Got rejected, tried staying friends, but my feelings came back. Did I do the right thing by taking space?
Hi guys this is my first post I dont really use reddit but could really use an outside perspective. I’m 16M and a few months ago I met this girl through mutual friends online. An important preface to this is that the reason we became close is because her friends tried setting up a 3 man w me and my mates, but that didn't end up happening as the mate that was set up with her didn't really like her like that. Her mate liked me, but I didn't like her like that. So because of that we would be texting each other about how its going, and then we got really close really quickly we would basically call almost every day for around 2 hours, text constantly, send each other reels, and even went to the movies just the two of us. Her friends used to tease us about being together, so I genuinely started thinking she might like me. Then she started talking a lot about another guy, who she knows likes her, and she’d tell me everything about him. I eventually told her how I felt, and she rejected me really kindly, saying she’d only ever seen me as a friend and hoped we could stay friends. I told her I needed a little space, but after about two weeks we naturally started talking again and it went straight back to how it was before, long calls, constant texting, sending reels, everything. The problem is that my feelings came back just as strong. My brother told me I was basically acting like her boyfriend without actually being her boyfriend, giving her all the attention, emotional support and time while she got all the benefits of a relationship without having to date me, and I honestly don’t know if he’s right. She still does things that confuse me like sending me reels first, calling me sometimes, liking my shirtless Instagram story, and occasionally choosing to talk to me over hanging out with her friends, but I know none of that necessarily means she’s changed her mind because she already rejected me. I genuinely think this is the first girl I’ve ever loved. I imagined us together, dating, introducing her as my girlfriend, everything. I even had a dream the other night where she texted me saying she’d changed her mind, and when I woke up I actually believed it for a few seconds before I realised it wasn’t real. A few days ago I finally told her I’d really tried to see her as just a friend but I couldn’t get rid of my feelings, so I needed some space. She completely understood and said she’d be there if I ever needed to talk. Now it’s the next day and I miss her so much that every part of me wants to message her. I don’t even know what I’d say,I really just miss talking to her. Did I do the right thing by taking space? Has anyone actually managed to stay close friends with someone they were in love with? Is my brother right that I was giving boyfriend level attention in a friendship?