I apologise for taking so long to get this out...I had a little trouble. Some writer's block, a project that I partially procrastinated for, basketball, family..stuff and fanart that I've been drawing:
(I'm currently colouring a Dolly/Woody; it should be up on my Deviantart soon!)
So, as always, I don't own the Toy Story trilogy or Taylor Swift's song. Also included in this chapter is "Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg (in italics in the middle) and another Taylor Swift song reference..cookies if you find it! It isn't a song she released on iTunes.
Enjoy ^o^

"I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favourite songs and you tell me about your dreams
Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me."

Dolly and Woody took their meals and headed to a nearby table. Dolly had ordered a BLT, while Woody chose soup to go with his coffee. They sat across from each other, Dolly fumbling nervously with her bag.

"Sorry," she apologised. Woody waved her off.

"S'okay," he reassured her, unfolding his napkin. Dolly liked this coffee shop. It wasn't too small, but it was still cozy. Sometimes they had karaoke night or had bands play here for gigs. Now, there was a boy, maybe college age, with sandy brown hair playing his acoustic guitar. She couldn't really make out the lyrics from her seat, as the other people in the shop drowned them out. "So, how have you been?" Woody continued. "Since the party last night?" Woody seemed both anxious and nervous to get on the subject. Dolly twisted her hands in her lap, staring at her sandwich as though it would answer for her. What was she supposed to say? That she had called an emergency meeting last night where all of his friends assembled to receive the news that his girlfriend was cheating on him while today she did her best not to fail the science test? Not likely. Wait, that's a good topic-

"Slink got me home," Dolly began as Woody sipped his coffee absentmindedly. Her picked up his spoon and dipped it into the broth, but his eyes were still trained on her. Those brown, brown eyes, begging her to continue.

"And then," Dolly said, finding her mind becoming more and more distracted, "I had some ice cream and went to bed." It wasn't a total lie: she had had ice cream...at the Saturday Sundae. And Slink did get her home, just not right after they left the party. Woody was still watching her intently.

"Any nightmares?" he asked in a low voice, curious, but not overly demanding. Dolly avoided his eyes, ashamed. He knew her too well sometimes. The other day, when she dreamed of the accident, she had told Woody, and he had comforted her. Last night, however, the dream had been much, much worse than the sound of screeching tires. She had been dressed in an uncomfortable black dress and shoes. Her hair was out of their usual pigtails, instead done up in a bun at the back of her head, soft purple curls falling from it. She had wandered the building she was in until she came upon a room. It was mostly bare except for an open coffin at the far wall. Dolly's heart sank. A funeral. A boy was crying in front of the coffin, and on closer inspection, Dolly recognised Slink. She realised that she was dreaming of Slink's brother's funderal, reliving the memory in her dreams. But when she approached, to her horror, Buttercup was laying in the tomb, eyes shut, hands folded on his chest. It took everything Dolly had not to break down right there and then.

"Dolly...?"

Woody's voice snapped her out of her terrible reverie. Sometime during her daydreaming, he had moved his chair over to the side of the table so that he was closer to her. His soup lay abandoned.

"Yes," Dolly mumbled sadly. "Nightmares." So the tears slipped, fast and thick, down Dolly's cheeks. She relayed her dream to Woody, not choking up or sniffling once, just silently crying. When her tale was over, he put his arm around her and gently led her head to his shoulder.

He whispered, "Thanks for telling me, Pinky." Dolly laughed. Although she absolutely loathed the colour pink, Woody only called her Pinky because of a promise made in kindergarten, where they first met. When they were younger, they pinky-promised things they thought were really important, such as to never lie to each other and to be friends forever. But the promise Woody was referring to was Pinky Promise #2: Tell each other EVERYTHING! The whole list was written in crayon on Woody's corkboard in his room. When Woody called Dolly Pinky, it was a way to remember their past and stay true in the future.

"So, what about you? Party went great, I'm guessing?" Dolly asked, breaking away from Woody and taking a bite of her BLT. Woody shrugged.

"I suppose. Cops didn't show this time, so I guess that's an achievement. Drinks went sorta out of hand though. Are you okay from the whole...pool thing?" Woody queried cautiously.

"Yeah. I'm a trooper, Woody, I thought we had settled that when we watched Star Wars." Woody chuckled, adding more sugar to his drink. They ate in silence for a few minutes before a thought occurred to Dolly.

