I’m in a difficult spot after being hurt by something my friend said to me and don’t know how to proceed.

So there is this girl who I really like and I have really been wanting to ask her to my school’s winter dance for a really long time. I also have a friend who I have know for about a year now. We’re good friends, although I wouldn’t say he’s my best friend.

Earlier today I was talking to my friend about if he was going to the dance or not. He said “I don’t know” which confused me because of what he said next. I asked him if he did go if there was anyone he was going with or wanted to ask. He then tells me “Yeah I’m probably going to try and go with (her name).” When he said that my stomach honestly dropped. I asked him if he thought she would want to go with him and he said “I think so”. He then told me that he had “talked about it for a while” with her (and he didn’t really clarify what that meant) but that he hadn‘t “officially“ asked her yet. He also mentioned that he didn’t start shopping yet.

I haven’t told him that I also really wanted to ask the same girl, because before this conversation I had no idea they were even talking or that they even knew each other that well. I also didn’t really want to tell him in the moment because I was really trying to listen to what he was telling me. I also don’t know he’s going to ask her as a friend or partner.

As of writing this I feel torn on what to do next. I don’t know if I should just be completely honest with my friend and tell him about what my plans were. While I really just want to be transparent with him as I would be with any friend, I’m also really worried about causing drama or potentially ruining our friendship. He did say once that he always had my back so that’s another reason why I fear hurting him. I also don’t want to keep pressing him on the topic by mentioning it again. But I admit I was confused by some of his responses and don’t know if he’s 100% set on asking her. At the same time I also don’t want to just stay silent because I don’t want to hide my true feelings from him about something he did/might be doing. Another reason I don’t want to stay silent is because I have been really passionate about going to the dance with the girl.

I have talked to a few other people about this and they have told me to just do whatever I truly feel is the best thing to do. I don’t know if I’m overreacting but I feel that my feelings are invalid because I never told him. Should I tell my friend or keep quiet?