Button Mash trotted to school with a look of determination on his face. It was Hearts and Hooves day and Button was ready to tell his good friend Sweetie Belle about how much he liked her. It had been over six months since they had both met each other and also since he had introduced Sweetie into the wonderful world of video games. It was only two months before hand in which he had actually realized his feelings for her.
Slowly, he had finally coaxed himself into actually confessing his feelings to his closest friend in Ponyville on this day. With him in his saddle bag, he also had a present for her that he would give before actually telling her everything. It was a hoof painted JoyBoy that matched Sweetie Belles mane that he had painstakingly worked on for about a week. He had specially gotten it so that they wouldn't have to take turns playing his JoyBoy and that they could actually play together instead.
He was sure that she was going to love it.
As he continued on his journey towards the school, he began thinking worriedly about whether or not Sweetie Belle actually felt the same way about him. Eventhough they' ve been especially close together recently, it could have just been that she just liked hanging out with him and that she just thought of him as a really good friend or the brother she never had. He wouldn't know what to do then.
But then he started thinking about all the good times they had. The laughs they shared and the video games they played together. The determination in him came back as soon as it had left.
After a few more minutes he had finally reached the front of the school. Classes had not started yet so he could see a bunch of other foals playing together and right at the end of the school yard was Sweetie Belle. She was alone playing with her hooves whilst humming a tune to herself. Button Mash couldn't see Applebloom or Scootaloo anywhere in sight. He guessed that they hadn't gotten here yet.
Good. They wouldn't be around to see him make a fool of himself. At least, that's what he thought. They always teased him and Sweetie Belle about them being in a relationship in which they would just say that they were just close friends.
Just as Button decided to head towards Sweetie Belle, he saw her abruptly turn her head towards somepony. He followed her line of sight which lead to a grey pegasus colt by the name of Rumble.
Button Mash never bothered trying to become friends with anyone before Sweetie Belle. But Rumble was always nice to him and always asked him whether he wanted to hangout or if he needed help with anything to which Button would usually politely decline. Button felt that he was kind of annoying because of that. He felt that he was too nice to the point where it just got annoying.
Sweetien Belle trotted over to Rumble. Button couldn't hear what either of them were saying. Suddenly, they had stopped talking and began walking towards the back of the school.
Curious, Button quickly trotted over. With his side against the building he slowly peeked around the corner wondering what was going on. He could see them talking to each other again but he couldn't pick up anything that they were saying and he couldn't get any closer without being found out. So he just waited and watched.
After a couple seconds, he saw Rumble reach into his saddle bag. He was rummaging around in it for a few seconds before pulling his head back up with something in his mouth.
It was a red and pink card with small hearts dotted around it.
Button Mash felt nervous and sweat began dripping from his brow. His stomach churned violently. What was he doing? Is that card what I think it is? Was all Button could think of in his head.
Sweetie Belle had taken the card in her mouth before carefully placing it on the ground and opened it with a hoof.
As she read whatever was in the card, Button could see a pinkish tint forming on her cheeks.
When she was done, she closed the card and looked back at Rumble. Her cheeks were as red as a rose.
Rumble opened his mouth to say something. He had said six words just loud and clear enough for Button to hear.
"Will you be my special somepony?"
Buttons heart had stopped beating for a moment.
'No. Please say no. Please', Button Mash thought to himself.
Then, to Buttons dismay. Sweetie Belle said one word that just about broke his heart then and there.
"Yes."
Before anymore could be seen, Button turned away. He didn't want to look anymore. He rested back against the wall of the school. He could feel tears brimming in his eyes. He tried to control and push his feelings away but it was just getting harder and harder. He brought up a hoof and bit into it as hard as he dared. It hurt but it didn't hurt as much as his heart did at that moment.
The day passed very slowly for Button Mash. He couldn't help but glance at Sweetie every so often. It hurt him each time but he just couldn't stop. When recess had come he had just hid himself inside one of the stalls in the boys bathroom. He had brought his lunch bag with him but he didn't at all feel like eating. He felt more like he was going to lose his breakfast more than anything.
When school had finally ended, he tried avoiding Sweetie Belle by carefully maneuvering around all the other foals and hiding behind objects. At one point he had gotten behind a tree and could see Sweetie Belle with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo near the entrance of the school. She had a worried look on her face as she had glanced around the schoolyard. He guessed that she was probably looking for him since she hadn't seen him at recess.
