Chapter Text
Andy never really considered himself to be a fragile doll. Sure, Marcella would play a little more rough with him, he’d get rips in his seams more often than Ann, his right arm never seemed to want to stay attached to his body, but he never thought he was a fragile doll...until now.
Earlier in the day, Marcella decided to stick him and Clem into her backpack before heading to school. This wasn’t the first time Andy got to go to school with Marcella, he’s gone to school in her backpack more times than he can really count.
Sometimes, she’d pull him and Clem out of her backpack, keeping them in her lap when she’d be doing her work while her free hand started fidgeting and playing with Andy's hair or Clem's hat. Their button eyes would wander, looking at the child-like decoration on the classroom walls, looking down at the numbers on Marcellas homework, watching and listening to the teacher at the front of the classroom. Andy would often find this boring, but with Clem, it seemed to be more bearable. Clem would very slowly move his mittened hand, careful to not get noticed by Marcella, and then they’d link their mitten hand with Andys, holding it firmly, but gently.
Andy had to do his best to keep his composure and stay still, but a soft blush formed on his fabric cheeks.
By the time the school day was over, Marcella didn’t even bother to put Clem and Andy back in her backpack, instead carrying them outside in her arms. She usually talked and played with her friends for a few minutes before her mother would pick her up from school, and Clem could notice the excited twinkle in Andys buttoned eyes. He loved playing with Marcella.
Marcella and one of her friends sat down on the grass, playing pretend with Clem and Andy. Her friend always had to keep on adjusting Clem's hat so it wouldn’t fall off their brown yarned hair, but they were still having a blast.
However, as a few minutes passed, Andy and Clems buttoned eyes watched as these boys, a bit further out in the field, were watching Marcella and her friend, snickering and talking about them. Marcella didn’t seem to notice, too caught up in their game of pretend, but the dolls in their hands noticed as the boys started to walk directly towards the 2 girls, nasty grins on the trio's faces. They know these boys, they’d catch glances of them terrorizing kids on the playground, watching as they’d get into trouble and have to get sent back inside whenever they were caught. Andy has even seen them picking on Marcella for playing with dolls at her age, and it always enraged him when they’d make Marcella upset and sad.
Clem and Andy looked from the girls hands as the boys taunted them, making fun of the two girls for playing with ‘little girl dolls’.
It really did upset Andy and Clem when Marcellas eyes looked down at the grass, a sad look in her eyes. It was never fun when Marcella was upset.
However, her eyes shot wide open when one of the boys grabbed onto Andy's arm, trying to tug Andy away from her. The two girls stood, the girl holding Clem backing away as Marcella tried to pull back on Andy, holding one arm while the boy held the other. And then, there was a loud rip as Andy fell to the ground, his right arm and some of his stuffing laying next to him in the grass.
The boy grabbed his friends and ran off, knowing he’d be in trouble if any of the teachers saw. Marcella just dropped to her knees, quickly grabbing Andy's arm and his body, pulling them into her lap. Clem gazed from Marcellas friends hands while Marcella fretted over Andy, gently stuffing him into her backpack before closing it and grabbing Clem from her friends arms, tears springing in her eyes.
Her friend tried to comfort her the best she could, but by the time Marcellas mother pulled up to the school and Marcella hopped in the passenger seat, she started to cry.
“Oh, sweety, what's wrong? What happened?”
“Th-The boys ripped Andy!”
“Oh, hun..”
Her mother gave Marcella an awkward side hug over the console of the car, and all Clem could do was sit in Marcellas lap, waiting to be put in Marcellas backpack with Andy too.
But that never happened.
Once Marcellas mother drove them both home, Marcella wiped her tears, following her mother inside and to her room. Her mother grabbed out a small sewing kit while Marcella set Clem on her mothers bed, adjusting him on the pillow before her mother motioned for Marcella to open her backpack and pull out Andy. The second her mother saw the damage, she sighed.
“It always seems to be that arm that rips off, isn't it."
“C-Can you fix him?”
Her mother gave her a soft, small smile, but something in her eyes was…..off.
She grabbed some extra stuffing, filling it into Andy's rip before gently sewing his arm back on. Marcella watched the whole time, giving worried, childish reassurances to Andy. Andy sometimes thought Marcella was too sweet for her own good, but it was times like this where he couldn't help but smile on the inside, glad to know Marcella was so worried for him.
After Andy was fixed, he waited to be handed back to Marcella, but her mother frowned.
"Sweety, I know you love Andy a whole lot...but don't you think he's getting old?"
"What makes you say that?"
Her mother looked at Marcella, her brows slightly furrowing. "Marcella, at this point, I'm wasting my sewing supplies on him. It seems like every other week he gets ripped or dirtied, and when I sew him up, it never stays."
Andy's candy heart stuttered as he thought to himself. 'Wasting..?'
Marcella looked a tad upset. "I can always buy you more sewing supplies for Andy with my birthday money!"
"Marcy, you should be saving that money for something for yourself, not me."
"What if I buy my own supplies and sew him up myself whenever he gets ripped?"
"I don't want you poking your fingers with a sewing needle, hun."
Her mother looked down at Andy in her hands, looking into his empty, buttoned eyes.
"He's just….he's become a fragile doll, Marcella. He's old, easy to tear. I know you didn't mean for him to get ripped, I understand that, but...he can't be played with so roughly. I'm afraid that one day, he'll be unfixable."
Andy listened, and the more Marcellas mother talked, the more it felt like his candy heart sunk into the stuffing in his stomach. Clem felt the same, listening to the whole conversation from the bed.
