Date: April 22, 2025
Author: Mia L. Harris
It’s funny how quickly things can change. Two years ago, I met a guy through Twitch, and it started out like any other online friendship. We bonded over shared hobbies, shows, and games. We were the kind of friends who messaged each other daily, stayed up late talking about everything from dumb memes to our biggest dreams.
But eventually, I started noticing things. He was more affectionate with me than he was with others. He’d compliment me constantly, tell me how special I was, how important I was to him. I appreciated it at first — who wouldn’t want to feel valued? But something inside me started to feel… off. It felt like he was starting to expect something more than I could give.
I didn’t mind the attention. In fact, I liked having someone to talk to, someone who was genuinely interested in my day-to-day life. But I wasn’t sure if he saw me as just a friend anymore, and as much as I valued our friendship, I didn’t feel the same way about him. I started to pull back a little, unsure how to navigate this growing tension. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I didn’t want to lead him on either.
Then, I invited him into my Discord group, thinking it would be fun for him to meet my other friends. Things were fine at first, but then I noticed he started getting really close with one of the group members. They were constantly chatting, and they’d tell each other how similar they were — like, “identical,” even. That’s when I started to feel this nagging sense of jealousy. It wasn’t because I wanted to be that person, but because I couldn’t help but feel like I was losing him to someone else.
And sure enough, as time passed, it seemed like they were spending more and more time together, while I started to drift into the background. It was like watching someone else take your place, but worse — because it wasn’t just about the time we spent together; it was about the emotional connection we once had.
Eventually, I gathered the courage to confront him. I let him know that I didn’t share the same feelings he might have had for me. It was a hard conversation, one I dreaded for a long time, but I knew it was necessary. I wanted to be honest with him.
What I didn’t expect, though, was the reaction. He became distant, hurt, and angry — not just at me, but at the entire situation. It felt like I had completely shattered everything we had built over the past two years. The friendship I thought was strong crumbled in a matter of moments. He stopped talking to me, stopped responding to my messages, and it was clear he was upset — but I had no idea how to fix it. I tried to reach out, to talk it through, but it was like talking to a wall.
I don’t know what happened after that. He started posting on his social media about how betrayed he felt, about how he was struggling to move on. I saw him drifting closer to that same friend of mine, the one he’d grown so close to. It was a bit like watching someone else take your place, but worse. Because now, I wasn’t even sure if I had a place in his life anymore.
To be honest, I don’t even know how to deal with it. I feel like I lost a friend, and yet, the situation still hangs over me. I never wanted to hurt him — I just didn’t know how to navigate this complicated mess of emotions. Now, I’m left wondering if there’s any chance to fix this, or if we’re both just moving on in completely different directions.
It’s a weird feeling to have someone go from being so close to someone you don’t even know anymore.
