This is an AU fic. (But they're not human.) Anyways, if you don't like, don't read. Thanks! :)
Andy pulled his car to a stop calmly, glancing out the window to make sure he was at the right place. He looked back at the sticky note which had the address scrawled upon it, just to check one last time. He heaved the box up, and headed across the street. Woody sat alone in the box that was labeled 'college' and stared sadly as Andy took his friends away.
"They would've been miserable in the attic." Woody said, trying to reassure himself. "They'll be much happier here, I know it. Bonnie's a great kid." He turned to the picture that sat a few inches away- one of Andy when he was seven. He was wearing his bright, red cowboy hat, his toys scattered all around him, and he was holding Buzz and Woody in his hands. Woody smiled sadly at the dusty picture, nostalgia flowing through his mind. "I couldn't say it to your faces, so I'll say it now: goodbye, everyone." They're gonna be happy again. They won't have to spend all their time in a stupid toy box, in the dark, being ignored... His smile quickly shifted into a frown when he began to doubt his own future. But what about me? What's Andy going to do with me in college? He'll be too busy to play with me... Woody shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. Stop thinking like that, Woody. He's a good owner. He's always taken good care of you. It'll be fine, it'll be fine...
He stared back out the tiny hole in the box, and saw Andy sitting in the grass with Bonnie, and they were playing. Playing... the word went through Woody's thoughts more than he could count. He couldn't help feeling jealous. He could feel it, the yearning feeling that he had when he saw Sunnyside the first time, and the first time he went to Bonnie's house. That overwhelming desire to abandon Andy and get played with. Woody sighed heavily, then turned away from the window. He didn't want to watch anymore, and he couldn't get out of the box even if he had wanted too; for Andy's trunk was stuffed with things for college.
"Maybe he'll play with me again sometime..." Woody mumbled. This was the only hope he had left, a slim chance that he would get played with once more.
Andy got back into the car, and began to drive away from Bonnie's house. Little did he know that he was separating Woody from his friends for who knew how long. Woody crawled over to the other side of the box so he could look out the back window. He struggled to stand in the moving car, and waved at his friends. They were all sitting on the front porch of Bonnie's house, and he knew without a doubt that they were all staring at Andy's car, saying goodbye to their previous owner, and Woody, for forever. From the distance, Woody couldn't tell whether or not his friends saw him, and it didn't help that Andy hit a bump and knocked Woody flat on his back.
Woody didn't know just how long Andy drove. He didn't have a clock near him, and the boredom of the long trip eventually lulled him to sleep. He awoke with a start when Andy parked the car with a lurch. Are we here yet? Woody wondered. He knew that Andy was going to go to the California Institute of Art, but he had no idea how far that was from Tri-County. He pulled himself up to the hole in the box, and looked out. Andy had stopped at a convenience store. Figures. This doesn't look like California anyway, there's no palm trees. Woody stared, uninterested, as his owner headed inside. He's going to get a dark chocolate candy bar and a sprite. It's been his favorite since he was a kid.
Sure enough, moments later, Andy walked out with a dark chocolate candy bar and a sprite in his hands. But instead of getting back in the car and continuing the long trip, he walked to the trunk and pulled it open. Immediately, Woody froze into his inanimate position. He knew deep down that Andy would most likely not grab him, but just in case.
"Which one is it...?" Andy muttered as he sorted through the various boxes and bags. "Why did mom have to mark all of them with 'college'?" He pulled open Woody's box, and smiled down. "There you are." He pulled Woody out and headed back to the front seat. Andy wasn't one to notice things, but if he had payed close enough attention, he would've noticed that the cowboy's smile seemed wider than usual.
Andy plopped down in the front seat, placing Woody in the passenger's side. He ripped open the candy bar and began to drive. Woody couldn't believe this was happening. All of these years, hoping, dreaming that he could be played with, or at least acknowledged by Andy. It was finally here.
"Must've been lonely back there." Andy said, swallowing a piece of chocolate. Is he talking to me? Woody wondered. But he didn't dare reply. "Sorry I haven't done anything with you in awhile; I just didn't want to hear Molly's nagging. She can be so annoying sometimes." That's for sure.
Andy stopped talking and plugged his iPod into the car and began to listen to random songs on shuffle. Occasionally he would sing along to a song, but most of the time he just remained quiet. Woody was utterly bored, and desperately wanted to go to sleep, but he didn't dare close his eyes; just in case Andy's attention ever wandered over to him. Most of the songs Andy had on his iPod were what was to be expected from a boy his age: hard rock, pop songs, etc. But every once in awhile, an unexpected one would come on, like one by a girly singer or a Disney song. If he were with anyone else, he would've frantically rushed to change it, but because he was (almost) alone, he just let it be.
A familiar tune rung through Woody's ears. It's another kid's song. Woody thought with a smug smile. I guess he never really did grow up. It was a song from one of the Muppets movies, one that Woody had remembered watching with Andy and the others in his room so many years ago. Andy began to quietly sing along with the lyrics, and the smile on Woody's face soon vanished.
"Saying goodbye, why is it sad? Makes us remember the good times we've had. Much more to say, foolish to try. It's time for saying goodbye..." Woody wasn't the type to let songs get to him, but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking of all of the friends he had left behind, whether at Andy's or at Bonnie's. He remembered all of the games of checkers he used to play with Slinky, all of the arguments he had gotten in with Mr. Potato-head, all of the times Rex had struggled to win a video game...
"Don't want to leave, but we both know, sometimes it's better to go..." He thought about how Mrs. Potato-head and her 'kids' with their repetitive speech, he thought about Hamm's sarcastic, know-it-all way of talking...
