Catch a Rising Star

A/N: This actually took longer than I thought because I had some other stories that I wanted to start or update. Also, I had been pretty busy with college. Well, in reward for your patience, this chapter is a bit longer than the last one, so maybe that can somewhat serve as compensation.

So let's get on with Chapter 7. Roll it!

Chapter 7

More Than Meets the Eye

Soon, both Poppy and Branch were driving along the freeway in silence. Poppy spared a couple of glances over at Branch, but he was just staring out the window, looking to make sure they were going in the right direction. Poppy quickly got rid of the uneasy tension and turned on the radio, which was playing one of her favorite songs. She was humming along to it when Branch turned away from the window and glared at her.

"Really?" He asked. "Do you have to sing?"

"I always sing when I'm in a good mood." Poppy answered him.

"Do you have to be in a good mood?" Branch continued to question.

"Okay, what is wrong with you?" Poppy asked him back. "I'm trying to be nice, and yet, you're just acting like a sourpuss for no good reason."

"Pfft." Branch scoffed. "Really? You thought that I would be dying to be in the same car as Poppy Summers while she sings as she drives me home? That might be any fan's dream, except one problem. I'm not your fan."

Poppy looked at him briefly before turning her attention back to the road. So that might be the main reason why he gives her such disdain. He never liked her to begin with.

"Why?" She asked. "You don't like me singing?"

Branch sighed. "No, I didn't say that." He clarified. "I like your songs, I'm just not crazy about you."

"But, you don't know me." Poppy said.

"Exactly." Branch answered. He had a feeling that this conversation was going to head into deeper waters that he wasn't comfortable with, so he tried to look for an excuse to either end it or change the subject.

"I think if you did know me, you'd really like me." Poppy said.

Branch was sure that she might soon notice the noticeable blush that was starting to appear on his face. But soon, he saw a familiar street sign that led to his family's condo.

"Turn here." He said, pointing to the right.

Poppy carefully swerved the car onto the correct lane, and went right. But little did either of them know that the black van that was following them got onto that very same lane to turn as well. Luckily for them, the stoplight had turned red, and the van was forced to stop until it turned green again.

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

Soon, the car arrived at the condo and Poppy parked along the curb, turning off the car's headlights to avoid any suspicion. Branch saw the ugly orange car that was parked a little further along the curb, and he quietly let out a sigh of relief. Harper was back home and safe.

He glanced over at the electronic clock that was on the dashboard and saw that it was a quarter past midnight, so both she and their grandmother were sound asleep. Well, hopefully Rosie won't ask them too many questions in the morning.

Branch unbuckled his seatbelt and started to get out of the car. "Thanks for the ride." He said.

He was about to step out when Poppy grabbed his arm. "Hey, Branch." She said, getting his attention. "Look, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

"Noted." Branch said, his eyes narrowing. "Are we done now?"

Poppy blinked in surprise. What is it with this guy?! "Yeah." She said, letting go. "I guess."

"Good." Branch said as he finally got out of the car and closed the door behind him, walking towards the front door, which he hoped was unlocked. It was, and he quietly slipped inside. He needed a cup of cocoa after such a crazy night.

Poppy slapped a palm against her forehead. She wanted to bang her head against the wheel, but decided against it, knowing that she might accidentally wake up the entire street if she pressed too hard against the car horn. Branch was seriously getting on her nerves with his pessimistic attitude. Well, at least she won't have to deal with him anymore.

She was about to turn the car's headlights back on when she saw something coming in her direction. She looked through the rearview mirror and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar black van coming onto the street. She quickly slid further down her seat to avoid being seen by the spotlight that was coming from the van's passenger seat window.

"Oh, great!" She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Well, there was no way that she was going to get off the street and back home without being seen or tailed by the paparazzi. She needed a plan, and fast.

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

Inside the kitchen, Branch had just finished warming up a cup of mint cocoa when he heard a knock on the glass backyard door. He put his mug down on the breakfast bar and saw Poppy over in the backyard, waving frantically at him.

His eyes widened when he saw her, then he quietly went over to the backyard door and then slightly opened it.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked her.

"Look." Poppy said, bringing her hands together as if she was begging him. "I'll give you five thousand dollars if you do me this favor."

