Catch a Rising Star

A/N: Finally! I've finished this chapter after a long while! I hope I didn't keep you guys waiting for too long. So let's just get on with Chapter 12. Roll it!

Chapter 12

Reconciliation and Feelings

It had been a few minutes of them walking in an awkward and tense silence. Poppy was almost playing with her fingers as the silence ate at her brain, while Branch was walking a few paces ahead of her, a deep frown etched on his face, his hand holding the strap of his duffel bag tightly, his knuckles almost turning white from how tight his grip was.

Finally, Poppy just couldn't take the awkward silence anymore. She picked up her own pace to walk alongside Branch.

"Hey." She said, getting his attention. "You okay?"

Branch's scowl only deepened. "Now you're concerned?" He asked her accusingly.

"I've always been concerned." Poppy answered him, a little confused about why he was still angry at her.

The black-haired man just scoffed. "Well, maybe you should stop." He said.

The pink-haired superstar groaned in annoyance. "Okay, why are you so grumpy?" She demanded, having no more patience left with her grouchy companion.

"I'm not grumpy or cranky or crabby." Branch said with a little bite in his tone. "I just want to get home to my family, explaining to them why I disappeared, and then suffer the consequences."

Poppy bit back another groan of annoyance. Just when she thought that she had finally figured this guy out, he then threw her another curveball. Well, she was not going to have any more confusion for the first time in the span of two days.

"Do you know what I want?" She asked him. "I want to have fun, okay? For the first time in years, there's no reporters, there's no interviewers, there's no crowds. I'm having a great time! I want you to stop complaining so I can enjoy it."

Branch stopped walking, and that got Poppy to think that she got her point across as she continued to walk ahead of him. But then she heard him speaking snarkily from behind her.

"Oh, so that's what it's like for you?" He demanded. "You don't get what you want, so you throw a tantrum like a little kid and then just walk away?"

He then scoffed with disdain. "You know, I bet your friends chase after you when you do that. Brat!"

Poppy spun back around and faced him with an indignant look. "What, I'm a brat? I'm a brat?" She asked him. "What about you, huh?"

"Me?" Branch questioned in disbelief, pointing to himself.

"Yeah!" Poppy exclaimed, as if it was really obvious. "In the last two days, I have done nothing but thinking about you."

Normally, if she had been thinking straight, she would've been mortified by what she had just said, but honestly, she was too angry to even care.

"Really?" Branch challenged, crossing his arms. "So when you hit me with a door twice, hid me in your house, wrecked my grandma's car, and dropped me in mud, you were just being thoughtful?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, I pity your friends."

Poppy just rolled her own eyes. "You wish you were one." She muttered.

Branch took one step closer to her, his sky blue eyes practically slits, his hot breath slightly fanning across her mud-streaked face.

"I'd rather go down with Dahlia." He said snipely, before continuing to walk away from her, trying to keep his distance.

Poppy just shook her head in disbelief. He really was unbelievable. She then picked up her pace to catch up to him.

"You know, I'm confused about something."

"Confused about what?" Branch asked her, wondering what else she wanted with him.

Poppy quickly got ahead of him and turned around to face him, walking backwards. "Okay, back when we were on our coffee lunch break and our little photography tour, I actually thought you liked me."

Branch just narrowed his eyes at her again. "You thought wrong." He said.

He was too angry at her to notice that deep down, it actually was a lie. He was having a great time with her when they were having some coffee and then exploring the city earlier, but right now, the good feeling's gone.

His answer didn't satisfy her. "But everyone likes me." She said. "Why is it that you don't?"

"Because you think everybody likes you." Branch answered.

Poppy still didn't understand. "Because I'm likeable." She said.

Branch shook his head bitterly. "No, because you're a spoiled star." He retorted back.

"What does that mean?" Poppy demanded.

Branch groaned in frustration. "You don't even see it, do you?" He asked her.

"Your life isn't real. You can park in no parking zones, you never have to wait in line. You can buy anything you want at any time. Your house is like a hotel. You have so many people working for you, and I bet it's very hard to even keep track of their names."

Now Poppy was starting to feel a little insulted. "Yes, it is." She answered. "Look, I may be famous, but I want to make friends despite my so-called status."

"But do you even think that there are those who would take advantage of that just to have their moments in the spotlight?" Branch asked her.

"Are you accusing Bridget of doing something like that?" Poppy demanded, not wanting to believe it.

"No!" Branch answered. "She at least has her head screwed on right, and she always looks out for you. I noticed that last night. That's real and true friendship. I'm talking more about the likes of that so-called boyfriend of yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Poppy asked, feeling offended for Creek.