After a minute or two she had given up. She probably thought that he had gone home early today.
When the coast was finally clear, Button slipped out from behind the tree and began heading home. As he neared the schools entrance, he heard somepony call out, "Hey blank flank!"
He instantly recognized that voice. It was Diamond Tiara's.
He turned around to see Diamond Tiara and her sidekick Silver Spoon patronizing one of their classmates. It wasn't unusual for her to pick on their classmates after school. Especially on foals who hadn't gotten their Cutie Mark yet. Every so often Button would be one of her targets but he would always ignore her which caused her to be even more aggressive towards him.
With a sigh and a shake of his head, he turned around and headed towards his home.
Button Mash wasn't able to get much sleep. Throughout the night he had trouble getting to sleep. His mind had just kept wandering back to the moment when Sweetie said yes to Rumble. He also felt a little confused about the whole situation. He never really saw the two of them hanging out with each other before. Sure he'd seen them talk before, but it was usually just for a minute or two. He guessed that he never really paid much attention to their relationship with each other.
Button would usually try to avoid being around Rumble, so that was probably one of the reasons why he never saw anything between them.
When Button Mash reached the front of the school, he heard the bell ring and saw a crowd of foals quickly barging into the building. He saw Rumble in the crowd but he didn't see Sweetie. She had probably already got inside earlier. With a sigh, he walked into the school along with the rest of his classmates that lagged behind.
Inside of the class he saw Sweetie Belle in her chair looking at Rumble getting into his. This sight caused Button's ears to droop slightly and his stomach to churn again.
Before he knew it, Sweetie Belle had faced towards him and waved at him. Button only glanced at her for a split second before turning away and getting into his seat. He didn't know what to do so he just ignored her even though it hurt him inside to do it. It probably hurt her a little too which added to the emotional warfare that went on inside of him.
A couple hours passed and before anypony knew it, it was time for recess. Button had buried his head into his hooves. He guessed that he was going to hide inside the bathroom again. There wasn't really anywhere else to go that was inside the schools boundary.
As he got his things ready he heard some hoof steps heading towards him. He ignored them and prayed to Celestia that whoever was heading towards him, he hoped that it wasn't Sweetie Belle.
"Hey Button! Wanna eat lunch with us?"
Of all the ponies to talk to him it had to be Rumble. He was the last pony that Button really wanted to see. He tried to ignore him, not even bothering to give him a glance.
"Hey come on man! You never hang out with us", Rumble said this as he placed a hoof on Button's shoulder.
Then something in Button's brain popped. He pushed away Rumble's hoof and shouted "Leave me alone!", at him. The class suddenly felt a lot quieter than it did a second ago. He looked around to see everypony that was still in the class looking at him. That included Sweetie Belle. The look on her face was just of pure shock. She had never seen him so angry. Even when some of the other foals picked on him he would just ignore them. In fact, she'd never seen him angry before.
Before anyone could react, Button dashed out of the class as quickly as he could. He had heard a voice call out to him when he got out but he was in too much of a hurry to care who it was.
In just a few seconds, Button found himself back in the bathroom just like he was the day before. All he could feel inside of him was shame. He'd usually never get that angry. But the second Rumble laid a hoof on him he had just exploded. He had never found a reason to get angry at Rumble until now. Sure he got annoying, but he was never that annoying.
This Sweetie Belle business had just caused so much turmoil. He didn't know how he was gonna make it out like this. He didn't know what she thought of him now after that outburst. He wasn't sure if she angry at him, shocked or Celestia forbid, Scared of him. Just then, his stomach made a loud noise which caused him to blush even though no pony was was. With a sigh, he reached for his saddle bag. But as he patted his back he found that there was nothing there. He realized that in his panic, he had left it behind.
"Darn it."
Button opened the bathroom door ever so slightly and peeked outside to see if anyone was there. When he found that the coast was clear, he quickly trotted towards his class. When inside, he found that no pony was around. Since he was alone he took out his lunch and ate inside the class. Occasionally he would look out the window from where he was and catch some of his friends playing together. Just out of the corner of his line of sight, he could see Sweetie Belle with a concerned look on her face talking to Rumble. Rumble looked depressed.
He was probably wondering whether he had done anything wrong to Button for him to have shouted at him like that. Sweetie was probably comforting him and wondering the same thing. Probably wondering about his attitude lately. Thinking about why he was ignoring her and all that.
