Venus

Not that Ava had any time to dwell on those thoughts, as her lights went out almost immediately after her head hit the pillow.

Whatever dreams Ava had were long gone by the time sleep faded from her world, almost seamlessly transitioning between dropping onto the bed and waking up. She breathed calmly, not opening her eyes. Those brief moments of time right after regaining consciousness, but not really being awake, were amazing. The softness of the blankets, the cushioning of the pillow, the warmth of the body pressed against her...

Wait.

Ava cracked open an eye just enough to see, and felt her heart skip a beat. Sometime during their nap, Ava must have scooched to Kat's side of the bed and began spooning her. In fact, one arm was draped over Kat's body, resting on her chest and idly cupping one of her moderate breasts through her shirt. Ava did not dare to squeeze, despite part of her simply wanting to know just how soft they were.

If Ava moved, Kat would likely wake up, and Ava did not feel like getting teased about being handsy. If Ava didn't move, then Kat would wake up on her own and see that she was being spooned, leading to the teasing later. Given the choice between two evils, Ava decided to go for the lesser and began planning. First, she was going to very slowly remove her hand from Kat's-

Kat's breathing subtly changed, causing every muscle in Ava's body to lock up. It was extremely slight- just the faintest catch in Kat's breath that broke the pattern.

Kat was awake.

Ava wasn't sure what to do, but playing dead seemed to work for opossums, so she held completely still as if she were still asleep. Just like all those times as a girl when she would hide her GameBoy from Mom by stuffing it under the pillow, Ava kept her breathing steady and slow.

Kat didn't move at first. Instead, she held just as still as Ava for what seemed like hours. As fearful as Ava was, having Kat cuddled up so closely was very nice. It wasn't even the fact that she was spooning her best friend- truthfully, it was just the act of cuddling itself. This position briefly reminded Ava of when she would be sleeping back in her apartment, holding her stuffed eagle toy close to her chest. Right now, though, Edward the Eagle was filled with flesh and blood over cotton and had grown to six feet tall.

Slowly, Kat began to move. First, she reached up and gently grabbed the wrist of Ava's arm placed on her breast, pushing it away back onto Ava at a snail's pace. With a sudden sense of relief that Kat did not seem to be immediately on the warpath of ridicule, Ava continued her charade of unconsciousness.

Once Ava's arm was free, Kat gingerly began rolling herself out of the bed so as to not disturb Ava. Despite her height, Kat did manage to keep the bed's movements to a minimum. Had Ava actually been asleep, she doubted that Kat would have woken her. Once Kat was on her feet, Ava could only guess that she was standing right next to the bed, since her eyes were glued shut. That was confirmed when Kat softly whispered to herself.

"Wouldn't dream of it, she says..."

Ava heard Kat sigh and turn around, her feet softly padding against the carpet as she walked to the bathroom. When the door gently closed, Ava risked cracking open one eye and saw that Kat had indeed left the room. Ava quietly shifted into a more comfortable position, but continued to lie there. If Kat was in the bathroom, then she would come back out at any time. If Ava decided to 'wake up' now, that might seem suspicious.

After a few moments, though, Ava began picking up a faint sound in the bathroom. It was hard to tell what it was, especially since Ava was nowhere near the door, but it slowly increased in volume equivalent to a whisper.

Kat was moaning.

Quick, short little whimpers, interrupted by grunts of effort. Ava had to stifle a laugh at the thought of Kat struggling so much to pee, before a different thought crept into her mind. Was she...? No, surely not. Right?

Ava quietly slipped out of the bed and tiptoed over towards the bathroom, the sound becoming more clear. It was definitely quiet moaning with laboured breathing. When Ava pressed her ear to the door, the faint squelching of wet flesh peeked through, rhythmic with the moaning. Ava's eyes widened as she pieced together that Kat was masturbating.

Enthralled, Ava kept listening as Kat's efforts slowly grew. Ava could practically see it in her mind, Kat perched up on the closed lid of the toilet seat, legs spread, and pajama bottoms discarded on the floor. Her panties were dangling off of one ankle, her shirt was bunched up around her neck, and one hand was groping her breast while the other had two fingers buried up to the second knuckle between her folds.

Ava felt herself drip. Warmth flooded down through the lower half of her body, almost making her groan in need. Instinctively, one hand reached down and slipped beneath the waistband of both her pajamas and her underwear, firmly cupping against her shaved mound before slipping two digits inside. Ava kept one hand over her mouth to keep from moaning, which proved increasingly difficult as she sped up to match Kat's breakneck pace on the other side of the door. Ava could only hope that the sound of her own activities couldn't be heard by Kat, but she was too lost in pleasure to do anything about it other than slip in a third finger.

