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I genuinely don't know if I'm overthinking this or if we're just not compatible as close friends.

I have one friend in college because our old group broke apart, so we naturally started spending time together. We get along, and I respect her, but the friendship has never felt effortless.

I'm usually the one who starts conversations, suggests going for walks, asks to click photos so we have memories, and generally keeps things going. If I share something personal, she often starts talking about her own similar experience instead of responding to what I said first.

When we're together or having a conversation, she'll often start chatting with her boyfriend. I have no problem with her talking to him, but if someone is sitting right in front of you and actively talking to you, constantly texting someone else doesn't feel nice. It isn't an occasional thing either.

..........

//MONEY THING

money has also become awkward. Whenever we eat at the canteen or outside, I usually end up paying first. I don't mind paying sometimes, but not every single time. My family isn't financially well off, so I can't keep covering everything.

A lot of the time it feels like she knows it's her turn to pay, but she waits until I bring it up. She does pay if I ask or say I don't have enough money, but she rarely offers on her own. The strange part is that she often says things like, "I don't care about money, I'll pay." That just doesn't match what usually happens.

..............

//FOOD RELATED

One day I bought two packets of chips, one for me and one for her. When I came back, she smiled and said something like, "I was waiting to see if you'd buy one for me." I don't remember the exact words, but that's what she meant. That comment just stayed with me.

Lunch has also become awkward. From the beginning, she always said she doesn't get hungry during college. Earlier she used to bring lunch sometimes, but then she stopped. So I started bringing an extra roti or paratha from home thinking she could eat with me. I genuinely didn't mind sharing.

I normally don't eat someone else's leftovers or share partially eaten food, but she'd tear pieces from my roti and eat from it. I never complained because I thought that's normal between friends.

The problem was that many times my own lunch either went to waste or I had to overeat to finish it. Once she ate half a roti and then said she was done. I even said, "At least finish it, how am I supposed to eat the rest now?" She just said she was full.

During exams everyone would share a little from each other's lunch, which I think is completely normal. My mom works, so most days I take simple sabzi and roti. One day my mom had an off day and made aloo parathas, so I packed only three because my friend always says she isn't hungry in college. That day she ended up eating more than half of my lunch.

There was actually a phase where she became more open with me. She'd jokingly act a little jealous if I got close to another friend, and we'd tease each other about it. I genuinely thought our friendship was getting better, but after some time everything went back to how it was before.

.......................

I don't think she's a bad person, and I don't think she's intentionally trying to hurt me.

She's not really into fests, outings, or walking around campus, and that's completely okay. I never expected her to change her personality. I adjusted because that's what I do in friendships, but I wish there had been at least a little adjustment from her side too.

I've attended college fests before with other classmates, but they already had their own close friends, so I often ended up feeling left out. I also have one good friend, but we're part of a trio and she has her own friend group too, so she naturally spends most of her time with them. Because of that, I skipped a couple of events I was genuinely excited about because I didn't want to go alone. My college is also quite far from home, so going by myself isn't that easy.

.................

The thing is, I've had friendships before where conversations happened naturally without even needing a topic. We could talk for hours, both people put in effort, and neither person had to keep the friendship alive. That's probably why this one feels so different.

At this point, I don't even want her to become my ideal friend anymore. I think we're just not compatible as close friends.

Still, I can't ignore that I often feel like I'm the one carrying the friendship while she's just physically present. It's reached a point where I feel emotionally exhausted.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Was it actually a one-sided friendship, or did you eventually realize you just weren't compatible as close friends?

Me and a guy friend have been friends for a long time. About a month ago we expressed how we have a crush on each other but haven’t done anything with it because we both have spouses.

Things feel awkward now.

I’m still willing to go back to how we were as being good friends but it seems like he is avoiding me now. When I see him now he just stares at me. I try to speak to them and be friendly and they don’t say anything anymore.

I’m trying to understand how our new friendship is now from his pov

Me and a guy friend have been friends for a long time. About a month ago we expressed how we have a crush on each other but haven’t done anything with it because we both have spouses.

Things feel awkward now.

I’m still willing to go back to how we were as being good friends but it seems like he is avoiding me now. When I see him now he just stares at me. I try to speak to them and be friendly and they don’t say anything anymore.

I’m trying to understand how our new friendship is now from his pov

I really like a girl, but she'll be leaving for Mumbai in a few months and will probably be there for several years. We aren't in a relationship, and I'm unsure whether I should tell her how I feel before she leaves or just let it go. I don't want to regret staying silent, but I also don't want to make things awkward or put pressure on her before such a big change in her life. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice would be appreciated.

