Just Friends - by Letters From Delight ⁠♡♡

They always say it first, almost casually, like a disclaimer.“We’re just friends.” As if saying it early enough will make it true enough.And on the surface, it is true. We talk often. We laugh easily. We know each other’s schedules, moods, silences. We show up for each other in small, consistent ways that look harmless to everyone else. There is no label, no promise, no public claim. Just friendship. But friendship, when mixed with hope, becomes something far more complicated. I am the girl in the story who nods when he says just friends, even though a part of me is quietly building a future that was never discussed. I am present in the moment, but my heart is living slightly ahead of time. I imagine a “we” that only exists in my head. Not because he promised it, but because the way he treats me feels like it could become something more. And that “could” is dangerous.The problem with being just friends is not the friendship itself. It is the imbalance of expectations. He enjoys what we have as it is. I endure it while hoping it evolves.I listen to him talk about his fears, his dreams, his confusion. I celebrate his wins and sit with him in his losses. I know how he takes his tea, what annoys him, what makes him go quiet. I know him in ways that matter. And somewhere along the line, knowing him turned into wanting him. Quietly. Patiently. Respectfully. I want us to make Nepo babies. I want him to push our baby's trolly down the hospital's walkway.I want to lay beside him at night “Kí n lè fọ́ orí rẹ nígbà tí ó bá ń sùn.”Isn't this too much imagination for "Just friends".? I never demanded more. I never crossed lines. I stayed within the boundaries of friendship, even when my feelings did not. Because I told myself that loving someone silently was better than losing them completely.But silence has a cost.Every time he says, “You’re such a good friend,” it lands heavier than it should. Every time he talks about someone else, I smile and remind myself that I never had a claim. That hope without permission is self-inflicted pain. People assume the girl who stays is strong. They praise her maturity. But they do not see the daily negotiation happening inside her. The constant effort it takes to not want more. To not read too much into care. To not confuse emotional intimacy with commitment.This is the reality of being just friends when one person wants forever.It is loving without direction. Caring without certainty. Waiting without a timeline.And the most painful part is that no one is truly at fault. He did not lie. He did not lead me on intentionally. He was honest about the title. I was the one who translated his kindness into possibility.Still, honesty does not erase hurt.There comes a point where the girl has to ask herself a difficult question:Am I staying because I am valued, or because I am hopeful?Because friendship should feel safe, not like a test of emotional endurance. And love, even when unreturned, should not require self-erasure. Sometimes, the bravest thing the girl can do is admit that just friends is enough. Not because she doesn't want him, or yearn to have him forever , but because she deserves clarity, peace, and a future that is mutual. She deserves to be asked properly, to be noticed, to be on the same page. To attract and not chase. So I would rather sit and remain still. But she won't walk away, she would rather stay here and drench till the drip of her feelings gets noticed by him. And if it never happens- I might never forget this ship, life goes on. This is not a bitter story. It is a human one. One about how easily love can grow in quiet spaces, and how painful it is when it has nowhere to go.Because just friends sounds simple.Until one heart starts planning a forever the other never agreed to.

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