Chapter 28 - Happy Memories

"Buzz?" Woody called, knocking at his friend's bedroom door. There was silence, and so Woody knocked a second time. Still without a reply, he started to move away from the door before deciding to try the handle. He was surprised when it opened – usually Buzz had it locked from the other side on a normal day.

Woody peered around the door curiously. "Buzz?" He called again. No answer. "Buzz, are you in here?" Still nothing.

Woody gazed around at the room that belonged to Buzz, which was still fairly well packed, but there was a lot of stuff littered around that needed sorting out. Woody sighed, running his eyes over the walls. They used to be adorned with Buzz's certificates of merit from his classes at Lamar, but now the painted walls were bare. The wardrobe in the corner had been left open, and in front of it, two large trash bags overflowing with items Buzz had obviously found and had plans to donate.

The dresser next to where Woody stood held a variety of items. On a small dish lay an odd assortment of coins. There was a silver tankard, crammed with ticket stubs. There were several books on the nightstand, all dog eared, where their owner had thumbed through them.

The top drawer of the dresser was wedged slightly open, and Woody pushed at it, trying to get it to close. The drawer shut after a little effort, and he stepped back, knocking into a small box that sat on the edge of Buzz's bed.

Steadying himself, Woody glanced at the box to make sure nothing had fallen out. It was then he caught sight of the photo frame lying face up inside the box, and he felt a warm feeling clutch around his heart.

Smiling back at him was a photo of the four of them, clustered around a table at Barneys, taken when Jessie had first moved to town about two years ago. Jessie and Bo were on the end of the photo, Woody next to Jessie, his arm slung around her shoulders, and Buzz next to Bo. It must have been taken just before Bo broke her arm, Woody realised, as she wore no sling on it in the picture.

In that moment, Woody realised everything was going to change. He'd taken a new job, and was moving on with Bo. Buzz and Jessie were both leaving. Their foursome was breaking up. They needed one last hurrah.

Without thinking twice, Woody pulled his phone out of his pocket, and typed out a text.

The cell phone sitting on the nightstand pinged, and Jessie sighed, turning over in bed to pick it up. Next to her, Buzz shifted, watching her as she studied the screen.

It was a week later, and their last term was coming to an abrupt end. The final week lay ahead of them, and beyond that, pastures new waiting to be explored. Consequently, Jessie and Buzz were spending as much time together as they possibly could, between packing up their things and dealing with all other dilemmas relating to moving.

They had decided to keep their renewed relationship under wraps, content to steal moments of each other's company, and to sneak around under the radar. In the beginning, Buzz would leave the house, having made sure that Bo and Woody were asleep. He'd drive to Jessie's dorm late at night, and spend a few hours with her, before carefully arranging it so he got back to the house before Bo or Woody stirred awake again.

But gradually, they found it harder and harder to leave each other, so Buzz would spend the night, and then make up some excuse if asked where he was – usually something to do with his move or the new school he was enrolling at.

"What's today's excuse, then?" Jessie asked, relegating her phone back to its place on the nightstand, and turning back over to snuggle close to her boyfriend. "You had an emergency meeting, or you needed to sign some paperwork, or…." She paused, thinking, "Oh, I know, you could always say that they needed you to update your driver's license for going out of state."

"I've done that already," Buzz murmured, kissing Jessie's bare shoulder. "But I like your thinking."

Jessie let out a half giggle, half whimper as Buzz's lips trailed down her collarbone. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"But it's all sorted, moving company and everything, I even found a spot in the halls of residence," Buzz muttered, but Jessie snorted.

"Not to Nashville, Buzz. Although I hate we'll be apart for months at a time." She sighed a little. "I mean here and now. I wish you didn't have to leave and go back home to pack some more."

"I could stay," Buzz offered. "I could help you pack." He gave her neck a kiss. "Or not. Whatever."

Jessie laughed, wrapping her arms around him. "You're terrible. Such a one-track mind."

