3 months...

Three months of freedom and paid holiday. Technically Clay and Floyd still had school next month but, other than that it was time for relaxation. Hobbies, self care and nobody managing them around. John had pinky promised to not micromanage for their entire break at least. However when you're used to working it's not that simple to lay down into simple pleasures.

In the boys' shared bedroom only one side of the recently added curtains covering the window. Clay and Floyd's side of the room had a warm light shining throw. John,Branch and Spruce's side remained cool shadows. Most of the beds were neatly made with the exception of Clay. He was currently making it less tidy with his existence. Spruce on the other hand didn't make his bed to begin with. Little discarded toys decorated the carpeted floor. Soft humming of glowbugs flew past the window.

Spruce laid in his upper bunk bed staring at the ceiling. Clay sat on his lower bunk bed on the other side of the room struggling to choose what book to read. Floyd was downstairs helping Grandma in the kitchen to prepare snacks for today's babysitting of the village's babies and little ones. Branch was following JD like a puppy as he swept the living room floor. Nothing exciting was going on.

" What you gonna do?" Spruce asked bored.

" Read a book. I joined a sad book club..." Clay responded fearing judgment.

Being the "Fun Boy" of Brozone came with an unfortunate curse. Expectations. Expensive to be upbeat, fun,silly, wild and comedic all the time. Be overly happy all the time and likable as much as possible or else he was boring. Being considered "boring" and feeling anything but, happy made him look "bad to the fans" according to the label. When brands approached the band Clay was always forced further into that role with prank items, clothes,other products along those lines and activities. That's why Clay always smiled through the negativity until he was alone with his family where nobody else would be around.

" Kay. What book is it?"

Spruce's right leg moved off the edge and hung off the bed slightly swinging back and forth. Falling asleep wasn't working. Staring at the ceiling wasn't entertaining. Stuck in the rut of boredom, he didn't care about how his little brother chose to spend the hours. As far as he was concerned it didn't matter as long as nobody got physically hurt. He didn't expect Clay to be energetic or their music label's definition of "fun" when it was just them. The purple haired one knew better than to box his brothers into unwanted roles.

"Oh. Hmm..." Clay looked at the first book's cover. "Percy Traveler's Lost Owl."

" Cool. Mind if I listen to you read a couple chapters?" Spruce asked.

The request and causal acceptance took the yellow haired teen off guard. Neither was it expected to be gained so easily nor wasn't it unwelcomed. Blushing from embarrassment Clay's cheeks turned a darker shade of blue but, it faded as soon as it came. The fact that he thought Spruce would judge him for reading made him feel a bit silly now. After all Spruce was usually chill when it was just them hanging out.

" Only if you don't interrupt me. " Clay smiled.

" Alright. Noted it. Should I shut up now or are you gonna tell me when to,dude?" Spruce joked.

Clay giggled." Okay but, it's a sad book. You have been warned."

Spruce rolled over onto his front resting his arms on the mattress. The forest green blanket entangled itself around his foot. Sitting up his frizzy, disheveled mane doubled in volume from the lack of gel in it. Those purple locks hung low down Spruce's back as he moved forward to sit on the edge of his bunk. Both legs now swung lazily off the bed. One foot moved faster in attempt to get rid of the pins and needles sensation. Wrinkles and creases made themselves more noticeable on the sleeping shorts and random white shirt. His blue eyes met with Clay's blue eyes.

" I don't give a rat's ass that it's sad. I'll live,C. It's probably more entertaining than anything I have planned anyway." Spruce declared lightheartedly.

Meanwhile downstairs Floyd was in the kitchen with the toddler of their family. Rosiepuff had gone out for a quick walk to the market leaving the pair alone to pack the snacks in jars. Or rather Floyd was doing most of the work and Branch was his tiny cheerleader. Floyd put the last batch of  homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs into the jar filling it to the top then flipped the attached lid back on locking it. It went straight to the fridge to stand beside  the first and second jars on the bottom shelf.

" Yay!" Branch clapped.

Closing the fridge a soft and squeaky "thurmmp" sound  was released. Now only one large tray of cereal squares to pack. Moving the empty, dirty trays to the sink Floyd made space on the counter. Collecting each square one by one he placed them into a clean biscuit tin individually as well. By the time the busy Grandma's helper was done, Branch climbed onto a near by chair to stand on and peek over the counter.

" Yay!" Branch cheered one last time.

Struggling to not increase the size of his smile Floyd turned around. The youngest trolling had one hand holding onto the chair's back support. A twinkle of pure innocence and endearing fondness. Even if the little cheerleader wasn't helpful with the task at hand,the support was adorable substitute. Floyd bent forward placing one hand on his knee and the other rose up to within his biggest supporter's reach.

" Good job, little man. We did it. High Five." Floyd encouraged.

Branch high fived Floyd back. " High Five!"

The little one's hand held the least amount pressure when it was pressed against Floyd's palm. It merely brushed his hand delicately since the blue trolling was too small and too young to give a mighty smack. For now at least. Either that or Branch was being extra gentle with his favorite brother. Floyd had zero complaints over the matter.

