Is it normal not to like having close friends?
During primary school and the first half of secondary school, I was always somewhat of an outcast. As I moved up, however, I aquired a number of buddies with whom I would hang around at break time. This was fine, but after being invited over to one of these friends houses, and inviting him back over out of a sense of duty, I realised that I prefered having a small group of friends to hang out with. This 'friend' has invited himself over for a week during the summer holidays, and instead of feeling pleased, I am dreading having to entertain someone and pretend to be normal for such a length of time. The only solution I can see is to give him the cold shoulder for a while, but it doesn't seem like I should need to do this. Is it normal to dislike having close friends, and do you think that I have I been socially wounded by my friendless years as a child?