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I’ve often been told that boys and girls can be the best of friends. I’ve seen people proudly declare, “She’s my girl best friend” or “He’s my boy best friend,” as if that title in itself is a badge of purity, trust, and balance. But every time I come across these stories, something inside me resists believing it. It’s not that I’m cynical about relationships or friendships. It’s just that, from where I stand, the line between a friendship and something more always feels too thin, too fragile. At some point, one of them either feels more than the other, or the person who is truly in a relationship with one of them begins to feel uncomfortable with the closeness. And then? Something breaks. Sometimes the friendship, sometimes the love, sometimes both. I’ve seen it happen in different ways. A girl who swears by her “guy best friend” ends up choosing between her boyfriend and her best friend when things get serious. A boy who promises his girlfriend that his friendship with another girl i...

People say I always give her the benefit of doubt. And maybe they’re right. Maybe I do. But sometimes, when I sit with my thoughts, I wonder if it’s less about her and more about me. I don’t think she was ever really wrong. Maybe she was just being herself. Maybe she never meant half the things I thought she meant. Maybe I read too much into her words, her pauses, her silences. Maybe I picked up on signals that weren’t even there. It’s possible that I was just another person in her world. One of many. But in my head, I made it bigger. I gave it more weight. I assigned meaning where there was probably none. And then when people ask me why I don’t stop talking to her, why I don’t distance myself, I don’t know what to say. Because it’s not really about caring for her. It’s about me. That’s just who I am. I don’t like cutting people off. I don’t like holding grudges. I can’t bring myself to treat someone coldly, even when it feels easier to do so. It’s not because I’m clinging. It’s not be...