"Real people date someone because they want to be with them." Branch explained, as if it was obvious.

"And yet, I've been noticing that in every single photo that my sister has seen of him, you're always in them. Have you ever seen that he pretty much lives for the camera, while you get annoyed with it? Once he gets enough popularity, he will have no more use for you. So why are you even with Creek?"

Poppy opened her mouth, ready to defend her boyfriend, but then she closed it when sudden images of her and Creek flashed through in her mind. Now that Branch has mentioned it, he does have a point. Recently, she had been shying away from all of the cameras; both good and bad, while Creek was making all kinds of poses for the paparazzi, kind of dragging her into getting unwanted pictures.

Branch narrowed his eyes. "I rest my case." He said before walking ahead of her again.

That got Poppy to snap out of her little daze and start to follow Branch again. "Wait, wait, wait." She said. "So basically, you're telling me that I'm not a real person?"

"That apparently sums it up." He answered coldly, not looking back at her.

She huffed in annoyance at his statement. "Okay, then. How about I tell you something that no one else knows about me?" She asked.

"You let fans cut off little bits of your hair if they get close enough?" Branch asked her sarcastically.

"No!" Poppy exclaimed at the preposterous thought, lightly playing with the ends of her muddied pink locks with her fingers.

"Then what?" Branch demanded in annoyance as Poppy got back in front of him and then started walking backwards.

"Look, from the first day I met you, I finally feel like I'm free." Poppy answered. Like before, if she wasn't feeling so exasperated to get him to understand, her mud-streaked cheeks would've blushed bright red at the words that were coming out of her mouth.

"Free from what?" Branch asked.

Poppy brushed away some tall reeds from her face. "Free from- Aaaah!" She suddenly lost her balance and fell backward.

"Poppy!" Branch exclaimed fearfully.

He immediately dropped his duffel bag onto the ground and then came over to see if she was okay, only to have her pull a fast one on him and pull him into a nearby pond with a splash. He quickly breached the surface to regain his breath, since he wasn't prepared for that, coughing out some sprays of water. Poppy came up next to him, laughing. He narrowed his eyes at her before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face.

"Oh, it's on, princess." He said, and he splashed some water on her with his hands, which was making her laugh even more.

"Bring it, wise guy." She teased back.

Quickly, it became a full fledged water war, both of them laughing as their faces and clothes became soaked, but at least all of the mud was getting washed off, as well as the tension and bitterness.

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

About an hour later, both of them were in the sun, drying off. Branch was lying on the ground, his arms crossed behind his head, while Poppy was sitting up. Their previous argument was the furthest thing from their minds; practically ancient history.

"This has been kind of nice, huh?" Branch asked, turning over onto his side to face Poppy.

Poppy nodded in agreement. "I wish I could just stay here, where no one can find me." She said.

"Why?" Branch asked her.

The pink-haired superstar just shrugged. "Because they all want something from me." She answered. "A performance, an interview, or a photograph."

"Except a few people." Branch answered. "Your dad, your best friend."

"Yeah." Poppy agreed. "And you."

Branch lightly scoffed at that, but there was a little smile on his face. "Well, what about the people you work with?" He asked. "Do they expect something from you?"

Poppy nodded. "Yeah. My manager is one of them." She answered. "I feel like all she ever talks about is this movie deal. She thinks it's my 'next big career move'." She said that part with finger quotes.

"What do you think about it?" Branch asked her.

"I think that if I get the offer, I have to take it." Poppy replied.

"What about your tour?" Branch continued to question her.

"What about it?" Poppy asked him.

Branch sat up straight. "Well, twenty countries. Twelve weeks. Millions of screaming fans. I'm no expert at things like this, but I can tell that maybe it seems like a lot." He said. "Having to do the tour and the movie at the same time."

Poppy sighed. "I don't really have a choice." She said.

"Everyone has a choice." Branch said, shaking his head lightly. "What do you want?"

Poppy let out another sigh. "Well, I know what I don't want to do." She said.

"I don't want to disappoint anybody, especially my fans. I wouldn't be where I am without them, so I just never say no. To anything." She quickly realized.

Branch briefly ducked his head to hide his smile before looking back up at her. "Maybe I really don't understand." He said, the smile slipping away from his face.

Poppy turned over to look at him. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Your life." Branch answered. "I mean, it's so different from mine. Everything you do and say is so big and public. I think I can kind of see now why you're so desperate to want some freedom."

Poppy smiled at him softly. "Well, not everything about me is so big and public." She said, slightly shrugging her shoulders.

