Galatea 2 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: FAILURE

So, Vanessa had told a bit of a white lie when she said she was going to class. Sure, she had wanted to pretend like everything was normal and walked to class, but everything was not normal. There was a virus that had enhanced her friend into a statuesque goddess, that was not normal. Vanessa had also gone a whole three weeks without dating some new guy, that was somehow even less normal.

Arriving at the latest party spot—some random frat Vanessa couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of—the black-haired beauty was back to basics. She flaunted her long, raven locks and hourglass figure at anyone who would look, knowing that even in clothes better suited for a classroom, she was still the hottest woman in any location as long as Audrey wasn’t also present.

She was like a fisherman at a prime spot, casting her rod at the lake and waiting for a bite. Said bite came in the shape of a real catch, Fritz Anderson. A tall, triangular heartthrob, he wore his lumberjack genes on his chest proudly, as well as the flannel shirt that sat atop it. Even within the seizure inducing strobe lights of the room, his chiseled countenance was unmistakable. A great, copper-red beard commanded her attention, as did his near six and a half feet of height.

He looks like he could fucking destroy me in bed, Vanessa thought to herself. Perfect.

After the two parties spend several minutes eye-fucking each other from opposite sides of the room, Fritz finally mustered up the courage to approach first.

“Hey.”

“Heeey.”

They hit it off pretty quickly after that. Fritz bought them both drinks, with Vanessa looking to limit herself on the alcohol as much as possible.

“Gotta say, I admire the confidence to show up in what is essentially your jammies to a party like this,” Fritz eyed her up and down, making note of her baggy sweatpants and oversized Dawn t-shirt, the only one she owned that didn’t have Patton Robertson’s face all over it. “It’s like, you know you’re the prettiest girl in the room and you’re totally owning it.”

“And I admire the confidence to show up in what is essentially your work clothes, Mr. Lumberjack,” Vanessa replied in jest, adding a sultry wink for effect. “What, is that flannel tee passed down from generation to generation and gives you mighty tree-chopping powers?”

Fritz’s responding laugh was hearty, fitting the stereotype Vanessa had just crafted for him perfectly.

“You’re really something, you know that, Vanessa?” replied Fritz, squinting one eye and pointing at Vanessa knowingly.

“Something good?” Vanessa replied cheekily.

“Something amazing,” Fritz replied with certainty, dropping his ironic edge for a sincere compliment.

The two quickly found themselves laying on a nearby couch, Vanessa’s dainty head lost within the endless lap of Fritz as he gently stroked her perfect hair. Yes—perfect. To him, the only perfection he’d ever know was Vanessa, she’d make sure of that.

She allowed herself to become lost in the soothing melodies of the party’s music, Fritz’s upper thigh suddenly feeling like a pillow to rival heaven’s clouds. Right before she could reach a true state of semi-lucidity, however, her entire body vibrated.

“Oop, excuse me for one second!” Vanessa asked, retrieving her phone from her sweatpants. It was a text from Audrey.

Hey, r u okay?

Vanessa just stared at the text on her lock screen without opening the phone. A hesitant force prevented her from using her thumbprint to reply to the message. Maybe…

Vanessa please respond, I just want to make sure you’re okay.

Shit. She couldn’t just not respond to a worrying text like that! Vanessa had definitely scared Audrey yesterday, that was for sure. She owed it to her roommate to at least reassure her and Brian that she wasn’t face-down somewhere in a ditch. She unlocked her phone and quickly typed up a response

I’m fine Aud, sorry for not responding, I was in class then I forgot ;(

Good. That was a good lie. It lined up perfectly with everything and made logical sense.

Ah! All good! Srry for worryin so much! Lemme guess, ur at that party now?

Shit, shit, shit! Not only had she just revealed that she was online, but now, Audrey was asking if she was at “that party!” Vanessa had been trapped into typing a response, lest she be accused of ghosting Audrey! Not to mention, she couldn’t lie to Audrey about being at the party, because what if Audrey went anyway and saw her there!? That was a discussion she didn’t want to have.

yea

Okay, well, maybe her and Brian were too busy with stuff to want to come over? After all, Vanessa saw how those two lovebirds were totally eying each other before she left. Maybe they’d be too busy having—

Okii! ill be right over!

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Audrey was coming to the party! Once Fritz caught even the slightest glimpse of her, it would be…

No, nothing bad would happen if Audrey came here. Vanessa was just being overly paranoid. Fritz liked her. Her personality, her looks, her allure. Fritz wasn’t some mindless drone who glomed onto the nearest barbie doll… right?

“Who’re you texting there, Van?” Fritz asked, desiring idle conversation.

“N-no one!” Vanessa answered with the first desperate response that came to her head. She didn’t even want to mention Audrey’s name, but that just left her seeming overly suspicious.

“You’re texting… no one?” Fritz clarified, reasonably curious.

“It’s no one… important. Just my roommate.” Good, a half-truth would be more believable, anyways.

“Oh, that’s cool,” Fritz remarked. “I’ve been out of town for a while, isn’t she that mousy brunette that always hung around you?”

Vanessa just nodded stiffly, in disbelief at the out that had just been dropped into her lap. Not only was this guy a solid eight out of ten, he only knew Audrey as the flat board she had been pre-transformation! Vanessa practically envied this guy! She was struggling to remember how Audrey looked back then due to how much real estate the sheer perfection of her current form took up in her head.

“Heh, you know, funny story about that…” Fritz continued, rambling on about how he was out of town because of a job opportunity at a logging plant. Vanessa was happy that the lumberjack joke was making its way back into circulation, but she was relieved that Audrey was now a non-factor.

Nestling her head further into Fritz’s lap, she closed her eyes once more and attempted to return to a pleasurable semi-lucidity.

“Hey ‘Ness, almost didn’t see you there, hiding off in a corner like that!”

Vanessa’s eyelids rocketed open in fear, but it was too late. The first sight she caught a glimpse of was Fritz’s dropped jaw.

“Holy shit, Van! You didn’t tell me your roommate became… that!” He was sputtering over his own words, eyes practically popping out of his head at the sight of Audrey’s breathtakingly spectacular body. Vanessa knew that he’d never be able to properly focus on anything other than her body after that.

“Aww, thank you!” Audrey replied bashfully, still the same dork when it came to accepting compliments.

Vanessa’s face fell. Her eyes drifted off into the great nothingness once more, a bright mirage of hazy colors and blurry lights. Audrey had just ruined her last reprieve without even trying.

“Anyways, ‘Ness, you were totally right, I finally had sex with Brian and it was the best feeling ever! He really is the perfect one for me!”

“Thats… great, Aud,” Vanessa replied, barely able to muster any happiness for her best friend.

Fuck the warnings. Fuck the denial. Vanessa was going to get that virus put into her no matter what it took.