Bo and Jessie hadn't moved from their spot on the floor. "You see?" Bo giggled. He keeps on looking at you as if you're the only one in the room." She sighed. "That's so romantic."
"Well then, why doesn't he just come on over here?" Jessie said, frustrated.
Bo looked at her.
"Ugh, this is so frustrating!" She continued. "One minute he's brave, the next he's shy, then he takes charge again, then he's shy." She let her eyes wander over to Buzz again. He was in a heated discussion with Woody and was definitely not looking her way at the moment.
"Well, at least you know he does like you," Bo pointed out.
"True… but I just wish he would….. "
"He would what?" Bo asked, more intrigued now.
"Make a move!" Jessie shouted. She clapped her hands over her mouth in embarrassment when a few toys looked up.
Bo laughed. "Don't you worry, honey. He'll come around." She winked. "Eventually," she added.
Jessie pouted. "This is not how we do things in the wild west," she grumbled.
"But you're not in the wild west. You're in Andy's room."
"Well too bad." Jessie stood up. "I'm gonna show ya'll how we do things back home!" She yelled.
Bullseye perked up and galloped over to her. She made her way over to Mr. Mike and whispered something before straightening up. "Okay, everybody," she said into the microphone. "Ya'll have heard of Woody's Roundup? Well this here is Jessie's Roundup!"
An upbeat country western tune played from Mr. Mike's speaker and Jessie moved to the beat. "Come on down if ya think you can keep up!"
All the toys cheered and a few of them eagerly joined her. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head whirled around in circles and Jessie wove in and out of their path. Hamm moved his feet and stomped to beat. Wheezy, Rex, and Slinky Dog scurried over and threw their legs up and down, mimicking Jessie's moves. The little green army men formed a circle around the dancing crowd and swayed along. "Yee-haw!" Jessie shouted over and over again as she kicked up her heels.
Buzz's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched. Woody clapped his hands in time with the beat.
Jessie had found a tambourine and she was slapping it lightly, holding it high above Bullseye's head and jingling it teasingly as he tried to touch it with his nose. He moved back and forth, switching his weight from his front legs to his hind legs and back again as he tried to reach the instrument. She laughed hysterically and yodeled loudly.
"You said it, sister!" Mr. Potato Head said encouragingly.
Even Mr. Mike was bopping to the beat, toddling from corner to corner as the music blared. Bo Peep stood beside him, clapping her hands enthusiastically. Jessie grabbed her hands and twirled her around and the two girls laughed merrily.
"Come on, Buzz!" Woody shouted and he stomped his feet along to the beat.
Buzz hesitated for a second as the little green aliens looked up at him expectantly.
Suddenly the Woody's Roundup theme song started to play. "Well, that's my cue," he said before leaping off. "Hey howdy hey!" he shouted as he came up behind Jessie.
"Hey howdy hey!" She giggled as she greeted him. "Make way for the rootinest, tootinest cowboy around!" She yelled. He came toward her and the two launched into an improvised routine, kicking up their heels, and do si do'ing and hooting with laughter.
"The call her Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl," Bo sung sweetly along with the song.
"As dainty as a fairy, Princess of the Prairie!" Jessie sang out loudly, swinging her hips.
"Oooooh!" the three little aliens exclaimed appreciatively as Woody grabbed both of Jessie's hands and spun her around in circles.
Buzz tapped them lightly with his foot. "Come on, guys. Let's go join them," he said, ushering them forward.
"Hi kids!" Mrs. Potato Head laughed merrily when her adopted children came to dance around her.
Woody placed his hands on Jessie's waist and lifted her high up into the air. She squealed delightedly as he whirled her around. Just then, Rex bumped into him and he lost his balance. Jessie went flying.
"Oof!" She yelped as she fell… right into Buzz's waiting arms.
"Hello, Prairie Princess," He said, flashing her a wide smile.
"Well, howdy partner!" She threw her arms around his neck. "Just in time," she said sweetly.
Woody on the other hand, was not so lucky. He'd landed on top of poor Slinky Dog, and Bo ran to help him untangle his legs from Slink's coils, laughing wholeheartedly.
