"...So that's pretty much it," Kate finished, letting out a long breath after her lengthy explanation. She reached for a glass of water and took a sip, watching her friend Courtney to see how she responded. "So, the reason you've been such a drama queen over the past year," Courtney said, and Kate lowered her water glass slowly, frowning at her friend's tone as she continued, "is because - and let me make sure I have this right - a 'Goddess,'" she said sarcastically, using exaggerated finger quotes, "Told you that your breasts would grow big enough to destroy the Earth. And you thought this could suddenly happen at any time."



Kate placed the glass back on the table and nodded slowly, her eyebrows raised as she tried to project her sincerity. Courtney watched her for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha oh my GOD, Katie!" she said, doubling over and slapping her knees in her mirth. Katelyn scowled as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts and waited for her friend to finish. "You really expect me to believe that? Have you been smoking crack or something? That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard!" Courtney continued to laugh uproariously, as if Kate had just played the best prank in the world.



"It's not funny," said Kate. "Ugh, stop laughing, Courtney! I'm telling the truth!" she said, stamping her foot. But her friend just laughed even harder at Kate's attempts to convince her. Katelyn growled in frustration, trying to figure out how to convince Courtney. But then, her breasts suddenly began to tingle. "Oh no..." she said, looking down at them. Kate was wearing a navy blue turtleneck, and her eyes widened as she watched the fabric suddenly being pushed outwards, as her boobs started to grow. They were inflating rapidly, much faster than Katelyn had ever seen them grow before. Like someone was filling up party balloons with a helium tank inside her shirt. They were already the size of volleyballs before Katelyn looked over at Courtney, still doubled over with laughter.



"Courtney!" snapped Kate. Her breasts continued to swell, surpassing the size of basketballs, and her tightening bra suddenly snapped, unable to contain the burgeoning masses. Her boobs sprang out into her turtleneck, the cotton stretching to hold them. "COURTNEY!" Katelyn shouted. Her friend finally heard her, and her laughter died down as she looked up. Kate's breasts stopped growing, thankfully, but inside her shirt were two massive globes bigger than beachballs. Courtney's eyes grew wide as she looked at her friend's chest. Kate held her arms out and gestured her hands inward, indicating her breasts. "Now do you believe me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.



A smile twitched on Courtney's face as she looked at Kate's boobs. "What are those... balloons?" she said, and a little snort escaped her nose as she struggled to contain her amusement. "No, these are totally real," Kate said, grabbing her breasts and hefting them in her shirt. At that, Courtney burst out laughing again. The tingling immediately returned to Katelyn's tits, and they began to grow again. "Oh, god!" yelled Kate as she held her expanding boobs. They were growing so quickly this time. Creaking sounds came from the cotton of her turtleneck as her breasts filled her shirt up more and more. Meanwhile Courtney didn't see any of this, as she was bent over again, laughing her ass off.



Suddenly Katelyn realized that her friend's laughter must be what was causing the expansion. "Courtney!" she yelled. A huge ripping sound suddenly came from her shirt, and Kate's breasts tore their way out of her turtleneck. She was still holding them as they grew out of the tatters of her shirt, swelling to the size of yoga balls and beyond. They grew together in her arms, creating a huge valley of cleavage that extended several feet in front of her chest. They were getting heavy. Courtney was still laughing, totally oblivious to her friend's plight. "COURTNEY!" Kate shouted, but her friend still didn't appear to notice. Katelyn's boobs surpassed the size of beanbag chairs, and she began to struggle under their weight, her arms no longer able to hold them as they grew larger and larger. Kate needed to stop Courtney from laughing. She tried to run towards her, but tripped over her own feet, stumbling and falling on top of her breasts.



Kate tried to get back up, but her boobs were too heavy now. Courtney was still on the other side of the kitchen. "COURTNEY! STOP LAUGHING!" Katelyn screamed as her swelling tits pushed her upwards gradually. But Courtney only laughed harder at Kate's demands, still bent over and clutching her stomach with mirth. "COURTNEYYYY!!!" Kate pleaded, but her boobs continued to grow bigger and bigger, lifting her upwards.  Why couldn't Courtney hear her? Kate looked around for something to throw at her friend to get her to stop. As she twisted her head around, she saw her water glass on the table behind her. She reached for it, but as she strained to grab it, her fingertips fell short. She looked back at Courtney, who STILL was laughing uncontrollably. "HEY!" Kate shouted. "Courtney!" she barked, clapping her hands together. Still nothing. Courtney was in a fit of laughter.



Kate looked back at the water glass. Her growing tits, now the size of couches, only rounder, had pushed her almost totally upright. She was closer to the water glass now, her fingers able to grab it - but not with enough contact to be able to grip it. She strained, and as her breasts grew larger, they pushed her closer and closer towards it, until she was able to grab the glass. Kate whipped it around, flinging the water over at her friend.



As a splash of water hit Courtney, she finally was snapped out of her laughing fit. "Hahahaaaaa... ugh, Katie what the hell..." she said as she raised her head, and then her eyes grew very wide. Kate's breasts stopped growing as soon as Courtney stopped laughing, but they were enormous. They filled half the kitchen, and were the size of compact cars. If Courtney had kept laughing for another minute or so, they would have grown big enough to run into her. "Holy shit, Katie," said Courtney, looking at the huge mass of flesh in front of her. "Holy... shit! Your tits are HUGE!" she exclaimed. Leaning down against her massive mammaries, Kate flung her arms out and shook her hands in the air, saying "I told you!"



