Should I (M29) bother confronting my “forgetfull” friend (M29)?

r/

TL;DR: My friend forgot all our plans, doesn’t seem to care about me, and I don’t know how to handle it.

Some context: This is a friend I’ve known for almost 2 years now, and I consider our relationship to be casual. Nothing special, but I don’t have that many friends, so I like to keep the ones I have and care for them, so everyone can benefit from the relationship. Recently, though, I’ve felt that this particular relationship is falling apart because I’ve become less and less “interesting” to my friend (M29). I’ve noticed that he tends to bounce between people, giving them a lot of attention, and even crushing on them and trying to date them, but often leading to failure. I am fully aware that I’m not the most exciting person in the world (my friend has even stated that I’m socially awkward), but I can’t help but feel left out, especially since he was the first friend I made when I moved to the city I live in now.

I (M29) tried to schedule a meetup with my friend (M29) before a show we both were going to. I knew he was going to go with another friend of his (whom he tried to date but rejected him), whom I’ve met a few times, because I thought it would be nice to have a drink together before the show started. I asked him about this a few weeks ago, and he said we could probably do this. Cut too today, which is the day of the show. I text him and ask if they’d still like to meet up. He tells me he’d forgotten my earlier question about meeting up and that him (my friend) and his friend were going to stay at his place until the show starts, but that he would text when they were on their way. This part is completely fine by me, as I don’t expect people to remember a throwaway question from a few weeks back. The next part is what bothers me. Hours go by, and I hear nothing from them, so I leave so I can arrive at the show on time. Not until after I step on the tram, my friend texts me, “Hey, I forgot to text you that we’re on our way, but we’re at the show now. Where are you?” I tell him that I just left home, and he answers, “what area are you sitting at the show? we are sitting in this location”. I answer him that I don’t know the area, just my seat number, to which he replies, “welp, I’ll see you there”. I arrive 15 minutes before the show starts, knowing that there’s no point looking for them since there are so many people there, and I was honestly not in the mood to see them at that point. I noticed my friend’s friend was looking for me, but I tried my best to ignore them so I could focus on enjoying the show and not create any more negative emotions. I find my seat, sit down, and get a snap taken by my friend of me sitting down, no text. I jokingly respond “stalker”, to which he replies “I’m obsessed”, to which I reply simply with “clearly”. I watch the show, leave when it’s over, and haven’t heard anything from him.

It’s clear to me that this is a person I should cut out of my life. But the idea of losing someone I care about hurts, even though the pain stems from his actions. The worst part is that he’s come to me earlier to vent cause others has treated him the same way he has treated me. The “adult” in me wants to confront him and tell him this is not ok, but the cynic in me wants to ignore him for now and potentially use this against him if he ever asks why I don’t talk to him anymore.

At this point, I don’t know what the best option is. Should I confront him? Should I not say anything and cut him out of my life? Or should I use this against him, setting an example of how he treats people?

 

Comments

  1. skylarm195 Avatar

    because im an overthinker about everything (not saying you are) i have learned to ask my friends. like “hey i feel we havent been talking as much lately, is something going on or anything? are we okay?” once he responds, try to go from there with explaining why you asked. if they are a good friend, they will willingly answer you and not be upset with you asking, and also stay your friend. i wish you the best:) as something like this seems a bit casual depending on how each person “categorizes” the friendship but since you’re concerned, its okay to ask sometimes