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Riff pushed against the bubble.
“C’mon! Help me pop this thing!”
“Why bother?” Barb huffed. “It’s not like we were ever going to change the outcome.” He gawked at her.
“Is that all you have to say?” She glared at him. “That we never had a chance of stopping Pop from convincing Funk to come to their big party?!”
“What? It’s true.” Riff buried his face in his hands, pulling on his cheeks.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Dead.”
The bubble touched down on the ground, hovering for a few moments before bursting with a pathetic little Pop! The sunlight pilfered its way through the reeds, stopping just before the river’s edge.
“With all due respect, Your Rockness,” he took a deep breath, “what the hell, man!” He threw his hands into the air. “Do you really think that the reason why no one has listened to us is because we’re all different? Do you really think that?!” Barb held her tongue. “I hate having to be the one to break this to you, but it’s you, Barb!”
“Excuse me?!” Riff looked pained.
“Yes, you. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out! If differences were really the reason why, then how come Wani and Kim-Petit get along so well, huh? How come Queen Poppy has been so successful in convincing all of the other trolls to come to her big party, huh?!” She was taken aback. Her mind was swimming with emotions, none of them clear. “The reason why this whole thing has been a bust is because you are impossible to deal with!”
“Oh, so I’m the impossible one to deal with,” Barb bit back.
“You are! Every time we’ve gotten close to at least putting a dent in Poppy’s plans, you lash out at everyone around you! Don’t even get me started on how you act around her!”
“On how I act?”
“Ohmygod yes! You get so aggro that Poppy looks like a baby cuddle pup compared to you!”
“A what?”
“You’re like Debbie when she hasn’t been eaten yet!” That one she understood.
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!
“Am not!”
“Stop it already!” Her ears folded back, teeth digging into her lip. “Look, I’ve been trying to stick up for you, dude! I just—!” he let out an aggravated sigh, pulling on his hat. “I just need a minute.” They stood in silence for a minute, Barb clenching and unclenching her fists. “No, no I need several minutes. I need a break.”
“A break from what, Riff?” Her voice was low, almost a growl. Riff turned around and started walking away. “A break from what, Riff?!” He didn’t slow down. Didn’t even acknowledge her. “Fine! Go! I don’t need you!” Her throat was raw.
It wasn’t until he had completely disappeared from her sight that the weight of what had just happened slammed into her. She let out a scream of frustration, kicking a nearby rock far off into the distance. The pain from it didn’t even bother her. No. No when the initial anger had subsided, what remained was sadness. Loneliness. A choked sob forced its way out, her hands instinctively moving to pull on her hair.
Barb dropped to the ground. She pulled her knees up close.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her. No, no she did. She was a big fucking screw up, that’s what was wrong. How could she even consider herself to be queen? No, wrong again. She was the queen of fucking things up. That’s all she was good for. Carol had the right idea to ditch. It was a wonder Riff stuck around for as long as he did.
Mascara-stained tears streaked down her cheeks, pooling at her chin before dripping onto her tanktop. Her eyes burned, her vision growing blearly and she just let it happen. She deserved this. How could she do that to them? What the fuck was her problem?! Wani and Kim-Petit worked together just fine. Why couldn’t she just get along with the other trolls? Why was this so difficult for her!?
She sniffed. Even her reflection looked pathetic.
Snap!
Her head snapped up, ears twitching as she sought the direction of the sound. Barb looked around, blinking rapidly as an attempt to clear up her vision.
“Wh-Who’s—” she cleared her throat, “Who’s there?” Laughter emanated from the reeds. Then, there was the sound of running, a shadow moving rapidly between the stalks. “Show yourself!” The sound of murmuring. Then, within the blink of an eye, five chrome-colored trolls jumped out of the reeds, posing with a dramatic flair as a catchy tune played from seemingly nowhere.
“Hey there Barbie, remember us?” The center troll said, looking down at her with a sneer. She looked...familiar. Why did she look so familiar?
“Can’t say that I do.”
“Seriously?” They changed poses again. How did they all move so in sync? “You can’t remember this face?”
“Or this one?” The purple-haired troll folded her hands below her chin, blinking at her with wide, pleading eyes. That’s when it hit her.
“Wani? Kim-Petit?” Her eyes widened. “You’re apart of the K-Pop Gang!”
“B!”
“I!”