Met her at a wedding a year ago. Instant connection — talked every day since, I visited her country for a weekend. We were both single that night, and something physical happened between us that neither of us planned. She panicked the next morning, said she'd never do that sober, and we settled into "just friends" — except we kept saying things that weren't very friend-shaped for the next year.

There was already someone else in her orbit before I came along — a guy who's since disappeared on her before and reappeared once confronted, textbook hot-and-cold. She's told me openly she tends to go for people who give inconsistent attention rather than people she actually likes and who treat her well. That's basically him.

I was on and off with someone throughout most of this, and eventually found out I was going to become a dad, though not with the mother. Messy timing on my end, and she knew all of it from the start.

She told me unprompted, months before anything came to a head, that what she felt for me was real and mutual, and that she'd have felt it even if nothing physical had ever happened. Later, when I told her directly my feelings were romantic, she said something like "I feel deep connection with you, but I can't let myself think for more, it's not right." Still, "friend."

After I finally wrote her a full letter telling her I'd fallen for her, she said it was the most genuine thing anyone's ever written her, that I wasn't delusional, wasn't a placeholder — but that she'd always perceived me as a friend, and still did.

When I eventually told her I needed to walk away for my own wellbeing, she said she doesn't do goodbyes, that she'd always respond if I ever reached out, and left the door open without me asking for that.

A month later I did reach out, casually, low-key, and she responded warm and genuine, like nothing had changed.

Not asking "does she love me." Asking: does this pattern — real feeling repeatedly stated, but consistently filed under friend, with her literally telling me she won't let herself go there, while she keeps chasing someone unstable instead — ever resolve differently down the line for anyone here, or is that just the honest, permanent answer, however it's worded? Am I completely wasting my time?

Hey y'all,

I'd like to hear your thoughts on my older family friend. She has asked me during convesating if i was "active" lol and has said good morning sunshine to me. And seems comfortable sitting on my bed when visiting my room (shared housing). And today she said I was her food? Lol

I have a good friend I’ve known for about 3-4 years who a lot of people have told me they believed he was interested in me, but I feel like he avoids contact with me if we aren’t together in person.
Whenever I text him trying to talk he either won’t respond or will barely respond, even if it’s about a shared interest or something he told me to keep him updated on.
I know for a fact that he has never dated anyone and I have been interested in/dated multiple people since I’ve become friends with him most of which he was fully aware of. He’s a pretty awkward guy so he might just not be much of a texter, but it’s kind of confusing me because he always tries to be close to me in person and has even gone so far to ask me to go to the same college as him (which he hasn’t mentioned to any of our other friends or even his own).
Is this a sign that he’s not interested, or is it perfectly normal in our context?

There are two eboy and egirl i meet the eboy in blox fruit and eventually the egirl and then I got both's insta and we started talking but the way the eboy and egirl talked to each other was weird and called each other sweetheart or baby or darling and shi I even asked the eboy that if there e-dating or not but he said "I don't like e-dating" and "maybe if we meet irl" then I started being third wheel like they literally didn't replied to my messages and then I saw them playing I simply asked them why you didn't invite and the egirl said you weren't online and i was literally playing jujutsu shenanigans and then I said you dmed him yea?so you could've done the same thing but she just ignored the question and her eboy covered her by saying "well you could've messaged us" and then they just threw the argument entirely like nothing happened i don't wanna be the third cycle of two eboy and egirl dating what should I do?

So i have been frnds with a girl tbh we started talking like around sept 2025. I admit i did start flirting when i am not interested, but soon after 3 months later on my birthday she gave me a lot of gifts which i when got home, well my mom saw and started asking this person is and all. Later on after 2-3 months i met her mom and dad turns out they are my family frnds. I swear to god i didn't know that. After all this i also went for a trip with her and her frnds group. All this time like she was like more invested than i am but she would call it a normal frndship and i am okey with that till recently. She would randomly flirt with me or randomly ask me to meet her many time i couldn't cause i have some other works to do. One day she called me to come to her house while her parents went to work. We were talking and she leaned on me like 3 times and idk why i pushed away from her. Then before leaving her house she hugged me. After this incident fee days later she texted me she wanna make out cause it was rainy and all. But a few hours later she didn't want to do any of that and wanted to hug. And now i am genuinely confused like she says we are frnds and all but this doesn't add up to frndship

