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Floyd could only lay in bed with Branch for so long before the drug-induced energy coursing through him propelled him out of bed. He pulled his pants back on, keeping one eye on Branch and taking deep satisfaction in seeing that Branch was watching him. Floyd buckled his belt then tossed Branch's shorts at him.
Branch caught them, slid them on without getting up from the bed. He looked even higher than Floyd was and judging by the careful way Branch got dressed he may very well have been.
“How long has it been since you last had a ring pop?” Floyd asked, holding out a hand to help Branch to his feet.
Branch hummed. He swayed on his feet. His ears twitched. “Before Poppy.” Branch put a hand over his forehead and closed his eyes.
Floyd cocked his head. “I don't remember Poppy.”
“She was born after you left,” Branch replied. He opened his eyes. The pink whites of his eyes made the light blue of his irises stand out even more. “You know that she's the queen of Pop Trolls, right?” The crows feet around Branch's eyes deepened as he shot Floyd a concerned look.
Floyd did not know that but he nodded anyway. “Good job landing a queen, Branch.”
Branch smiled. “You're going to love her.”
“I already do. You love her and I love who you love.”
A knock on the door made them both jump. Branch's hand tightened on Floyd's. “Hey it's not really a BroZone reunion show if two-fifths of the band aren't there,” Clay's voice came through the door. “I'm coming in! Hope you're decent!” With that, Clay opened the door. “Oh, you are decent.”
“Were you actually expecting us not to be?” Branch asked. He moved past Clay, clipped his shoulder on the door frame, and let go of Floyd's hand to rub the sore spot.
Floyd patted Branch's arm.
Clay put an arm around Floyd's shoulders. “Why don’t you go ahead? We'll catch up, Branch,” he said.
Branch didn't move. The look he gave Clay was unsettling with its silent accusations.
Clay stared back, a smile frozen on his face while he waited for Branch to go.
Floyd stroked Branch's arm. “It's alright. We'll see you in a couple minutes.”
Branch's ears gave an annoyed flick. But his shoulders lowered and the crows feet around his eyes weren't quite as prominent. “Alright. I can take a hint.” He wandered down the hallway, the fingertips of one hand brushing the wall to keep his balance.
“We can't leave him again, Clay,” Floyd said the second that Branch was out of earshot.
“I did notice the abandonment issues,” Clay said. He lightly rested his cheek against Floyd's head.
“Yeah. Because of us,” Floyd shot back.
Clay flinched.
Floyd sighed. He leaned against Clay. “What is it?”
“Look, I'm the last one they came to get on the rescue mission, but some of the stuff that I've overheard has been…concerning.” Clay put his hands on Floyd's shoulders, holding him at a distance so that he could look into Floyd's eyes. “I'm worried about him.”
“I am too,” Floyd admitted. He wondered what Clay heard about their baby brother.
“Are you up for a show?” Clay asked.
Floyd nodded. “Branch gave me so many ring pops I think I'm going to be awake for the next two days,” he said and tried not to think about how bad it would be coming down.
They began walking in the direction Branch had gone. “Wow that's a lot. I thought he was going to give you like, one or two.”
“I had six,” Floyd replied. As they walked, Floyd admired each individual grain of glittery sand. They were so lovely. Bruce had such a lovely home.
Clay made a choking sound. He stopped walking again, took Floyd's face in his hands and peered into his eyes. “Six?! At once? Are you okay? Do we need to find a doctor?”
“Clay, I'm so high my body doesn't feel real,” Floyd said, smiling. He whispered conspiratorially, “I'm doing awesome. Haven't felt this good since jamming with the Smooth Jazz Trolls.”
Clay laughed. “Well someone is quite worldly,” he said and they kept walking.
“Aren't we all?” Floyd asked.
Clay hummed. “Maybe more than before we broke up.”
Floyd glanced up at Clay. “Where have you been living, Clay?”
Clay pursed his lips. “I've been living at an abandoned Bergen mini golf course with Viva and a few hundred other trolls for the past…” Clay trailed off while he did the math. “Fifteen years.”
