"This one, to the excellent rookie cast!"

"Cheers!" Boisterous laughter and clinking of glasses followed. It was the celebration party for the beginning of filming Butterflies' season 2. The director had dragged everyone to have a drink. This was going to be epic, he had said.

Butterflies truly lived up to that promise. Rose wholeheartedly agreed. Director Kieran was a jovial man, always willing to give new actors a chance. Those who worked under him flourished. In an industry where respect was hard to come by, Rose held Kieran in high regard. So when he extended the invitation, she couldn't refuse.

Rose really found such social gatherings a bit too much. Why would you want to celebrate every little thing? Doesn't that just jinx it all?

"Thank you, director!" The blushing kid spoke.

The cast of Butterflies was filled with budding talent. It was obvious that they were amateurs but when on set, their acting gave life to the role. They had done a great job and struggled very hard to stand against the other, more experienced actors in the series.

"It's our honor to be working with you." The young girl said. She had a baby face, the kind that was perfect for sunshine roles in mafia AUs. Her blonde curls were pulled into a ponytail which swung whenever she moved.

Rose had grown to develop an interest in her. She was an exceptional actor and an even better competitor. However, in this sequel, the role wasn't supposed to be given to her.

"Drink up fellas!" The old director announced, chugging an entire mug of beer down his throat and getting foam on his lips.

-

The world blurred before Rose's eyes, shapes merging and multiplying. What should have been singular appeared as a perplexing duality, and twos danced like mirages. She reached out, her fingers grazing the enigma before her.

Above her, a chuckle resonated. Newcomer Sophie Fernandez provided the anchor, her presence both grounding and bewildering. "Miss Veretta," Sophie's voice held a hint of amusement, "that's my boob."

Rose tilted her head upward, midnight eyes struggling to focus. The haze lifted just enough for recognition. The talented but unexpected companion stood there, her expression a mix of camaraderie and mild embarrassment. Realization dawned, and Rose swiftly withdrew her hand, cheeks flushing.

"It's okay, you are drunk."

"Drunk?" Rose slurred out, her mind going hazier with each passing second. Whatever the blonde newbie said fell on deaf ears. They probably passed a sharp object because there was a sharp slice across Rose's bicep, paired with the feeling of liquid flowing down the smooth skin. Oddly enough, Rose didn't feel pain. Maybe it was a small cut. She wanted to complain and get it patched up but her throat felt dry.

"Take me to this hotel," Sophie ordered, most probably to the driver of the car.

"I can just take her home." Oh, it was Rose's car.

"I know Miss Veretta lives alone and she's very drunk right now, it's not wise to leave her alone and I don't know if I can trust you."

She had a point. No one must be trusted. Rose nodded, deciding that this newbie was smart.

"Yes miss." The driver answered. He sounded vexed. The car started moving and Rose felt herself falling forward but a pair of soft arms helped her buckle her seatbelt. She wanted to say thank you but her tongue seemed too heavy inside her mouth.

After a drive that seemed longer than a flight from Hong Kong to LA, the car finally stopped. Rose felt like she was going to throw up from all the rocking.

"Here," Sophie said to the driver, handing her something that Rose failed to see, "Where did you leave her?"

"Her house." The driver lied for some reason.

Sophie nodded and then began supporting Rose inside the hotel. Rose decided it would be fine to take a nap, letting her tired eyelids fall and her brain shut down.

As the blinding light enveloped her senses once more, Rose's limbs weighed down like lead, each movement an arduous effort. Numbness spread across her body, blurring the boundary between heat and cold. Her brain, a tangled web of confusion, struggled to untangle reality from the haze.

"Miss Veretta." A smooth voice called for her from some corner of the unknown room. She recognized it well as the blonde newbie Sophie.

"Mhm?" She answered good-naturedly, not able to keep her eyes open for more than a second.

"You know, I have always admired you."

Rose felt her head throb harder due to the voice, but she didn't have the heart to tell the kid to shut up. "I am..." her throat was parched, "honored."

"Have you always loved the camera?"

Rose tried to move her legs but it was fruitless, "I am s-sorry Sophie but can you help me? I think I am way too drunk apparently."

"What would you like me to do?" Her voice dripped with saccharine sweetness, a tone Rose recognized as the psycho-killer inflection she had perfected during her role in Butterflies. It was the deceptive calm before the storm, the edge of a blade concealed by velvet.

"Ah, call my manager please?"

Rose vaguely heard the sound of a door closing and locks clicking. "So-"

"Oh fuck dude, it's the real deal!" The words sliced through the fog of disorientation, unmistakably a man's voice. Rose's heart galloped, each beat echoing the urgency of her situation. Goosebumps erupted along her skin, a primal response to danger.

Her throat was constricted by a raw ache that stifled any attempt at yelling. Panic surged, a tempest within her chest. The room once blurred and uncertain sharpened into focus. The air tasted metallic, charged with adrenaline.

"What the hell?" Rose wanted to yell but her throat ached too much.

Someone touched her ankle, and the unwanted constant shooting alarm signals in her brain like a bullet launched from a gun.

"Stop!" She mustered up her strength to yell. There was a dull pain on her left bicep when she tried to struggle with her arm.

"You'll record this?" Another man--with a different voice from before--questioned.

Sophie laughed, "Why else would I pay you?"

"Can this really ruin someone's reputation?"

Rose's blood ran cold, she couldn't process anything anymore. Black spots began appearing in her vision, slowly spreading across the view like ink on a water droplet. She couldn't hear anymore what they were talking about, there was a static ringing in her ears like a broken television. The touch of those unfamiliar people made her feel disgusted in her skin. It was too much stimulation for her brain. Nausea overtook her mind, a sour taste rising to her mouth, and before she knew it, she was losing consciousness.

In the throbbing migraine in her head and the returning pulse of her limbs, the last words she heard lulled her to comfort. Finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"I am here, don't worry. Just sleep."

#

Behind the scenes:

What's the story of Butterflies?

It's a thriller romance centered around a woman who's a human cursed to immortality by Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty and the mother of Eros. In the modern era, Psyche struggles to find her way back into the luxurious life that she was used to eons ago. While she had always kept her heart pure and fought against the world all alone, this time she decided to embrace the darkness that had lurked around her ever since she met Hades. She decides to take revenge on everyone who wronged her in the past. Starting from her ex-lover.

What Will there be in its season 2?

Psyche meets the legendary Medusa and her revenge spree takes a new turn.