What happens when you fall in love with your boyfriend's friend?

Someone looked up this subject matter and landed on our blog. I thought, "why not write something about it?" Here goes:

So what DOES happen when you fall in love with your boyfriend's friend?

A whole lot of headache is what I think. A relationship between two persons is a balancing act already, add a third person and you've got a recipe for massive headache. You have three persons to consider here - you, your boyfriend and your boyfriend's friend.

YOU:
Better prepare yourself for some questions. Think about what's going on before doing anything. Ask yourself the tough question. When did you start falling in love with your boyfriend's friend? Is it an attraction based on how different or how similar the friend is from your boyfriend? When you already felt pangs of attraction, did you forge on or flee from him? Does it seem like he feels attracted to you too? What do you want to happen? Do you want a break-up from your boyfriend so you can comfortably pursue his friend? Don't tell me there's too much thinking involved. Your situation can easily end up a big mess for the three of you, so don't be lazy. Figure it out before you take action. YOU will be the woman who gets in the way of their friendship, after all.

YOUR BOYFRIEND:
This is pretty risky. Are the two of you in a serious, long-term relationship? If yes, you might want to think twice or thrice whether or not you'll tell him that you're attracted to his friend. Do you think his friend is worth sacrificing your boyfriend for? What good will it really do if you tell him about it, unless you plan to let him go and go after his friend? You might also get accused of cheating - physical or emotional, it doesn't matter. He stands to lose the most in this situation - the woman he loves AND the man he considers his friend.

YOUR BOYFRIEND'S FRIEND:
Assuming your feelings are one-sided, you might want to go ahead and ask him how he feels about you. He might feel the same way, he might not. His position is a tricky one considering he's friends with your boyfriend. He can very well take advantage of his position, start something with you, keep it under wraps and then spring it upon your boyfriend at the most inopportune time. Or he can tell your boyfriend about the mutual romantic feelings between you and him in an attempt to be honest. Which might not be received that warmly by your boyfriend. If you and your boyfriend are casually dating and you end up breaking it off for the sake of your boyfriend's friend, there will always be that question in the back of his (your boyfriend's friend) mind if the same thing will happen to him too. After all, like your boyfriend, he also has friends.

Conclusion? Tread carefully. It's easy to fall in love with someone, but it's tough when you hurt someone else in the process. Ask yourself the tough questions. Put yourself in your boyfriend's and his friend's place. You know what's good and right for you. Just try to lessen the hurt and pain. Only you can decide if your boyfriend's friend is worth pursuing or if your boyfriend is the one for you after all.