Just Friends?

Many times we find that relationships can quickly turn from fairy-tale to nightmare in .05 seconds, and usually when this happens we just want it to END.  What about when the fairy-tale comes to an end and there are no hard feelings no resentment just a "mutual" consensus that it just wasn't meant to be.  As children we learn fairy-tales don't ever last and there's always a last page always an ending to every story whether happy or disparaging.  That brings us to the next point; the premise if you will, can two people both mutually exclusive in a committed honest relationship go from lovers to friends?  In my own experiences I found it easier to just cut them off completely go my own way and never look back, I'm the type that once we're done we're DONE.  On my quest for spiritual personal emotional growth and maturity I have found that one may not go through life like this so moving forward I have tried other methods like say: friendship.  I must say as one normally reserved and emotionally introverted individual it's especially quite hard!  So a parting thought for the day: Can they ever look upon each other without that deep meaningful longing in their eyes?  Can they ever be "just friends"