Catfish

Liam’s nerves were beginning to set in. His stomach was doing flips. His hands were sweating so much he could’ve filled an ocean. His heart was racing like he’d never felt it before, and it wasn’t even time to meet Penelope yet.

Rubbing his hands over his head, Liam sat in his hotel room, as he waited for Nev and Max to arrive. Their flight had landed in New York just an hour before, and they were supposed to arrive at any minute. He had no idea what Nev and Max were going to tell him, and he was going mad trying to figure it out.

A knock against Liam’s door sent his heart fluttering yet again and he was quick to move towards it.
After wiping his sweaty hands against his pants, he opened the door and was met with Nev’s smiling and Max carrying a camera behind him.

“Liam Payne?” Nev asked, holding out his hand.

Liam grabbed onto it, shaking it immediately. “Pleasure to meet you.” He shook Max’s hand next. “Thank you both so much for coming out here.”

“We’re happy to be here,” Nev said, smiling at him. “Your story is very interesting.”

Liam chuckled. “Come in.”

The younger boy stepped to the side, allowing the others to come into his hotel room. The three of them moved immediately to the sofa, spreading out between in and the armchair.

“Needless to say, we were a little surprised when we got your email. Thought we were being catfished ourselves there for a moment.” Max chuckled as he spoke. “What’s a guy like you doing seeing girl he’s never met? You’ve got to have thousands of girls willing to chop their arm off just to see you.”

Liam laughed, not knowing how to respond. His nerves were beginning to dissipate, but that didn’t make telling his and Penelope’s story any easier.

“Let’s start off somewhere easy,” Nev said, clearly seeing the thoughts racing through Liam’s mind. “How did you and Penelope meet?”

Immediately, Liam laughed as he thought back to the first moment they’d spoken. It seemed silly now, but at the time it didn’t.

“I was drinking,” Liam said, chuckle falling from his lips. “I was trying to dial up one of my buddies and I rang her instead. We spent the whole night talking and she thought I wouldn’t remember in the morning, but I did. I rang her again first thing when I woke up.” He chuckled. “We’ve been talking ever since.”

“A year, right? Why have you never met?”

Liam sighed, shoving his head in his hands. “It’s mostly my fault. She’s got no clue who I really am. She thinks I’m just a University student and I have no idea how to tell her that I’m not.”

“And she’s never asked to meet you? Not see your photos or anything?”

Liam shook his head.

“Do you think that’s strange?” Max asked. “Isn’t it weird you’ve been talking for a year and she’s never even asked for a photo?”

Biting his lip, Liam shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve got no clue what makes sense anymore.”

Nev gave Liam a sympathetic glance, before turning to Max. They gave one another a quick nod and turned back to Liam.

“Well, Liam,” Nev said, pressing his hands together. “Yours is a special case, since you’re the one doing the catfishing, but we just couldn’t resist telling your story.”

“We’re going to try to do a bit of research on Penelope, so we can find out what she’s all about,” Max said. “Then we’ll try to arrange a meeting with her, and hopefully she responds.”

Nev looked at Liam, his eyes soft but serious. “Are you sure you’re ready to do this? Are you sure you can tell her the truth about who you are?”

Liam nodded his head.

He was more than ready. He couldn’t stand another moment not having Penelope with him. He needed to have her next to him, no matter who she was. He didn’t know if she was lying the same way he was.

He only hoped that she wouldn’t hate him for all the lies that he’d told.