i have multiple online friends that i would love to meet someday, and im never telling my parents. im going to wait until im out of their house, out from under their roof and their rules. but also, they live in places like australia, peru, canada, the UK in london, and all over so idk
My go-to was “oh we used to go to the same school but they moved” so just use your environment to your advantage. Like if you work say it’s a coworker that you were close with that left the job. But that’s only if you want to go down the lying route if you feel like it would be necessary.