Cut!

Take 26 - Stand Up - Part 1

A/N: Please comment as you read. It makes my day.

When I walked into the gym, I didn’t know what I expected. Maybe some equipment or weights. However, it looked like a regular dance-gym. Mirrors lined the walls, and I was reminded of my training with Diana. Gosh, I hadn’t liked her very much back then.

Most of all, it surprised me that there was nothing inside the small room except a flat mattress on the floor where Liam was currently doing push-ups.

“Having fun?” I asked and placed my water bottle on the floor. I’d changed out of my clothes, and into something easier to move in. Harry had insisted that I wore his t-shirt, and after I had complained that I’d be sweating all over it, he promised that I could borrow another one after a shower.

“Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty,” Liam said and then sat up. Looking up at me, he smiled. “Always.”

“Did you just do fifty push-ups?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Fifty crunches and fifty push-ups, yeah.” He laughed and pointed at me. “You need to warm up too. Start running.”

“What?” I frowned.

“You heard me.” He jumped to his feet and ran over to me, jogging on the spot. “Come on, I’ll run with you.”

Following his lead, I began to jog in a comfortable pace. “Why do I need to warm-up? I won’t have time to do that if I have to use self-defense.”

“That’s true,” Liam said. “But you’re not only learning self-defense. You’re also training your body, and if you’ve never done much before, your limbs are going to ache for days.” He laughed. “And I don’t think Harry wants to listen to that.”

“Oy!” I smacked him playfully on the arm. “Be nice to me.”

We ran from one side of the room to the other. After the fifth time, Liam began to jump instead of jogging. It looked absolutely ridiculous, but I played along.

“Are you going to start teaching me anytime soon?” I asked, feeling my heart pound against my ribs.

“First and foremost,” he said. “You need to know that prevention is the best self-defense out there.”

“You want me to wear condoms with me?” I frowned.

He burst out laughing. “Get your head out of the gutter, girl. I meant: the best self-defense is avoiding an attack in the first place. Try to prevent it from happening at all costs.”

“And how do I do that?” I reached out a hand to touch the end-wall before I began to run back.

“By using your logic.” Liam slowed down to my pace. “Attackers generally try to go for unsuspecting or vulnerable targets. Mostly an attacker will try to get you alone. Therefore, remember to always stay near your body-guard and don’t walk in places without light.”

“That makes sense,” I said, panting heavily.

“If possible, keep your keys or a pen in your hand. They can be quite helpful when fending off an attacker—no matter how big and scary he or she might be.”

I laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Finally, he slowed down. “Another great way to prevent yourself from getting attacked is to diffuse the situation. If it’s possible, try to talk the attacker out of getting physical. If it’s money they’re after: give it to them.” He turned to me. “Never play the hero. Remember, no amount of money or personal items is worth risking your life for.”

“I got it,” I said and nodded.

“Good, then.” Liam grinned. “Now to the fun stuff.”

I laughed nervously. Somehow, I didn’t think that he and I had the same concept of fun.

“One of the first things I heard about,” he said. “Was from my own bodyguard. He told us that if all else fails, then get loud and push back. It might not scare off all attackers, but petty thefts—or deranged fans—might be scared off when they realize you’re not an easy target.”

Liam walked over an stopped right in front of me. “If you have to fight, try to aim for weak points on the body.” He pointed on my body with a finger. “The eyes, nose, neck, groin, knee, and legs.” After he had finished, he rolled all the way up again, slowly moving down as he recited every vulnerable body part again.

He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Suppose I was trying to strangle you here,” he said. “Where would you hit me?”

I looked at him. “Your nose, I think.”

Stepping closer, I tried to punch him on the bridge of his nose, but he stopped me easily.

“Never step closer,” he said. “Your primary goal should be to get as far away from me as possible. If you come closer, I have more openings to hurt you.” He stepped back and placed himself in the same position as before. “Try again.”

I bit my lip. “I could try to kick you?” I said.

“Exactly.” He smiled. Leaning down, he tapped my right leg. “See if you kick me on the side of the knee.”

I tried it once for show, and Liam smiled.

“Great,” he said. “If you’re smart about it, you can get enough force behind to rattle my hold on you. Once I’m distracted, you’ll have easier to get away.”

I nodded along eagerly, as Liam explained a bunch of other moves. He told me the pro and cons of hitting with a fist as opposed to flat hand, and he tried to teach me how to put my weight behind everything I did.

It didn’t exactly make me sweat, but it was interesting and with every move I learned, I felt more confident. I also found out the most amazing things about the human physique.

For example, I was surprised at how a simple karate chop could stun a target. According to Liam, it wouldn’t even take that much force if you hit the jugular vein just right. Apparently a lot of nerves were present there, and it could have the desired effect.

“I need a break,” I said after trying to stun Liam for the umpteenth time. He nodded, and I trudged over to my bottle of water.

Liam mirrored me, and we made a silent air-toast to each other. After a lot of chugging the refreshing liquid, I looked at Liam. “What’s next?” I asked.

“Next…” he said. “Next we’re going to try a few basic moves to get out an attacker’s hold.” He grinned. “You up for that?”

A/N: Give it a vote, maybe? I'm still going on here, fifth update: five to go. Who knows if I'll be able to do it? Eep. To be honest, I cheated a bit, I ended up watching an episode of "American Horror Story" >.< But I'm not giving up! I'm doing this. 

Please, do vote. For this, and every other chapter. It really cheers me on.