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Poppy stood in her room and held the letter in trembling hands, her excitement threatening to take her over her entire body. Had things been amazing since Poppy stopped Barb from destroying all music? Yes. Were Poppy and Barb real friends who met up halfway between their kingdoms for hangouts and snacks? Absolutely! Had Barb been so super into Poppy's pitch to form a girl group? Yes yes yes! But the fact was: they lived far away from each other, and as queens, they couldn't necessarily visit that often because there were kingdoms to run. So Poppy didn’t expect their friendship to grow as fast a hers and Branch’s did, and was prepared to wait a substantial amount of time for any possible girl group idea to really pan out.
But now she was holding a letter from the Queen of Hard Rock herself. And not just a letter, but an invitation. It went as follows:
‘Sup Popsicle!
Don’t think I forgot about that rockin’ girl group idea! Just talked to Carol, and she’s free this weekend, so we’re doing a two day awesome girl group hang sesh (do not call it a slumber party it is not a slumber party...but the two day part does mean you’re sleeping over, if you want).
Anyway it’s on for Saturday night, and it’s gonna be insanely sick! Bring your guitar (or whatever the coolest instrument you have is) because you know we’re gonna jam!
See you there Popsqueak!
-Barb
P.S. I’m serious, don’t call it a slumber party.
Poppy couldn't help but let out a squeal, “Wow!” she exclaimed, “Barb wants to have a real slumber party!!! With me!!!” She couldn’t wait. It was only Thursday, and Poppy knew that waiting would be difficult, but she tried to imagine the two days as the perfect amount of time to figure out which pajamas she should bring.
She ran over to her closet and threw open the door. The inside was lined with letters from her friends, art from countless kids in the kingdom, and a particularly cute drawing Branch had done of the two of them while explaining one of his plans (she’d had to fight him to keep it). She smiled as she taped Barb’s letter alongside the other keepsakes, butterflies in her stomach at the sight of it.
Although it would be a group slumber party, it didn’t change the fact that Poppy was going to be able to sleepover with Barb. Every hang out the two had shared together thus far had accomplished two very important things:
The first was that Barb was an amazing chef, the two would always bring food to share, and while Poppy ruled the baking world, she couldn’t compete with Barb’s savory dishes.
The second was that while Poppy loved being friends with Barb, the pop troll had quickly developed potentially the biggest crush on the Queen of Rock either kingdom had ever seen! Quite possibly the biggest crush the entire world had ever seen!
Luckily for Poppy, hugging, compliments and general ‘crushy’ sort of conduct were all part of general pop troll culture, so although her feelings for Barb were nearly in plain sight, the rock troll usually assumed they were ‘just pop things’.
A sleepover though, this was new territory for Poppy. Sleepovers almost always included crush talk. Heavy crush talk. She’d had a sleepover with Branch not two days ago where they dished about the trolls they liked! It was basically essential! But she told herself not to worry too much, if the question came up she could simply lie, or perhaps steer the conversation more towards the idea of the three trolls figuring out how to pop popcorn with a magnifying glass, this was a dream of hers anyway. There were lots of possibilities.
Poppy did secretly wish maybe just a little bit that she'd be able to tell Barb how she felt, she swore she could feel something between them during their meetups. A glance that lingered too long, a brushing of hands, and Barb winked a lot.
She thought of her and Barb awake in the middle of night, talking in hushed whispers about their feelings, one a little braver than the other offering up a desire to hold the other’s hand, (but in a girlfriend sort of way), the other agreeing and the two queens turning to face each other, reaching across the sleeping bags on the floor to--
She stopped herself. She couldn’t get carried away, plus Carol was going to be there! Shaking her head, Poppy finally exited her room to take on the day, praying it would breeze by.
Unfortunately, Thursday dragged on far too slowly for Poppy’s taste, she felt like she was going to explode from the waiting.