"How the... how is this even possible?" Courtney asked, stepping closer to Katelyn's breasts and reaching her hand out to touch one. Her hand sank into Kate's soft flesh, and Courtney swallowed. "I've been trying to tell you, but you didn't listen," complained Kate. "This is the kind of shit that April does to me. NOW do you believe me, finally?" she asked. Courtney continued to stare at Kate's breasts, but nodded her head slowly. There was no denying these knockers. "They're so big..." Courtney said. Her voice sounded distant, like she was enraptured by the sight before her. "Yeah, and they've been even bigger before," said Kate. "Really?" asked Courtney, looking up at Katelyn's face. Kate nodded, sending little ripples quivering through the flesh beneath her. "Uh huh. They got so big they destroyed my house, last time. That's what that 'gas explosion' actually was. But they should go down again, eventually," Kate said. "As long as you don't laugh anymore!" she scolded.



Courtney took a step back. "Laugh? What are you talking about?" she said, cocking her head. Katelyn sighed. "Your laughter was what made my boobs grow. April likes to mess with me by making different things trigger the growth. That's why I threw the water at you, to get you to stop," said Kate, and then she paused "...Courtney? Are you alright?" Kate asked. Her friend was looking at Katelyn's breasts again, and she had a strange expression on her face, like she was in awe of them. She licked her lips, looking back and forth between the enormous tits. "Courtney?" asked Kate, waving her arm in front of her, trying to get her friend's attention. "Courtney? Courtney what's... what's wrong with your eyes?" Kate asked, ducking down against her breasts to get a better look at Courtney's face. Her eyes looked strange somehow, but Kate couldn't quite tell what the difference was without making direct eye contact.



Suddenly, an odd smile crept onto Courtney's face. It looked... mischievous. Courtney finally looked up into Kate's eyes, and Katelyn gasped as she saw what was strange about her friend's eyes. Her irises had changed color. They had always been brown, but now they were a deep, radiant violet color. Like April's eyes. Kate was getting a bad feeling about this. "Courtney..." she said warningly, and her friend's smile deepened as her eyes grew wider. "Courtney, don't..." Kate pleaded, but it was no use. Courtney opened her mouth and began to laugh, but not a mirthful laugh. This laugh was a deep laugh that came up from her belly, a hearty laugh. An evil laugh.



"No, no, no, nononono!" Kate shouted as her breasts began to inflate once more, pushing her upwards more and spreading further across the kitchen floor. Courtney took a step back, laughing maniacally, as Katelyn's boobs grew bigger and bigger, filling more and more of the kitchen. "Courtney! Courtney stop!" Kate screamed, but her friend paid no mind to her cries. She just looked at Kate's breasts and laughed as they continued to swell. Kate continued to scream at Courtney, begging her to stop, but Courtney just kept laughing and laughing, steadily taking more steps backward as Kate's tits took up more space. Kate had been pushed totally upright by now, and was slowly being shoved backwards, her ass bumping into the table behind her. She was losing sight of Courtney as the tops of her boobs approached the ceiling.



"COURTNEY!" Kate continued to scream, her voice getting raw from her persistent calls. The table was pressing tighter and tighter against Kate's butt, but she felt no pain. The Goddess April had made her invulnerable, in order to preserve her body against harm. That way nothing could stop her from destroying the world with her breasts. And so, Kate didn't feel even a little pain as the wooden table behind her crunched and splintered, her breasts pushing her inexorably backwards. Courtney was still laughing like a supervillain, and as Kate's boobs slowly obscured her friend from her vision, Kate saw that Courtney's eyes seemed to be glowing purple. Then all she could see was the top of Courtney's head, and then her flesh filled her view. "Courtney STOPPPP!" Kate wailed, pounding against her breasts, but there was no response from Courtney other than evil laughter.



Kate kept crunching further into the broken table, crushing more of the wood up against the wall and making the fruit basket slide off. A few seconds later, Katelyn felt her breasts brushing the ceiling. She had filled up her kitchen, and still she could hear Courtney laughing on the other side of her breasts. She was going to destroy her house with her boobs. Again.

She felt the pressure increasing against the ceiling and floor, and one breast brushed a wall. Behind her, there was hardly any table left, just splintered wood. Kate let out a scream of frustration as she heard the ceiling crack, calling her friend's name over and over, begging her to stop. Her breasts continued to swell relentlessly, pressing her against the wall, pinning her arms, pressing up against her face. The house was going to break soon. Still she could hear Courtney's laughter from somewhere far away...



Katelyn jolted awake in her bed. "Courtney!" she shouted at the empty room, startling the cat next to her as she sat up. Her hands immediately flew to her breasts. They were their normal size. Bright morning sunshine was coming through her blinds. It had all just been a nightmare. Kate let out a long sigh of relief as she fell back against her pillow, heart still pounding. Nellie the cat padded over softly to Katelyn, rubbing up against Kate's wrist to ask for pats, now that they were awake. Katelyn obliged the kitty, stroking her softly as she slowly got her bearings and returned to reality.



That had been an intense dream. It had felt so real, so vivid. The last time Katelyn had a dream so lifelike had been over a year ago, when she had met April on a beach in her dreams. That time, the Goddess had coerced Kate's dream self into having lesbian sex, as Kate's boobs grew to titanic proportions. When she had woken up that day, she'd met April in real life a short time later, and that had been the day her breasts had destroyed her house. This time, it had been Courtney in her dreams.

