(Warning for eye horror)
Five-year-old Wirt was confused. He had found a small door in the corner of his living room while playing that had a magnificent blue tunnel; he had followed that tunnel to only find his living room but, it looked slightly different in a kind of unsettling way.
He ended up hearing the sound of plates hitting each other in the kitchen and his curiosity got the best of him.
Wirt peeked around the corner to see the all too familiar kitchen with a women who looked just like his mother but much happier and humming a cheerful tune.
"M-mommy?"
She turned around to reveal that her normally blue eyes were replaced with big black buttons.
"Wirt, I'm so glad you're here. Are you ready for lunch?"
"Wh-who are you?"
"Why dear, I'm your Other Mother."
"O-other Mother?" Wirt pointed up at her face. "You, have buttons. Wh-where are your eyes."
"Why dear, every other family has them; now how about you go tell your father that lunch is ready."
"Fa-ther? D-daddy is here? But, he, he died…"
"No dear, this is your Other Father. He is perfectly safe and upstairs; he has been very excited to see you."
"He, has?" Wirt looked in the direction of the stairs, his eyes watery.
"Of course Wirt, why wouldn't he?"
Wirt stared at the stairs a second longer before running to where his dad's old office would be, the Other mother smirking as he went.
Wirt peered in to see what looked like his dad at his desk reading. "D-daddy?"
The man perked up and turned to face Wirt, moving his brown hair from his green eyes which were replaced with big black buttons. He had a big smile on his warm face. "Wirt! How are you doing?"
Wirt stared at him for a few seconds, blinking a couple of times before running up to him and hugging him tight. "I, I missed you…"
He hugged the child close. "I missed you too Wirt, but now we can be together."
Wirt nodded into the man's stomach, the shirt starting to become wet. "I, I can only be here for a little bit I-I think."
"Hey, don't cry. You can keep coming back as much as you want. I have a bunch of the tapes you'd love to listen to."
Wirt looked up at his father look alike with a tear streaked face and a small smile. "You, you do?"
He nodded and started looking in a desk drawer. "I think Chicky is around here somewhere?"
Wirt let go and looked in it too. "Chicky? Really?"
"Yeah, here it is." He showed Wirt the tape.
"You do have it! Can we-… oh, Other Mommy said it was lunch time."
"Well then let's eat." He smiled and picked up a grinning Wirt.
….
Six-year-old Wirt had been coming back and forth a lot from his normal home to his other home.
His normal home seemed to be getting increasingly worse with his mother and new step-dad not really caring for him; he was also going to get a brother who was probably going to take the last bit of attention his mother would give. This resorted to him spending more and more time in the other home, even spending whole days there, but he would always have to return home to his normal parents.
One night, Wirt was having a nice dinner with his other parents, laughing and talking like usual when the Other mother looked over at the Other Father. "Honey, I think Wirt is ready."
The Other father looked up, his smile seeming to betray his concerned eyebrows. "Are, you sure? This would be a big decision for him to make."
"Dear, he is quite old enough."
Wirt looked between the two. "What, am I old enough to do?"
"Well Wirt, you know how both me and your father have button eyes? Eventually there is a time when the children must get them as well."
"Like Jason and Sara?"
"Just like them."
"How, how do I get them?"
The Other mother smiled, pulling out a small box and set it before Wirt. He opened it up to reveal two black shiny buttons, and a needle with thread.
Wirt looked down at them, a feeling of dread overcoming him. "I, I have to have them s-sewn in?"
"Why of course dear, that is how buttons work."
"Do, I have to, to have them?"
"Well, you can't stay here if you don't have them. You have been wanting to stay overnight here yes? Maybe even for good? You need the buttons to do that. Of course, if you want to go back to your other home…"
"N-no! I, I don't want to go back. You and, and daddy are much nicer to me."
"So you will accept the buttons?"
Wirt paused for a second, biting his lip, before nodding. "I, I'll take them."
The Other mother's smile grew to a grin. "Oh that's wonderful dear! Once they are sewn in I have a big surprise to show you!" She nodded to the Other father who opened his arms for Wirt to come over to him.
Wirt climbed up into his lap and the Other father held him in a tight hug while the Other mother started her work.
….
Wirt hugged the Other father close, his head throbbing. He hated this feeling so much, but the Other mother looked so happy, he liked making his mother happy.
"I know it hurts dear, but now you can stay with us forever. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Oh, that surprise I promised you, do you want to see it now?"
Wirt waited for a second before he nodded and climbed down from his father's lap. Wirt was slightly confused as to why he was frowning, he usually looked so happy and, shouldn't he be happy with Wirt being able to stay?
The Other mother scooped Wirt up and started walking down a hallway to a mirror, this mirror was very off place from his home but it doesn't have to be exactly the same.
While she was walking, Wirt noticed that he seemed to be getting higher up and that Mother's grip was getting tighter. He looked up to see that his mother's usually pretty smile was now all cracked.
She no longer looked like his mommy.
She was a monster.
Wirt cried out and wriggled but her grip held tight.
"Why are you fighting me dear? You wanted to stay forever."
"What, you, you look scary!"
"Dear, that is not what you say to your mother. That is very mean."
"But you are scary! You're not my mommy!"
She stopped in front of the mirror and the two of them looked at each other through it.
The Other mother tall and spidery looking with a creepy smile on her face, while little Wirt looked horrified and scared.
"Now dear, you should really apologize."
"N-no! I, I want daddy!"
She cooed and spoke with a sense of false sympathy. "Daddy? Well I'm sorry but, you aren't going to be seeing him for a long time, but you know what, I think you should still get your surprise, wouldn't you like that?"
"N-no… I want to, to go home."
"Oh dear, you gave that up long ago."
She tossed Wirt in through the mirror, which was really a portal that lead to a dark, cramped room… filled with other children.
Wirt took one look at them and ran back to where the mirror was. He pushed and banged against it, calling out for his father till his voice was hoarse, tears streaming from his eyes.
But, nobody came.
(This was inspired from Button kids written by Whitelightning999 on Tumblr. I honestly didn't realize I hadn't shared this one here!)
post/178767054602/button-kids-part-1