On Friday, she told Branch about the invitation, and he completely understood the seriousness of the situation. Immediately, he thought up the perfect schedule, full to the brim with exciting activities for the two of them to help pass the time. They worked together to make “thanks for being my friend!” cards for every single troll in Pop Village, held a seven hour dance party with some of Poppy’s favorite songs, had piggyback races with Biggie and Mr. Dinkles, and the day did in fact fly by.
Saturday, Branch helped Poppy in creating the Perfect Slumber Party Outfit (PSPO) which consisted of a matching set of pajamas covered in bats (for Barb), a sweatband for their jam session, and shoes that looked like bunny slippers. Before she knew it, it was time to begin the journey to the Rock Kingdom. Poppy boarded the hot air balloon armed with her ukulele and an outfit that was sure to win Barb’s heart.
“Don’t overthink it,” Branch offered simply. Poppy smiled at him, “I won’t!” she said, and with a hug and wave, she was off!
-
As the Rock Kingdom peaked over the horizon, Poppy realized she had never actually been there simply to hang out with Barb, after all, the last time she was there was as a captive in a cage. Now Poppy would see where Barb lived, she’d meet other rock trolls and see her room! The thought of exploring the Rock Kingdom and taking it in while being real deal friends with the Queen made a huge smile grow on Poppy’s face. She considered that Barb hadn’t been to Pop Village since destroying it either, she’d probably like it, Poppy thought and made a mental note to invite Barb over sometime.
Lost in a sea of romantic thoughts about Barb enjoying her own kingdom, Poppy decided to sing. “This calls for a mashup,” she said to herself, needing more than one song to get out all her feelings, and dying for something to speed the trip up. Poppy bet the whole Rock Kingdom had a crush on Barb, what was one little pop troll added to the mix?
-
Finally outside the door of Barb’s...house? (It looked more like a creature, but either way) Poppy gave a knock.
“Who iiissss it?” a sing song voice called from the inside. Poppy laughed, “It’s Queen Poppy! Here from Pop Village on official slumber party business!” she said with a grin. The mouth of the creature then fell open with a huge thud, and Poppy jumped to the side to avoid getting caught under it. But avoiding that disaster didn’t mean much, as she was instantly tackled not two seconds later.
The Queen of Rock was on top of her, wrestling Poppy to the ground, “Popsicle! I told you not to call it that! I won’t let you up ‘till you call it by the right name,” Barb declared with a smirk, pinning Poppy’s arms to the ground.
The pop queen squirmed underneath Barb, “Okay, okay! It’s--wow you are so strong--I meant that I’m here for the, uh...awesome girl group hang sesh?” she offered. Bard laughed, “There it is!” she said, rolling off the pop troll. She helped Poppy up, and grabbed Poppy’s bag from her leading her inside. Now standing, Poppy could tell that Barb was wearing a simple black T-shirt with the lyrics ‘Tell me all the things that I wanna hear’ (which Poppy chose not to read into) and black and red flannel pants.
She looked incredible.
When they got inside, there were trolls on almost every surface. Some of them gave lazy waves to Poppy, who was grinning as she followed Barb through the space, “Barb isn’t this so cool! I finally get to see your place! And I have to say, first impression? Amazing. I love the decor, it's so... dark! So you! And everyone is so close together! I know you guys don’t have hug time, but you could toootally make it work!”
Barb smiled back at her, “Not sure if this is the right crowd for that, but if your alarm thingy goes off, I wouldn’t mind fillin’ or whatever,” she said with a wink.
Poppy looked back at Barb, surprised, “Wow really? You’ve never made an offer when we’ve hung out before!”
Barb shrugged, “Well, tonight is supposed to be as awesome as possible, so whatever it takes to keep the good vibes rockin’, right?” She gave Poppy a toothy grin and a hang loose sign with her free hand, which set Poppy’s face ablaze. She told herself it was probably just from all the lava surrounding the kingdom and definitely not because the cool Rock Troll who had a really cute smile and winked at her and was carrying her bag without a word offered to participate in hug time. It was too early to get this flustered, right?