What did it mean? she wondered. Had that been a dream from April? The Goddess hadn't appeared in the dream, this time, but maybe she was giving Katelyn a hint about what might cause her next growth episode. Katelyn was supposed to meet up with Courtney today, to explain why she had been acting so strange, the past year. She had planned to tell Courtney about April, so she wouldn't have to keep lying to her friend. Now. though, she wasn't so sure she wanted to discuss such a topic, because of her dream.



The problem was, Kate knew she was due for some sort of growth spell today. Last night, after saving her from a rapist, April had kissed Katelyn forcefully. Afterward, she'd said something cryptic about "teaching her a lesson", since Kate had grabbed April's wrist to get her attention. Apparently, touching the Goddess was a no-no. Unless it was for sex, she had said.



Based on April's promise of a lesson, as well as the extremely vivid dream she had just had, Katelyn suspected that today was a growing day. Something was going to cause her breasts to get bigger, but she didn't yet know what that thing was going to be. She wondered if Courtney would somehow be the cause of it this time. Kate still felt some lingering anger towards her friend just because of the way she had behaved in her dream. She knew it was irrational to be mad at someone for their actions in a dream, but Katelyn couldn't dispel the feeling. She was sure there was no way Courtney would react that way to hearing Katelyn's story in real life, though. And in her dream, Kate recalled, Courtney's irises had turned purple towards the end. Like April's. The Goddess definitely was responsible for the way Courtney's dream avatar had behaved.



Kate got herself out of bed, giving the cat another quick head rub as she went to the shower. She didn't know what she was going to do today. Her breasts were probably going to be growing bigger at some point, but how large? She didn't want to risk breaking all her stuff again if they grew big enough to fill a room, or even larger than that. But she definitely didn't want to go out in public, and risk being seen. Yet, if she just stayed in her house and did nothing, April might visit again. As she stripped naked and got in the shower, Katelyn shuddered at the thought of another visit from the Goddess. The only thing worse than watching her breasts grow huge was being totally at the mercy of April's sexual desires. To April, Kate was just a toy to play with. She felt totally powerless when April was around. Like a mouse between a cat's paws.



As Kate washed herself in the shower, she was very careful to avoid too much contact with her breasts. In her last growth episode, every time she touched her tits, they grew bigger. She didn't feel anything particularly strange when she lathered them with soap, however. But she used a bath sponge just to be safe. Her breasts felt sensitive, but then, they always felt like that lately. Kate tended to avoid touching them too much if she could, but when she did, it felt good to grab them. Not as good as that one day though. They hadn't grown from her touching them since that time over a year ago, but she never wanted to risk it, in case April decided to do it again. But Katelyn's breasts didn't feel any different from normal as she finished cleaning them, and then moved on to the rest of her body.



Kate finished washing up and rinsed off, and after getting out and toweling herself off, she immediately went to her dresser, got out one of her bras, and put it on to test the size of her boobs. They still fit perfectly in the bra cups. Then, experimentally, Kate poked one of her breasts with a finger. Her flesh rippled slightly, but she felt no tingling. She then brought up her other hand and softly rested both of them on her boobs over the bra. Still, nothing happened. No tingling, no growth. She gave them a light squeeze. It felt good, but didn't cause a wave of pleasure to course through her breasts like last time. They remained the same size. Kate relaxed slightly, grateful that at least contact wasn't triggering her growth. That condition had been frustrating to contend with.



As she got dressed, Kate kept pondering what to do today. She needed to come up with an excuse to not see Courtney, but she didn't want to blow her off. The problem was, Courtney was her best friend, and Kate had promised her that she would explain everything. But a part of her was afraid to tell Courtney of her plight. What would April think, if Kate told her friend about her? She had never forbidden Katelyn to mention her. But she could be watching at any time. She'd certainly be watching today, if she intended to mess with Katelyn. Maybe she wouldn't appreciate being a topic of discussion.



Turning the problem over and over in her mind, Kate tried to think of an excuse to call Courtney off, at least for a day. It wasn't prudent to be around people right now, especially since she didn't know what April had planned for her, yet. As Kate continued to mull it over though, the doorbell suddenly rang. Katelyn's eyes immediately grew wide with fear. She looked at the clock. 9 AM on a Saturday, and she didn't anticipate anyone delivering something. Kate could only think of one person who could be visiting out of the blue. April.



Katelyn walked slowly towards the front door, heart pounding. She wanted to just pretend nobody was home, but her car was in the driveway. And if it was April, it was a bad idea to keep her waiting. It wasn't like the Goddess even needed to ring the doorbell, since she apparently could just pop out of thin air, anywhere. But for some reason, she liked to play little games, and apparently being invited in was one of them. As much as Katelyn hated April, she had learned to at least outwardly treat her with respect, lest she be reprimanded. Kate lingered in front of the door, wishing she had a peephole in her new house, or a window by the door. She almost went over to the living room window to peer through the blinds and see who it was, but then a soft knocking sounded on the door. It was light and friendly. Cringing inwardly, Kate decided to just get it over with, and opened the door.



Standing on Kate's front porch, holding a baby against one hip, was Courtney. Kate's heart sank into the pit of her stomach, but she immediately forced a weak smile onto her face to greet her friend. "Hey!" Katelyn said. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound cheery.

Courtney saw through Kate's facade right away though. "Uh, I'm here because we're supposed to go shopping this morning, remember? Katie, is everything alright?" she asked, raising her eyebrow and smiling. "You're looking at me like I have five heads."

Kate tried to get her face under control. "Yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine." she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I just, uh, slept weird is all. I'm a little frazzled. I didn't realize you were coming over so early," Kate said.



