Galatea 2 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: HYPOTHESIS

Audrey was backed into a corner of the unusually empty student dorm lounge. There was no one around to help her—Vanessa and Brian were noticeably absent. The only recognizable person within view was the man actively threatening her, Patton Robinson.

He pivoted forward, his firm grasp locking Audrey’s skinny arm in place. The height advantage she should have had over him was gone, as was the beauty she had cultivated from the virus. She was as plain as bread now, thin strands of her dull, dirty-blonde hair loosely draped atop her terrified face.

“I thought you had feelings for me?! I thought I was your fantasy? Remember? You told me after our date last week…” Patton said, volume rising as the beginnings of rage overtook him. “So I don’t mean anything to you now? You’re going to believe some horny college asshole over me?”

Audrey began to cry, startled and unprepared for the rapidly escalating vehemence of Patton’s reaction. She didn’t know what to do, so she pulled out of his grasp and ran down the endless hall to her room. She shoved in the key, opened the door, slipped in, and swung it closed. But Patton’s foot wedged between the frame and the door, blocking it from closing.

Audrey pushed, but the door wouldn’t close. She felt a shove come from the other side and stumbled backward, off balance from the force.

Patton pushed the door open the rest of the way, stalked angrily into the room, and closed the door behind him.

“Get out of here, Patton! I don’t… I just need some time to think right now!” said Audrey.

“You need some time to think, eh?” Patton sneered in icy anger. “What’s there to think about, Audrey? How you’ve been infatuated with me since you were sixteen? How you’ve always dreamed of kissing me? Remember what you told me. I know what you really want…”

Patton walked up to Audrey and smashed his lips against hers, his arms wrapping around her in an unwanted embrace.

“Umph!” managed Audrey, pushing back at Patton’s chest as she tried to pull her head away. Her skinny arms didn’t even budge him.

Finally, she managed to turn her head and break the unpleasant kiss.

“Patton, no! You need to leave. I… I don’t want you here,” said Audrey, emphatically, anger lending her voice firmness.

“You don’t want your fantasy? I don’t believe you…” Patton said, holding Audrey tight as she struggled to get away from him.

“What are you going to do?” Audrey asked, her voice softening slightly, betraying a hint of fear as she realized that he wasn’t going to allow her to pull away.

Patton said nothing.

Audrey’s struggles paused. She turned her head back toward Patton and looked into his calculating, determined eyes. Not liking what she saw in the least, Audrey began to struggle with renewed vigor.

The sound of a key in the lock drew both of their gazes to the door. It swung open to reveal an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous woman—Vanessa. As she saw Patton, her back straightened and her brows furrowed, exposed, feminine musculature from her lululemon top practically spelled out “you’re dead.” When she saw him clutching a resistant Audrey, her brows knitted together still more tightly, anger written all over her face.

The incredibly gorgeous girl tensed and approached with the languid grace of a closing panther. Patton released Audrey, turning to face Vanessa, eyes narrowing.

“Well, I must say, you’ve gotten a lot prettier since I last saw you, Vanessa,” Patton admitted, knowing that Vanessa had a crush on him and that she’d likely be quick to forgive a superstar as sexy as him.

She responded by punching him in the face.

The disgraced actor fell to the floor, instantly knocked unconscious by the strike. His skull was likely fractured from the blow, but Vanessa didn’t care. There was someone in the room who deserved her attention far more—Audrey seemed to agree.

The two roommates embraced each other in a loving hug, though Vanessa’s side was significantly firmer. The black-haired beauty’s impossibly strong arms made Patton’s intentionally threatening grip feel like handcuffs made of tissue paper. Her strength was effortless, the virus improving her already-gorgeous body to unbelievable levels of strength.

Vanessa was just so sexy, so strong. She was more beautiful than any supermodel now. She could make any man achieve an orgasm from the mere touch of her ever-improving bosom.

Did she deserve it? Probably not. But it didn’t matter. The universe didn’t pick favorites. Vanessa had accidentally come into contact with a virus, and her life had been forever changed since then. Sure, Audrey had become a bit of a recluse because of it, but Vanessa knew the dirty-blonde girl could grow beyond it.

“Th-thank you, ‘Ness,” Audrey sputtered, tears pouring from her face as she buried her head within one of Vanessa’s powerful shoulders.

“Of course, Aud,” Vanessa replied with a motherly tone, taking comfort in the simple act of helping her friend overcome adversity. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll always help you whenever you’re sad or anxious or in trouble. That’s what I did then, and that’s what I’ll continue to do as long as we’re friends.”

***

Vanessa awoke in a cold sweat, sitting up from her bed only to immediately grip her forehead with a guttural groan. The immediate shock of pain and general discomfort caused her to immediately lay back down, but the pain seemed to continue. The remnants of the dream she had just experienced quickly fading into the obscure reaches of her mind.

Audrey burst into the room, her powerful hearing detecting her roommate’s discomfort. Several moments later, Brian followed, somewhat out of breath as if he had suddenly needed to sprint full-speed into action just to keep up with Audrey.

How fast had Audrey ran just now? How good was her hearing that the distance between her and Vanessa had left Brian the track star of all people out of breath!?

“Oh ‘Ness, are you going to be okay?” Audrey asked, her cadence resembling that of a terrified grandmother.

“Yeah, you really had us worried there last night,” Brian added, pouring Vanessa—and himself—a glass of water. “You practically just kept drinking until you passed out.”

Right, that explained the headache. Vanessa was hungover.

Vanessa downed the water like a dying hiker lost in the desert, even as her friends urged her to pace herself.

“Okay, I needed that for real,” the bedridden beauty spoke, easing herself into a sitting position as she rubbed her eyes awake.

“So, ‘Ness,” Audrey asked more carefully, afraid that her friend was dodging the question. “Are you going to be okay? You can be honest with us, we’re your friends.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Vanessa replied, not looking Audrey or Brian in the eyes. “I just… god, men can really be assholes sometimes, huh? I mean, what was that guy’s deal? I know I’m like… no longer anywhere close to beautiful when placed next to you, but—”

“Not beautiful when next to me? ‘Ness, are you even hearing yourself right now? You’re literally drop-dead gorgeous. If it weren’t for your tips on what to wear and how to style my hair and face, I’d be uglier than you for sure!”

Vanessa wasn’t sure if she believed that. Deep down, Audrey wasn’t sure if she believed it either. Hell, Brian wasn’t even sure if he believed that. Audrey was clearly trying to make Vanessa feel better even if the examples she used weren’t the best. But what he did know was that Vanessa was still sugarcoating the truth somewhat.

“Vanessa, I’m not sure if you’re really fine. There’s something else eating at you, I can tell.”

“The truth is…” Vanessa began, taking a deep breath as she realized she could hide her truest intentions no longer. “I want some of that virus for myself.”