I recently realized I developed feelings towards a friend of mine. I got attached due to her being naturally attentive, caring and being very open with praise/compliments; she has done things that some would see as unusually close for a friendship (and unusually close to me as it is hard for me to develop strong bonds) which contributed to my feelings, but she has no feelings for me, as she would've told me by now given her upfront personality and because she had voiced she does not like to play mind games like that. I got attached due to looking too much into things and misreading them.I would not act on my feelings for various reasons (a relationship would be almost impossible due to distance and lack of stability on my end, I should focus on my studies and I don't wanna get in her way, I doubt we'll be in eachother's lives for long, among others) and want to get rid of them before I end up being obvious or she finds out by accident, as I just smile when talking to her or think about her too much and too frequently.However, she has been important to me and she has voiced I am an important friend in her life and would not like to completly disappear from her life suddenly, any recommendations/advice? Thanks in advance.
>>34532878Read on the 7 greek types of love. You only love her if you apply all.
>>34532878>she has done things that some would see as unusually close for a friendshipElaborate
>>34534158Complimenting my looks (having called me handsome/cute and saying she has meant those things geniuenly, she swore on me being handsome, even), made gifts to thank me for little favors/being kind, I walked her to her dad's car once under heavy rain with an umbrella because her clothes were of a material that's hard to dry and said she would've developed a slight crush on me if that were to be our first interaction/circumstances were different, complimented skills of mine and said I remind her of certian things (like a kind of flower for example).I've got split opinions if they were signs of something from different people. Mostly I know they are not indication of anything because when we met, she introduced herself to me and made it very clear she just thought I looked friendly and was not flirting or pushing for such thing, and months later we mentioned how we prefer to not deal with weird middle grounds and basically agreed to talk if we wanted anything to change in our friendship. She is also not shy, she has asked guys out in the past. Some people I asked have said she's being respectful to me by not asking though, due to us meeting when I had a very nasty break up that affected me deeply (I had lost friends over it, had very personal stuff shared about me by my ex, had a very serious bout of anxious feelings and was hard to open up or trust people, so on and so forth). Which while I am at it, I haven't fully recovered from those things even though it's been a long time. I'm thinking it's due to something mental-health related I have not checked, and these two reasons contribute to not me wanting to date anyone. Either way, why is this relevant? I geniuenly want to move on but keep the friendship, as she was very helpful in getting over that tough period of my life.
>>34532878And what's wrong with a warm, loving friendship?
>>34534745Nothing. Did I imply it was? I have romantic feelings (or I'm starting to develop them) and I do not want that, because to pursue a relationship with anyone would be unwise knowing my current state, and it would be unwise to pursue a relationship with her specifically knowing the conditions at place (and some others I have not mentioned) and they would get in the way of our friendship.If me describing her behaviour as "unusual" is what prompted the question, then let me clarify I don't mean that negatively. I'm just not used to closeness as a whole to begin with and some people have agreed that some of her actions could be interpreted as loving in a more romantic way (over the things I explained above, I am missing more casual/everyday ones that I may be forgetting about), If it was me saying we won't be close for long anyway, we are finishing our studies soon, we live far apart and chating through the phone/social media is something she does not like doing, it's only natural our friendship will dwindle with time if we cannot meet up and can't talk much.As I said. I don't want to be accidentally found out, as I can be obvious and that could ruin the friendship. I value her friendship and if I could I would want her around as a friend. Romantic feelings or not, she was and is an important person in my life, as I could open up to peopleagain thanks to her, and I would hate to take distance suddenly knowing she also values my friendship too. Again, I don't want her away, I just want these feelings to disappear and stop being in love with someone who isn't in love with me, I should not fall in love with, and I'm not sure I could love properly in the first place (that last one is not self deprication, by the way, I am geniuenly unsure if I can experience love that way thanks to my last relationship, it planted a lot of doubts in me). I probably only caught feelings because she is nice and unusually straightforward/open and I'm not used to that.
