sup. changing the writing style of this book cuz that's how all of my other books are so yeah lol and you can thank @mutantkid123 for the idea!

it's nearing two in the morning and josh has yet to sleep. you're probably wondering why.

you see, josh has been having nightmares. no, not just nightmares, night terrors.

it all starts out as a nightmare. the same one over and over again, every single night. josh sits in his bedroom, watching the television, minding his own business. the lights will flicker, followed by the volume on the television turning all the way up on its own.

he'll try to turn down the volume, but it never works. the second his finger touches the volume button, the lights shut off completely. it distracts him, and when he looks back at the remote, it seems as if it's a foreign object. he can't read anything on it, can't find anything that looks remotely like a volume button.

then the laughing starts. it starts inside of the television, whatever show is playing changing into a completely white screen. the little giggles work their way from the television into josh's head. they come from inside him, echoing in his ears and ricocheting back out. he always clamps his hands over his ears, hoping the action will help drown out the giggles. it never works.

it gets worse. the high-pitched giggles turn into dark laughter, the deep voice resonating within him. he shuts his eyes and cries. he's paralyzed with fear, all he can do is cry and yell and hope for it to stop. when he opens his eyes, it does. well... somewhat.

every time josh opens his eyes, he's laying in bed. he's awake, except he's not. he can see and hear clearly, but can't move nor speak. a heavy weight grows in his chest while a dark figure grows at the end of his bed. his mouth will open, but no sound will come out. he tries to scream, hopeful his neighbors will hear his cries and come to the rescue. that never happens.

his eyes grow wide, unable to look away as the figure transforms. an apparition of a boy climbs over the foot of his bed, crawls towards him, and sits on his chest. the features of his face are hazy, not clear enough for josh to make any distinctions. the only thing he can clearly make out is the eyes. those dark, dark eyes. the deep pools of utter black staring at him, piercing his soul.

josh shakes the thought away, downing the rest of his red bull. this will be the second night in a row with no sleep. he tells himself that it's fine, he's fine, but deep down he knows he's lying to himself.

weird things have been happening ever since he moved into this place. small, subtle things josh otherwise would've never noticed if not for the frequency of such events. lights turned on when they should be off, doors locked when they shouldn't be, misplacing objects like his keys or phone, only to find them in very random places.

josh also has been noticing a change in his mood. he can be completely fine one second, then go on a rampage the next. he frequently has bouts of anger or sadness, something he's never experienced before. all of his friends tell him it's his new house, that there's something wrong with it. he wants to doubt that but isn't so sure anymore.

he sighs, running his hand through the blue hair that hasn't been brushed in two days. hell, he hasn't even left his house in the past two days. he knows he should, but for some reason he just doesn't want to leave.

josh is currently in the living room watching television, buzzed off of the three red bulls he's had in the past hour. he's afraid of going into his bedroom. he's been hearing noises coming from there for the past four hours: shuffling, footsteps, knocks, bangs. he absolutely refuses to investigate.

"i'm getting pretty tired, cartman," kyle says, josh watching his favorite show.

"don't be a bitch, kyle," eric responds.

josh smiles, slouching down so he can rest his head on the back of the couch.

"don't you think it's time for bed, dude?" kyle asks. "it's almost two in the morning."

josh sits up a little straighter, his eyes glancing to the clock on the wall. it's 1:53.

hell no. he grabs the remote, quickly pressing the power button. the television, however, doesn't shut off. it starts to get louder.

"i really think we should go to sleep," the cartoon character says, his voice becoming louder with each word.

"stop, stop, stop," josh whispers, chills covering every inch of his body. "what the fuck?"

he tries to lower the volume, it doesn't work. he tries to shut off the television, it doesn't work.

"you're fucking joking," josh chuckles, tossing the remote aside and letting the television do its own thing. "it's only been two days without sleep, how the hell am i hallucinating already?"

suddenly, the television shuts off. the black screen mirroring josh's reflection. he stares at himself, wondering what the hell he's supposed to do now. he's terrified. he doesn't want to move, doesn't want to blink, doesn't even want to think.

he squints into the black screen, swearing to god he can see someone standing behind him. whipping around so fast he nearly gives himself whiplash, josh finds nobody behind him. he turns back around, rolling his eyes at himself for being idiotic. his eyes immediately land on the television, once again seeing the figure. this time it's closer.

josh's eyes widen, every single hair on his body standing on end. "go away," he says. "leave me the hell alone."

nothing happens. the reflection in the television doesn't shift even in the slightest. josh is certain he's about to break down in tears. his house is fucking haunted, isn't that great? he's got some type of ghost that loves to fuck with him and scare him shitless. how fun.

as terrifying as it his, he forces his eyes to look away from the screen. he spots his phone on the coffee table, then looks back up. josh lets out a pathetic scream upon seeing the figure standing directly behind him, hovering over. in one swift motion, he grabs his phone and darts down the hallway.

for some reason, josh decides the most logical place to lock himself is inside of the bathroom. it's a small room. he feels a bit safer in there, like he won't be snuck up on. he locks the door, doubting it will stop the ghost from entering but doing it anyway.

the overhead light shines on his face as he stares into the mirror. he looks awful: hair ratty and messy, dark bags beneath his eyes, face a bit thinner than usual.

"what the fuck," he whispers, unlocking his phone.

he doesn't exactly know who to call. the police? the god damn ghost busters? a little giggle from outside the door turns his blood cold.

