CHAPTER 1

I'm jamming to music on a nice summer afternoon, scrolling through Discourse, the social media gaming website I visit to ask for help on a video game or if I'm bored. But this time, I was in need of a distraction. School was coming up and I was dreading the bullying. So many girls give me a hard time for my dark skin and curly hair and being one of the few black students at school. I am not looking forward to their ignorance. I begin to type on my main profile page

"Looking for music suggestions. Need something to distract me from junior year in high school. It’s coming up soon! LOL."

I look at the status update on my screen, turn my music up and keep scrolling. A knock on the door interrupts me.

"Come in."

The footsteps sound like they belong to my brother, Matt. Sure enough, there he is scowling as he adjusts the pick from his afro.

"Isabella, for crying out loud, can you turn your music down? I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry," I shrug, "I just need a distraction."

"From what? My sleep?"

I sigh and say, "School. I'm not looking forward to it."

He then understands and slams himself down onto my bed.

"Look, I’m telling you from my own high school experience, bullies will only bother you if you let them. Avoid and ignore them."

"It's hard to do that when they're throwing stuff at me while the teachers turn their backs."

"Try and dodge it and catch what they throw."

I chuckle and retort, "That might be worth a shot. Thanks."

"I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but look on the bright side. And turn your music down."

He pats my head and leaves the room. I turn back to my computer and a notification appears on the envelope in the top corner of my screen. I click on it.

"Hey, I found you on the local board in New York City. There are a few band suggestions you might like. DM me."

I was confused at first, but then I remembered that any message you post automatically gets posted to a messaging board where other users in your area can see it. I didn't recognize the username. It was from someone named, I_am_nobody. The profile picture was of an anime girl kneeling, looking upwards with blue eyes, green pigtails, a white blouse and black skirt. I wondered about the direct message request but I clicked on the profile and the DM button and I started to type.

"Hey, I'm Isabelle. What bands do you suggest? I need a mood uplift."

As quickly as I sent the message, three dots flashed one by one on the screen next to the profile picture indicating I_am_nobody was typing.

"There's this band "Tame Impala" that I like. They have music for every mood. There's also "Ladytron." They have good music too."

"Thanks." I type. "I'll give them a listen."

"Of course, but I wanna ask, why do you need your mood to be uplifted? Are you okay?"

I pause, not expecting a stranger online to notice what I said. I had a feeling in my gut that I shouldn’t answer, but despite it, I type,

"I'd rather not get into that."

I sent my message and the three dots appear again.

"C'mon, I'd like to help with your problems."

"Well…," I begin to type, "I've been bullied pretty badly. First, it was mostly rumors or girls saying 'eww' when I walked by. One boy even 'accidentally' spilled milk on me during class."

After clicking send, I waited before I saw the flashing dots on the screen.

"Have you tried telling a teacher? I've been through stuff like that in high school. I’m a guy so I never dealt with female bullying. Girls are evil LOL."

I chuckle at his comment. I reply,

"Yeah, and teachers say they'll do something then nothing happens. The worst punishment they got was one after-school detention over the milk incident since some of it spilled on a computer."

I sat back waiting for advice and saw him typing.

"We can talk about other stuff to distract you."

I stare at the screen, thinking of what else to say, then I type.

"Okay, if you’re a guy, why do you have a picture of an anime girl as your profile picture? Which show is that from?"

I watch and patiently wait as the dots appear on the screen for his reply.

"It’s from this one anime I watch is all. We can talk about that to distract you. You can also tell me more stuff about yourself. I'm not saying that because of your situation but you're a cool person and judging by your profile picture, a cute one too."

My heart softened and I felt my lips grow into a smile. I was able to loosen up a bit and I began typing.

CHAPTER 2

I wake up tired and late Wednesday because I was talking to I_am_nobody well into the night. He was so thoughtful and knew the right things to say. We even talked about other things like our favorite video games, music, and anime suggestions.

I grab my phone charging on my bed and turn it on, hoping to get a message from I_am_nobody. My eyes lit up like candles seeing the unread message notification on the top of my phone.

