"I'm tellin' ya- I don't like that boy! I don't trust him!" Abigail paced around her daughters room, limbs flailing around her as she lectured the exasperated red head, who obviously didn't quite take what her mother was saying seriously. Jessie rolled her eyes and tucked her feet in, fluffing up the pillows on her bed. "And Why do ya say that Mama? He's not from 'round here?"

"Exactly! He 'aint from around here! He's from the city!" Abigail whispered the last part, as if the fact was something too dreadful to be spoken out loud. Jessie widened her emerald eyes in mock horror and dropped her jaw. Her hands shot up and clutched her heart. "Oh no! Not the city! Anythin' but the city! Oh lord help us the Devil done rolled into Everdeen!" Jessie shoulders rose as if she was going to let out a wail, but in turn she relaxed and snickered, which resulted in a glare from Abigail.

"Don't you dare be smart mouthin' off to me Jessica Jane!"

"Why are ya bringin' this up anyhow? It's not like I'm with the boy right now! I'm lyin' here in my pajamas 'aint I?" Jessie's mother crossed her arms, looking down at her accusingly. "Audrey Lullvine told me today that she saw you talkin' to that Buzz boy after school today- I don't want you hangin' round him ya here? No daughter of mine is gonna be goin' off with some city boy." With her last statement, Abigail slammed the door, leaving an irritated Jessie lying on her bed.

Fuckin' Bigmouth Lullvine.

That's the nickname Jessie had given her mother's gossip buddy when she was about 8. She had earned a hiding from Mama because she saw her 'vandalizing' the bridge out by the lake with the Radley boys. And here she was again, running her neon pink lined mouth again; throwing Jessie under the ever- going bus.

Fuckin' Bigmouth Lullvine.

Jessie sighed and got up heading over to her vanity. Whatever. What the hell did she care? She never paid much mind to her Mama's narrow minded southern demands anyway. Why should she start now? Besides- she had a date to get ready for.

Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear heads down the road in his beat up looking Chevy truck, his palms sweating onto the steering wheel. His azure eyes alternated from the country road to his mirror, making sure he looked presentable, making sure his peanut butter blonde hair didn't look like a complete rats nest. Buzz was usually calm, confident, collected. But ever since he came into the little town Everdeen, things changed.

His father had to move out here for his job, he was an Astronomer for the government. The country was ideal for looking up and studying the sky without the bright lights hiding so much of it from the naked eye. When they got here, and he finally got the reason why his father had dragged him away from, pretty much everything he knew; Buzz was breathless. He shared his father's love for the night sky, captivated by its mysteries and its beauty. Looking up at the sky on their first night, Buzz's optimistic personality rang within him at full power, hope and opportunity filling his dreams.

Then he had his first day at Everdeen High.

It was the last quarter of the year, right before summer. Buzz entered the school with his head up high, smiling at everyone he saw, giving a curt, respectful nod. He didn't notice the strange stares he got, the snickering and crude comments. He was oblivious to the fact that everyone in Everdeen High knew he was before he stepped in those doors. He was Buzz Lightyear. The Astronomers Son. The rich newcomer from the city. An Outsider. And he wasn't welcome.

Buzz walked into the cafeteria that day, looking for a place to sit, eyes scanning the tables. Soon, his eyes caught a table of a few muscular boys, most in plaid or camo, some with their arm draped around a bleach blonde girl, all smiles and laughing. Buzz took a deep breath, and proceeded over to the table, food in hand, a soft, confident smile on his face.

"Hello- how's everyone doing today? The name is Buzz- Buzz Lightyear." He beamed down at the group, waiting for a friendly introduction. Instead he got judgmental glares, staring up at him in silence. After a few awkward seconds of silence, the group burst out laughing. A muscular dirty blonde boy stood up and looked at Buzz, smirking.