"Woody?"

"Hm?" Woody's mouth was full of vegetables. He swallowed it down. "Yes?"

"What's your biggest dream?" Woody gave her a puzzled look, but then again, he had to remember Pinky Promise #2. He thought for a moment before answering.

"I know it sounds stupid, but someday I want to go to Rome and make a wish at the Trevi Fountain. Rome in itself just interests me. All that history, not to mention the buildings, as the Romans had quite a way with architecture."

"I think that was Greece," Dolly pointed out. She grinned while Woody faked disbelief.

"Really? Why, I never!" he cried, raising his hands dramatically. Dolly laughed. Woody's fingers returned to his spoon. He picked at the floating celery and beans thoughtfully. "What about you?" he murmured. "What's your biggest dream?"

Dolly would have loved to say you, but she didn't exactly feel like it was the right time. She didn't want Woody to become a cheater too. (That is, if he felt the same way about her.) Dolly pondered the question.

"I suppose one day I would like to go skydiving," she replied in a dreamy tone. "Maybe visit London, or make a movie for a film festival..." She trailed off.

"Is there anything else we don't know about each other?" Woody wondered aloud. "I think 12 years of friendship goes a long way." Dolly gazed at him, nearly pleading him to see how she had always been there for him. Woody's not that stupid, Trixie had said. Not stupid, but a bit clueless, Dolly thought.

"I think we know everything that we need to know," Dolly said uneasily. She didn't really know how to put her thoughts. They swam around in her brain, causing confusion and doubt. But her words weren't necessarily untrue, for she did think she knew mostly everything about Woody. His favourite colour was green. He had his father's eyes. Born on the seventeenth of June, he could play guitar but didn't like to tell anyone. His favourite song was Life in Technicolor by Coldplay; he said it relaxed him. In turn, Woody knew all of that information about her.

"We should be getting back," Woody said after checking his watch. Dolly nodded and finished the last of her sandwich.

As they were leaving the coffee shop, most of the crowd had already cleared out, and Dolly managed to catch some of the lyrics of the guitarist.

"I never knew, just what it was, about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while, I never knew...
All of the while...all of the while...
It was you."

"Psst. Dolly."

Trixie was trying to get her attention with small paper balls. Dolly was nearly falling asleep in their literature class. She didn't have anything really against the subject, just the things they read. Her and Trixie sat in the back, and that was useful for conversing about important matters. But this was also the class where they were busted a lot for talking. Especially Miss TrixAreForKids.

Dolly awoke from the stupor she was in, thanks to Mrs. Hunt's droning. "Yes, Trixie?" she mumbled, making sure to scribble down a note or two so it looked like she was listening.

"How'd your date with Woody go?" giggled Trixie. Dolly rolled her eyes.

"I'm not even going to correct that question. We didn't talk about much." Trixie raised her eyebrows. Dolly held up her hands defensively. "Honest!" Trixie gave a hmph.

"I'll take your words for it. Did you tell him about you-know-who?"

"Trixie, Woody's read Harry Potter, he knows You-Know-Who's Voldemort-"

"Dolly! Really! You know what I meant," Trixie scolded.

"C'mon, Trix, you love my sarcasm." Trixie gave her a pointed look. Dolly frowned. "Fine. Either somebody's in a bad mood or it's Aunt Flo-"

"Hey!"

"Anyways, no, I didn't tell him. Actually, I was hoping tonight, after the game."

"Are you crazy?"

"I prefer anti-sane-"

"Dolly! Trixie! Care to share your conversation with the rest of the class?" snapped Mrs. Hunt. Dolly looked down sheepishly, away from the pairs of eyes that flooded their way. Trixie, however, stared fearlessly at their teacher.

"I'd rather not," said Trixie, as nonchalantly as she possibly could. She received a glare in return.

"Want to speak after school?" It was more of a statement than a question. Trixie sunk in her seat. She had already gotten in trouble twice this week. Her parents would not be happy if they got a third call from the school.

"No, ma'am," Trixie ground out, every inch of her voice dripping with dislike. When Mrs. Hunt had turned away, the two resumed their conversation, but Dolly picked a different topic.

"Are you going tonight?" Dolly asked.

"Of course," Trixie answered. "Rex wants to see me...but I'm going to be cheering in the stands."