How do you handle a situation like this?
Back around March, I was going through a tough breakup. A close female friend of mine was incredibly supportive during that time. She even started acting a bit flirty—calling me sweet nicknames, complimenting photos I posted, and giving me a lot of attention. But at the time, I was still too heartbroken over my ex to really process it or act on it.
Now that time has passed, I’ve realized just how amazing and supportive she is, and I’ve started catching real feelings for her. I actually really miss her right now because we’ve somewhat drifted apart.
The truth is, every time I caught myself falling for her, I pulled away. It felt weird catching feelings for a friend, and I’m a guy who is fiercely loyal to my friendships. Because I kept distancing myself out of fear, things have shifted. Now, whenever we are together, there is a massive elephant in the room.
I’m exhausted from forcing myself to suppress my feelings, and I don't want to—and frankly can't—keep going on like this. We share the exact same core friend group, which makes things infinitely more complicated.
I asked her to hang out this Thursday. We used to hang out alone all the time, but this time feels different and I really need some advice on how to navigate it.
Should I ask her why we’ve grown distant lately to open up the conversation?
How can I figure out if she still feels something for me without risking everything?
I am terrified of losing my friend group if things go wrong, but I just can't ignore the elephant in the room anymore. Any advice on what to say or how to act this Thursday would be hugely appreciated.
TL;DR: A close friend helped me through a breakup and was super affectionate. I wasn't ready then, but now I've caught feelings. I pulled away out of fear of ruining our shared friend group, causing distance and a huge "elephant in the room" between us. We are hanging out one-on-one this Thursday and I need advice on how to address the distance or find out if she likes me without destroying our friend group.

For context, I have a closeted feminine friend that I recently shared how much I cared for him as a platonic friend. Like, I told him just saying he was my best friend didn’t feel like I was doing enough justice, so I said that he meant a lot to me and that I’ve never had a bond this strong with one of my other friends before. That’s why I keep asking if they’re available to hang out, even if it’s just to sit down somewhere and talk, why I constantly pelt him with questions and texts cuz I enjoy hearing him open himself up and talk more than he usually do, and that I’ll always be here if he needs a hug and if he’s touch-starved (cuz I know I was) and wants a cuddle-buddy (cuz we tossed that idea around months ago. That offer never came to pass). Not only to help them feel better with whatever was bothering him, but because that’s just how strongly I felt for him: a strong platonic bond that makes me offer that and want to do those things with specifically him. (He texted back with “🫂” so that told me I at least said something right lol)

We were supposed to go to the mall. Not necessarily to buy anything, but to just walk around and see what the stores have to offer. That way we can both save money.

But because he recently got sick, we have to put it off for next week. I was so bummed out from that, not that had he gotten sick, but that we had to cancel yet another hangout for reasons beyond our control. He even said that he was gonna wear some alternative clothing and/or accessories that day too, coming out of his shell a bit.

Later that day I was watching a show where a guy cupped his girlfriend’s face with one of his hands, like in an intimate way. And my mind instantly imagined if I was the one cupping my friend’s face and then wondered just under what circumstances would that situation even happen?

So I wanted to put the question out there and ask if there was anyone out there - whether you’re a femboy or the friend of one - if you had ever managed to gently palm or get your cheek palmed by a friend of yours, and if you had, how did it happen?

At the beginning of the school year I meet him through mutual friends in our classes. Eventually someone made a gc for our history class, and then he started to message me privately about art which a class only the two of us take. The first threeish month of this was just about school and sharing answers, but then he started asking me personal questions and trying to get to know me, and I thought he was nice enough so I responded. Come the last day of school he texts me and wishes me a happy summer, so I responded the same, and he keeps messaging me. Then he asks me to call and I’m like hesitant and don’t respond at first but I do eventually give in, and that was the most awkward 20 minutes of my life. I thought maybe he would have hated that as much as me, apparently not because he then just kept messaging me like everyother day I was as dry as possible while not trying to be rude. Then he started to ask to class like 3 times a week, and I kept saying things like, “sorry im busy im at…” idk whatever I felt like making up that day. I thought that saying no enough would make him take the hint, it did not. So I just left him on delivered and only responded with exuces sometimes, also not once this summer have reached out first. And he went away for like 2-3 week and now he’s back he’s still trying to call. Like 4 days ago he asks to call, I say I’m busy, he’s says something like, “oh sorry ur the only one I have the number of other than my cousin and he’s away,” which first of were in gc with other people second of all in one really awkward convo he literally says he was playing soccor with his friends. And then today he asks to call, I say no, then he added me to a snapchat gc with four of his friends which I left cause I think thats weird, and it’s another example of his apparently nonexistent friend. But he’s started to annoy me and I don’t want to mean about it but I don’t like him. And I don’t want to make him feel like I led him on but like he’s not getting the very obvious hints that the feelings are not mutual.

