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The Glue That Holds Us Together	By : TimedWatcher Category: +S through Z > Toy Story Views: 13927 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Toy Story, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
"Watch me watch me watch me - are you watchin'?" It was like she had to get herself hyped up, possibly too scared to do it normally.
He hadn't moved a muscle, and yet she acted like he was out watching TV or something. "I'm watching, Jess."
Back pressed to the tiled wall, one shoulder raised, then the other, steadying herself, as she then ran across the silver faucet and launched herself off it. She pulled her knees in close, making a ball out of herself in midair. "YEEEE-HAAW!" She thunked into the water like she didn't even exist.
There were rising bubbles, as if trying to scare him with the idea that she could drown, before re-emerging; Jessie throwing back her head and hair, her eyes fluttering open, looking up to him, as if expecting appraisal.
"Ten points from me, but five points from the communist countries." He thought of himself as a shower man, but ever since he got Jessie, he reconsidered that position, as he watched Jessie do strokes around the tub like it were a giant pool. More than being happy to watch her fave fun, he watched her because... well... underneath the water's surface, the details were foggy, and her body seemed... human. It felt like he was perving on some girl swimming - except she was his girlfriend, and she wanted him to do it.
Jessie looked over her shoulder with a smirk, before disappearing behind a not-so-yellow anymore duck. He smiled out of her sight, as he reached over to pick it up - then he realised something. "Wait a sec." He eyed it over from all directions. "Are rubber ducks toys?"
Jessie was quiet.
He hucked the duck with ferocity at the bathroom door, resulting in a loud thump and dull thud as it landed back on the floor. He heard his mom call to him about the noise, and he responded with a bellowed out 'nothing'. After realising what he had done, he ran his thumb underneath his nose, looking away; feeling ashamed at his response, especially under her eyes.
Jessie swam up to him, using that wave he created to land on his stomach. Then she spoke his name. "It's okay... I understand." He settled back into the soup, arms on the sides like he were a defeated king. Jessie settled on him like he wear beach sand, her chin on her hands that folded on top one another, her nude looking body and the moistness that covered her was like she was perspiring on a hot day. "You know, I noticed that with boys -- y'all got a hankerin' for destruction."
"Yeah well... we only do it about things we love." He meant to say 'passionate' to seem more mature and smart, but missed the opportunity.
"I mean..." She kicked her feet out of sync. "Sometimes it's about stupid reasons."
He looked away. "Sometimes."
Jessie pat him down. "Come on, let me help ya relax big fella." He watched her slide off, resulting in that familiar splash. It was only a second before he felt that full bodied groinal grip.
He'd still need a shower once she was done.
=================
As he walked into school, a horrible feeling over came him.
He forgot to get his permission slip signed.
Damn it, Jessie...
In a classroom with few the left-behinders, he scrawled out some lame doodle, but his attention on his drawing stopped being a priority
A girl in pink in the desk in front of him was eyeballing him.
He kept trying to tuck his chin into his chest, but to no avail, as she always followed his vision.
Her head tilted nearly all the way horizontally, her long blond hair falling in a drape. "Aren't you that liar guy?"
"Maybe." He hated that his reputation preceded him.
"Oh... how come you never lied to me?" A mixture of curiosity and offense.
He didn't respond, trying to think of a reason. "Guess we just didn't talk."
"Do you still lie?"
"No." He rubbed his neck in a way that belied his nervousness, as if trying to find a way to extend his fingers so he could wrap them around and choke himself out.
"I think you're cute... in a weird way."
He kinda... kinda didn't expect that. Was she playing with him? His heart swayed so easily, yet his response was like he had been insulted. "Gee, uh... thanks." He tried to ignore her again, but she kept looking at him. "Okay." He put down his pencil, offering across his desk a leaned amount of attention. "What do you want?"
"Wanna like... hang out?" She seemed as awkward as he was, but something felt off.
Probably a scam. What did she actually want? "I'm... I'm seeing somebody." He could barely commit to it.
"Ppppffft." Her pink lips blew up some of her hair away from her face. "No you're not. I asked around. You don't even hang around with guys 'cause they might beat you up for some of the stuff you used to say." She leaned in. "Besides, I didn't even say it'd be a date."
He rolled his pencil left and right - that seemed... like an honest answer.
