Let me tell you a little story about the time I tried to be best friends with a boy. Now, I had just started my senior year of high school and my only focus was to get into college and graduate. Those are the only two things that are necessary during senior year, right? Well, this guy and I met in late September. He was new to my high school, a junior. At first, we were acquaintances. We would see each other in the hallways and say hi. Sometimes he would sit at my table during lunch, but we were nothing more than in-school friends. It wasn’t until he comforted me after an unfortunate incident that we truly became best friends.

Our in-school friendship turned in to an all around friendship. We automatically clicked. We talked about everything with each other, from new crushes to relationship problems. We became super close over the months that followed, and I officially had a boy best friend. What’s it like having a boy best friend, you may ask? Well, it’s almost impossible to go day to day without everyone thinking that you’re dating. I mean, come on. Why is it so hard for people to accept that there is a friendship and no sort of relationship going on?

But, as J. Cole said, “As time went on, attractions [get] deeper.” Seven months into our super close friendship, he said to me, “I’ve been thinking for a while about us being more than friends.” I mean, I wasn’t surprised. The two of us couldn’t even walk through our school without people making the googly eyes they make when they see a couple walking down the hall. We were best friends for the longest time, and now it was going to turn into something more. How can a guy and girl with such a close bond not even try to be something more at some point of their friendship?

Whether or not a guy and girl can really be best friends and stay strictly friends is a question that can only be answered through experience. I’ve found out myself that it is close to impossible to just try to stay friends because let’s face it: There is a very thin line between a friendship and a relationship. There’s nothing wrong with dating your best friend. In fact, it’s amazing. You both already know each other so you can skip the “getting to know you” part of the relationship. Maybe some people find it easy to stay just friends, but I’m sure that the majority struggles, just like my best friend and I did.