In the Dark: An Insta-Love Story

Chapter 1

Jenny Tian felt absolutely ridiculous in her costume. She was supposed to be a witch—hence the long pointy black hat on her head—but the rest of her outfit didn't really scream, "Double, double toil and trouble." A shoulder-less pink dress that went maybe two inches below her butt, three if she was being generous; nude stockings; and glittery red heels. Normally, she would have just slapped on a "My Name is Irene" sticker and called it a day, but her friend Naomi had convinced her to dress up sexy for Halloween. Jenny had foolishly thought it would be fun. The reality—she felt stupid, miles away from sexy, and was freezing her ass off in the brisk autumn air.

Her phone beeped. Jenny, where the fuck are you? Naomi had texted.

For a second, Jenny thought about skipping the Halloween frat party. She was cold and tired, and didn't feel like getting hit on by drunk Neanderthals. But Naomi would be pissed if Jenny bailed on her. Jenny had promised that she would attend, so she was going to attend, even if most of the fibers of her being didn't want to. I'm 10 minutes away, she replied.

After she sent the text, she looked up and saw a black cat who was staring into her soul. A shiver climbed down her spine. She tried to tell herself that it was just the cold weather, that it wasn't because she thought the cat was a sign of bad luck. She wasn't superstitious like her dad, who threw salt over his shoulder, jumped over cracks on sidewalks, and refused to write his name in red ink. Nevertheless, the cat set her on edge. It looked angry, ready to pounce on her and bite into her.

Nice kitty, she thought, scared that the sound of her voice might send the animal into violent action. Trying to relax, she tiptoed around the cat, repeating in her head, Black cats are not a sign of bad luck, black cats are not a sign of bad luck. Just when she thought she was going to pass by the kitty with no mishap, the cat jumped, sinking its claws into her leg.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, gritting her teeth in pain. She attempted to shake the cat off, but the stupid thing wouldn't let go. "What is wrong with you?"

The dumb creature just snarled in response.

After a few minutes of shaking her leg as hard as she could and cursing like a sailor caught in the middle of a hurricane, the cat finally let go and went on its merry way. "Goddamn it." The cat had torn her stockings and left a few ugly red scratches on her skin. Jenny wanted to give up on the night and go binge-watch Brooklyn 99 while eating a pint of strawberry cheesecake ice cream, but as if sensing her thoughts, Naomi sent another text: Girl, I'm waiting for your ass.

Jenny let out a breath. She contemplated facing Naomi's wrath and telling her that the party sounded as appealing as a root canal, but she eventually forced herself to continue walking toward the frat house. Maybe the party would be fun. Maybe she would find a cute, non-awful frat dude to dance with. And maybe a chandelier will fall on my head and kill me.

A grimace broke out on her face when she arrived at the frat house. Beer cans and discarded clothes littered the lawn, and a disheveled girl in a skimpy angel costume was vomiting on a bush. Jenny almost turned back, but Naomi came running out of the house and spotted her.

"There you are," her friend said. "What took you...?" She gasped, seeing the red marks on Jenny's leg. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"I ran into a cat."

Naomi's eyes bugged out. Unlike Jenny, Naomi was superstitious as hell. She bought protection charms from strangely dressed women and considered horoscopes to be more important reading than the Bible. "Was it a black cat?"

"Jesus, yes, it happened to be a black cat. It doesn't mean I'm going to get struck by lightning."

"I should give you my hummingbird-feather necklace. It's supposed to protect you from evil."