We’ve been texting for so long. But I still don't know what you look like.

You gaped at your phone screen. It was a message from Gerald, your long-distance boyfriend. You two had been dating for a year, but not once had you sent him a photo of yourself—even though Gerald had—or done a video call, let alone met in person. You tried to make excuses, saying you weren’t pretty, but his response came within seconds: Oh, stop it. I’m sure you’re beautiful.

You hesitated. Should you send him a picture of yourself? But insecure thoughts and whispers from your bullies at school always haunted you: ugly… loser… freak. That was too painful to repeat, so you searched for a picture of a pretty girl on Pinterest and sent one to Gerald, claiming it was you. His response was exactly what you expected: he was fooled by the Pinterest photo and praised you, saying you were beautiful and all that.

The next day, after a long day at school, you texted him: I got bullied again at school because of my face.

Gerald responded, saying it made no sense and that your friends were weird people who couldn’t see beauty. You smiled faintly; he was the only one you had, so you didn’t want to lose him even if you had to lie to him. Not long after, a message from Gerald left you stunned:

You go to Whitney High School, right? I have a surprise for you tomorrow! I’m going to deal with those bullies!

No way—he was in NYC while you were in California. But your fears were confirmed the next day: Gerald transferred to Whitney High School as a new student. He glanced around the room, but he didn’t find you. He pulled out his phone, showed the Pinterest photo you sent—the one he believed was you—and asked your classmates, “Have you seen this girl?”

Shit. Before your heart could stop racing, he sent another message to your phone: Hey, I don’t see you in class. And before you could respond, a gentle hand touched your shoulder—it was Gerald.

“Hi, do you know this girl?” he asked, lifting his phone to show the Pinterest photo you’d sent.