i would have still followed you-julie and the phantoms one-shots

the devil's apprentice~part 1-caleb covington

summary: basically caleb covington's backstory.

i am very determined to convince you that caleb isn't as bad as you think >:)

Warnings: I do mention death, the devil, and someone being shot (nothing graphic tho) If there are any other warnings I should put, please let me know :)

Also, this is going to be pretty long.

~~~

Febuary 20th, 1934

It was the day of Caleb Covington's biggest show, the show that would change his future forever. If he could pull off one of the biggest tricks he'd ever done, he would go down in history as the greatest magician in Hollywood. If it failed...

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about how it could go wrong. Instead, he should be focusing on how well it would go. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the dressing room door. 

"Mr. Covington? The show will be starting in five minutes."

Adjusting his cape, he strode over to the door, pulling it open. There stood a young boy who looked to be about 11 or 12, wearing the familiar uniform of the Hollywood Jazz Club. Next to the boy stood Caleb's assistant, Walter.

He looked at the two boys expectantly. "Well? How many people are out there? We need a good audience if I am to become Hollywood's greatest magician."

"There's a lot of people, sir. Over 100 if I had to make an estimate," Walter said brusquely.

Caleb nodded approvingly. "Very well. Now, you, boy. Why are you just standing there, don't you have work to do?"

The boy nervously fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeve. "My name's Arthur, sir. I was told to escort you to the stage."

"I don't need to know your name, nor do I need to be escorted to the stage. But seeing as you're already here, you can carry the props I need." He handed the boy a wooden crate filled with chains, a deck of cards, and his signature top hat.

"Is everything ready?" Caleb asked his assistant.

"Everything is ready. And if you need to do a different trick, we can do a different trick." Walter looked like he would be sick at any moment. 

"That won't be necessary. We're doing the original trick." Even though he looked confident, there was an aura of nervousness around him. 

"Are you sure? We can do something much less dangerous-"

"Everything will be fine," Caleb interrupted. "Let's get ready. By this time tomorrow, everyone will know the name Caleb Covington."

Or they might know your name because you died.

He shuddered at the thought.

The next few minutes passed by in a blur. Caleb could only remember walking onto stage and having the sinking feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. 

He walked through his usual routine of amazing the audience with card tricks, making objects disappear, and "reading people's minds". He even wowed the audience by escaping from chains with nothing but a toothpick. (The lock was fake, but nobody needed to know that.) Now it was time for the trick that would either make him a dead man, or make him the greatest magician Hollywood had ever seen. 

He really hoped it was the latter. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, prepare to be amazed as we attempt one of the most dangerous tricks ever to exist. My assistant will fire a bullet at me, and I will attempt to catch it between my teeth. Some magicians attempting this trick use a fake bullet, and fool you. Everything in this trick is real."