Outside the pod,John was hanging up the washing he just hand washed give minutes ago. The close line was a short walk away from home so he couldn't hear anything from his brothers' activities. Not Clay's out loud reading. Branch's cheers. Nothing. The sounds he did hear were the Bergens outside the cage talking and playful critters and bugs in the tree. John chose to filter out the Bergens for the sake of his own mental health and heart rate. Chrips, humming and singing in the distance brought peace to him.

" Wow... I don't have a lot of clothes..." John commented.

On the washing like was mostly Branch's clothes, Spruce's clothes, some from Floyd and a couple from Grandma currently. While Floyd did wash most of his own clothes and so did Clay and Spruce at some point but, not as much there was still a stark difference. John couldn't remember a day he didn't wash the same old outfits or when he last went shopping. Clothes given by the label for show performances didn't count. Brozone wasn't allowed to keep most of them unless they bought it themselves.

" Maybe I just forgot a pile of clothes somewhere?" John asked himself.

Picking up the basket and left over pegs, the adult troll casually walked back. Entering the clean pod, Floyd and Branch had already left the kitchen. Grandma Rosiepuff was still out at the market. The living room looked exactly like how John left it. Not perfectly clean but, still orderly in good shape.

He quickly closed the pod door behind him then went upstairs hoping to find more dirty washing if there was any. However there was none. None in Grandma's room. None outside his and his brothers' shared room. He could hear Clay reading as he checked one of their baskets. Realizing that there was truly nothing more to wash,Dory placed the basket he was carrying next to the one outside his shared bedroom.

" Guess Clay into books now. " John commented.

He walked past the door towards the end of the hall where a collection of old family pictures hung in memorial fashion. A couple was featured in these old photos. The woman was a Pop troll but, the man resembled another Trolls tribe. Most didn't know where he came from but, he was tossed into the cage many years getting mistaken for an escaped troll. He was lava proof,skin seemed rough, colours differed in shade brightness and clothes had more edge to them. Some even called him "wild" or "feral" but, the woman in the photo thought otherwise. To her he was everything she ever wanted in a husband. He claimed he was a Rocker.

That couple was Olivia and Noah. His and his brothers' parents. John still remembers the day he last saw them vividly but, refused to think about it now. It would hurt too much. In all the photos it was either just Noah or Olivia here and there. But most of them, they were together with their happy family when it was still whole. Staring at the old image of his father, John stayed strong enough to shed a tear.

While John and his brothers shaded cyan skin and purplish blue noses, they still somehow managed to look like their father. Branch held the most resemblance. Noah had greyish skin,blue nose, pointy ears, blue eyes and Royal Sapphire hair. He usually wore old navy jeans,a white T- shirt and black vest according to the old pictures and John's memories. He was the strongest,bravest and most head strong troll John ever knew.

" Wish you were here, Dad." John Dory said. " You too, Mom."

John glanced at his mother's image of her holding Clay's egg. Clay's egg had tuff of light green hair instead of the yellow blonde he had now. Their mother had deep sky blue skin,light green eyes, purple nose,round ears and  turquoise hair that curled at the ends. She usually used to wear a simple, light green floral dress with white flowers. While Brozone took after their father in looks in terms of appearance structure differently, they did take after their mother in colour brightness.

Time seemed to stay still to JD as he kept looking at the memorial. Whatever his brothers were doing didn't snap him out of it. In fact he was so locked in that their voices never reached him. Then John forced himself to look away from the old family photos and noticed the storage room was open. It wasn't like that before. Curious John wandered in steadily watching every step. His eyes eventually wandered to every random put away furniture, decore and boxes with forgotten treasures.

Then John bumped into an old dresser. It was dusty with flowers carved into the sides and paint peeling off said flowers. John ran his hand down and up against the smooth grooves for a moment. Soon his curiosity shifted towards the draws. Pulling the top one open John saw a brown sleeveless jacket with a zipper and white fur with greyish brown spots and one single brown fingerless glove all alone.

" Woah..." John gasped in awe.

He took the glove and carefully slipped it on. It fitted just fine almost like whoever this belonged shared the same hand size. Twirling his gloved hand to see it from every angle John smiled. He liked it. Something about it felt right. Growing more bold the twenty years old turned his head back to the jacket. Gently grasping it,the young adult pulled it out and removed his puffy vest jacket. His own jacket was placed down on top of the dresser.

Hesitantly the blue eyed troll slipped on the old leather jacket. Unlike the glove it wasn't a perfect fit but, it wasn't too too small. Sure it would be feeling tight if John zipped it up but, he wouldn't be able to anyway since the zipper was partly broken. Wearing this jacket awoken something in him. Approaching a mirror with a fallen sheet on the floor near it, JD gazed upon his reflection.

Sparks danced in John's eyes like a flame was being created. His face relaxed and his ear perked up slightly. Silence stayed with JD. What was this feeling? It was sudden. It was new. John couldn't give it a name or label. No words could describe how extraordinary this jacket carried itself on him. It felt familiar. This old jacket looked familiar but, Dory couldn't figure out where or when he last saw if he ever did in the past. Truly it was remarkable despite its current state.

" Johnny?" Grandma Rosiepuff called.