"Right now, here with you, I feel like I can just be myself. Not 'Poppy Summers'. Not famous. Just me."

Branch smiled back at her. "How do you like it?" He asked.

Poppy's little grin turned shy, but she still looked at him in the eyes. "I like it a lot." She responded.

"Me too." Branch agreed softly, with neither him or Poppy wanting to break the little spell that was being cast over them.

Slowly, the pink-haired superstar scooted a little closer to her black-haired companion. For once, he wasn't complaining about the lack of personal space.

"So tell me something about you." She said.

"What do you want to know?" Branch asked.

Poppy's soft smile turned a little wider. "Everything." She answered.

Branch rolled his eyes playfully. "That could take a while." He said. "I have a very exciting life."

Both of them lightly laughed at his little joke. Then once again, natural pink eyes became lost in sky blue, and vice versa. Heart rates began to pick up again, going a little faster than normal as both owners continued to stare at each other.

Finally, Branch attempted to calm his own rapidly beating heart. "You're doing it again." He said, attempting to sound indifferent.

"Doing what?" Poppy asked.

"That thing with your eyes." He answered, attempting to scowl, but she just laughed when she saw that he wasn't really annoyed.

"Oh, you mean this?" She asked, and then she started to try and cross her eyes and then move them around independently, as if she was pretending to be a chameleon.

Branch just laughed at how silly she looked. "Okay, so comedy. Not your next big career move." He said with a little smirk.

"What?" Poppy exclaimed, sounding playfully offended. "Nah, I'm funny."

Branch rolled his eyes teasingly. "Funny-looking." He added, the smile on his face growing a little wider.

Poppy just scoffed teasingly, her eyes having a mischievous glint in them. "You like me."

"You wish." Branch said, playfully nudging her shoulder with his, making her giggle.

Then once again, their eyes locked onto each other again, their smiles soft and tender. Now, they could feel their hearts were beating at a more rapid pace again, but this time, they didn't mind it. There was just something about the other person that drew them in closer; something that they didn't know that they needed, wanted, or even liked having in their lives.

Finally, Branch broke the gaze, clearing his throat while slightly looking away from Poppy, his cheeks lightly flushed and rubbing the back of his head. Poppy realized it as well and looked away, blushing a delicate pink.

"We should go." Branch said, trying to bring some normalcy back.

Poppy met Branch's eyes again, her cheeks still stained a light pink. "Yeah." She said softly, her smile gentle but sunny.

In the late afternoon sun, Branch never thought that anyone could look so beautiful as Poppy was looking at that moment. Her unusual pink eyes, they were like, two pools that he feared if he dove in, he might never come up for air. And the way that she was smiling at him, of all people, the sun itself can get jealous of it, knowing that it could never shine half as bright.

Poppy had always noticed that Branch was good-looking, but as he was looking at her with such tenderness, it added a new element to just how attractive he is. One that shows that despite his first impression of being cold and distant, there is a heart of gold under that tough exterior of his. And his sky blue eyes, they were truly the windows to his soul; speaking a thousand words that he would never say aloud.

The silence soon became comfortable as both of them got up from the ground, Branch grabbing his duffel bag. Wanting to test something and see if they were both feeling better, Poppy gently took his hand in hers. The black-haired man was a little startled by the contact, but he immediately relaxed when he saw the gentle smile on the pink-haired superstar's face. He gently squeezed her hand, giving her a silent message that it was okay, and that everything was good between them now. Then, both of them continued on their way back to the beach.

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Back at Poppy's home over in Beverly Hills, Bridget was in the kitchen, waiting for a cake that was baking in the oven while sneaking glances at her phone, hoping that Poppy would call her or text her. She had been MIA since the night before, and she was getting really worried about her best friend.

Just then, she heard the front door open and then close. Bridget let out a sigh of relief as she left the kitchen.

"Finally!" She exclaimed. "I've been wondering where you-"

She stopped when she saw that it wasn't Poppy who entered, but Branch's younger sister, Harper. "Bridget?" She asked.

"Harper?!" Bridget exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

The indigo-haired girl held up a set of very familiar car keys. Bridget's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, this is really bad." She said. And there was only one thought going through her mind at that very moment.

Poppy, what happened now?!

A/N: Well, that wraps up this chapter, even if it is a little shorter than the past few chapters have been. But here's a little warning for what's coming next. If any of you guys have seen "Starstruck", I think you know what happens next. So prepare yourselves for some love, and then BAM! Shattered hearts.

Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And remember to stay healthy.

Got to fly! ;)