From One Friend to Another

The bond between two friends comes perilously close to ending as one of those friends discovers another person they like. The second friend is either afraid that the Newcomer will take their double or jealous that their partner is spending more time with this new person. Depending on these two situations, the second friend will try to kick the other person out of the relationship or cut ties with their former friend. Eventually, the Truth Comes Out and the first friend reveals that they were never planning to abandon their buddy. This is enough to restore order to the pair's relationship and All Is Well again. This plot is similar in structure to Two Guys, One Girl.

Plot Sample
Guy and Hugo have been friends since their middle school days. After a trip to a new town, Hugo meets Chase, making fast friends with him. Chase gets Hugo's number before he and Guy head back home. A few days later, Guy calls Hugo to ask if he wants to go to the movies, but Hugo says he arranged a hangout with Chase the day before. Over the weeks, Hugo and Chase become better friends, gradually easing Guy out of the picture. Guy catches on to the possibility that Hugo means to transition away from him and find a new best friend. He returns the favor by ignoring Hugo, refusing to speak to him, and being snarky when they do talk ("If you want to go fishing so badly, why not you take Chase to do it?"). Once Guy calls attention to the issue, Hugo clarifies that he was hanging out with Chase more than Guy since he already knows his older friend well enough. He adds that spending more time with Chase would give the two more opportunities to get closer. Finding out that Hugo wasn't planning anything devious relaxes Guy and opens him to restoring his relationship with Hugo.