The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

The Usual

[Apollo]

(It's Apollo's turn, you're reading from his perspective now.)

Apollo was just starting to make his way back home, bags of groceries in his arms. It's a bit of a walk since neither he nor Sophia can drive, but it's good exercise. (He doesn't trust Sophia's ability to drive anyway.) He was just about to walk out of the downtown area when he noticed a mannequin in the window of a store, displaying a few clothes.

Maybe we should get some new clothes sometime, he thought to himself.

Time passed as he finally walked out of the shopping district and was making his way through the neighborhood. When he got home, he found Sophia wasn't there. He figured she was at the tree house.

Where else would she be?

Apollo set the grocery bags on the counter and put the contents away. Afterwards, he went upstairs and changed into a swimsuit, with sweatpants. He grabbed a backpack and went out to the backyard, crossed over the fence, and went to meet Sophia at the tree house.

The tree house itself sat in a small clearing through the grove and into the woods that outlined the neighborhood where they lived. The whole area was relatively small and lightly shaded by the surrounding trees and far enough where no one could find it.

They hoped so, at least.

It wasn't a very big tree house, but it was big enough to hold a small desk and a chair, as well as a few shelves on the walls. Small, rusty paint buckets and tin cans house a few pencils, dust, paperclips and a few pennies. There was a cut out window on the left wall and a large opening with a small platform, where Sophia was sitting, sketchbook in her lap and a pencil scribbling away.

Apollo walked underneath the large tree, seeing Sophia's legs dangling off the platform. Just beyond the tree house itself, there were a few large holes filled with water. From the surface, they looked like puddles. But if you stuck your head underneath one of the holes, you could see that they were actually just very deep holes filled with water. Neither of them knew why they were there, but besides that, it held nothing of particular interest. So there they stayed. They have to be really mindful about them being there as it's almost too easy to fall and get stuck in them, unless you want your entire leg or torso to get soaked.

Sophia looks up from her drawing, seeing Apollo walk away into the trees.

"Are you going to the lake?" Sophia asked. Apollo stopped and turned to her.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"You need anything?" Apollo asked.

"No, I'm good."

"Okay."

Sophia went back to focusing on her drawing as Apollo walked across the clearing and went deeper into the grove.

Just a ways out from the tree house, there's a massive lake that sits just between the grove surrounding the neighborhood and the ocean. People aren't allowed to trespass into the grove, hence the long wooden fence that stretches around the entire area. But since this is where Sophia and Apollo originally lived, it basically meant they had full access and they had this place all to themselves. It was perfect. Apollo likes coming out to the lake in the mornings to swim. Apollo used to want to be on the swim team back at school, but knew there was no way he could due to some... other complications. So instead, he'd come here to practice. It was a good outlet. Sophia used to come along and watch him swim, but she didn't always stay long. Sometimes she wouldn't even watch, but Apollo didn't really mind. He still thought it was nice to have someone motivate him. He'd appreciate it if she came out more, but she also shouldn't be exposed to direct sunlight for very long unless she wants to come home looking like a piece of burnt toast.

Apollo's sandals slapped against the ground as he walked. It's a bit of a trek, but not as long as it takes him to get to the store. He makes it down to a small beach that juts out at the bottom of the cliff and he sets his backpack down against a rock. He always comes to this spot. It's a decent area where it's easy to get in and out of the water. He gets geared up, does a couple stretches, puts up his hair and puts on his goggles. He steps into the cool water and takes his mark on a rock that just sticks out over the surface. He dives in, feeling the cold water splash over him and begins doing a breaststroke.

Back where Sophia is doing her drawing, the ground shakes again beneath her and she suddenly stops and holds onto anything her hands can grab as her art tools shake and wiggle all over the platform. Sophia looks up and pauses, checking the surrounding area in sudden confusion. And after a moment or so, she turns back to finish her drawing. The world around her becomes a blur once again.