The sight of those two together didn't make Button feel good inside, so he turned his attention back to his food.
That's when he heard somepony clear their throat behind him. He turned to face whoever it was, only to see a couple of ponies he really did not want to see.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
"Well if it isn't ol' Button Mash!", Diamond said.
Button shook his head and sighed once again before asking, "What do you two want?"
That's when Silver Spoon said, "We heard about that little outburst you had with Rumble earlier."
"And we just wanna know what it was all about", Diamond continued. "Though, we're pretty sure we know why", she said rather smugly.
Button returned to eating his food before saying, "Leave me alone."
"Why? So that you can think about how Sweetie Belle chose Rumble over you?", the pink filly said.
Button's ears twitched slightly. Diamond saw this, causing her devilish grin to widen.
"It's not surprising really. Who'd wanna pick you anyway?"
Button had had enough.
"Will you just go away!?"
With a growl he grabbed his water bottle and tossed it at Diamond and Silver Spoon as hard as he could. However, They had both reacted quickly and got out of the line of fire. Just a second after that they had all heard thump and someone crying out in pain.
Button's eyes widened as he realized who he had accidentally hit.
Sweetie Belle.
She laid on her rear grasping onto her head with tears threatening to let loose. A big bruise was beginning to form. Her friend Applebloom was trying to comfort her as Scootaloo ran out to find Ms. Cheerilee. Behind them stood Rumble. His mouth was open in shock as he stared at Button. He shook his head before looking back at Button sadly and then turned to help Sweetie up to bring her to the infirmary.
Button just looked on in horror as they brought her out of the classroom.
"Good going Robin Hoof", Silver Spoon said as she and Diamond Tiara headed towards their seats.
After school ended, Ms. Cheerilie had asked Button to stay back and answer a few questions.
"Button. Was there a reason you threw that bottle?", she asked. To which Button immediately responded, "Yeah but I didn't mean for it to hit Sweetiebelle!"
"Then who were you trying to hit?"
Button stayed quiet for a moment before answering. "I... Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon were..."
Cheerilee sighed before replying, "Okay, I think I can guess what happened. Both of them were bothering you up until it got to the point where you couldn't take it anymore so you threw the bottle at them in a fit of rage."
A moment of silence passed by.
"So Button. Is that what happened?"
"Y-yes Miss Cheerilee."
Cheerilee nodded her head in understanding.
"I can see why you would get angry Button but it still wasn't right for you to have resorted to violence. Imagine if the bottle actually had hit your intended target. What would have happened then if either one of them were the ones hit? Then they would have been the ones who would have experienced what you did to Sweetiebelle."
Button's ears fell flat.
"I'm sorry Miss Cheerilee."
She had placed a hoof on his shoulder before saying, "You should be saying that to Sweetie and the others."
"Now. As for your punishment, tomorrow you'll be having detention after school along with some extra homework."
Button nodded.
"Thank you for your time Button. You may leave."
And without a second glance he left.
Button stood outside of Carousel Boutique. He was completely and utterly nervous. He lifted a hoof and knocked on the door twice. A little bit of fear resided in him, he was afraid that Sweetie Belle might not accept his apology especially since he hadn't been a very good friend the past couple days. He heard the sound of hoof steps heading towards the door.
"Coming!", said a pony behind the door.
After a few seconds passed the door finally opened revealing Sweetie Belle's sister Rarity.
"Oh Button Mash! Do come in!"
Button Mash nodded before heading inside.
"I believe you've come here to see how Sweetie Belle is doing?"
"Uh, yeah", droplets of sweat began forming on his head. Had Sweetie Belle told her that it was him that hurt her?
"You would not believe how horrified I was to find that Sweetie had been injured! That bruise on her head is just so ghastly! But thanks to a little bit of magic she looks as if she never got hurt in the first place. Though she still does have a bit of a headache. So please make sure to not surprise her or anything."
"Sure Miss Rarity."
"She's upstairs in her room. I'm sure you remember the way?"
Button nodded before heading towards and up the stairs, and after a moment he found himself stood in front of Sweetie's door nervously before knocking.
"Come in!", Button heard her call out.
He opened the door to find Sweetie Belle on her bed reading what looked to be a dictionary. Why was she reading a dictionary? She can't be that bored.
A look of sadness enveloped her face when she turned to find that it was Button that came in.
An awkward silence filled the air for a bit before Button finally said something.
"I'm really sorry I hit you with my bottle Sweetie Belle. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay Button, I understand."