When they reached Barb’s room, she tossed Poppy’s bag onto the bed, and flopped down onto it giving a borderline theatrical sigh. Poppy looked around the room and took a seat next to Barb, “So,” she started, taking in the countless posters that lined the walls. There were so many it was impossible to tell the actual color of the walls. “Where’s Carol?” Poppy finished.
Barb closed her eyes, and let out another sigh, “Listen Pops, got some good news and bad news,” she said, giving Poppy’s leg a pat.
“Carol bailed on us, man. Said she had a cheese whiz sculpture competition. It’s true. I checked this week’s activity flyer,” She threw her hands up in exasperation, “This was supposed to be an awesome girl group hang sesh, but it looks like we’re gonna have to downgrade to a rockin’ girl duo hang sesh. Hope that’s cool with you,” she said. Poppy nodded.
Now the good news,” Barb quickly sat up and locked eyes with Poppy, “is that I made the pizza right before Carol ditched us, so we each get half a pizza!” she finished with a flashy smile. Poppy grinned back, disappointed Carol wouldn’t be with them, but a little too excited that she would get to spend a whole night alone with Barb. She tried her best to remember Branch’s parting words “Don’t overthink it” ‘right’ she answered him in her head.
Just then, there was a knock on Barb’s door. Riff revealed himself announcing the pizza was ready. Barb sprung up from the bed calling, “I’ll grab it!!” over her shoulder as she sprinted through the door. When she reappeared, she beckoned Poppy to the kitchen area, the smell of fresh made pizza filling the room.
The kitchen was just as dark as the rest of the...house? (Poppy truly had no idea) But offered a bar with stools, as well as a table. “Oooh!! Tall chairs!!” Poppy called as she hopped on a stool, “This is so fancy,” she added, “I love tall chairs!!”
Barb laughed looking up at Poppy, “Take it in Popsicle, this is the only time you’ll ever be taller than me,” she teased.
As they started eating (and Barb reluctantly gave a slice to Riff, which Poppy thought was really sweet) the two queens began to discuss the itinerary for the evening. “Pops, it’s gonna be so rad, I’ve got so much planned,” Barb said through a mouthful of pizza. Poppy smiled, “If it’s anything like this pizza, I’m sure your plans are amazing! I’m ready for anything!” she replied. This seemed to inspire Barb to eat at three times the speed she had been, and Poppy giggled as she tried to keep up, “Barb oh my gosh why are you going so fast?!” she asked. Barb sat back from the table, having already finished her half, “The faster we finish, the faster we can have some real fun!” she said.
When Poppy finally finished, Barb slammed her hands on the table and declared, “Alright! First up: Volcano surfing.” She grabbed Poppy’s hand before she could reply and the two took off towards the door.
-
The two queens stood at the top of a volcano, one with excitement burning behind her eyes, and the other trying to mask her complete terror, and they were each holding boogie board shaped pieces of rock. For some reason, even though Barb had said the words ‘Volcano’ and ‘Surfing’ in the same sentence, Poppy didn’t think they’d be doing the actual activity. She tried to match Barb’s enthusiasm, usually the pop queen didn’t mind feats of adventure, but for this particular activity, she couldn’t help but worry about the safety of it all, not to mention how hot it was up there!
Barb playfully punched Poppy’s shoulder interrupting her train of panicked thoughts, “Popsqueak don’t tell me you’re scared!” she said, “I thought you were ‘up for anything!’” she finished, completely entertained by the thought. Poppy searched for the coolest way to say ‘yes', “Only a little! This piece of wood doesn’t have handles...and whenever I usually go...they...they have handles haha,” she attempted.
Barb laughed, “ah-HAH!!! Pops..oh my god yer kidding! Listen, listen, don’t even worry, we can go together on mine,” She grabbed Poppy’s board from her and casually tossed it into the volcano behind them. She then took one of Poppy’s hands and pulled her close. “Here, you can just stand behind me and hold on, it’s gonna be awesome,” Barb assured. She set her board down in front of a rock to keep it steady and stepped on, offering a hand to Poppy.