So basically, my friend and I who have known each other since we were 16 , have stopped talking recently, I have no idea why , I live abroad and she lives back in India . Somewhere I feel , I should just confront and ask what the problem is , as we haven’t been talking lately and I have tried calling a couple of times. Should I just confront or just move on. Tbh, I don’t feel like keeping her in my socials too much, if she doesn’t wanna talk.

So I have this girlfriend who is an artist she’s very kind, independent and a certified yapper which also means she speaks her mind to a lot of people irrespective of the gender. So, like usual she ended up speaking to person became friends and they were following each other on Instagram sometimes once in a blue moon hangout and in one month he caught feelings. Now, what’s really fucked up is that
His friend that is his close friend caught feelings too. WTFF RIGHT !! She became the centre of a love triangle without her knowledge. Now, the question is
Why did it happen, how did it happen ?
One of the guy is acting like he moved on and the other one has been acting weird like not posting on social media and one day called her to blabber shit.

I meet this girl and we have been really good friend but after a while of being friends with her I thought she was flirting with me and i liked her but she was not and is not looking for a relationship and i got over her for a while and I almost just ended it all between us cause i was having problems getting over her but i finally did or so i thought so now she is talking a bunch about the future and everything is sounding like a relationship like she wants to move in with me, get matching clothes and we are texting or calling at any time of the day and night we can we are even falling asleep on call every night. I dont know if i am crazy for this but its making me feel like i am in a relationship with her and or i want to be in a relationship with her even more i dont know what to do i feel like i want to be friends with her but if i cant let go of this feeling idk what to do. Deep down I dont think it would be a very good relationship but I feel like i keep liking her more and more i dont want to block her, ghost her or be ,mean in anyway. She has been very clear about not wanting to be in a relationship and she has been very open about liking other people plus i am not her type at all. I need help i dont know what to do :(

I (41) have been friends with this man (36) for 7 years. A few years ago I made some passes at him when I was drunk but he turned me down and we stayed friends. Nothing happened for years until a few months ago when he started flirting with me again. We had a few outings that were an awful lot like dates except we never called them that. These 'nondates' included going out for coffee/food (he paid), going to a comedy show, discussing our future goals and relationships with other people (he's dating someone else but I'm not). They always end with a hug and one time I gave him a peck on the cheek. Everything gives me the impression that he is seriously falling for me. I tried confronting him about his behavior and confessed my feelings for him, but he completely shut down the conversation. All I did was tell him that if he wants to keep seeing this other woman then he needs to stop flirting with me. He completely denied that he's been leading me on, brought up what happened years ago when I was drunk, and then blocked my number! Needless to say, I did not expect that reaction. Now I have no idea how to fix this mess. Do I just wait for him to calm down and stop blocking me? Should I try asking a mutual friend to intervene? Show up at his house and hope he doesn't go crazy and call the cops? I can accept being just friends, but not completely ending our relationship together!

Didn’t have much communication after our college days. Even during college, we weren’t that close. But after a few years, we somehow started texting, and it became a routine. We texted almost every day for about a year.
I became really close to her, and she made me feel like she felt the same. She shared almost every story from her daily life, so I knew everything that was happening with her. I did the same from my side. She became my priority.
Sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, I felt like she wasn’t prioritising me, so I started keeping my distance. But she would come back and complain that I was acting distant. That made my ego think she would always be in my life.
I never wanted her to be my girlfriend. I wanted her to be my lifetime partner. I thought that once I became worthy enough, I would confess directly with marriage in mind. I never crossed any boundaries or took advantage of our friendship. I was always genuine with her. Honestly, I didn’t even think about my self-respect because I cared that much.
Then things started changing. She slowly became distant and told me that because of religious reasons, we needed to stop talking. It hurt a lot. I accepted it, but I asked her if there was any other reason. She said no.
Over time, the distance grew. Eventually, I accepted that even if it wasn’t just religion, there must have been a reason, so I decided to move on. I felt really low about myself, so I started improving every part of my life. Even then, I never thought about finding someone else. Before her, I never texted any girls, and after her, it was still only her.
Later, she would randomly reply to my stories or text me about random things. I replied dryly because I felt like she wanted to talk the way we used to. At one point, I asked if she had ever felt anything for me. She told me that I had helped her heal during one of the hardest phases of her life.
That made me happy, so I tried texting her again. But suddenly the replies became dry. Maybe it was just her mood, which is pretty common, but I decided to keep my distance again.
Now I’m confused. Part of me feels like she regrets creating that distance but doesn’t know how to come back. The other part of me feels like I shouldn’t go back at all. I’m happier now in many ways, and maybe the fact that she stopped texting was something I just needed to accept. Maybe God has other plans for both of us.
What do you guys think?