u/Helpful_Ad5252

It all started two years ago when I came to a new class where I didn’t know anyone, and everyone already knew each other except me. I was pretty lonely for the first couple of months, but eventually I became friends with a few classmates. There was this one guy — let’s call him James. James and I became really close friends, and we basically knew everything about each other. One day after school, he asked me out. I told him I needed time to think about it because even though he was a good friend, I wasn’t sure how I felt. Later that day, he texted me asking if I had decided. I politely rejected him, saying I only saw him as a friend and that he deserved someone better. But then he started convincing me that he needed me, that I was the only reason he even came to school, and that he had broken up with his ex for me. That honestly made me feel guilty and put me in a really awkward position. I rejected him again as politely as I could, and after that he stopped replying.

The next day at school, I arrived earlier than him, and our mutual friends immediately started asking whether I had said yes or no. Later, I found out they had planned the whole thing together. What made it worse was that these same friends knew I didn’t like him that way at all, but they still encouraged him. I felt horrible because he really was one of my closest friends. When he finally got to school, he barely looked at me, which was expected after everything that happened.

A few days later, while I was away at lunch, James left a small note on my desk. When I came back and read it, it basically said that he still wanted to be friends and didn’t want things to stay awkward between us. So I went to talk to him, and we agreed that we should stay friends. Then one day I randomly came across his ex’s Instagram account. I didn’t follow her, but my best friend — let’s call her Avery — did. We looked through her account together, and honestly, what I saw almost made me sick. His ex looked almost identical to me, not just appearance-wise, but even her personality and aesthetic were extremely similar to mine. Suddenly all the things he had said about his ex before felt weird to me. He used to talk badly about her sometimes, but I never really cared enough to ask questions back then. After seeing her account, I started distancing myself from him without directly saying why.

Eventually school ended, so we stopped seeing each other as often anyway. Now on Instagram he posts stories with his ex all the time, hanging out with her again. He asked me to hang out a few times too, but I always made excuses because I felt like it would be awkward. Even though part of me feels disgusted by him, I still miss him as a friend. I know that sounds selfish or weird since I rejected him, but we were genuinely close, and losing that friendship hurt. Sometimes I even catch myself thinking about him late at night, and I honestly don’t know what that means. I’m really confused about the whole situation. alot

It all started two years ago when I came to a new class where I didn’t know anyone, and everyone already knew each other except me. I was pretty lonely for the first couple of months, but eventually I became friends with a few classmates. There was this one guy — let’s call him James. James and I became really close friends, and we basically knew everything about each other. One day after school, he asked me out. I told him I needed time to think about it because even though he was a good friend, I wasn’t sure how I felt. Later that day, he texted me asking if I had decided. I politely rejected him, saying I only saw him as a friend and that he deserved someone better. But then he started convincing me that he needed me, that I was the only reason he even came to school, and that he had broken up with his ex for me. That honestly made me feel guilty and put me in a really awkward position. I rejected him again as politely as I could, and after that he stopped replying.

The next day at school, I arrived earlier than him, and our mutual friends immediately started asking whether I had said yes or no. Later, I found out they had planned the whole thing together. What made it worse was that these same friends knew I didn’t like him that way at all, but they still encouraged him. I felt horrible because he really was one of my closest friends. When he finally got to school, he barely looked at me, which was expected after everything that happened.

A few days later, while I was away at lunch, James left a small note on my desk. When I came back and read it, it basically said that he still wanted to be friends and didn’t want things to stay awkward between us. So I went to talk to him, and we agreed that we should stay friends. Then one day I randomly came across his ex’s Instagram account. I didn’t follow her, but my best friend — let’s call her Avery — did. We looked through her account together, and honestly, what I saw almost made me sick. His ex looked almost identical to me, not just appearance-wise, but even her personality and aesthetic were extremely similar to mine. Suddenly all the things he had said about his ex before felt weird to me. He used to talk badly about her sometimes, but I never really cared enough to ask questions back then. After seeing her account, I started distancing myself from him without directly saying why.

Eventually school ended, so we stopped seeing each other as often anyway. Now on Instagram he posts stories with his ex all the time, hanging out with her again. He asked me to hang out a few times too, but I always made excuses because I felt like it would be awkward. Even though part of me feels disgusted by him, I still miss him as a friend. I know that sounds selfish or weird since I rejected him, but we were genuinely close, and losing that friendship hurt. Sometimes I even catch myself thinking about him late at night though i'm not in contact with him now. and I honestly don’t know what that means. I’m really confused about the whole situation. alot.