"Well, it is midmorning. I figured you'd be up," said Courtney. "I texted you that I was heading over. But, I guess you were in the shower," she said, looking at Katelyn's still wet hair. "Are you gonna invite me in? Or do I have to just stand on the porch holding a baby all day?" Courtney asked. Kate hesitated, not sure what to say. She didn't want to be near Courtney, but also didn't want to be rude to her friend. Courtney was puzzled by Kate's hesitation, and looked around behind Kate into the house. "Did you bring somebody home last night or something? You're acting very weird," she said, peering at Kate suspiciously. "I can come back later if you have somebody over," said Courtney. Given an opportunity for an excuse not to have Courtney around, Kate was tempted to just confirm Courtney's question, and say she had brought a man home for a one-night stand. But then she would need to come up with a whole backstory and tell Courtney about it later, and she didn't want to lie to her friend. Instead Kate just said"No, no, it's fine. Come on in," and sighed as she stepped back, out of the doorway.



Courtney followed Katelyn into her house, and the two women walked into the kitchen. "Do, uh, you want some coffee?" Kate asked. "I was about to make some."

"Sure," replied Courtney, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down. She left the seat out an an angle so she could plop her son James on her lap. Katelyn glanced down at the small baby before rummaging in the cabinet for the coffee grounds and filter. James' presence made her feel almost as uncomfortable as Courtney's did today. She didn't want him around to witness her impending growth episode, or to risk him being caught in the potentially dangerous result of an explosive round of expansion. Kate shook her head, marveling at how she needed to be concerned with such things now. Her boobs might be too dangerous for children to be around.



"So... how's Brian? What's he up to today?" Kate asked with her back to Courtney, as she got the coffee brewing. She planned to try to deflect Courtney's curiosity with small talk, at least until she could think of a good way to tell her friend that today was not a good day to be around her. "

Brian's good," Courtney responded from behind. "Hubby is doing a little yardwork today, and removing a hornet's nest. We thought it'd be best if I take little James with me, just in case things go haywire and a hornet gets into the house," she said. "Ha! Good idea," Kate said congenially. "So you're gonna take the baby to the mall with you? That sounds like it'll be fun." she said sarcastically, starting the coffeemaker and turning around.



Courtney was bouncing the baby on her knee idly, and little James was looking up at Katelyn with his pacifier in his mouth. "Hi, sweetie!" said Kate as she walked over to the baby and bent her face down with a big smile. As reluctant as she was to be near him at the moment, it was important to Kate that babies get the proper amount of friendly attention and didn't just get ignored or avoided. You had to make sure they were properly socialized, after all. Plus, as her friend's kid, it would be good to establish an early rapport with him, since she'd be around him and his family frequently. Assuming he lived long enough to grow up, before Kate destroyed the planet. She tried to avoid thinking of such things as she made faces at the chubby baby looking up at her.



"Wow, he's getting so big. He's over a year old, now, right?" Kate asked, glancing up at Courtney. "14 months," Courtney replied. "His poops get bigger and stinkier every day," she said, wrinkling her nose jokingly.

Katelyn laughed and looked back down at James. "Remember me, honey?" she said, looking into his little blue eyes for signs of recognition. Kate could see the first faint glimmerings of intelligence starting to show, as James actually seemed to consider her face for a moment, then turned his head to look up at his mother's face.

Courtney was smiling down at her son encouragingly. "That's your Aunt Katie. Remember Aunt Katie?" she asked, indicating Kate with raised eyebrows. James turned back to Kate and just stared, sucking his pacifier.

"Do you think you'll be able to handle him at the mall today?" Kate asked Courtney, as she reached up with her hand and brushed James's soft cheek affectionately, then stood up straight.

She walked to the other side of the table as Courtney responded, "Well, I was hoping to have you with me to help out with him, Katie. You're still planning on coming, right?"



Katelyn paused in the middle of sitting down, then slowly settled into her seat as she considered what to say. She hadn't been ready for the question, and now had to think up an excuse on the spot not to go. "Ummm..." she said, looking at her fridge blankly as her mind raced to think up a plausible reason to stay home. She considered and discarded several ideas in moments, including just saying she had a headache. Courtney would be able to tell she was lying, and that would only bring up more questions. Kate continued to drag out the "um" for several seconds before she realized that it was already too late to come up with something. Her friend was looking at her with her eyebrows raised, waiting for Kate to respond. She had been too slow.



Shit, why did she have to get here before I had my coffee? Kate thought, as she just decided to blurt out a version of the truth. "Here's the thing," she said, trying to form her words carefully. "I... don't think it's a good idea for me to go out in public today."

"Okay..." Courtney said, looking at her friend with concern. "Why? What's bothering you?" she asked.

Kate just shook her head. "I'm just, uh, feeling a bit nervous today, is all," she said, glancing around the room. "I just don't feel like being in a crowd."



The excuse wasn't enough for Courtney, though. "This is about that... that thing you were going to tell me about, right?" she asked seriously.

Shit, Kate thought. This was exactly the conversation she had wanted to avoid, and now Courtney was going to try to dig every detail out of her right here and now.

"This is about that thing that happened to you," Courtney kept going. "Whatever's got you so freaked out these past few months. Don't -!" Courtney exclaimed, holding up her finger to stop Kate from responding. "-try to to lie to me, Katelyn! You're a nervous wreck today, and it's because of IT" she continued, pointing her raised finger down onto the table for emphasis. "Whatever IT is. Am I right? Answer the question, Katie!" she said, giving Kate no room to wiggle out of it. She squirmed in her seat, trying to summon a decent response. "Is whatever you're nervous about today related to that thing you were going to tell me about? Yes, or no?"