"Somehow I know, we'll meet again. Not sure quite where, and I don't know just when..." He thought about all Jessie, how he had come to know and like her. Her exciting personality, her tendency to never sit still, her playful antics... and he thought about the person that was perfect for her: Buzz, his best friend for more than ten years. He thought about his cool attitude, his great skill in almost everything he did, his bright, red face whenever he tried to talk with Jessie...
"You're in my heart, so until then. It's time for saying goodbye..." He thought about Bo Peep. He hated to be reminded of her. She was sold at a yard sale a couple of years ago, and all he wanted to do was forget, for each passing day was another day that she could get broken, stolen, thrown away... Luckily, Andy hit a pot hole in the road, knocking the iPod to the ground and switching the song to something else.
"Stupid thing!" Andy muttered, bending over to pick it up. "Whatever, this song works."
After five more hours they had arrived in Valencia, and at The California Institute of Arts. Woody didn't get much of a chance to look at the campus, because Andy stuffed him into one of his backpacks and carried him away with the rest of his things. He heard Andy's voice a couple of times, but couldn't make it out through the bag. Before he knew it, he was in Andy's dorm room. There was a couch, a kitchen, a table, a bathroom... all the things a college kid would need. There was a bedroom with two beds on opposite walls, but for all he knew, Andy didn't have a roommate; at least not yet. Andy set Woody down on a table and stared outside through the large window in his room.
"There's a pool." He said with a smile. He turned at all of his unpacked things and sighed. "I guess I'll call mom first." Andy wandered into the kitchen and dialed. "Hello? Hey mom, it's me. Yes, I know it's late. Yes, I had something to eat. Yes, I made it here alright. Oh, jeez. Don't start crying! I've only been gone a couple of hours!"
Woody bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh. His mom was always a worrier, but he didn't expect her to cry so much over something like college. Then again, he wouldn't know how most parents reacted to their kids leaving for college. When his first owner, Andy's dad, went to college, he was stowed away in a box in his bedroom and never heard anything for a long. I'm so lucky to have Andy. He thought. He didn't even think of leaving me in a box.
"Alright. I'll see you- yes mom, I know. Okay, I'll see you later- yes, I love you too, mom. Bye." Andy hung up the phone and beamed. The feeling of being at college, being an adult, began to sink in. It was a strange feeling, like being liberated. It wasn't that he hated his mom or his family, he just felt... free. "I'm not tired at all." He thought out loud. "I might as well start drawing." He grabbed his sketchbook and a few pencils out of a backpack and laid down on his stomach on the bed. He stared at the blank sheet of paper in front of him for a few moments, wondering what to do. "What to draw... what to draw..." He mumbled, tapping his pencil against the bed sheets mindlessly. He let his eyes travel around the room, looking for something to doodle. His eyes eventually landed on Woody, who was propped up with a tissue box on the table, and was staring back at him. "How many years has it been since I've drawn you?" Andy asked.
A long time. Woody answered in his mind. You always used to draw me and the other toys as a kid, especially Buzz. Woody remembered when Andy had first gotten Buzz, and drew so many pictures of him that he had practically replaced Woody. It's weird I used to hate him so much. He would've smiled at the old memories, but remained still so that Andy could draw him properly.
Soon enough, Andy fell asleep. As he had gotten older, Andy had a strange habit of falling asleep in the middle of things such as homework. Another weird habit Andy possessed what that he never seemed to wake up, no matter what was going on around him. Woody hopped off the table over to where Andy was sleeping and climbed up beside him. He slowly pulled the pencil out of Andy's hand, then picked up the sketchbook and dropped it on the ground. Just as he had predicted, Andy didn't wake up, even with the small smack it made when it hit the floor. Woody jumped down beside it, and looked at the picture Andy had just drawn.
"He's pretty much finished." Woody whispered to himself. "He's certainly gotten a lot better at drawing since he was five." It was almost a perfect picture. The only thing missing was that Andy had fallen asleep before he finished drawing Woody's boots. Woody was sitting on the table, his legs dangling off the edges. Andy had drawn every last detail, even the letters on his Sheriff badge and the tacky design on the tissue box. Woody smiled down at the picture, grabbing Andy's pencil. He drew a small smiley face in the corner, as if approving the artwork, then set closed the sketchbook. "Great job, partner." He turned off the lamp in the room, and as quietly as he could, pulled the sheets over Andy. Jeez, it's like I'm his mom... Woody thought with an amused smile.
He stared at the sleeping Andy, when he was hit with a feeling he hadn't had in many years. He remembered that day, about eight years ago, when Andy was nine, that Andy began putting him in the toy box with the rest of the toys. He knew it was best just to get used to it- Andy would still play with him, he wasn't that old yet. Because of that, he had long-forgotten what it had felt like to sleep on a soft pillow, instead of the cold, hard wooden base of the toy box.
"It's not like he has a roommate to laugh at him." Woody said with a shrug, justifying himself. He slowly and silently laid down on the pillow, just a couple of inches away from Andy's head. "G'night, Andy." Woody said. And with that, he went to sleep.
Author's Note: Hello All! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I took a small break (and ate a ton of Japanese food at new year's.) and am back! This time, I've decided to do something a little bit different. Believe me when I say that I think that the ending to TS3 was perfect, but I've always wondered what would happen to our favorite cowboy if he had gone to college with Andy. So that's all that this story is. I haven't been doing this recently, but those of you who have read my first stories will know that I am a little attention hog, and I throw so many referances to myself in my stories. Just so you know, my favorite is dark chocolate and sprite. I have muppets songs on iPod and I want to go to CalArts when I grow up. Anywho, I'm gonna shut up now and go to bed! Happy new year again, and I hope you all enjoy this story!~Alicethepurplefrog
P.S.: I update at about a weekly basis. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later, so I hope you're all fairly patient.