Branch narrowed his eyes at her. "It's not exactly a favor if you're paying for it." He said.

Poppy immediately brightened up. "So is that a yes?" She asked. The answer she got from him was a heavy sigh of defeat.

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

Minutes later, both of them were pushing Poppy's car into the detached garage in the backyard. They had to be quiet so that they didn't wake anyone up.

"You know, you could.... help a little." Poppy said as she pushed her car forward with all her might.

"Oh, this car wouldn't be.... moving.... if I wasn't pushing it." Branch grunted as they finally managed to get the car in the garage.

Poppy closed the door while Branch grabbed a nearby ladder and started to get a clean blanket and pillow from one of the top shelves in the built-in closet at the front of the garage.

"You'll be out of here before morning, right?" Branch asked her as he struggled to get a good grip on the items for her.

"Yeah." Poppy said as she came over to him, her eyes looking around the garage. "Hopefully, no one will ever know I was here."

"Pfft. I'll know." Branch said as he got the pillow, but the folded up comforter blanket fell off the shelf and landed on Poppy's head. Branch snickered at her.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." She muttered sarcastically as she pulled the comforter off of her and Branch handed her the pillow.

He climbed off the ladder and put it away in the corner. "Hey, is there something in here that I can wear?" Poppy asked him. "So that no one recognizes me?"

"You can try looking in those." Branch said, pointing to some boxes that were on the side of the closet. Poppy then began rummaging through them.

"So is all this really necessary?" He asked her.

"Yes." Poppy answered. "Clearly, you don't understand." She stopped searching the boxes to look at him. "They're everywhere."

Branch just scoffed as she continued to look through the boxes. "And I thought I was paranoid." He said.

Poppy rolled her eyes. "You know what? Forget it." She said, and continued to rummage around the box's contents.

Branch only rolled his own eyes back. "Whatever." He muttered.

Finally, Poppy managed to find an old but nice straw sun hat that had a silk black ribbon tied in a bow in the back of it. She put it on her head and turned to face Branch.

"Well?" She asked him, pointing to it.

Branch recognized the hat, and a soft smile appeared on his face. "That was my mom's hat." He said as fond memories came into his head. "She used to wear it every time the whole family would go to the beach."

Poppy noticed the look in his eyes. It was longing for a lost parent. He must miss her. And if he and his sister live with their grandmother, then something must've happened to her and their father.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, and quickly took it off. She handed the hat back to Branch, but he stopped her.

"No, you keep it." He said, the soft smile having never left his face. "It looks good on you."

Poppy resisted the urge to blush at his kind smile that was aimed at her and the even kinder words that came out of his mouth.

"Um, thanks?" She said unsurely as she slowly put the sun hat back on her head and began nervously playing with her fingers.

"Um, Branch? If I may ask, what happened.... to your mom?"

The smile that was on Branch's face slowly vanished as he looked down at the garage floor. Poppy immediately backtracked.

"Eh, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said quickly. "I, I was just curious. I should've known that it was a sensitive topic. Sorry, forget I said anything."

"No, it's fine." Branch said, cutting her off. "I guess I should tell you anyway, since I'm the one that brought her up in the first place."

He took a deep breath before speaking. "She and my dad died in a car accident twelve years ago. After that, Grandma took me and Harper in."

Poppy's eyes softened in sympathy. He must have been devastated by the loss, and she assumed that he was pretty young himself when his parents died.

"I lost my mother, too." She said.

Branch blinked. "Really?" He asked her.

Poppy nodded. "She died about nine years ago." She explained. "She had leukemia ever since I was five, and it was a miracle that she managed to live as long as she did when she wasn't expected to last two years. Ever since then, I decided to focus on music as a way to help me cope with her passing, and it eventually got me to where I am today."

"I'm sorry." Branch said quietly. "For your loss."

Poppy smiled at him softly, which he returned. Natural pink became lost in sky blue, and vice versa. But then, Branch realized that he had been staring for too long and cleared his throat in an attempt to hide the growing rosiness in his cheeks. Poppy came to the same conclusion and began playing with her bangs to hide a similar blush on her face.

