I have been best friends with SLP for 8 years. During those 7 of these 8 years, I was with, well, "dating" the love of my life, Zero. Well, 1 year ago, Zero moved out of state, and SLP proceeded to tell him that I was sleeping around. Of course he took this very seriously and confronted me about it, and when I tried to defend myself, he said I was being too defensive and he had to believe what SLP had told him. We haven't talked since.

It really broke my heart, and I didn't talk to SLP for nearly six months. I couldn't understand how she could be so hurtful, force me to lose him... It really boggled me that my "best friend" could be so cold. But we patched things up.

Ever since Zero and I broke up, I couldn't look at another guy without feeling tremendos guilt. I couldn't comment on another guy without feeling this same guilt. It felt as though I was cheating on Zero, even if we weren't together. But we had been together for so long, it was really hard for me to break out of the "I'm a girlfriend to Zero" mode.

Until, two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, I met this guy, who was super sweet, super cute, super funny... I could tell he was kind of digging on me too. We hung out a couple of times, teasing each other, giving each other silly nicknames and stuff... And I was finally feeling guilt free.

I made the mistake of telling SLP that I liked him, but I couldn't do anything since I met him through a mutual friend of ours who was crushing on me. So what does she do when she meets him? She straddles him, shoves herself in his face, cleans his house, cleans his car, bugs him to bring her some smokes, takes him out to lunch and drags him up to kissing rock, spends the night at his house, and bad mouths me.

The seriously raunchy part of all this? This all happened in 3 days, since the day she met him. Friday, through Monday.

I've been seriously hurt. She's posted things about me in her myspace, been trying to freak me out by saying she's punching walls cuz she's so pissed at me... I have to see her on Sunday, cuz the guy I like is having a BBQ...

I'm already planning on being cordial. I don't want to start anything in his house, but I know how SLP works... and she's going to be slamming me down with her words, then turning them into jokes so she doesn't look like the b*t*h she is. She's also going to have another girl with her, Kitten, who will be more than ready to pounce at me with SLP's command.

SLP has also made me fight with a guy friend of mine. She's the one that told him that I was digging on the guy I like, and he got really angry at both me and him. Now he's ignoring my calls, and the last conversation with him consisted of him telling me on how much better SLP was than I was, and how much cuter she was, and how if I wasn't giving mixed signals (which I wasn't, I told him, repeatedly, mind you, that we were just friends. Nothing more.) he would have went after her first in a heart beat.

I don't usually fight for guys, but I really like this one. I believe in that old saying "Chicks before Dicks" but... I don't really conciter her a friend anymore, and it hurts. It really, really, hurts.

I suppose I'm asking how to get rid of her, since now she's part of the group I used to use as my "Away from SLP" time...

And I'm turning this into two questions in one. Here's the story on the guy I like.

Let's call him.. Lion. It's not the nickname I gave him, but I already know he's going to search his nickname to see if I'm writing anything about him... anyway...

I think he likes me. But... a huge part of me is thinking that I want him to be interested, so much, that I'm seeing things that aren't there...

Me: I really didn't mean to cause all this trouble. I feel so guilty
Him: Not you're fault. You didn't say anything.
Me: But, I like you and that's how everything got so screwed
Him: Don't beat yourself up. I'm just so damn confused about everything.
Me: Yeah?
Him: Yeah, but I'm not going to do anything with either of you [SLP], because I'm scared of hurting the other

-

Me: So, you wanna hang on Friday?
Him: I was planning on hanging out with Jesse, but you're more than welcome to come.
Me: Yeah?
Him: Yeah, I'll prolly just ditch him anyway.
Me: Why? Is he that boring?
Him: No, I just like spending time with you. -cue gorgeous smile-

-

Me: Sorry, I have this weird fixation with hair.
Him: Don't stop! I love it when you play with my hair.

-

Him: I'm not going to lie to you, I think SLP is cute...

-

Me: Shut up, Lion!
Him: I give you a compliment and you tell me to shut up?
Me: Shut up, Lion...
Him: Okay..
Me: [Playing with his hair] When I met you, I was scared.
Him: Why?
Me: Because I liked you. Because of Bear... Because I had a feeling things would turn out like this.
Him: I had those same feelings, I thought you were cute the minute I saw you.