"Can you blame me?" Buzz whispered, as they cuddled together. "We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

"I've made another reservation at Rocky's," Woody announced, coming into the kitchen, where Bo was standing over the stove, keeping an eye on a saucepan of pasta. On the counter next to her sat a collection of vegetables, all chopped and waiting on a baking tray. "This looks amazing."

"Thanks. It's lunch for the next two days, hopefully." Bo smiled, and swiped at Woody as he picked up a piece of raw carrot. "If you don't eat it all first."

"Sorry!" Woody chuckled, as Bo turned back to her pasta. "Good news is - we won't need to cook much at the weekend."

"Oh?" Bo said absently, stirring the pasta a few times.

"Rocky's?" Woody reminded her.

"Oh, of course." Bo paused. "Wait, Rocky's?"

"The place we went last. When Buzz and Jessie were supposed to come too? I thought I'd give it another shot." Woody added patiently, thinking it was adorable how Bo was distracted by her cooking.

"Oh! Oh, okay, yes, that'd be lovely." Bo said with a small smile, taking the pasta off the boil and straining it over the sink into a colander.

"I thought we could get there a little early, get in while they still serve food this time?" Woody suggested. "I already texted Jessie. I wanted to check she's free. I'll talk to Buzz at some point, too."

"Do you think it's a good idea to invite them both to the same dinner, Woody?" Bo queried, leaving the pasta in the sink for a moment and turning to regard him "They've not exactly been through the best time. I know they were a little closer when we went to the beach, but I don't think they've been getting along so well the last few weeks. Jessie keeps to her dorm and Buzz is so busy, like you say."

"Well, I can broach the subject when I talk to Buzz - when he's around! See what he says." Woody reassured her, thoughtfully. "Have you seen him?"

Bo shook her head. "No. His car was gone this morning when I got up."

"Really? I tried to find him just now, to ask him if he needed a hand packing. He's been gone so frequently recently, I hardly see him anymore."

"You two have always been so close. It must be terrible to know he's leaving." Bo turned back to her cooking, turning on the oven and spraying oil over the prepared vegetables.

"I thought I was over it, but it's not great, knowing he won't be about to hang out with." Woody admitted.

"Maybe, once he's gotten everything settled, it will be okay." Bo paused, a wry smile crossing her face for a moment. "Maybe you guys could hang out at the bar when we go to Rocky's again. Maybe you can bond again over a few whiskies."

Woody made a face. "No thanks. I'll stick to something a little less potent this time."

Jessie looked again at her phone, Buzz having slipped out of bed to take a shower. As the water in the bathroom started up, she read over her brother's text on the screen.

"Wondered if you wanted to meet up next weekend? I've got something I need to discuss with you. I'd also love to see you before you go to the academy. Love you sis. Woody."

The tone of the text struck Jessie as strange. Her brother was rarely emotional, especially in a text message. Woody was calm and level headed, never expressive and overwhelming.

He needed to discuss something with her. What could it be? Jessie thought long and hard, shifting into a sitting position, crossing her legs under the covers and glancing towards the bathroom door.

Did Woody suspect she was back with Buzz? Did he know that they had been keeping secrets? Or did they leave some evidence of their tryst the night she had been intimate with Buzz in the truck? Maybe Woody had borrowed the truck for something, and he'd found an item of discarded clothing that they had lapsed to remember?

Jessie shuddered, surely not. He wouldn't be sending a text, if that was the – rather gross – case. He'd be hammering down the door, or blowing up her phone with feverish calls.

The shower stopped running, and after a few moments the door opened. Buzz came out, a towel around his waist, and wiping his hair with a second.

He looked at Jessie, sitting there on the bed. "What's up? Is everything alright?"

Jessie nodded, lowering the phone, and looked back at her boyfriend, admiring the sculpt of his chest for a moment before she spoke. "I think Woody knows about us."

Bo was looking through her wardrobe. Woody had made arrangements to go to Rocky's in exactly a week's time, a Friday evening when the term was officially over, and so they would have nothing to do for the whole weekend.

So Bo needed an appropriate dress, for the most wonderful of evenings. She was going to spend in with three of her most favourite people, one of who she was crazy about. Bo sighed, stopping to think about how wonderful Woody had been the last weeks since she'd been out of hospital.

