Article: The earlier you return to your normal pattern of interaction with your friend, the easier and less awkward it will be between the two of you. Returning to the normal way you spend time with them will show you’ve accepted and moved on from the rejection. Avoiding each other will only increase awkwardness and keep you both from returning to friendship. You’ll want to return to your normal ways of communicating and spending time with your friend, with a few exceptions. Now that you’re trying to rebuild your friendship, you might want to do some things differently so as to avoid catching feelings again. If there’s too much pressure to act differently around each other, you may not be able to rekindle the friendship. Some boundaries to set include:  Avoid flirtatious behavior, touching, and sexual innuendo. Be careful when talking about their love life and dating other people. Avoid holding out hope that they’ll change or fall in love with you later. Make sure you make time for other interests and activities. Explore other friendships and dating other people. This will help you move on from any feelings you had for your friend. Be sure to develop other friendships where you can discuss love and dating more openly than you might with your friend. Explore what made you decide to try to take your friendship beyond its current status. Reexamine if you read too much into their behavior, if you typically fall for friends or others who aren’t really available to you, or if you developed too much intimacy with your friend too soon. Talk about these patterns with a counselor or a friend who knows you well so that you can prevent falling for your friend again, or falling for another friend. These patterns could occur because:  You've been hurt in the past and are scared of real commitment. You want to protect yourself from future rejection in a relationship by choosing someone who is already unavailable or uninterested. You don't believe you're deserving or worthy of love. Take heart in the fact that your crush on your friend has taught you what you value in a relationship. You’ve learned what you appreciate in a significant other and what’s attractive to you. Apply that knowledge to other relationships. Learn to grow the intimacy you’ve shared with your friend in other relationships.

What is a summary?
Return to normal. Create new, healthy boundaries. Develop other relationships and interests. Look at your patterns. Learn and move on.