Falling for my close friend ... all over again

Hi everyone, Its doing my head in. I had to share this with someone, so here goes. As the title says, I'm very sure I'm falling for my close friend all over again. I've known her since I was 15 (I'm a guy) and we've been friends ever since, now we're 23 and 24. When I was around 17, I started falling for her - I started seeing her as something more than a friend, I loved spending time with her, I missed her a lot when I wasn't with her or if I hadn't seen or spoken to her in a couple of days, always wanted to see her happy and never wanted anything to upset her. In short, I really wished we were together. I didn't think she felt the same way and at the risk of losing her friendship, I decided not to say anything. Just juding from the way she was around me, her body language and how she spoke about me to our other friends suggested that she saw me only as a friend. She really helped me out during a tough time when I had a few personal problems, and I valued her as a friend too much to even risk of ruining it all. It was hard, but I somehow managed to hide my true feelings and carry on with things as normal. Eventually, it became very difficult knowing that I loved her a lot and she didn't feel the same. I ended up having to distance myself from her - it was perhaps not the best thing to do and I still regret it. We drifted apart, especially after starting university - we went two different unis quite far apart. After we graduated, I started spending more time with her again. We were still really comfortable around each other and it was almost like picking up from where we left off 4 years ago. I felt a bit more at ease because the break/distance had meant that I was not crazy in love with her anymore. During that time, I had a girlfriend and she a boyfriend. Recently though, she broke up with her boyfriend and it was a really messy break up; she was very upset. I've managed to cheer her up, make her forget about things and in the last week, got her to smile. In the process, I've been spending a lot of time with her, chatting to her, doing things together and its almost been like old times when we were younger. Unfortunately, all my feelings for her have come rushing back - the more I see her, the more I want to be with her and tell her how much I love her. Its a crushing feeling. I know this is not the right time as well given she's just broken up with her boyfriend and is also going through a few family troubles. Its the same thing as 4 years ago - I totally love her, but I can't imagine losing her, either through a break up after a relationship together or just from a straight rejection. I also don't want to put0 more burden on her by confessing how I truly feel. Aagghhh, I just needed to spill that to someone and somewhere. Thank you for reading. I'd be glad if anyone shared any thoughts or views on a similar experience they've been through :)

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