I'm tired of being looked at like I'm stupid.

I might not be the smartest person out there, but I'm not dumb. You don't make all A's in school and get an 1800 on the SAT when you're in 7th grade by sliding by on stupid.

It's rude to look at people like that, especially in a matter like this. You don't understand. I could explain it to you, but most likely, you still wouldn't get it.

I met my boyfriend over the Internet.

Just by saying that, I bet you automatically assumed either A: he's a rapist, or B: we're sad WOW junkies that can't get a boyfriend/girlfriend otherwise.

That's what you assume.

And you're wrong.

Of course you'd expect me to say that, wouldn't you? You shake your heads, continuing to give me the stupid-eye. "Of course he's not fourteen, Grey. He's probably not even British. He's just saying that to lure you in." You might not say it out loud, but that's what you're thinking. I can tell.

My uncle, just today, basically said that everybody on the Internet is a liar. "I know human nature!" he exclaimed--stupid-eye included. "You can't trust 'em! If you could, they wouldn't be hiding behind a computer!"

Then, very quietly, I said, "They're not all hiding." Of course, he didn't hear me.

I don't hide. Of course, I'm not way out there with everything. I don't hand out my phone number, my address, or anything like that. I'm not stupid. But I don't lie about who I am. The only "lie" I have on here is my country of residence...I think I put Zanzibar (that's where Freddie Mercury spent his childhood), but if you read this thing for just a few minutes, you could easily figure out that I'm screamingly American.

So, am I lying? No.

I'm not the only one that's not lying. I think it's ridiculous that everybody around me seems to assume that, just because there's a few Myspace rapists on the news that every single Internet user is that calibre of person.

Oh, and before you look at me like I'm stupid or pathetic because of Danny, here's the thing:

I'm not pathetic. I have a life and friends. I do lots of extra curricular things. And, if I wanted, I could have a different boyfriend every week. I could have already had my first kiss. But if that's what it takes for me to not be pathetic--if I have to take advantage of the males around me--then I'll pass.

And as for being stupid...I know Danny. We talk on the phone. Web cam. He wrote me a song for Valentine's Day and sent it to me in CD form. My mom knows his dad. I've argued with his brother over religion. I've seen his dogs. I know his best friend. I've experimented on Google with his little sister. So, unless he's got all of these people in on a little scheme of his to somehow scrape enough money together to get over here (Yes, he is actually British. We write. *gasp!* He knows where I live!) just to rape me or something like that...That, my friends, is stupid. Not my trusting him. Your doubting me. That's stupid.

Besides, I've known him for going on two years now. If all he wanted was to take advantage of me, he would have already done so. He would have been more of the pursuer instead of me. He has never done ANYTHING that could be construed as making me uncomfortable. He's rarely perverted, and if he is, it's because he's making a joke. He respects me better than any other boy I know.

Once, this kid even told me to my face that me having a boyfriend I've never met face-to-face was stupid. I'd never even talked to this kid before! He just overheard what I was saying to a friend. "That's stupid," he said. I turned around to him and said, "Well, evidentally not. We've been boyfriend and girlfriend for going on seven months now. It's worked really well so far." And then he gave me the stupid-eye.

So, what am I supposed to do? Become the run-of-the-mill teenage girl that falls in "love" countless times, has a different boyfriend atleast every other month, experiments a little with girls because I just might be bisexual, only to have my heart broken? No. I'm in love right now. I. Love. Him. Still sounds stupid? Okay, fine. That's your problem. Go tell Dr. Phil on me. Continue to warn me. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care.

Just leave me alone in my supposedly stupid and pathetic, nearly eight-month-long-so-far happiness.

It's better than anything that any other girl my age that I know of has experienced.