Floyd's eyes went wide. “Oh,” he said as he realized that his experiences were vastly different from his brothers. He didn't spend much more than two years in any one place, constantly moving until Velvet and Veneer forced him to stay put. “Where were John Dory and Bruce?”
Clay nudged Floyd. “You'll have to ask them.”
Then they were backstage and Floyd was surrounded by all of his brothers again. Hugs and laughs and greetings were exchanged. It felt so good to be around his brothers again. Floyd always missed them but felt it more keenly now that they were together again.
John Dory clapped his hands. “Alright,” he said loudly. “Now that Branch and Floyd are here, let's get down to practicing. Showtime is coming up sooner than you think.”
“I got a band to open for us,” Branch said.
“That's cool,” Bruce said. “Uh, where are they?”
“Should be here soon,” Branch replied. He passed out sheets with the music on it. “Here's the set list.”
Clay set up the sheet music on the mirror while he fussed with his hair.
Bruce warmed up his voice in between choosing outfits, singing a line here and there while he decided what look was best.
John Dory hunched over the sheet music, mumbling and bobbing his head as he went over it. He looked happy with what he saw.
Floyd stretched. The perfume bottle was pretty big since Velvet and Veneer were big but there still wasn't a lot of room in there to stretch out. He went through each pose, tightening and loosening his muscles and rotating his joints. Floyd eased into the splits before remembering that they didn't clean up and Branch's cum was oozing out of him. For a split second he froze and then he decided it was probably fine. His jeans were dark! No one was going to notice.
John Dory flung his arm around Branch, slapping the sheet music to his chest. “That new song is sick, Branch! I knew you had it in you.”
Someone was whistling a melodic tune…several someones, actually. Floyd’s ears perked up as the whistling got louder.
“Oh, yeah, thanks. It’s, you know, just a little something me and a few of my buddies were working on,” Branch said, extracting himself from John Dory’s arms.
“What?” John Dory said, sounding puzzled.
“Hey, here they are now.” Branch walked away from his brothers.
The whistling got louder until it was in the room with them and suddenly there were four trolls Floyd had never seen before. Yet there was something familiar about them…about how they dressed and held themselves. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror.
“What? You didn’t think BroZone was the only band I’ve ever been in, did you? Please.” Branch struck a pose with his new band, a smug smirk on his face as he looked at his brothers.
We were replaced, Floyd thought with sudden, perfect, crushing clarity. We left him and we were replaced. His heart hurt so sharply that Floyd was half afraid he really would need that doctor Clay offered. His face felt frozen. How should he react to this news? Floyd looked between his older brothers, trying to take his cues from them.
They all looked shocked…and not entirely happy.
What did we expect?
“Now these guys know how to flex the drip,” Clay said, breaking the silence.
“You guys are so in sync,” John Dory said, a forced smile on his face.
Bruce mumbled in the agreement.
Floyd managed to make his face smile for all of three seconds. Can't just waltz back into his life and expect nothing to change. He looked at Branch, saw all of the changes his brother had undergone, and Floyd's heart hurt even more. Of course there were the obvious changes, the ones that they could see, but…but nothing. They were the ones who dumped Branch. It was reasonable to expect him to move on. Even if it sucked seeing it.
The others were talking.
Branch's new band got ready to go on stage.
Without BroZone.
Then they were gone, taking Branch with them, and it was just the four of them.
Floyd fell out of his splits, winding up on his back. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.
“Floyd, you good?” Bruce asked, kneeling beside him. His indigo eyes were troubled.
“Fiiine,” Floyd lied. “Doing great.”
Clay peered down at him too. “He had six ring pops,” he stage whispered to Bruce.
“Whoa. Six?” Bruce asked, looking at Floyd with new concern.
“I'm awesome,” Floyd lied, voice tight. He wondered if he could convince them to bury him in the sand.
“Well,” John Dory said, “That was unexpected. But I think that we should go out and see Branch on stage.”
They all looked at him.
John Dory met their gazes. “Let's support Branch.”
And that was all it took.