Just Friends Parasited [Browser]

There is a quiet hollowing that happens when you realize the friendship was never a two-way street. It was a host-parasite arrangement dressed in the soft language of “no labels,” “keeping things casual,” or—the cruelest of all—“we’re just friends.”

The parasite arrives charming. They need a listener at 2 a.m., a shoulder after their ex texts, a ride to the airport, a plus-one to their cousin’s wedding. And you give. Because you are a friend. That’s what friends do. But somewhere along the way, the giving becomes a one-way siphon. just friends parasited

That’s the parasitic trick: they keep the host alive enough to keep giving. A text here, a laugh there, just enough warmth to prevent you from leaving. But if you stop providing? If you ask for mutuality? The parasite doesn’t heal the relationship. It looks for a new host. There is a quiet hollowing that happens when