At the end of the day, he followed her to her locker, as she pulled out a ribbed stocking cap. It wasn't for the weather - though it would help. She had an assortment of knitted hats she wore all year round. For some reason - maybe because it was so different - he remembered her wearing a crocheted beanie near Christmas the most.
He was always scared of the idea of his first date - thinking he'd have to take a girl somewhere fancy, but in a small town, this was as fancy as he could get.
Not that she asked for much, just agreeing to share some fries with him.
Golden crispy stalks fell out from the red box onto the dining table between them, each of them taking turns grabbing a fry.
"What are you doing for Halloween?" Her teeth gnashing, large pink gums exposed, as she took a bite while asking.
"Trick'er treating." He responded while munching.
"Want to go together?" He had bit down on the stringy potato, but didn't chew it, as he refused to break eye contact; unsure of how serious she was.
He broke it off, and as the blood rushed to his head, he managed to not embarrass himself. "Sure."
Stephanie relaxed back in her seat, as it seemed like a weight had been lifted, as she procured another fry, waving it around like a wand before snacking.
The walk back was long, but worth it when you had someone to talk to.
He had intended to go off his beaten path and walk her back home, but the streets kept getting familiar and familiar.
Then he saw her place. Her hair flipped back and forth over her shoulders. "Hey, my house is only a couple blocks away from yours!" She seemed excited at the prospect.
He was too.
=================
He had never put serious thought into his costume until a couple days ago when Stephanie mentioned going out - he was gonna go as something cheap and easy - maybe the classic ghost sheet with the holes for eyes.
Still, it ended up being something lame anyway because it was a frosty cold Halloween, and he'd end up wearing his jacket most of the night anyway. It was a thick black hooded sweater with sticker skeleton bones he stuck to himself, his face covered in white grease paint with some black around his eyes, the sides of his mouth going off in dangerous, insane looking swirls. His mom knew her way around with a brush. He had intended to go in his skeleton smock from last year, but with the weather as it was and him being sick earlier that month, his mom only let him out if he dressed for it.
Standing near a pathway clearing, Stephanie looked down at him from the top of an incline, waiting for him. He worried about the wetness of the grass as he elevated himself up towards her, but it just proved more awkward than dangerous. She gave him an unnecessary hand when he was at the top - one he still appreciated mind you - as he gave her a thanks, and she gave him a warm welcome.
Stephanie had it planned out for sure, but there was a saying about plans - he didn't know it, but he was sure there was one. She had an unwanted thick looking purple and white jacket, that covered the black dress she had shown him, which came down in a sort of tattered rip near her knees. Underneath that, she wore a long pair of tight orange and black horizontal striped pajama pants - they kinda reminded him of stockings, but they definitely helped make her look a little more witchy, as she didn't have the trademark attire. She had planned to wear the pointy hat and everything, but as soon as she stepped out of her house and felt the wind, he saw her shoulders lock up, before he watched her run back inside, re-emerging with her usual cap - the only difference this time is that it was one going down to her ears in little flaps.
Both of them carried loose pillow cases, a hack that had changed his life when he first saw people do it. Made those plastic safety orange buckets for kids look like utter jokes. It allowed for more candy with no additional weight cost other than the amount of candy you got that night. They were also surprisingly durable. Even if say, your average grocery store plastic bag could carry a lot of candy, it would still buckle under the pressure and break the handles off, if not create a hole that spilled your loot as you walked. They were practical, and everyone had one. They couldn't be beat.
Stepping past some corrugated metal fencing, the sight hit him like there was magic in the air, as he had downplayed how many people would be out tonight to Stephanie, but it should have been clear that it wasn't going to stop anyone.
It never did.
Packs of kids his age or slightly older roamed. Fathers had babes in terrible outfits parked on their shoulders, mothers held hands as they walked together with their young. He saw the all time great costumes, the ones that he'd be seeing for years to come - and the one hit wonders for fad cartoons, movies and shows that'd be forgotten next year. Somebody passed by dressed like a familiar knight. He froze in place, staring; only being pulled out of it by Stephanie.
