It was a cold, winter's day in Elmore, California. Christmas had just ended a few days before and everyone around town was winding down from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Lights and decorations were stored away and Christmas specials stopped airing on T.V. Radio stations resumed to their normal playlists. The only thing that remained from the holiday season was the snow, glistening on top of cars, roofs and the ground below. It seemed as if everyone was relieved from all their worries and fears.....

...that is, everyone but Gumball Tristopher Watterson. 

     The blue cat was sprinting across the upstairs hallway and down the stairs towards the kitchen of his house. His fur was messy and he had bags under his eyes, indicting lack of sleep. His adopted brother, Darwin, was having breakfast at the table and Gumball skidded to a halt in front of him. He began to stutter in a panic and banged his hands on the table to get his brother's attention.  

     "Y-you won't believe w-what h-happened last night!!" Gumball managed to say after a few seconds of Darwin staring at him.  He looked as if he was about to have a mental breakdown at any second. 

"Yeah, what?" Darwin said, his eyes returning to the cereal bowl in front of him. 
"W-well, you know that horror movie that just came out?! The one that everyone's talking about these days?!" Gumball asked.
"Yeah?" 
Well, I-I saw the trailer for it last night while I was on Elmore Stream-it, and I-I-I..." Gumball tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. 

"...and you couldn't sleep because of it?"

     Darwin then yelped as Gumball grabbed him by the shoulders, making his spoon fall out of his hand and onto the ground below. Gumball stared deep into his green eyes with his blue, sleep-depriven orbs. "WHY DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE HORROR MOVIES FEATURING DOLLS, MAN?! ALL THEY DO IS GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT UNTIL YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE DEFINITION OF SLEEP IS!!!" Gumball banged his head on the table and began to sob.   

     Darwin raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh...that's kinda the point of horror movies, dude. Also, if you wanna get a good nights sleep, you probably shouldn't be watching videos online at one in the morning." He picked up his spoon from off the ground and carried it to the kitchen sink along with his cereal bowl to rinse it. He then began to rinse them, but stopped as he saw Gumball slowly walking behind him. He was looking around in a panic, as if something would jump out from behind the corner at any second. 

     Darwin couldn't take it any longer and groaned in frustration. He dropped the dishes in the sink and turned towards his brother, his hands on his hips. His hands were still wet from the faucet water, but he didn't care. "Okay, what is wrong with you?! It's just a movie!"
"Y-yeah, but the trailer said it was 'based on true events...'" Gumball argued hesitantly.   

    Darwin pressed his fingers against his nose and closed his eyes. "Gumball, literally every horror movie is 'based on true events!'" He quoted with his fingers. "I mean, seriously? Why can't  film companies come up with something original these days?" Darwin made his way to the stairs, but paused when he saw Gumball trailing behind him. 

"Uh...aren't you gonna have breakfast first?"

"No...I don't think my stomach can handle anything after what I saw last night." 

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     A few minutes later, the boys were in their room. Gumball was lying on his bed, reading a comic book while Darwin was checking out his Elmore Plus account on the computer. Just then, the computer ringed with a notification, making Darwin beam in happiness. 

"Ohh! A message from Carrie!" Darwin chirped in delight. His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, as they always did when he got a message from his girlfriend. 
"Oh, really?" Gumball asked, looking up from his comic book.

"Yeah! And it's..." Darwin's facial expression turned from a happy one into a confused one. "...actually addressed to both of us." 
"What?" Gumball put the book down and ran to Darwin's side. Darwin clicked on the notification and the message popped up on the screen.

"'Hey Guys!'" Gumball read. "'Wondering if you'd like to come over to my house later today and just chat?' UGH!!" Gumball groaned. "If this has anything to do with that movie, then I'm out!" "What makes you think that?" Darwin asked curiously.
"Dude, remember the last time we saw her?"

Darwin's mind flashed back to last week...

They were at a local Starbucks with Carrie a week before. Carrie was babbling about a new movie she had just recently seen...

"...and the owners of the house didn't know what was wrong until it was too late! The spirit ended up taking over everything in the house; smashing mirrors, throwing books, causing chaos everywhere! But the craziest part is..." She leaned towards the two boys, who had horrified looks on their faces.

"...it's all based on a true story!" She finished slowly. 

The two boys gulped simultaneously. 

"Oh, yeah. Right." Darwin said as his mind flashed forward to the present.

"See? That's all she talked about that day, bro." Gumball argued. "So she's bound to talk about it today!" He was about to type a response in the reply box when Darwin stuck out his arm in front of him. 

"Hold on! I'm writing this!" He exclaimed.

"Why?"

"'Cause it's my account and she's my girlfriend!" Darwin retorted. 

"Uh...okay then." Gumball said, taken aback by Darwin's tone. His eyes widened in shock, however, as Darwin typed "Sure! See you there!" with a wink emoji and clicked the send button.

"WHAT THE WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" Gumball shrieked at Darwin.   

Darwin crossed his arms and smiled at his brother with a smug look on his face. 
"Nope, just curious."

"ABOUT WHAT?!"

"Oh, you'll see..." 

"RRRGH!! "Wha?-OW!" Gumball groaned and was about to face palm himself, but lost his balance and fell out of his chair.