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The other kids at school talked about a place in the desert. If you went on the night of the full moon and took an offering, something important to you, you'd meet a demon.
It sounded scary. Not like something he wanted to do. But it was intriguing.
They said that if you closed your eyes and spun in a circle three times counter-clockwise the demon would meet you in the desert to hear your wish.
It was a legend that every Hollywood star that ever made their break in the golden age, every LA musician and model had once started off by trading their soul to a demon in the desert.
Johnny didn't think much of it until his mother lost her job and stayed up late in their apartment trying to figure out how to pay the bills.
He rode his bike out the desert with his favorite toy on the next full moon, spinning three times counterclockwise. Eyes squeezed shut.
They said if you didn't want to lose your soul you couldn't open your eyes.
The voice was like honey as it asked him what his wish was, as it gently took the toy from his hands. For his mother to not have to worry about money ever again.
No one had mentioned that you had to be careful about what you wished for. No one had mentioned you needed to be exact.
His mother met Sid Wienburg, they married. Johnny moved into the Hills.
It seemed like a perfectly fulfilled wish. But he hadn't wished for them to be happy. And they weren't. Money wasn't a problem.
But nothing Johnny did made Sid happy. Nothing Johnny did made him friends.
He tried everything.
Almost everything.
So he took one of his favorite cassettes back into the desert on his bike trying to think of how to word his wish.
Something to keep him safe from Sid, to help him make friends.
He wondered if there was a limit to how often you could go to make wishes.
No one had ever told him that either.
He didn't even know if he'd meet the same demon.
Maybe this one wouldn't take his cassette, wouldn't like it.
Did demons even listen to music?
They had to right?
That was the go-to cliche trade, right? To learn to be as good as a demon on a musical instrument.
Johnny spun again in the desert with his eyes shut.
"It's been a while, are you unhappy again? Did you not like your gift? A castle fit for a prince, or I guess what would be considered enough of one for LA. What do you wish for this time?"
"I don't know if this is enough," Johnny said holding out the cassette. It seemed small for such a big ask. "But I want to make friends and for Sid to leave me alone?"
The cassette left his hands. He could hear the creature walking around him. Humming thoughtfully.
"You asked a question. Wishes are statements."
"I wish to make friends and for Sid to leave me alone," Johnny said.
Last time it'd been easy to keep his eyes shut. He'd been terrified. He was still scared, but this time he was curious. The voice sounded close to his ears, the footsteps light.
Johnny wondered briefly if demons could be friends with people. Would it be that easy? Could he ask the demon to be his friend?
It sounded like a boy.
"Could you be my friend?" he asked.
The demon stopped its pacing, stopped circling.
Maybe demons couldn't.
"I-Ma wouldn't be happy. Hell, I'm not supposed to be the one doing this. But I thought it'd be good practice. Tomorrow while you're biking you'll stop somewhere because you hear a bunch of people yelling. It's not scary. It's cool. Go in there. Now count to a hundred."
Johnny hadn't realized last time that demons sounded like they were from New Jersey. But he started counting.
Johnny stopped biking downtown when he heard yells. A building called Cobra Kai where kids were learning karate.
He met Kreese and he made friends; Bobby, Dutch, Tommy, and Jimmy.
He was happy.
He worked hard with them.
Competed in tournaments and Sid didn't leave him alone completely but he wasn't as bad.
Things were good.
He was great at it.
He got strong.
He met Ali, they dated, they had fun, then they broke up.
Johnny got drunk and returned to the dessert with a six-pack of beer in his hands.
He spun in a circle, wobbly collapsing on the ground.
"Wow you're drunk," the voice said.
Johnny kept his eyes shut and held up the bottle.
Warm hands took it from him.
It sent a shiver down his spine.
"So what happened this time?" he heard the voice say. "Thought things were going well. I mean look at you."
"Girlfriend broke up with me."
"Hmm."
He heard the demon sitting down, shifting in the sand, and felt a back lean against his. "If you don't turn your head you can open your eyes."
Johnny opened his eyes.
The desert was cold at night and he shivered.
The beer bottle was passed back to him and he took it, trying not to look at the hand.
Johnny told him about Cobra Kai, school, meeting Ali, and how fun it all was.
Then it was over and she wasn't talking to him and he didn't know what to do.
So he was doing one thing he knew how to do.
"Bit young to be drinking don't you think?"
"No one cards me."
"Right. So what you're saying is you're unhappy."
"Yeah," Johnny said taking a swig.
"Someone did tell you I'm a demon right? Not like a guardian angel or like a nice genie right? The goal is to take the wishes you ask for and look for loopholes so I give you what you want but not what you want."
