I've (20M) been best friends with this girl (19F) since 5th grade. Our dynamic has always been playful, full of teasing, nonsense banter, and harmless pranks. We used to get scolded a lot in school for messing around, but it’s always been part of our thing.

Now that we’re both in college, we’ve matured a bit, but the playful energy is still there. Deep down, though, I know we have each other’s backs when it came down to it. Our schedules don’t line up as much anymore since we have different majors and I don’t see her as often. It felt strange at first, not having her around as much, but I eventually got used to it.

Recently, I got grouped up with this girl in one of my classes for a project. She was really sweet and funny, sort of reminded me of my best friend but without all the chaos. It would be a lie to say I was not a tad bit interested.

I told my best friend about her, and she got all excited, saying it was finally my time to get some romance, especially since I’ve never dated anyone. She was super supportive which kind of pissed me off for some reason. Instead of feeling happy, I honestly felt weird, kind of angry, even.

Since then, I’ve been unusually irritable around her. She’s been texting me here and there, asking for updates about the girl and joking about when I’m finally going to "man up" and make a move but I haven’t replied. I’ve been ignoring her texts that she’s even messaged me out of concern at this point.

I feel terrible for ignoring her, but I’m scared that if I respond, I might snap and say something out of anger. I don’t even fully understand why I’m feeling this way.

So AITAH? cuz right now, I really feel like one.