Originally Posted by
MyNameIsTerry
Why do you feel the need to call him out on his status? Why can't you both just be popular? And why do you feel he would use his popularity to undermine yours?
If you want some reading material then I guess other than the normal anxiety type resources you could look towards books regarding Status Anxiety. These address the common need to always look good to the world, when much of that is shallow as those who are interested are shallow enough to easily stray to the next bright shiny thing that catches their attention.