"But you did," Johnny protested.
"No, I didn't."
"You did too! I got friends and a best friend and I like karate and I'm good at it."
The demon sighed. "But he's not a good teacher."
"Kreese is! He believes in me and-"
Something wrapped around his arm, a tail.
A demon tail.
"He isn't. Now pass back the beer."
Johnny stared at the tail, numbly passing back the beer.
"It's a mixed win. We're not even supposed to do those. Ma's going to be so pissed at me. And my sensei."
"You have a sensei too?"
"Yeah. He's great at cryptic. I'm shit at cryptic."
"I'm sure you're fine at cryptic."
"You know those astrological forecasts they put in the newspaper or magazines?"
"Yeah?"
"How they're vague?"
"Yeah."
"That's how I'm supposed to be. But I can't stop talking. So I end up just giving you everything you wanted, all easy hits."
"Well I appreciate it," Johnny said, frowning and confused because the pointed bit of the tail fit in his palm and it was distracting because he wanted to touch it.
He did.
The demon on the other side of him shivered, he felt it against his back, the tail flicked out of his grip.
"You're not supposed to though. Like I fucked up last time. I should've said Run towards the screaming you hear tomorrow. I've been kicking myself for that one for- how longs it been?"
"Five years?"
"Yeah, five years."
"You didn't give me that the first time I came here."
"No, because I was too young. I didn't know what I was doing. I mean that worked out well too right?"
"Not quite," Johnny said with a frown.
"You get to live in a mansion in the Hills with all these riches. You didn't want your mom to worry about money anymore. Do you know how vague that wish was? How much a better, older, demon would've twisted that?"
"Mom's not happy though," Johnny said softly.
The demon heaved a deep sigh.
"You didn't wish for happy though. I was working with what I had. I turned you practically into Cinderella! I was only a kid demon! Do you realize what you would've gotten if someone else had answered your call instead?"
Johnny shuddered to open the next beer.
"Thank you," he said after a while.
"Thank you?! Oh, Ma's going to yell at me for sure now. You don't thank a demon you- what even is your name?"
"Johnny."
"See! You're not supposed to give me your name either!"
"Why not?"
The demon sighed. "I'm a failure. Absolute worst demon on this planet."
"I doubt that. You put Sid in my life," Johnny said holding up his beer in a lazy wave.
"But Sid is rich."
"And he's an asshole."
"Picky!"
"You're the one complaining that you're too good. And me saying you gave me an asshole step-father doesn't make you feel better? Surely that makes you feel better."
The demon's tail flicked around, agitated.
"Not happy about that one."
It sounded like the demon was pouting.
"But isn't it...I don't know your bread and butter?"
The tale smacked Johnny in the face and he grabbed it. It slipped out of his grip easily and sat in the sand, shifting around.
"I have standards! When I set that up I thought it'd be like the fairy tales humans tell sometimes. I didn't think he'd be a dick."
Johnny laughed into his beer taking another swig.
A hand smacked his shoulder.
He sighed passing the beer over.
"Sounds like you kind of suck at being a demon."
"Shut up."
Johnny laughed. "Or your so good at being a demon that when you don't mean to you make demony choices."
"Demony isn't a word," the demon said and sighed. "But fine, yeah. I was too nice last time too."
"Why?"
The demon mumbled something and Johnny nearly turned around to ask him what, to have him repeat himself.
It sounded suspicious like Demons don't have friends.
It'd sounded sad.
"Do you like being a demon?" Johnny asked as the tip of the tail found its way back to his palm.
"Do you like being a human?" the demon countered.
"It's lonely," Johnny said. "And hard."
He thought of his friends.
"But it can be nice. Sometimes."
"Yeah," the demon said.
They passed the beer back and forth a couple more times, slowly finishing the six-pack together.
"So whaddaya want?" the demon asked.
"Mmm forgot."
"Was something. You were upset....crying?"
"Wasn't crying."
"Mmm ah! I remember! Girl!"
Ali.
Right.
He'd forgotten about her.
"Nah," Johnny said waving his hand in front of his face. "She's...cool."
If he'd forgotten all about her then it wasn't worth it.
He hadn't brought anything to trade anyway.
He had just wanted someone to commiserate with.
"Cool?"
"Not worried."
"You or...her?"
"Me."
"'m lost."
Johnny laughed.
"Me too."
"So whydya come?"
"Lonely."
"Have friends."
"Yeah."
"No wish can't help," the demon said sounding confused.
"Mmm and outta beer."
