The Beast Inside Me

It's my birthday!

     " HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! " Sophie and Lauren screamed waking me up from my deep sleep. I was scared to death, I flew off my bed hitting Lauren hard in the face, (probably my instincts). " like ouch! " Lauren cried as she rubbed her cheek that was now red, " sorry!" I begged her. " What's going on? " I asked in confusion, Sophie and Lauren held boxes in their hands, " Mara, it's the 7th of June, it's your birthday" Sophie explained. " WHAT?!! " I replied, I had no idea, I couldn't believe I forgot my own birthday, it was probably because of all the stuff I had been handling all this time, sometimes I don't even get any sleep, but I was turning 21! I felt amazing! " OMG THANKS! " I yelled as I dove at both of them pulling them into a tight hug, we stayed in the hug for minutes before eventually pulling away. " Well also, we have plans for today" Sophie told me, " plans? " I asked. " Yeah, we're like going to that new restaurant! " Lauren told me, I was getting really excited, I hurried to have a bath and get changed. I was dressed in a purple long sleeve shirt with a round neck along with blue ripped jeans and brown high boots. I really liked my look, I thought it was sexy! Lucky for me my birthday was the same day we were getting a break from school, so I could actually enjoy my birthday. After packing all my stuff and leaving school, we first headed over to my mom's place. I hadn't seen my mom ever since the whole " incident " so I was really eager to see her again. " MOM! " I screamed as I wrapped her in a tight hug immediately she opened the door,  I held on to her a little longer and then finally pulled away. " Oh, hi Lauren, Sophie" my mom said, " hi! " they both replied.
     I wanted to make sure my mom was doing fine so I asked her a lot of questions about how she was feeling, she said she was doing great but she also told me she was having trouble remembering some things from a previous day ( I knew the reason of course ). After spending some time with my mom, we finally left and went on with the plans we had for the day. Lucky for us, my mom gave us some money so we went shopping for a while, then after shopping we got to try out the new restaurant the girls told me about, from reviews I heard the place was really good. We had lunch there, it was really cozy and we had a lot fun talking, also the food was really nice and wasn't too expensive. Then someone walked in, I didn't notice until he came really close, I looked up and stared at him in the eye. It was Jullian, " happy birthday Mara " he said as he handed me a little box, I opened it and saw a cute and probably expensive watch. I screamed in excitement, I jumped off the chair and hugged him tightly as he placed his hands on my hips slightly. " Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I told him, " it's okay Mara " he said with his usual calm tone. Lauren and Sophie just watched, biting their lips and blushing at how cute he was. Jullian really did look cute, his long black hair was now tied up in a sexy bun, I realized I had not introduced Jullian to the girls yet. " Oh, well, this is Jullian, and Jullian that's Lauren and that's Sophie" I said, they all said hi to each other. " Well I'm sorry girls but I'm gonna have to borrow Mara for a while, we have some serious business to take care of " Jullian said with a wink, " WHAT?! " the three of us chorused. " What are you talking about?" I asked him, " remember I told you that you need to train to learn how to use your powers well? Well it's urgent now, I have a feeling something is coming, you have to come with me now " Jullian said. " But, but, it's my birthday. Don't I get a day of or something? " I asked, " Mara,  I'm serious, you need to come now, this isn't a joke " Jullian said as his facial expression changed to a more serious look. " Fine " I said as I had a really long yawn, " well, later girls " I said as I left the restaurant with Jullian, " HEY MARA?! " they both screamed after about a minute when they realised I abandoned the bill with them.
     I finally reached the hideout, Jullian took me to the training chamber. " Alright, I'm ready. You think you can train in that outfit? " Jullian asked, " well, no, I guess " I replied, " well I have to get you something to wear " he said as he left the room. After a few minutes, he returned and handed me some clothes to wear, I went to the back and changed to the outfit. It was a purple gi with a dark blue inner and some nice sneakers. " Now, we're ready " he said and then out of nowhere he charged at me with a kick and knocked me hard in the face, " OWW! " I screamed in pain, " what was that for? " I asked slightly angry, " you have to be alert at all times " he said with a smile, I rolled my eyes. " Mara, please take off your clothes " Jullian asked with a soft smile, " WHAT?! " I asked as my cheeks flushed with redness, " I don't mean it like that Mara, please just do it, I'm not telling you to take everything off okay " Jullian said, " fine " I said. I stripped down to my underwear and just stared at the floor with my cheeks burning up, " Mara, please could you stand upright? " Jullian asked, I did what he asked. Then Jullian began to circle around me studying every single part of my body for a few minutes until he finally came to a halt. " Not bad " Jullian said as he stroked his chin, " WHAT?! " I yelled at him, " oh no Mara, I don't mean it like that " Jullian said as he rubbed the back of his head and his cheeks became slightly pink. There was an awkward silence for a while then he finally broke the silence, " What I meant to say was that your physical condition isn't too bad but it's not good enough. You need to build your physical fitness more, you need to work out more often " he said, " well okay " I responded. " You can put your clothes back on. I guess I'm going to have to teach you a few defensive moves, from studying you I figured you are not very developed both offensively and defensively. So let's proceed now " Jullian said.
     Jullian and I spared for hours nonstop until about 6: 30 pm. By the time we stopped I was out of breath, I had never trained that hard in my entire life. But I also was aware that I had learned a lot of new things, I felt good about myself. " Mara, that time Constantine attacked your mom, you know that form you went into, you think you can do it again? " Jullian asked, I had actually forgotten all about that, " I don't think so " I replied him. " Can you at least try? " he asked, I really didn't know how to do it but well it wouldn't hurt to try right? I tried looking inside of me, trying to find something that could trigger it, I tried and tried for minutes but I found nothing. " I'm sorry, I can't " I told him, " it's okay, I'm sure there's a way you can do it, you're just not ready yet, but don't forget this is a daily routine now, you have to come here everyday " Jullian said, I sighed, " fine " I said as I rolled my eyes. Jullian handed me two dumbbells, " you know, for training at any spare time you have " Jullian explained, I was surprised at how effortlessly I lifted the dumbbells. " Thanks for your help " I told Jullian as I gave him a brief hug, " no problem " he answered, I checked my watch and realized it was already late so I had to get back home to mom fast. " Bye! " I waved as I hurried off.
     As I left the hideout I had a smile on my face for some reason. I asked myself one question, " do I like him? " I mean I knew how cute he was but I didn't know if it was anything serious.  He really cared about me and so did I, and I always blushed when I was around him and so did he. " How would I react if he asked me out? " I also asked myself, my angel conscience told me I should definitely say yes while my demon conscience told me I shouldn't and that he would just end up being like Lance. I had actually really started liking him and I decided that going on a date with him would be great. I really wanted to get Lance out of my mind and move on and I figured Jullian was the only solution to that. And perhaps being with Jullian would be really helpful, he could have actually helped me find the crystals and also make me get stronger so that I could defend myself if I ever got confronted again. Apart from Jullian, another thought in my mind was also the number of crystals I had at the moment. I had three, the one I got after I saved that girl from being violated, the one Lance gave to me and the one that appeared out of nowhere. Jullian and his crew were also with one so that meant there were only four crystals left and I hoped I could get them before Jullian and the crew, or even Constantine. My birthday might not have what I expected it to be but I still had fun either way. I continued walking for a while until I stopped to see someone I sure didn't want to ever see again, and guess who it was, the one and only Lance. " Hi Mara ".