"Good morning Izzy angel, how'd you sleep?"

My heart was pumping reading the message. People call me Izzy, but no one has ever called me angel before. I text,

"Better, thanks to you."

After a minute, my phone buzzes and I whip my hand up to see the message.

"Good. As I said, you'll get through somehow. If you get pushed around again, get someone bigger than them for protection."

His suggestions were more useful than Matt's. I pull my blanket over my body to feel the warmth of it and I_am_nobody's words. The conversation was cut short when Matt flew by my open door.

"Don't you remember what Mom told us yesterday? We gotta do the dishes from last night’s dinner."

I roll my eyes and sigh. I forgot about it since she left town yesterday morning. I drag my body up to follow him downstairs, but pause, realizing I didn't reply to I_am_nobody. I snatch my phone from the bed and dash out of my room.

I walk into the kitchen, seeing Matt bending over the open dishwasher, picking up plates.

"Finally," he said, being snarky.

"Yeah yeah," I retort, "Let me do something on my phone."

I whip my phone out and text I_am_nobody back,

"You're too sweet."

I put my phone in my pocket and go to help Matt with the dishes. While cleaning them up, my phone vibrates. As I rush to answer it, I knock over a cup, making a puddle on the counter.

"Nice going," Matt said, being extra snarky.

"Sorry," I mumble, and I rush to read I_am_nobody’s text.

"Not as sweet as a cutie like you."

A wide grin grew on my face seeing that.

"No way," I reply "You're sweeter."

"Who are you texting so much you can't help me?"

I stop in my tracks. Matt would only assume the worst if I tell him the truth.

"Uh," I say, "Nobody. A friend."

His eyebrow raises in confusion, hoping he'll believe my tale.

"I hope you're not talking to some creep."

I release the breath I was holding, continuing my dish duty but thinking about my phone the whole time.

CHAPTER 3

After the dishes were done, I run back upstairs, fly onto the bed, and text I_am_nobody. What Matt said left a bad taste in my mouth. I_am_nobody hasn't shown signs of being creepy, but then again, we just met.

I bite my bottom lip as my fingers float above the notification before pressing on it to see his message.

"Nah, you're too sweet to beat."

It's hard for my heart to not melt, but I have to set the record straight and build more trust.

"Hey, do you mind going on video chat mode? I wanna know what you look like."

I exhale after pressing send, I was staring at my message, saying prayers for a reply.

"Hmmm, maybe not now. My room’s a mess".

I was confused as to why he didn’t want to go into video mode, as I reply,

"Don’t worry, mine isn’t great looking either LOL."

I wait again, seeing the dots flashing. I was staring at my screen, waiting longer than usual. My eyes widen with shock as I read,

"Oh, what, so you don’t trust me? Wow, I thought we were friends. After all we went through together and talked about, you have no trust for me."

I start to panic as I didn’t want to lose what I’d already built. My heart starts to beat a little faster and my fingers shake over my phone as I text,

"No no no no. I’m sorry. I do trust you. We could just talk about other stuff."

I watch my screen holding my breath as the screen doesn’t indicate if he’s typing yet. I see the three dots flashing again, leaving me to wonder what he could be saying.

"I guess we can. Oh, it’s so hard to be mad at someone as gorgeous and precious as you."

"Awwww," I say to myself out loud.

I begin to type, "Gosh, you’re an angel."

Suddenly, I hear footsteps, I silently pray that Matt will just walk by me and go to his room. The door flies open, making my phone fly out of my hand in panic.

"Isabelle," he says loudly, "You forgot to clean the mess you made on the counter."

"Geez, Matt. You scared the heck out of me! I’ll be there in a minute."

"And you dropped your phone, dingus." He reaches to grab my phone.

"Noooo!" I desperately try to grab it as he picks it up. He squints at me and then reads the screen.

His face wrinkles and he asks me suspiciously, "Who the heck is this?"

"Nobody. He…he's a friend."

