, they were walking alongside each other through the streets, each of them having an ice cream cone as a cold treat. Poppy had strawberry cheesecake, while Branch had chocolate brownie with a caramel topping.

There was a roller skater who came up to them and showed off his skills. Branch just nodded his head at him, impressed, while Poppy beamed at him and pretended to rock with him, making her companion laugh.

There's something about the sunshine!
There's something about the sunshine!

**************************************

Soon after they had finished their ice cream cones, they were touring the world-famous Chinese Theatre. Poppy took a picture of Branch kneeling down and placing his hands in one of the pairs of handprints imprinted on the sidewalk. Then he got up and took his duffel bag from Poppy as she told him a couple of stories of her actually meeting briefly with some of the stars whose handprints were imprinted in the concrete slabs before them.

Branch was looking around the famous sights, feeling completely starstruck and in awe that he was actually visiting a place like this. Just then, he saw another slab having a celebrity's prints in it, and he took Poppy by the hand and dragged her over there, making her laugh.

In Hollywood, we're rocking.
In Malibu, we hang out and chill.
It's all about the shopping;
From Melrose to Beverly Hills.

********************************

Next, they were walking along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, seeing all of the famous stars carved onto the tiled sidewalk. Poppy was pointing out some of them, saying that she also met them once or twice, and Branch was just recognizing most of the names there, while laughing at some of Poppy's stories.

Everywhere's a scene, and now we're in it.
I don't wanna paint this town alone. (Oh, no.)
When I see you smile, I always feel at home!

***********************************

Later, they were visiting another tourist street stand. Branch saw a fake clapperboard, and Poppy took another picture of him with it. Just then, Poppy took him aside and pointed above to show one of her concert boards. Branch just laughed at the sight of the annoyed look on Poppy's face when she saw it, and he took the camera from her to take a picture of her looking up the concert ad.

There's something about the sunshine, baby.
I'm seeing you in a whole new light.
L.A.'s breeze with the palm trees swaying.
Oh, it's so right.

Now that you're here, (Now that you're here,)
It's suddenly clear. (It's suddenly clear.)
Sun's coming through.
I never knew

Whatever I do, it's better with you.
It's better with you!
Yeah, yeah.

********************************

After a long and busy drive because of traffic, the two of them had arrived at the famous Hollywood sign. Poppy took a picture of Branch in front of it, and then when she was done, Branch came over to her and they both took a selfie in front of the white sign, Poppy not having her sunglasses and her face, and she was practically leaning in close to Branch, but he didn't mind.

There's something about the sunshine, baby. (There's something about it.)
I'm seeing you in a whole new light. (Whole new light.)
Out of this world for the first time, baby. (Baby.)
Oh, it's so right. (It's so right.)

******************************

Soon, they were back on the road, and this time, they were singing along with the radio. Once in a while, they would give each other a glance, smiling widely as they sang the words. Both of them did feel a warm feeling in their stomachs when they saw those little sunny grins coming from the other person and pleasant heat lightly blossoming in their cheeks.

But they didn't really mind it this time. They were both having a really good time, and there was also something inside both of them that was telling them that seeing the other person smile at them was worth it entirely.

There's something about the sunshine, baby.
I'm seeing you in a whole new light. (A whole new light.)
Out of this world for the first time, baby;
Oh, it's so right.

There's something about the sunshine, baby! (Sunshine, baby!)
I'm seeing you in a whole new light.
L.A.'s breeze with the palm trees swaying. (Out of this world!)
Oh, it's so right. (It's so right.)

There's something about the sunshine!
There's something about the sunshine!

Branch sighed happily as the song died down and the radio went silent as Poppy turned it off with a little giggle. He then put his arms back and rested his head against his hands, sighing happily.

"This has pretty much been a perfect day." He said, the smile on his face not receding.

Poppy smiled back at him. Seeing him like this; so laid-back, it was almost humorous since she knew that he was pretty serious, about ninety-percent of the time. But it was a nice change of pace for both of them, since he told her that he had been working himself pretty hard for quite a while, after he had graduated from college.

This was good for him, almost as much as it is for her. She had forgotten that she was someone famous that could've gotten mobbed if anyone recognized her. Just being with Branch; it felt liberating, like she could just be herself.