Some had strict plans like he did. Others just ran around crazy on sugar, going to whatever house they deemed worth going to or were just using the night as an excuse to hang with friends after dark. Some still had their parents with them guiding them, some were total freelancers, not even with an older brother at their side. Some were more dedicated than he, wearing their costume without some sort of jacket. There were barely any cars out, so kids crossed streets brazenly. Concerned parents stuck to school zones, though if somebody was gonna speed, they were gonna speed, regardless of zone.
It was odd to say, but being amongst all these costumed freaks made him feel at home. These were his people.
Even though Stephanie and him were together doing their own thing, they had sort of rejoined the circuit. The familiar kids ahead of them, and those that followed their act. It was kind of like a race where nobody was competing. In a sense they were all friendly rivals. There was never that dreaded fear of no candy, though he had encountered the phenomenon. The shrugs of apology, as adults explained they had no more candy. You couldn't be mad at them. What were you supposed to do? Throw eggs at their house? He did hear a rumor about a house that gave out dollar bills after they ran out, though he had no idea if that was true.
First house on the itinerary, horrible sounds of shrieks and howls blasted from a boombox stereo that was pressed against a window sill - a few actually catching him off guard, as it transitioned into evil laughter. Hanging ghosts off of the single planted tree in the yard spun one way, then back the other.
In a solid white bucket hat, amber sunglasses and a cigarette on some kinda extendy holder, he wore long shorts and sandals with socks - it was an older man in a Hawaiian shirt that covered his paunch, and looked happy to see them. The skin on his aged knees flaked as he bent, his feet like flippers pointing east and west. He was looking festive for the holiday, though he didn't know what it was based on, or he just had a strange sense of dress. He gave them a plastic baggie closed up with a twist tie filled with candy corn, peanuts and caramel popcorn. "Hey, did you take a bath in acid earlier?" The man addressed him. He sounded jolly, happy to be there dishing out candy. He reminded him of a mall Santa. "Me too! Hyuk hyuk hyuk..." He wasn't a skeleton, but okay. "Remember kids, don't be out too late, it's bat country." They nodded, as they moved along.
Next place up seemed like a total bust, as he saw someone run up, wait awhile, then run back down.
"Nobodies home at that one." A cheap plastic half-masked green power ranger let them know through the tiny slit for his mouth, his breath visible, as he did the no candy walk of shame.
"Thanks." He called out, appreciating the advice, as they kept walking.
Obviously you avoided the pitch black homes, but then there were the odd houses, where you'd see the light was on - you'd knock or what some of the bolder kids would do - ring the bell - only for nobody to answer.
Up another path, the yard was littered with cardboard grave stones painted white, a hint of frosting resting on each, some shaped into the standard curve or the cross, his foot lightly tapping one on their way up to the front just to see how much it weighed compared to the real thing. There were several rubber spiders placed onto a plastic web sheet that were stretched and clung over the glass above the door as a middle aged woman greeted them, giving them two fun sized bars. "If you see my Jonas out there, tell him to come home already."
"We will, Mrs. Willmer." Stephanie seemed better about handling it than him.
The house at the end of the curb had no decorations, and the once nearly quiet rock music became obvious and in their face as the door opened for them. Despite being loud and clear, it was still borderline incomprehensible as he had never heard anything like it, yet at the same time, whatever they were listening to seemed so adult and cool that he wanted to ask what the name of it was.
He looked mildly bemused at them, calling back into the house 'no it's not the pizza'. He was an older teenager in overly long red flannel with slicked back hair and a soul patch that went well with his angular face. He seemed unsure as he picked up a nearby bowl, as his fingers tickled the surface of it, as if trying to measure the exact amount, but still couldn't decide. He then grabbed a fistful of candy, dumping the cheaper stuff like lollipops and tootsie rolls into each of their bags, but lucky for them, there were a few choice fun sized bars that had found their way into the grubby handed mix.
There was an incoherent voice from inside, as he turned his attention back in as the last of the sweets were delivered. "Tell that fag Mickelson to screw off work and get here already." Nothing else was said as he completely disregarded them and then shut the door - not that they were complaining - they got what they came for.
The house didn't have crazy decorations, but she did let people know their kind was welcome with two lit Jack O' Lanterns on each side of her door, one depicted a screeching black cat, and the other was the average jagged toothed grin with triangle eyes. They knocked, said their lines, and then waited. They stood uncomfortable for a bit - they were sure she was coming, the light inside making that clear.
