i think that the reason we are so cautious about relationships is because they get really emotional and deep really fast (unless both people have set separate parametres - like fuckbuddies), and whether we know it or not, we don't give nearly as much of ourselves to friendships because they don't give us the emtional stability and love that a relationship does. I hope i don't sound pessimistic...hrm. I think that friendships start (i agree with sarah) with common ground, and grow to become, i don't know, something unexplicable...a bond between two people that is just short of a romantic relationship - simply because that isn't the purpose of starting a friendship, so already those boundaries are set - whereas, with a relationship - it can go anywhere. Geez, i hope this makes some kind of sense