I am scared about this friendship

[AnalogueAnimal]

Hi all, this isn't a long-distance relationship but I am posting here as I love the community in this forums. Please spare this thread!

I am in need of serious and urgent advice as I feel like things are getting out of hand. I have been friends with a girl for nearly a year now. She used to be in project group at university. We've been good friends and used to study together and work on assignments. Everything was normal before but from the past few weeks, she has been acting different. She was arranged married and I got to know that their relationship isn't very good - I wasn't aware of this.

Overall, she is a very nice person and fun to be with and we've been in several group projects. That is probably why we became good friends. She would ask me for help and I've always helped her with studies and assignments. From the past month or more, she has been calling me everyday. She calls me several times a day, sometimes very early in the morning and sometimes, past midnight. She asks me to meet her for lunch or just to meet her and gets upset if I don't meet. Despite talking everyday, she asks me to stay in touch. Every time I meet her in university, she offers me food (I reject but she brings them anyway). She started sharing about her problems and always asked me to study with her. Lately, she keeps offering me help, asks me whether I need any help from her. She told me she is really happy and glad to see me and glad to have me as her group partner. She leaves messages asking me if I am awake in the middle of night. I never had any wrong thoughts about her but some of my friends started to ask if we're together and I said no. I felt uncomfortable and I have decided to maintain distance. I don''t want to stop talking abruptly - or should I do that?

[Lune]

Hi there ^^

Did you try to talk openly about this uncomfortable feeling that she might have feelings for you that are more than friendship-like for you? I think communication is always better than back off immediately, especially when someone can at least try to work on their behavior or have a clear statement point from you that it will never be more like friendship for obvious and non-obvious reasons yet. I would ask her, what she is about, tell her, when something is crossing a line for you and also talk with her about your worries. You seem to be so good friends and you are both adults, so you should be able to talk about these topics as well.

On the other side, when you maintain distance without the right explanations, then she will just wonder about it, be sad, probably even feel like the friendship does not mean so much to you since you draw back suddenly and leaving her in the dark. It happens a lot, because it seems to be the easier way than actually sit down and have some serious and relieving talk about both people's views and how there could be compromises. But in fact just leaving just like this or acting different than before while telling everything is fine only does more damage than any real conversation about it all could do.

All the best