"...right, Button?"
Sweetie Belle had asked a question, that in all possibility, I could not answer. Like, how the heck am I supposed to know about trains!? I thought that being Button meant I inherited his memories, but clearly not all of them, as I didn't even know about his interests in trains!
"Umm..." I muttered slowly to stall some time, as my eyes darted everywhere except where the three crusaders were at, standing right in front of me, clearly still waiting for an answer that I could not supply.
I better think quickly to keep up my act, or not I'm doomed! Crap, what kind of excuse can I use to get away with the situation right now!?
What if I lied to them, saying that I do know about these trains stuffs!?
...W-Wait, that won't work! For one, we got a dang Apple with us! And if Applejack is a living lie detector, then what about Apple Bloom!? ...I mean, there is a saying where 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'... And two, I'm taking way too dang long to answer a simple question! They're gonna suspect something's wrong, and they'll start piecing things together! I can't let my cover be blown, dangit!
Crap... then, what if I just told them the truth!? Being truthful is better anyway, right!?
...no, that's wrong! Crap! If I were to tell them the truth, then they'll never trust me again! They're gonna ask me where the real Button Mash went, and ignore me forever! I can't let that happen, not after what I've been through in my past life!
I winced a little, pressing my hand against my head as I thought about an excuse a bit too hard, it had given me a bit of a headache from all the thinking. I looked back up at the three crusaders, who were still looking at me with those confused expressions-
Wait. Hold on. Rewind, what the heck did I just experience just now...?
My head tilted a little as I thought back on what I had felt just now for a moment before I widened my eyes for a moment, but lowered my gaze back to the ground to not raise any more suspicion from the girls.
Headache. I can pretend I'm having a headache like I was having just this morning when I had woken up! Brilliant! They won't suspect a thing~!
I guess I took a little bit too long, as I heard a pair of feet stepping closer to me, their footsteps sounding a bit too impatient as of this moment. I looked back up at where the girls were, and I saw Apple Bloom now standing right in front of me that I had to lift my head a bit higher to look up at her face, which was now decorated with a face that read 'Give me an answer right now, or I'll beat the crap out of you'.
I gulped, nervous by Apple Bloom's behaviour at me, before I made up my mind. Yep. It's now or never. Let's do this already. I looked deep into Apple Bloom's red eyes, who is currently staring daggers into my own soul before I continued on with my plan.
"ACK!" I suddenly screamed out, faking a pained scream, before I brought my hands up to my head, pressing against it as I bent down to make my pain seem much more real. I do hope this works...
True to my words, it seemed that it did work, as I could hear two different beats of footsteps approach me quickly, one more footstep later than the rest before I could feel three hands hold my shoulders. I slowly looked back up, faking a wince of pain as I did so, and was greeted by the sight of three worried faces from the three crusader friends, with Sweetie Belle kneeling down to get closer to me.
Damn. Can't believe it's working already... Well, gotta continue the act now.
I groaned, adding a hint of pain into the groan, as I continued to press my hand against my head, now rubbing it against my temples. Sweetie Belle clearly noticed the small hint of pain I emitted, as she suddenly got much closer to me, scanning me for what's wrong. "B-Button? What's happening? Is this another headache you're experiencing?"
That, for some reason, suddenly got Apple Bloom's complete and undivided attention, as she herself knelt down to my head level to look at me straight in the eyes, before looking back at Sweetie Belle. "A headache? When'd this headache of his start, Sweetie Belle?"
Before Sweetie Belle had the chance to respond to Apple Bloom, I cleared my throat, glaring at Apple Bloom, to which she had turned her head to look back at me with a curious but serious expression worn on her face. "It's nothing, Apple Bloom. I just played too long on a new game I had bought yesterday. Stop treating me like I'm a kid, I know how to take care of myself."
Apple Bloom crossed her arms, looking me over one more time, before she rolled her eyes, getting up to her feet. "Fine. Well, Ah do hope yer gonna be alright. Ah thought ya just had...something, Ah guess."
I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath. "Well, that's something you don't hear every day..."
