📝 AITAH - accused aro-ace friend of having a crush on my crush

By ChairRevolutionary74 • Score: 1 • April 24, 2025 8:38 AM


I 20F have a crush on my friend that's a guy A (we'll call him A) 20M. So A, me and 2 of my friends (who we'll call U and J both 21F) are in a really close knit friend group that recently formed at the beginning of this year. I had a crush on A before the friend group formed and U and J both knew this before we became close with A. While U and J were relatively close friends way before A entered our friend group. Regardless, none of us expected to become nearly as close as we got with A in the process.

Now, for context, J is aro/ace and U is bi. All of us are somewhat physical with A (ie playfully punching/choking him, tickling him, etc). However, I think since I have a crush on him I am a little more reserved (or at least was at the beginning). There have been multiple times where J will climb (has straddled him at least once) and tickled him while giggling. Furthermore, she will constantly tease him (U and I do as well, but not nearly to the same extent). There will also be little things that J does like steal his hat or phone or poke him or something and I will also do things that are teasing and can be seen as somewhat flirty/friendly. BUT I know I have a crush on him and I know J doesn't experience any form of attraction. On top of this, J has a very motherly act, especially towards A and U, so seeing her both tease him so much while also care about him sincerely, very much felt like "tsundere" (aloof and harsh but simultaneously extremely caring) towards him.

One day U and I were talking about this and J's reactions to things that A does can be incorrectly interpreted as crush like. A few things include the straddling while tickling, saying "I hate you" in an almost affectionate (tsundere) way, but again will also pull the blanket over him, offer him his favorite stuffed animal, etc. On top of this, J is not exactly known to be particularly affectionate with men in general because she isn't really close with many men. Later, that day, I told J about how sometimes it could seem like she has a crush on A, but obviously she doesn't because she is aro/ace. She asked to know why and me and U listed the reasons mentioned in this paragraph and I talked about the tsundere archetype and how I've read way too many romances and that I'm biased because I do have romantic feelings for A. J then asks each of us (U and me) for a timeline. Throughout the entire conversation she was sarcastically saying "i love hearing this" but then after the conversation she walked away and has not come back for awhile.

I did not mean to actually offend her and I realize I could've come across questioning J and her identity as an aro/ace person. Furthermore, I realized I could've just sounded extremely dramatic and seem accusing her of stealing my crush or something.

TLDR; told an aro-ace friend who is friends with my crush that she could be perceived as having feelings for my crush due to the way she interacts with him both physically and verbally and things she does for him...AITAH and did I insult her?

View on Reddit