Filezoom

Lacey and Joey met on the internet on a file-sharing website called Filezoom.

Lacey was an 18-year-old highschool drop-out who worked at McDonalds.

Joey was a 20-year-old, C-average business student in college.

They were both very passionate about Japanese culture, especially Anime, and it was through this shared interest that their paths first crossed.

Lacey had been searching for episode 59 of Naruto online, and was having trouble finding it, so she asked about it on the Filezoom forums.

Joey had just finished watching the episode, and was very disappointed with it. He felt he had paid very good money to download it, and thought it was so bad that it wasn't worth paying for.

He made a post complaining about the episode, which Lacey saw. (The post.) She sent him a private message asking about it. He sent her a private message back telling her it wasn't worth watching.

She responded with an angry message saying 'just give me the damn files!!!'He sent a message back saying "Just who do you think you are?"

She sent her a/s/l.

They were around the same agin and lived in nearby towns, so Joey was intrigued.

He sent her the files and some chatty questions, and they started up a lengthy and passionate discussion about anime and the meaning of life.

Soon they got on the topic of relationships, and they both shyly admitted that they were single but interested in dating.

Joey suggested that their friendship could perhaps blossom into a relationship, and Lacey liked the idea.

But then Lacey met another man on the forums. A man who said he was 6ft tall, muscular, and had a well-paying job being a intelligent college professor. Also that he was single and interested in her. He wrote romantic poems.

Joey suggested that this combination of traits sounded unlikely, but Lacey would hear none of it.
"You're just jealous," she told him.

There was just one catch with this fabulous new friend. He lived in India and needed to marry an American if he was to come to

the US - he wasn't legally allowed even to visit.

So of course, Lacey was considering marrying him.

Joey warned her to be cautious. "How do you know he is who he says he is?" he asked.

"I feel it in the sincerity of his poems," Lacey told him.

"May I see them?" Joey asked. "Sure," Lacey said.

Joey googled the poems, and found them on a website entitled "Poems to woo your girlfriend."

He sent the url to Lacey.

"Well, maybe he made that website," Lacey suggested to Joey. But she became suspicious.
She casually asked her new Indian friend if he made websites.
"No, of course not," he responded immediately. "I'm a busy college professor."
She sent him a link to the "Poems to woo your girlfriend." article.

He responded with an angry and vitriolic message, calling her a lesbian, accusing her of cheating on him, spying on him, lying to him, taking advantage of and belittling his feelings, and worst of all, he said, "Never speak to me again."

Lacey was devastated. "Look what you've done!" she told Joey, sending him a copy of the 'college professor's message.

Joey was quite pleased with the results of his investigative efforts and intervention.

"Glad I could help," Joey told her sincerely, signing his post with a smiley face.

Lacey was enraged. "This is what you call help - upsetting the love of my life and making him leave me?!" She wrote. But then she paused before hitting 'send'. She thought over the course of events - something she didn't usually do, but she felt and odd sense that she had missed something.

She read back over her messages to Joey and realized what it was: the message where Joey had asked 'how do you know he is who he says he is?" And her response was the poems.

Lacey felt a sense of horror. Maybe this man was not, in fact, who he said he was? Was there any way to know for sure?

And what about Joey then? Who was he really?

Lacey confronted Joey about his identity. He offered to meet up with her at a local restaurant. She agreed, so they met up at Papa's Pot Belly Restaurant. The way they were to identify each other was from their Naruto pins. Lacey looked around and noticed a pimpley-faced stick-like young man with a Naruto pin. Joey noticed an overweight, dyed-blond-haired young lady withwide, thin lips and way too much makeup. She was wearing a Naruto pin.

Lacey went over to Joey. "Joey?" she asked. "Lacey?" he responded. They nodded. Lacey frowned as she studied the pimples on Joey's face. Joey stared at Laceys overly bright lipstick and nonstandard features. This was not what they were expecting.

Joey looked thoughtful for a bit. "Well, lose the makeup and I think I could learn to like you."
Lacey rolled her eyes, said "Okay," and went to the bathroom to remove her makeup.
When she came back, Joey held out a ring and asked for her hand marriage.

"How much do you make a year?" asked Lacey.

"Well, I'm still in college, but when I get out, I should have a job that pays... something. You?"

"More than you," said Lacey.

"But what's more important than money is love," said Joey.

"Let's go out again later when you have a job," she said, and walked out.

When Joey finished college, he got a job at Burger King and Lacey agreed to marry him.

The end!