“N!”
“G!”
“O!”
“Wh—?!”
“Aw, don’t look so confused, Barbie!” Wani leaned forward and poked her nose. “Our disguises were foolproof.”
“I wouldn’t say that…” the blonde troll muttered. Wani seemed to ignore her. Barb didn’t. She looked down, eyes darting from side to side before shaking her head, looking back up at them.
“I don’t understand—” Wani clicked her tongue.
“Nothing unusual there.” Barb wanted to feel angry. Tried to muster up a spark of rage. She was met with nothing, just a dull, hollow ache that crept through her bones. “We were hired to keep an eye on you. It’s amazing how fast things fell apart the moment we took our eyes off you.” She winced at that.
“Yeah, how’d you manage that?” Kim-Petit asked, tilting her head innocently. “You three looked really close.”
“Almost as close as us!” Laughter. How many times were they going to laugh?
“Oh knock it off, you guys.” Oh no. She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Can’t you see she’s gone through enough already?” She glanced towards her reflection. Behind her stood Queen Poppy, looking sternly towards the K-Pop Gang.
“Aww, we’re just having a little fun is all!” Wani giggled.
“Well, enough is enough.” Her words were sending a chill down her spine. Barb yanked her shoulder away, turning towards her as she scooted away. Poppy looked surprised, her hand still holding the air where she once was before falling to her side. Then, she smiled at her, so sickeningly sweet. So sickeningly full of pity. Her heart was pounding against her chest, any hopes of a defensive snarl squandered by her throat locking up in fear. Fear? Her good ear twitched, the K-Pop Gang’s laughter ringing in her ears.
“Oh, you poor thing…” Barb flinched away from her outstretched hand. “It’s okay, I don’t bite.” She looked up at her, then back at her hand. Slowly, gingerly, she took it, and the pop queen pulled her to her feet with little effort. She tapped her chin, tilting her head. Then, she fixed her jacket. “There. That’s much better, don’t you think?”
Barb stared at her.
“Is everything alright? Do I have something in my teeth?” Poppy picked at her teeth.
“Why?”
“Hm?’
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?” She leaned to the side, folding her arms behind her back.
“What do you want?” There had to be an ulterior motive. This was Queen Poppy she was talking to.
“I wanted to personally invite you to my big party!” Ah. Of course. Her ears folded back as she looked away. There had to be a way to get out of this. Which way did Riff go? Would he even help her? “Look at me, Barb.” Poppy’s hand was soft against her cheek as she turned her attention back on her. She flinched out of it afterwards. “Deep down, you know what I’m doing is right. I know you know!” Poppy gave her a big toothy grin. “There’ll be no need for fights like that ever again.” Barb felt her chest constrict. “We’ll all be able to get along just swimmingly! Even Riff and Carol have agreed to come!”
“That’s a lie,” Barb spat. Poppy looked taken aback. “There’s no way they’d agree to come to your dumb party.”
“But they have? I don’t think they want to fight anymore, Barb.” No, no. This wasn’t sitting right with her. Truthfully...she could believe Carol going, considering how she left. But...she just saw Riff! There’s no way Poppy would’ve convinced him to join. Not in that timeframe.
...Right?
Poppy was still talking, but she was no longer paying attention. No, she was staring across the clearing. If she moved fast enough, she was sure that she’d be able to catch up with Riff. To ask him if what Poppy said was true. Barb just had to hope he’d be honest.
“Barb?” Barb looked at Poppy. Then, she tried to run. Tried, being the keyword. The K-Pop Gang was on her in an instant, blocking her path. Two of them grabbed ahold of her arms, laughing as they turned her back towards the pop queen. Poppy looked...sad. “Oh Barb…” The sound of her tone put tears in the corners of her eyes. For what reason she didn’t know.
Poppy cupped her cheeks. The mere feeling of her hands sent her teeth sinking into her lip. Barb couldn’t help it. This...touchy-feely stuff. It burned against her skin like a candle’s heat near her skin. The K-Pop Gang was laughing again, Ms. Giggly Green’s and Pompous Pink’s grip on her arms tightening.
“After my party, I promise that you’ll never feel this way again.” Poppy’s voice was achingly soft as she brushed away her tears. “You won’t feel like you need to run, to scream, to cry...” This wasn’t making her feel any better. “Smile! We’re going to have so much fun!”