Chasing Butterflies Chapter 40: The Popular Kids (Patreon)

It took more time and planning than Olivia expected to actually get out of the bathroom—though not because it was actually a complicated matter. Rather, the girls got caught up in the excitement of whipping together some secret agent-style plan to outmaneuver Lance.

It was very clearly overkill. But she appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

Soon enough, they got the go-ahead from Selena as she played sentry near the door. Then, Trisha was leading her quickly out of the bathroom and back toward the thumping music of the gym. Olivia allowed herself a brief glance to the side as they moved, spotting Lance’s lanky figure some distance away. He faced away from them as Anne and Ari put on their best ‘clueless freshman’ acts and kept him preoccupied.

She half expected him to turn around and spot her. But for once, luck was actually on her side. Luck and a whole group of overzealous freshmen girls.

The darkness of the dance swallowed the pair up, the air suddenly thick with noise and warmth. The press of sweaty bodies actually reminded Olivia a bit of how the gym usually felt during PE, down to the body sprays and colognes making a valiant effort to cover the scent. Though these ones were slightly different varieties than what she’d normally encounter in the locker room. And much, much stronger.

"Ta-dah! We made it!" Trisha shouted to be heard over the music—this one a more jaunty, disco-adjacent tune that sounded dated even for this time period. Probably an inclusion of some administrator or teacher, if she had to guess. She could see it in her mind’s eye, some wrinkled old fixture of the front office insisting that this was simply the best song to get the toes tapping, despite it having come out when she was in high school.

Despite the anachronistic tune, Olivia looked around and felt herself relax. They had indeed made it. By this point, they were comfortably hidden within the mass of high schoolers. Anyone looking to find them would have quite a difficult time doing so.

"Thank you, Trisha." Olivia reiterated. "Seriously. You didn't have to do all this."

The cheerleader just beamed. "'Course I didn't. But I wanted to.”

Olivia chuckled. "I guess that's fair. Though this does mean I have even more to pay you back for.”

“Psssh,” she waved a hand dismissively. “Stop trying to keep score already. We’re friends, remember?”

Right. Friends.

It still felt a bit strange, the idea that Trisha did want to be her friend. It absolutely didn't square with her idea of her past self. Yet it wasn't unwelcome by any means, either. She did like the girl, even more so after she'd proven so willing to stick her neck out for someone she barely knew. It spoke volumes for her character. 

"So... what are you gonna do now?" Trisha asked.

Olivia opened her mouth to reply, then hesitated. She'd initially intended to return to her group. As crowded as this place was, she’d probably be able to track down the band kids again with just a bit of time.

Only... that's where Lance said he was going to head next.

Her mouth tightened. There was no way to tell whether he'd been truthful about that or simply going along with her own plans. But it wouldn't be strange for him to go that way. And if that was the case, then it would render all of Trisha's efforts to help her slip away practically useless.

But then, what else could she do? Stepping back outside wasn't an option. That left just wandering about the dance aimlessly, constantly looking over her shoulder, or leaving early. Neither of those sounded particularly appealing.

Trisha seemed to notice her indecision and smiled. "Well... want to come hang out with me for a bit? I can introduce you to a few people!"

Olivia thought for a moment longer and shrugged. "I mean... sure. If you don't mind. I'd actually appreciate that a lot."

Trisha's grin broadened. “Great! Well, C’mon!”

She seized Olivia's hand excitedly and started dragging her deeper into the gym. They weaved between the dancing students, squeezing into whatever slight openings they could find among the shifting mass. The further they went, the more Olivia found herself averting her eyes from some of the less appropriate couples along their path. Trisha didn’t seem bothered one bit by the displays, but she certainly was.

"Hey! Trish!" A brunette in a borderline scandalous black dress called over the noise. "Over here!"

Trisha zeroed in on the source of the voice and waved. "Hey Eileen! Oh my gosh—is that midnight blush from Maggie’s?”

"You know it." Eileen winked, her artificially long eyelashes glittering with the motion. "I brought out the good stuff for this dance! Where are you headed?"

"I'm looking for Crystal. Have you seen her?"

"Not recently. I think she and her group moved over that way... Who's this?" Eileen belatedly noticed that Trisha wasn't alone, though it was hard to fault her. There were just so many people around.

"This is my friend Olivia." Trisha gestured to her. "Olivia, Eileen!"

Eileen's eyes narrowed, then widened in surprise. "Wait... Who do you have for English?"

"Roche. First period." Olivia responded. "You do too, right?"

Eileen gasped. "I thought I recognized you! Oh my gosh, you look totally different!" The girl turned to her neighbor. "May, May! Look! This is the girl in our English class!"

"No way."

"I know! Trish, did you do her makeup?"

Trisha glanced over, giving Olivia a subtle nudge to answer herself. “Nope. I know how to do makeup a bit. I just prefer not to wear it every day.”

