ok so this is a kinda venting poem so its not that great but......whatever.

it happens like this-
you tell someone something
so she tells you something too
now you know one thing about her
and she knows one thing about you

then a few days later at lunch
something bad happens
like her boyfriend dumps her
and she's in tears
so you wipe off the mascara
tell her he doesnt matter
and then you both cut class and smoke in the bathroom
and talk about your fears

and you tell her how your father's an asshole
and she tells you how her brother is gay
and now you know some things about each other
but theres gonna be a price to pay

cuz pretty soon they're calling you best friends
so you and her talk on the phone every night
and you shop and watch movies and listen to music
and you almost never get into a fight

but here's the thing that you dont realize
until its way too late
she now knows everything about you
so its too bad if you hate
her, too bad if she makes you insane
if she stabs you in the back when you're not looking
and then twists the knife so you feel the pain

and its too bad if she humiliates you and breaks your heart
and apologizes and then breaks it again
you gotta make up
she knows too much
she'll always be your best friend

thats messed up, i cant fathom being in a situation like that... tied into a relationship you detest by the fear of exposure.

the thing is, if you really dont want to be in this relationship and feel bound to it in this way, its a pretty abusive situation and I wouldnt be too surprised if she has some sever trust issues and uses the knowledge to control you so she knows that she wont lose the relationship. Its kind of like the abusive husband that controls his wife with her children.

is it possible to avoid a frontal attack, but to slowly and tactfully drift from the relationship so that it just seems natural and over a year or two she wont really know too much personal info that is recent so it will be less potentially damaging to you?

does she do this to other people?

i dont think its as dramatic as i made it sound-it was more the heat of the moment and now rereading that poem and your response, i'm startin to doubt
myself-like, maybe i'm imagining it and its all in my head. then again maybe not. she definetly has trust issues bcause of a divorce and some other messed up stuff in her family and she can be really manipulative which is probably why i'm still friends with her. i tried recently to, like you said, not talk to her about the important stuff in my life, but then we went to camp together and we kinda reconnected-even tho i still dont tell her anything. the thing is, theres this one "something' that i told her about-none of my other friends know and i really really regret telling her and now every time i see her i think of this thing and since this issue is still relevant in my life, i dont know, i guess i'm scared of her in a way..... i think i'm just gonna have to stay away from her as much as possible. the problem is, she still thinks we'r best friends and she wants me to listen to all her problems. i dont know, sorry if this is al vague and confusing, i'm still a little confused myself.