I have feelings for my childhood best friend, but my best friend keeps him as a “backup” while she’s in a relationship… what should I do?
I need advice.
I’m 18 and in my final year of high school. I’ve been friends with this guy since kindergarten. We were in the same class every year except for junior and senior year. We’re both Algerian and Muslim, while my best friend is French and Catholic (I feel like that might influence some dynamics).
I’m very comfortable with him — he’s my only guy friend and also my longest friendship. Ever since we were little, we’ve always spent time together. For example, we still go eat together when we have free periods, just like we always did.
In sophomore year, I started developing a small crush on him. But I kept denying it, telling myself it was impossible since we’ve known each other forever.
Towards the end of that year, a girl (who is now my best friend) developed a crush on him, and they started talking. I felt jealous, but I didn’t really understand why since I was still in denial about my feelings.
In junior year, I ended up in the same class as her. My crush had faded a bit over the summer, but they were still talking. He seemed pretty attached, while she treated it more like something casual. At that time, I kind of acted as the middle person between them, while still feeling some jealousy.
Eventually, they stopped talking. I stayed close to my childhood friend, but I also got much closer to her, to the point where she became my best friend. She moved on and got into a relationship, while he had a harder time letting go and would often ask me about her.
At the start of senior year (around October), they started talking again, except my best friend was talking to him and other guys at the same time. He eventually found out and moved on.
Meanwhile, I got even closer to him. We take the same bus, get off at the same stop, and sometimes stay and talk for up to two hours. We still eat together whenever we have free time, like before. Recently, my feelings for him came back, but this time I’m not denying them.
The problem is my best friend. Even though she’s in a relationship, she seems to want to keep him “on the side,” which puts him in a confusing situation.
I’ve never told her about my feelings. But she feels comfortable talking to me about her relationship with him, and I don’t want her to stop because I need to understand what’s going on between them.
I’m also scared of getting rejected if I confess to him, and ruining a friendship that has lasted for years.
So I feel stuck:
Should I confess my feelings to my childhood friend? Or should I keep them to myself to avoid hurting my best friend, even though deep down it seems like they probably won’t end up together anyway?