Chapter Text
The life of a lost toy isn’t so bad once you get used to it. Sure, you may get mishandled frequently causing you to lose parts and stuffing but it is manageable. You also never get to feel a deep bond with a kid again. Yeah, being played with everyday makes many different kids happy. Being found around the busy carnival, a guaranteed play time, which is every toy’s dream. However, to Woody Pride, it never felt as good as it did with Andy. No matter how many times he gets played with versus being stuck in an attic or closet.
Woody tried to get into it as much as the other lost toys where, as much as Bo was. Bo excitedly tells Woody each adventure she has with each and every kid. Woody honestly is a little surprised by the way Bo can remember each kid’s name. Woody is happy for Bo, he truly is. He knew Bo wasn’t loved by Molly as much as he was by Andy and that did affect her, despite her never showing it. He had a feeling she was longing for a life like this and he’s glad that she’s living it. Woody can never imagine what it is like being as fragile as she is. However, this lost toy life feels empty. The more kids touch him the more each hand feels uncomfortable around his body. The tight grip, the greasy smell, the slimy texture, it gets too much for Woody by the time the carnival closes.
Woody trudges back to the center of the carnival, where the Merry-Go-Round (or Carousel) is. The ground was damp due to the humid night. Woody shivers from the dew sticking to his fabric limbs. The outdoors wasn’t built for a plush toy like him nor he was used to it. Andy always took great care of him, so did Bonnie, keeping him mostly where it’s dry and warm. Woody shouldn’t be this uncomfortable, he is a sheriff after all. A rugged hero cowboy that can go through anything for his kid. Except he doesn’t have a kid anymore. Just many different hands and stories that last roughly 5 seconds, 2 minutes, or at tops an hour. Of course he immediately gets a new pair of hands right after but each story is hard to keep up with. To the point Woody just daydreams being played with by Andy and letting the kids do whatever they want with him.
The feeling of guilt stirred in Woody’s chest as he saw Bo once he got to the carousel. He didn’t want to hate his new life. He gets to be with Bo now, the toy he fell in love with the day Molly got her. He doesn’t want to ruin what he finally has. However, a love from another toy does not fill the need for a deep bond with a kid. Woody hates to admit how desperately he wants another kid like Andy. He knows it’s selfish but he wants to be that favorite toy again.
“20 different kids today! You?” Bo said with a smirk, like it's a competition they have going on. Woody was not paying attention to how many kids grabbed him, he was too busy dreaming about playing Sheriff with Buzz and Jesse in Andy’s room.
“Um uh-” Woody stammers trying to come up with a satisfying answer, “I don't know- maybe 10” Woody said with a shrug and Bo rolls her eyes. She uses her shepherd's staff to hook around him and drag him closer. Woody flushes and sputters at the sudden yank. He smiles embarrassingly as she smirks up at him.
“I heard rumors” She said in a low voice, "there's going to be two schools coming tomorrow. Let’s go for 50” She says with a competitive smile up at him. Woody just nervously chuckles in response. The idea of 100 different hands grabbing at him makes him shudder. Unfortunately, Bo can see right through him and her face drops. She releases Woody from her shepherd's staff and gives him some space. Woody’s guilt hits even harder. Bo is so sweet to him. The only toy that could truly understand him and know what's going on in his rubber head. He just can’t seem to understand her. She’s much stronger than him. She probably has to be, being made out of glass. Woody feels selfish wanting something else when Bo just let him in her life again. He lost his kid, he lost his friends, and now he's gonna lose his love because he's wimpy about the outdoors? How pathetic!
“Woody…” She says in her soft sweet voice, like a lullaby. “What’s wrong?”
“I- um…” Woody doesn’t know how to respond. He can’t just tell her how he feels, but she’ll know when he's lying. He gives a quick glance around for an excuse. Anything to get out of this situation. Bo seemed to catch on the struggle and decided to answer for him, to get the conversation started.
“I know it’s hard getting used to yourself in a rough shape” She says softly, gesturing to his shape. Woody sighs softly with the given answer and looks down at himself. He hasn’t been in the best shape since he’s become a lost toy. He ended up losing his arm for good this time, luckily his new poncho gives him a more badass look to make kids still interested in him. He did lose his voice box which he definitely doesn’t like to think about much. So he isn’t fully lying about his anxieties coming from his body looking wrong.
“Y-yeah” He finally responded in a quiet voice. She grabs his hand and he smiles down at her. They share a soft quiet moment with each other for a bit. They haven’t done much with any human related romance, such as dating, kissing and other things. They were much too busy either traveling or being passed around all day by every kid in the park. By the time it gets dark and everyone goes home, Woody is much too exhausted to do much and spends most of the night limp under a ride. He doesn’t know how other toys can party all day and night and never get any down time. He loved staying in a bedroom because it felt safe and had a simple routine. Woody liked the calm like of a bedroom. He never gets those moments he used to have with Bo in a bedroom.
Bo leads him down to the center of the ride, where their usual gathering spot is. This is a small routine they share that Woody likes. He takes off his hat as Bo reaches up to peck his cheek. She helps him down in a soft spot where there was a small towel, perfect for Woody’s makeshift bed. To keep him from molding from the dampness. Once Woody was laying down, Bo sits next to him and softly pets his rubber hair as he closes his eyes and drifts off. This little routine is what allows Woody to last this long. Without Bo and her support, he would be broken.