"Uh, um, anything else?" Branch asked her, trying to sound annoyed. "That you might need?"

"Um, nope." Poppy answered, grabbing the blanket and the pillow. "I, I'm good."

"Yeah, so good you're sleeping in your car." Branch said dryly, crossing his arms.

Poppy shrugged. "Eh, could be worse." She said.

Branch scoffed and started to head towards the side entrance of the garage. "Branch, wait." Poppy said, grabbing his arm, making him face her.

When his sky blue eyes got locked onto her magenta ones, she couldn't help but start to smile again. There was just something about them that just drew her in, despite his attempt to hide any emotion. That shade of blue was unlike any shade she had ever seen before. Warm, but not too bright. Cool, but not dark. It was the shade of the sky itself.

Branch felt the blush on his face growing when he noticed the silence between them, even though Poppy stopped him from leaving.

"Can you stop doing that?" He asked her.

Poppy blinked, snapping out of her daze and the blush on her face growing warmer. "Um, uh, what was I doing?" She asked.

"That look." Branch said as if it was obvious, gesturing to her face and then pulled his arm away from her grip.

"I think that when you give that look to your boyfriend," he enunciated, "it makes him grovel at his feet. Well, I'm not that kind of guy who swoons at the first sight of a pretty face. So don't even try."

With that, he opened the door and then closed it behind him, leaving Poppy alone in the garage. She blinked a couple of times before she realized what Branch had said. Not the part about her already having a boyfriend, but the part when he said that she was pretty. And she had noticed the tinge of red that was in his cheeks. Maybe she was starting to get through to him after all.

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

Branch got back inside the house and went over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands and splash water on his face to cool his burning cheeks. What was this woman doing to him? Besides driving him absolutely crazy with her annoying concern for him after she smacked him in the head with a door, her sassy remarks to his own sarcastic comments, the way she seemed to be more at ease singing songs she can sing from the heart, and her beautiful smile that gets his stupid and traitorous heart to beat erratically against his chest. It was just so.... infuriating.

After he dried his hands and face, he went over to his mug of cocoa, which had cooled down considerably from its normal temperature before. He sighed and then put it in the microwave to reheat it. As he waited, his conversation with Poppy echoed in his mind, fond and happy memories playing through his mind like a movie. With a sigh, he quietly snuck into his room and opened up his closet. There, inside was a black leather guitar case.

He picked it up and headed back down into the living room. In the kitchen, the microwave had turned off, and he took out his reheated cocoa. He put his mug down on the small table before opening the guitar case.

Inside it was an amber colored acoustic guitar with a black highlight around it. He carefully took it out and found a couple of papers of sheet music and an old tape cassette under it. Taped on it was a label that said, "For Branch."

He smiled fondly as he gingerly took the tape out and the sheet music out of the case. He found an old tape player that was on the breakfast bar and carefully inserted the tape in it. He turned it up a little bit and brought the tape player over to the table as the cassette started to play its recording.

"Hey there, sport." A familiar voice to Branch said to him from the recording, making him smile softly. It was the voice of his father, Rowan Hawthorne.

"It's Dad. You'll be turning twelve soon, so I thought that for your birthday, since I'll be a little late for the party, I'd write you a new song that we can practice together when I get back from my trip. Your mom should have the music where you can follow along with this recording."

Branch took a little sip of his mint cocoa before he positioned the guitar correctly in his arms, the sheet music spread out on the table where he could read it in the moonlight.

"You ready, buddy?" The recording asked him.

I am, Dad. Branch thought to himself. After a couple of beats of silence, Branch began strumming the strings gently, humming along with the song.

Oh, yeah, alright.
Ooh. (Yeah.)

Then, Branch began to sing the song softly, along with the recording of his father who would join in some parts of the lyrics. Eventually, the guitar got a little louder, but not loud enough to wake up his family.

Branch: Everyone knows
All about my direction.
And in my heart somewhere,
I wanna go there.
Still, I don't go there.

Both: Everybody says, "say something,"
Say something,
Say something.
Then say something.

Say something,
Then say something.
I don't wanna get
Caught up in the rhythm of it.

But I can't help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no.
Caught up in the middle of it.