She then looked back front before she accidentally shifted off the lane. Suddenly, her smile vanished when she saw a couple of familiar black vans trailing behind Dahlia.

"Not anymore." She said.

Branch immediately went rigid and he looked back to see those vans following them, and his arms quickly dropped back down to his sides. Poppy then groaned in frustration. They just had to appear at such a bad time.

"We have to lose these vans!" She exclaimed.

Branch reached into his duffel bag and pulled out one of the road maps they purchased earlier and studied it for a few seconds.

"Okay, make the next right." He said.

"You sure?" Poppy asked, seeing that up ahead, there were paths going both left and right off the main road. "Maybe I should turn left."

"No, turn right." Branch answered back.

"But there's a road there." Poppy said. "I'm going left."

"Poppy, no!" Branch exclaimed.

But it was too late. Poppy had already turned to the left and they found themselves heading down a beat up dirt road, away from the main road. The only good thing was that the vans continued on the main road, losing them.

"Poppy, this isn't even a road." Branch said. "This is more like a firebreak. It has to be."

"Let me drive." Poppy said. "Sooner or later, we'll find a new road that will loop us around back to the highway."

Branch crossed his arms. "I highly doubt that." He said with a huff.

Poppy looked over at him. It was suddenly like he wasn't having a good time earlier, like he had been grouchy for the past couple of hours. This guy is much too complex.

After a few more seconds of driving down a bumpy trail, Branch huffed loudly again. "Come on, let's turn around and get back to the main road."

"Calm down. I'm pretty sure that there's another road here that will lead us to a different part of the highway." Poppy said.

"Poppy, I'm the navigator," Branch retorted, "and from what I can see, we are literally in the middle of nowhere!"

"Okay, that's it!" Poppy exclaimed. "I've had it up to here with you and your attitude."

"Me and my attitude?" Branch repeated in disbelief.

"Yes!" Poppy shouted, glaring at the person sitting next to her. "You're grumpy, you're judgemental, and so.... paranoid."

"Yeah." Branch scoffed, looking away from her. "I got that. Thanks."

But then, he noticed that the car wasn't moving. "You had to stop the car? Keep going!"

Poppy blinked in confusion, and then noticed that as well, along with the fact that her foot was still pressing down on the pedal. She pushed down on it further, but the car still didn't move. Both her and Branch looked out their windows and saw that the car was stuck in a mud wallow.

Branch groaned. "Great." He moaned. And this day actually was going well.

Just then, the car shifted forward with a squelching sound, making both of them yelp. They looked out again and saw that the car was slowly sinking.

"Get out!" Branch said.

Both he and Poppy squeezed themselves out of the open windows of the car and out on top of it, Branch grabbing his duffel bag before he climbed out of it. He almost lost his balance while doing so.

"Here. Let me help." Poppy said, and she reached over to grab Branch's hand.

But he stopped her. "Don't touch me." He said, and he regained his balance and climbed onto the top of the car.

Poppy scoffed as she pulled herself up. "Okay, why are you so mad right now?" She demanded.

"Oh, I don't know!" Branch yelled sarcastically. "This?!" He wildly gestured around them, making clear of the situation they were in.

"Turning on this road was your bright idea!"

"You're blaming me?!" Poppy exclaimed.

"Yes!" Branch shouted. "You're a terrible navigator and a terrible driver!"

"Oh, I'm a great driver, I'll have you know, mister!" Poppy retorted, crossing her arms. Branch just scoffed, looking away from her and trying to assess how to get out of the mud wallow.

"Guess we'll have to jump." The black-haired man said.

Poppy looked over at him as if he was crazy. "I'm not jumping."

She looked around and saw a large enough log near the wallow that looked sturdy enough. "Let's use that log as a bridge."

Branch turned around to look at it with a scrutinizing eye. "That doesn't look very stable." He said. "And I'm not sure if we can reach it without losing balance."

The car suddenly shifted deeper into the mud, making both of them almost topple over from the sudden movement.

"You have a better idea?" Poppy asked him. "Go!"

Branch just rolled his eyes and then carefully moved himself over toward the edge to try and get a good footing on the log with his foot. He managed to get himself onto it, balancing precariously.

Once that he was sure that he was stable enough, he turned around towards Poppy. "Okay, come on." He said, holding out his hand.

