Avery wasn’t exactly sure why she had awoken but the thundering of her heart and cold sweat rolling down her spine made it clear that it wasn’t for any pleasant reason. With quivering hands she covered her face and turned to tuck her head into her knees, slowly trying to ease her labored breaths.

Icy cold air whispered between her lips as she gasped for breath, numb digits pressing tightly against her frozen cheeks. Had she left the window open? There was no way that her room should be as cold as it was. With trembling hands she curled her self tighter into a ball, staring at the shadowed wall next to her and trying to make sense of her sudden panic.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned over to face the open expanse of her room. The cream walls seemed cavernous in the darkness, stretching on for eons as shadows consumed them. Her eyes slowly scanned the dark room, breath catching over shapes in the darkness before rational thought reasoned that it was simply a jacket hung over a chair or a forgotten teddy.

It wasn't until her eyes found a small red light near her desk that her eyes stopped their search. It couldn’t be her computer or TV since she always turned her electronics off before bed. She stared at the foreign light before gasping when it suddenly shifted and moved.

Horrified she watched as the shape, unfurled itself. Shifting and growing taller in the darkness until the red light turned into the eye of a shadowed figure.

Her throat was dry and her eyes welled up in terrified tears as she attempted to make a sound, any sound at all as the long figure began towards her. Soft puffs of air escaped her mouth in place of screams, in place of cries for help as the imposing figure stood in the darkness.

She blinked, wondering if this could just be a dream, all just a dark part of her imagination. It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized that there was, in fact, someone standing in her room.

“You don’t need to be afraid, Avery” His voice was low and calm.

His words only made panic rise within her, yet she couldn’t scream, she couldn’t move. The dim light from the moon shining through the curtains outlines his silhouette. His hands were clasped at his waist in front of him, he wore a dark suit, a pendant with a large black rock dangling from a thick chain in front of his tie. His eyes shone a crimson red in the darkness.

“I know this must be strange for you, but I’m not here to hurt you. I can help you”.

At his sentence, the messages she had received earlier that night had come back to her; ‘I can help you’, ‘I can protect you’, ‘all you would need to do, is make a deal with the devil’.

The shadow man took another step forward, moonlight from the window washing over his face and exposing him, “I’m glad that you have calmed down. I’m Azrael” He states, his hands moving from his waist to his pockets as he relaxes into a comfortable stance, looking at the frightened young girl before him.

Avery couldn't believe what she was seeing. The stranger's dark curls hooded his left eye, the other peaking through a bright crimson red. The sides of his hair were short, displaying the small stretchers in each of his ear lobes. This was the first time Avery was seeing him up close. She hadn't noticed the small metal piercing hooked through the end of his eyebrow from afar, or the small mole that dotted his cheek just below his eye. Nor did she notice how incredibly sharp his jaw was, and how dangerously plush his lips looked.

Avery let out a short breath as her eyes traveled down his body. The tattoos breaching the top of his collar looked like vines that weaved up his neck, disappearing behind his ears. What looked like black flames peeked from the cuffs of his suit. She recognized these features immediately - it was him, the person she had subconscious sketched at lunch. The guy who smiled at her and brought a sense of calm to her horrible day.

Avery immediately felt a rush of calmness come over her. It made no sense at all, having a strange man in her room in the middle of the night yet she was beginning to feel safe. All she could wonder was, who are you?

Perhaps it was the fact that this face felt so familiar to her. He had been her muse, the features that defined him had been replicated from the end of her pencil. Perhaps it was how his voice brought a feeling of comfort, that feeling of pressure that she had felt had evaporated, leaving her a sense of calm.

Avery slowly moves, shifting into a sitting position, her hands clasped at her chest as she felt her heartbeat slowing. “A-Az… a-as in...” She mutters, her eyes glancing at the phone she had left sitting on the bed side table, “But that's...”.

A small smile graced Azrael’s features, although the attempt at a comforting gesture looked more like an amused grin.

“Impossible, yeah. I’ve heard that one before” He chuckled, reaching up to scratch the back of his head as he nonchalantly turns to sit on the end of her bed. He takes a moment to glance around the room - at the desk with sketches pinned to the board above it. At the odd cleanliness.

“The next question they usually have is ‘what do you want?’ or ‘why are you here?’” He sighs and leans himself back on the bed, resting his body weight on his arms. Azrael turns his attention back to Avery, looking over his shoulder. He grinned at her, the same smile that she had seen numerous times that day, “I’m a demon, and I’m here to make a contract with you”.

Avery's nose crinkled at the dark stranger on her bed, confusion washing through her whole body as she inched herself back against the headboard of her bed.

“D-Demon?” she managed to stutter.

Avery found it hard to believe. Every part of her wanted to refuse this, regardless of the bright red eye that seemed to stare right through her.

Azrael pursed his lips, “It does sound pretty fake doesn’t it?” he mused. Avery didn’t say anything, yet the look of pure disbelief was enough of an answer for Azrael.

