I was catfished by my best friend

Let’s rewind to my freshman year of high school. All of my friends had blossomed into beautiful, attractive people between middle school and high school, and I somehow remained the same. It’s no wonder boys approached them rather than me – they were gorgeous and looked way more mature than I did.

I was always so jealous of the way my friends got the attention of others without even trying, or so it seemed. No guy had ever approached me in a flirtatious manner. The only guys who talked to me were close friends that thought of me as a “sister.” Yes, being “sister-zoned” was a common thing for me. Believe me when I say this wasn’t the most embarrassing part of adolescent life.

One day as I was walking to class, one of my very best friends approached me with some rather exciting news about a boy.

“Krisha! I was talking to my friend Jay, and he thinks you’re really cute and would like your number. What do you say, can I give it to him?”

I remember seeing her friend, Jay, on our rival school’s track team. I told her I thought he was cute, but I didn’t expect anything to come of it. But I gave her the go ahead and asked her to give Jay my number. I was ecstatic and I couldn’t stop smiling. This was the first boy in my life who actually thought I was cute and didn’t view me as his sister.

A few days go by with no message from him. But finally, Jay decides to text me. The conversation was at first a little awkward. I mean, how else is a conversation between two strangers supposed to go? We texted on and off for the first day, and then we became comfortable talking to each other.

Things started to get personal – we would ask each other how our lives were at home, if we had any secrets and if we ever dated anyone. It was a little odd getting to know someone via text message, especially since I had never spoken to him in person, but for Jay, I was willing to change my standards.

We texted all day, every day for the next two weeks. I worked up the courage to ask him if he would like to hang out in person at the mall, or maybe go to a movie. He agreed to meeting up in person, and we made plans to see each other that Friday night.

When Thursday night came around, I got a text from Jay saying he couldn’t hang out because he forgot he had a “family commitment.” I responded by telling him it was OK, as long as we planned to meet up the next week. Jay agreed and we continued talking throughout the next week.

The night before we were supposed to see each other, I received another text saying he couldn’t hang out because of another commitment. How weird is that? I started to think that maybe he doesn’t want to see me anymore, but that didn’t make sense because we were still talking.

I decided to speak to my best friend to find out what was going on. Boy, did I wish I never did that. She told me Jay was seeing another girl and that I should end things with him. Then she showed me an Instagram photo of Jay kissing another girl. I was so embarrassed.

A few hours later, I was eating lunch with my best friend when I made the decision to text Jay – I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. As soon as I hit send, I heard a phone buzz from across the table. I thought it was odd she received a text as soon as I sent one. A look of worry flashed across her face.

I stayed calm and sent another text. The phone buzzed again.

We locked eyes and that’s when I knew. I wasn’t talking to Jay. I never was. One of my very best friends had catfished me.

There were so many emotions running through me – I was angry, sad, confused. How could someone do this to me? How could one of my best friends do this to me?

She later told me she was using a phone that belonged to her brother to text me as “Jay.” Her reason for doing it? She felt sorry for me because I wasn’t talking to a guy. I wondered: “Am I really that pathetic that one of my own friends has to make up a guy who ‘wants to talk to me?'”

It was the worst feeling in the world, but it taught me a valuable lesson: never trust a bitch who only wants to text.