The pop troll’s mind had been racing since Barb threw her board into the lava. They would be so close! Her terror from before quickly morphed into anticipation at wrapping her arms around Barb and holding her tight. Oh my god… she thought it’ll be like a hug!! But behind...a half backwards hug!!! This realization purged any thoughts of worry as Poppy took Barb’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled onto the board.
The close contact sent Poppy’s heart racing somehow even faster than before. Had she ever hugged Barb before this? She couldn’t remember. It was so nice.
With her hands tight around Barb’s waist, the rock troll asked, “You ready, Popsqueak?”
“I-I think s-oOOH MY GOD!!” Poppy yelled as Barb kicked away the rock that had been holding them in place and they began cascading down the side of the volcano! She tightened her grip around the other queen, but after just a few seconds, her fears completely faded as she took in the activity.
Barb was an expert on the slopes, taking on sharp turns and bumps with ease, she shot Poppy a smirk over her shoulder and said, “Hey listen, I know I’m a catch, but you don’t need to squeeze that tight,” Poppy’s face reddened at the sudden flirtatious energy coming from Barb, and she immediately loosened her grip, “Sorry!! I’m just so excited!” She offered, and Barb returned a laugh, “Not scared anymore?” She asked. “Nope!” Poppy said with a grin.
Barb narrowed her eyes mischievously and replied, “Perfect.” She then whipped the board to the left sending them straight towards a ramp.
“Get ready, Pops!” Barb called as she and Poppy hit the ramp with insane speed. It sent them high into the air and their feet left the board for a few moments, leaving them suspended above the world. Just before they were going to hit the rock, Barb grabbed the board to secure it under her feet earning a clean landing.
“YOOOOO wicked air time!!” Barb shouted. They reached the bottom of the volcano only a few seconds later where they dismounted and Poppy stood in complete awe of the other troll.
“That was amazing!!” she said, “You were so-- “ “Awesome, incredible, rad...hot?” Bard offered, finishing Poppy’s sentence for her. The pink troll blushed, “Everything,” she finished.
Barb kicked the board up and started walking back towards the kingdom, “Well I’m glad you liked it, that’s just the beginning, dude!” she said, and Poppy couldn’t wait for what was next.
-
The rest of the night was filled with countless other activities. The two trolls pranked almost half the kingdom, had a jam session where they created the perfect rock and pop medley ever witnessed. Poppy had snagged some rocks from the volcano and suggested they try to draw each other with the charcoal which Barb loved . Their portraits came out incredibly, Barb was a much worse artist than Poppy had imagined, and she couldn’t wait to hang out the terribly charming portrait the rock troll had done of her on her closet doors.
During every activity it seemed that Barb found a way to flirt with Poppy through witty one liners or smirks and winks. Poppy couldn’t understand if it was simply Barb’s personality (‘just rock things?’) or if she should be returning the energy. Poppy was amazing at flirting, it was one of her top skills on her resume and definitely should be showcased whenever possible! But she wondered how Barb would do if she was on the receiving end, would that disrupt the vibes of the night? Would it create a ‘will they, won’t they’ scenario in the blink of an eye? Poppy didn’t know! She reminded herself of Branch’s words yet again, Don’t overthink it . She decided she wouldn't. In any other situation, with any other troll, Poppy would simply flirt back, not to be outdone in any romantic competition. Barb would be treated the same, the next time she flirted, she would get it right back.
To finish off the night, Barb suggested they play ‘mystery smoothie’ in which they’d make each other smoothies of any kind, but try to mask the ingredients. Whoever could figure out the most ingredients in the other person’s smoothie, won. They were each allowed 10 minutes in the kitchen, and then it was tasting time.
The two queens took a sip of their smoothies at the same time, eyes locked in a competitive glare, but it was broken almost immediately as Poppy’s face turned into panic. Frantically she hopped off her stool and ran to the trash can, spitting out the smoothie.
