Button mash : high school life

season 2 part 5 : Catherine

Button Mash awoke early in the morning, the sky still an ephemeral pitch black with the faintest ghostly paint wipe of blue streaks from the approaching dawn. The Colt groggily stumbled upstairs towards the shower, tripping through the bath-room as he didn't bother to switch on the light. learching himself into the small tiled box he turned the red chrome handle, cold clear water spat over his body in the pitch of dark, slowly warming faster and faster, sending steam throughout the empty bathroom and a warm updraft up his nose, the room bathing moist in the faint navy blue rays of the dawn that ghosted through the foggy window and silhouetted tree leaf shapes on his floor. The night lazily started to go away like an old seagull diving deep into the depths of the ocean, letting death take it freely, deeper and deeper in the blackness.

The hot water ran warm down the back of his neck and caused Button to give a little exhale as he slid himself down towards the brown tiles, sitting himself against the shower-wall and drain, warm soothing water running down his mane and neck, giving him his respite for the morning, he felt his face with a wet hoof, the bruises were starting to disappear, he could feel it, fade away like nothing ever happened, he gave another exhale, closing his eyes as he let the hot rain burn away his weariness.

*ERRR!*

Suddenly he felt a ripple in his stomach again, like someone squeezing hard on this organs with a vice, sending his guts in twists and writhes, a huge ball of pain shooting up his throat.. Button shot forward, his body taking position by instinct, he felt his stomach throw back whatever went in, He vomited again, all over the shower drain in an acidic broth, the last remnants of anything he had eaten washing down the dark hole, he fell to his side, clutching at his ribs, arms wrapped around arms as he bit hard on his bottom lip.

Button could taste blood in his mouth, wether from his lip or his stomach he couldn't tell.

He again lay there on the grouted ground for the second time, the same as morning of the second day, head to the tiles, heart in his hooves, this time his mind not falling on sweetie but on something else, a thought, a thought he'd keep with himself, he teared up, soulful droplets disappearing in a sea of hot water.

Twisting the chrome handles he turned off the shower, hearing it wain with an *grrrrrg* then settling into a steam silence, no satisfaction from this shower, no euphoric feeling like at Berry' house, just heater water, that's all he felt.

He hobbled to his bedroom, walking down the bright yellow-licked hallway smelling of wet fur, Button opened his door, a barrage of strange familiar scents hitting his nose and loosening all his muscles, musk of sweat and crusty socks filled the dank bedroom.

Stumbling to his desk he pulled from his draw a few little white pills which he shovelled down his throat, downing them with an old filthy bottle of mountain dew, he fell backwards onto his bed, drenching patches of water staining his blanket cover, he lay quietly, scared to make any more movements, he felt like his insides were a ticking time bomb, ready to burst out with an explosion of blood or alien spiders, he could feel the sting, like his body was hungry...un-aware of how to feed it, a hungry dog scratching at the lining of his innards.

"please please please" he moaned to himself like a winded child, taking a foetal position on the bed and holding in his guts, feeling burning twangs buzzing in his body like wasps, eventually it passed, causing him to slowly release himself and flatten his body onto the covers, sinking into the mattress, he was sinking, always sinking, he couldn't swim, only drown.

"Breakfast" he heard his mother say from downstairs, a tone not as screechy as it used to be and more of a sleepy yawn.

Button slung up from his bed slowly and dried off his mane; going to his table and inserting his silver ear stud as well as his chessboard-pattern wristband.