AN: I have a deep love for Calvin and Hobbes, because I grew up reading those comic strips. I wrote this after listening to "When Somebody Loved Me" from Toy Story 2. If that song doesn't make you cry, you are a cruel, cruel person. Anyway, carry on. Read and review, pretty please.
He always thought "friends forever" really meant forever. He'd forgotten about "growing up". Hobbes remembered when sitting in a cardboard box was a game….or a machine….or some other kind of adventure. Now, it was his home…a prison of sorts. He didn't even know how long he'd been inside this box, labeled CALVIN'S STUFF.
Calvin didn't grow up all at once…but somehow, that was worse. Little things changed between them…like after school, Hobbes no longer waited for Calvin. Calvin had made friends. They played games, and talked, and made fun of girls. Calvin would come home right before dinner time, raving about the fun he'd had. Hobbes would just smile and listen, adding in his small comments.
When Calvin turned ten, Hobbes was put on a shelf. He could look down and still see his friend's bed, and the mess of his floor, but Calvin only got Hobbes off of that shelf once a week now. Just for a hug, or to talk about things they both didn't care about anymore.
When Calvin was fifteen, Hobbes was put in a box. He couldn't be seen by Susie; Calvin didn't want his girlfriend to think he still acted like a child. That was when Hobbes' heart finally broke.
The darkness of the box terrified him.
He knew they'd put the box in the attic, because he could only hear muffled voices, most of the time. When Calvin got into fights with his parents, he could hear every word. He could hear holiday decorations being taken downstairs, when the time came. He wished that his box might accidently be taken down too. But he knew it wasn't going to happen.
And so he waited in the box. Sad that Calvin had forgotten about him. Sad that he was needed anymore. Sad that so many things had changed.
He didn't know how long it had been.
He'd lost count years ago.
So it surprised him to hear rustling and voices nearby. He felt his box being lifted and taken downstairs.
"I just can't believe it…" he heard a familiar voice say. It was cracking, like he was trying not to cry.
"Honey, there's nothing you could have done," a female voice replied, trying to comfort the man.
"I know, I can't control drunk drivers…..I just wish they would have stayed the night instead of trying to drive back home….," the man sighed.
All of the sudden, a light blinded Hobbes.
He heard a gasp.
"HOBBES!" a gleeful voice cried.
A tiny girl, no more than five, yanked him out of the box, and swung him around the room.
"You might not want to do that, Maddie. He's been known to have motion sickness," the man said.
"Right," the girl replied, seriously.
"You should introduce yourself," Susie said, with a smile.
"Hobbes, my name is Maddie," the girl said. She had long brown hair, and bright blue eyes. Just like Calvin's had been. CALVIN!
"Nice to meet you," Hobbes replied, holding his hand out to shake.
"Now, I need you to tell me everything!" the girl said, with a grin that matched he father's as well. "Daddy has told me about you!"
"How about we play some Calvinball first?" Hobbes suggested.
"YAAYYYY!" the girl exclaimed.
Calvin and Susie looked on as Maddie ran around the yard, dragging Hobbes with her, as she screamed out new rules.
"Can you still see him?" Susie asked, lacing her fingers through his.
"I've always seen him. He's never been stuffed to me," Calvin said, remembering everything. "It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Putting him in that box, I mean. He must have been so lonely."
"Well he's out now," Susie said. "He's going to give Maddie all sorts of adventures, I think."
"Yeah," Calvin smiled. "Just keep him away from her math homework."
END