It all started when I was in 8th grade. I had a really good friend of mine who was almost the same person as me but of the opposite gender. The reason we became friends in the first place was that we had the same mindset, perspectives, and opinions on almost everything. We were so close that people started thinking we were dating, but tbh, we never did anything beyond just being friends, and I never felt anything like, yk, the romantic shit about her. So, things were going pretty well, but after 8th grade, she started having some issues within our school, and she decided to transfer. At first, I thought maybe we'd just stay the same, and it really wouldn't matter (since both schools were pretty close). But after a while, we just didn't talk like we used to, and I got it that she had new friends now and everything. Besides, I wasn't really bothered that much. Over time, we basically stopped talking to each other. While it was kinda sad for me at the beginning, I just moved on with my own life. Since then, it's been 3 years, and we haven't seen each other. But now that I'm in my first year of college, we are classmates again (we got admitted to the same college). We did meet and hang around the campus. We were just laughing about stuff. Ofc, we met again after 3 years, and I was so happy to see her again. Everything seemed pretty normal at first, but after a while, she told me that she has a boyfriend now, which is really normal for a girl at this age. But something just sank deep inside me when I heard it. It wasn't like I was sad, but it was something I couldn't really explain. I kept thinking about it for the entire day and admitted to myself that I did like that girl (even though I had never felt like this before). Now that we are kinda friends again and do meet and talk sometimes, I feel like I shouldn't be having these feelings towards her because she genuinely sees me as a good friend and trusts me a lot. It's not like she has a lot of male friends or is an extroverted girl who is friends with everyone.
I do respect her decision and her personal relationships. I don't want to interfere in her life. I'm never going to break the boundaries we have. But is it okay to just be like this, yk, "act normal" while I know that I have some feelings for this girl? Isn't that breaking the trust she has in me?Should I be distant because of everything I just said, or is it okay to just be friends with someone you know you like but will never confess to?