Button looked at the filly with a gracious smile.
"But what I don't understand is why you've been ignoring me lately and being so mean to Rumble."
The smile he had quickly faded away.
He reached into his saddle bag and after a little bit of rummaging around he pulled out the JoyBoy he had gotten for her. He got closer to the bed before placing the JoyBoy on Sweetie's bed.
Curious, Sweetie asked, "What's this for?"
Button rubbed his left hoof awkwardly before saying, "It's for you. I had gotten you your own JoyBoy and painted it to match your mane."
Sweetie picked it up and stared at it. It was painted really well. Button must have put quite a bit of work into it, she thought to herself.
"Wow. Thanks Button!", she said with a big smile. "But why?"
"I figured that I'd get you one so that we could play together instead of having to take turns with mine."
She carefully got down from her bed and wrapped her hooves around Button.
"Was that the reason you kept ignoring me? To keep it a surprise?"
"... No", it was time to come clean. "I was actually planning to give it to you on Hearts and Hooves day as present. But then I saw you with Rumble and... Something in my brain just snapped. That's why I avoided you and also why I was so mean to him. I guess I just got jealous."
Sweetie Belle's cheeks were blushing.
"I really liked you and I wanted to tell you that with the JoyBoy but... Yeah. I know you don't like me that way and I guess I've come to terms with it after hurting you. I'm really sorry."
Sweetie Belle released Button from the hug.
" It's okay Button."
Button smiled at Sweetie.
"Hey. Wanna test out your new JoyBoy?"
The next day at school, Button told Rumble everything and begged for his forgiveness. Of course, Rumble being the friendly colt he is quickly accepted it and for the first time since they met, Button had lunch with Rumble, along with Sweetie Belle and a few other friends.
Later, an hour after school, Button still sat in detention along with Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon, being one of the smartest foals in class finished the extra homework early and so she got to leave early. Button too had finished it but he still had to stay back for another half hour to finish up his detention. Miss Cheerilee was outside of the class talking to somepony. As his mind wandered, thinking about what video games he should play when he got home, Diamond Tiara stood beside him grunting and scratching her head at a question that she was stumped on.
Button noticed this and peeked at her paper. It was a math paper. Miss Cheerilee had given each of them different subjects so that they couldn't copy one another. Button had gotten a history paper while Silver Spoon got science. He looked at the question that Diamond was stuck on. It wasn't that hard. But it was a little tricky.
"Hey. That's not how your supposed to do it."
Diamond looked up from her paper and turned to Button.
"Yeah? And how would you know that?"
"Well for one, I got one of the highest scores on our last math test."
Diamond returned to face her paper again and said, "Just leave me alone... Nerd."
Button returned to his endeavors, not wanting to anger anypony. After about a minute of silence, he felt a hoof prod his shoulder lightly.
"... Hey. Could you show me how I'm supposed to do this?", she asked, embarrassed.
Button gave her a smile before nodding.
After about ten minutes Diamond Tiara cheered.
"I did it!", she said happily before facing Button. "Thanks. I guess."
She got off her seat with the paper in her mouth before heading out and giving the paper to Cheerilee.
Twenty minutes later, Button was finally released from imprisonment. When he got through the doors of the school he heard someone call out to him. He turned to find Diamond Tiara sitting outside drinking from a juice box.
"... Why'd you help me?", she asked.
"I guess it was to apologize for throwing my bottle at you."
"Oh". She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out another juice box. Button caught it as she tossed it at him.
"There. Thanks for the help", she said with a light tint of red on her cheeks.
She got up from her position and began to walk away, she heard Button call out to her. She slowly turned to face him before asking what it was he wanted.
"If you need any more help with math, don't be afraid to ask."
"I already have Silver for that, why would I need you?", she said, annoyed by him though she was still blushing.
"Back up?"
Diamond sighed before nodding ever so slightly at him. She turned and trotted away.
Button stood there in front of the school with a grin on his face and a bit of pink on his cheek.
Author's Note
To anyone who has gotten this far into the story. Thank you for taking the time to read this thing I wrote. This story was inspired by a manga that I'm pretty sure isn't that well known. If anyone can guess what manga it is (Which I highly doubt since this is so loosely based off of it), then hallelujah!
As always, please a like if you enjoyed it and if you didn't would you kindly state why. If you have a problem with the style of writing, the characters or the story in general, don't be afraid to comment.
