diff --git a/thoughts-frontend/app/users/[username]/page.tsx b/thoughts-frontend/app/users/[username]/page.tsx
index 066dc41..9741626 100644
--- a/thoughts-frontend/app/users/[username]/page.tsx
+++ b/thoughts-frontend/app/users/[username]/page.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-import { getUserProfile, getUserThoughts } from "@/lib/api";
+import { getMe, getUserProfile, getUserThoughts } from "@/lib/api";
 import { UserAvatar } from "@/components/user-avatar";
 import { ThoughtCard } from "@/components/thought-card";
 import { Calendar } from "lucide-react";
 import { Card } from "@/components/ui/card";
 import { notFound } from "next/navigation";
 import { cookies } from "next/headers";
+import { FollowButton } from "@/components/follow-button";
 
 interface ProfilePageProps {
   params: { username: string };
@@ -14,22 +15,34 @@ export default async function ProfilePage({ params }: ProfilePageProps) {
   const { username } = params;
   const token = (await cookies()).get("auth_token")?.value ?? null;
 
-  // Fetch data directly on the server.
-  // The `loading.tsx` file will be shown to the user during this fetch.
-  const [userResult, thoughtsResult] = await Promise.allSettled([
-    getUserProfile(username, token),
-    getUserThoughts(username, token),
+  // Fetch data in parallel
+  const userProfilePromise = getUserProfile(username, token);
+  const thoughtsPromise = getUserThoughts(username, token);
+  // Fetch the logged-in user's data (if they exist)
+  const mePromise = token ? getMe(token) : Promise.resolve(null);
+
+  const [userResult, thoughtsResult, meResult] = await Promise.allSettled([
+    userProfilePromise,
+    thoughtsPromise,
+    mePromise,
   ]);
 
-  // Handle errors from the server-side fetch
   if (userResult.status === "rejected") {
-    // If the user isn't found, render the Next.js 404 page
     notFound();
   }
 
   const user = userResult.value;
   const thoughts =
     thoughtsResult.status === "fulfilled" ? thoughtsResult.value.thoughts : [];
+  const me = meResult.status === "fulfilled" ? meResult.value : null;
+
+  // *** SIMPLIFIED LOGIC ***
+  // The follow status is now directly available from the `me` object.
+  const isOwnProfile = me?.username === user.username;
+  const isFollowing =
+    me?.following?.some(
+      (followedUser) => followedUser.username === user.username
+    ) || false;
 
   return (
     <div>
@@ -47,19 +60,31 @@ export default async function ProfilePage({ params }: ProfilePageProps) {
       />
 
       <main className="container mx-auto max-w-3xl p-4 -mt-16">
-        {/* Profile Info */}
         <Card className="p-6 bg-card/80 backdrop-blur-lg">
-          <div className="flex items-end gap-4">
-            <div className="w-24 h-24 rounded-full border-4 border-background">
-              <UserAvatar src={user.avatarUrl} alt={user.displayName} />
-            </div>
-            <div>
-              <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold">
-                {user.displayName || user.username}
-              </h1>
-              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">@{user.username}</p>
+          <div className="flex justify-between items-start">
+            <div className="flex items-end gap-4">
+              <div className="w-24 h-24 rounded-full border-4 border-background shrink-0">
+                <UserAvatar src={user.avatarUrl} alt={user.displayName} />
+              </div>
+              <div>
+                <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold">
+                  {user.displayName || user.username}
+                </h1>
+                <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                  @{user.username}
+                </p>
+              </div>
             </div>
+
+            {/* Render the FollowButton if it's not the user's own profile */}
+            {!isOwnProfile && token && (
+              <FollowButton
+                username={user.username}
+                isInitiallyFollowing={isFollowing}
+              />
+            )}
           </div>
+
           <p className="mt-4 whitespace-pre-wrap">{user.bio}</p>
           <div className="flex items-center gap-2 mt-4 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
             <Calendar className="h-4 w-4" />
diff --git a/thoughts-frontend/components/follow-button.tsx b/thoughts-frontend/components/follow-button.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c85c65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/thoughts-frontend/components/follow-button.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useState } from "react";
+import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
+import { useAuth } from "@/hooks/use-auth";
+import { followUser, unfollowUser } from "@/lib/api";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import { toast } from "sonner";
+import { UserPlus, UserMinus } from "lucide-react";
+
+interface FollowButtonProps {
+  username: string;
+  isInitiallyFollowing: boolean;
+}
+
+export function FollowButton({
+  username,
+  isInitiallyFollowing,
+}: FollowButtonProps) {
+  const [isFollowing, setIsFollowing] = useState(isInitiallyFollowing);
+  const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false);
+  const { token } = useAuth();
+  const router = useRouter();
+
+  const handleClick = async () => {
+    if (!token) {
+      toast.error("You must be logged in to follow users.");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    setIsLoading(true);
+    const action = isFollowing ? unfollowUser : followUser;
+
+    try {
+      // Optimistic update
+      setIsFollowing(!isFollowing);
+      await action(username, token);
+      router.refresh(); // Re-fetch server component data to get the latest follower count etc.
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Revert on error
+      setIsFollowing(isFollowing);
+      toast.error(`Failed to ${isFollowing ? "unfollow" : "follow"} user.`);
+    } finally {
+      setIsLoading(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <Button
+      onClick={handleClick}
+      disabled={isLoading}
+      variant={isFollowing ? "secondary" : "default"}
+    >
+      {isFollowing ? (
+        <>
+          <UserMinus className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" /> Unfollow
+        </>
+      ) : (
+        <>
+          <UserPlus className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" /> Follow
+        </>
+      )}
+    </Button>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/thoughts-frontend/lib/api.ts b/thoughts-frontend/lib/api.ts
index a4893d9..dabb99a 100644
--- a/thoughts-frontend/lib/api.ts
+++ b/thoughts-frontend/lib/api.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,19 @@ export const UserSchema = z.object({
   joinedAt: z.coerce.date(),
 });
 
+export const MeSchema = z.object({
+  id: z.uuid(),
+  username: z.string(),
+  displayName: z.string().nullable(),
+  bio: z.string().nullable(),
+  avatarUrl: z.url().nullable(),
+  headerUrl: z.url().nullable(),
+  customCss: z.string().nullable(),
+  topFriends: z.array(z.string()),
+  joinedAt: z.coerce.date(),
+  following: z.array(UserSchema),
+});
+
 export const ThoughtSchema = z.object({
   id: z.uuid(),
   authorUsername: z.string(),
@@ -39,6 +52,7 @@ export const CreateThoughtSchema = z.object({
 });
 
 export type User = z.infer<typeof UserSchema>;
+export type Me = z.infer<typeof MeSchema>;
 export type Thought = z.infer<typeof ThoughtSchema>;
 export type Register = z.infer<typeof RegisterSchema>;
 export type Login = z.infer<typeof LoginSchema>;
@@ -121,4 +135,23 @@ export const createThought = (
     },
     ThoughtSchema,
     token
-  );
\ No newline at end of file
+  );
+
+  export const followUser = (username: string, token: string) =>
+  apiFetch(
+    `/users/${username}/follow`,
+    { method: "POST" },
+    z.null(), // Expect a 204 No Content response, which we treat as null
+    token
+  );
+
+export const unfollowUser = (username: string, token: string) =>
+  apiFetch(
+    `/users/${username}/follow`,
+    { method: "DELETE" },
+    z.null(), // Expect a 204 No Content response
+    token
+  );
+
+  export const getMe = (token: string) =>
+  apiFetch("/users/me", {}, MeSchema, token);
\ No newline at end of file