“Barb oh my god!” she said half disgusted half laughing. She ran back to the bar and hopped back on her stool, “Why would you do that to me!?” she laughed giving Barb’s shoulder a shove.
Poppy continued, “I made you a pop troll luxury top secret recipe made with real love and you gave me...I-I don’t even know!” She fished for words to express her disbelief, “I-It tasted like feet mixed with armpit smell!” and with that, The Rock Queen couldn’t contain herself anymore and gave in to laughing. The smoothie she was drinking came out of her nose earning a “Barb, gross!!!” from Poppy who laughed along too. Catching her breath, Barb took another sip of her drink, “Pops, you were supposed to make it gross! That’s the whole point!” Poppy gave her a fake scowl, “I’ve never played before! I thought the mystery was about the ingredients!” she said.
Barb laughed again, “Well, you nailed it then! I had no idea there was ‘real love’ in there! Got me thinking you got a crush on me or something Popsicle, haha!” Barb said with another wink.
Poppy’s ears went red, her stomach fluttering at hearing the (very true) words come out of Barb’s mouth. But not to be deterred, she remembered her declaration from before. Poppy turned on her Flirt Mode, ready to beat Barb at her own game, and excited about the satisfaction that would come from seeing the Rock Queen’s pale purple face turn pink.
“Me, have a crush on you?” she started, “As if I’m the one who’s been flirting all night! Tell me Barb,” Poppy leaned in close, “you do this with Carol too? Or is it just for me?”
Bam! Take that! Barb’s face turned a bright red, her confident smirk faltered just a bit but she held it, “Ho ho ho...are you trying to outdo me Pops?”
Poppy sat back in her stool, leaning against the bar. She crossed her legs and put her arms behind her head ‘power pose’ she thought. “In a flirt off, I never lose”.
Barb scoffed, “We’ll see about that, wanna try me?” she said.
Poppy cracked her knuckles and twirled around to face Barb, “Let’s do this”.
Barb jumped off her stool and ran out of the room. A few seconds later, she came sauntering back in, “First one to break, loses,” she stated.
She then swung her guitar off of her back and began playing the opening chords to Extreme’s ‘More Than Words’. Singing slowly until reaching the bar, she stopped on the lyrics “More than words is all you have to do to make it real”. She took a seat next to Poppy, and she rested her head on her hand turning to Poppy as if she'd just noticed her, “Well hey there, didn’t see you in here, otherwise I woulda been signin’ right to you”.
Thus the flirt off began!
Poppy smirked at Barb’s opener, ‘not bad’, she thought, “No problem, kinda felt like it anyway,” Poppy responded, “I could tell you were trying way too hard keep your eyes off me”.
Barb narrowed her eyes, “What can I say? I get nervous around pretty girls” she said with a grin.
Poppy could feel the blush creeping up her face but ignored it, she had a competition to win. “Well you did great with that song, it was so thoughtful of you to switch genres just for me,” she smiled sweetly.
“Hey, that song is by Extreme, and it totally counts as a rock song!” Barb couldn’t help but correct her, but she lost her chance to return the flirt, so Poppy snatched the opportunity, “Still, pretty mushy for you!”
She leaned forward in her stool, and dropped a hand on Barb’s, “is this what you meant by ‘more than words’?”
Quick to make up for her setback Bard responded, “Maybe,” she said, glancing down at their hands on the bar and taking Poppy’s in her own. “Or maybe there was a little more to it than that,” she added, her gaze meeting Poppy’s, daring her to think of a comeback.
Poppy’s face was definitely on fire now. She was sure of it. The atmosphere seemed to change the further they went, neither one wanted to lose, but she felt that the place they were taking it was only for trolls who had real actual crushes on each other and didn’t want to admit it. And how cool would that be? Poppy had thought Barb was the type that was too cool for romance. Here and now Poppy realized that maybe Barb simply had a different style of going about it. She thought about confessing right there, but something about the competition made it difficult. As if admitting her feelings would count as a victory lost. After all, Barb said the first to break loses.