No, I can't help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no, no.
Caught up in the rhythm of it.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

From inside the garage, as Poppy struggled to get comfy in her car, she heard someone playing a guitar from inside the house. It couldn't be Branch, right? He was the only one who was still awake inside the condo. Maybe he was just listening to some music on the radio.

But then again, she had never heard that song before. And the voice that was singing it, it was beautiful, almost drawing her in like a siren. The most angelic male voice that she ever heard.

Curiosity overcame her and she quietly slipped out of her car and out of the garage. Staying out of sight behind one of the many tall and bushy shrubs, she peered through the glass backyard door.

It was Branch! Her pink eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect someone as grumpy and pessimistic as him to have such a lovely voice, or to have such amazing talent with a guitar. He was playing along with a recording from a tape player that was on the table.

The recording of Branch's father, Rowan, then took the lead, while Branch joined in on some certain parts of the lyrics in harmony, before they would sing together again.

Rowan: Everyone knows
All about my transgressions.
Still in my heart somewhere,

Both: There's melody and harmony

Rowan: For you and me, tonight. (Branch: Whoa.)
I hear them call my name.

Both: Everybody says "say something."
Then say something,
Say something.
Then say something,

Say something,
Then say something.
I don't want to get
Caught up in the rhythm of it.

But I can't get help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no.
Caught up in the middle of it.

No I can't help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no, no.
Caught up in the rhythm of it.

Then, they started to sing the bridge over and over again, with the recording repeating it after it would sing along with Branch.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch strummed the strings of the guitar a bit softer as he sang along with the recording of his father.

Both: Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing at all.

Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing at all.

Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing.

Then, the volume rose up a little bit more as they started to sing the chorus again.

But I can't help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no.
Caught up in the middle of it.

No, I can't help myself,
No, I can't help myself, no, no, no.
Caught up in the rhythm of it.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Branch: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Rowan: Maybe I'm looking for
Something that I can't have.

Poppy watched with amazement as she secretly watched Branch sing and play. The guy has real talent. He has soul, passion, and heart. If he ever had the chance to publicly showcase his talent, he would become a superstar in no time at all.

However, that seemed like that was the last thing that he would ever do. After all, he did say to her earlier that her life as a superstar was "artificial", and that she can't make her own choices anymore. She stayed quiet as she watched Branch sing along with the recording of his dad the last part of the song, which was steadily growing quiet.

Both: Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing at all.

Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing at all.

Sometimes the greatest way
To say something
Is to say nothing.

Branch softly smiled as the music ended, and the voice of his dad came back on the recording.

"While that may be true, always remember this: never give up in what you believe in. If you must speak up for or against something, then do it, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Music is in your blood. I've seen that you have raw talent, and you can hone on it. You don't have to be a famous star to shine, Branch. Sometimes, just being yourself is more than enough."

A lone tear slid down his cheek. "Happy birthday, kiddo." The recording began to finish. "I'll be home before you know it. Take care of your mom, Harper, and Grandma, too. I love you."

Branch wiped away another tear that leaked out as the recording ended. "I love you too, Dad." He whispered. "I miss you and Mom. And I'll keep being strong. For both of you."

He turned off the tape player and carefully took out the tape. He placed it and the sheet music back inside the guitar case, with the guitar following after. He closed the case and headed back into his room to put it away.

Poppy took that as her cue to get back in the garage. The song and Branch's voice were echoing in the mind as she got back in her car and got under her borrowed blanket. The song was alluring and beautiful, yet so mysterious.

Just like the person who was singing it. Poppy thought to herself with a smile as the song in her head gently guided her to sleep. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

A/N: The song I used is "Say Something," by our very own Branch in real life, Justin Timberlake. I found this song when I was researching what songs from Justin can fit in this story, and I found this. I'm still trying to find one more before a certain chapter, something that is inspirational. If I can't, then I'll go with a song from a different artist. But I don't own it in any way.

Next chapter, we'll finally see if Branch and Harper did get caught by their grandma. Hopefully, not. You guys can also check out my collection of one-shots, "Feeling the Love Tonight" and my other two "Trolls" stories: "Song Defies Color" and "Gray Is Not All Colorless."

Until next time, y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. And remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)