The old woman seemed frail, and any judgments about waiting were tossed aside. "Oh, what are you two supposed to be?" She gleamed with a sweetly red smile.
He felt it was obvious. "Oh, you know... a skeleton."
"And a witch." Stephanie chimed in, not leaving him hanging.
"Well the both of you are just adorable." She commented while depositing... A CAN OF SODA? Holy crap. Yeah, it was the generic brand, but still. He looked down in disbelief down into his treasure trove as it crash landed onto his candy, and then he looked back up to her, wide eyed. She leaned forward, wrinkled hand over wrinkled hand. "Hide that one from your parents if you got to. Have a nice night!"
"We will!" He shouted as he ran off excited, Stephanie in tow.
Tonight had been a huge success. They had hit every major block he had wanted to go to, from the swankier neighborhoods to the rent controlled. He knew he was gonna do it, he had this mapped out every year - his main concern had been that of Stephanie, who turned out to be a real trooper, always at his side every step of the way - but Steph reminded him how cute she was everytime she did something as simple as say the words 'trick or treat' or even just the way she would walk up and down the steps to the places.
It actually even hurt his heart.
He gaped the top of his candy sack, peering down again and again, almost salivating over what was inside each time. The pillow case had become lumpy and weighty enough that he was sure he could beat somebody with it if he tried. "I'm gonna be sick as a dog." He whined in humor.
"Me too." Steph agreed, then she pulled back, recanting that statement. "Actually. I don't think either of us will be."
He was confused. "Why not?"
"I was thinking when we finish trick'r treating, we could go watch some of the tapes my dad rented."
"Yeah, that sounds fun." His response unconscious, not needing the second to think as he thought dreamily of his haul.
"Do you think you'll do this next year?"
"Do what?"
"Trick or treat."
"Why?"
"I think I'm getting too old for it." She grabbed his shoulder with a playfulness. "And so are you."
He got uncomfortable, even though he thought she might be right. He wanted to say something like 'no ones too old', but that would just be a lie. He knew people stopped after a certain point - but was this year's really gonna be the final one? "You mean you didn't want to go out trick or treating in the first place or somethin'?"
She curled some of her hair around her finger. "I think I woulda just stayed in if we hadn't set this up."
"Oh..." Guess he was too old to be doing this.
Their last stop of the night came at a house with nobody in it. No cars in the driveway. No decorations. Instead, there was a silver bowl that reflected out the porch light, with a kindly written note attached to it by tape.
Take 1! Remember everybody else out tonight!
The black ink stated.
He figured at this point, it had to have been all gone or even outright stolen, the bowl flipped with nothing left in it. Yet, it still had some decided heft to it still. As he placed his palm amongst the full sized chocolate bars, he gripped one, and his fingers strayed for a moment, thinking why not take two or three? Heck, his pillow case was already nearly full, but why not go the extra step and dump it all in?
Yet his hand still left the bowl only with one, as he took it, and so did Stephanie.
While walking away side by side with Steph, he looked back at it, unable to stop himself from thinking about why others hadn't just taken them all.
=================
He felt comfortable in her home - warmth after being in so much chill. The only thing he feared were the pictures of her father - but she reassured him that her mom and dad were at a party and that they'd have the whole house to themselves.
He stood over her kitchen sink, tap running, still deciding.
She called his name. "Let's start the movie!" He had last second apprehension about wiping his face, just in case he might go out again for that last score - but that feeling soon passed as he turned off the water, clearing his face with a hand towel.
With the lights turned low, the square box radiated the dark room in a blue skew after she had turned it to channel 3. She invited him over, waving the tape cases at him, a heavy plastic rattle inside both. "Vampires or zombies?"
"Ah... whichever." He grabbed at the closest one, not even reading the title, though it was hard to read in the current lighting anyway. Going over to the machine while popping open the case, he injected the tape, though he tried to be nice about it, not wanting it to get stuck as he heard it whirring.
He sat listlessly beside Stephanie while watching the previews of old movies already released, his eyes glancing towards her, unsure of what to do next.
From Orion Pictures
Stephanie nudged him, her hand now resting in his lap, but she didn't look his way, expecting him to take the lead.
Comes the new face in law enforcement...
