Hello Everyone! This is my first story here on fanfiction, and I would love to here any feedback you are willing to offer! I'm a huge fan of the show Catfish and have been wanting to write this story for a long time. Please leave a review or favorite... it would mean the world! :) 3 Erin

It was a regular Friday evening when Elijah Lee messaged me on Facebook. I had recently accepted his friend request because when you're seventeen, you add just about anyone so long as they look decently unsuspicious. His first message was a simple "hey", but that wasn't enough to convince me of replying. It took a second attempt, which read, "you're so beautiful" to pull a response out of me.

Elijah Lee: hey

Elijah Lee: you're so beautiful

Jasmine Cruz: Thanks! But do I know you?

Elijah Lee: no, but we should work on that :)

Jasmine Cruz: Oh, really?

Elijah Lee: definitely. tell me about yourself jas :)

At first, he seemed like a typical slimy teenager looking to get laid, but that quickly changed. Elijah turned out to be everything I was looking for in a guy. Intelligent, funny, sweet, dorky, and extremely handsome. He was never afraid to message me first or send me long, romantic messages that made my stomach erupt in butterflies. He also loved to send me a variety of selfies, most of which were made to make me laugh but sometimes made my heart skip a few beats.

We quickly discovered a lengthy list of interests we had in common, including a deep love for baking shows and a desire to travel the world. Elijah loved the idea of spending our lives abroad together and never really settling down until we reached old age. We spent countless hours discussing our travel plans and developing a route that would carry us around the globe through the greatest of places. Wandering the planet with Elijah became a dream of mine that eventually turned into a dream to simply spend life with the man I met over Facebook.

It took about a month of texts and calls before Elijah boldly confessed his feelings for me over the phone. "I really, really like you, Jasmine. You're unlike any girl I've ever met, and I can't imagine not having ever messaged you. You are just incredible."

Elijah's confession hit me like Cupid's arrow. My feelings for him had been stirring for the previous weeks, but having verbal confirmation set everything into motion. That night I told Elijah that I liked him too, without hesitation, and allowed myself to reveal the feelings I'd been withholding. He explained to me that he'd been crushing on me since we first talked and that his feelings had only grown since then. I told him about the butterflies I felt as I first heard his voice on the phone. Everything seemed to come together that night, and I found myself happier than I'd been in a long time.

Several months passed and me and Elijah's relationship transformed without me even recognizing it. Elijah had become 'Babe' in my phone, a picture of him had replaced my previous wallpaper, and our discussions had transitioned from innocent flirting to serious talk about the future. We talked about a wedding and getting married and about the number of kids we were hoping for. We also discussed our future jobs and how we would work around them for our travel plans. Elijah promised to apply to the same colleges as me and swore that he'd get a dorm right next to my own. The escalation of our relationship seemed sudden yet natural at the same time. It became something that I never could've expected.

At the eight-month mark of our relationship, I finally came to terms with the fact that I desired something new out of our relationship. After countless hours on the phone and text messages between the two of us, I realized that what I really needed was to see Elijah face-to-face. Pictures had allowed me to know what he looked like, but they didn't nearly compensate for my growing need to see him in motion. Before then, I'd been nervous about bringing up video-chatting to Elijah because there was so much safety in avoiding the subject. However, eight months had me feeling secure enough in our relationship to finally mention it with the expectation of a 'yes'.

Jasmine Cruz: Hey babe. Whatcha up to?

Elijah Lee: nothin much, just trying to find some dinner. hbu beautiful?

Jasmine Cruz: Not much myself. Hey, I have a question

Elijah Lee: i have an answer :)

Jasmine Cruz: What would you think about possibly video-chatting? Seeing as we're both unoccupied at the moment. :)

For whatever reason, Elijah took longer than usual to reply to my message. However, after several minutes of anticipation, he got back to me.

Elijah Lee: can't right now babe. my dad just asked me to help him in the yard.