"Not marching like a dork on the field," Dolly grumbled. Trixie gave her a small smile.

"I believe the term is 'band geek,'" she whispered.

Dolly did her best to stifle her laughter.

On the bus ride home, the game and the dance were all that everybody was talking about. It was sort of annoying Dolly. Hearing most of the girls squealing and all fluttery about their dresses and dates and how they were all going to marry their boyfriends someday made her feel...nauseous.

Or maybe that was the sensation of being left out.

Whatever the emotion, Dolly couldn't help overhearing the conversations in the back of the bus. (That, and the people were obnoxiously loud.)

"So, who do you think's gonna be Homecoming Queen?" one girl asked.

"Bo, of course!" another one gushed. Dolly felt her fists beginning to tighten. "Well, her and Woody are shoo-ins, that's for sure," the girl continued.

Dolly scooted closer to Trixie, hoping a YouTube video would help distract her from the pain she was feeling in her chest. At her stop, she hastily said a goodbye before rushing off, eager to run home, away from the pressure known as high school. Though when she pushed open the door, it was clear that she hadn't escaped from stress, just ran into more.

Her mother was sitting in the living room, staring blankly ahead. Dolly quietly shut the door behind her.

"Mom?" she said softly, clutching her backpack strap tightly. "Is-is something wrong?" Dolly's mother put her face into her hands.

"Ben is recovering; he should be home later," she said finally. Dolly let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. But she sensed that there was more. There was always more. Her mother lifted her head, and Dolly stared into the blue eyes that Buttercup had inherited.

Her mother began,"Your father and I-" Big breath. "-have decided-" Slightly smaller breath. "-we should be apart. For the better." There. It was out. Dolly had finally heard the words from her mother's lips. She didn't really know what to feel. Part of her was expecting it, and it didn't come as a big shock, but still...her own father, just gone from the family? Dolly couldn't figure out when things had gone so wrong. This was the same man who used to always take her and Buttercup ice-skating in the winter, to fish (even though Dolly hated it) in the summer. Now, however, he ran out to get away from her mother, his wife, his family, nearly every night. He exchanged them for booze. Dolly felt anger, but she knew she couldn't completely hate her father. It wasn't in her blood to loathe someone so (except for Bo, but that would end the minute she graduated.) This was all better for Dolly's mother though, and her daugther knew it. Dolly was sick and tired of having high hopes knocked down, of seeing her mother, weary beyond her years, sitting alone at the kitchen table.

"Will Butterc-Ben, and I be...separated?" Dolly choked out. It was something she had been dreading ever since the idea of divorce seemed realistic. She didn't think she could survive without Buttercup there; he made her day happy when she was sad, he constantly got Band-Aids for her whenever she scraped her knee, he threatened every bully who ever barely hurt her. Granted, he also threatened every boy who made a pass at her, since her own father wasn't really around to do it often.

"No-no. We couldn't. Your father will pay for your support, he says he can't see you. He wants to, but he knows in the back of his head, he can't." Dolly sat with wobbly legs on her uncomfortable black leather couch, gripping a pillow to her chest.

"So we don't have to move?" Dolly's mother gave her a weak smile.

"No, honey. We don't. Now go on, don't you have a game tonight? I asked Mrs. Schaal to drive you there, I'm really not up to it today sweet pea." Dolly nodded, understanding completely.

"Sure, I'll just be in my room." She grabbed her things and raced up the stairs, but it wasn't until she was in her room did she let the tears actually fall. Her bedroom became a blur, as she wiped her eyes impatiently. This would take some getting-used to, but she knew that she hadn't lost her father forever. Just until he got better. Hopefully he'll get better, she thought. Dolly strode over to her closet and opened the door, taking out her wrapped-in-plastic band uniform. They weren't really the greatest thing to wear, honestly: dark blue suspenders that went up to her chest and a tacky hat with an awful feather on top. She laid it out on her bed and went over to her desk and propped open her laptop. Logging into her video chat, she noticed Trixie, Slink, and Barry were online out of all of her friends. She clicked on Trixie and her face appeared.

"Hey girl!" Trixie cried, her headphones in her ears and her fingers typing wildly. "Hold on a sec, I'm on the final battle of Level 33 and I just need to defeat this guy-"

"Trixie!"

"What?"

"Rex has the cheat codes."

"HE DOES?" Dolly smirked.