"No," the demon whined.
"Could bring more, hmmm next month," Johnny said.
"Yessssss," It came out as a hiss. "Remember wish, bring beer, come back."
Johnny smiled, the demon sounded excited.
It sounded like fun.
It'd be like meeting an old friend.
His oldest friend.
He closed his eyes and counted to 100.
Then heard a shout from a distance.
"Nope! Count to 500!"
Johnny laughed laying down in the sand counting to 500.
The next month he returned to the dessert with a cooler in his hands.
He set it down, opened the cooler, opened a beer, and spun, eyes shut, three times counterclockwise.
"You kept your promise, Johnny."
He could feel breath on the back of his neck.
He held out the beer to the demon.
A warm hand covered his and slowly took the beer from him.
"I did."
"Think of a wish?"
He'd wracked his brain for a wish all month long, dreaming about a New Jersey voice.
"Can I see you?"
The demon laughed, it came off awkward, like someone who'd been caught in a lie.
"Wh-why'd you want to do that?"
"It's what I wish," Johnny said.
"Is that what all the beer is for?"
"For us to drink, but I'd like to see you this time," Johnny said. "Maybe a name?"
The demon laughed again, it came off a little panicked and Johnny heard him pacing.
He was mumbling to himself about his Ma and his sensei. Some Miyagi.
"Okay," the demon said.
"Okay?" Johnny said, heart pounding in his chest.
He'd spent all month thinking about the demon, wondering what this old friend of his looked like, this demon who seemed to be so bad at his job that he helped Johnny.
That he cared. If demons cared.
Maybe he was putting too much into it.
Johnny opened his eyes.
An olive-skinned boy with dark hair and big brown eyes looked at him. He had horns but they were barely noticeable, no bat wings, and there was that tail that had smacked him in the face last time.
Johnny's heart skipped a beat.
He was the prettiest guy he'd ever seen.
He looked nervous and then suddenly, that nervous look was gone and he was up close, hands-on either side of Johnny's face.
"Your eyes are blue!"
"Y-yeah," Johnny said.
He kept looking at the demon's lips.
This wasn't what he was expecting but was also everything he'd expected.
He wanted to kiss him.
"Daniel."
"Huh?" Johnny asked feeling dazed.
"My name."
Johnny had a million questions now.
"Do you have to stay here? Do I have to only see you once a month? Can I see you more? Does it have to be at night?"
"Woah," Daniel said stepping back. "That's a lot of questions."
He looked thoughtful taking the beer from his tail and taking a sip looking at Johnny. Studying him for a moment leaning forward.
"Demons don't give answers for nothing."
"I brought beer," Johnny said. "Lots of beer."
"Yes," Daniel said looking at the cooler, tail flicking it open and looking in and shutting it again. "That's for my name and seeing me."
"I don't have anything else."
"You have a lot," Daniel said stepping close, his beer sitting down on the cooler.
"Like what?"
"We could make a deal."
"A deal?"
"It's common with musicians."
"You mean my soul?"
"Mmm, tempting. Do you realize how lucky you are that I'm the demon you always meet?"
Johnny shivered. "Yeah."
Daniel grinned. "You seem to want to see me more."
"I-uh-yeah."
"It's a possibility," Daniel said, "But it requires a deal."
"How?"
"I'll meet you at 7 pm. Take me somewhere fun. It'll be a date. Sound good?"
"Yeah, is that the exchange? You can leave here then?"
"No, demons don't just work in trades like we've been doing, with stuff. Not just souls, but we also do deals sealed with a kiss."
Johnny leaned down and Daniel covered his mouth with his hand.
"I thought," Johnny said it came off muffled.
Daniel grinned. "I like you, which is the only reason I'm telling you this. It's going to sting."
"Sting?"
"You'll see," Daniel said letting go and kissing him.
Johnny didn't know what Daniel was talking about until their tongues met and it stung. Like a citrus fruit on a cut. It burned.
He tasted like chocolate and beer and when he pulled away Johnny felt a little dizzy, but in a pleasant way.
Sometimes kids would talk about the demon living in Reseda. Who on any night but on a full moon could be found arm in arm with tall blonde. A demon who would stop and chat, selling something though you never knew exactly what you'd bought or lost, caught up in the whirlwind of conversation until the blonde began to pull away.
Often they could be found out at cafes, restaurants, the local Golf 'n Stuff, quiet dates with quiet good-natured arguing.
But it's said if you have a wish now you don't have to go into the desert.
Now you just have to happen upon the demon on his date and hope he's willing to take the time to make a trade.