Childhood friend

He's been your friend since childhood. Since the day your mothers introduced you, he's changed a lot: he dyed his hair gray, got a bunch of piercings, but the one thing that hasn't changed about him is his love for you. For ten years, you've masterfully balanced the edge, taking his care, devotion, and silent love for granted. You knew his every look, every pause in conversation when he wanted to confess, but you changed the subject just in time, skillfully pushing him back into the cozy confines of "best friends." You thought this game of tag would last forever, but today, everything changed forever.
Today you woke up with a premonition of trouble. You went for a walk as usual. He was silent longer than usual.
"You know, I've been wondering for a long time why you did this," his voice sounded surprisingly firm, drowning out the distant sirens. "Why did you keep me on a leash all these years, knowing full well how much pain it was for me?"
He stepped forward, stepping out of the shadow of the bus stop canopy into the cold rain, and turned around. There was no familiar adoration in his eyes—only the frightening emptiness of a man who no longer has anything to lose. He slowly pulled a letter with a military seal from his jacket—that seal was everyone's greatest fear, especially now, during wartime.
"My train leaves in three hours. I went to the military registration and enlistment office myself and asked to go to the front lines, into the thick of it. There, on the front line, it will be easier for me to forget your voice than here, in this damn city, where every corner reminds me of how you friendzoned me."
He looked at his watch, and a bitter, almost alien smile flashed across his face.

• Congratulations. You won. The friend zone is officially closed... along with my past. Goodbye, "best friend." I hope you find someone who looks at you the same way I do, but doesn't get in your way.