"A friend, huh? Then why does he talk to you like that?" he said, pointing to the last text I_am_nobody sent.

Matt's words hit me so hard. I didn't know what to say.

"He's just being nice and endearing."

"Oh no, Isabelle. I’m a guy and I’ve seen this before. He’s gonna sweet talk you, flirt a bit, call you pet names, then say he loves you only to then use you. Mark my words, as soon as he says I love you, he’s gonna ask to get with you. Then when you’re in his web, he’ll devour and crush you."

I refuse to believe that. Hearing that makes me want to stomp my feet and scream, but instead, I say,

"Well, you know what Matt, at least someone loves me. You’re 21 years old and you still live with mom, you still didn’t finish school, and you haven’t even kissed a girl, so don’t sit here and lecture me, you low life!"

He pauses for a moment, rubbing his beard while looking down at the floor. He sighs and looks back up at me.

"If you get kidnapped, that’s on you." He throws my phone, hitting the center of my chest, and slams the door shut behind him.

When the door slammed, I felt anger, guilt, and embarrassment at the same time. I look down at my phone and unlock it to stare at the last message I_am_nobody sent. I didn’t know what to say so I decide to end the conversation.

"Hey, I need to end our chat tonight. Something bad happened."

I couldn’t watch I_am_nobody type. I could only stare up at the ceiling wondering why I said the words that I did. I inhale and exhale before looking at my phone again to see his response.

"So sorry that happened, sweetie. I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

While laying in bed, my body was sick. But I couldn’t stare at the door for answers, nor could I chase after Matt for what he’d write off as a fake apology. So I sadly went off to clean the counter.

CHAPTER 4

The next morning, I look to see any notifications, and sure enough, there was one from I_am_nobody.

"Hey, Izzy. I hope you’re doing better. What happened yesterday?"

I exhale.

"My brother and I got into a fight. It was over the dishes and I said some things I regret."

I watch as he is typing his reply.

"Awww, I'm sorry to hear that sweetie. I wish I could be there to hug you."

I smile at his comment, feeling a slight sense of relief.

"Thank you, but I feel guilty, embarrassed, and mad at myself. I just have a lot of feelings I guess."

I wait and watch for his response.

"I definitely have feelings too…for you Izzy."

I was not ready for that at all. I have a haunting feeling about what he means so I type,

"What kind of feelings do you mean?"

I wait, feeling my pounding heart creeping up my throat.

"Well, it’s just… I think I love you. I know you’re young and I know you’re going through a lot but I’m in love with you and I can help you feel better. In fact, I'd love to be able to give you a hug in person and maybe a little more ;)."

My stomach shifted, feeling the horror like acid burning my insides. The warnings Matt gave were coming true. I_am_nobody was just manipulating me to trap me in his web. Matt was right; he was a bad guy and my feelings of insecurity were leading me into that trap. The kindness, the nicknames, flirting, leading to his saying he loved me and wanting to meet up - it all happened in such an expected way, and I was too blind to know better.

"Umm…I'll think about that."

My heart dropped. I couldn't believe it. After all we went through, I_am_nobody was just another creep who wanted to take advantage of me. I need to come clean and apologize to Matt. I start to cry as I run straight towards his room and knock three times.

I hear him murmur, "Come in."

I enter the room to see him lying down flat on his stomach, sleeping as usual. He raises his head slightly off his pillow.

"You were right. I'm sorry."

He sits up in bed, realizing that I’m really upset. I try to collect myself in between tears and tell him everything.

"You know the guy I was talking to yesterday? You were right; he's a creep. He told me he was in love with me and asked me to meet up to 'hug' him. I just wanted a friend but he used my problems to take advantage of me, and who knows what might have happened?!""

I hand him my phone so he could see for himself. Matt's face changes from confusion, to disgust, and anger while scrolling through the messages.

"That dirtbag. He wants to meet you?"

"I don't know what to do. Should I just block him?"

His face lit up with an idea.

"Let's get him arrested."

"What?"

"We need to go to the police and show them the evidence. This is grooming and we have hard evidence. Screenshot everything and don't delete anything."