Jessie leapt out of Buzz's arms and set her feet on the floor. "How about a spin?"
"Sure," Buzz said, a little too eagerly. He winked. "That might be how you cowfolk do things, getting all tangled up on the floor, but let me show you how a space ranger does it right," he teased.
"Ooh, I like a challenge!" Jessie said coyly. She held out her hands and Buzz took them, but then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her backwards against him and spinning her out as far as their outstrectched arms would allow them before pulling her close to him again.
"Man, this Space Boy's got moves!" She shouted happily. She met Bo's gaze and winked as she twirled around with Buzz. Bo was happy that Woody was available again and she quickly claimed him before anyone else could.
Jessie kept up a fast pace, almost jogging around Buzz as he stepped in small circles. Just then, some other toys came in between, dancing and shouting excitedly. Jessie was a little disappointed that her time with Buzz had been cut short, but she was having so much fun with all her new friends that she didn't want to stop. She looked over her shoulder to see that he was reluctantly getting pulled away to. "Look for me later!" She shouted over the raucous.
"Okay!" he shouted back.
She giggled and moved in between the two potatoes. Rex was shimmying awkwardly next to them and swung his tail excitedly, nearly hitting Jessie in the legs until she pulled her knees up and jumped over. That gave them an idea for a fun game and Hamm, Wheezy and the potatoes lined up to jump next.
Jessie moved over to where Slinky Dog was swaying and flapping his ears. She skipped over him and whirled back, clapping her hands. "You too, Slinky! Come on, faster!"
Slinky looked up at her, exhaustion plain on his face. "Now hold on there for a moment, doll face," he said, pausing for a breath. "I'm not as young a pup as I used to be."
Jessie nodded and bent down with her hands on her knees until her nose was inches from his. "Well, then you set the pace," she said quietly. She stood up quickly and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Alright, everyone! Let's see who here can keep up with Slink!" She shouted. Slinky swayed his front half and back half in opposite directions and Hamm and the three aliens moved behind him, forming a conga line. All the other toys whooped and cheered and Slinky smiled at Jessie gratefully.
Jessie moved to the back of the conga line and was delighted to feel Buzz's hands on her shoulders. They did a couple of laps around the room before Woody called for everyone to start settling down.
Buzz walked over to Mr. Mike to turn off the music and Woody followed. "Wasn't that fun?" He asked excitedly.
Buzz nodded. "It was," he agreed.
"Man, that girl really knows how to get a cowboy going!" Woody laughed. "I still have the Woody's Roundup theme playing in my head!"
Buzz threw the tambourine at him. "You always have the Woody theme in your head," he teased.
Bo came over and wrapped her arms around Woody then, not wanting their playful banter to turn into an all out brawl as it sometimes did.
Buzz was reminded of something. "Excuse me. I've got to go find Jessie," he said.
"She's sitting right there on the bed," Bo offered.
"Thanks," Buzz said, making his way over to Jessie.
She was sitting at the edge of the bed with her legs splayed out to her side, with her hands behind her head and her yellow bow between her teeth. Her hat was placed in front of her and a Barbie brush sat in her lap. Her lovely red yarn hair hung loosely down her back.
Buzz walked over to her. "Mind if I join you?"
Jessie shook her head and patted the space next to her. He sat down with his legs dangling off the edge of the bed. She took the untied ribbon out of her mouth and handed it to Buzz. "My hair's come all undone in the rowdiness," she explained.
He nodded. "You do throw a wild party."
She laughed. "Could you give me a hand with my braid?"
"Uh, sure." He slid behind her and took her hair into his hands, twirling some strands of yarn in between his fingers.
Jessie looked down and fidgeted with her hands.
"What am I saying? I don't know how to do this," he said, laughing.
Jessie giggled. "What's the matter? They don't teach you how to braid in the space academy?" she asked teasingly as she turned her head to look at him.
"No, I must have been absent from class that day," he answered, smiling his wide, sparkly smile.
"Well, that's okay." She picked up the Barbie brush and proceeded to pull it through her loose hair. "I'll just fix it later." She frowned when the brush got stuck in her tangled hair and tugged on it harder. "I guess my hair's too thick for these cheap plastic brushes," she grumbled.
