He said he never loved me...should I be his friend?

We lived together for 6 months and dated for 7. Our relationship moved a bit quickly but we were comfortable and seemed to be the perfect couple (to everyone except, I guess, him!). He started a new job that was really stressful and had the worst hours and coordinating our schedules because stressful so our relationship's mood turned more negative (but it was still good overall). One night we got in a bit of a fight and he just ended things. He surprised me by saying he never loved me (which sucked because he until that night had told me he loved me at least once a day on his own accord). I haven't talked to him in a week and a half except for once when we texted. He was super nice in his texts, said he still cares about me and wants me in his life and would prefer if we were friends. Our friends overlap a bit so my friends have basically told me that I don't have a choice but to remain friends with him. We're hanging out tomorrow with a group of like 7-10 close friends. How should I act? I really did love him and enjoy our relationship but I'm starting to get over it. I really do feel indifferent at this point because, well, I can't force him to love me and I know that other guys have and will but being with him was pleasant.