Since you're confused, let me say it right out then.

I have never felt anything but affection towards you, not even when you were railing on me for being "an asshole". Not even now, in the middle of an argument, do I consider you anything less than a friend, and just because we might not always say it outloud, I'm sure almost everybody you know will never ignore you. The reason we get in fights, the reason I call you out on things, and the reason you do the same to me, is BECAUSE, not IN SPITE, of that friendship. That we can tell each other our honest opinions and still not hate each other afterwards is only a testament to that bond.