One of my closest friends is extremely toxic and I can’t take it anymore
Background: I’m a 20 year old college male student. I have had this friend (well call him John) for 7-8 years and he’s extremely deep in my social circles. Worst part is I live with him among one other roommate (my actual best friend). He has a personality which his hard to do justice with words. He is narcissistic, reductionist, and contrarian, looking to start conflict and satisfy his ego at all times.
I’ve known for years that I needed to distance myself from him entirely, but I never have due to his mutual friendship with all my friends. More people around him are becoming tired of him but few will be honest with him, seeking to avoid conflict.
Long story short, I will be living with him for the next year but I can’t stand him being so integral in my social circles. How can I distance from him and am I justified in separating from him completely?
tl;dr One of my closest friends is narcissistic and I need to distance myself