Though, to keep the act going, I slowly got back onto my feet but stumbled forward a bit to show the three crusaders that I still wasn't feeling alright.
Like I had guessed, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo held onto my shoulders quickly, the two struggling against my weight before they managed to find their balance and plopped me back onto the stairs.
"Sorry, Button, but you gotta stay down until your headache is all gone, alright?" Sweetie Belle said as she stood back up and crossed her arms, looking down at me.
"Yeah, what if you have another one of those headaches of yours whilst you're walking or something? You'll get hurt! And no kid likes having bruises!" Scootaloo continued with her normal raspy voice, as sweat trickled down her head, making her wipe her forehead to clean it from the sweat.
"Well... I, uhh... okay, I guess... My mom will be here any minute now, so when she comes, someone needs to help me over to the car. Unless, of course, my headache will be okay by then." I looked back up at the two of them, groaning in annoyance, before I laid back against the steps of stairs, looking up at the sky, closing my eyes in victory with a smile on my face.
Mission accomplished. They believe me, now I don't have to worry about that problem again.
"So... do ya know about trains or what, Button?"
My expression immediately soured as soon as I heard that young but mature Southern American voice, but I managed to keep it inside. I moved my head back down, with my expression now neutral, to see the red-headed crusader with her arms crossed, still having that suspicious expression worn on her face.
This is one of the reasons why I hate the Apple family to be honest... they're all stubborn as heck...
"Well? Do ya or do ya not? Ah'm still waiting fer mah answer, Button." Apple Bloom answered with that annoyed tone still present in her voice, as she began tapping her foot impatiently and raising an expressionless eyebrow at me.
I looked over to both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and for some reason, they were keeping their distance away from Apple Bloom. I raised an eyebrow, confused at the two of them as I looked back and forth between them both, before settling to look back at the hollow face of Apple Bloom. What the heck are they doing right now? Don't they see what Apple Bloom is doing to me?
I crossed my arms, staring back into Apple Bloom's eyes, before I sighed in annoyance, smirking a little. "Oh no, look at me. I don't remember the one thing I have in common with my friends. Boohoo. And I also happen to lost all my interests in trains. What. A Bummer." I said in a mocking tone, as I slowly stood up once more, now standing up straight to glare back into Apple Bloom's eyes with annoyance clear in my expression.
Apple Bloom glared back into my eyes with that suspicion still present in her eyes, before she sighed one more time, stepping away from me, still crossing her arms. "Fine. Ah'm sorry, Ah shouldn't have acted harshly on ya, Button. But, fer once, be honest with me, and answer mah question: Do ya know about trains, or not?"
Well... I am Button now, and Button should know stuff about trains... Maybe, just maybe, he kept some books back at home about trains? This is gonna be the worst idea ever, but I think I have to... read books that have trains in them. Yuck.
I softened up my expression as I slowly sat back down on the steps, sighing softly, before looking back up at Apple Bloom, nodding slightly. "Yes. Of course I know about trains. I just can't think straight at the moment because of this stupid headache. That's all."
Apple Bloom, for once, smiled at me, as she backed away from me to give me some breathing room. "That's all Ah needed ta hear. Thanks, Button."
Before anyone else could speak up, there was a loud car horn coming from behind the crusaders. The three moved aside for me to see my mom's car, resting in front of the school as she herself kept honking on the horn.
I chuckled slightly as I stood up, now dropping the 'headache' act finally. I fixed up my backpack (which had stuck onto me, even after that nasty fall from the stairs. Like, seriously, I sometimes forgot that the little dark blue backpack was still behind my back) properly as I turned towards the crusaders.
"Well, I gotta go now, or not my mom will get sued sooner or later if she continues to honk her horn like that. See you girls tomorrow at school!" I started walking a few feet away from the girls, before I slammed on the brakes and turned my head around, looking over my shoulders towards Sweetie Belle. "Oh, and Sweetie Belle! Don't forget about our game night later on!"
I walked on over to the car with a happy skip in my walk, as I sighed in relief that everything was alright again between me and the crusaders. Jeez. And this has just been a day. I hope every day isn't the same as today... I would kill myself if it is...