-

Him: Well, I thought you liked Bear. And I figured since SLP was single and I was single...
Me: But I was never pushing you towards her, Lion..
Him: I know that now.
Me: So?
Him: I'm just going to let time decide.

---

Well, now that you know some of the conversations we've had during the past week, I wanna know an outside opinion on what to do. I wanna continue to fight for him, but he's making things so confusing. Like, does he even like me? Am I just making a fool out of myself trying to push things with him into a relationship? Is he digging on SLP more?

Thank you, you guys, for such wondeful advice, and Happy Easter!

It's true, SLP and I were very close. We always turned to each other, no matter the trouble we were in or how busy the other was. We truely were "Birds of a Feather".

Well, here's the latest on what's going on.

SLP won the battle. Lion doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. I think he's actually disgusted. Why? Because SLP told him that I was saying some horrible things about her deceased father. I found this out from another friend of ours, Obie. He told me that SLP had said that I was saying, and I quote... "Her father was nothing but an alcoholic woman abuser. Good riddance to trash. If she wants to keep a man like that alive, then I want nothing to do with her either."

I would never say anything like that. Ever. The funny thing is, SHE'S the one who discribed him like that to me. The first time she ever talked about her father, it wasn't a pretty story.

Hm. I don't care anymore. I found out some other intersting things about Lion... and, actually, am now feeling as though SLP did me a favor by acting like a little hoe.

Lion has a drinking problem. He trusts people who just entered his life far too quickly, and winds up hurting those he has known for years. He's too quick to jump at the easiest solution... and the list goes on.

Don't think me like SLP when I say this... but here's my new happier story.

Obie. I met him when SLP met Lion. Now, Obie and I got into an argument the first day we met. Which was pretty funny, because I'm a quiet person... Anway... Ever since SLP has been clinging onto Lion, Obie and I have been spending a lot of time together. He paid for my ticket to go see 300 with him and Lion, bought me Dinner... twice, and took me to the movies again just last Friday.

We were supposed to see the 730 show, but winded up being 20 minutes late. So, he got us tickets for the 845 showing instead. We had an hour to kill, so he took me to his house and I met his mom, dad and neice. I know he had been talking about me with his mom, because she knew which High School I went to, and the fact that I have a second job. Haha! Not only that, but she was on the phone and told the persons he was on the phone with that she had to go because "Obie and his girlfriend" had walked through the door.

Well, we saw the movie and when he dropped me off at his house, he turned to me and said, "You know what I think? I think you and I should start dating..." I blushed so hard I could have put a tomato to shame.

You see, the thing is, I thought I liked Lion, and I'm sure I did, but the more time I spent with Obie, the more I realized that it was actually Obie that I was crushing on. I was never going to persue anything, for the pure fact that Obie and Lion are friends. I couldn't do that. But I had dropped my feelings a while ago, the game SLP had us playing was really ticking me off. And I had figured... Well, if he's going to fall for that crap... you know? And that is aside from all the other things I started noticing.

Obie is NOT second choice. I had just met Lion first. Even if SLP hadn't gotten her panties in a bunch about the situation, I'm more than positive I would have winded up liking Obie more. Hands down.

...Well, my response to him was, "Do you really think so?" I kept my eyes on my purse because I was too shy to look directly at him. And worried that he'd be able to see me blushing through the dark...

"Yeah, I do."

"That doesn't sound too bad. But you know this means you have to call me more, right?"

"Oh, I'll deffinately call you."

He walked me to my door and gave me a hug.

I spent a couple of hours at his house for Easter. He and his mom had invited me over. Met a ton of his family members through that, then he came over to my house and had a second Easter with my family.

But I learned something today. Found out that on Saturday, SLP had gotten Lion completely hammered, and called Obie for a ride. After he took her to her house, she proceeded to invite him in. I don't know why he went inside, or why he stayed for an hour, but he left soon afterwards.

I'm happy he was honest with me about it, but I'm worried. SLP knows that Obie and I have been spending an awful lot of time together. I'm pretty sure she's trying to dig her claws into him now. =/

Well, we'll see how this pans out. His family really likes me, and I like them. And Obie did ask me to start dating him. I just hope he isn't as naive as Lion and falls for her tricks.