Ava used her free hand to brace against the doorframe as she quivered and clenched her thighs around her other wrist, biting down on her tongue hard enough to draw blood. As the climax tore through her, Ava could feel liquid silk pour out onto her hand and the front of her pajama pants. Ava's body continued to shake and convulse for several seconds before her orgasm relented, allowing her to hear that Kat also seemed to be getting close. The pace had quickened even further, and the wet squelching was louder than ever.

When Kat grunted and gasped, Ava knew that she was cumming. She probably had her legs latched around her wrists, with several fingers pushed into her pussy as far as they could go, and the other hand rubbing her clit. As Kat came down from her high, Ava suddenly realized her predicament. Opting for the easiest solution, Ava silently (but quickly) crawled back into the bed and tried to mimic her previous position. However, she did make sure to keep the blanket pulled up to cover the large wet spot painting the front of her bottoms.

A few minutes later, Ava heard the toilet flush and the sink running, before Kat quietly stepped back out into the bedroom. Kat seemed to wait for a few moments before loudly clearing her throat.

"Ahem! Ava, are we going to watch Stranger Things or not?"

"Hnng, huh?" Ava tried her best to feign an abrupt awakening, complete with the groan and slow blinking of the squinted eyes. Without her glasses, Kat was disappointingly blurry, but otherwise appeared to have bought it.

"Come on, sleepyhead. It's almost two. Let's get some food and watch people die."

"Okay, okay. G-give me a minute. Gotta pee and suh-s-st-stuff."

Ava grunted and slowly began rolling herself into an upright position, probably overselling the 'just woke up' act. Regardless, she made sure to keep the blanket covering her lower half. Kat sighed and began walking out of the room.

"Better hurry up, because I'm not gonna wait for you!"

When Kat disappeared out of sight, Ava let out a careful sigh. She took a few moments to collect herself before slowly sliding out of bed and changing into the spare pair of pajamas she brought and putting on her glasses.

Partly to maintain her lie, and partly because she actually needed to, Ava did go to the washroom before walking down the stairs and entering the living room. Kat was already there, sprawled out on the couch in her sweatpants and hoodie, holding the TV remote in her hands.

"Damn, could you be any slower?"

"Aww, you said you wouldn't wait for me, b-but you did it any-nyway! You are such a good friend!" Ava over exaggerated as she strolled over, to which Kat responded with a scoff and a smile.

"Yeah, I'm a fuckin' saint. Now sit down, shut up, and watch. Food will be here in twenty-five."

Ava grinned and plopped herself down beside Kat, crossing her legs on the couch.

"What are we eating?"

"KFC. Twelve piece bucket, 'couple of large mac--cheeses, some biscuits, and a big-ass box of wedges."

"Mmm, h-how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Patton's treat."

Ava cocked her head. "Your brother is paying? But why? And isn't he li-li-l-li... living in Nova Scotia now?"

Kat grinned. "Perhaps, but he did leave some of his stuff here. Not only did he have porn mags hidden under his mattress like it was 1994, he also hollowed out some of his trophies and hid money in them. Found a couple of twenties taped to the backside of his participation medal from little league soccer."

"You're kidding..." Ava chuckled.

"Nope. And thanks to his second place trophy at the high school chess competition, he is also paying my Netflix, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime subscriptions for the next six months."

"Such a generous b-brother."

"Yep. Though, even if you aren't paying for food, you should probably pay me for my other services."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Kat chuckled. "Well, since you spent the majority of the nap spooning and fondling me like a hooker, I figured it would only be fair to charge you as such. I believe their rates are usually about $200 an hour, so if you wouldn't mind forking over a grand, that would be appreciated."

Ava's face went beet red. And so it began.

"Oh, c-c-come on! I-it was an ac-ac-accident!"

"Uh huh. Tell you what- I'll casually disregard that grand you owe me, IF... you tell me what's been going on with you and Jason."

Kat lifted her hand and dangled Ava's phone between her fingers. Ava's face somehow turned an even darker shade as Kat began reading a grouping of notifications on the lock screen.

"Ava, I just want to talk."

"Ava, please, let's not end it like this."

"Ava, just listen to me!"