“Uh, hello?” Barb said, cutting off Poppy’s thought process, “Did you break? Do I win?” she asked.
Poppy shook her head, “No, sorry, just got distracted by your eyes,” she started. She decided to go all in, leave Barb no place to hide, “and...if you want a little more, I’d be okay with that,” Poppy said with a smile.
Checkmate.
There was only one option left. Poppy knew this. Poppy knew Barb knew this. She couldn’t possibly top Poppy’s words with a statement, it had to be an action, and they were already holding hands. As fate would have it, Poppy’s hug timer went off, reminding the two of them of Barb’s promise earlier about ‘filling in’. Poppy pretended to pay it no mind, and only raised an eyebrow at the Rock Queen.
Barb looked down at the timer and took a deep breath, she moved the hand holding up her head up to Poppy’s cheek ‘weird place to start a hug’ Poppy thought. And then Barb leaned in.
Poppy was expecting a hug. The hug timer went off. Barb had offered to fill in and give her a hug. She had prepared her heart for a hug from Barb, but Barb’s hand was on her cheek and the other was holding Poppy’s hand and she was leaning in and she was going to kiss Poppy. The very second the thoughts clicked into place, Poppy’s heart nearly burst through her chest, and she couldn't do anything else but meet Barb half way, and just like that, she was kissing her!
Poppy was really kissing the Queen of Rock!!
They pulled away just a second later, making the kiss short and sweet, but it was still enough to convince both trolls that the room was suddenly 900 degrees. They looked at each other for a moment until Poppy vocalized what they were both thinking, “Did we... tie?!”
Barb tried to fake frustration, but the toothy grin painting her face didn’t allow it very well “Well, I was gonna win! But you leaned in to me leaning in to you! You split the kiss! What the heck man!?”
Poppy laughed, “Sorry! I’ve just wanted to kiss you for so long! I couldn’t wait!” She grinned big, “I mean if we both got a kiss though, then I think we both kinda won, right?”
Barb seemed startled by this, she averted her eyes from Poppy’s, and to herself as she toyed with one of her bracelets, transforming herself into a Barb unlike Poppy had ever seen...was she... nervous? Was this ‘Nervous Barb’?
Poppy loved it.
Nervous Barb kept her eyes busy with anything but Poppy as she clarified, “You’ve...really wanted to kiss me before all this?”
“Uh, yeah? You’re so cool, are you kidding!” Poppy replied nonchalantly, grateful she didn’t need to hide her feelings anymore, “I’ve had a crush on you for like forever!” .
Regaining her confidence, Nervous Barb went away and was replaced with Regular Barb, who met Poppy’s eyes and responded, “Wow, that’s pretty sick I guess...I sorta did too or whatever,” she flicked her hand to emphasize the ‘no big deal’ of it all. Poppy couldn’t resist, “Then...can I kiss you again?” she asked, and Barb was just barely through her “Of cour-” before Poppy leaned in a second time.
Kissing Barb felt perfect. It felt like every love song she’d ever heard wrapped into one, and Poppy wanted to do it every chance she got! Even after pulling away from Barb’s lips she couldn’t help but pepper the rock troll’s face with tiny kisses until she was almost entirely pink. And Barb was embarrassed but she smiled through it all and kissed Poppy back too. She kissed her hands and her cheeks, her nose and her forehead and Poppy could’ve sworn she heard a whisper of, ‘I really like you’, under Barb’s breath that made her heart swell since she knew not many trolls got to hear such kind words from the Queen of Rock.
Poppy could’ve stayed like that forever, but Barb cut their affections short. “Listen Pops, this is uh...pretty cool and all, but I gotta be real with you, my butt hurts like a mother right now, so can we please go to my bed and get off these stools?” she pleaded, already halfway off the chair.
Poppy giggled and nodded, “Not a problem for me! Should we brush our teeth first?”