"Yes!" Kate exclaimed with a weary exhalation of breath, leaning her head back and dropping her hands to the sides of her chair. She hated it when Courtney came at her like that, putting her on the spot. The woman was too smart and caring for her own good. "Yes, alright?" Kate said, leaning forward again and looking at her friend. "God, you're gonna be an impossible mother to lie to, you know that right?" Kate said with a smirk, putting her elbows on the table and resting her forehead in her hands. The skin in the corners of her eyes was pulled upward as she glanced at James and then back at Courtney. "Baby James here isn't going to be able to get away with anything when he's older," she said with mock scorn.



Courtney just sat patiently across from her, holding the baby with one hand and tapping the table with her fingernails on the other. "Don't try to change the subject on me, Katelyn," she said softly. "You told me you were going to explain what happened to you. Now, I gather that the event was pretty traumatic, and I understand it might be uncomfortable for you to get it out," Courtney said solemnly, her expression serious. "But it isn't healthy to keep it bottled up, Katie. It's tearing you apart, and you need to open up with me, so you don't have to carry this burden alone." Kate just looked at her silently. "I promise I won't tell anyone about it, and I won't be judgmental no matter what," Courtney said. "I'm just here to listen, and then maybe we can talk about how to help you. How to get you past whatever this is." Then Courtney gestured with her hand to indicate Kate was free to speak openly, and sat back to listen.



Katelyn sighed, head still cradled between her hands. She looked down at the table, then back up at Courtney. "I want to tell you," she said, then paused. How was she ever going to explain this? She sighed again in frustration. "It's just... it's really hard. And it's a really long story, and it's really weird. It's reaaallly weird, Courtney" she said, staring seriously as she slowly nodded her head. "And..." how to put this delicately? she thought. "And I'm not sure I should actually tell you. It might be dangerous to be even having this conversation. I don't want you, or anyone else, to get involved, because you might get hurt," Kate said, feeling herself tremble slightly as she circled around the truth. Courtney just watched, silently waiting for Katelyn to say more.



Sighing again, Kate sat back a bit and steepled her fingers in front of her, as she thought of how much she could safely reveal to Courtney without actually telling her what was happening. And how much information would be enough to satisfy Courtney's concern, without giving her a loose thread to pull that would lead to April, and to Kate's destiny to destroy the world. Above everything else, Kate considered it crucial not to bring her boobs into the conversation. That was a dangerous topic to be discussing with anyone, but particularly today, and particularly with Courtney, if her dream was anything to go by. The coffee maker suddenly started bubbling, indicating that it was done brewing. Katelyn stood up, saying, "Let me get us some coffee while I think about this some more,"

"Okay," said Courtney patiently.

A minute or so later, Kate had prepared the coffees the way both women liked it - hers black, Courtney with cream and no sugar - and sat back down, sliding Courtney's cup across to her. Kate had made her decision. "I'm not going to tell you everything," Kate said carefully. "Not today, maybe not ever. I don't want you getting involved. But I can tell you a few things, to ease your concern about me. And I will answer whatever questions I can, but I reserve the right of refusal to discuss certain things."

Staring at Kate for a few seconds, Courtney nodded slowly, then adjusted the baby to settle on her other thigh. The game was set. To win it, Kate just had to match wits with her friend, and prevent her from digging too deeply into the information she provided. She took a sip of coffee, and began.

"Hold up," interjected Courtney as Kate opened her mouth. "Before we start, I just want to get one thing out of the way. Were you raped?" she asked.



Kate paused with her mouth open, unprepared for such a direct question. "N-no," she stammered quickly. "Not exactly."



"Not exactly?" Courtney asked incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean? Either you were raped or you weren't, Katie."



Kate shook her head as she responded, "I wasn't raped. That isn't what this is about."



"Then what do you mean by 'not exactly'? Did someone threaten to rape you?"



Kate shook her head again. "No, no. I mean, I was sort of... sexually assaulted, but..." she said awkwardly, and Courtney immediately pounced on it.



"I knew it!" she said, sounding triumphant but also concerned. "Don't just try to brush off sexual assault, Katie! It's serious business, and whatever it was, it's been affecting you more than you're giving it credit for. I can tell. You've been a nervous wreck any time something related to sex comes up, the past few months."



Kate continued to shake her head. Her friend was observant, yet so far from the mark. "No, listen to me Courtney. I was... groped... by somebody, but that's like, a tiny part of what I've been dealing with," she explained. "There's a shitload of other stuff wrapped up in this, and uh... well it is... kinda sexual in nature. It involves... my body. But... shit," she said. This conversation wasn't going the way Katelyn had wanted. Courtney was looking at her with confusion and concern on her face.



"Who groped you?" she asked curiously.



Kate immediately leaned back and held her palms up defensively. "That is a question I will not answer," she replied. It was bad enough to have this conversation without actually mentioning April. The Goddess was probably watching this conversation, and bringing up her name would just be asking for trouble.



Courtney's eyebrows turned downward, and she pursed her lips, clearly perplexed by Katelyn's answers. Kate needed to steer this conversation back in a direction that would assuage Courtney's fears about her health. "Listen, here is what I can tell you." Kate said, leaning forward. "First of all, I wasn't injured. And I'm not in any danger of being hurt. This all happened about a year ago, when this... person visited me. And, well, this ...person... was messing with me. In a really frustrating way. And then some things happened, that I'm not going to get into. That's when I got groped, and then some OTHER bad things happened, and then my house got destroyed." she said, raising her eyebrows as she looked at her friend.