"shut the fuck up!" he yells, not exactly sure why he's yelling into thin air. it's probably only going to piss the thing off more. the bathroom light flickers once.

"hell no," josh mutters, turning his flashlight on just as the lights turn off completely. he flicks the light switch multiple times but nothing happens. "shit."

so, this is how he's going to die, huh?

the giggle comes from directly beside him now. josh spins around, facing the mirror. the face looking back at him is not his own. a boy with jet black hair and long horns protruding from either side of his head stares back at him. a smile that covers half of the boy's face reveals his dagger-like teeth. those eyes... if it's even possible, the amount of goosebumps on josh's body multiply.

he tries to gasp, shout, speak, anything, but he can't. he's literally speechless, staring into those deep pools of black.

"hello joshua," the thing grins, voice deep and certainly sinister.

finally, the boy shrieks.

that same giggle from before returns. josh watches in horror as the boy's horns shrink, his smile grows smaller and smaller until the sharp teeth look almost normal, and his all-black eyes roll back into his head. the thing blinks, and when it's eyes open it looks almost human. well, aside from the red irises.

"that was cute," it says, his voice sounding rather normal.

"who the fuck are you!?" josh yells, shining his flashlight at the mirror.

"hey, hey, no need to be so aggressive. i formally go by gaap, but you can just call me tyler."

"um..."

"they sound nothing alike, right? i think so too, but my dad doesn't give a shit," the thing, tyler, rambles on. josh is utterly confused, and still completely terrified.

"what do you want from me?" josh asks quietly.

"honestly? nothing. i just think it's fun to fuck with you. you're so cute," tyler giggles.

"what the fuck," josh mumbles. did this demon thing just call him cute?

"okay, okay. i'll explain. to put it simply, i'm the prince of hell. so my dad is-"

"the fucking devil?"

"he prefers to be called lucifer, but i guess that term works too," tyler smiles, those little sharp teeth peaking past his lips.

"i control love and hatred. kinda contradicting, right? i know, but my dad doesn't care. he thinks it's hilarious." he rolls his eyes, then continues his little rant. "anyway, some woman conjured me to this house one time to make her more appealing to this one guy. to make a long story short, he fell in love with her but then ended up slaughtering her. that was not my fault..."

josh's mouth is hung open. this must all be a dream, right? just another nightmare, probably.

"oh no, dear, this is real life," the demon giggles. "anywho, this place was abandoned before you moved in and now that you're here i just can't help myself. i am the inciter of love after all," he says, winking.

"if your definition of love means relentlessly scaring the shit out of someone so bad that they're afraid to go to sleep at night, then yeah," josh retorts.

"a bit snappy, are we, joshua? sorry, that's my bad. for some reason i have that effect on people. anyway, it's fun to scare you. i would never hurt you, dear joshua, never. i just like seeing you paralyzed with fear," tyler says, smiling as if what he's saying is completely normal.

"ah, right, makes total sense."

the boy rolls his eyes. "i miss watching you sleep, joshua. i love sitting on your chest and looking deep into those pretty brown eyes of yours..."

"oh my god?" josh responds. "dude, you are coming off so strong."

tyler giggles. "my bad, i can't help it. would you rather me hate you?"

"i'd rather you just leave me alone, if i'm going to be honest. i haven't slept in two full days because of you. do you know how tired i am?"

"hey, i tried to convince you to go to sleep. wasn't that so cool, manipulating that show like that?" tyler smiles, proud of himself. "i just recently learned how to do that."

"yeah, cool," josh replies. "can you at least turn the goddamn lights on, dude?"

"oh, sure," tyler smiles. he glances at the light switch, the lights turning on only a second after. "you're welcome."

"why are you so..."

"nice? bubbly? hyper?" he laughs. "i'm usually not, trust me. i can't help it right now, i'm in love."

"okay, again with coming off too strong," josh shakes his head, holding up a hand. "and can you get out of the goddamn mirror?"

"anything for you, joshua," he winks.

he's gone in the blink of an eye. josh looks around him, confused. where the hell did he go? a knock from outside of the bathroom startles him. he opens the door, finding a very short boy standing before him. like, way shorter than josh imagined.

"why are you so tiny?"

"shut the hell up," tyler scowls. "you like short boys, that's why."

"who ever said i like boys?"

"you aren't fooling anyone, honey," tyler giggles.

josh just rolls his eyes, leading the boy back into the living room because he feels like he's going to faint if he doesn't sit down. he's a bit overwhelmed, obviously, but also weirdly comfortable. it feels as if he's known tyler for months.

"hey, joshua?"

"what?"

"you haven't kissed anybody before. wouldn't it be cool to have your first kiss with a demon?" tyler smiles, joining the taller on the couch.

"what?"

"just kidding! unless..."

"dude, you are weird. i'm not interested, sorry."

"then why haven't you told me to leave yet?" tyler pesters, placing his hands on josh's thigh as he leans in close. "you would've told me to leave you alone."

"i'm pretty sure i have, like, several times," josh argues, nervously glancing at the boy's hands. "can you get off of me?"

"you can't hide anything from me, joshua. we both know you don't actually want that. you haven't had anybody touch you like this before, so close to where you long to be touched..."

josh makes some sort of nervous noise, a mix between a chuckle and a whine. "shut up. you're annoying."

tyler only giggles. "you're cute, joshua. mind if i visit you like this more often?"

"as long as it means i can sleep without you terrifying me, then fine."

"okay," tyler grins. "you realize what just happened, right?"

"huh?"

"you just made a deal with the devil's son."