He squeezed her palm, turning his neck as far as it would go. Stephanie seemed unsure, trying to smile, but unable to keep it that way. He involuntarily wet his lips as he leaned in closer. Her glossy, plush lips were soft and inviting.
They started with tentative and lame pecks. Like he had just painted something the wrong way, he pulled away from her face to get a better handle on the situation, looking at her again. Stephanie seemed enthralled in the moment, her lips making it clear he was welcome to visit again - before he did, he checked her over once again, as he thought she was someone else for a moment.
When he confirmed who she was in his mind's eye, he lunged, bringing her down, and she folded like a house of cards with his body now on top of hers, their faces smooshed together. He was worried he had just done something wrong, and he pulled away. Instead, he caught a glimpse of heaven. Stephanie's hair flowered out over the brown and vanilla flower patterned chesterfield.
Stomach to stomach, he attempted to lift himself off her just a little bit, but she pulled him right back in, wrapping her hands around his neck and back. Being here in Stephanie's arms felt just right - his first thought was 'perfect', but that was wrong. Something was nagging, but he pushed it back, unwilling to ruin this moment. He ran his hands up her taut ribcage, nearer to the open crease of her shirt, his fingers resting on her tight stomach. Pawing at her under-developed chest, squishing her bumps made him want to do it more, as he had never felt something like this before.
Her fingers long, slender, and upon his cheeks; her warm breath condensed between swallows.
As he squirmed, she squirmed with him.
Come quietly or there will be... trouble
There was a noise - hard to explain. Hard to think of what it was in that moment.
He felt her push at him, and he raised himself up, as she looked concerned over the armrest. "That's my parent's."
He realised what that was then, an engine, a car pulling up onto gravel.
She tapped his chest with both hands. "You gotta go." He checked several ways. "Out the back." She pointed. He leapt with a misplaced step over the backside of the couch, grabbing his shoes from the front door, then throwing them to the carpeted floor before shoving in his feet violently, fixing the heels as he hit linoleum in a dark hall.
He couldn't leave.
He returned back to the scene of the crime, grabbing up his bag from the coffee table, not wanting to forget half of why he came out that night, nodding to Steph as he did, he took the same route out.
He jumped from the top deck, avoiding the wooden steps and cement, all the way to the grass, feeling like a ninja. He kept the ruse up as he slipped into the space between houses. He sat in the darkness, hearing the front door open and close for two people. He moved a moment, trying to get a better angle, but the package rustling sent him into hysterics, as he clutched the swinging bag to himself, making sure no noise could emanate from his shadowy figure. He waited with bated breath, listening for any new door noises. When nobody seemed like they were coming, he ran from out of the shadow of the house and into the streetlight, rubbernecking all the way, still expecting any moment now to be caught.
He ran off into the night.
He barreled through the streets like her dad himself was chasing him, as a tired adrenaline coursed through his veins; sprinting like a madman, fearful of reprisal. The heavy bag of triumph he was happy to carry became one of burden, as it knocked into his leg again and again on his way back home, and the appearance of nearly empty streets wasn't exactly helping. It would give her father plenty of clearance and lack of witnesses to run him over.
He'd just need to cut through his backyard park, and he'd be home.
Crunching shattered glass on pavement and even crunchier, frosted leaves, tall husks stood in the moonlight, stripped bare of their leaves, like a giant had run them through his teeth; long limbs stretching out wide and hauntingly, like claws.
He stopped dead.
Older kids...
Faces lit up in shades of red, their grouping almost tribalistic around the pit - and not a costume in sight. Older kids had started a fire in the parks cement pit - he passed them by, the crackle of wood having him on edge. He saw them, and they saw him. He felt like an early settler stumbling upon Indians. He kept his distance, but they made no sudden movements.
He made sure the fence bolt was locked.
In his warm bed, still a little juiced up from sampling his bag of treats, it was like nothing could go wrong. He couldn't wait to call Steph in the morning.
=================
"Oh my god, you're not gonna believe this, but Katie said to Buffie, that-" He nodded, throwing in some well timed 'uh huhs'.
"Who. Are you. Talking to?" The first time he ever heard Jessie coming to something he could even remotely call 'mad'.
He had Stephanie in one ear and Jessie in the other. Someone had to go.