Woody had always been so serious, so bookish, so focused on his studies. Since her admittance to the ward, and his finals being over, he was like a different person suddenly.

Bo adored him, even when he overdid it – like bringing her a drink from the kitchen, or helping her to choose from a menu. Bo knew that suggesting dinner at Rocky's would be so that Woody could make sure she ate a different meal, something that wasn't batch cooked, and that he could help her with that. He was good at spotting things she might enjoy, or could re-portion, and he was just as good as asking the waiter to box things up to take away with them, if it all got a bit too much for her to handle.

More than that, with Buzz gone on almost a daily basis, they had managed to put the spark back into their relationship. They had never been incredibly touchy feely but the magic was definitely back, no doubt about that.

Bo smiled to herself, glancing back into her wardrobe, her eyes moving over the hangers as she shifted them from one side to another, looking for the perfect outfit. She had all sorts of thoughts moving around in her head, and for a change, they were mostly happy ones.

"But how could Woody know?" Buzz asked Jessie. "We haven't said anything. We've been so careful, sneaking around, making sure they don't find out."

"I think he's sussed it. He texted and says he wants to see me to discuss something." Jessie held up her phone and waggled it in the air.

"But that could be anything," Buzz pointed out, but Jessie shook her head adamantly.

"He's my big brother, Buzz, don't forget that. I think he's going to check in with me and make sure everything's okay."

"But it is, and you can tell him that, right?" Buzz came over to sit on the bed next to Jessie. "We're good together, aren't we?"

"Sure we are," Jessie said reassuringly. She ran a hand up and over Buzz's shoulder. "But Woody knows how I was after we broke up the first time. He'll probably want to tell me I'm making a mistake." She thought for a moment. "I think we need to take a united stand."

"As in, tell him together?" Buzz asked, tilting his head at her, and Jessie nodded in response. Buzz shrugged. "Okay with me. Did you reply yet?"

"Not yet."

"Why don't you reply, say yes, and see what he says in response? Maybe he'll tell you something more?" Buzz suggested.

"Good idea," Jessie nodded, grinning. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Not just a pretty face," Buzz smirked, leaning over to land a kiss on Jessie's cheek, as she started to type out the text.

Woody's phone pinged in his pocket, just as he was about to sit down to have lunch with Bo. He dug it out, while Bo served him a helping of pasta. The bolognese sauce dripped heavily into the dish as she spooned it over the top, and then sat back to serve her own.

"It's Jessie." Woody apologised, sitting down next his girlfriend. "She says she's free, and wants details. I'll text her back now, get it all set up before I talk to Buzz."

"What if Buzz isn't alright with her joining us?" Bo asked, wrapping a strand of pasta around her fork.

"I'd honestly rather pin Jessie down to a date and time, she's my sister. I can always talk to Buzz separately, if I need to," Woody reasoned aloud.

"I see your point. Family comes first." Bo said, spearing a piece of courgette and eating it in two bites. She watched as Woody sent a reply to Jessie.

"Woody says Friday night, six o clock. He wants to have dinner." Jessie said aloud, having picked up her phone again. She was in the middle of getting dressed when the text arrived.

"Friday? Last day of term. Must be important, then?" Buzz came up behind Jessie, now fully dressed, and wrapped his arms around her waist, peering over her shoulder.

"I'm certain he knows, Buzz," Jessie failed in trying to quell the rising panic inside her.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine," Buzz soothed, pulling her closer to him. "We'll do just like you said. United front. Woody can't say anything if we're happy, just like before."

"Before? When we first got together he thought it was a big setup." Jessie rolled her eyes, turning in Buzz's arms. "It took him a long time to get used to you dating his sister. What's he going to say this time?"

"I don't know Jess," Buzz sighed, remembering all the events that had come before. "Hey, listen, why don't we forget about Friday for now? We could go and see a movie, and escape for a while? I'll buy you a big tub of popcorn, yeah?"

"You're on." Jessie smiled, giving Buzz a hug. "You always know how to cheer me up."