"I knew that wasn't wasn't just a gas explosion!" Courtney exclaimed softly, pointing at Kate. "You've been acting super weird about the details with that story. I still don't understand how you were completely unhurt if you were inside your house, holding your cat and somehow managed to survive an explosion that leveled your entire house and 3 neighbors," she said. Courtney had picked that story apart on the spot too, and Kate hadn't been able to offer her a sufficient explanation why both her and Nellie had survived the event. In retrospect, Kate realized she should have said she was chasing after an escaped Nellie in a neighbor's yard, which would explain her surviving so close to the explosion. That was, in fact, the story she ended up telling everyone else. But Courtney had gotten the truth out of her first. Though she had played along with Kate's later explanation when she said that she just forgot that she'd been searching for the cat at the time, Courtney had always seemed suspicious of Kate's story.



"Hang on. So this person you're afraid of... destroyed your house?" asked Courtney.



"Yes," Kate replied. "Well, she didn't didn't destroy it, but-"



"-Wait SHE?! Courtney exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. "A woman groped you? AND destroyed your house?" she asked, amazed.



"Arrrgghhh", Kate groaned, annoyed that the had let that slip, but said, "Yes, it's the same person."



Courtney leaned forward, firing off questions rapidly as she dug at at the story. "What did she want? Money? Are you involved with something illegal? Why did she destroy your house?" she asked with concern.



Kate pressed her lips together in frustration, shaking her head. "It's not related to money at all, and it's not anything illegal."



Courtney scrunched her eyes in confusion. "I don't get it. What did she want, then? Why did she set off a gas explosion?"



Kate stared at her friend for a few seconds. "I can't tell you either of those things," she said softly.



Courtney's eyes darted around the room, and Kate could see the wheels of thought turning in her friend's head. She looked at Katelyn again, and asked, "Do I know this woman? Was it one of your neighbors?"



Katelyn shook her head. "No, you've never met her, and you never want to meet her," Kate said warningly, leaning back and holding up a finger. "She's dangerous, Courtney. Don't even ask me any questions about her, because I won't answer them," she said with finality.



Courtney just peered at Katelyn strangely. "I don't understand any of this, Katie," she said slowly, shaking her head. "This woman... she's the one who's got you so scared?" Courtney asked, squinting with confusion. Kate didn't respond, just crossing her arms under her breasts and staring at Courtney with her lips pressed together. But the silence was itself a response. "She is, isn't she?" Courtney asked, leaning forward and looking into Kate's eyes. Kate nodded slightly, trembling. "Good lord, you're terrified," said Courtney softly. "Katie, what the hell did she do to you?" she whispered.



Kate just closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. She couldn't tell Courtney anything else. "Katelyn?" Courtney asked. "Katelyn, there's nothing to be afraid of. Whoever this woman is, she isn't here right now. She can't do anything to either of us."



That's where you're wrong, Courtney, thought Katelyn. she's listening to every word we say, and if I tell you about her, she's probably going to show up, and then she'll have two toys to play with, instead of one. She knew this in her bones. Telling her friend would only bring her trouble. Kate took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled as she opened her eyes and lowered her hands, reaching for her cup of coffee. "I'm sorry Courtney," Kate said wistfully as she took a gulp of coffee. "That's all I can tell you. I swear, I'd say more if I could." Katelyn's hand trembled slightly as she lowered the cup.



For a few seconds, Courtney just looked at Katelyn. Then she nodded as she reached for her own cup of coffee. "Alright, Katie. If it makes you uncomfortable to talk about it, I guess we can drop it. I'm glad you weren't hurt, I suppose," she said, taking a sip from her cup. "But I feel like I just have more questions. None of this is making any sense," she said.

Kate nodded in response, reaching for her cup again as she tried to calm nerves down. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's a really weird situation. I'd tell you more if I could, but it just... wouldn't be a good idea. I'll leave it at that," she said, taking another swig of coffee.



The two women sat in silence for a minute, drinking their coffee, and Courtney bounced the baby James around on her lap a bit to stimulate him. The baby wobbled his head, just looking around at his surroundings with curiosity, sucking on his pacifier. He had no idea as to the nature of the conversation the two friends were having. "It's funny..." Courtney suddenly said pensively, staring off at nothing. "I know this is going to sound weird, but... I had the strangest dream last night." she said. Kate's eyes widened, and she put her cup on the table as she stared at her friend. Courtney wasn't looking at her, just staring off with a distant look on her face. "You were in the dream, and there was this woman there. She was like, some sort of... Goddess... or something." Katelyn froze, her entire body tensing up. This didn't sound good at all. Courtney was still looking off into Kate's kitchen with a strange expression on her face. Kate suddenly noticed that her friend's eyes looked a little strange. Her irises... were they changing color? "I asked her what her name was, and she told me," Courtney continued softly, and then looked at Katelyn. Her irises had indeed changed color. They were a deep violet. Kate's entire body instantly went into full panic mode, even as Courtney went on, "I think it was... A-" and then she stopped as Katelyn gasped sharply, and knocked her chair over with a clatter as she swiftly stood up, her eyes wide with terror.