"Steph, I'll call you back. No yeah... yeah, I'll see you then." He hit the squishy end key before turning to Jess. "Yo, what's your problem?"
"Where the heck were you last night? I was getting worried." She tried to hug his hanging loose hand, and expected him to grab her, but she got nothing from him.
He chewed on the plastic antenna. "Out."
"Out where?" She seemed a hurt and confused.
"Trick or treating." Was his basic, non-comforting response.
"Oh... but... why didn't you take me out with you?"
He was getting bored of the conversation, and wanted to call Stephanie back up. "I was busy..." He didn't make eye contact with her when he said it.
Jessie's lip hung open, a worried look appearing, like she was trying not to think the worst of him. "Who were you talking to?"
"Uh... just a friend."
Jessie folded her arms. "I'm not stupid."
He was desperate to turn the tables in anyway, reaching for anything. "Why are you always on my case?" His childish outburst came first. "Besides, Stephanie can give me something you can't!"
"So you were planning to just replace me with a real girl, huh?"
His childish excuses came second. "No, that wasn't the plan. There was no plan. Things just... happened."
Jessie looked right through him, a glazed over look in her eyes. "Well I'll give you what you want." She then hopped off him, walking away.
At first, he thought 'Good. She could be happy without him in her life.'
But would he be happy?
Like a spider bite, the poison travelled slowly through his system, as the realization of what her leaving actually meant to him, and it all finally settled into his nervous system. He shot up from his seat, the phone slipping from his hand as his fingers felt greasy and unable to open his own door as he watched her slip underneath it with ease. Flinging it open, he stuck his head out, and he saw her again, quickly maneuvering up to the top of the stairs.
"Jessie! Jessie, wait!"
He clomped up them with a banging noise in each of his steps. He scanned the floor all the way to the front door - no way she was gonna get out - then he noticed the crack in the outside door. Been there as long as he could remember.
He sped out from his house, bare feet hitting cold snow, snapping his neck both ways...
At his height level...
Like she were a normal girl...
He had to think small.
He saw her above a sewer grate!
"Jessie, no!" He dove for her, skidding on the tough road and sidewalk. It hurt like a bitch, but he relaxed when he felt her between his fingers, still wincing from the landing. "What are you doing!?"
"Oh god, you really hurt yourself." Jessie's concern quickly melted away. "I mean... good." Jessie then faced away, her arms folded, elbows poking out over his grip. "It ain't gonna work. I don't want to make your life complicated. You can have Stephanie."
His free hand rose up, flaking like a leaf in the wind. "Jessie, just tell me you love me and want to be with me." He swallowed painfully. "I told you I loved you, but... why did you never say it back?"
Jessie rubbed the creases of his knuckles, trying to think of the words. "Because it ain't fair for either of us! And it ain't fair to you if I stay..."
"Jessie, just tell me you love me and that you want to be with me. That's it. That's all. Stephanie will be outta my life if you say those magic words."
Jessie looked like she was on the verge of tears, letting out an exhale that would have been hot on his skin if she were human. "I want to... but it'd be me being the selfish one, ya know? You're a growing boy with urges, and I'm only supposed to be part of that journey... not the destination."
They were such sad little words that attached straight to his heart. "Oh, Jessie." He then held her close to it. They sat together, her weightless arms pressed onto his ribs. "I still love you, even if you won't say it back."
As he stood up, his neighbor had just seen him confess his love to a doll, but he just ignored him as he made his way back to his house, his determination obvious.
His step slowed as he got closer to his room, just wanting to sleep. He collapsed, feeling heavy. Pulling up his covers, the softness of his bed did little to abate the rawness of his skin, but having Jessie with him again was pain medication enough. "I shouldn't have done that to you... but I just..." He pressed her to his heart, before letting her go. "I just wish you had the other good things that came with a real girl. I don't want to replace you... but she was so soft and-" He nearly teared up.
"I know... I know..." She let out a deep exhale as she cuddled against him.
"Now I just have to think of a way to break it off with her..." There were a couple ideas, including faking his own death, but the one that stood out most was one where he envisioned Jessie braying into the phone at Stephanie, telling her to stay away from him in her own angry Jessie way, like she could jump through the phone and get her. That image made him smile.
He slept well.
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The Glue That Holds Us Together