I hesitate and don’t know what to do. I take my phone back from Matt to reread the messages I_am_nobody sent, including a new one.

"Okay, think long and hard. After all, I know a few ways to take care of a woman like you."

That insult on top of everything else gives me enough inspiration to agree.

"Alright," I say to Matt, wiping a tear. "Let's do this."

I then type to I_am_nobody saying, "OK. How about we meet each other tomorrow at 1 pm?"

"Alright," I say to Matt, "I sent the message. I hope this works."

"Well if the police don't get to him, then I will. I doubt they'd turn down a case as clear-cut as this."

I looked at my phone to see the three dreaded dots indicating he was typing.

I_am_nobody finally says,

"Yeah, sure. Can't wait to see you."

I show his response to Matt and say, "Okay, tomorrow. Let's go to the police and tell them everything they need to know."

Matt got up to grab his black jacket from his closet and I follow as he leaves his room. "Matt," I say, making him stop in his tracks, "I'm sorry for calling you a low life."

"It's fine. You're not the first," he says. "Plus, the only low life here is that one on the screen."

He grabs his car keys from the key hooks in the kitchen, and I follow him out of our apartment. I could feel my heart pounding.

CHAPTER 5

The next day, I was at the entrance of Washington Square Park. There were the usual crowds of people strolling across the park with their friends or small children, sitting on benches talking to each other, tipping those selling their art, or cheering on the guitarist playing for money. Everyone was sharing laughs to fill the air, some eating or drinking the snacks they’d brought. I, on the other hand, was hiding behind a trash can with my brother waiting for the police to send the decoy girl pretending to be me.

"Okay," I say to Matt, "I think I see him, but let me text to be sure."

I put Matt on speaker phone as I went on Discourse and texted I_am_nobody,

"I’m here, where are you?"

I was looking around to see if there was a guy searching for someone or looking down at his phone texting.

My phone vibrates from a notification from I_am_nobody saying,

"I'm sitting on a bench near the southern entrance."

I travel towards the southern entrance with Matt trailing me so he won’t be seen. There are more crowds of people, couples on benches, and one lonely, middle-aged man sitting by himself. I have a bad feeling that it might be him. To confirm my aching suspicion, I text I_am_nobody,

"I don’t think I see you. Can you wave."

The man then looks down at his phone, and gives a wave. That was him. To my bitter surprise, I_am_nobody is an overweight, middle-aged man who looks like he hasn’t showered in years. I detest his existence and the terrible ick that he gave me.

I text I_am_nobody, saying,

"Okay, I see you. I’m coming."

"Okay," I say to Matt, "You see that old guy over there? That’s the creep. Give the police the signal."

Matt nods, grabs the walkie-talkie from his coat pocket, and says, "He's on the bench near the south entrance. Send the decoy."

We both watch, crouching behind the trash can. The woman who looked similar to me waves to I_am_nobody. He stands up to hug her and they sit down facing each other on the bench.

We see them talk for minutes, holding our breath and waiting for the police to rush in.

"Matt, how long do you think it's gonna take for a confession?"

"It's gonna take a little while. Be patient."

After a few tense minutes, the police come rushing in, guns drawn, ambushing I_am_nobody. He launches from the bench to run, but two police officers tackle him to the hard concrete.

Matt and I hold hands, feeling shock and excitement at seeing the justice we were waiting for.

Matt pats me on the shoulder and I look up to him.

"We did it. He’s gonna be gone for a long time."

We put our arms around each other, grateful to be safe.

"Matt," I say, "Let’s make this a new beginning. I’ll try to get out of my room more. I won’t let bullies stop me from having a life. And how about you start working on getting a life too?"

Matt looks at me, his initial annoyance turning into a small smile.

"Well…maybe you’re right. It’s time I got out of my room too. Mom can’t do it all. I can probably find a job and chip in more around the house."

We hugged with our new sense of purpose, and I couldn’t help thinking that I was sure glad that it was my brother hugging me and not I_am_nobody!