"Ava-"

"Alright, alright! S-s-s-st-st-s-stop!" Ava pleaded as Kat laughed and tossed the phone to her.

"Spill."

Ava sighed, and sunk back into the couch, Stranger Things completely forgotten.

"We've been o-on and off for the last f-f-few months. First, h-he broke up with m-m-m-me."

Kat grinned and leaned forward with a wicked twinkle in her eye. "Ooh, please share!"

Ava grumbled. She loved Kat, but damn could she be annoying sometimes. "One day, I went over to h-his house s-s-so w-we could watch a movie. He went to go p-pick up some food but g-g-g-got a flat tire."

Kat's grin turned into a look of decided uninterest. "Is this story going to go anywhere?"

Ava rolled her eyes. "A-anyway, while he was out, I k-kinda... fooled around with his sister."

Kat;s eyes widened. "You minx! Details!"

Ava brought her knees up into her chest. "I d-didn't mean to! It just kinda h-h-happened! He was gone, so I was w-watching videos on my phone. Hannah c-c-came downstairs and we started talking. We were l-laughing about some of the funny stories about Jason, and one thing led to another... and Jason came home."

"No!"

"We may or m-may not have been... eating each other o-out on the couch."

Kat burst out laughing, while Ava tried to disappear into the upholstery.

"And he still wants to get back together after you fucked his sister?"

"I g-gu-guess so. C-c-can we j-just watch now?"

"Aww, but I'm enjoying your story so much!" Kat grinned.

"Please, just hit play!" Ava begged. Kat chuckled, but did as asked, and the two fell into silence broken by the sound of Netflix filling the room.

As the show played and their food arrived, Ava's mind wandered. Even if Kat was interrogating her, Ava simply enjoyed having someone to hang out with. Sitting around with a friend, eating chicken, and watching Netflix was perfect. Not to mention, not having to continue her awful job was another bonus in of itself, only complete with the very good chance to further her career in programming, and develop more meaningful friendships. Within an hour, all of the options floating around through Ava's mind solidified into a single option. As Kat started playing the next episode, Ava grabbed her phone and began writing a text to Mom.

I want to go back to school.

"Who ya' texting? Is it Jas-"

"No!" Ava interrupted. "My mom. I'm g-g-gonna go to college."

Two weeks later.

Mom pulled the duffel bag out from the trunk of the car as Ava attempted to wiggle free her suitcase from the backseat. "So sweetie, I pulled some strings, connected with some old friends, and got you a place in one of the houses on campus."

Ava paused. "Wait, seriously? A house?"

"Yep. Only if you want it though. You can choose a normal dorm with a roommate, or you can live in the house. The house is large and has plenty of space, but you will be living in it with a few other people."

Ava cocked her head. "How m-many?"

Mom thought for a moment. Though she was definitely older than Ava, the resemblance was unmistakable- dark brown hair, blue eyes, angular features, and pale skin. The only differences were the hints of wrinkles forming at the edges of Mom's eyes, and the definition of shapely breasts that adorned Mom's chest. Out of everything for Ava to inherit from Mom, the one thing she didn't get was her breasts. She smoothed some of the wrinkles in her shirt before replying.

"It's hard to know for sure, but probably between four and twelve other people. When I lived there, there were eight other girls."

"You lived in a h-house on campus too?"

"Not just any house, the same one you are going to live in. If you want, of course."

"Wh-why do you keep doing that?" Ava set down her suitcase.

"Doing what?" Mom hesitated.

"That whole 'only if you w-want' thing. Like you are expecting me to back out."

Mom set down the duffel bag and stepped closer to Ava. "Well, living in a house with up to a dozen other girls is a lot more complicated than just living in a dorm room with one roommate. It can be tough to get used to. I mean, this house has a nickname on campus- Venus."

"L-like the planet?"

"Exactly. Uninhabitable; an atmosphere of superheated poison, and instant death to any foolish enough to enter."

Ava's eyes widened, but Mom laughed.

"Don't worry, it isn't that bad. A very big overexertion, truthfully. Everyone else thinks that a dozen girls living together would be nothing but hell with us all ripping each other's hair out, but in this house, all the girls tend to get along just fine. We tended to have several well-thought-out plans and guidelines to ensure that everyone enjoyed their time there."

"Like what?"

Mom smiled. "I'll let the other girls fill you in on that, things may have changed a bit since I was here. To be honest, I think you will fit into this house very nicely."

"Thanks." Ava pulled Mom in for a hug. "I love you."