"Yea. That's right- the rich boy from the city." He looked him up and down and advanced closer to him. "We don't take to kindly to strangers 'round here. Especially ones who come in thinkin' they're better than us cuz they're smarter- walkin' round like they own the place." Buzz's eyebrows shot up and he offered an apologetic smile, never losing the friendly tone to his voice. "Uhm- I think you're taking this all the wrong way. I'm not trying to offend anybody, I just was hoping to make small talk; converse a bit." The blonde gave Buzz a small yet forceful shove, sending Buzz's food flying. "Listen ya little bitch-"

"Emmett take it easy-"

"You just shut the fuck up Amber!"

Emmett turned over to the bleach blonde girl who'd been hanging at his arm, his unjust rage being thrown towards her for a moment before he turned back to Buzz, getting just inches away from his face. "I don't want ya 'round here, okay rich boy? You're not welcome here!"

Buzz looked at Emmet, analyzing the situation. He could slug him in the jaw right now; shut him up, maybe even for good. It may result in some respect among his peers. The negatives however, could get him in serious trouble. Getting suspended on the first day- that would not look good on his transcripts. Even if he was valedictorian. It wouldn't make a good impression on his teachers either. Also, for all he knew, it could back fire- and instead of getting respect, he could get a black eye and a busted nose. Plus, it just didn't seem like the reasonable, mature thing to do. The only positive was maybe getting the respect and fear of a group simple minded rednecks. The answer was clear to him; the best choice was to walk away.

First though, he picked up his tray and its spilled contents, and dumped it in the trashcan, leaving the tray on top of it as the rules stated. He straightened up and adjusted his green shirt. "Well," He put his hands behind his back and looked Emmett in the eye. "I could end this with two simple hits, me hitting you, and you hitting the floor. However, I refuse to fight over something as insignificant as this. So gentleman, I say goodbye." And with that he walked off, the group of boys laughing after him. He looked straight forward with his chin held high- refusing to let anyone see his distress. He could already tell that his time in Everdeen was going to be painful and merciless. Now, how was he going to survive the next few-?

"Hey Space Boy!"

Buzz cringed as he heard the feminine yet coy voice call after him. He turned around ready to face his new attacker, his lips in a straight line, eyes narrowed. When his eyes had met the owner of the voice, Buzz's azure eyes widened by what seemed to be tenfold. The muscles that had been tensed up in defense relaxed and he stared at her with his mouth slightly ajar. In a matter of seconds, everything changed.

That was the first time Buzz Lightyear saw Jessie Pride.

He stood speechless for a moment, unable to tear his eyes from the girl sitting alone at the table. She had one of her legs on the bench she sat at, sporting an old beat up rusty colored cowboy boot, an intricate design in gold thread on it. She wore a skinny pair of faded blue jeans, holes and strings on the leg. She was wearing a sunflower yellow tank top, showing of her the slightly sun kissed tone of her skin. What had Buzz truly captivated was her face. A few freckles adorned the apples of her cheeks, but you wouldn't notice unless you really looked. She had an adorable button nose, perfectly aligned on her face. Her lips were full and curved into a soft smirk. Framing her face was a wavy cascade of red velvet locks; he'd never seen hair like that before.

But what really got him was her eyes. Buzz swore up and down he'd never seen and star in the sky sparkle or shine as much as those big, round eyes did. They were like emeralds, a deep, deep green. And they were so…animated. He could see the mischief in them, the excitement, and the strength. But, there was a hint of gentleness in them. A kindness. There was something else- but Buzz couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was more than willing at the moment to stand there and try to figure it out. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"Are ya just gonna stand there? C'mon, bring them pretty blue eyes over here." Jessie laughed lightly, giving him a playful wink as she beamed. He felt his face get hot from the blood rushing to it, and for one of the first times in his life, he walked over to the table, feeling nervous to meet this captivating stranger. He took a seat at the table, glancing up at Jessie for a moment, seeing her flash a grin in his direction. He returned the grin with a crooked shy smile.

