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Ensure you've given yourself enough time. Affirm the importance of your friendship. Accept responsibility. Explain yourself. Ask what your friend needs.
Once your friend has rejected you, make sure to give you and your friend some time to process and readjust. You both probably feel uncertain about what the two of you now have, so give some time to think things through. If you usually spend every weekend with them or talk to them frequently via text, give yourself a few days apart and decrease your communication during that time. Keep in mind there's no set time limit for getting over someone. Go with your instincts on how much space or time you both need, but don't avoid each other for too long. If after a few days or weeks you feel you've processed your initial sadness, reach out to them to see if they're open to talking and spending time together. If they're still uncomfortable, ask them how much longer they need and let them know you'll be there for them when they're ready to talk again. Acknowledge that your friendship probably won't ever be quite the same again, but affirm how important it is for you to still be their friend. Let them know that no matter the rejection, you still value them as a friend. Communicate how being their friend means a lot to you. You can say, "You still mean a lot to me as a friend and I'd like to try to be friends still, even if it's a little awkward at first." Accept responsibility for trying to change the boundaries of your friendship. Acknowledge that you know it may have been awkward for them to hear your changed feelings. Show that you can handle the rejection well by accepting your friend's feelings and not trying to fight with them or change their mind. You can say, "I know this is probably awkward for you and I'm sorry for putting you in this position. Thanks for listening." Explain your reasoning behind confessing feelings to your friend. Let your friend know that you had to tell them the truth because your friendship has always been based on openness, honesty, and trust. If you've been good friends for awhile, have spent a lot of quality time together, and have developed this openness and honesty with each other, your friendship will have a better chance of restarting. You can say, "I would regret it if I never told you how I really felt, and I'm glad we're such good friends that I could be honest with you." Together, discuss specific ways you can return to your friendship. Check-in with your friend about what they need or want from you now that you've confessed your feelings. Check-in on how they see the situation and ask if they have any ideas for making things better between the two of you.