TLDR- I 19M am nervous I am developing feelings for my friend F18 after spending a lot of time together, being on the phone a lot and ways she worded things.
I have been friends with this girl for 3 years. We stopped talking a while ago but reconnected back in August after seeing each other in a store. At the time we were both in relationships so when we hung out it was us and our partners.
About two months ago she broke up with her boyfriend and she went to me to talk about it. I comforted her the best I could while being distant because I was still in a relationship. During this time she said something’s like “I love talking to you, you actually talk about your emotions (ex bf) never had that”. I never thought to much about it because I generally liked talking to her too and she was more emotionally intelligent then my ex. She would also give me updates on the dates she went on and such.
About a month later, my girlfriend broke it off with me. I was obviously upset so I talked to her about it. She was very helpful and it was nice. That same month was the first time we hung out together on our own and it went okay. Still, during this time she’d call and text me randomly about issues she was having or dates she was going on. I tried keeping my distance but over the time we grew closer and I ended up opening up to her about a lot of things and the same with her. I started to discover that it didn’t really feel like a hassle to talk to her and it felt natural.
We talk almost everyday and usually call 2-3 times a week, the texts and calls aren’t one sided it’s very 50/50 on who started them. Also, the things she has started to say to me have just gotten to me. Going to paraphrase: I wish my other relationships (including friendships) were open like this. You should study abroad with me next semester so we have each other etc. I’ve kinda felt the same way. She has also wanted to do a lot more with me like for hanging out then before and she has just gone above and beyond then like any normal friend has ever done for me.
This has all got me to realize that I’m probably developing feelings for her and I don’t want to. But something about this just feels right. I would normally take this as signs to take my shot but I know she isn’t over her ex, I’m not over her ex and she still tells me about the dates she goes on, (though not many anymore). My second thought and most realistic situation is I’m in the friend zone, which I’m okay with.
What would you do in this situation? Is there anyway to like get rid of the feelings? I just feel so confused.