"Aww, I love you too. You don't have to get all sappy right now, I am a professor here, so it's not like we won't see each other."

"I know, I just appreciate th-this, with the money and all."

Mom pulled back. "Don't worry about the money. You just enjoy yourself, and get some good grades. Come on, the house is this way."

Ava followed Mom through the campus, who occasionally stopped to point out some of the features. There were a few pavilions, a nice field for sports, the various dorms, the primary buildings, and obviously the houses lining the edges of the campus. It was a lot to take in, almost to the point that Ava wished she had a pen and paper to take notes on. Luckily though, they arrived at the front of a larger house, with nice greenery out front, lilies in the garden, and a cobblestone walkway leading up to the front door. The house looked pretty similar to all the rest, except for the numbered notation in wrought iron above the door..

"Here you are." Mom handed Ava her duffel bag. "House four- Venus. I'll let you get settled in, meet some of the other girls. There are usually only a few girls to start, but the others will arrive in a few days."

"Good to know."

Ava readjusted her glasses and stood there awkwardly, trying to figure out how to say goodbye. Luckily Mom bit the bullet and leaned in for a hug. "All right, I have some meetings to get to, so I have to head out. You go inside, meet the others, and get comfortable. You will have a few days to get settled before your classes begin. I'll see about visiting tomorrow."

"Got it. Love you!" Ava broke the hug and waddled away, toting her duffel bag, carry-on, and the backpack slung over her shoulder. Unsure of what exactly the protocol was for a house like this, Ava decided to play it safe and knock. She heard some shuffling on the other side, some voices, and then the door opened.

"Hi. You must be one of the new girls. Come on in!" The bright and cheery voice belonged to a girl almost half a head shorter than Ava, barely five feet tall. Her ginger hair was bundled in curly tufts that swept down her shoulders, with pale skin covered in countless freckles. "I'm Valerie, but everyone calls me Val. You can set your stuff right there for now while I give you a tour."

"Ava."

"Nice to meet you Ava!"

Even though Val was bundled in a fluffy sweater that looked remarkably comfortable, Ava could tell that Val seemed to be fairly well endowed. There was a definite curve on the shorter girl's chest, which both made Ava blush slightly and feel self-conscious that she wasn't wearing a bra (not that she needed one). Regardless, Ava followed Val through the front foyer, and she could see that there were two other girls sitting on the couch nearby chatting. As she walked, Val continued talking.

"Over there we have Andrea and Bobbi. They always tend to show up first and are the only other third-years, aside from myself. There are two floors. On the first floor there is the common living area, the kitchen, a washroom, a few closets, and an office if anyone wants a bit of a quieter space for studying or schoolwork."

"People c-can't study in their rooms?" Ava questioned.

Val laughed. "No, of course they can study in their rooms. They can study anywhere, but this place can get pretty noisy sometimes, so the office is there for that. As for the upstairs, there are six bedrooms and a larger washroom. The house tends to get pretty full, so you will most likely be bunking with someone, but sleeping arrangements tend to change from night to night. People kind of sleep where they want, except for the Doll. She typically stays in the one room."

"Doll? What's that?"

Ava watched Val suddenly hesitate for a moment.

"You don't know about the Doll?"

"Umm, should I?"

Val smiled, but Ava saw the other girls, Andrea and Bobbi, staring at her from her peripherals. For a brief moment, Ava almost felt like a fish dropped into a shark tank.

"What exactly do you know about Venus?"

"Not much. J-just that it's a nickname because it's supposed to be aw-awful with a b-b-bunch of girls living together. Poison atmosphere, a-and all that. Mom said it w-wasn't that bad, though."

Ava swore that Val looked at the other two girls for a split second and nodded, but it could just have easily been a trick of the light.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room."

"I thought you said sleeping arrangements were l-loose."

"In general, but it's good to have a starting point, especially for you."

"What do you mean, especially me?"

With the way Val was looking at her, Ava almost expected Val to start licking her lips.

"I'll show you. Come on. You two, stay here." Val glared at Andrea and Bobbi, who appeared to be standing out of their seats.

They looked up, scoffed, and sat back down. Ava did faintly hear Bobbi saying something about Val always getting first dibs before she was whisked away upstairs. Val led her into the very first room past the stairs, where there was a dresser, a single, large bed and two nightstands. It seemed nice, but Ava was already beginning to have second thoughts. Things just seemed a little fishy, as if everyone else knew something she didn't. There was certainly something else going on at Venus.