Leif and his girlfriend Lara have been going steady for almost a year now. The college couple met at the gym, where the two bonded over a mutual like for exercising and fitness. Both freshmen in college, the two were the same age and were both born in July too. However, apart from those few similarities, the two couldn't be any more different.
Leif was a strapping young man, lean and fit with respectable muscles developed through consistent exercise, but he was no bodybuilder - in fact, he had no desire to push his limits or build bulk beyond what he had already obtained. Leif was satisfied with his strength and toned body, and enjoyed maintaining his health through regular exercise; he had no desire to "go hard" or become a gym rat like some of his friends at the gym. Leif would do a few sets with his gym bros from time to time, but those guys were animals who eat and slept in the gym. Leif preferred to spend his leisure time playing video games with his friends online - his athletic look was just a facade for his inner nerd. Leif stepped out of the gym locker rooms, wearing a tank top which fitted his frame nicely, accenting his arm muscles and displaying his hairy chest to the world. He didn't change out of his gym shorts, which were shorter than average but did a good job at displaying Leif's strong calves. Leif was built like a swimmer - strong and lean, not too bulky. He was proud of his physique and no in a hurry to change up his lifestyle. He had a hot girlfriend, a hot body, and fun times gaming with his less athletic friends.
On the other hand, Lara was deeply motivated to make herself as strong as possible. Being a young, frail girl as a child left Lara with some insecurities as she entered high school. To overcome this, Lara started working out; this exercise was more than cardio and conditioning, Lara was powerlifting. Lara loved to push herself to the limit and reveled in increasing her strength further. She would get bummed when she wasn't working out. After she and Leif met and the two of them synchronized their workout routines, Lara began hanging out and interacting with Leif's gym rat friends more than he did. Recently, Lara had been staying longer at the gym, opting to work out for as long as 3-4 hours where Leif would never workout for no longer than 2 hours at a time. Lara was very well built with muscles, but it was not obvious from a glance. Lara has always complained to Leif about her feminine "disadvantage". She would regularly vent her frustrations that Leif was "wasting his assets" by not lifting more and that the two of them should have been born the opposite sex. Leif always shrugged it off, Lara was a very competitive person and would compare her performance to others all the time.
Each night, the two would go the campus recreation center to workout after classes. Tonight was different however, because Lara (of all people) wanted to visit a psychic (of all things). Leif was utterly confused, Lara was *voluntarily* cancelling one of their workouts (the last time it happened was 2 years ago when Lara was hospitalized for severe food poisoning). On top of this, she was never the superstitious person and didn't believe in ghost stories or religion much at all. This was a complete change of heart for Lara, but Leif went along with it - to be honest, these last few workouts with Lara had been extra difficult and Leif was secretly happy for a cheat day. The two drove almost 30 minutes into the boondocks adjacent to campus. After following an empty dirt road, the two come across a dimly lit cabin-house. Lara points to the house and tells Leif to stop here.
Stepping out of the car, Leif looks at the dilapidated house. It's clear someone lives there, but Leif is surprised someone chooses to live here this far isolated from civilization. Moreso, who is this person and how/why does Lara want to cancel a workout to visit them? Leif looks up at the moon, realizing tonight is a blood moon. "Neat" Leif thinks to himself as Lara passes by him without pause to enter the house. Noticing his girlfriend is heading up to the front door, Leif follows her only to be stopped by Lara.
"Stay here for now." Lara commands, putting up an arm to hold Leif back. Despite Lara's devotion to exercise, she was still standing at 5 foot 4 and weighed barely over 110 pounds. She was still strong, but compared to an average male like Leif, her strength was childlike even compared to Leif's lean muscles. Lara secretly hated how small and weak she was, cursing the fact she was a woman and not a man. Leif was aware of this insecurity of hers but thought Lara had it under control. Leif figured this visit might be related to that, and decided to support Lara.
"Okay" Leif replied.
"I'll be out in a bit" Lara said as she opened the door and let herself inside.
As much as Leif wanted to follow his girlfriend into this random house, he trusted her and waited outside. Leif was lost in thoughts, racking his mind as to why Lara wanted to go here. She clearly must know whoever is inside because she didn't even bother knocking on the front door. Is this related to their birthdays? Is she planning on proposing!? What if this is some sort of demonic cult and theyre ---
The front door cracked open and Lara peeked her head out. Leif could see she was now wearing robes or some garment but the dim lighting made it hard. "Give me your hand" Lara said as she extended a hand out from the door.
Leif put out his hand, which Lara promptly grabbed and then poked with a fine needle-like object. Leif recoiled at the sudden sting of pain and pulled his arm out from Lara's grip. Looking down at his finger, Leif saw a pin-prick of blood welling up before hearing Lara's voice again.
"Wait here" She commanded again, and promptly closed the door. Leif looked down and nursed his finger - that hurt! Is she a part of some sort of diabetic witch cult and they want to make sure his blood is sweet enough or something? Leif only became more and more confused as he waited outside. After waiting another minute, Leif hears the door handle move as the door cracks open yet again. Once again, it's Lara; she extends her hand out with a small cup. "Drink this" She commands, she still won't step outside.
"Honey is everything okay?" Leif asks, starting to become nervous, but Lara ignores him and repeats "Drink this".
Leif looks at the cup, filled with what looks like wine. He tries to smell it, but Lara continues to insist he drinks it. Getting a bit impatient with his gig, Leif just takes the cup and drinks it. After taking the cup and putting it to his lips, Leif hears the door shut again. The liquid tastes like wine, but it doesn't quite taste like wine at the same time.
Finishing the drink, Lara steps out from the cabin once more, this time in gym clothes and says "let's go workout now". As she walks straight to the car and gets inside. Leif, taken aback by this, follows her and gets into the car before the two drive off from the cabin.
Stunned by the silence from Lara, Leif tries to break the ice. "So what was that all about Lara? Also, are you sure you want to workout, we're going to be an hour late driving back from here."
"Don't worry about it" She replies. She is clearly distracted by something, Leif can see her glancing down and looking at herself and Leif.
Deep down, Leif was concerned for Lara, but the fact that Lara still wanted to work out somehow put Leif at ease.
The two drove to the gym, but a strange sensation was brewing in both of them...