He puts an ad out on New York Craigslist (so he doesn't run into anyone from any scene) in the Strictly Platonic section. He sets up a new email account, one that starts MusicalGenius. He wants a pen pal. He gets a lot of creepy responses, and one he really likes.

Have you ever seen the movie 'Sliding Doors'? Yeah, this is that, only with boys in the Chicago emo/hardcore scene. Set in 2003; just tilt the scene a little one way or another, and you could very well have had this.