This could be a long story, but I'll just keep it simple. I'm sure it's a situation that pops up a lot on here.
Earlier this year I met this guy and became good friends with him. We're really close, we hang out a lot and talk a lot. He's fun but we ran into a problem. He likes me a lot. I care about him and love spending time with him but I just don't have the same feelings that he has. It has actually been going on for a little bit now but we both know we can't just let this go on and ignore it. We've been talking about it more but we can't see a solution that doesn't end with one or both of us being unhappy.
I don't want to lose the friendship, he means a lot to me. But he says it's getting harder for him to be around me when he feels this way because his feelings are getting stronger. He says he'd be happy with an open relationship... doesn't necessarily want a boyfriend/girlfriend thing but for some reason I'm not sure I want even that. And I'm afraid if I agree to something then I would only be doing it to make him happy which could only end badly somewhere down the line. It wouldn't be fair for either of us.
I know there's no easy solution for this but I'd hate to just break off the friendship. We both know that's a possibility but neither of us want that which I think is why we continue to be stuck in this situation.

If you have already talked about it there's not really much more YOU can do , you've let him know your feelings and are happy to be around him.
However he's the one with the problem in that it hurts to be around you because his feelings are stronger than yours.
I think it's up to him to decide whether he can handle it or not . And please don't ever get into something you don't really want to do just to please him , to start with it's not right and neither one of you will benefit in the long run.

Good Luck!

Make sure your feelings for him are clear: "Friendship and nothing more."

Then he's going to have to decide whether he can handle a friendship with you. You can't force him to be your friend if he can't handle it. Chances are, he's still talking to you because he still has some false hope.

If he can't handle the friendship, you're going to need to put some distance from each other until his feelings for you have gone away. Once they've gone away, it will be much easier to be friends. If he really means that much to you as your friend, then you wouldn't mind leaving him alone for a while, while he recovers from his feelings for you.

He says he'd be happy with an open relationship... doesn't necessarily want a boyfriend/girlfriend thing but for some reason I'm not sure I want even that


Back off, he is friendly, and nice, but wants sex, more than a friendship. Be cautious around him, and don't fall for some okey doke.

If he doesn't get what he wants I suspect his interest in you will fade. Keep it friends only!

We had a long talk about it last night and decided we're just going to spend some time apart for awhile. We decided we're only going to contact each other if it's an emergency or we really need to. He said it will take him a long time, maybe a good year and after I graduate. It was really hard because I feel like I hurt him so much but we both understand the situation and that it had to be done. I feel miserable today and probably will for awhile :(

It's better to clear things up rather than to drag it out. "Short term pain for long term gain."

Once he recovers, you might be able to rekindle the friendship. But until then, stick to your arrangement and let him heal.

You have to walk away from this situation- he'll only get hurt in the end if you continue to hang out with him. He's telling you he'd be fine with an open relationship but he's lying- he's going to fall for you more and its not fair to either of you.