Girl likes boy. Girl kisses boy. Girl and boy date. Girl and boy live happily ever after. Sounds simple … but sometimes things get complicated. Girl is friends with a boy. Girl is really good friends with a boy. Girl likes boy. Things get weird.

Can guys and girls be just friends? I would love to think so, especially during the times in my life I have gotten along better with guys than with girls, but the recent experiences of my roommates (there're seven of them) would tell me no — it can't happen. From a girl's point of view, I have noticed there are different stages of girl-boy friendships, and some are more harmful (a.k.a. doomed) than others. Girls can have the acquaintance-type guy friends with whom they occasionally hang out, but once you really get to know someone, it can go downhill.

Stage one: The guy friend you would "never" date. You've known him since fifth grade, all the girls love him, he's super-cute and super-sweet and you talk about what a great husband he would be … but you could never see yourself kissing him. He probably doesn't date a lot of people and he seems asexual, which helps. But the truth is, sometimes you think about dating him. Admit it. Maybe not enough to jump him and test out your feelings, but he has grown up since elementary school. Though at times you might be a bit flirty, in the end, you would be excited to meet his new girlfriend.

Friendship outlook: bright.

Stage two: The best-guy-friend. Now we're entering rough terrain. A best friend is someone you confide in, who you spend time with, have fun with and share things with. People who are dating each other often become best friends. So the problem arises when you and your male-best-friend aren't seeing someone. Nothing is holding you back. Then the sexual tension arises, rises and doesn't stop. Until someone makes a move. You've seen "My Best Friend's Wedding" and you've watched Joey and Dawson on "Dawson's Creek" … you know they don't end up together, but you still wonder. The curiosity will probably get the best of you and you'll start to get jealous of that slut he's hanging out with on the weekends.

Friendship outlook: cloudy.

Stage three: The guy friend who you just happen to make out with. So you hang out, you make out, whatever. "But it's fun to kiss" and "We were bored" are not good excuses. And where is this relationship going? You're friends, so you don't really need to talk about what's happening, but eventually it's going to get awkward. Once you've crossed the line from friends to friends-who-make-out, it is weird to go back. You're on your way to losing a friendship — unless you start dating.

Friendship outlook: rainy, but if you take it to the next level and admit you like each other, it may start to clear.

Stage four: The best-guy-friend who you also now make out with … and are starting to like. Sirens! Fire alarms! Loud noises! Guys and girls think on different levels — I don't know what those levels are, but they are not the same ones. The male mind and the female mind think differently about friendships with the opposite sex, and they think differently about relationships. If you mix those two things together, you get a confusing mess … maybe an explosion. In the end, someone is going to get hurt. Because the two of you are so close on an emotional level, adding the physical aspect of a relationship is going to make it hard to get out safely. And if your BF — I mean best friend, not boyfriend — doesn't have the same intentions as you and starts dating someone else (read: spending less time with you), you're not going to understand why and it's going to hurt. Just look into the future because it's only going to get worse: when he says he's engaged, you're going to want to pull a Julia Roberts and crash the wedding.

Friendship outlook: tornado.

Relationship outlook: very windy.

Stage five: The ex-boyfriend who now wants to be friends. Oh, boy, this is awkward. Guy breaks up with girl. Guy wants to be "just friends." Girl hates him … at least for a couple weeks. It's hard to transition from a couple to just a couple of friends. Inviting your ex-girlfriend out to the bars to hang out with you and your friends a week after you broke up is not a good idea … especially with alcohol involved. And when a girl breaks up with her boyfriend, there is probably a similar reaction. Either the girl wants some time alone or the guy is not ready to be "just friends" quite yet. Add in the variable of "I want to get back together" and it is near impossible to start a legitimate friendship. The good news is you have probably been through the entire relationship cycle with this person, so one day you'll be able to get over it and be normal in front of each other. It's just not going to happen overnight.

Friendship outlook: foggy.

Maybe the reason guys and girls can't be "just friends" is because on a sexually charged college campus where we are surrounded by people our own age, everyone becomes a piece of meat. Big lectures become a fishbowl of single guys and bars become a fashion show of eligible women. And when we are feeling lonely — or horny — we'll take what's convenient. With more than 28,000 undergrads, there's a lot of convenience. Roommates pass around guys and girls in their group of friends like it's no big deal.

If you find yourself constantly in the trap of the best-guy-friend-who-you-also-make-out-with-and-like-and-he's-dating-someone-else-now, define "friendship" and "relationship" for yourself and stick to it. Being close with someone is part of a friendship and it is part of a relationship. But relationships and friendships are different (find your own reasons why) and a guy and girl have to choose one or the other. In the long run, a friendship will only survive if it is kept separate from the romance. Guys and girls can be friends, but the make-out sessions, wedding sabotages and bedroom-window ladder climbs need to be kept out of the picture.

Aubre Andrus is a senior double majoring in journalism and communication arts. She says don't make out with your guy friends just because it's too cold and snowy to go out and meet new people — February is almost over. She can be reached at [email protected].