Baby James began to cry, his pacifier tumbling from his mouth as the sudden noise and Kate's shocked expression startled him.  Courtney shook her head, seeming to clear her mind as she looked at Kate with confusion. "What the hell, Katie?" Courtney asked in a puzzled tone as she turned James around on her lap and started trying to calm him down. "What's gotten into you?" she said, glancing up at Kate between making soothing noises to the baby. Her irises had returned to their normal brown color. But they had turned purple, Kate was sure of it. April had visited Courtney's dream last night, and now she was planning to somehow use her friend, to mess with Katelyn.



But the danger had passed for now, or so it seemed. Kate let out a shuddering breath as she relaxed. "It's... nothing," she said, her heart still pounding.



"No, it's not nothing, Katie. You freaked out just now, because of something I said," Courtney said, looking up to observe Kate's face. "What was I talking about just now?" she asked, frowning and looking back at little James.



The baby was calming down, and Kate reached down and picked up the chair off the floor, not taking her eyes off Courtney. "Don't worry about it," she said cautiously, watching her closely to make sure her eyes stayed brown. "I just... have the jitters, is all." She needed to move on from the topic of Courtney's dream as soon as possible, before she started talking about it again. "Hey, are we going to head to the mall, or what?" Kate asked. "We're never going to be done before lunchtime, at this rate."



Courtney looked at Katelyn suspiciously, surely aware of her attempt to change the subject. But she ended up letting it go. "Fine, let's get moving," Courtney said, finishing her own coffee with a swig and standing up with the baby. "I'll just need to make a quick stop at the bank before we hit the mall."



Courtney ended up driving, since she had the car seat for baby James in her car. As Katelyn sat in the passenger seat, she fiddled with the radio, made idle small talk about the latest episode of "America's Got Talent", and just generally kept Courtney's mind busy so she couldn't bring up her dream again, or ask any more big questions. They ended up reaching the bank without incident. "Do you want to wait in the car and listen to the radio?" asked Courtney as they parked. "Nah, I'll come in with you," Kate said. "They have a coffee machine in there, and I could use a second cup." But really, Kate just didn't want to leave her friend alone to ponder her dream last night. She had been so close to coming up with April's name before.



Courtney grabbed James out of the car seat. It was a Saturday morning, so there was a long line at the bank. As Courtney waited in line with the baby, Katelyn got herself a coffee, choosing a hazelnut-flavored variety. She leaned back against the counter and sipped hot coffee while she waited for her friend to finish. One of the advantages of being invulnerable was that she didn't have to wait for the liquid to cool down, at all. She could tell that the coffee was extremely hot, and should have been enough to scald her tongue, but it didn't hurt Katelyn even slightly.



The line got shorter, until Courtney was the last person up to the window. Nobody else had come in, so the two women must have arrived just at the end of a rush. Courtney finished up with her business at the teller window, then walked over to meet Katelyn at coffee counter. Kate gulped the last of her coffee carry the empty cup around, and they headed to leave. Just then, however, a man walked into the bank, wearing a clown mask and carrying a pistol.



"EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND, THIS IS A ROBBERY!" he shouted wildly, his voice muffled by the mask as he waved the gun in the air. The man was average height, with a somewhat scrawny build. He was wearing cargo pants and a camo-colored hoodie that covered his hair, despite it being a warm day in late spring. The clown mask was a face that was contorted in a grotesque smile, just like the style that had been made popular in heist movies lately. Life suddenly felt like a movie to Katelyn, as she instinctively moved herself in front of Courtney. Baby James was already crying, and as Kate glanced back, she saw that Courtney's eyes were full of panic, and she was turning her own body to shield the baby from the man.



"NOBODY BEHIND THE COUNTER BETTER MOVE A MUSCLE!" the gunman said, advancing towards the window. The two bank tellers had their hands raised in the air obediently. Surely they'd been trained for this situation, and would do whatever the man told them. "Put the money in the bag! Everything you got!" he shouted, tossing a duffel bag over the counter. Then he glanced back at Kate and Courtney, who were huddled together, both shielding the baby. "I SAID ON THE GROUND!" the gunman said, pointing his pistol at the two women, who were the only customers in the lobby. Kate and Courtney complied, sinking to their knees and then falling prone. Baby James screamed again at the raised voice, and Courtney tried to make him comfortable, laying on the marble lobby floor while still mostly covering him with her body.



The man was keeping most of his attention on the bank tellers to make sure they didn't hit a button to alert the police, but he periodically glanced back at Kate and Courtney. "Toss your purses over there, ladies! Nobody's calling the cops." he said gruffly, and both women did what he said, sliding them over near the coffee machine. After only a minute or so, the bank tellers had finished putting all the cash inside the bag and zipped it up, handing it to the man. He backed away from the window towards the door, and as he did so he put his gun in the back waistband of his pants. "You guys foreclosed on my house," he said through the clown mask, shaking his head back and forth. "So I'm gonna leave you with a little parting gift!" He said with a laugh, and then he reached into the front pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a grenade.



The bank robber pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it over towards the teller window, then turned around and sprinted toward the exit. As the grenade sailed through the air, time seemed to move in slow motion for Katelyn. Courtney was screaming next to her as she watched the grenade, too. Over behind the window, the tellers were already jumping out of the way of its trajectory. But as Kate watched the small object arc over her head, it hit the plexiglass just to the side of the window. Instead of going behind the bank counter, the grenade bounced off the glass and hit the floor, bouncing once before rolling to a stop a few feet in front of Katelyn's head. It was going to kill Courtney. It was going to kill the baby.



