I led him on and now we won't be friends?

Answer 1

Typically once someone is led on, they lose a certain level of trust with an individual. You could try to apologize, and explain the situation to the person, however, there is no guarantee that they will want to remain as your friend, or even accept the apology.

In the future, I would suggest being direct with people. As opposed to stringing someone along, and making them think they have a chance, just be honest with them, and tell them how you feel. Yes this might hurt them, but it will hurt a lost less and be easier to move on from than being led on. You may even feel bad for breaking it to someone that it is not working out, and that is natural. Being honest is the right thing to do.