"I- uh- thank you for here sitting to invite me- uh! I-I mean- I-inviting me to sit here! Thank you for inviting me to sit here." Buzz bit his lip and gave a single thankful nod. ….What the blazes was that? Buzz internally groaned in embarrassment for sounding so stupid. He looked up at Jessie, who chuckled. "I'm glad, as you can see, I'm a very popular person, it was hard to squeeze you in." Jessie motioned to the empty seats beside them; she looked at Buzz and raised an eyebrow before she broke out into laughter. Eventually, her laughter died down, and with one last giggle she raised an eyebrow at Buzz. "So-ya gotta name space boy?"

"B-Buzz. Buzz Lightyear"

"Well Buzz Lightyear- the names Jessie Jane, it's a pleasure to meet ya."

From that moment, there was no turning back. He was a goner. The rest of the term was spent with small talk, classes, teachers, little stuff. Sometimes they'd talk about Buzz's love for the stars, and those would be the few moments when his newfound shyness would disappear, and he talked about the sky with enthusiasm, and wonder. Jessie would talk about Pride Ranch, and her jobs there. They never talked about anything deeper than that though. Jessie made sure of it. If they got into a subject that seemed too personal, Buzz could almost see alarm flash through them; and she'd become 'distracted' by something, changing the topic. It became clear to Buzz that Jessie didn't like to get people too close.

This made him even more curious. The more he talked to Jessie, the more he began to adore her. He found himself always thinking about her, even when he was in his astronomy class. He couldn't get that quirky redhead out of his mind. He wanted to know more about her. Who was she really? Her fears, her wants, her hopes and dreams? Why was she so coy to everyone except him it seemed? In fact, why is it that he's the only friend she has at that school? What made Jessie Pine tick?

He asked himself these questions more and more, while he secretly remained captivated by her, completely awed. Finally, the night before the last day of school- right before summer break, he came to a decision. Tomorrow, I'm going to ask Jessie Pine out. And that was that.

It was a minimum day at Everdeen High, and the moment Buzz walked out the doors his eyes scanned the crowded steps, looking for Jessie. His eyes quickly found her bright red hair among the crowd.

"Hey- Jessie!" Oh God what have I done- M-maybe I can just...just turn around and she won't notice. Or maybe she won't hear me- yea! But it was too late- by the time Buzz was about to make a run for it, Jessie had turned around and spotted Buzz. She raised an eyebrow and smirked curiously. Usually they only talked during lunch- so this was odd. But still, Jessie went back to one of the pedestals where Buzz stood and grinned.

"Well hey Lightyear- happy summer!"

"Y-yea...Happy summer…heh." Buzz rubbed his neck nervously, preparing himself for what was to happen.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?"Oh god, here it was. Now or never. Buzz almost said no and ran off, but he knew that if he didn't do it now, he never would. And he'd regret that decision for the rest of his life. "A-actually...there is something…Jessie…would you-er-wanna go out on a d-date with me tonight?" He looked down at his feet, getting ready for the refusal, in which there was a long pause.

"…sure."

"What?" Buzz's head snapped up, to see Jessie smiling softly at him, her face lighting up like Haley's comet. "I'd love to go on a date with ya Buzz." Her eyes looked a bit…frightened. No- that couldn't be it. Through the term he spent with Jessie he knew she was fearless. She wasn't scared of anyone or anything. But...he had also mastered reading her emotions through her eyes…it was the only way to know how she really felt. Then suddenly, through his mental rambling it hit Buzz. She had said yes. "I-R-really?-I-w-wow. Okay…so when should I pick you up?"

And the rest was history. She told him that her mother didn't want her talking to him, and that she'd be sneaking out of the house. "Drive by at 9:30, I'll be out before ya know it, keep the engine runnin', And don't make too much noise!"

The whole thing was making Buzz...nervous. He'd never really broken the rules before. He had a strict belief that they were made for a reason- and needed to be respected. But for this date, he was willing to make an exception. Which came to the main reason his stomach was tied in knots-

He was going on a date with Jessie Pride. He'd dreamt about this since the day he laid eyes on her, and it was finally happening. This was his one chance to earn her affections, and maybe dig a bit deeper and find out the answers to all those questions. Soon, he found himself coming up to the Pride Ranch.

Don't you dare blow this Lightyear.