Poppy carefully stepped down and took it. She then stood next to him as the car continued to sink. Branch groaned at the sight of it.

"Come on!" He exclaimed. "That's my grandma's old car!"

"I understand that." Poppy said, turning around to face him abruptly. But the motion of it caused her to lose both hers and Branch's balance, and both of them fell into the mud.

They quickly scrambled to pull themselves out of the wallow, their clothes muddy and their faces splattered, as the car sunk all the way down in the wallow, never to be seen again.

Branch's jaw dropped. "You killed Dahlia!" He exclaimed and walked further away from the mud wallow, on the verge of an anxiety attack, with Poppy following him and her phone going off.

"Oh, I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. Ugh, my grandma's gonna kill me! Why did I have to get in that stupid car with you?"

The incessant ringing was starting to annoy him further. "Can you please answer that phone?" He asked.

"Okay!" Poppy said, grabbing it and answering it as she walked a couple of feet away from Branch, who was starting to pace back and forth to try and calm himself down.

"Hey, Dad." She said, recognizing the caller's voice.

"Poppy, where on earth are you?" Peppy asked his daughter. But the message was getting a little chopped up.

"Dad? Hello?" Poppy asked, trying to hear better because of the choppy message.

"Poppy, you've been worrying me all day and all night last night. What's going on?" Peppy tried to question again. But it was still sounding pretty choppy.

Poppy looked over at her phone and saw that she had little to no bars. "Dad, I have no signal." She said. "Can you hear me?"

"Listen, Poppy." Peppy said, the message cutting off at random times. "Wherever you are, just come home now. And call me when you're close by."

Then the signal died down completely. Poppy looked at her phone and saw that she had no more bars. She sighed as she closed her phone and put it away.

She then saw Branch walking further away up the hill. "Hey, Branch!" She called out and quickly caught up to him. "Where are you going?"

"To the beach where my sister is probably freaking out right now!" Branch answered with a huff. "She's probably thinking that I 'ditched' her again!"

Poppy then noticed something. "Uh, Branch?"

"What?" Branch demanded, turning back to glare at her.

The pink-haired star then pointed downhill. "Beach is that way."

Branch just looked at her dubiously, and she just returned it with an apologetic glance. He then huffed in annoyance and started walking downhill, with Poppy following him.

**********************************

Meanwhile, back at Malibu, Harper was walking through the parking lot, trying to see what car keys she had instead of the ones that she had originally. And she had walked along the beach for about thirty minutes in search of her brother, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Branch Arthur Hawthorne, where are you?" She muttered under her breath, using her brother's full name. "You better not have ditched me again, or else I'm telling Grandma."

Just then, she heard a car chirp, signifying that it was unlocked. She then looked closely at the dark blue Porsche, and then she opened up the driver's door. She looked around to see if someone had left their driver's license inside in the dashboard.

They did, and Harper took it out. But she was not expected to see a famously familiar face on it. She gasped quietly.

"Poppy Rebecca.... Summers?" She whispered under her breath, reading the full name written on the license. But then something suspicious in her was telling her that this couldn't be real.

"Come on." She said to herself. "Am I being punked?" She looked around and saw no one. She sighed, still searching for any sign of her brother, whether he was behind this or not.

She sighed again and then got into the Porsche. Well, as long as she had the keys to one of Poppy's actual cars, there was one place that she could visit that no other fan gets to, and where she can get answers to her brother's whereabouts. She just hoped that who she's looking for would be there.

A/N: The second part was where I struggled, as you guys can tell from reading it. That was definitely not how you would think a perfect day would turn. And it seems that those two are back where they started.

Fun fact: I chose the middle names for them based off some of their voice actors' other popular roles. Everyone knows that Anna Kendrick was in "Pitch Perfect" as Beca, which I'm pretty sure, is a nickname for Rebecca. And for Branch's, well, Justin Timberlake voiced King Arthur, or Artie, in "Shrek the Third."

The song that I used is called "Something 'Bout the Sunshine", which actually is from the movie that this is based off, "StarStruck." However, I don't own it in any way or form. All credit goes to respective owners.

Well, until next time, y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated. Remember to stay healthy, and also, check out some of my other "Trolls" stories if you're interested.

Got to fly! ;)