This message hit me like a brick. I didn't realize how much I'd hoped for him to agree to video-chatting until his decline popped up in my messages. I knew that my emotions were a little extreme for the situation at hand, but I couldn't help but feel like crying.

Jasmine Cruz: Oh. Ok.

Elijah Lee: i'm so sorry babe! i'll make it up to you soon. promise :)

Jasmine Cruz: Sounds good.

Little did I know that Elijah would never make it up to me as promised. My hope to meet my unofficial boyfriend face-to-face would slowly die away and be replaced with a constant pain deep in my heart. With every coming month, I found that my feelings for Elijah were growing by the second and by the time we finally admitted to loving each other, I desired more than anything to eventually become his wife. However, my emotions for him caused me a deep amount of pain with every excuse he came up with to not video-chat.

Elijah Lee: i wish i could, but of have a lot of family in town right now.

…

Elijah Lee: oh babe, it's just not a good time. i have a huge paper due tomorrow and i've barely started it. i'm sure you understand :)

…

Elijah Lee: sorry love, i broke the camera on my phone. i'll make it up to you once I get it replaced!

These were the type of excuses I heard over the years of our relationship. For the first year, my love blinded me and Elijah could get by with lame excuses. By the second year, my suspicions were beginning to grow he quickly realized that he no longer had it so easy. I started pressuring him to make plans to video-chat and allowed myself to grow angry with him over the phone for the continued excuses. Elijah never failed to apologize and make up for his failures with words of love and sappy text messages, but the romance was not a substitute for what I needed. One night, my anger got the best of me and I found myself yelling over the phone.

"Elijah, if you really love me, you'll find a damn web camera and skype me for five minutes!"

"Jas, you know how much I have going on—!"

"Yes, I do! I have a lot going on too! But this relationship has gone on far too long for us to have never talked face-to-face! For God's sake, it's been two years!"

Elijah took a long pause and I knew that I had him cornered. After a deep breath, he finally gave in.

"… Okay. You're right. Let me get my computer."

We hung up the phone and I waited for Elijah to text me that he was ready to video-chat. I sat at the edge of my bed with my laptop perched on my knees, nervously waiting for the meeting I'd been waiting so long for. However, the anger and excitement far exceeded any worry I may have been experiencing that night. I was ready to finally look into the eyes of the guy I'd fallen deeply in love with. After receiving the go-ahead text, I clicked on the Skype icon, added Elijah's username, and clicked on the video-chat button. This was it.

"Elijah?"

I stared at the computer screen, waiting for his smile to finally appear in front of my eyes.

"Hey, love. Wow, you're so beautiful!"

"I wish I could say the same! I don't think your webcam is on yet."

"Oh, really? Let me check."

I waited in eagerness as Elijah looked for whatever button would allow his camera to turn on. After several minutes, the screen remained black.

"Can you see me yet, Jas?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll keep trying."

After about fifteen minutes of trying, a familiar feeling started forming in the pit of my stomach. It was the same feeling I experienced every time Elijah through an excuse at me to get out of video-chatting. I finally realized that I would not be skyping with him that night, and that I probably wouldn't be for a long while. He still wasn't ready to reveal himself.

"I'm getting hungry for dinner. Maybe we can try this another time."

"Of course, babe! I wish it could've worked out. I love you!"

"Me too. I love you too."

Sure enough, we never ended up video-chatting for the following year to come. The excuses became a regular part of our conversation. Eventually, I simply stopped asking and our discussion continued as normal. My love for Elijah never wavered, but pain in my heart grew increasingly. I found that loving someone you've never seen has a tremendous toll on the heart. And even worse, loving someone you're suspicious of leads to a world of mental warfare.

One evening as I was mindlessly scrolling through the TV Guide and texting Elijah, a show I'd seen a few times before popped up and sent my phone falling to the floor. I clicked on the show and the familiar faces of Nev Schulman and Max Joseph were displayed on the screen. Catfish: The TV Show. I looked from the buzzing phone to the television, back and forth, until it finally struck me. This was the answer.