Barb rolled her eyes, “You gotta be the only troll to say that during a…” she hesitated, “a slumber party…” she finished. This earned a giant grin from Poppy who replied, “Well, even at an awesome girl duo hang sesh, you gotta keep these clean!” as she pointed to her teeth. Barb couldn’t argue with that.
Poppy held Barb’s hand as they brushed their teeth side by side in Barb’s immensely chaotic bathroom. Poppy even kissed her cheek before Barb was done earning a playful shove from the other queen.
When they made it into the bedroom, Barb didn’t bother asking if Poppy wanted to use the sleeping bag she’d originally brought, and instead asked, “Right or left side?” as she gestured to her bed. To which Poppy responded to by hopping onto the right and sweetly patting the left side while smiling at Barb.
“Don’tchu think it’s the coolest thing that we can kiss each other whenever we want?” Poppy asked as Barb settled under the covers. Barb smiled at her, “It is kiiiiinda sick” she replied.
Just then, Poppy’s hug timer went off for the second time that night. She opened her arms, offering an embrace for Barb, but the rock queen instead chose to give Poppy yet another kiss. “How about we change that to a kiss timer when it’s just you and me?” she asked with a lopsided grin on her face, and Poppy swore she fell completely in love with the other troll right then and there. “Babe...your mind” she said, which caused Barb to raise her eyebrows. She gave Poppy a teasing look, “Did you just call me ‘babe’?” she said, almost laughing.
Poppy flushed, “Oh my bad! I guess we can’t just magically become girlfriends just because we kissed, huh? Gotta build up to that and everything,” she said scooting away from Barb, a little embarrassed about the slipup.
“Whoa whoa whoa,” Barb started, taking one of Poppy’s hands in hers, “Here, lemme build up to it right now, Popsicle. I mighta been thinkin our hangouts have been dates, and that this was also one--incredible outfit by the way, I meant to tell you that earlier,” she said.
“Thanks, Branch helped me pick it out!” Poppy replied.
Barb continued, “No way! Carol helped me pick mine! No lies, when I pitched this group hang sesh to her she suggested I use it as a way to let you know my vibes.”
“Your feelings?” Poppy clarified. “Gross,” replied Barb, “But here we are right? We’re totally jammin’, and now I can tell Carol everything went smooth, and we can do a real group hang sesh sometime soon!” She paused, letting go of Poppy’s hand and setting it on her cheek, “Anyway Pops, I wanna call you babe all the time, whattaya say? Girlfriends?” she asked.
Barb was then met with an onslaught of affection from Poppy, “Absolutely!” she answered, covering Barb’s face in kisses. She kissed her lips one final time, trying her best to remember all the details about the rock troll so she could think about them on the trip home the next day. She wanted to remember how Barb’s hands shook just a little as they tangled themselves in Poppy’s hair (proving Nervous Barb had not truly disappeared), the way she smelled, and her cute pajamas. She wanted to remember the way the shaved part of her head felt and how surprisingly soft her lips were, she’d have to ask what kind of lip balm Barb used.
When they pulled away again, Barb smirked at Poppy, “Babe?” she said. “Babe,” Poppy responded with a smile. Barb rolled over onto her back, spreading out her limbs and slipping one arm under Poppy (a decision she would later regret as her arm would soon fall asleep). “So...how rad is it that we are not only girlfriends, but queen girlfriends?” Barb asked, and the two trolls laughed.
They stayed awake for a while longer, talking about nothing in particular, just incredibly happy to be together. It seemed like no matter what Barb said, Poppy would just smile. She had done a lot of smiling in her time, but this night might’ve won for Most Consecutive Smile Time Ever. She couldn’t wait to tell Branch about the success of everything. As they became more tired, the talking faded away. Barb gave a few more lazy kisses to Poppy, who returned the favor as best she could despite her desire to sleep. Right before she finally dozed off, she found Barb’s hand under the covers, and they stayed that way until morning.