"Yeah, Slink told me yesterday Rex is on Level 37."

"You're kidding me. Gotta go, see ya tonight!" Trixie said, her voice nearly reaching it's highest pitch. Dolly laughed at her friend and instead clicked on Barry's name. His spiky brown hair was ressiting to being flattened. Barry groaned in protest.

"Hey Dolly," he moaned. Dolly giggled.

"Having trouble?"

"Yes! You're not in your band uniform yet," Barry pointed out. Dolly motioned behind her on her bed.

"See my totally awesome uniform? Really, they should have Barbie re-style these or something," Dolly said. "At least she'd make them eye appealing." Barry nodded, although his focus was still on his untamable hairstyle. "Is Mrs. Schaal picking you up too?" Dolly asked.

"Nope, I'm catching a ride with Rex and Hamm. Should be fun, as long as they're not blasting rap music the entire ride, I'm not sure if I'll be able to take it." Dolly smiled.

"Well, I don't think they'll be able to take it if you bring your Rent soundtrack along with you," she joked. Barry furrowed his eyebrows.

"For your information, I was planning on taking Moulin Rouge," he replied haughtily.

"I'll see you tonight, okay Barry?" Dolly told him. Barry ran his hands through his hair in a desperate attempt.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Good luck on the solo!" he called, and logged off. Dolly shut her own computer and stared at the wood of her desk, deep in thought. Right after the game, Jessie would distract Bo from interrupting her and Woody's conversation, and then Dolly would break the news to him. It couldn't be too hard, could it?

"Dolly! Mrs. Schaal's here!"

"Okay, be right down!" Dolly replied, fixing her hat for one last time before grabbing her oboe and nearly tripping down the stairs. Her mother fixed her band jacket , smoothing out the last of the wrinkles.

"There's my girl. Go out and nail it," she said with all the pride she could muster. Dolly was pulled into a hug which she gratefully returned.

"I love you, Mom," she murmured. Her mother kissed her cheek.

"I love you too, sweet pea. Tell Mrs. Schaal I said thanks!" Dolly mother cried out the last sentence, as Dolly had already bounded out the door and into the mini-van that was the Schaal's vehicle. She climbed in the back with Trixie.

"Excited?" Dolly asked her friend. As always, her nose was in her portable laptop, but she didn't seem too preoccuppied. Trixie looked up.

"Really excited. I even made a sign for Rex." She pointed in the back where a sheet of green posterboard was sitting. "I'm live blogging the entire event; my followers need to know what's going on. And if I see anything funny or worth of posting..."

"Trixie..." Dolly teased her. "Honestly, Rex is perfect for you. You both are nerds in a good way that spend so much time on the computer it's like your child." Trixie blushed. Dolly continued on her ramble, "I mean, if that egg in Home Economics was exchanged for a laptop, I'm sure you wouldn't have broken it."

"Hey! I have laptop cases. You know how many cases they make for eggs? None." Dolly laughed. Mrs. Schaal's radio was turned up, and Trixie and Dolly sang along to the lyrics the whole way to Pixar.

When they got out of the car, Dolly thanked Mrs. Schaal for the ride and took off towards the area where the band stayed to warm up on the field. As she set up her oboe, Barry walked towards her, his trombone slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Dolly," he said. Dolly stuck her reed into her mouth.

"Hey," she mumbled. Barry patted her back encouragingly.

"You'll do great," he assured her. "With everything tonight." Dolly was nervous beyond belief. Really, her stomach was doing triple backflips. As the stands slowly filled with the crowd, the band assembled into position. The emcee announced their song, and they marched onto the field, Dolly aware of every eye on them, including Bo's condescending ones.

Focus, she told herself. The drum majors stood at the edge of the field and raised their arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Woody giving her a thumbs up. Her heart filled with what could only be described as happiness. She played her part perfectly. Woody couldn't help but smile at his best friend who would always have a special place in his heart.

When the band finished, the crowd cheered, and then failed at doing the Wave. Dolly felt a sense of confidence and and marched off with the rest of her teammates. She packed up her oboe for now and left to go find Trixie so they could watch the game. Dolly spotted the giant green sign and climbed up the bleachers.

"You did great!" Trixie said, noticing Dolly coming up the steps. Dolly thanked her and stood, rubbing her arms to keep warm.