He sighed, realizing that a simple explanation would not suffice in this situation. “I’m here because you need help. You want help. I can provide that for you - I can make all the bad things disappear” he says, raising his hands in a large, mocking gesture.

Avery leant forward, his words bringing something from within her that she had been longing to feel - hope. “But why… me? Why now?” She objected. She was finding it close to impossible to believe him, but he intrigued her. Despite his demonic claim, Azrael came off charming. Almost like someone trying to sell you a product.

“Mmmm...” He mumbled, "Well I've been watching you…". He lifted himself from the bed, walking towards the desk and shrouding himself in the darkness of the room. "You noticed, didn't you?" He finished, his tone making the question sound more like a statement as his voice echoes from the darkness.

She gave a nod, feeling uneasy now that she couldn't see him on the opposite side of the room. She reached for the lamp, having to shift her attention for a second as she searched for the button to turn the light on.

As her attention moved back across the room she was surprised to see him now standing only inches away from her by the side of the bed. She flung herself backwards on the bed, scurrying back to create a little distance between them. How did he get there?!

At this reaction, a small chuckle escaped Azrael’s lips. Slowly, he opened the book he had stolen from her desk and held it out to her, showing her the numerous sketches she had made of him. "You were even kind enough to draw me a self-portrait it seems…" he smirked knowingly. Without hesitation, Avery snatched the book from Azrael's hands and gripped it to her chest tightly.

For a second Azrael looked surprised, he hadn't expected such a strong reaction from her, but his expression quickly returned to a calm smile. "I guess I thought perhaps you could use me..." he continued, "I know what they do to you, what they say to you…".

Avery thought about this for a moment, quickly realizing that he was right. She could use him. Not just him but anyone. Anyone who could ease the pain - a friend. That's all I want… the thought swirled within her.

"Then I can be that for you…" Azrael interrupts, answering her internal plea for someone, anyone. "I can stop them from coming near you, protect you. I can stop the disgusting, sexual gestures from the scum of your school. I can give you anything you want - happiness, money, power".

Avery didn't know what to say. Azrael once again took a seat on her bed, this time much closer to the blonde, yet she didn’t cower. He can stop it all? The thought alone caused her eyes to well up with tears. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing, his words of hope capturing her completely.

Avery tried to hold tears back as she thought about not being scared to go to school anymore. How she wouldn't be worried about all of the bullies, all of the perverts, of Paige. "How?" She whispered, the question seemed to curl around them as she stared into his eye.

"I'm a demon, Avery" he reminded her, his lips curling into a cheshire smile as his eyes softened looking into her glistening eyes. Avery was so captivated by his seductive speech that the mention of his demonic disposition didn't seem to faze her.

Azrael's smile slowly faded as a look of contrition crossed his features, “But, of course, it will cost you,” he explained. At this statement, Avery felt a pang of resignation in her chest. Of course, there is a catch.

She glanced down at her bed contemplating what it could possibly be. She couldn't help but let her thoughts take her back to the cliche of movies and books. My soul?

Azrael laughed, this time much louder than earlier, “No, it’s not your soul” he corrected. Avery clenched her fists, wondering how he kept managing to answer her thoughts. Azrael gives her a reassuring smile as he took a deep breath,

“Time”.

The confused expression that Azrael had become well acquainted with reappeared on the blonde’s face. Azrael bit his lower lip, rolling the plush skin between his teeth as he contemplated how he should explain.

“Time that you spend with me will be taken from your life, and added to mine" he began, "Tasks that you ask me to perform will cost even more time… though, not to worry, I will not ask for too much...”.

The thought of her lifetime being stripped away by a demon did not have a comforting tone at all and Avery felt the sensation of anxiety begin to coil around her. She felt foolish for thinking there was some kind of hope - hope that a 'demon' could save her.

Sensing that she was beginning to close herself off, Azrael mustered a small, yet genuine smile, making sure to lock eye contact with the mortal before he spoke. "Avery…" he soothed, his seductively charming voice catching her in a trance, "Just imagine a life where you are happy. Where you are not scared to wake up each morning and return to the hell that you live in. In exchange for that happiness, all I ask for is a little bit of your time. If you only need me for a year - you will only lose one year of your life. But you will gain many more with happiness”

These words felt like silk gently brushing against her skin. One year of her life for a lifetime of happiness - when it was put that way Avery couldn’t help but at least consider the proposal. She clenched her fists, and let herself get lost in the dream of waking up unafraid of what the day would have in store for her, of chatting with friends and holding a conversation with Ethan without fear.

Recognizing the look of reverie in Avery's eyes, Azrael grinned. “I’ll let you think it over” He suggested, bringing himself to his feet. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out an envelope, “This is my contract. Read it. '' He let the envelope fall onto the bed in front of Avery, "I look forward to working for you" a pleased look settled on his face as a cool breeze blew through her, and just as he had appeared, he vanished.