"Here, let me," Buzz said, gently pulling the brush out of her hair. He handed it to her and she threw it on the floor. He raised his hands up to her head, then hesitated. "May I?" he asked.
"Sure," she smiled. "Have at it, if you're brave enough."
Buzz gathered her soft yarn hair into his hands and lightly combed his fingers through. "You know I saw what you did for Slink," he began. "That was really sweet of you."
Jessie shrugged her shoulders. "No critter's gonna be left out so long as I'm here," she said.
Buzz's long plastic fingers worked much better on her hair than the tiny brush and he had the tangles out in no time. "There, you're all set."
She smiled, slightly disappointed that he was done so fast. "Thank you." She put her hands behind her head and proceeded to twist her hair back into a braid. "How am I doing?" she asked.
"Much better than me," he answered seriously.
"Could you tie the bow for me?" she asked a little timidly.
He picked the ribbon up and moved her hands out of the way. "Now that I can do." He was pleased to find that even though his heart still pounded at the mere sight of her, it was becoming much easier to talk to her. He wasn't even surprised that he was actually able to tie the bow for her.
She whirled around. "How does that look?"
He nodded his head. "Perfect."
She scooted closer to him. "So… " she began a little awkwardly.
Uh-oh, he thought nervously. Now that he was done helping her with her hair, he didn't really know what to say.
Jessie smiled and thankfully started up the conversation. "I saw your movie today," she informed him.
"Oh, did you?" Buzz was a little embarrassed.
"Yup. I liked it." She grinned.
"Good, I'm glad."
She siddled up to him until her knee was touching his leg. "So tell me something about space."
Buzz thought for a moment, and suddenly he had a great idea. "Well, actually there's a meteor shower heading our way on Sunday night. We should be able to see it from this area."
Jessie clapped her hands excitedly. "A real one?"
"Yeah. We could… watch it together. Outside," He said hopefully, hoping he wasn't being too forward.
"You mean, outside outside?" Her big green eyes grew wide.
He nodded his head, laughing.
"But how will get out there without anyone seeing?"
"Don't worry, the Davis family will all be asleep."
"But what about the sheriff?" She jerked her chin towards Woody. "Won't he be mad?"
Buzz winked. "Us toys around here don't always play by the rules."
"Yee-haw!" She yelped. "Okay, then. I would love to watch it with you," she said enthusiastically as the excitement bubbled up inside her. She couldn't keep herself from throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, Buzz! I'm so happy we'll finally get to hang out together!"
Buzz patted her back. "Me too," he said, relieved. Woody was right. This was a lot easier than he'd ever thought it would be. He moved toward her when she pulled away and looked down sadly. "What's the matter, Jessie?"
"It's just that there's so much time left until Sunday!"
"Hmmm… why don't we do something tomorrow then. You know, to keep your mind off waiting for the meteor shower?"
Her face lit up and her eyes brightened. "Really?" She squeaked. Then she hunched her shoulders. "But tomorrow's Saturday. We won't be able to sneak alive while Andy's here," she pointed out.
"Actually, Andy has a birthday party at the amusement park tomorrow. We have the whole day to keep your mind off your meteor shower anxiety."
Jessie clapped her hands again. "Yay!" She shifted her weight to her knees and stood up slightly. "Okay, tell me more about space stuff."
At the head of the bed, Woody and Bo Peep sat still gushing about how much fun they'd had that evening. Bo looked over to where Buzz and Jessie were sitting at the edge of the bed, finally talking. "Just look at those two," Bo said sighing. "They are so cute."
Woody took her hand. "Come on, let's go bug 'em," he said, ignoring her protests. As they approached, he saw Buzz standing in front of his cardboard rocket ship, pointing out different things to Jessie, who was sitting wide eyed in front of him.
"Buzz Lightyear!" He exclaimed. "Are you showing off again?"
Buzz made a face at him and Bo poked him lightly in the stomach. "Leave him alone," she scolded playfully.
Woody laughed but he was glad to see the Space Ranger was back to his old self.