Haven't You Ever Been In Love Before?

Prologue

John Dory paced the floor in agony. He held a piece sheet music in one hand and using the other to scratch his scalp with a pen. While he wouldn't let it show, he wasn't entirely sure if he'd be able to perform the Perfect Family Harmony that night with his four younger brothers, especially given his current condition.

He hadn't told any of them about it yet, nor could he bring it upon himself to tell Fallon. She already hated him, he didn't want her to get mixed up in his mess, especially since the five brothers still hadn't completely gotten over their father walking out on them or their mother dying of a broken heart. A tragedy that left the boys with their grandmother. She was a sweet elderly woman, but John Dory knew she couldn't bring up a baby and four teens all by herself. Let alone...

“One minute to showtime!" announced a stage manager. John Dory immediately shrugged those thoughts off and quickly got back to planning. As the Leader of BroZone, it was up to him to make sure they would reach the Perfect Family Harmony. He couldn't let his... his... issue... get in the way.

“Alright, guys," he said to his brothers. “We're gonna open with Girl Baby Baby, and close with Baby Baby Girl. Wait, no. That doesn't sound right..."

John Dory thought about this for a moment. Regrettably, almost every song he ever wrote was about his own ex-baby girl. But they were the songs the fans loved the most, so they would have to do.

“Ooh! I got it! Open with Baby Baby Girl, close with Baby Baby Girl Woman! Yes!" John Dory decided with a laugh. “We are gonna make boy band history tonight."

“510... 511... 512..." groaned Spruce, John Dory's purple-haired brother, as he did numerous crunches.

“Love it, brother!" John Dory said in approval, only to add, “I wanna see a hundred more of those by showtime, Spruce. Those abs need to be poppin', baby!"

“Oh, come on!" Spruce shouted, his muscular body drenched in sweat. He, then, decided to just pick up the pace. The sooner he finished his workout, the better.

“God, I want to boil an egg on those abs," said John Dory, and immediately began to feel hungry. It'll have to wait, he thought to himself. Maybe during intermission, he could get a pizza delivered without the others knowing. If they saw him eating early, they would immediately know something was up.

“John Dory," said Clay, the yellow-haired middle brother clad in shiny green underpants, “do I really have to keep wearing these things?"

“Yes, you do, Clay!" John Dory answered. They're Funderdrawers! It's underwear, but 76% more fun! Now, let's see those dance moves, brother!"

“Fine," Clay huffed, and began doing his signature dance moves. “Rusty Robot into Wiggle Worm, end on Caliente Puppy. Yeah!"

John Dory gave Clay a thumbs up as he continued checking on things, scratching his scalp again. Tonight wasn't going to be easy, but he just had to pull through.

“Bro, you look stressed," Floyd, the second youngest brother with pinkish red hair, said in a gentle voice. “Breathe..."

“Well, of course I'm stressed, Floyd," John Dory said mockingly as his little brother took a deep breath. He wanted to tell Floyd, who was the most empathetic of the group, what was really on his mind (or actually, right above it), but he was too nervous and just told him, “It's the first show of the tour! We have to hit the Perfect Family Harmony! We promised the fans!"

“Okay, calm down!" Floyd replied. “You're making Baby Branch nervous."

“BroZone! BroZone! BroZone!" the crowd chanted as the band's littlest member with deep blue hair, known to the fans as Bitty B, shyly peaked through the leafy curtains.

“What? Nervous?!" John Dory exclaimed. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! He's not allowed to be nervous. He's gotta be perfect!"

Floyd just took another deep breath and said, “Cut him some slack, John Dory. It's his first show."

“Oh, come on, abs!" Spruce groaned in frustration as he sped up his crunches.

As Floyd went to check on Branch, John Dory took a moment to watch his youngest brothers chat. He immediately hated himself for being the one to make Branch nervous. If he was this bad with Branch how would it be when...?

“John Dory?" a cute young Troll hollered as she entered backstage with a basket in her arms. “Is there a John Dory here?"

“Honey, do you know any other boys with orange goggles?" John Dory asked the girl as he took the basket. “Don't worry, I always have time to accept a gift from a fan."

“Actually," she said, “I came here from the clinic. Dr. Winter told me to give this to you. It's everything that may help you during this delicate time."

Feeling his heart drop to his knees, John Dory peeked in the basket and found conditioner, vitamins, and a book titled “Great Eggspectations."

“Um... thanks," he replied. “I'll check it out after the show."

“On behalf of Dr. Winter, I advise you go through it as soon as possible," the Troll said. “Enjoy the rest of your evening."

“John Dory, who was that?" Spruce asked as he got back on his feet.

“Yeah, and what's in the basket?" Clay wondered after getting dressed in his puffy yellow vest and white pants.

“Uh... just a present from some groupie," John Dory lied, tossing the basket aside, and went up to the curtain to join Floyd and Branch. “Alright, boys, just remember, no matter what you do, follow my lead!"

“Or maybe," Floyd suggested, “let's just go out there and have fun together."

“It's just so much pressure," Clay groaned, anxiously stretching two vines down to his face.

What do you know about pressure? John Dory silently asked him as looked past the curtain. You're not the one who has a b—

“Ten seconds!"

“A-And what happens if we can't hit it?" Spruce asked as he rubbed lotion on his chiseled abs, making them stick out in the light.

“Oh, that's not an option," John Dory claimed, turning back around to face his brothers. “If we can't hit the Perfect Family Harmony, we aren't perfect. And if we aren't perfect, we're nothing! Just follow my lead and the Harmony will happen."

While his older brothers kept glaring at John Dory, Branch just slipped on his Bitty B glasses and did an excited little bounce. John Dory resisted the urge to smile, but couldn't help feeling a little bubbly inside. He would tell them tonight, as they celebrated achieving the Perfect Family Harmony. After all, it was a night about family.

It's now or never, John Dory thought, focusing, yet again, on the Perfect Family Harmony. “Let's bro!"

If anyone here has read what I based this on, I'm sure you know what happened after the band broke up.

Also, I know this contradicts some of what I wrote in both versions of Poppy's Secret and I'm not writing a third version (if you want something similar yet different, check out Sulit by MelodyQuill, it's really good), but I don't really know if I can be consistent with my own lore. All I can say is I think Trolls will have babies the way their bodies want them to (they have very little control over it).

Now, let's see how far I can go with this one. 😥