Eileen shook her head. “Girl, I don’t know why. It looks so good on you. You gotta teach me how to blend like that sometime…”

Olivia gave a slight chuckle. “Sure. Not like we’re doing much else in that class.” The joke elicited a laugh from the group. “Maybe you can show me how to do wings like that, too.”

“I’d absolutely love to! Trish, remind me to bring my kit on Monday…”

They continued to chat and compliment each other for a short while—something that Olivia was starting to recognize as a non-negotiable ritual between any girls that ran into each other at the dance. But it wasn’t long before they bid the girls farewell and Trisha continued dragging her along… only for them to be intercepted again a few steps later. And again. And again.

Their progress slowed to a crawl as every other person insisted on saying hello. A rapid-fire list of names came her way as Trisha introduced her to each and every one. Some of the faces Olivia recognized, either from her classes or from briefly seeing them at the homecoming game. But many were entirely new. None of them were people she could recall ever speaking to before.

Which makes complete sense. This is not a group I would have had reason to interact with last time around. Not in the slightest.

What she didn't expect was for those people to be interested in her. She honestly expected to be a mere tagalong while Trisha remained the center of attention. But time after time, she found herself actually making connections and holding shockingly interesting conversations, brief though they were.

And despite the endless slew of detours and side conversations, Olivia didn't feel particularly bothered. In fact, she rather enjoyed the whole ordeal. The people they met were all friendly, either because they were actually personable or because they didn’t want to risk antagonizing the freshman class’s most popular sweetheart. She felt like she was getting to explore a side of the school that she’d never seen before. Trisha was also completely in her element, flitting from person to person and juggling conversations like one of those street performers the kids had watched for hours by the beach.

Honestly, Olivia was having fun. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed having conversations like this and talking to people. Sure, she’d talked to her dad plenty, but that was different. It was a delineation she only felt now that she’d been dragged into the deep end of social contact. And she was taking it all in like a sponge.

"Olivia, huh?" A broad-shouldered boy with dimples and an easygoing air about him said. Dominic was his name, apparently. "Nice to meet you. How in the world have I not noticed you before? You must be a transfer or something, huh?"

She tilted her head in confusion. "Transfer? How old do you think I am? No, I'm a freshman."

Dominic blinked. "Wait. You're a freshman? You're messing with me."

"I know, right?" Trisha giggled. "It's true though. She's in my English class."

Dominic looked back and forth between the two girls and shook his head in disbelief. "Damn. Seriously... You don't act like any freshman I've ever met."

Olivia grimaced internally. It was meant as a compliment, but...

The boy drew himself up to his full height and nodded. "Well, you two should swing by my place after the dance. That's where the real party is happening."

“Oh my gosh, yes!” Trisha bounced with excitement. “You should totally come! Everyone keeps talking about how Dom throws the best parties!”

Now it was Olivia's turn to blink. "I... really?"

"Sure!" Dominic shot her a toothy grin. "Like I said, you're cool. And cool people are always welcome.”

The invitation caught her completely off guard. She obviously knew that afterparties were a thing, but she'd never been invited to one herself. Not until college, and even then she'd mostly been tagging along with Jason.

It's another deviation.

But did that really matter? After the massive wrench she'd just thrown in everything? Heck, every moment she hung out with Trisha was adding fuel to that fire, wasn't it?

Maybe it's already too late. Maybe I've already gone too far. But can I really afford to think like that? Maybe the timeline is more resilient than I feared, but maybe not…

Whatever the truth was, she wouldn't be finding out anytime soon. But hey internal debate about the party did give rise to another chilling thought.

She never did find out how Trisha had gotten pregnant. The girl seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, but she was still young enough to make dumb mistakes. And she clearly would make at least one in the coming year.

Olivia felt her resolve harden. She still wanted to keep the future as intact as she could. But all of those compunctions would go right out the window if it meant protecting someone. Especially a friend.

"I'll do my best to make it," Olivia said slowly. "Thank you."

They continued their wanderings until Olivia felt like she knew half of the cheerleaders, athletes, and star students in the school. Well, at least among the freshmen and sophomores, though they'd met a few upperclassmen as well. It got to the point where she wondered if they actually had a destination at all. Maybe not, though Olivia couldn’t imagine that Trisha had come without a group of her own to the dance. If even she had pulled together some friends, then surely the blonde would have no trouble doing the same?

Then again, she clearly didn’t need a group. Practically the entire student populace was her group. Anchoring herself to one specific handful of people may well limit the freedom they were currently enjoying. Or maybe Trisha was merely being nice once again, putting her own plans on the backburner for Olivia’s sake. 

She was just considering whether to ask the girl about it when someone cleared their throat rather loudly. It cut through the din somehow, and Olivia turned to look.

Alyssa’s imposing figure stood to her left, soft arms crossed over a too-tight red dress. Her posse flanked her on either side, gathering about their leader like a group of street thugs and trying their best to mirror her posture. Emma stood among them, her multicolored dress standing out for all the wrong reasons, with Chrissy lingering uncertainly behind.

They’d finally found Olivia’s group. Or rather, her group had found her.