"And here we go with the punt!" the announcer narrated. Dolly screamed herself hoarse alongside Trixie, yelling for Woody and Rex and all of the team. Dolly had to scowl at Bo's cheering on the sidelines. Bo had tried to do a flip, but ended up not locking her arms and falling. Dolly snickered, but stop when she saw that Woody was truly distracted by Bo's injury. He missed the snap.

The crowd groaned, and the clock beeped, sending them into halftime. Dolly left to go buy something at the concessions stand before she was back on the field for the halftime show.

"Charles?" she asked when she noticed the cashier had familiar flaming red hair. He looked up from wrapping a hot dog.

"Hey Dolly," he replied, handing the meal to the customer before her. "What can I get you?"

"What are you doing working here?" she asked curiously. He shrugged.

"I think it counts as community service, and I need something that'll look good on my college application. Anyways, what do you want?"

"Just some chips, please."

"Candy okay? You're gonna need some sugar if you plan on doing you-know-what tonight."

"Word gets around too fast around here. Just...give me some Skittles or something, please," Dolly sighed. Charles gave her a bag.

"1.87 pounds, please." Dolly handed over the money before ripping open the candy and pouring a rainbow into her hand. She noticed Woody looking distressed by the sidelines. She went over to him.

"Hey, you okay?" she queried. He was running his hands through his hair, which he only really ever did when he was nervous. His brown eyes caught hers, and he sighed.

"No, Dolly, we aren't doing well, and Coach says I have to get my head in the game, and I'm just not really focused right now, and-" But his words were cut off as Dolly stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She didn't know what made her do it, just something in her told her that Woody needed encouragement, and that was how she should do it. Woody stared at Dolly, dumbstruck.

"You'll do amazing," Dolly stated firmly. Woody reached up and touched his cheek.

"Yeah..." He seemed dazed. "T-thanks Dolly," he spluttered. Dolly smiled and turned on her heel to go get her band gear.

It was the fourth quarter, 10 seconds to go and they were trailing behind by five points. If they just got a touchdown, they would win against Disney for the first time in forever. Dolly was nearly biting her nails, as Barry rocked back and forth beside her, and Trixie was yelling plays and advice to their team. Dolly touched her button necklace that she constantly wore nervously.

Come on, Woody, she thought in hope. On the field, Dolly could've sworn she saw his head turn in her direction. Then he shouted "Hike!" and threw the ball down field. The crowd rose in a giant wave to see the receiver run into the touchdown zone and catch the ball.

Chaos.

The noise level was deafening, as Dolly was overtaken in a hug by both Trixie and Barry, and their smiles were plastered on their faces. Trixie was screaming, holding up Rex's sign with pride. Dolly ran out of the bleachers to see Woody being lifted up into the air by his teammates. They caught eyes and Woody grinned, dismounting his friends' shoulders to pull her into a hug. His jersey was all sweaty, but at that moment, Dolly didn't care. She looked behind her though, past Woody's arms to see Bo in a deep kiss with Robin. Her eyes widened. Woody broke the embrace and made to turn around.

"Woody, don't-"

But it was too late. He had already spotted Bo and Robin, and his eyes-his loving, brown eyes-were enflamed with anger. Everything else didn't seem to matter to him. The noise of the crowd became silent to Dolly's ears, and it was like a spotlight was on the scene. Dolly noticed Woody was thisclose to breaking down, his hurt secretly disguised. He marched up to Bo as she broke away from Robin.

"Woody, I can explain-" she started, but Woody pushed her away.

"How-how could you?" he growled, in a tone that made Dolly scared. "How could you?" Woody stormed off the field, where Bo looked helplessly after him.

Dolly was pretty sure no one else spotted Woody raise his arm and wipe his eyes. She remembered that night when she was in the hospital.

"For, it won't be long, 'til I'm gonna need, somebody to lean on."

please review!
thanks for being so patient, but the next chapter will be the last. :(
I'd like to thank dmwcool1, who wants to draw fanart for my story "News" and that's totally awesome!
Cerulean Pen, who is always supportive of me :)
And mochabelle33, for pointing out I accidentally paired Owen C. with Luna.

Lastly, all my reviewers, who support Woody/Dolly, who've been with my story since the beginning or have just begun reading it. After all, being a fan isn't being there since the beginning; it's about staying there 'til the end.

~mac!