‘Sure, my arm never wanted to stay attached to my body. Sure, I rip a tad more easily than the other toys....but I'm not...i…'
Marcellas mother frowned. "He's a fragile doll, Marcella. He should be kept somewhere safe.."
Andy swore he felt his candy heart crack as Marcellas mother handed him back to her, and Marcella looked at him sadly.
He could see Clem in the side of his vision on the bed, and even though Clem was completely still, Andy could tell Clem didn't like this conversation one bit.
Marcella flipped Andy over in her hands so he was facing her, so she could look into his eyes. Her expression was sad. She loved Andy as much as she loved Ann, but she will admit, she did play more roughly with him, he did get into more tough situations. She was always more careful with Ann...and now, here Andy is, now labeled a fragile doll, all because she couldn't be careful with him too. Andy could tell she was trying to keep it together. She was always a sensitive girl, she'd express her feelings more than other children.
"I don't wanna break him, mom…"
"I know, honey"
Marcella thought to herself for a moment, Andy could see the gears moving in her head.
"....Can you keep him safe for me?"
'What?!'
"I don't wanna rip him again, I'm scared of what'll happen."
"Are you sure, sweety? We could always keep him in your room still-"
'Please, Marcella, please-'
"I'm sure, mom...I think he's too old to be played with anymore too.."
Hearing that broke Andy's candy heart, and just like that, Marcella handed him back to her mother.
Andy wanted to yell out 'I'm not fragile! I'm a strong, tough, and terrific boy! I won't be unfixable, I'm not a waste, please!!! I'm...I'm not fragile, I'm not..' But he remained silent with that signature smile on his face, watching as Marcella picked up her backpack and picked up Clem, holding the Scottish doll in her arms.
"You promise to keep Andy safe, right, mommy?"
Marcellas mother smiled. "Of course, honey. Now, go do your homework, okay? We'll be having pasta for dinner."
Marcella gave Andy one final sad look, her eyes more watery than usual. She turned around, Clem peaking over her shoulder. Then, she left the room, taking Clem with her, leaving Andy behind with her mother.
Marcellas mother looked at Andy and tsk'd. "What a shame…"
She began to walk.
"She always loved this doll...even though it's been ripped and stitched to hell and back.."
Andy noticed Marcellas mother was walking towards the closet, and he didn't like this one bit. She adjusted Andy so he's in one of her arms while she reached up into the closet, moving things aside and setting things down, making room on the closet shelf.
'What's she doing?' Andy questioned himself. 'Why is she doing this?'
Once Marcellas mother stepped back, looking into the corner of the closet shelf to see her work, she held Andy in both of her hands, speaking to herself again.
"Who knows, maybe she'll ask for this old thing back."
Her mother was always a well collected person, all the toys knew. Whenever one of them would break, she would always fix them when Marcellas father was too busy with work again. She'd always keep a calm demeanor, always smiling for her little girl. Now, her mother just looked...sad.
"..She'll ask for him back, she loves him too much not to.."
She took a step towards the closet, and just like that, she set Andy inside. She set him in the little cleared out spot she made in the corner of the shelf, adjusting him when he fell over. She fixed his hat, resting her hand on him for just a second more. Then, she stepped away, closing the closet.
The moment the closet closed, Andy blinked, standing himself up, walking over the boxes and clothes on the shelf to look through the crack from the closet door. He couldn't see much, the crack was too thin to get a good glimpse of the room, but he managed to catch the sight of Marcellas mother putting her sewing supplies back on her night stand before walking out of sight, the sound of the bedroom door closing being heard a few seconds later.
Andy was shocked at what just happened. Did Marcella just have her mother tuck him away? Because he was 'fragile?' He thought that was absurd. He knows Marcella, he knows how much she loves her toys and dolls. He knows for a fact that Marcella will come back for him.
He walked back over the clothes and boxes, kicking a bundled up shirt off the shelf in frustration once he sat back down where her mother placed him.
'She'll be back.' He concluded. 'I just have to wait.'
So here he is now, waiting.
Andy listens to the distant voices in the house. listening to them have dinner. He listened as Marcellas father came home, listening as he and Marcellas mother got ready for bed, watching as the light peaking through the crack of the closet door disappeared as they turned off the lights to sleep.
'She wasn't back for me today, but she'll be back for me tomorrow, I'm sure of it.'
He continued to wait, thinking about what his sister could be doing. Maybe she's coming up with a plan to get him back to the playroom! Maybe Clem's gonna come grab Andy back himself! The possibilities of how Andy could be 'rescued' are endless the more he thinks about it.
But as the days passed...nothing happened.
Weeks passed, and the most attention Andy got was a shirt haphazardly tossed into the closet, landing over him. He was unable to see the light from the crack in the closet. It was dark
Months passed, and soon there was a spider in the closet, crawling under the shirt that was tossed over Andy. He tried to start small talk with it like how he'd do with the mice in the attic. He soon learned that the spiders were rather ignorant, ignoring Andy speaking to them, only using Andy to spin their webs on him.
He missed his sister. He missed Clem...he missed everyone.
Those months turned into years.
Dust and cobwebs began to collect on Andy, getting in his worn seams. Some of the strings keeping him together began to loosen, the strings getting older and weaker.
Andy realized he was losing track of time, the only hints he was getting to how much time was passing was how it would get slightly colder in the winter.
He missed...oh god, what were their names? He can't remember that well anymore.
He stopped caring.
Soon, he didn't even remember where he was, who he was. All he knows is that he's a fragile doll, and that the darkness of this place is keeping him safe.
He doesn't miss a thing. How can you miss something when you don't even remember it?
But he was safe.
He was safe….