Happy you can speak about yourself for real now

. I've been in a similar situation to you at a similar age, my friend would constantly snipe and throw nasty remarks my way coated within conversations. Yes they are your friend and you don't want to fall out, but there's a point where enough is enough and you are the sole person in control of that. I'd say cutting them out of your life is exactly what you should do as it will show them that it's not OK to continue doing what they're doing and allows you to move on from the constant nasty atmosphere. And I can assure you once you remove someone from your life who is causing you trouble and nastiness, you will feel so much better. No one deserves to be antagonised