The light from Jessica Martinez’s phone lit up her face with a cold blue glow. She rolled her green eyes at the silly horror movie showing on her laptop, another story about an “innocent girl meeting a mysterious stranger online.”

“Seriously?” she muttered, pausing the movie. “Girl, you deserve whatever’s coming if you’re that stupid.”

But irony had its own sense of humor, as just then, a notification appeared on her phone. It was a message from someone named Sky on Friendsbook.

Jessica looked over at her bedroom door. Down the hall, she could hear Sean’s game blasting through his headset…some zombie apocalypse game and Scott's deeper voice telling him to “turn that noise down.” Mom wouldn’t be back from her double shift until 3 AM.

She turned her attention back to the message.

*Sky: I saw your post about “The Haunting of Blackmoor Manor.” Finally, someone who appreciates good horror.*

Jessica blinked in surprise. She had shared about that unusual book months earlier and received absolutely no replies. Curiously, she clicked on his profile.

Wow.

Sky was… stunning. Unbelievably stunning. He had deep blue eyes, jet-black hair that stylishly fell over his forehead, and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass. The kind of perfect that made Jessica feel suspicious right away.

“Okay, catfish alert,” she muttered to herself but continued scrolling.

His bio was straightforward: *“Poetry, philosophy, and the beauty in dark things.”*

She chuckled. “So full of himself.”

However, as she began reading his messages, her feelings changed. He wasn’t like the boys at school who sent terrible pickup lines and inappropriate pictures. Sky actually… listened. He asked her about her dreams, her fears, and her favorite books. He even knew some really obscure horror novels that she had never heard anyone mention before.

*Jessica: Most guys my age think horror is just gore and jump scares.*

*Sky: But you know it’s about the darkness we all carry inside us, right? The things we’re afraid to confront about ourselves.*

*Jessica: Wow, okay Aristotle. Did you learn that from a philosophy textbook? *

*Sky: Maybe. Did it work?*

*Jessica: …Maybe.*

Despite her sarcasm, she found herself smiling. At least he could appreciate a joke.

They chatted until 2 AM about books, movies, and the stifling feeling of being stuck in a small town where everyone seemed to ignore you. Sky appeared to understand in a way that made Jessica's heart ache with familiarity.

*Sky: You’re not invisible to me, Jessica. You shine bright.*

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the flutter in her stomach.

*Jessica: Did you just call me a lightbulb?*

*Sky: Would you rather I say you're brilliant?*

*Jessica: That’s better.*

When Jessica finally set her phone aside, she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time: the chance that someone truly noticed her. Really noticed her.

She didn’t see how her reflection in the dark window seemed to pause for just a moment before matching her movements.

Nor did she notice the single red rose petal that had appeared on her windowsill, even though there weren’t any rose bushes close to their home.