The morning was no different than every other morning. Bo wakes him up, they scout in an area, and once the kids come bustling in they put themselves in areas where kids can find them. It was exceptionally busy once the park opened, kids flooded the playground area and each walking path. Woody tried his best to swallow the upsetting feeling he got around these kids. Not all of them were kind and played nicely. Being tossed around like a ball rather than a doll does not feel the best. Playtime is playtime, many would say, Woody should be lucky he’s still getting played with. Woody doesn’t want to admit he regrets leaving Buzz, so maybe this is what he deserves.
Woody drifts back into reality when he realizes he’s been staring at the sky for a while now. He sat up and looked around, looks like most of the kids moved onto the food area, it must be lunch time. Woody stood up from the woodchips of the playground and brushed himself off. He jumped when he heard human steps and jumped behind a red pole that's holding the slide up. He looked out from behind the poll and noticed a little girl walking alone. She had long strawberry blonde hair, with bangs cut just above her eyes. A part of her hair was clipped to the back of her head with a cute pink bow. Her bow contrasted the grey formal looking outfit she was wearing and her brown bookbag. Woody felt bad for the girl, she looked as miserable as the way she’s dressed. Woody looked around the playground and noticed the toys all left to go to where the crowd had gone. This is what makes Woody different than a lost toy. Woody sneaks around the sand box to get closer to the girl. She was walking slowly with her head down. She had a frown on her face and she looked tired. Woody felt hurt seeing a kid this upset. He quickly thinks of a way to get this girl's attention without his voice box. Woody quickly hobbles over to where the benches the girl had passed are and climbs up on one. He looks over at the girl, hoping this will be loud enough to get her attention. He takes a deep breath and ragdolls off of the bench crashing onto the cement. He silently cheered as he watched the girl softly jump at the noise. He felt a twinge of guilt for startling her but at least it worked. The girl looked over her shoulder to see what the noise was and spotted Woody. Her eyes lit up when looked at him and tilted her head, like she was wondering if it was real. She slowly approached Woody, and looked around before picking him up. Woody’s heart leaped at the cutest smile this girl gave him. Woody felt like a dad cheering up his kid, even though he just met her. She hugged him tightly, filling Woody with a warmth he hasn't felt in a very long time. He closed his eyes and embraced the hug as much as he could before it went away. It went away as fast as Woody got it.
“Autumn!” The girl pulls Woody away as soon as she hears the name as turn around. From what Woody can see, it seems like an adult was calling out for her, presumably she was Autumn. Autumn took off her backpack and shoved him into it before putting it back on. Woody sat there in the backpack for a moment, his mind spinning. He knows if he stays in the backpack, he will leave the park with this girl and lose Bo again. Woody’s stomach turned as his anxiety ran wild. He could stay and live a life he once had or this girl could be crazy and tear him apart. Woody doesn’t know. What was nice being a lost toy with Bo is that they always had repairs. Being taken away by a mystery kid could leave Woody in a place like Sid’s. Woody could leave now and go back to his life of being a lost toy for the rest of his life until he gets so worn. A life of new kids everyday touching him, yanking him, and never forming a true connection with. Woody rubs his face with his hands. Some kind of loyalty he has. He left Bonnie for a life of a lost toy to only leave that to a random girl who hugged him. Leaving Bo who took care of him all this time. Bo didn’t like her life with a kid cause she can’t be played with like Woody can. Woody was made to be played with, to cuddle with, and to be loved by a kid.
Woody felt the bag shake underneath him as Autumn walked through the park. Woody’s mind raced with each step, his plush heart pounding through his chest. His thoughts end up being drowned out by a loud rumble noise, must be a school bus. Woody could feel the bumps of Autumn walking up the bus’s stairs, and putting the bag down on the seat. Woody took a deep breath, realizing he made his decision and cannot turn back now. The thought didn't last long as the bag opened up, forcing Woody to go limp. A hand reached in to wrap around his torso and pull him up and out of the bag. Autumn’s hands were soft and gentle as she held Woody, a softness Woody rarely felt nowadays. She smiled down at him as she took in his features. Woody got a closer look at the girl as well. Her outfit looked like a formal school uniform, with a black blouse, skirt, and a white undershirt and a small tie around her neck. A sad looking uniform for sure, making her bright pink bow in her hair stand out the most.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. Her voice was cute and sweet like taffy, drowning out the thoughts in Woody's head. “I’ll take good care of you”
She played with Woody's hat, he could hear the other kids piling in the bus. Woody wished he could take one last look at Bo before he lost her again. Fortunately, he now knows that she’s safe and happy, with or without him. The bus rumbles loud and he can feel it start moving away from the park. Eventually, Autumn just holds Woody in her arms as she looks out the window. It didn’t take too long for the bus to stop. Autumn puts Woody back in her backpack and gets up to leave the Bus. Woody can hear conversations slowly die out in the distance as Autumn walks away, probably to her home. What felt like quite a while, she finally stops to go inside her home.
Woody was taken out of the bag once Autumn was in her bedroom. Woody now realized the bow was foreshadowing to this extremely girly room. The walls were bright pink, there was a pink bed, posters of kittens and horses and girl shows scatter across the walls. Woody grew nervous about the environment he put himself in, he has no idea what this girl is gonna do to him. Autumn throws her bag onto the ground and goes to a small pink and white desk with many crafts stuff on it. Woody would gulp if he could. She set him down and takes a seat on the little pink chair. She then proceeds to give Woody the makeover of a lifetime.