From Inside

Chapter 1

The folding doors of Bonnie's small but practical closet had been left open this morning, probably by mistake, when she had rummaged through her assortment of t-shirts, tights, and tutus. The floor of the closet contained sorted drawers for the garments, shoes, and occasionally toys, while the top shelf, unreachable by Bonnie, held items that had not been seen for ages. And these made Jessie curious.

"Hey, Dolly, what exactly is up on that shelf?"

Dolly, sitting on the wooden floor, looked up from the book she'd been reading to gaze at what region of the closet Jessie was pointing too.

"To be honest, Jessie, I don't know - I've heard humors from older toys here that the top shelves haven't even been touched by Ms. Anderson in years. Probably just old clothes, maybe?" Her cloth face mustered a scrutinizing look towards the closet before turning back to her book.

"Hmm... I reckon you're right," agreed Jessie, squinting at the shelves. Only dark, lumpy masses that looked a lot like folded clothes sat on them, but she still had a feeling that something else was up inside there that didn't belong.

Buzz Lightyear, glancing up from his conversation with Buttercup, saw the cowgirl looking inquisitively at the closet, talking and turning to Dolly. He only partially listened to what the unicorn was saying to him.

"... So Bullseye and I are going to go watch the rodeo at 2:00," asked an enthusiastic Buttercup. "Do you want to come and watch? Conveniently, it's on before Bonnie and her mom get home."

Buzz, moving his gaze to the floor, took a few seconds to return to the conversation.

"Well, I'd hate to say no, Buttercup, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer. Have a stallion's afternoon out with Bullseye!"

"Well, alright, if you say so, Space Ranger." He gave a final wink at Buzz and motioned toward Jessie with his horn before trotting off to find Bullseye. Buzz stood still and smiled slightly, returning his gaze to the cowgirl.

He was too focused on the hair full of yarn to notice a certain sheriff sneaking up behind him.

"BOO!"

"Gah! Woody!" exclaimed the space toy, jumping into a fighting stance, but relaxing rather quickly. "Feel better now, cowboy?"

"I do, actually, much better!" Woody grinned and swung his arm over Buzz's plastic shoulders, leaning against him, only as a good friend would do. Buzz's predictable gaze soon returned to its previous holder, and Woody, to see what distracted him so badly, followed it. He saw Jessie, and chuckled, adjusting his hat at the same time.

"Now, Buzz, you do know that you can talk to her, right? I mean, over the years I thought you would've been more... Proactive in getting to know her."

Buzz thought for a moment.

"Yes, I know, but I find myself being, well, shy, around her..."

"What, you?! Not in the incinerator you weren't! Or in Spanish Mode!"

"That's because that was a different me, Woody. I was pre-programmed to be a 'protector', a... 'defender of the galaxy', and, apparently, Spanish, and those 'instincts', if you will, kicked in when she was in danger." He sighed, which Woody thought was very unlike him. "But now, I'm just... Toy Buzz." He remained staring at Jessie.

Now Woody thought for a moment.

"... I gotcha, Buzz. But do you know what I think?"

He paused. Buzz looked searchingly up at his old friend.

"What's that?"

"I think she loves shy, Toy Buzz the best."

Buzz took this in. Woody gave a nod, which Buzz returned, and walked over to a gaming Rex and Trixie, leaving the space ranger to his own thoughts.

Hey FictionFans! Alright, so this is, truly, my first FanFic, so it would really help me out if you reviewed (the good, the bad, and the ugly!) . I have more chapters definitely planned, honest, so please, R&R. - AshFang7