Dancing as fast as she can on June 8, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I broke up with my boyfriend two months ago but he still likes me. A lot! Now his friend likes me also and my ex asked me to the prom but I would feel funny going with him so now I am going with his friend instead. I’m mad at my ex — he follows me around — but I don’t want to hurt him; I only want to be friends. Should I feel guilty about going to the prom with his friend even though he asked me first?

— Sandra

Dear Sandra,

You have hereby demonstrated the one major exception to Breakup Girl’s yes-means-yes rule when it comes to accepting prom dates. Normally, it’s No Backsies. But when your ex asks you — given how weird and changeable all these feelings and situations can be — BG will cut you some slack for saying yes in the chill of the moment and then reneging. Still, you do have to make sure you’ve been straight and up front with your ex about the date-switch sitch. Especially ’cause you’re going with his friend. In an ideal world you’d be going to prom with, oh, Jared Leto, as opposed to your ex’s friend; but Breakup Girl realizes that, especially in smaller schools, some of these overlapping circles are unavoidable. Anyway, make sure your ex realizes that you’re not doing this to be mean; you’re really sorry, but you just realized that you really wouldn’t feel comfortable … which wouldn’t make you the most fun date in prom history, yada yada yada. And neither will feeling guilty. So yeah, you can have both a good time and a good heart.

Love,
Breakup Girl