Kate's eyes widened, and she moved without thinking, scrambling over to the grenade and throwing herself on top of it. She curled her entire body around it as much as possible, holding it tightly against her stomach with both hands. She was able to position herself so that her back was to Courtney, so even if the shrapnel went through her somehow, it wouldn't hurt Courtney or the baby. Behind her, Courtney was still screaming wordlessly. Only seconds had passed. Katelyn closed her eyes and braced herself. Her last thought before the explosion was the hope that maybe it would be enough to kill her, but still not hurt her friend.



*BOOM.* The explosion was extremely loud, thundering throughout the lobby and echoing off the marble floors and walls. Katelyn's hands flew open from the immense force suddenly escaping her palms, and she felt the shockwave ripple through her entire body. There was no pain though, and after a brief moment where her ears rang from the sound, the discomfort faded immediately, and Kate's hearing returned to normal. "KATELYYYNN!" Courtney wailed from behind her. Kate opened her eyes, and then instinctively felt at her stomach where the grenade had been. There was a big hole in her shirt, but when she touched her belly, there was only smooth skin. No blood.



Katelyn twisted her head around and looked over her shoulder at Courtney. Her friend was on her hands and knees, but with one hand extended out towards Katelyn. James was still wailing desperately. Tears of anguish were streaming down Courtney's face, but as Kate turned her head around, Courtney's eyes bulged with shock at seeing her friend alive. "I'm alright," Kate said softly, and then rolled back around, and began to get up.



"No, Katie, don't move!" Courtney shouted, scrambling to her feet as well, but Kate was already standing. Courtney darted over to Katelyn with her arms extended, probably thinking Kate was in shock and would have her organs hanging out. But as she reached Katelyn and looked at her torso, she stopped short and held her hands in front of her mouth. "Oh my god..." she whispered, and Katelyn looked down at herself. The bottom of her shirt was in tatters, exposing her bare stomach. Kate felt below her breasts, and discovered that the bottom of her bra cups had been mostly destroyed, exposing the bottoms of her boobs to the open air. The bra and connecting fabric between the cups was still mostly intact enough to contain them, however, since they were above the curvature of her bosom. Kate continued to feel around her stomach, but there was not even a little damage to her skin. Bits of shrapnel rained off her as she moved around, though, and she reached into her belly button to pull a piece of metal out. It made a little *tink!* as she dropped it to the ground.



"Oh my god, you're alright," Courtney said with amazement, holding her hand out to touch Kate's stomach. "How are you alive? How are you not hurt?" she asked in an awed whisper, running her hand over Katelyn's unbroken skin. Behind Courtney, James continued to cry on the lobby floor. Out of the corner of her eye, Katelyn saw the bank tellers standing up behind the window. They were going to have some awkward questions. Kate put both hands in front of her stomach, covering her skin and hunching over slightly, as if she was in pain. "I think it was just a dud, or something," she said loudly as the bank tellers looked at the two women in amazement. "But I still should go to the hospital," Kate said, looking at Courtney. "I'll explain in the car," she said under her breath. Courtney just nodded slowly, still clearly shaken up, and then turned around to collect James off the floor. Kate bent over to grab both women's purses off the floor, then held both hands in front of her stomach as she walked to the exit.

Kate reached the car and took Courtney's keys out of her purse, opening the driver's side door. "I'll drive," she said calmly as Courtney arrived, making soothing noises to the still-screaming baby James. "You sit in the back and try to calm, him down if you can," Kate said, and got in the car, starting the ignition.

"Katie, what are you talking about?" Courtney asked incredulously through the open back door, as she fastened the wailing baby into his car seat. "You aren't going to drive yourself to the hospital. You've probably got a ton of internal organ damage or something. You're just in shock!" she exclaimed, slamming the back door and marching around the car to open the driver side door. "Get out," she said sternly. "James will be fine until we reach the hospital."



Kate looked up at Courtney calmly, her hands on the steering wheel. "We aren't going to the hospital, Courtney. I was just saying that for the bank teller's benefit, so we didn't have to stick around."

"WHAT?! Courtney demanded, her eyes bulging. "Of course we're going to the hospital! You just took a fucking grenade to the stomach! I don't know how you survived, but we're getting you checked out, Katie. Your body is running on adrenaline right now, and as soon as it runs out, you're probably going to collapse."

Kate sighed as she looked up at her friend, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel. In the car seat behind her, James continued to bawl his eyes out. "Courtney, I promise you that I'm one hundred percent unharmed. Going to the hospital would be a bad idea, for reasons which I will explain as we drive back to my house," she said calmly, staring out through the windshield. She could see into the glass windows of the bank lobby, and little flashing lights were going off inside the bank. They had activated the alarm. "It's... involved with the things I was telling you about earlier, okay?" Kate asked, turning back to Courtney and looking up at her knowingly.



Courtney was just shaking her head slowly with downturned eyebrows, not understanding. "Look, we need to get out of here before the cops arrive. They're going to have a lot of questions that I can't answer," Kate explained. "It's only five minutes to my house. I promise I'll drive slow," she said.



Courtney stood with her hand on the open driver's door, watching Kate for several seconds. Katelyn continued to look up at her friend sincerely, trying to convey how serious this situation was. Finally, Courtney said "Alright," and slammed the door, getting into the back seat right behind Katelyn. "You'd better not pass out and kill us all in a car crash, after saving us from a grenade, Katie," said Courtney as she buckled her seatbelt.



Kate chuckled, glancing at her friend as she turned around to back out of the parking spot. "Trust me, we'll be fine," she said with a reassuring smile. Courtney's face was terrified, yet she seemed to trust that Kate was telling the truth. "The dangerous part comes  when I tell you the rest of the story," she said, and reversed out of the spot.